The main competition day of the Pillow Sword Club has finally arrived.
The entire city of Salyuhi was packed with people. From Phoenix Street to the competition venue outside the city, the crowd of spectators stretched all the way. In addition, there are many attractions to watch in this competition, including the mysterious Princess Onian and Prince Resa's pair of terrifyingly powerful children. Along the way, everyone was enthusiastically discussing the final winner of the championship.
Here in the annular venue, many people have gathered around the dozen or so entrances leading to the upper level. Fortunately, there are so many entrances, otherwise the entire venue would have been completely surrounded. A lot of people had already gathered around the entrance of the nobles in the south. Those who came first were all impatient and eager to watch the fun. Many high-ranking Guizhou officials would just come out of the mansion in carriages.
After all, it officially opened at nine o'clock, and then the Said Committee made a speech to explain the rules, and then the king spoke. This first game won't start until ten o'clock, I'm afraid.
Laiwu and Alvin directly rented a spacious tent to sleep in the market. These people were used to being lazy, so they were happy to get up early so they could sleep a little longer. In addition, after looking at the match list that day, the games between Lai Wu and Irwin were scheduled for the afternoon, and they were even more reluctant to get up early.
Last night, Alvin set up a quiet barrier for the tent where several people lived, and now the noise outside could not come in at all. Alvin didn't sleep very well last night. He woke up before dawn. He was bored and flipping through the "Laws of Space and Time" on his bed. He was so hungry that he kept complaining. However, it was dark at that time. Oh my God, there was breakfast available. Yes, Alvin stuck his head out of the tent and felt the cold air rushing from his nose to his brain. He covered his forehead and quickly retreated into the warm tent.
Lai Wu was in a good mood and slept soundly. As for Chenzhu and Kaiba, they originally came back very late after drinking. They snored one after another when they lay on the bed, and Alvin couldn't fall asleep until very late.
Now there was a lot of people outside, Alvin thought to himself, and poked his head out to take a look. Sure enough, the whole market was bustling and lively. Alvin looked back and saw that the three of them were still asleep. He sighed and decided to go out to eat by himself. The smell of barbecue in the dining car not far away had successfully attracted Alvin the moment he opened the tent.
Alvin watched the hanging leg of lamb spinning on the grill. The seven slanted nozzles under the grill spit out flames of various colors at intervals. It looked like a rainbow-colored leg of lamb. The stall owner was still busy rolling cakes for other customers, and his cat slaves were well-trained in spreading cumin, pepper, and cinnamon leaves on the leg of lamb, and occasionally coating it with a layer of orange honey.
Alvin swallowed involuntarily and stood in line behind the line outside the dining car.
Just then, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Alvin was staring at the leg of lamb with longing eyes and turned around impatiently.
"It's me!" A young man said excitedly, it was Xia Ye who was beaten a few days ago and had a bruised nose and face.
"Oh, it's you. Are you feeling well?" Alvin smiled.
"No problem at all." Xia Ye said confidently, patting his chest, "By the way, you didn't tell me what your name was last time?"
"Alvin, Alvin Felie." Alvin was a little unaccustomed to self-introducing his family name.
"Fei Lie? Earl Fei Lie? Are you Earl Fei Lie's son?" Xia Ye suddenly asked with wide eyes.
Alvin nodded, looking at the other person's expression and secretly wondering, wondering if his father was still so famous? He only shows up a few times a year.
"Your Highness Alvin." Xia Ye suddenly clasped his fists and saluted with a serious look on his face.
Alvin looked confused, "What are you doing?"
"My father was once the leader of the Count's Biao Lie Regiment, and followed the Count in dozens of battles..." Xia Ye said with some excitement.
Alvin had only heard from Laiwu and the others that his father was quite famous in the military. He didn't expect to meet the son of his old army today.
"Yeah." Alvin nodded. He didn't know what attitude to take for a moment. It was mainly because he was too hungry or the smell of the roasted lamb leg was too tempting. He couldn't help but ask, "Have you had breakfast?" Are you ready? Do you want to eat something together?"
Alvin felt funny in his heart. Every time he met this Xia Ye, the first thing he said was, have you had breakfast?
