Alandia led the girls to book a room in the hotel. They could only choose the highest-end one because the middle- and low-end hotels were already full.
"There have been so many people from out of town in the past few days," the guy at the front desk told them, "I can guess with my butt that there is something going on in the casino. If you want to bet, find a channel quickly, otherwise you won't even be able to get bad tickets from the lowest level in a while."
After entering the room, Shigurei took a shower first. While blowing her hair, she asked, "Where is the casino?"
"It's another name for the Cold Steel Colosseum. The locals call it a casino." Qiluo was lying on the bed and tapping on her laptop. "I searched and found that the casino recently released information in the circle, saying it was a championship challenge. It’s been a long time coming. Anyone who wins nine games in a row in the most advanced ‘Unlimited Arena’ can challenge for the championship, so all the warriors and madmen from all over the world are rushing to Burning Steel City these days.”
"What's so fun about muscular men fighting..." Rei Shigure curled his lips, "Do we have tickets?"
"You're not interested in asking for tickets?"
"The little girl is so excited that she can join the cheerleading team. If she is killed by the champion, I can still make a profit."
"Wow, wow, wow, you are so arrogant, I'm really looking forward to your cheerleading uniform." Qiluo raised her toes happily, "Don't worry if you are in the audience, there are specially reserved VIP boxes in the casino. What is really worth worrying about is the time issue. , this competition format is very tight.”
Rei Shigure dried her hair and studied the competition system with her: "Seven of the nine games were settled in the first three days, the eighth game on the fourth day, the finals on the fifth day, and the final day against the champion... One day off in between Don’t have time? The contestants will be exhausted before the winner is determined, right?”
"This is a reasonable competition arrangement. Only when the mind and body are pressed to the limit can they perform moves that surpass themselves. A night's rest is more than enough." Alandia said, "Miss Qiluo, I have something I want to ask you for help with a personal matter."
"Your turn is so abrupt, Arlandia."
Qiluo closed the notebook and turned around to see the Dawn Knight flipping through the electronic version of the kingdom's newspaper. Second page of the Superbia Times, "The extreme climate in the Northern Continent has a severe impact, and the Queen's visit to the United States is deadlocked."
Qiluo subconsciously felt something bad: "Well, um, what help do you need from me...?"
"I think that in the near future, Her Majesty Queen Gray of the Morton Kingdom will initiate contact with me." Alandia said, "I want to try to guide her thinking, but I am not good at micro-expression changes. When Her Majesty the Queen talks Please help me pretend to look guilty when I talk about my father's past. Just for a moment."
Qiluo opened her mouth wide, dumbfounded, thinking, is this something I can hear?
·
On the other side of the earth, the royal capital, Superbia, is the royal palace.
Albion Gray Morton was in a particularly bad mood.
She had just finished a meeting with senior officials from Cangdu, Lingdao and the empire. The emperor's attitude was as unpredictable as usual. Honorwell was seriously thinking about the measures Gaius would take. The old ninjas on Zero Island thought that this move was intended to delay time... Everyone believed that reconciliation was absolutely impossible for Gaius. There are intentions, but Gray sees things differently.
Gaius really has a bargaining chip for reconciliation. He can completely sell out his former ally in exchange for a temporary compromise from the sword holder!
Gongsun Ce is fundamentally a desperate lunatic. He is still traveling leisurely so far because this action is more out of obligation than hatred. But if it really involves the old affairs of the royal capital, Gongsun Ce may turn around and go straight to the kingdom to attack and kill him. At that time, the kingdom's arrangement naturally collapsed, the possible existence of the Dawn Knight was ruined, and Gaius's theory could not be verified. This is basically a situation where all three parties lose. Seeing this, Wuxiang Shen is afraid that he will laugh until his stomach hurts behind the scenes!
"The Formless God..."
Did Gaius want to take this opportunity to destroy the script of the formless god? Gray looked at the newspaper aside and fell into deep thought.
No, Situ Yi's game is not that easy to mess up. The timing of the peace talks was terrible, as it happened just before the official completion of the cross-sea road. This is more likely a warning to her for her delay in taking a stand.
A few days ago, Loningles raised strong objections to the visit, so she just went along with the situation and postponed it temporarily until the situation stabilized before going to Hezhong. It now seemed that Gaius was worried that she would enjoy her success in the kingdom so he would take the opportunity to threaten her, but the man did not understand her worries.
