Imperial Crown.

Chapter 180 Griffith, invincible!
The magic plants are being planted step by step.

But a qualified businessman will not put all his eggs in one basket, and a qualified lord will not have only one way of making money.

Everything Raven does in territory management is meaningful, such as the construction of Eagle Town.

The clean and spacious streets and well-designed buildings are not just for the sake of beauty.

For example, the arena built on the northwest outskirts of Xiongying Town.

This is an oval building that Raven carefully designed in imitation of the ancient Roman Colosseum. It is built entirely of bluestone and has huge windows that look like arches.

It is over 160 meters in diameter, with an open-air roof and a grandstand over ten meters high on the outside. The overall structure is similar to that of a gymnasium, with stone steps used as benches, and is large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people watching at the same time.

In the center is an open space the size of a football field. There is no grass on the ground, but it is made of very solid and flat loess. On the four sides of the east, south, west and north, there are four steel-cast fence gates leading to the living area of ​​the arena.

It has been some time since the arena was officially opened. The admission ticket is not expensive, only five copper coins. This money is basically used for venue maintenance and staff salaries. Raven does not plan to make money from ticket sales.

The Colosseum offers different activities at different times.

During the day, there are knight duels, while at night there are real bloody fights.

It was now afternoon, the sun was baking the ground, and the distorted air was rising.

There were about a thousand people sitting in the stands, most of them were nobles from the five northwestern counties, and their followers, retainers, and families.

Even in such hot weather, the nobles still maintained their proper dignity. The women wore various sun hats, and their earrings and rings reflected the strong light, as dazzling as stars.

The men were more old-fashioned. They would stand straight even if their foreheads were covered with greasy sweat. The reflections on their bodies were no less than those on the women. Not only were there rings on their hands, but also the gold and silver threads inlaid on their clothes, and the dazzling gems on their chests that replaced medals.

In the center of the venue stands a wooden railing running east-west and running through the entire venue. It is about one meter high. In the corner, there is also a wooden frame divided into four layers. At this moment, there are three shield emblems hanging on it.

They are the battle axe shield representing the Glory family, the trident shield representing the Kvoga family, and the eagle shield representing the Griffith family.

The first two are hung on the bottom layer, and the last one is hung on the second layer from the bottom, one step away from the top.

On the high platform on the south side of the arena, host Ingra shouted loudly: "Let us welcome the defender, the retainer of the Griffith family, Eric Dyson!!"

Due to the special structure of the venue, the sound from the platform is loud enough to travel throughout the venue.

As military music sounded, the fence on the west side of the arena rose, and Eric rode into the arena on his Claw Yellow Lightning. He was wearing heavy silver plate armor, holding a round shield in his left hand and an extremely exaggerated wooden conical lance in his right hand.

The lance is more than three meters long, with the handle alone being more than half a meter long. The lance is so large that it looks like a tornado was carved on it.

Ingra continued to shout: "Next, let us welcome the challenger, the head of the Groli family, the Lord of Taida Territory, Baron Seleva Ota Groli!!"

After saying this, Ingra waited for a while, took a step back, and made sure that the sound would not be heard, then cursed in a low voice: "These damn nobles!"

"Oh? What happened?" Raven walked out from behind him.

Ingra was shocked: "Baron, I'm not talking about you! It's really these people, really, really..."

"Too pretentious?" Raven walked past him and leaned against the wall to survey the venue.

"You're absolutely right!" Ingra was a little dissatisfied: "I gave such an impassioned explanation, but they didn't react at all, as if they were a bunch of dead people!"

Raven chuckled: "That's good too. It saves some energy. I still need you to liven up the atmosphere tonight."

Ingra grinned, feeling very happy to have Raven's approval.

Raven ignored him and looked at the venue.

At this time, Baron Savon had already ridden out on a white warhorse.

Compared to Eric, his attire was much more exaggerated. He was wearing plate armor painted with gold, with a raised shoulder armor on his right shoulder, as if he was carrying a nail hammer on it, and a long red tassel was floating on his helmet.

The shield on the left hand is a wide shield with a siren's head embossed on it. The face is ferocious and the snake-like hair is flamboyant, which looks lifelike.

The cone-head lance in his right hand was exactly the same in shape as the one in Eric's hand, but the color was richer, a mixture of black and gold, and the guard was made of pure gold.

Raven shook his head when he saw this - this is the current Keynes Empire, even knight duels, which are supposed to be a test of martial arts, are no longer simple.

This kind of exaggerated style of armor and lance can neither kill the enemy nor make oneself a sitting duck on the battlefield. Its only advantage is that it can attract the attention of noble girls and highlight the so-called masculine charm of the knight.

The nobles' preferences can always bring a lot of benefits.

Even though there are only more than a thousand people sitting here, the total ticket price is only more than fifty silver coins.

But aristocrats are aristocrats after all, and they can't just sit in the sun.

Now that we are in Eagle Town, we must taste the Angel's Tears, right?

It has to be a special commemorative edition for the Colosseum. Since it is a commemorative edition, it is reasonable to sell it for 2.88 gold coins instead of 8.88 gold coins, not to mention that it also comes with free iced service.

Drinking alone will inevitably leave an empty stomach, so of course you have to eat something. The delicacies that go with such fine wine will certainly not be cheap, a piece of bread costs eleven silver coins, and a piece of bacon costs sixty silver coins.

Every day, the food and beverages consumed by these nobles alone can bring Raven a net income of hundreds of gold coins. Although this amount is not available every day, and knight duels are also affected by the seasons, but over time, it is still possible to make a net income of one thousand six hundred to one thousand seven hundred gold coins a month.