Xia Ye originally wanted to say passionate words when he met the Fei Lie family, but was blocked by Alvin's "Have you had breakfast?" I still think the person in front of me is very interesting.
The people in front of the queue had finished their purchases, but it was finally Alvin's turn, but Xia Ye was ahead of him. "Oh, how can I let you come every time, Your Highness? I will do it this time, I will do it this time..."
He paid the money first without waiting for Alvin to say anything.
The stall owner showed off his skillful knife skills and neatly sliced off some meat from the outside of the rotating lamb leg. He didn't even waste the roasted meat juice and rolled it directly into the naan bread. The two mutton naan pancakes were wrapped and handed over to Xia Ye and Alvin in a short while.
Alvin took a strong sniff of the mutton naan pancake that he had been waiting for for a long time, and then took a big bite, thinking that he had indeed not missed it. The lamb leg meat was roasted and crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and served with spices and honey. , couldn’t be more delicious. Xia Ye, who was beside him, also tutted in praise.
"What time is your game today?" Alvin took a few bites and felt less dizzy.
"It's past ten o'clock. Where are you, Your Highness?" Xia Ye also swallowed heavily.
"It seems to be around two o'clock in the afternoon." Alvin thought about the match list that day, "Don't call me your highness, I can't bear it."
When he yelled like this, others thought that his title was high, Alvin thought to himself.
"I have to have it, I have to have it," Xia Ye said sternly, "My father told me before he died that he had received a lot of favors from the Earl in his life, but he never had the chance to repay him. He said that if there is a chance in the future, he must repay the kindness he gave me back then. . Besides, if you hadn’t enlightened me last time, I might have gone to that person again to make trouble. In any case, these kindnesses must be repaid.”
Alvin looked at his determined expression, thought for a moment and then said: "But what do you want to repay me for? I don't need any help?"
"Your Highness, the present is the present, and the future is the future. How can we say what will happen in the future? Don't worry, Your Highness, you will always be able to use me in the future." Xia Ye finished the meal first and said with a smile.
Alvin nodded helplessly after hearing this. I thought to myself, this man is a man who values friendship.
After breakfast, Alvin originally planned to go back to the tent and lie down, but Xia Ye dragged him to watch the opening ceremony of the Pillow Sword Club. Besides, Xia Ye's own competition was about to start soon, and he had to go to the player area to register for a physical examination. Alvin was pulled together by him to the contestant area to the east. The guard at the door checked their iris sword badges and let them go.
There were already about ten players waiting in the tent hall where the players were waiting. These should be the first batch of players to compete. Alvin glanced at the wall clock in the tent and saw that the time was almost nine o'clock.
Alvin and Xia Ye walked straight into the passage, which had two forked roads. A slope goes up, leading to the contestants' stands in the ring. The remaining one is for players to go directly to the competition venue. There are several competition committee staff guarding the door. Players who pass the physical examination can receive their registered equipment here and then participate in the competition. Competitors who finish the race must return their equipment here.
The two of them came up from the slope and leaned against the hanging lamp at the angle between the bronze pole and the wooden pole. Alvin carefully looked at the construction model of the mixed wood and bronze in the passage, sighing that this method can bear the load and save materials. , marveled.
In the passage, you can already hear the noisy and noisy sound of tens of thousands of people in the venue. It was only when you walked out of the passage and saw the dazzling skylight and the roar of people that you could fully feel the atmosphere of the Pillow Sword Club. The large area is only divided into three rings: upper, middle and lower, but each ring has five or six floors. From top to bottom, there are nearly twenty floors. Looking around, there are so many people, surrounded by mountains and seas, that I can't help but sigh. Watching this unprecedented scene of carnival.
Alvin walked out of the tunnel and entered the contestants' stand, where he saw a white-haired figure leaning against the railing. The sudden cold wind blew up the cascading snowflakes, just like rolling up the Milky Way's colorful and freehand wind. Looking at her beautiful neck and fragrant shoulders, Alvin lost his mind for a moment.