The Seventh Knight has not returned to the capital for a long time. What preparations has she made in the capital of the sky?
The current situation in Superbia is like two cowards playing chess. It is still unclear whether the Dawn Knight's suspicions have been confirmed. The attitude of the Soul Resurrection Mage is ambiguous and difficult to predict. She is the most powerful on the surface but cannot take the initiative. Attack. She also needs the power of the Realm Envoys to strengthen the kingdom, and they also need the kingdom to have a queen... The sudden attack and killing of Roninlustu in the kingdom is a quick move, but it is a bad move that will cut off the future, but it is equally dangerous to stand still... We must use this opportunity to gain the power of complete peace of mind, but then we need to go to United and give up the impregnable home court of the royal capital...
Gray calmed down and allowed the suspicion to grow in her heart, allowing doubts and strategies to surround herself. Not long after, she made the decision to test the Dawn Knight's intentions again, and the most suitable person would be her vanguard.
"Your Majesty, the Resurrection Mage wishes to see you." The old manager of the Royal Secret Service walked in silently and saluted her. A smile appeared on Gray's face: "Please ask the teacher to come in."
The resurgent mage arrived before anyone else arrived, and the old man's loud voice echoed in front of the throne. "Your Majesty, we must not consider peace talks!" Luoninglus was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. "He is obviously stalling for time. Even if an agreement is reached through his rhetoric, that person will only stab him in the back!"
"I was planning to discuss it with you." Gray nodded solemnly, "I think we might as well turn to the wisdom of the Dawn Knight. She should have her own opinions at the scene."
"Heraison only knows how to solve crimes and arrest people. She knows nothing about politics." Loninlus said angrily. "Her opinion is of no value at this time. What if that bastard Gaius takes the so-called 'great righteousness' and 'the future' as the righteousness?" Flag, Hellaison will really consider it seriously!”
So I want you to spy on her thoughts for me, Gray thought.
She spoke words to appease the irritable old mage, and initiated contact with the weapon of mind. Not long after, the face of the Dawn Knight appeared in the crystal ball, as calm and calm as before.
"Good afternoon, Your Majesty."
"Good evening, dear knight, it's already dark over there." Gray smiled, "You know what I'm going to ask, what do you think?"
"I think this is a good opportunity." The Knight of Dawn replied solemnly, saying that he couldn't fault it when talking about taking the opportunity to spy on intelligence. Gray echoed the words while waiting for Roninlus' violent temper to explode.
"Hlaison, you must remember, never consider compromise!" As expected, the old mage started shouting before he could say a few words. "The man will definitely use coping with future crises as a shield, and be especially careful not to be kidnapped by morality."
"But, Your Excellency, if Gaius Optimis really has a plan to deal with the crisis..."
"Does that erase his past mistakes?!" Roninlus roared, "He made Her Majesty Anne lose her lover, and made the former children lose their father. He assassinated his brother just for the sake of his family head. position! He personally destroyed the bridge of peace between the two countries, and now he wants to start over again? Nothing in this world is so easy!"
Gray remained calm on her face, secretly focusing her attention to the extreme. She noticed a look of guilt flashing through the Dawn Knight's usually calm eyes.
"Teacher, please calm down." Gray soothed, "I... I'm sorry, good knight, don't think so much. Just do your job well. If you can really find opportunities there, do it for the benefit of the majority of people. Make a decision."
Loninlus said angrily: "But Your Majesty——"
"Put the interests of the kingdom and the overall situation first." Gray emphasized.
The short discussion ended quickly, and Gray sent Roninlus away. She knew that the old mage's reaction was true, because after the news came, all the kingdom's top officials were discussing together. Even if the Dawn Knight really had a secret plan with him, there was no time to discuss an expedient plan. But the reaction of the Dawn Knight is worth thinking about. The woman who never lies feels very guilty.
What is she feeling guilty about? She should be angry and can watch without feeling guilty...unless she really intends to try to make peace with Gaius...
After thinking about it, Gray made a decision and called out her loyal spy chief.
"Secret, what do you think?"
The old man bowed and said: "Burning Steel City will hold the Cold Steel Colosseum challenge recently. It is a time when there are many people and mixed eyes."
"Take this opportunity to let the spies do one last test, avoid direct contact with the Dawn Knight, and choose the target as her follower or companion." Gray said coldly, "Let me see what big plan she has made... …”
·
In Burning Steel City, the Dawn Knight turned off his mental weapons and nodded with satisfaction.
