The Magic Tower wasn't the only planning on increasing their power to compete in the auction.
In the Knightly Court, just beside the Duchess' palace, Squires and Knights were in deep training to prepare for the eventual fight in the auction.
Their territory had two concentric circle architectures.
The bigger circle was made for the Squires and the Knights in training. The whole area of the circle was equally divided into ten parts, which was equivalent to the 10 Ways that a Knight could take in their cultivation.
Although every Way in the Knightly Court was supposed to be equal, this specific Court in Metropolis couldn't help but have one Way stronger than the other.
And that was none other than the Way of the Axe. They had the superior number and power than the rest of the ways here in their branch in Metropolis.
This was due to one single person.
Kruger.
He was one of the ten Heavenly Knights in the Order, meaning he had reached the peak of his cultivation and had no equal in the Way of the Axe. His mere presence allowed other Knights and Squires who trained in the Axe to become so much better than they were before. His mere presence oozed the essence of the Axe.
And since he was a Heavenly Knight, the inner circle of the Knightly Court was reserved only for him, and his personal Students.
Knock knock!
A knight wearing full metal armor knocked on the door of the most powerful axe user in the world.
"Sire Kruger! I have got something to report to you, sire!"
"Come in," answered Kruger.
The knight opened the door and entered the Heavenly Knight's abode. There, in the corner of the room, he saw him.
An Orc with his tusks coming out from his lower jaw and twisting back outwards like it was his own personal face mask. His green skin was littered with battle scars that showed the history of how he achieved the title of the best in the world.
"What is it?" Kruger asked, his arms crossed on his chest while looking out the window.
"It's those vehicles, sire. We were able to find that they are going to be sold in the auction in Barnaby's Vault."
Kruger pensively looked at the window, towards the court. His mind was running with thoughts of the future. Becoming a Heavenly Knight was not a title worthy for those who only have brawns. One must have brains to become one as well.
He had correctly deduced that the value of these vehicles would cause the entirety of Metropolis to be engaged in an intense auction war.
He began to think about the current situation of the Knightly Court, and tried to estimate if they were capable enough of becoming the eventual winner of the auction.
"The Legacies will go all out. They stand to gain the most out of all other major factions," Kruger muttered to himself. "The Duchess will be a formidable foe, not just inside the auction, but outside. As for the Magic Tower, they'll have to ask for help from the Guild of Arcana."
He easily guessed the Tower Master's moves. After all, there was always a certain friendly rivalry between the Order and the Guild of Arcana. If he was thinking about going all out, then the Tower Master must be thinking that as well.
Now although he was a Heavenly Knight, there were certain prohibitions towards him when it came to things like this.
He was far too powerful to participate in the auction. It would be unfair. Still, the importance of the trucks were far too big for him to simply just stay inactive.
He knew that he had to move. If not him, then someone that he personally trained.
"Sire Kruger, your Students are asking which one of them you will send in for the auction," the knight asked.
Kruger scratched his chin. "Tell Potbol to sharpen his axe. This will be a good chance for him to make his Sword Heart stronger."
In Kruger's opinion, Potbol was the perfect man to send for the job. He was one of the most talented axe users that he was teaching, if not the most. The boy may be young, but he was able to keep up with his much older peers very easily. In a few years, Kruger could see Potbol becoming the strongest Knight in all of Metropolis besides him.
He was trying to hit two birds with one stone. He would stand to have a better chance to get those trucks, and his student would also be able to harden his Sword Heart and improve much faster than normal.
This auction would be a meeting place for geniuses and prodigies alike. He couldn't wait to see what would happen.
...
...
...
Because of the unexpected appearance of the trucks, three of the strongest people in Metropolis gathered in one place to talk about their plans.
They all gathered at a circular table.
At the top was Alaric Goldman. His wavy hair up to his shoulders was now balled up into a bun. Because of this, his golden earrings were very visible to Bobby and Aerith, who was sitting opposite him.
"Woah, I can see you weren't prepared for this meeting," Aerith teased.
"Who isn't?" Alaric replied. "The auction of this vehicle is important enough to stop my preparations for the parade."
Aerith laughed, her pink ponytail hair swinging side to side. "Fufufufu...I can take over for that if you'd like."
"Me first," Bobby raised his hand.
"Joking aside. What are your opinions on the automobile?" Alaric asked. "I think that it is very important that at least one of us will be able to get it."
"That, I can agree with you," Bobby said. "Being able to transport a thousand kilograms of steel at a time is very important to my business."
"As for me, even though my business isn't related to transportation, I will still benefit a lot from having such a large cargo load," Aerith answered.
Alaric nodded. "It is important for the three of us. That is why I propose that we have another coalition."
"Hmm...a coalition? What if I don't want to? I have the proper strength to get it for myself," Bobby said straightforwardly. He wasn't bragging, just stating facts.
"Yes, we all have the ability to fight it out for ourselves. But I'd like to remind you all that the other three factions are also fighting for these vehicles.
The Magic Tower and the Knightly Court are both factions that have a much deeper source of power because of the organization they belong to. And the Duchess, while only having power in Metropolis, is not one that should be taken lightly.
It's very much likely that all of them will pull out all the stops in order to get those vehicles.
If we fight it out individually, our chances will only be about 16.67%. But if we group up, then our win percentage goes up to 50%!
The Duchess, the Magic Tower, and the Knightly Court are already established. They don't need these vehicles. We do.
Imagine how much better our Golden Roads will be through those machines!"