Volume 8: The Sword Points to the Far East Chapter 253: War Ball League (Part 2)
On the first afternoon of the war ball day, before the second game started, Revenge Moon, who was still standing in the aisle watching, had a few more lottery tickets in his hand...
"Is it to prevent shady dealings by only selling lottery tickets half an hour ? But it is quite labor-intensive. Just for the ordinary spectator seats, it would require a ticket sales team of several hundred people to handle them."
Vengeance Moon naturally didn't care about the prize. Although he was considered poor among the great magicians, compared with the struggling master and apprentice Alman, he was definitely a wealthy man...
He roughly counted the lottery staff members who were walking around and selling tickets within his sight. Although he had no chance to understand the working system of the lottery team, Revenge Moon could imagine that the workload would not be small and the management difficulty would not be low.
“Willing to use complicated methods to do something that could have been simple, just to avoid drawbacks in the process… With this attitude, Isaac Robbins can indeed be called a very qualified leader.”
Seeing the meaning behind such laborious lottery ticket sales, Revenge Moon's emotions were quite complicated... He felt a little bit contemptuous of such an undisguised money-making routine, but at the same time, he couldn't help but admire the local lord who could take even money-making in a very serious attitude.
As a member of the local indigenous senior intellectuals and the elite among the elites, although Moon of Revenge cannot accurately utter the word "lazy politics", he has a relatively sufficient understanding of the rentiers in this world - whether it is aristocratic deacons managing farm estates or aristocratic bureaucrats managing national towns, they all do whatever is easiest.
Anyone with a bit of intelligence knows that using the most convenient way to deal with things will inevitably lead to countless more troublesome problems; but it doesn’t matter, “It is better to solve the person who raised the problem than to solve the problem” has always been a clear rule that is universally accepted in this world~!
The Moon of Revenge had no doubt that if other noble lords were to run the Battle Stadium and run football betting and lottery, they would not adopt such a troublesome ticket selling method to ensure fairness, nor would they limit the betting amount and the number of tickets purchased to prevent the audience from betting crazily due to excessive gambling and losing all their money - if they did not empty the pockets of every audience member who entered the Battle Stadium, it would be considered that those noble lords had lost~!
"...If Knight Robins didn't have such charm, he wouldn't have been able to build a small town-sized territory in less than two years and attract so many people."
The Moon of Revenge sighed in a low voice. After visiting the village where the local villagers lived, he was surprised to find that all the buildings in the knight's territory were very new. After asking around a little, he learned that this place was still a wasteland two years ago... It was not until the winter of the year before last when Knight Robbins was conferred the title here that countless buildings gradually rose from the wasteland.
Although more than 80% of the houses and public facilities in the Knights' Territory are single-story buildings and only less than 20% are small second-story buildings, the construction difficulty is relatively low (the technical work requires low skills, and generally strong farmers and farm women can participate in the construction); but in such a short period of time, the wasteland was turned into a bustling street, and people were attracted to gather in a town from scratch, and a large theater and a battle field were built, which are definitely a large project. The Moon of Revenge believes that even if the royal family of the Federation were to do this, it would be impossible to be more efficient than Isaac Robbins.
"Forget about building a knight territory. Just building this battlefield will take a normal lord several years." Moon of Revenge thought with a hint of sarcasm. Forget about anything else. The country nobleman who had taken away the most fertile land at the location of his wizard tower to build a beet plantation took more than half a year to build.
"Isaac Robbins..." The image of the young man with a nice temperament whom she met at the pig farm came to Revenge Moon's mind. She regretted not following him and observing him for a while longer.
Uh... thinking so, Revenge Moon had no intention of leaving to find Isaac right away - tickets were free on War Day, and the number of spectators who squeezed in far exceeded the stadium's capacity. Even if they were "standing" in the aisle, it was not easy to squeeze from the back row to the front row.
To the left of the Moon of Revenge, near the guardrail of the supporting column of the audience, several girls who came from Valentine to watch the game had to take off the support frame in their tutu skirts to barely squeeze in...
As for Isaac, who was being naggled by the Moon of Vengeance, it wasn't until the second game started and the Snow Elf Lieutenant's attention shifted to the game that he finally escaped from Selena's female power after being tricked by his teacher.
Isaac staggered out of the VIP room, calculated with his fingers and found that his teacher was definitely in the room where the Snow Wolf warriors were squatting, and immediately floated over with a resentful look on his face.
