Wolf King

Every summer when it is the hottest time, many nobles from the Kingdom of Cronin will come to Valentine to escape the summer heat.

Valentine, a port city located at the northernmost tip of the Southern Continent, has a summer temperature close to that of the grassland, and is quite cool and dry due to the relatively high altitude, and is not as dense as the grassland. Only [-]% of the summer resorts and vacation castles belong to the local nobles.

In the name of his family, Viscount Pope sent invitation letters to the agricultural machinery exhibition to these nobles. Those who had watched the two plays "Cinderella" and "Daughter of the Sea" naturally went there with pleasure, and those who were not interested in dramas were welcome. The agricultural machinery described by Pu Viscount attracted a lot of attention.

One day before the official opening of the exhibition, several hotels in the Cavaliers territory were already full...

This day is a major festival for the knights.

Uh... Of course, it's not a traditional folk festival, but a two-day "ball day" that the Cavaliers "invented" themselves.

The price of agricultural machinery is calculated in gold coins, and ordinary people cannot afford it at all. Since we want to have fun with the people and entertain the public, naturally we cannot name it the agricultural machinery exhibition.

From the middle of the night before, Knight Brothers, Alex and others led their teams to take action, arranging huge signboards, colorful paper flowers, ribbons and other festive decorations from the street to the end of the street.

The Snowwolves were not idle either. They set up a performance stage overnight in the completed Second District Battlefield——the Robbins Theater Troupe is still the biggest living sign of the Knights. It is duty-bound to have a free performance and help popularize the venue.

With the size of the fighting ball performance venue, there is still room after setting up the troupe's performance stage, and moved bricks to circle the 50X50 hot field fighting venue...

After dawn, when the workers, store employees, and vegetable vendors in the morning market were amazed at the changes in the main road in the first district of Knightland, Master Eddie Roger Berkeley’s carriage drove out of the East Gate of Valentine. .

To say it is a carriage is not honest enough, it is better to say it is a gorgeous little house pulled by two dragon blood horses.

This extravagant carriage is not often used by Master Eddie, but today, only this carriage is worthy of the guests that Master Eddie has painstakingly invited.

"You always have the best tea here, Eddie."

In the carriage, the blond young man sitting opposite Master Eddie put down his teacup and expressed a little appreciation.

"I don't dare to accept such a compliment, Prince Maurice." Master Eddie smiled and shook his head, "The special grade black tea 'Geyu' from the Far East never stays in Valentine, and all I can get is inferior 'Purple' Crystal', I can only take out inferior amethyst for entertainment, which has made me tremble with fear."

Prince Maurice, the third heir to the Cronin royal family, smiled lightly, with a gentle demeanor, but his words were rather harsh: "In my opinion, the fragrance of amethyst is just right, like a shy and budding beauty. In contrast, Ge Yu is too arrogant and flamboyant, like an undisciplined slut."

Master Eddie can't answer those words... It's just that His Royal Highness can belittle the top-grade black tea Geyu, which is worth more than gold.

"I have heard the name Isaac Robbins two or three times in the past few months. The country aristocrat from Osmond can be praised with such a caliber, and people can't help but wonder... Cronin's youth Gentlemen, what are you doing?"

Prince Maurice leaned back leisurely, speaking lightly and authentically in a gentle tone.

His Royal Highness is clearly expressing his dissatisfaction with non-citizens showing off in this country. Master Eddie's face remains unchanged, but he is honest and quite happy.

Giving up on Robbins didn't mean that Master Eddie was happy to see the prairie dog crawling out of the adventurers and running around in front of his nose.

Five days ago, I received an invitation letter from Viscount Pope "group sent". Master Eddie described the agricultural machinery produced in the grassland word by word, and immediately found out that this was a Pope who was confused by Isaac Robbins and petty profits. Good time for the Viscount to suffer.

There is no nobleman who does not have a headache for those lazy farmers in the manor, who can maximize the output of the manor with the least amount of manpower. The agricultural machinery will undoubtedly make Viscount Pope and Robbins, who is a dog for the prairie people, famous noise.

But...opportunities always come with risks.

When Robbins, eager to infiltrate the aristocratic circle, comes into the sight of Prince Maurice, who is handsome on the surface, but is actually mean, violent and capricious, what will the future of this guy be?

If Prince Maurice hates him, then needless to say... Not only will Robbins be unlucky, but Viscount Pope, who protects him, will also have bad luck.

And if Prince Maurice takes a fancy to it, then it will be even more exciting-Prince Maurice is not the kind of idiot like Viscount Pope who is blind to money and doesn't care whether the people below have a second master. Prince Reese's ship, Robbins must be separated from the prairie people!

Without the support of the prairie people, what is the value of Isaac Robbins, a country bumpkin from Osmond?

