Volume 7: Doing Business with the World Chapter 211: Battle Ball Day (Part 1)
When the summer reaches its hottest time every year, many nobles from the Kingdom of Kronin would come to Valentine to escape the heat.
Valentine, a port city located at the northernmost tip of the southern continent, has a summer temperature close to that of the grasslands. Due to its relatively high altitude, it is quite cool and dry, and not as densely populated with mosquitoes as the grasslands. Outside the city, there are only 30% of the summer resorts and holiday castles scattered throughout the countryside, which belong to local nobles.
Viscount Pope sent invitations to the agricultural machinery exhibition in the name of his family. Those who had watched the two plays "Cinderella" and "The Daughter of the Mermaid" naturally went there with pleasure. Many people who were not interested in drama were attracted by the functions of agricultural machinery described by Viscount Pope and also came.
One day before the trade fair officially opened, several hotels in the Knight Territory were already fully booked...
This day is an important festival for the Knights.
Er... of course, it’s not a traditional folk festival, but a two-day “War Ball Day” “invented” by the Knights themselves .
The price of agricultural machinery is calculated in gold coins, which ordinary people simply cannot afford. Since the purpose is to share fun with the people and entertain the masses, it naturally cannot be named after an agricultural machinery exhibition.
Starting at midnight the day before, the Knight brothers, Alex and others led their teams to set up huge War Ball Day signs, colorful paper flowers, ribbons and other festive decorations from one end of the street to the other.
The Snow Wolf Tribe was also not idle, and set up a stage overnight in the completed Second District War Field - the Robbins Theater is still the Knight Territory's biggest living signboard so far, and if they want to hold a War Ball Day event, it is the theater's responsibility to organize a free performance and help warm up the audience.
Given the size of the war ball performance venue, there was still plenty of space after setting up the troupe's performance stage. Bricks were brought in to create a 50X50 warm-up fighting area...
After daybreak, as the workers, shop employees, and vegetable vendors in the Knights' Territory marveled at the changes in the main road of the first district of the Knights' Territory, Master Eddie Roger Berkeley's carriage drove out of the east gate of Valentine.
It's not quite honest to call it a carriage. It's more like a moving, gorgeous little house pulled by two dragon-blood horses.
Master Eddie does not often use this extremely luxurious and ostentatious carriage, but today, only this carriage is worthy of the guests that Master Eddie has taken great pains to invite.
"You always have the best tea here, Eddie."
Inside the carriage, the blond young man sitting opposite Master Eddie put down his teacup and said with a hint of appreciation.
"I dare not accept such compliments, Prince Maurice." Master Eddie smiled and shook his head. "The premium black tea 'Songyu' from the Far East never stays in Valentine. All I can get is the inferior 'Amethyst'. I am already very humbled to be able to offer only inferior amethyst."
Prince Maurice, the third heir to the Cronin royal family, chuckled. His temperament and manners were gentle, but his words were quite harsh: "In my opinion, the fragrance of amethyst is just right, like a shy and budding beauty. In comparison, Geyu is too arrogant and vulgar, like a slut who doesn't know how to behave."
Master Eddie couldn't accept this... Only this prince could devalue the top-grade black tea Geyu that is more valuable than gold.
"I have heard the name Isaac Robbins two or three times in the past few months. It is hard to believe that a country noble from Osmond could be praised so highly by everyone. What on earth are the young nobles of Kroning doing?"
Prince Maurice leaned back leisurely and spoke lightly in a gentle tone.
His Royal Highness was clearly expressing his dissatisfaction with non-citizens being so prominent in his own country. Master Eddie's expression remained unchanged, but he was honestly in a very happy mood.
Giving up on Robbins doesn't mean that Master Eddie is willing to watch this prairie dog who crawled out of a group of adventurers and live freely under his nose.
Master Eddie had received the invitation letter sent by Viscount Pope five days ago. He read the description of the agricultural machinery produced on the grassland word for word, and immediately realized that this was a good opportunity to make Isaac Robbins and Viscount Pope, who was tempted by petty profits, suffer.
There is no noble who does not have a headache about those lazy farmers in the manor who are good at slacking off. The agricultural machinery that can maximize the output of the manor with the least manpower will undoubtedly make Viscount Pope, who is the middleman, and Robbins, who works as a dog for the prairie people, famous.
But...opportunities always come with risks.
When Robbins, who is eager to blend into the aristocratic circle, comes into the sight of Prince Maurice, who appears to be elegant but is actually mean, violent and capricious, what will be the future of this guy?
If he is hated by Prince Maurice, then needless to say... not only will Robbins be in trouble, but Viscount Pope who protects him will also not have a good time.