There are more distinguished guests coming to watch the game this year than last year. Fortunately, the VIP area was originally quite large, and a number of VIP room buildings were added during the slack farming season before winter last year. Not only can distinguished guests enter to watch the game, but the participating teams can also be assigned to large rooms with good views.
Before he even entered the room, Isaac heard cheerful laughter coming from the VIP room occupied by the Snow Wolf Clan...
"Ashan, if you want to play in the game, it's not up to us to decide. You have to convince Ayun, hahaha!"
"Ayun, why can't I play?!"
"Stop it, Uncle Ashan. You only played war ball with Ayan and the others occasionally in the tribe. You never practiced seriously..."
"Who said that? Even A-Yan can't defend me!"
"So Ayan doesn't have a chance to participate~"
"I'm awesome!"
"Okay, okay... Hey Uncle Ashan, look at that human player, his face looks so weird!"
"What are you looking at with a helmet on? Ah Yun, don't change the subject!"
Isaac raised his hand and was about to knock on the door: "..."
During the time he was "studying" in the Fire Department, Isaac was not unaware of the teacher's special attitude towards Ashan.
Other members of the Snow Wolf tribe all have short hair which is convenient for doing things. Even Teacher Ayun's hair is never longer than a finger. Only Ashan can have shoulder-length hair that can be tied into a ponytail. Isaac has even seen the teacher helping Ashan with his own eyes.
It is generally acknowledged that Dahe, who is the most favored by Ayun, will be severely scolded by Teacher Ayun if he makes a mistake. However, if it is Ashan who makes a mistake, Teacher Ayun will only advise him with kind words and even cook delicious food herself to appease Ashan, so that Ashan can realize what he did wrong in a good mood and stable emotions.
Isaac had never thought of being jealous of Ashan, but when he was being cheated and exhausted, the teacher actually coaxed Ashan with such gentle words, which made Isaac feel very aggrieved...
Isaac, feeling aggrieved, did not even knock on the door. He pushed it open and searched for his teacher among the Snow Wolf Clan with a resentful look on his face.
Xiao Yun turned around when he heard the noise. He didn't feel like he had let his disciple down at all. He raised his hand and greeted him naturally, "Isaac, are you done? Come and sit over here. I've saved a seat for you."
Isaac's expression paused. Xiao Yun was sitting on the right side of the room, closest to the viewing platform. On his right sat A Shan, and on his left sat the calm and composed Mr. Sean. There was indeed an empty chair diagonally opposite the coffee table.
Isaac, who was full of resentment, suddenly felt a little excited and the corners of his mouth pulled up a little. The teacher asked him to take time to watch the second game together in the morning. The teacher still remembered~!
Isaac, feeling a little excited that "the teacher still values me" and being bribed by an empty chair, couldn't control his joy and walked over and sat down obediently.
Xiao Yun then took a cup of iced milky white drink from the insulated wooden box on the coffee table and handed it to Isaac. After taking the slightly cool cup, Isaac no longer had any resentment... The soy milk powder mixed with hot water and then chilled was exactly what he liked to drink!
Soybeans, which are easier to grow than wheat and have almost no soil requirements, are one of the few crops grown on a large scale in the Fire Tribe, with an even larger planting volume than wheat.
With so many soybeans grown, we naturally have to consider how to use them. In addition to growing bean sprouts, making various types of tofu, pressing oil and raising pigs, the Fire Department has not given up on further development in recent years. Soy milk powder is one of the new products that was "launched" this year.
Hmm...soy milk essence with milk powder added is also OK...
The processing technology of soy milk powder is not difficult with the current technology tree skill points of the Fire Department:
Selected soybeans that have been free of impurities are soaked and ground three times into extremely fine soybean powder. Water is added in a ratio of one to ten, and 10% sodium hydroxide (actually alkaline water) is added to adjust the pH value. The powder is boiled at high temperature to reduce the bean smell. Sodium chloride (actually electrolyzed brine) and sodium sulfite (also made from brine) are added to remove the surface tension of the soy milk. Finally, a certain proportion (about 0.2% to 0.5%) of soybean oil is added.