"Thank you, Miss Qiluo. You have helped me a lot."
Qiluo hugged the pillow on the bed and did not let go. In just a few minutes, she had almost finished playing the entire 52-episode TV series "The Storm in the Capital" in her mind. God, what kind of help is this? At a small scale, this is a matter of intrigue within the kingdom; at a larger scale, it is the crime of deceiving the emperor, which in ancient times was punishable by beheading! Anyone who can participate in this level of calculation must start out as a cabinet minister, right? How can she be a folk singer? !
"Are I, I, I worthy?" Qiluo stuttered, "I, I, I, let's discuss it with Gongsun Ce..."
"Please don't mention this to Ce, it will interfere with his practice." Alandia said, "I will explain the truth to him at the appropriate time."
Rei Shigure picked up the newspaper and glanced at it a few times before nodding with a sneer: "Okay, we foreigners won't pry into your internal affairs at Morton. But there is something I'm curious about-"
"Your Majesty Grey's father, the late Anne's husband, was named Aurelian Optimis. He was the elder brother of Gaius and the second head of the family that was once appointed by the Optimis family." Alandia said, "Fifteen years ago, Aurelian Optimis was unfortunately killed in an accident when he returned to United to participate in the inheritance ceremony of the family head. After that, Gaius became the new head of the family."
Qiluo was stunned: "I thought the political struggle would be more civilized..."
"Don't be stupid, there are no civilized politicians in this world. Shigure Genya inherited Amamura Pharmaceutical by killing all his family members." Rei Shigure curled his lips, "He died accidentally, so why didn't he commit suicide?"
"That was an old case 15 years ago. We don't have any evidence." Alandia shook her head, "Let's focus on the present."
Shigurei observed her reaction and was a little confused: "I mean Dawn Knight, you are always so jealous of evil, why don't you get angry when this matter is brought up."
"Fifteen years ago, I was still living in the East District of the Royal Capital and had no real understanding of major political events." Airandia said, "I have only seen Mr. Aurelian's face on TV and in newspapers. I don't recognize him. I am even less familiar with him, so there is little sadness in my heart."
"That's reasonable." Shigure Zero nodded. She picked up her mobile phone and dialed, "Hello? It's already midnight. When are you going to come back?"
·
"In another hour or so!" Gongsun Ce shouted, "I just arrived!"
boom! boom! boom! There was a roar like a gunpowder explosion, and the man who installed the explosive prosthetic bombarded the arena wildly. His opponent was a modified birdman with biochemical wings, cutting out scars one after another with his sharp claws. The pale green poisonous feathers were floating in the sky above the crowd. Gongsun Ce carefully avoided them. A little further away, an unlucky guy was poisoned by the feathers and his skin was injured.
"Follow me!" Ed shouted, "Don't get separated!"
This is the lowest level of the casino, a mixed-race spectator stand. The chaotic lights were spinning like crazy, and crazy people were swaying wine and potions. Ed led Gongsun Ce and Qin Qianbai through the crowd, and Gongsun Ce had to cover his nose to avoid being fainted by the smell of sweat.
"Didn't I qualify for admission?" Qin Qianbai asked.
"That doesn't mean you can play directly. The operator of the casino will let you do a test, and you will be considered successful after beating an opponent at random." Ed said, "Here we are, here we are."
In the middle of lounges 1 and 2 on the bottom floor, there is a ticket hall-like counter. The staff member is a muscular male lady, wearing a bright purple dress, holding a cigarette with an ecstatic gesture, giving her a spicy look from the 1990s. He didn't forget to wink when he spoke: "Which little cutie wants to enter?"
"Me." Qin Qianbai handed him a small silver dagger.
"Wow, there is no limit to the arena. It's true that the real person cannot be judged by his appearance." The male eldest sister put out the cigarette and looked at Gongsun Ce, "Who is this?"
"My boyfriend."
The male eldest sister chuckled: "Your boyfriend is so handsome. But I am asking you whether he is your coach, partner or cheerleader."
Ed whistled from the side, and the eldest lady's face turned a little red. Gongsun Ce asked: "What's the difference?"
"Partners can go on the field together to hit or receive beatings. The coach can cheat and deal with the opponent's extra-game moves off the field. The cheerleaders can be a group of friends and family and watch the game obediently."
"Then I'll be the coach."