And if he is favored by Prince Morris, then it will be even more exciting - Prince Morris is not a fool like Viscount Pope who is blinded by money and does not care whether the people under him have two masters. If Robbins wants to get on Prince Morris's ship, he must break away from the grassland people!
Without the support of the prairie people, what value would Isaac Robbins, a country boy from Osmond, have?
However, His Royal Highness's disgusted attitude was not enough for Master Eddie... Simple rejection and disgust were not enough to make Prince Maurice take seriously someone he did not take seriously.
From Master Eddie's perspective, he actually preferred the latter development. So instead of adding insult to injury, he spoke well of Isaac.
Master Eddie spread his hands and smiled awkwardly. "To be honest, Your Highness, at first I had no good feelings towards this country bumpkin who came out of nowhere. But after appreciating Knight Robbins's play, I must admit that I admire his talent, there is no doubt about that."
"Even if he is a talented playwright, can his plays challenge the operas of the sea people?" Prince Maurice disagreed.
"I dare not say that." Master Eddie thought for a moment and said, "I can only say that the Robins Knight's drama is more flexible in expression than the sea tribe's opera. This time, the Robins Knight's territory will hold the 'War Ball Day' event. Before the rude entertainment of the barbaric orcs, the people of Valentine will have two dramas performed outdoors. After watching it, Your Highness will naturally have a clearer feeling than others can convey."
Prince Maurice raised his eyebrows slightly: "Since you put it that way, I hope that this knight attached to the Pope family will make my trip worthwhile."
Master Eddie's carriage drove into the Knights' Territory. The Knights' Territory, which was the size of a small town, did not seem special to Prince Maurice... He had only been to Valentine twice during the time of old Lord Philip , and had not seen with his own eyes how desolate this area was.
"As a knight leader, it's pretty satisfactory." Prince Maurice commented calmly.
Master Eddie originally wanted to "assist" Robbins by saying "This place was a wilderness last year", but when he said it, it became a compliment to the Knights' delicious food - at this time there was no need to rush to let Prince Morris know how much support Robbins had received from the grassland people. It would be much more effective to wait until Prince Morris "took a fancy" to that guy and then point this out seemingly inadvertently.
At the entrance to Area 1, there is a huge sign painted with colored gouache, with the three big characters "Battle Ball Day" written in flower-shaped characters imitating the elves' style. The artistic achievements of the elves and the sea people are unquestionable, and they are the default imitation targets of other races.
On both sides of the street and at intervals, you can see paper flowers made of colorful paper, colorful ribbons tied to ornamental trees, and War Ball Day notices everywhere; the Knights' own stores have also launched holiday activities and arranged for store clerks to stand at the door to shout discounts and promotions.
There were also troupe members in exaggerated costumes holding banners and parading through the streets to inform the public of the free open-air performance to be held at the District 2 War Stadium and the activities scheduled for the first day of War Stadium Day. While promoting, they also distributed cheap candies to children on the street, creating a perfect festive atmosphere.
"It's quite interesting." Prince Maurice lifted the curtain and looked out the window with a smile on his face.
"Knight Robbins' talents are not limited to plays. Judging from the success of his knighthood, who would doubt that this knight from the Pope family is not a qualified politician?" Master Eddie echoed.
"Really?" Prince Maurice glanced at him indifferently and then looked out the car window.
Master Eddie suddenly woke up and found that he had talked too much - this suspicious and capricious prince was not someone who was easy to please. His favorite thing to do was to be smiling and talking one second and to kill someone the next.
Trying to make amends would only make things worse. 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 roads leading to the battlefield were divided into two, one for civilians, middle-class families and small businessmen walking on foot, and the other was a dedicated passage for aristocratic convoys - the latter had two rows of flower beds on both sides of the road, planted with green plants as tall as a person, to prevent civilians from accidentally entering.
Hmm... This design seems to be made for the nobles' sense of superiority, but in fact it is used to protect civilians - civilians killed by noble carriages are not like on Earth, where they can at least receive humanitarian compensation.
The luxurious carriage under heavy guard arrived at the second area. Someone immediately came up to meet them and led the convoy to the parking lot. After getting off the carriage, they passed through a passage built specifically for VIPs and went directly to the VIP seats at the battle field.
The VIP area on the west side is different from the open-air seats in the other three areas. The single-room cabins painted white ensure that VIPs do not have to endure wind and sun, and each seat has its own dedicated service staff.
Master Eddie and Prince Maurice met the radiant Viscount Pope in the VIP lobby. Viscount Pope, who was chatting happily with the son of an earl, was greatly surprised when he saw Prince Maurice, and then turned to pleasantly surprised. He greeted the third-in-line heir warmly, and personally invited the prince to the highest-level VIP seat, and also invited two of the most prestigious guests present today to accompany him.
