Xi De arrived at a collectibles auction house, which was also a valuable goods trading center, with the Sky-Splitting Battle Axe.
Most of Xi De's artworks were bought here, and every time he came, he disguised himself as an old man with a white beard.
"Sir, you've come again!" The maid said respectfully when she saw Xi De.
This old man in black with a white beard was a complete sucker; every time they overcharged for valuable items, he wouldn't haggle and just bought them directly.
He was the epitome of someone with more money than sense.
"What would you like to buy this time, sir?"
"I have an ancient relic here and would like your appraiser to authenticate it!"
"Please wait in the VIP room; the appraiser will be right there!"
Not long after, a middle-aged man wearing glasses walked in.
"Esteemed guest, what would you like to have appraised?"
Xi De directly conjured a giant axe out of thin air.
Xi De had used slime magic to cover the surface, making the giant axe invisible, and now he had dispelled the slime magic.
To outsiders, Xi De had simply made it appear out of nowhere.
"Quick, someone!" The maid shouted anxiously.
The maid thought he was about to resort to violence.
"Calm down, don't panic. This esteemed guest wants me to appraise this weapon! Go out and tell the guards outside!"
"Yes!"
As soon as the maid left, a group of guards rushed over.
After the maid explained, the guards insisted on checking the situation inside. They left after confirming the appraiser's safety.
"If I'm not mistaken, this weapon of yours, sir, is an ancient relic!" The appraiser observed meticulously with a magnifying glass.
"What a rare ancient relic! Despite its massive size, it has so many ancient characters! The power of this giant axe is not to be underestimated!"
"These ancient characters... no, these ancient characters are very unusual. This is the one from the legends!"
"It's definitely it, no mistake. The legendary forbidden ancient relic! Each possesses immense power, but also anti-human side effects!"
"This item is extremely valuable for collection! Sir, who wishes to remain anonymous, please sell this item to us. We are willing to offer ten billion Zeny!"
"Sir, can you make that decision?" the maid asked.
"Shut up. Whether I can make the decision is not for you to question!"
The maid immediately lowered her head, not daring to speak.
She was just trying to be helpful; she remembered very clearly that the appraiser could only approve transactions within two billion Zeny.
"Hahaha! Excellent, I wasn't wrong after all!" Xi De laughed loudly.
"I have no intention of selling it right now. I just came to have it appraised. What is the appraisal fee?"
"Given that you are a frequent customer of our auction house, the appraisal fee is waived!"
"That's quite good then. I'll be leaving now!"
Xi De picked up the axe, and with a whoosh, it vanished.
"The Eminence in Shadow's precious collection has gained another item!"
After Xi De left.
The maid looked at the appraiser.
"Sir, why didn't you just keep him here and seize his ancient relic? He didn't seem to have much combat power!" The maid tried to show her intelligence to cover up her earlier mistake.
"Hmm? How can a stupid person like you get into an auction house? Could someone who obtains such an item be an ordinary person? And you want to double-cross him? Are you tired of living? From today on, you are fired! Guards, throw this woman out!"
"Sir, please spare me! I need this job; I have a gravely ill mother and a young brother!"
"What does that have to do with me? They're not my relatives. Drag her away!"
"Yes!"
Two guards dragged the maid away... Xi Nuo and the Seven Shadows took all the important data and money from the Knights of the Round Table's Tenth Seat base.
There wasn't much money there, only five billion Zeny. After investigation, most of Cabernet's assets were real estate.
Things like chambers of commerce, businesses, etc. The money was invested there to make more money, and he would only contact those people when he needed funds.
To avoid trouble, those real estate assets were left alone.
Cabernet was handed over to Alpha by Xi Nuo. Alpha tried to interrogate him to extract information.
However, he turned out to be a tough nut to crack, refusing to speak no matter how he was interrogated.
Xi Nuo remembered that Gamma seemed very skilled at interrogation before.
Xi Nuo suggested handing him over to Gamma.
"Lord Phantom, I'm not confident I can extract anything!" Gamma said.
"It's fine, just try. Maybe it will work!"
The clever Gamma first blindfolded him, then covered his ears.
Then she moved him to a different location.
When one's eyes are covered and they are in an unfamiliar environment, they lose their sense of security, which easily leads to fear.
Once afraid, it's easier to comply.
"What are you doing? What are you doing!"
Gamma said nothing and asked nothing, seemingly just wanting to torment him.
"If a person truly wants to speak, you don't need to ask; they will speak. Conversely, if they don't want to speak, no amount of questioning will get it out of them!" These were words Xi Nuo had said casually.
But Gamma took them to heart.
Gamma brought in an iron furnace with extremely high flame temperatures.
And there was molten iron inside.
She used a tool to scoop out the molten iron and poured it directly onto Cabernet's face.
"Ah!!!" The screams were heart-wrenching.
Alpha was stunned.
What exactly did Gamma do?
Alpha went inside and saw Gamma pouring scorching molten iron onto him.
"As expected of Phantom, he's a good judge of character. I never thought of such an interrogation method!"
After an hour of various interrogation methods by Gamma, Cabernet broke.
"I'll tell you everything, just don't torment me anymore. Just kill me quickly!"
Alpha extracted a large amount of information from him, but did not rush to kill him, in case there were other questions she forgot to ask!
One piece of information obtained from Cabernet was about a research base.
Cabernet had funded its construction, and it contained about thirty demon remnants who were taken there for experiments.
Upon learning this, Xi Nuo did not act with Alpha and the others this time, but let Alpha and them go alone.
"Your strength is already sufficient to stand on your own, so I will not interfere with this mission. You will complete it independently!"
Alpha nodded and gathered the Seven Shadows to depart together.
Xi Nuo said that, but in reality, he secretly hid and followed Alpha and them.
Better safe than sorry; besides, Xi Nuo was quite idle.