"Hold it~" The male eldest sister threw out two chips, one gold and one silver. He glanced at the electronic score sheet behind him: "Girl, please go to the rest room No. 4 alone. Your test will be in three games. The coach is not allowed to help this time."
Qin Qianbai nodded: "Thank you, sir."
"It's so annoying, I have to call you 'Miss'~!"
The male eldest sister smiled and waved at her. Qin Qianbai couldn't resist this foreign culture combo and ran away first. Gongsun Ce snickered from behind.
"I'll leave now if I still have something to do, Mr. Demon?" Ed waved his hand, "Anyway, that little test won't trouble you."
"Thanks for the guidance, doctor. This place doesn't seem to suit your temperament."
"I came here to help my friends and make money by selling equipment." Ed shrugged. "To be honest, the casino is much easier to get into than Cangdu. After I came out, I realized how terrible the life I was accustomed to before was."
Ed disappeared into the crowd, and Gongsun Ce decisively decided to find a quieter place to watch the battle. He used his coaching chips as a pass to go to the second-floor auditorium, and there was no empty seat. The 3rd floor, the 4th floor... On the 5th floor, where the view was not good, he finally found a seat and sat down with popcorn and Coke.
To the right of Gongsun Ce's seat was a blond man wearing sunglasses, holding a bag of potato chips and eating them. The Feathered Man and the Explosive Man were still fighting in the ring. The Feathered Man relied on his flexible body skills to toy with his opponent. The corrosion of the venom caused half of the Bomb Man's prosthetic body to be scrapped. "He will win in half a minute." The old man in the back seat said firmly. "No need, the prosthetic body will be useless after three dives!" The woman wearing heavy makeup on the other side judged. The gamblers were busy discussing how many tricks would determine the outcome.
"Next move," the blond man said vaguely, "Bomb wins."
He was quiet and spoke slowly, and no one cared. Everyone continued the heated discussion. The feathered man shouted excitedly, spread his wings and flew to the top, making a final attack on the scarred opponent. But at this time, Bomb Man hit the sand and gravel under his feet with the damaged prosthetic body, and the prosthetic body exploded. Smoke and dust rushed up, and the bomb man took the opportunity to circle back and throw bombs. hit. There was green blood in the smoke from the explosion. The feathered man landed, fought, bit, screamed, and won.
"Big upset! Furious Tom took advantage of the situation to turn defeat into victory!" The robot referee made an inorganic voice encouraging the audience. The audience who bet on the Featherman in the back were disappointed and cursed, and more people applauded because of the upset. Gongsun Ce became interested: "Can you see this?"
The blond man said nothing, and Gongsun Ce handed over the popcorn bucket. He grabbed a handful of popcorn and said slowly: "Deliberately, break the prosthetic body."
"Ah... he bet that his prosthetic body will break and then he bet that he will win?"
The blond man raised his lips: "...smart."
The next game was between the middle-aged men from the empire and the heavily armored warriors from the kingdom. The exchange of spears and giant swords attracted continuous applause from the audience. Gongsun Ce looked at it for a while and judged: "The warrior will win within 40 seconds."
"Five moves." The blond man said slowly.
"So accurate?"
At 35 seconds, in the fifth move, the heavy-armed warrior destroyed the spear with a vertical slash and swept the middle-aged spearman out of the ring in one breath. The blond man shook his sunglasses proudly, and Gongsun Ce gave a thumbs up: "Good eyesight."
"You hit a lot, but your skills are poor." The blond man handed over the potato chips, "You can't see clearly with your eyes alone."
Gongsun Ce thanked him and grabbed a few potato chips: "It would be a pity to be treated as an audience with your skills."
The blond man was quite disappointed: "I didn't buy the admission qualification..."
Gongsun Ce couldn't help laughing, thinking that this was really an interesting guy.
The next one was a test match to challenge the unlimited arena, and the atmosphere in the casino suddenly changed. The people at the bottom dispersed to the surroundings like waves of ebbing tide. Players dressed in various costumes walked through the crowd to the edge of the ring, waiting at the closest distance for the battle to begin.
"They are all official players." The blond man explained, "Gathering information."
"Who among them is the most powerful?"
The blond man's eyes wandered for a while, and he pointed with his hand. "A few are not here." He pointed to a dark-skinned man with a hood, "Zarul, with the impermanence method, it's okay." The next one was a short-haired woman carrying two swords. "Beretta, very powerful." Finally, he pointed at Gongsun Ce. "You are the best."