Perhaps sensing the gaze behind her, the woman turned around. I saw her golden eyes like the vast ocean, and her gentle smile as if she was coming back from spring. Last time, Alvin was surprised by the princess's grace. When we met again today, he was so stunned that he couldn't speak. He stood there, unable to advance or retreat, as dumb as a chicken. There's something a bit "battle-hardened" about it.
On the other hand, Xia Ye who was nearby was startled by Alvin's boldness and rudeness. He tugged on Alvin's sleeve and signaled him to quickly salute the princess. A few days ago, he had breakfast and saw him joking with the prince's daughter. Now when he saw the princess, he showed no aristocratic etiquette. Xia Ye was sweating, but he still admired Alvin's courage in his heart. The other contestants who came to watch the opening ceremony deliberately kept a distance from the princess. After all, they all had awe and scruples about the royal members, so Alvin walked up casually.
"Um... My Excellency Alvin, I have met... I have met Her Royal Highness the Princess." Alvin only remembered to salute when Xia Ye reminded him. He blushed and stuttered nervously.
Seeing his stupid look, Princess Onian couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle. She was used to seeing those sanctimonious gentlemen, but she rarely saw someone as "reserved and shy" as Alvin.
Xia Ye admired Alvin even more. The uneasiness and youthfulness on his face were so lifelike that others thought he was a young man who was inexperienced in the world. If I hadn't seen him making "Lan Yu Reza" very happy two days ago, it would be difficult to connect him with the man in front of me who stuttered even when talking to the princess.
Alvin was still cursing in his mind. The appearance of this man who brought disaster to the country and the people was breathtakingly beautiful. Even though he was "experienced in hundreds of battles", he still acted like a young man who had just started to fall in love.
"Alvin, from Earl Philip's family?" Onian asked with a smile.
Alvin nodded with his eyes widened, wondering how the other party knew about him.
Seeing him nodding, Onian's eyes suddenly lit up and she became interested.
"I heard people say that you almost lost your life for teasing a girl from Prince Reza's family?" Onian joked.
Alvin's first reaction was very surprised. He almost choked on his own saliva. He didn't expect the princess to talk about this when she came up. He quickly explained awkwardly: "Misunderstandings are all misunderstandings. Your Highness, this is a typical misunderstanding." Make bad friends, get beaten out of nowhere, and misfortunes will happen, it’s terrible to see.”
Onian smiled and seemed not to care about Alvin's explanation. In her heart, she felt that this man was funny. Just now he was still making love, but now he was talking eloquently.
Alvin smiled bitterly, thinking that no matter how hard he explained, it would be useless.
"Are you here to see the opening ceremony too?" Onian asked with a smile.
"Reporting to your highness, I was dragged here by this little brother next to me. It's still early for my game." Alvin said helplessly.
The princess always smiled politely, nodded, and turned back without asking any further questions.
Alvin looked at the beautiful figure with a sense of independence and pride, and a tender feeling of compassion. He seemed not to see the noisy tens of thousands of people in his eyes, as if he was standing on a distant mountain. In the cold pavilion, I looked at a beautiful lady in a white fur coat and a silver coat, with a broad heart, overlooking the snow on thousands of mountains, feeling the desolation of the eternity.
While Alvin was still reminiscing about the conversation with the princess, Xia Ye pulled his sleeve again and motioned for him to look at the stands opposite with a strange expression.
Alvin followed his line of sight, looking across the entire circular stadium, and saw a familiar figure in the stands opposite, wearing a bright red dress and a signature wool cape. If it wasn’t Lan Marriage, who else could it be? Alvin could feel the other party glancing at him intentionally or unintentionally from hundreds of meters away, with a half-smile in his eyes that made him break into a cold sweat. Alvin thought that if he wasn't so far away, his flesh would probably be abused by her again.
In the contestant stand to the east was Princess Onian, and to the west was the daughter of Prince Reza. On the top stand, many spectators were discussing their indistinguishable looks and figures.
"Did you see it? Let me tell you, the daughter of the prince's family is also very good-looking, not inferior to the princess, right?"
"I think the princess is still more beautiful. The most beautiful woman in Salyuhi should be Princess Onian..."
