Pillar of Yita

Luo Hao watched as the instructor picked up the stack of forms, paused on the desk, and casually handed them to him. ”That’s basically all there is to say, and you don’t need to be so nervous; after all, our standards here are not as strict as those of a real military. You can keep your own communication devices, but there are still basic rules to follow. First, take these regulations and familiarize yourself with them—oh, by the way, have you eaten yet?”

Luo Hao took the stack of forms and shook his head.

The instructor raised his right hand and glanced at his wristwatch. ”We leave for the training camp at three o’clock, and it’s still early. Come on, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

”Ah?”

”What’s with the ’ah’—don’t overthink it, just the cafeteria, my allowance isn’t that large. Let’s go.” The instructor shut the drawer and had already walked out of the office.

Luo Hao’s mind was in turmoil, still thinking about the subsequent events. Seeing the other person walking out, he quickly grabbed his suitcase and followed.

The two walked out of the office one after the other and came to the hall outside. On the glass curtain wall, the projection screen was broadcasting the commentary from The Wandering Horse:

”This is already the twentieth team to enter the arena, from the Knight Nation of the Ancient Tower. Following them, there are two teams from the Colin Ishurian Alliance, including the Kapuka Artisan Association. Today’s competition is nearing its end, with seven teams from the Colin Ishurian Alliance not performing very well, and currently only the Colin Craftsmen’s Guild team maintaining a second place in the total points, followed by the Elpaxin Artisan Association ranked ninth.”

The Wandering Horse was clearly well-prepared and spoke fluently.

”As we know, Elpaxin is the penultimate stage of this league’s latter half, and in the upcoming competition at Gray Harbour, provided the teams ahead don’t make any major mistakes, the chance for Elpaxin Artisan Association to appear is virtually nil. Another team from the Colin Ishurian Alliance capable of competing for the top five—the Kapuka Artisan Association—is still uncertain if they can arrive before the competition ends. If the Knight Nation’s competitors disagree to a delay, they’ll simply be disqualified.”

Hearing this, Luo Hao couldn’t help but stop in his tracks and turn back. After the team from the Knight Nation of the Ancient Tower, another unknown team from the civilian ranks of the Colin Ishurian Alliance took to the stage but failed to surprise anyone and hurried off after a mediocre performance.

Seeing Luo Hao stop, the young instructor also paused. Seeing Luo Hao turn back to look at the projection screen, he didn’t urge him, considering a trainee’s interest in Elpaxin as a bonus.

After this team’s competition, there was a brief pause on the stage.

The alchemists’ competition naturally couldn’t be held outdoors, and besides, the audience wouldn’t be able to see clearly from such a distance. In fact, the staff had set up large projection crystals in the center of the competition field, these projection crystals intersecting angles with each other, were sufficient to reflect the indoor conditions in real-time into the sky above.

After the last team left the competition room, there was a long wait before anyone else took to the stage. The audience in the stadium whispered to each other, discussing the previous mistakes made by the team from the Elpaxin Artisan Association.

From a distance, The Wandering Horse glanced at the direction of the VIP stand—where Prince Coleman had already left, and Earl Shanduo seemed to have left with him. The Ishurian Dwarfs, however, were still there, standing together with the Avenquin Elves, one of the Dwarfs was talking to Princess Miaoxing.

Further away, the representatives from the Knight Nation of the Ancient Tower were all acting high and mighty. When The Wandering Horse broadcast this scene, boos erupted from the broadcasting room; seeing this, he had no choice but to shift the topic:

”Ladies and gentlemen, please keep calm. The Kapuka Artisan Association’s team encountered a storm on their way here, which, as friends familiar with my broadcast know, is a common occurrence in Elpaxin. I believe the competition officials are seeking agreement from the Knight Nation of the Ancient Tower and the other competitors to see if they can give the Kapuka Artisan Association a chance—usually, this is a customary rule in the Continental League.”

As if to prove his point, the scene in the projection crystal at the stadium changed, revealing the Elpaxin staff negotiating with the competitors and leaders from the Knight Nation of the Ancient Tower.

The first to appear was the Chairman of the Elpaxin Artisan Association, Rosetta—with his characteristically large nose, the Dwarf Chairman said in a deep voice, ”Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve just received news that the storm in the Overseas Void Canyon of Elpaxin has already dissipated, and the Golden Deer left port an hour ago, with the Kapuka Artisan Association’s team possibly arriving at any moment. So, please wait a little longer. Our friends from the Ancient Tower, the other competitors from different regions have also agreed—”

But the person in charge from the Ancient Tower shook his head. ”They are they, we are we, Rosetta Chairman, we had an agreement, the competition has already ended, but they have not yet arrived. We have done all we could, at least we didn’t make them go second, did we?”

”But this goes against the rules.”

”There’s no such rule, Chairman Rosetta.”

”But we gave your team a green light in the last match,” the Dwarf said, barely containing his anger.

”It’s not the same, you Colin people like to talk about favors, but we people from the Ancient Tower place great importance on the spirit of contracts,” the person from the Ancient Tower responded calmly.