However, His Royal Highness's antipathy attitude was not enough for Young Master Eddie... Simple rejection and disgust were not enough for Prince Maurice to treat people he did not value seriously.

As far as Master Eddie is concerned, he is actually more willing to see the latter development.So not only did he not add insult to injury, but he spoke good words for Isaac.

I saw Master Eddie spreading his hands and showing a slightly embarrassed smile: "To be honest, Your Highness, at first I didn't like this kind of bumpkin who came out of nowhere. But after admiring Luo After the play of Knight Beans, I must admit that I admire his talent, there is no doubt about it."

"Even if he is a genius playwright, how can his plays challenge the operas of the Sea Clan?" Prince Maurice disagreed.

"I dare not say that." Master Eddie thought for a while, "I can only say that the operas of the Robbins Knights are more flexible in terms of expression than the operas of the Sea Race. This time, the Robbins Knights led For the 'Battle Ball Day' event, there will be an open-air performance of two dramas before entertaining the people of Valentin with the rudeness of those savage orcs. After watching it, His Royal Highness will naturally have a clearer feeling than what others have reported."

Prince Maurice raised his eyebrows slightly: "Since you said so, I expect this knight attached to the Pope family to make me feel that this trip is worthwhile."

Master Eddie's carriage drove into the knight's collar, and the knight's collar with the size of a small town was nothing special in Prince Maurice's eyes... He only came to Valentine twice in Philip's time as the old castellan, and he didn't see it with his own eyes. See how desolate this area really is.

"As a knight leader, it's not satisfactory." Prince Maurice commented indifferently.

Master Eddie originally wanted to "assist" Robbins by saying "this place was a wilderness last year", but when he said it, he praised the delicacy of the knights' leadership - at this time, there is no need to rush to let Prince Maurice know that Robbins came from No matter how much support the prairie people received, it would be much more effective to wait until Prince Morris "followed" that guy and then point out this point seemingly inadvertently.

At the entrance of the street entering District [-], there is a huge signboard drawn with colored gouache, and the three big characters "Battle Ball Day" are written in flower-shaped characters imitating the elves. There is no doubt about the artistic achievements of the elves and the sea people. The default mimic target for the race.

On both sides of the street, at intervals, you can see paper flowers tied with colored paper, colorful ribbons tied to landscape trees, and bulletin boards for Ball Day everywhere; During festivals, shop assistants were arranged to stand at the door and call for discounts and promotions.

There are also exaggeratedly dressed troupe members holding banners and parading the streets to publicize, informing the public of the free open-air performance held at the stadium in the second district today, and the first day of the ball day. Give out cheap candy to create a full festive atmosphere.

"It's kind of interesting." Prince Maurice raised the curtain and looked out of the window with a smile on his lips.

"The talent of the Robbins knight is not limited to dramas. As far as his knight leadership is concerned, who would doubt that the knight of the Pope family is not a qualified political officer?" Master Eddie echoed.

"Really." Prince Maurice glanced at him lightly, then cast his eyes out of the car window.

Master Eddie woke up suddenly, and realized that he had talked too much—this suspicious and capricious prince is not easy to please, and his favorite thing to do is to laugh at one second and kill someone the next second. thing.

Busy with making amends, the description would only get darker and darker. Master Eddie pretended not to notice Prince Maurice's indifference, poured himself a cup of tea, and looked out the window with the same interest.

The road leading to the battlefield is divided into two, one is provided for walking civilians, middle-class families and small businessmen, and the other is a dedicated passage for noble motorcades—the latter specially arranged two rows of flower beds and planted flowers on both sides of the road. Put green plants taller than one person to prevent civilians from entering by mistake.

Hmm... This design seems to be designed for the nobles' sense of superiority, but it is actually used to protect the common people - civilians killed by noble carriages are not like on Earth, at least they can get humanitarian compensation.

When the gorgeous carriage under heavy guards came to the second area, someone trotted up immediately, led the convoy into the parking place, got out of the carriage, and passed through a passage specially built for VIPs to reach the VIP seats on the battlefield.

The VIP area set up on the west is different from the open-air seats in the other three areas. The whitewashed single-room cabins ensure that the VIPs do not have to endure the wind and sun, and each seat has its own service staff.

Master Eddie and Prince Morris met the radiant Viscount Pope in the lobby of the VIP area. The Viscount Pope, who was having a good conversation with a child of a certain earl's family, was surprised when he saw Prince Morris, and then turned to Surprise; warmly exchanged greetings with the third heir, His Royal Highness, and personally invited His Royal Highness to the highest-standard VIP seat, and invited two of the most distinguished guests to come to accompany him .

At first glance, there was nothing wrong with this operation... It's just that Master Eddie's smiling face became a little stiff.