The next step is to concentrate and add sugar in a vacuum can (ready-made machine), use a pressure spray machine to spray it into powder (this step is a bit similar to aluminum processing), add a certain amount of goat milk powder (some people are not used to cow's milk, so considering the market acceptance, we replaced it with goat milk), adjust the taste, stir evenly and package it in bags (plastic bags), then it can be shipped out for sale~!
Last year, Hongye was so busy building farm machinery in the Hilly New District that the small amount of trial-produced soy milk powder was only enough for internal consumption (the nutritional value of soy milk can replace maternal breastfeeding to a certain extent, allowing mothers to work normally). Isaac only got a small can, which was also damaged by Alex. This year, the Hilly New District has the spare capacity to mass-produce soy milk powder. This stuff is not so scarce anymore, but Isaac still likes it very much~!
Mr. Sean, who saw with his own eyes that Isaac was bribed by a chair and a cup of soy milk, said nothing. He was so calm, as if he was not a witness at all of Xiao Yun shifting the blame to Isaac... If he was shocked by Xiao Yun's outrageous actions every time, he would have no energy to do anything else.
The players from both teams entered the arena and the game officially began. Mr. Sean, ignoring his friend's teasing of his disciple, pointed at the team on the field and said simply and clearly: "That's the team 'sponsored' by the Beast King."
As for the other three people at the table, Ashan was still angry and turned away without paying any attention to them. Xiao Yun, who knew about this in the morning, had no expression on his face. Isaac frowned as he looked at the team composed of orcs.
"Mr. Sean, how do you know this team is related to the Beast King?" Isaac said.
Mr. Sean smiled calmly, with an invisible air of pretentiousness: "Before assisting King Kronin, I traveled around the Orc Empire. I met the captain of this team in the Moon Bear City of the Moon Bear Clan." He casually pointed to the strong Moon Bear on the field with the number "1" painted on its armor. "The appearance of the Orcs is similar to that of outsiders, but there are differences in details. It's been almost fifty years, and this Moon Bear is a little more mature than before, but I'm sure he must have served in the city defense team of Moon Bear City."
After a pause, Mr. Sean smiled and explained, "The Orc Empire is quite wary of foreign magicians. If a spellcaster enters, the ones who come to deal with him must be the city defense team or patrol team."
In the territories and cities of each tribe, the only armed forces are the city defense team or territory patrol team. Smaller or less developed regions cannot afford a full-fledged army, so they only have city defense teams or territory patrol teams. For example... the Golden Plains of the Lion Tribe relies on patrol teams to ensure the safety of the territory and resist foreign enemies.
Isaac's knighthood is right next to Valentine, only twenty kilometers away in a straight line. If anything happens, he can borrow the city defense team from Valentine, thus saving this expense. Although most of the powerful bandit gangs in the Federation live in the lawless areas at the border, it is not uncommon for them to invade a country and loot towns.
Isaac shook his head a little embarrassedly and smiled bitterly, "The human adventurers in Valentine have spontaneously formed many teams, so I thought it was not surprising that the bear adventurers in Valentine formed a war team on their own... But I didn't expect that it would be related to the Far Eastern Orc Empire."
The "Valentine Team" that Isaac and Viscount Pope had worked together to create didn't hire any particularly outstanding players, and wasn't qualified to play exhibition games on the game day. It wasn't that the adventurers in Valentine weren't good enough, but that a large number of the adventurers, who were always rebellious, didn't want to belong to an aristocratic team and have their freedom restricted. (In contrast, the foreign aid club that Isaac had started was full of talent and was doing very well, ahem.)
Anyway, they have money of their own. They can gather a group of like-minded people to pool the money, paint the armor with the same color, and spend a few months practicing. Their combat effectiveness will be no worse than that of the "Valentine Team".
The team competing against the bear team led by the moon bear, who was suspected of being a spy, was a wild team composed of human adventurers. The team name was "Wolf Fang" which was obviously trying to ride on the popularity of the Snow Wolf Clan.
"Why would the Beast King send people to me?" This is the question that Isaac couldn't understand the most.
Mr. Sean smiled and shook his head: "No, I don't think the Beast King is coming for you or your knights."
"Yes." Xiao Yun nodded. "I think the Beast King must have used the opportunity of the War Ball League held by your Knight Territory as a springboard, but he didn't say hello to you, the landlord."
"Huh?" Isaac was a little surprised.
Xiao Yun looked at the silly disciple with a deep look in his eyes: "Think about it carefully, Isaac, what do you think is the most likely purpose of the Beast King's move?"