At first glance, this operation seems to be fine...but Master Eddie's smile became a little stiff.
There was no way. Although he had tried his best to invite Prince Morris, his status was not enough to control the situation - for example, when Countess Lola was invited, Master Eddie had to take the initiative to give up the seat closest to Prince Morris.
"Well, the consequences of pleasing this prince will depend on whether you can bear it." Master Eddie, who became the last guest, kept a smile on his face but thought viciously in his heart.
The battle field in the second area of the Knight Territory is a rectangular flat field with a length of 130 meters and a width of 50 meters. Because it is all open-air except for the VIP area, the audience seats can be built as much as possible; even without the assistance of engineering machinery, ordinary seats that can accommodate tens of thousands of people were built.
Guests in the VIP area were seated, and civilians, middle-class people, and small business people who were attracted by the troupe's free performance were allowed in. Having experience in maintaining order in large theaters, Isaac mobilized all his subordinates and borrowed a number of people from the Adventurer's Guild, Hunter's Guild, Bards Guild, and Thieves Guild. It took him half an hour to successfully accommodate tens of thousands of spectators.
After all the audience had taken their seats, the stage in the middle of the venue suddenly projected a scene of a small noble family’s living room. Sandra, the actress who played Cinderella, pushed the door open and sang the opening song while standing in the “living room”…
"The effect is quite good, it is much more realistic than using set props!"
In the room at the northernmost end of the VIP area, Viscount Pope said to Isaac and Xiao Yun with appreciation.
Isaac nodded in agreement, but Xiao Yun said expressionlessly, "It looks good, but it's too expensive. The 'appearance fee' of two second-level illusionists and one first-level illusionist is fifty gold coins in total. The cost is dozens of times higher than the props and scenery, and it can't be reused like the props and scenery."
Viscount Pope: "..."
Isaac silently turned his gaze away...
The illusionist's weapons are light and shadow, reality and illusion.
A legendary illusionist like Sean can create hundreds of clones in an instant if necessary. These clones have the ability to chant simple magic like the original body. When sealing Austin, Sean created four clones in an instant and completed the sealing barrier that required the joint efforts of five people.
Being able to use light and shadow to create misleading illusions, and having the ability to switch illusions between reality and illusion, the illusionist is naturally the best at group fights among spellcasters, except for the necromancer who can play with the army of the dead... ahem, this is why Sean, whose single-target magic is not top-notch, can be called a legendary.
But Xiao Yun didn't care how good the illusionists were at fighting in groups. What he valued was their ability to create artificial projection 3D scenery. The three illusionists hired by Margaret, an official of the Adventurer's Association, didn't get angry when they heard Xiao Yun's request, simply because they were good-tempered (lack of money)...
Yes, the actors are not performing on the field here, in fact they are all in the Grand Theater - it is the magician's work to project their stage performances here through the magic circle and convert the flat props and scenery into 3D scenery suitable for 360-degree viewing.
This form of performance can be performed in front of a larger audience, is more authentic, and has no real problems except that it's too expensive.
The evidence of this was the sobbing that could be heard throughout the stadium during the last scene of Cinderella.
In the first-class room closest to the 3D projection stage and located in the best viewing area, Prince Maurice, who was experiencing this type of theatrical performance for the first time, was extremely shocked. He was so shocked that he forgot to maintain his usual elegance and composure.
When Prince Maurice came to his senses, he couldn't even remember when he stood up.
When he realized that the Duke's son and Countess Lola, who were sitting on his left and right, were silently wiping their tears and not noticing his loss of composure, he sat back calmly.
"I see... If you don't see it with your own eyes, it's hard to believe that this kind of dramatic performance can have such tension and such emotional appeal." Prince Maurice felt his own excitement and unconsciously clenched his fists, staring at the priest actor on the stage with displeasure. "Even I can't help but feel disgusted with the Church after watching this play...Thinking back to the enemies of the Federation!"
Exhaling lightly, Prince Maurice's brows gradually frowned.
His Royal Highness, who is known for his brutality and ruthlessness, is not a fool. He can even see problems that Master Eddie may not have noticed.
"Isaac Robbins is a disciple of the Orc Sage, and Carlisle Harvey Ferdinand is also a disciple of the Orc Sage."
Prince Maurice became serious, and his eyes gradually became cold.
"'The Church is the real enemy of the Federation', is this the admonition Robbins is trying to convey?"
Prince Maurice glanced at Master Eddie from the corner of his eye, then gently looked away. After a few seconds, his brows relaxed and a playful sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"We launched an expedition against the southern kingdom, which cost millions of gold coins last year alone. We invested so much money in the war, but the target of the war was... Lamia's enemies."
The third heir to the Kronin Kingdom narrowed his eyes slightly.
