Imperial Crown

Under the midday sun, Eric was like a steel statue, without any breath of life.

"Eric——" Link shouted loudly with sweat on his forehead, but he didn't dare to step forward to check his condition.

Crack.

A crack appeared on Eric's body, causing everyone present to stop breathing.

The crack began to spread, like the cracks on a porcelain bowl, and then pieces of metal fragments peeled off Eric's body, revealing his sturdy body.

"Hiss——"

Eric took a deep breath, his chest swelled, and more metal fragments fell from his skin until he opened his eyes!

There was unprecedented confidence in it, and it was also full of breathtaking spirit.

Slowly raised his arm and clenched it into a fist, and waved it gently.

The silver-colored fighting spirit came out of his body, fell lightly on the ground, and cut a deep pit as big as a bowl!

"Level 3!" Link's eyes were full of envy: "You succeeded!?"

When the fighting spirit user is promoted to level 3, he has the ability to release fighting spirit and attack from a distance.

Since choosing the military camp as the breakthrough site, Eric never thought of hiding the news that he had broken through to the third level.

So the news spread quickly, and from the Sky Eagle Platform to the Eagle Town, it ushered in a wave of heated discussions.

Whether it was those who supported Raven or those who disliked Raven, they all came to a similar conclusion: Eric could walk more steadily, but it would be difficult for him to go further.

The reasons were basically the same.

Eric had just been promoted to the third level, and there was almost no possibility of failure when facing a second-level opponent, but whether it was the mastery of the third-level combat skills, the use of the third-level fighting spirit, or the total amount of his own fighting spirit, he was not as good as other third-level players participating in the competition.

But at least, Eric, who was promoted to the third level, could make the Griffith family's performance in the competition less ugly.

Of course, Raven saw all these speculations, but he was quite disdainful in his heart.

For the Nord Province, this competition was a national carnival; but in the eyes of the real big men, it was a tool for political struggle.

On the surface, it was Marquis Anthony and Montreal who were tit-for-tat.

In fact, it is the embodiment of the confrontation between His Majesty the King and the Church.

But whether it is appearance or essence, it is the same for Raven - these guys turned his wedding into a battlefield for fighting each other.

Do you really think that the lord has no temper!

If Eric does not break through to the third level, then even if Raven is dissatisfied, he can only accept the reality. After all, as he said before - he can't go down in person, right?

Let alone whether it is appropriate to enter as a groom, if he really goes down to fight with others, he will become a chess piece from a chess player.

But now that Eric has successfully broken through, Raven has the possibility of regaining face in his home court.

Reach the semi-finals... and even get higher honors.

But Eric alone can't do this, it requires help from Raven.

So, Raven returned to his secret room, and soon after, a set of misty heavy iron armor tailored for Eric was delivered.

Raven, make a set of second-level enchanted armor!

Armor enchantment has always been much more complicated than weapon enchantment, so the price of armor of the same level is often several times or even more than 10 times that of weapons.

After planning the types of enchantments in his mind, Raven wrote them down on parchment, but did not start immediately. Instead, he took out his Life Tree Root Staff.

This staff is still gray and top-heavy, and looks no different from before, but as Raven inputs magic power into it, you can see that many magic patterns are lighting up layer by layer, and some are still black, making it difficult for magic power to penetrate.

After enchanting the staff to the first level, Raven has never forgotten it. Occasionally, he will add some enchantments to it when he has free time.

It's just that there are too many things to do recently, so it's delayed.

At present, although the newly drawn enchantment configuration has not yet taken effect, the overall progress from upgrading to a second-level staff has reached about 40%.

Because it has been a while since enchanting, Raven needs a small "rehabilitation" before starting to work on the misty iron armor, and it is just right to use it.

Taking out all the enchanting tools, Raven started to work after careful consideration.

Going from level one to level two is different from directly enchanting level two.

If drawing level two runes directly is like building a tall building on flat ground; then upgrading level one enchantment to level two is like adding floors to an existing building.

In terms of technical difficulty, the latter is undoubtedly higher, and it also has considerable requirements for basic enchantment.