Gongsun Ce pushed up his glasses: "I'm not going to play, don't take me with you."
The man smiled and his eyes lit up: "The awesome one is coming."
Gongsun Ce looked around and saw the door to the lounge No. 4 opened, and a black-haired girl walked out with bare hands. There were endless boos from the audience. Qin Qianbai stood on the stage without saying a word. A large roulette-like turntable descended from a high altitude, and the host dressed funny stood out enthusiastically.
"The last game of the day! For the newcomer test in the unlimited arena, please randomly choose your opponent!"
The colorful turntable rotates rapidly, with various dangerous options swirling around, such as "Manifestation Envoy", "Psychic Envoy X3", "Biochemical Beast", "Elite Hao Transformer"...
Qin Qianbai was about to reach out to stop the turntable, but suddenly took his hand back. The crisp sound of broken glass sounded at the top of the casino, and a huge black shadow descended amidst the surprised shouts of the gamblers, followed by debris falling to the center of the venue!
"Sha——!"
The uninvited guest split the turntable in two with a claw and let out a provocative growl. The cut surface of the big turntable was as smooth as it was born, and half of the fragment hit the host's head, making the poor man shrink. A bone-deep chill hit his face from around the giant creature. His human instinct made him want to scream and run away immediately, but the sense of responsibility he developed while working in a casino made the host reluctantly stand still, muster up a smile that was uglier than crying, and hold up the microphone. .
"Holy Saint, what did we see?! The master of the arena was very excited tonight, and he chose this warrior as his opponent!" The host was almost incoherent, "The rules have been changed! There is no drawing of lots! In the Battle of Cold Steel If Master Beast’s men survive for three minutes, you will be the hero of the casino tonight!”
"Cold Steel War Beast!" "Lord War Beast!!" "Our Lord of Struggle!!" No one paid attention to the host's speech. All the gamblers stood up and cheered excitedly. Holographic projections all over the casino show the mighty appearance of this giant beast from all angles. It steps on the ground with two thick iron legs, its long tail is covered with needle-like bone spurs, and its sharp claws are like two death grips. sickle. The cold, metallic body had no weaknesses, the shark-like head had a cross-shaped notch in the middle, and the orange eyes were full of fighting intent.
"sha..."
The cold steel war beast is over 6 meters tall. Qin Qianbai, who is 1.7 meters tall, is as small as a doll in front of it, but there is no trace of contempt in the eyes of the giant beast. It turned its body slightly, stepped forward with its right foot, and guarded its front and back with its sickle-like claws. It actually put on a "presence", like a human warrior's posture!
Qin Qianbai raised his head and looked in the direction of the broken glass. Behind the smashed gap was a masked man in black standing holding a wine bottle. He half-lifted his mask and took a sip of wine, laughing without caring about the surrounding reactions.
"New challenger? If you can't beat the stupid dragon, just get out of here!"
"A sensationalist man."
Qin Qianbai withdrew his gaze, put one hand behind his back and stretched the other hand forward, making a gesture of invitation.
"Qin Family of the Imperial Capital, Qin Qianbai. Please come."
"Sha!"
There is no need for the referee to declare, the death match has begun. The cold steel war beast took the lead in attacking, slashing horizontally with its right claw to attack the enemy's lower body, and slashing vertically with its left claw to avoid gaps. The coordinated attack of both claws is the "cross mark" in the spear fighting skills taught by the Catholic Church. Qin Qianbai did not dodge or evade, and stepped forward with his left lunge like an antelope flying across the sky, stepping on the middle part of the war beast's right paw. Qin Qianbai's body rose up using the force, and his right palm turned into a sword to cut and strike. The steel claws of the six-meter war beast clashed squarely with the girl's fleshy palms, and they were evenly matched!
A bitter, hellish coldness emanated from the center of the ring, and the casino's emergency heating was immediately turned on at full capacity. The audience members at the bottom were almost killed by the aftermath, but they kept shouting and cheering, and the cheers were so loud that they almost overturned this underground fallen paradise. The blond man on the fifth floor grabbed a large handful of popcorn and said excitedly, "I've seen some."
Gongsun Ce narrowed his eyes, but he was not as excited as him, because he saw the familiar handwriting of the saint on the body of the cold steel war beast.
The aura of this giant beast can be compared to that of Beep. It is undoubtedly the totem of the Cold Steel State, a powerful totem that can be compared with the foundation of the Siyuan family!