"I have heard that if these two people don't deal with each other, if they meet, they will be turned upside down?"
"That's not the case. It is said that these two are the leaders of the younger generation of magicians. In addition, both of them look like immortals descended from heaven. No one is convinced by the other. There must be a high score... "
"When you come to the Pillow Sword Club, you will naturally have to decide who is the winner, so how do you decide which one is prettier? I noticed that the daughter of the prince's family seems to have bigger breasts..."
This remark caused a burst of laughter.
"You can really worry about which one is prettiest and which one is second. What does it have to do with you? You can't get married anyway. Are you really afraid of breaking your heart?"
Finally some women couldn't stand it anymore.
The nobles and high-ranking officials sitting in the middle and lower floors naturally couldn't comment on which girl was prettier in such an explicit way. They just whispered to the people around them, accompanied by one or two low laughs from time to time.
At this moment, the first salute sounded, the venue of tens of thousands of people was shocked, and the pillow sword meeting finally began. Amidst the salute, King Kelman was alone in front, followed by Master Piro, followed by a group of royal members, slowly entering from the north gate. Tens of thousands of people in the venue stood up and saluted. Seeing the king naturally made everyone very excited, and they cheered loudly to welcome the holy king.
"Long live the king! Long live the Yafei Empire!" Waves of mountain roars and tsunamis echoed in the venue.
After the nine cannons were fired, King Kelman walked to his gold-encrusted throne. He waved to the audience, and the venue of tens of thousands of people became slightly quieter. Master Piro is old and is used to seeing big scenes, but when he saw this grand pillow sword meeting again, this venue was full of seats, he couldn't help but recall the past, and he was filled with emotion. He glanced at the peerless apprentice in the stands from a distance and expressed comfort.
Prime Minister Fuller led dozens of black-clad deacons from the Pillow Sword Society and filed in from the east and west entrances. Dozens of deacons faced the audience and stood in a circle around the center of the venue. Fuller stood in the center of the circle. He took out his staff with an expressionless face and swung it in the air. A green light circle spread towards the top of the venue and expanded to the outermost part of the venue. It froze, and the color on the aperture became so pale that it was almost invisible. The entire silence barrier was released, and the venue that was so noisy just now fell silent.
Fuller cleared his throat and began to briefly explain all the rules of this pillow sword meeting, including the judgment of winning or losing, how to determine whether a player committed a foul, etc.
Even so, it took a lot of time to write down the dozens of rules. The only emotionless voice of the prime minister could be heard in the entire barrier, which really made people feel sleepy. Then the king spoke, and the prime minister led everyone out.
King Kelman was very cheerful. He took out a Qingfeng from his sleeve, waved it gracefully, and shouted passionately: "I announce that the 29th Pillow Sword Club - officially begins." Qingfeng's Sword Qi It actually slashed directly from the royal stand, directly breaking the prime minister's silence barrier. The sword energy then flew out, directly triggering the mechanism at the top of the ring venue. Colorful fireworks shot out around the venue, in the hollow The top of the center of the circular venue exploded. After a dazzling moment, when I looked closely, I saw an iris sword medal that was glowing purple. Looking at the huge magic sword medal, the entire venue first stagnated, and then exploded in an instant. There were applause, screams, and cheers.
The long purple sword on the sword medal stood in the air. The upward sword tip suddenly rotated clockwise. The whole sword rotated 180 degrees. The sword tip pointed directly at the center of the field, and then fell rapidly. "Ugh" the whole audience said. The audience couldn't help but let out bursts of exclamations. They saw the entire sword penetrate the sword seal. When the sword tip touched the center of the arena, a "boom" sound broke out. The playing field in the center of the arena slowly rose, and the audience was ignited again. , and there were bursts of cheers and applause.
The competition venue is a square stone platform about fifty steps away. The top of the stone platform is covered by a larger hemispherical purple magic force field. This force field is formed by the blade of the long sword just now. According to the rules just announced by the Prime Minister, if a player falls off the stone platform or leaps over a magic field, they will be directly sentenced to lose.
The 29th Pillow Sword Club officially kicked off.