If the design is not good at the beginning, it is likely to collapse - not only will it not be able to upgrade, but even the original enchantment will be useless.

Fortunately, when Raven was doing level one enchantment, he had a clear direction for how to strengthen it later, so it was not particularly difficult to draw.

Even so, after about 4 hours of enchantment, the progress was only about 5%.

In other words, Raven still needs at least 44 hours to upgrade this staff to level two.

After the enchantment of the staff came to an end, Raven put it away and walked to the side of the misty iron armor: "Next, it's your turn."

This set of armor needs to be completed as soon as possible.

So in the next few days, Raven spent most of his time in the secret room, enchanting this set of armor.

The difficulty of armor enchantment is that it is necessary to draw a set of runes on different accessories. It is necessary to consider the integrity of the enchantment and to carry out a lot of redundant design to prevent the entire enchantment from being invalidated if a certain part is damaged.

This is a big project, so much so that after 3 days of rest and 8 days of competition, it was not completed until the end of the 5th round.

During this period, Akori maintained his usual arrogance and strength, and no contestant could force him to use fighting spirit.

This is certainly because Akori himself is very strong and the opponents he faces are all second-level, but the current situation of Nord Province's slack military preparations and people's leisure and playfulness is the fundamental factor.

This strong performance has created a long-term gambling project in the arena: when will Akori use fighting spirit, and his first fighting skill.

In addition to Akori, there are some noteworthy players.

Gul'dan crushed his opponents all the way and gained a good reputation; although the third-level knight Senn of the Slater family was low-key, he was equally strong and his popularity was only higher than Gul'dan; Wessacine and Judela also successfully made it to the sixth round, competing for the title of the strongest man in Xuefeng County.

Simon, who had just broken through, fell in this round, but was not ridiculed much. He was tough enough to get to this point in the eyes of the outside world.

The good news is that Eric, who was promoted to the third level, defeated the second-level opponent in this round with a crushing momentum, and as the organizer of the event, Raven would naturally not let him meet the third level in the next round.

In order to leave enough time for himself and to make Eric more adaptable to the third-level fighting spirit, Raven willfully extended the off-season between the fifth and sixth rounds to 10 days, and there were a total of 16 games in the sixth round, with only 2 games per day.

Eric's game was also scheduled on the last day.

After all, Eagle Town is still Raven's home ground, so although there are some complaints and sarcastic voices, the big guys have no opinions and they can't make any waves.

On the second day of the offseason, Raven came to the orphanage.

"Baron." Simon had a guilty look on his face: "Sorry, I..."

"It's okay." Raven interrupted him with a smile: "You performed very well in the last battle, and you did your best to win. You deserve yourself and everyone."

Faced with Raven's considerate attitude, Simon was even more embarrassed.

"Okay, you are a dignified Morning Wind Knight, you don't want me to comfort you, do you?" Raven smiled and teased: "I heard that the children brought the Wind King to school today. Didn't cause any trouble?"

Changing the topic, Simon was also more relaxed: "No, you came at the right time. We just gathered and were preparing for training."

On the playground that was separated separately, the orphans were playing with their respective Wind Kings. The trainer Morgan was watching from the side. When he saw Raven coming, he hurried forward to salute.

Now, nearly 4 months have passed since the little wind kings hatched. Originally only the size of a cat, they have grown to more than half a person's height with adequate food. When their wings are spread, they can cover a person completely.

Simon picked up the drumstick and struck the war drum erected on the edge of the playground. The orphans who were playing and frolicking suddenly came to their senses and gathered together in just a few tens of seconds.

Their respective little wind kings also moved with their masters, standing at their feet, as if they could understand the drums.

Looking at Raven, the orphans were excited and excited, but no one spoke because they had not received any orders.

"The Baron is here, and I know you are all very happy." Simon said loudly: "But the Baron has taken good care of us, and we must repay him with practical actions."

"Everyone, throw training, get ready!"

The orphans said in unison: "Yes!"

They took steps and went to the edge of the playground to get their weapons.

Now they have already passed the training with wooden weapons, and all they use are Eagle Collar standard short spears, which are 72 cm long, 3 cm in diameter, and weigh 8.8 pounds, which is about 4 kg.