Isaac knew that the teacher was testing him, so he immediately started thinking.
A few years ago, Isaac was just the leader of a small adventurer team. Limited by his position and life experience, he had a superficial view of things. If he was hit on the head with such a question, the only thought in his mind would be "The Beast King definitely wants to harm me."
Now, Isaac, who has managed the territory for two years, sold the goods from the grassland to all parts of Kroning, and dealt with countless people he had never met before, is naturally not so naive.
The two teams started fighting on the court. Both sides were teams composed of local adventurers. Both teams had made up a lot of reputation in Valentine and the surrounding territories and had many supporters. There were also war ball enthusiasts from other territories who had been defeated by these two teams and came to watch the game. As soon as the two sides clashed, the shouts of encouragement came like a tsunami, which was even more lively than the previous game.
It seemed that one side had made a beautiful attack. Some of the Snow Wolf warriors who were watching the battle in the same room cheered, and the angry Ashan couldn't help but peek at the field.
Mr. Sean watched the game with great interest, only Xiao Yun was still staring at Isaac.
A few minutes later, after Isaac had carefully reviewed the information he knew and tried hard to imitate Teacher Ayun's way of detaching himself from personal emotions and positions and conducting a comprehensive analysis from an objective perspective that overlooked all changes in the situation, his eyes suddenly lit up, he slapped his thigh, and raised his head excitedly.
"I understand, teacher, Mr. Sean. The Beast King's purpose...maybe it's the same as ours!"
Mr. Sean withdrew his gaze, smiled and nodded, and Xiao Yun also smiled.
"When we first came to Valentine together, Isaac was like a pampered young master. But in just three years, your disciple has grown up." Mr. Sean smiled and praised Xiao Yun. This was not to flatter him, but he really felt that the growth potential of a young man of Isaac's age was worthy of praise.
Isaac was quite embarrassed... He could not force himself to recall what happened when he first met his teacher, the Snow Wolf Tribe and Mr. Sean. He was indeed very immature at that time.
Xiao Yun was not polite when employing his disciples, but he would also maintain their dignity and self-confidence. At this time, he would definitely not suppress his disciples' self-confidence and self-esteem in order to show his humility. Instead, he nodded with satisfaction and continued to praise Isaac: "Isaac's tolerant character is what I admire most. If Isaac had any shortcomings before, it was just that his vision was relatively poor. Now that this shortcoming has been made up, Isaac is like Carlisle, and people can rest assured."
Isaac was shy and happy, and couldn't help but giggle. He completely threw the matter of the teacher giving him trouble half an hour ago to his grandma's house...
Ah Shan listened halfway, and when he saw the two of them surrounding Isaac and praising him, he turned his head and looked at them curiously: "Ayun, what are you talking about? What is our purpose? Hey, does the Beast King also want to organize a war ball league?"
Isaac & Mr. Sean: "..."
"…Why would I be jealous of Ashan?" Isaac fell into deep self-doubt.
Xiao Yun didn't think his uncle was stupid at all. Not only did he not ridicule him first and then talk about the matter like he did to others, but he also explained to Ashan very considerately and patiently: "No, Uncle Ashan, we are talking about sea ships, large sea ships that can cross the open sea. Those of us who have the conditions to build ports are eyeing Kronin's sea ship technology. How could the Beast King, who is in the Far East and closest to the neighboring Bradrick Continent, not be tempted?"
After Ah Shan understood for a while, Xiao Yun smiled again: "We have Isaac to help us, but the Beast King doesn't have any human who is trusted by him as much as we trust Isaac, so the methods we can use cannot be used by the Beast King."
"The war ball that our Snow Wolf tribe spreads can make ignorant civilians in rural towns accept the image of the Orcs, and even chase after players who are good at war balls. This is really convenient for the Beast King whose subordinates are all Orcs~!"
"So, he plans to take advantage of our momentum and create a war ball star... You know, war balls have only become popular since last year. Although we have made great efforts to promote it, it is only popular in the Kingdom of Kronin for now, and other countries in the Federation have not been affected yet. In this case, the Beast King across the sea knows that war balls are popular here. To say that he has never paid attention to the Kingdom of Kronin is just kidding~!"
Isaac listened to Xiao Yun's careful and patient analysis of Ashan: "..."
I'm still a little jealous...