No way, although he tried his best to invite Prince Maurice, who knows that his status can't hold the occasion well—for example, the Countess Laura, after she was invited, Master Eddie You have to take the initiative to give up the position closest to Prince Maurice.

"Forget it, the consequences of pleasing this prince depend on whether you can eat it or not." The smile on the face of Master Eddie, who became the last guest, did not change, and he thought viciously in his heart.

The arena in the second area of ​​the Knights' Collar is a rectangular flat field with a length of 130 meters and a width of 50 meters. Since it is open-air except for the VIP area, the auditorium can be repaired vigorously; An ordinary seat that can accommodate tens of thousands of people has been built.

The guests in the VIP area are seated, and the civilians, middle class, and small businessmen who are attracted by the free performances of the troupe are allowed to enter; having experience in maintaining order in the theater, Isaac transferred all his subordinates to the Adventurer Association and Hunter Association , The Bard Association, and the Thieves Association borrowed many people, and it took half an hour to arrange tens of thousands of spectators smoothly.

After all the audience were seated, the living room of a small noble family was suddenly projected on the stage set in the middle of the venue. The actor Sandra, who played Cinderella, pushed the door in and stood in the "living room" and sang the opening song...

"The effect is good, it is much more realistic than using scenery props!"

In the northernmost room of the VIP area, Viscount Pope spoke to Isaac and Xiao Yun with admiration.

Isaac nodded in agreement, but Xiao Yun said blankly: "It looks good, but it's too expensive. The 'appearance fee' of two second-level illusionists and one first-level illusionist adds up to [-] gold coins, and the cost is higher than that of props." The set has been doubled dozens of times, and it cannot be reused like a prop set.”

Viscount Pope: "..."

Isaac silently turned his gaze elsewhere...

The illusionist's weapons are light and shadow, virtual and real.

A legendary illusionist like Sean can instantly create hundreds of clones if necessary, and these clones have the same ability to sing simple magic as the main body——When Oston was sealed, Sean created it in an instant. There are four clones, and a single person needs five people to work together to complete the sealing enchantment.

The ability to use light and shadow to create confusing illusions, and the ability to transform illusions between virtual and real, makes mesmers naturally the best at fighting in groups among spellcasters, except for necromancers who can play the army of the dead The existence of... Ahem, single-body magic is not considered top-notch, and this is why Xiao En can be called legendary.

But Xiao Yun didn't care how tricky the illusionists were in group fights, what he was interested in was the illusionists' ability to create artificially projected 3D scenes; the three illusionists hired through Margaret, an official of the Adventurer's Association, heard Xiao Yun's request At that time, it was purely because they were good (positive) temper (lack of) gas (money)...

Yes, the actors didn't perform on this venue, they were all in the Grand Theater - projecting their stage performances here through the magic circle, and converting flat prop sets into 360D sets for 3-degree viewing , is the credit of the illusionist.

This kind of performance can face a larger number of audiences and is more authentic, and it is completely useless except that it is too expensive.

The sobbing that can be heard throughout the arena during the final act of Cinderella is proof of that.

In the first-class private room, which is the closest to the 3D projection stage and located in the best viewing area, Prince Maurice, who experienced this theatrical performance for the first time, was extremely shocked. He was so shocked that he forgot to maintain the elegance and calmness of the past.

When Prince Maurice came to his senses, he couldn't even remember when he stood up.

When he found that the Duke's son and Countess Lola sitting on the left and right were silently wiping away tears and not noticing his gaffe, he sat back calmly.

"So it's like this... I didn't see it with my own eyes. It's hard to believe that this kind of dramatic expression can have such tension, so-emotional appeal." Prince Maurice felt his excited mood, and unconsciously clenched his fists, He stared unhappily at the priests and actors on the stage, "Even I, after watching this drama, can't help but find it hard to control my aversion to the Holy See... Recalling this enemy of the Federation!"

Gently exhaling, Prince Maurice gradually frowned.

His Royal Highness, known for his violence and ruthlessness, is not a fool. He can even see problems that maybe even Master Eddie didn't notice.

"Isaac Robbins is a disciple of the orc sage, and Carlisle Harvey Ferdinand is also a disciple of the orc sage."

The serious Prince Maurice's eyes gradually became cold.

"'The Holy See is the real enemy of the Commonwealth.' Is this the admonition Robbins was trying to convey?"

Out of the corner of Prince Maurice's eyes, he looked at Master Eddie, and then slightly looked away. After a few seconds, his brows relaxed, and a playful sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"The expedition to the southern kingdom cost millions of gold coins in the last year alone. So many wars have been invested, but the ones that hit... are Lamia's enemies."

The third heir to the Kingdom of Cronin narrowed his eyes slightly.