58 people lined up in three rows, standing about 20 meters away from a field of dummies.

The arrangement of these dummies simulated the classic infantry battle formation, with a total of 80. The dummies in front were nailed with shields, and the long spear infantry were in the back. Each dummy was wearing double leather armor.

The youngest orphan was only 15, and the oldest was just 17, but when they held the short spears in their hands, their eyes became extremely firm and confident.

"Ready - throw!"

Taking the short spears from their backs, the orphans separated their legs slightly, stretched their front legs straight and stepped back, then bounced up, tightened their waists with the strength of their legs, and passed it to their shoulders, and suddenly threw the short spears in their hands!

Whoosh--

A clear sound of breaking through the air was heard, and 58 short spears whizzed through the air and slammed into the range of the wooden target.

Wood chips flew everywhere.

"Ready--throw!!"

"Ready--throw!!!"

Three consecutive rounds of short spear throwing, smoke and dust rose on the ground. When the wind blew, the smoke and dust dispersed, and the originally neat dummies had become scattered.

The dummies in the front had broken shields and holes, and the dummies in the back row were pierced by the spears thrown from the sky and fell into the ground.

Of course, not all dummies were in trouble. About 1/3 fell down or were seriously injured, and more than half were not injured.

But this result is already rich enough. If one encounter can reduce 1/3 of the opponent's number, it is enough to make an ordinary army collapse!

"Well done!" Raven was generous with his praise.

Group spear throwing does not require accuracy, but rather the goal of quickly projecting effective firepower to the same area, and the orphans' performance clearly met the qualified standard.

Hearing Raven's praise, the orphans all straightened their chests, Simon also smiled, and issued a new order: "Execute Tactic No. 1!"

This sentence made Raven a little curious - he didn't know what Tactic No. 1 was.

The next moment, the orphans all squatted down, and the little wind kings around them took off into the air, then flapped their wings together and used their innate magic storm vortex.

Although they were not yet adults, a group of 4-month-old wind kings gathered together to perform together, and the momentum was really amazing. The wind blew violently, and the smoke and dust suddenly rose and were blown away. The dummies that had been hit before were shaky, and some were simply broken from the middle and blown up by the storm again.

The short spears inserted into the ground were shaking and whimpering.

It can be imagined that if it is facing an ordinary army, this storm vortex will be enough to blow people to the ground and tear open a gap!

Raven clapped his hands and said, "You really gave me a surprise. When did you do it?"

"In fact, we just practiced it more than ten days ago." Simon said, "The Wind King is worthy of being the Wind King. It is much smarter and more obedient than ordinary horned eagles, but..."

Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden sound of "Ka". It turned out that there was a Wind King in the air. Due to the problem of flying position, it was swept away by the storm vortex and blown away.

"My Thunder Tyrant!" Lennon screamed. If there were no people holding him down on both sides, he would have been blown up.

"...But I'm not very skilled at the moment." Simon finished his words awkwardly: "Sometimes, this happens."

"But don't worry, the little guy recognizes the master and will fly back soon!"

Although there was a little accident, Raven was still very satisfied with the training results and was full of expectations for the future.

At present, the little wind kings have not grown up yet and cannot conduct real aerial combat; the second talent magic pulse surge has not developed a suitable tactic.

Of course, a storm vortex has already caused trouble. It is better to be cautious when practicing a high-destructive thing like pulse surge. It is estimated that it will be difficult to see results in a short period of time.

Not only Raven has time to come and see the progress of the orphans' training, but with the arrival of the off-season, everyone in Eagle Castle can also take a breath.

For example, Fiona.

This socially anxious academic master has been living in hell recently. Old Gordon is now a knight, and she has become the daughter of the knight family. In addition to helping her grandfather with paperwork, she must also participate in some social activities among nobles.

God has mercy on her. When she was wearing a beautiful but restrictive dress and holding a glass of Angel's Tears and shrinking in a corner, the thing she wanted to do most was to knock herself out with a stick.

And there were always many people who came to chat with her and invited her to dance. She could only pretend to be deaf and dumb and sit from the beginning to the end. Even so, there were still some nobles who pestered her.