Master Eddie did not dare to spy too much on Prince Maurice's reaction. At least until now, he had not discovered that his plan did not develop as he imagined...
Once the performance of Cinderella was over, the whole morning was over. The VIP area naturally had delicious food delivered, while the audience in the ordinary audience seats had to go out to buy lunch or eat the dry food they brought with them.
“ Why ? I’ve almost memorized the lines for Cinderella… and I have to wait until tomorrow to see it. Sigh.” In a corner of the audience, a young man with slightly red eyes munched on a pancake he brought in and complained in a low voice.
The middle-aged man rolled his eyes at his disciple and said, "Hasn't the free performance been announced long ago? Who is the one who rushed to line up so early in the morning?"
"Teacher, are you dissatisfied with me in some way? Your attitude towards me has been getting worse and worse recently." The young man muttered.
"hehe."
"Hey, guys! Listen to me!"
The young man was about to complain when he saw two men with the Knights' House logo on their clothes approaching the audience seats where they were sitting. One of them clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention, then picked up two palm-sized, different-colored, printed books in each hand and said loudly:
"The fighting competition will start in an hour. The first match will be between the Adventurer's Association's 'Viper' Korf, the Thieves' Association's 'Black Flame' Sarati, and the Hunter's Association... a total of seven well-known walkers against the Snow Wolf warrior Xiaohua. The 'Walker Alliance' is the red side, and the Snow Wolf warrior is the 'blue side'. You can buy the 'fighting lottery' for whichever side you support. One ticket costs one silver coin, and if you win, you can double it!"
This guy repeated his shout twice. Poor guys like the master and his apprentice would certainly keep silent. Among the audience members who could afford to pay, some were naturally interested: "Brother, are you serious?"
"Seven against one? Is that true?"
"'Black Flame' Sarati will also appear? You're not kidding, are you?"
The guy selling fighting lottery tickets shouted, "Don't be ridiculous, brother. There is the seal of the Robbins Knights on the ticket. If this can be forged, how can I walk out of the Knights' territory alive? The Robbins Knights did not announce the rosters of both teams until one hour before the game started and allowed us to sell tickets to avoid match-fixing. Even if you don't believe us, you have to believe the Robbins Knights, right?"
Someone in the audience laughed out loud in good faith. Knight Robbins's credibility was certainly trustworthy. An audience member dressed like a middle-class person raised his hand and said, "Give me a red ticket!"
"Hey, man." A pot-bellied businessman stood up and looked at the man selling tickets with sharp eyes. "Can we only bet on the outcome? Aren't the odds too low? What's the point of a one-to-one odds?"
"Of course not." The ticket seller smiled and took out several more colorful tickets from the box held by his companion. "You can buy tickets for the time of a certain side's victory or defeat, how many members of the red side can last to the end or all members win, the blue side's victory without any injuries, etc. As long as you can bet on it, you will be satisfied with all the odds!" After a pause, he added, "But the tickets printed are limited. In order to allow more people to participate in gambling, Robbins Knights requires that no one person can buy more than ten tickets. Please understand."
The businessman immediately ran out of his seat and ran to the two men to ask them carefully...
Valentine is a free city and also a city of adventurers. Anyone who is active in Valentine and can obtain a nickname within a certain range is not an unknown person. Although the Snow Wolf Clan (seems to be quite) strong, the "coalition" of famous adventurers may not be without a chance of winning. A lot of tickets for both the red and blue sides have been sold...
The master and the disciple silently watched those who had spare money come over to buy fighting lottery tickets, and then cast their eyes to other audience areas - the battle stadium audience seats were divided into sections of a hundred seats, and in front of each section there were these duos selling lottery tickets.
The young man swallowed the dry pancake hard 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 thought that had just arisen...
Fighting lottery tickets sold in the ordinary audience seats are only sold for one silver coin, while the tickets in the VIP area are priced in gold coins... As a noble, it would be embarrassing to accept silver coins!
Twenty minutes before the start of the game, lottery tickets alone sold tens of thousands of gold coins...
When Laura lent the "event team" staff to count the numbers at each ticket point, Viscount Pope, who had been struggling for two thousand gold coins last winter, almost lost his grip on the teacup.
"It's okay." Xiao Yun was very calm. "The majority of people like to bet small on big gains. We sell more odds tickets. We can't lose money. It's just a matter of how much we make. Anyway, we don't sell these lottery tickets for profit. We just want the audience to pay more attention to the game."
Anyone who knows a little bit about "gambling" will know how deceptive this seemingly beautiful thing called odds is...
Viscount Pope & Isaac: "..."
Viscount Pope looked at Isaac silently. Sometimes, I really don't understand your teacher's concept of money...
Isaac looked off into the distance silently.