Master Eddie, who didn't dare to peep and observe Prince Maurice's reaction too much, at least until now, has not found that his plan has not developed as he imagined...

Once the performance of "Cinderella" is over, the whole morning will pass.Naturally, someone in the VIP area brought exquisite food, and the audience in the ordinary auditorium had to go out to buy lunch or eat their own dry food.

"Why didn't I play "The Daughter of the Sea" today? I almost memorized the lines and arias of "Cinderella"... I can't see it until tomorrow, ah." While gnawing on the pancakes he brought in, he complained in a low voice.

The middle-aged man gave his disciple a blank look: "Didn't the arrangement for the free performance be announced long ago? Who came to line up early in the morning?"

"Teacher, do you have any dissatisfaction with me? Recently, your attitude towards me has become worse and worse." The young man muttered.

"Ha ha."

"Hey guys! Listen to me!"

The young man was about to complain, but he saw two men with the logo of the Knight's Mansion on their clothes coming to the auditorium where they were sitting. After one of them clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention, he picked up two books of different colors, Only the palm-sized suspected printed book said loudly:

"The fighting match will start an hour later. The first match will be the 'Viper' Korf from the Adventurer's Association, the 'Black Flame' Sarati from the Thieves Association, and... a total of seven well-known walkers from the Hunter's Association will fight against the Snow Wolf Clan. Fighter Xiaohua, the 'Walker Alliance' is the red side, and the Snow Wolf warriors are the 'blue side', you can buy the 'fighting lottery' for whichever side you support, one vote for one silver coin, double the winnings!"

This buddy repeated it twice. Poor ghosts like master and apprentice must be silent, and the audience who have money in their pockets are naturally interested: "Brother, is what you said true?"

"Seven to one? True or false?"

"'Black Flame' Sarati will also appear? Isn't it a lie?"

The buddy who sold the fighting lottery ticket shouted: "Don't be kidding, brother, there is the seal of the Robbins knight on the ticket. If this can be faked, can I still walk out of the knight's collar alive? The Robbins knight didn't announce it until an hour before the start of the game. The list of both parties allowed us to sell tickets to avoid the situation of match-fixing. Even if you don’t believe us, you have to trust Robbins Knight, right?”

Someone in the audience laughed in good faith. The reputation of Robbins Knight is naturally trustworthy. An audience member dressed as a middle-class family raised his hand and said, "Give me a red ticket!"

"Hey, buddy." A businessman with a big belly stood up straight away, looking at the man selling tickets with piercing eyes, "Can you only bet on winning or losing? Are the odds too low? What's the odds of one to one?" mean!"

"Of course not." The ticket seller smiled and took out several colorful ticket rolls from the box held by his companion. , the blue side wins without injury, etc. can be bought, as long as you can bet on it, you will be satisfied with all kinds of odds!" After a pause, he added, "However, the printed tickets are counted, for more people To be able to participate in the lottery, Knight Robbins requires no more than ten tickets for a single person, please understand.”

The businessman immediately ran out of his seat, ran to these two people and asked carefully...

Valentine is the city of freedom and also the city of adventurers. Those who are active in Valentine and who can get nicknames within a certain range are not unknown people; although the snow wolf tribe (seems quite) strong, they are famous The adventurer "Allied Forces" may not have no chance of winning. Both the red and blue sides have sold a lot of tickets...

The master and the apprentice silently watched people with spare money go over to buy fighting lottery tickets, and then turned their attention to other audience areas—the auditorium of the battlefield with hundreds of seats as a section, and this kind of lottery ticket sellers appeared in front of each section. The duo partnered.

The young man tried his best to swallow the dry and hard pancakes, and approached the teacher: "Teacher, don't we still have two silver coins left?"

The middle-aged man looked at the stupid disciple and said nothing.

The young man had no choice but to suppress the thoughts that had just arisen...

The fighting lottery ticket sold in the general auditorium is only sold for one silver coin, while the ticket price in the VIP area is calculated in gold coins... Nobles, how embarrassing are the cash registers!

There was a 10-minute countdown before the start of the game, and tens of thousands of gold coins were sold for the lottery tickets alone...

When Lola lent the staff of the "event group" to count the figures of each ticket office, the Viscount Pope, who was struggling with two thousand gold coins last winter, shook his hand and almost lost his teacup.

"It's okay." Xiao Yun was very calm, "The majority of people who like to make a fortune with a small fortune are still the majority, and the odds tickets are sold more, we can't lose money, we just earn more and less. Anyway, we don't sell this lottery ticket for The profit is just to make the audience more interested in the game."

Anyone who knows a little bit about "gambling" will know how cheating the odds are...

Viscount Pope & Isaac: "..."

Viscount Pope looked at Isaac silently, just, sometimes I really don't understand your teacher's concept of money...

Isaac silently looked into the distance.