It was simply torture!

After participating in one, she might not be able to recover in three days.

So she received the "magic fruit" given by Baron Raven early, but she had no chance to take it.

Today she finally had some free time.

She took a nice bath, dried her body, changed into the softest clothes, rubbed the face of the stuffed bear Baoli, and whispered: "... Baoli, do you think I can succeed?"

Baoli would not answer, but the constant smile on her face always made Fiona feel at ease.

When her mood gradually calmed down, Fiona opened the box and held the magic fruit in her palm, and a tingling feeling came from her skin.

Fiona's heart beat again.

It was like this every time. No matter how well she prepared, she would be uneasy when facing the magic fruit.

This fruit that can make people become magicians is really precious.

Fiona had no doubt that if it was taken out for auction, it would be enough to drive the nobles of the entire Nord Province crazy!

"I can't delay any longer." Fiona persuaded herself in a low voice, then took a deep breath and swallowed the fruit!

Originally thought it would be a crisp taste, but it melted in her mouth and turned into an icy cool feeling that spread throughout her body.

It was like swallowing a mint candy.

A slight trance made the world in Fiona's eyes a little distorted.

The next moment, a strong vibration exploded in her mind, and her heart beat suddenly, so that she could even hear the sound of blood flowing in her blood vessels.

A touch of blue appeared in her vision.

The surrounding air began to become humid, the curtains and quilts were damp, and water droplets condensed on the wall.

A little silver light flashed through her mind, that was the birth of spiritual power from nothing.

The pool of magic power quietly opened up.

She spread out her palms, without speaking, but relying on mysterious intuition and instinct to use magic power, the water droplets on the wall quietly flew up, and condensed into a ball of clear water in her palm.

Success?

As this thought came up, the original wonderful feeling disappeared, and the clear water in her palm also flowed down.

Fiona was stunned for a long time before she looked down at her palm.

When she used her magic power to condense a ball of clear water again, complex emotions flashed in her eyes.

After dispersing the water flow, she suddenly took a step and rushed out of the door with a stride she had never taken before, heading straight to Lei Wenwen's office.

When she arrived, Petty was standing at the door, and Fiona asked, "Sister Petty, is the Baron here?"

Petit smiled: "Of course, I'll do it for you right away..."

Before she finished her words, Fiona had already rushed in without any courtesy.

Raven, who had just returned from the orphanage, raised his head.

Seeing Raven's eyes, Fiona wanted to speak several times, but suddenly she didn't know what to say.

She became a magician, her heart was full of joy, and she wanted to share it with Baron Raven.

From today on, she no longer had to worry about her future, and everything she had dreamed of could come true.

She could legitimately own her own library and her own office, and no longer have to bear extra strange looks.

From then on, she had the power to say "no" directly, she could not participate in social activities she didn't like, and she didn't have to spend a lot of effort and politely reject those entangled suitors.

The most important thing is that she can follow the footsteps of Lord Baron and help him complete the work that only magicians can do.

She has always hoped to gain the recognition of Lord Baron.

But now, facing Raven, she couldn't speak. She was so anxious that her face turned red and her breathing began to become unstable.

Raven smiled gently and asked softly, "Success?"

Fiona felt completely relieved with just three words. She nodded vigorously, wiped the tears that flowed from the corners of her eyes, and smiled, "Yeah!"

"Okay, don't cry, as if I did something to you." Raven made a joke, got up and walked out, and said to Petie who followed in, "The next step is up to you."

Petie had a strange smile on her face: "Yes, sir."

Fiona was a little confused, until she saw herself in the table mirror, she exclaimed and lowered her head, her face burning.

She was too excited before, and she ran out in her nightgown!

Although this nightgown is not revealing, it is private clothes after all, it is really...

Too embarrassing.

No wonder the baron left directly.

Patty held her hand and said, "Stay here for now. I'll get you some clothes."

After the door was closed, Fiona's heartbeat slowly calmed down, and she twisted her temples in annoyance.

Suddenly, she saw something on Lei Wen's desk.

"What is this...?"

...