When the arena first opened, Raven came here several times, and then he became busy with other matters. After all, he was not a little girl, and it was enough for him to watch a few games of two grown men riding spears and fighting each other.

The reason he came here today was because he received a message.

Knight duel is a sport with a long history. Almost all nobles will build a dueling venue in their territory, but no noble would build such a grand venue.

According to the rules of knight duels, winning a duel earns one point, and four consecutive wins mean reaching the top. If a family remains at the top for ten consecutive days, they can hang their family shield forever in this arena.

It's an honor.

According to the tacit understanding formed among the nobles over hundreds of years, no matter who the nobles who built the arena sent, the other families would tacitly arrange for people to let the host family be the first to hang the shield emblem on the venue.

According to Raven's expectations, this kind of activity could be dealt with casually and it would be over.

But today, two unexpected guests came to the arena.

One of them was Baron Seleva who was present at the venue, and he was the lord who had once sought help from Knights Raven and Conchi.

The other one was Baron Wessassin, who had once threatened Lady Doreen and was eventually beaten up by Eric.

Needless to say, he came with bad intentions.

"The Avengers?" Raven raised a mischievous smile.

At this time, the warm-up was over. Baron Seleva walked around the arena, rode his horse to the side of the audience seats, and asked his wife to tie a silk ribbon on the handle of his lance.

This is an ancient tradition. Before a man went to war, his lover or wife would cut off a lock of hair and tie it around his hand so that he would return victorious. Later, this evolved into the ritual we have today.

Baron Seleva was indeed very confident.

He was born into a noble family and received a standard aristocratic education since childhood, with horsemanship being one of the subjects. As a second-level knight, his strength and agility were not inferior to Eric's.

According to the rules of knight duels, the use of fighting spirit and combat skills is not allowed.

Isn't it easy to capture Eric, who started out as a private?
Seleva saw Raven on the podium, sneered, tapped his eyebrows with his finger, then pointed at Raven, raised his thumb upside down, shook it, and then put down his visor.

The knights under his command were humiliated in his own territory, but he, as the lord, could not retaliate, and he had been furious for a long time. Today he took this opportunity to disgust Raven and interrupt his winning streak!
You run the arena yourself, so you can't deny anyone the right to win, right?
Of course, Raven understood what he was thinking. He curled the corners of his mouth slightly and looked at Eric, who nodded to Raven and patted his chest heavily.

As the saying goes, a sedan chair is carried by everyone. Since everyone was fighting for the Griffith family in the beginning, Raven would of course ask Eric to hold back a little and not let him lose too badly.

Facing someone with impure intentions, Raven naturally asked Eric to give his all.

When the bell rang, Eric and Baron Seleva rode to the two ends of the field and stood on both sides of the fence. Then Ingra shouted: "Begin!!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the military band in the corner started beating drums in a dense rhythm.

The two men urged their horses on at the same time.

Dust billowed as the horses' hooves trampled on the ground, and the two men held their lances level and launched a face-to-face charge!
The hundred-meter-long field allowed the war horses to gradually accelerate, and the sound of horse hooves echoed clearly in the field. Everyone stared at the scene in the field intently, holding their breath for fear of disturbing the knights on the field!
The two horses are getting closer and closer!
The drumming stopped suddenly.

Seleva had seen several of Eric's fights and knew that Eric would choose to raise his lance when they were four meters apart, and he was ready to strike first.

He did it. He raised his spear at five meters away and aimed at Eric's shield. Only then did Eric start to move his arms.

However, to Seleva's surprise, Eric's movements were much faster than his, showing a speed and strength far beyond the previous two duels. Before he could react, the lance had already landed on his shield!

boom--

The gun tip shattered, and the special cavity structure made the attack emit a huge sound wave that could be heard throughout the entire arena.

At the moment of the impact, Seleva's eyes went dark and he lost consciousness. He felt a strong sense of weightlessness and with a low cry of surprise, the huge impact force threw him out and he fell to the ground with a bang.

Someone immediately rushed over to help him up, took off his helmet, and cleaned the blood on his head with a soft cloth and clean water. At this time, Seleva barely regained consciousness, but felt weak all over, his arms were shaking violently, and he couldn't even say a complete sentence!

Seleva wanted to scream, because Eric didn't defeat him by relying on technology, his victory was entirely due to his excellent physical fitness, faster and stronger!
He doesn't agree!
But a thought immediately rushed into his mind - Eric is so strong, could it be that he has reached the third level! ?
Ingra's voice rang out: "Congratulations, Eric Dyson of the Griffith family has won three consecutive victories!"

At the same time, someone had already moved the Griffith family's shield up one notch on the rack where the shield was hung. Only one step was left before they could reach the top and hang their shield forever in the arena.

"The next challenger is the head of the Kovoga family, the lord of Kovoga Territory, Baron Versacine Ota Kovoga!!"

Amid the sound of iron chains, Baron Vissaxin appeared on the field. The moment he saw his figure, Raven's pupils suddenly tightened, and he turned and walked away, heading towards the player preparation area.

Because the attire on Vissasim was not the exaggerated armor like Baron Seleva's, but a lean full body heavy armor, close-fitting design, simple and capable. Except for the lance which was within the regulations, the overall configuration was as if it was for fighting on the battlefield.

Most importantly, through the Eyes of Truth, Raven saw his true strength—Level Three.

Although it may have been recently promoted and the energy is not stable, it is indeed the strength of the third level.

If it was a fight on the battlefield, Eric might not be without the ability to fight, but this was in the arena, and with the physical fitness of both sides being similar, Eric's technical weaknesses would be infinitely magnified.

Vissasim licked his lips, he had waited for this day for too long. When Eric brazenly attacked in his castle, it not only brought him endless humiliation, but also made him deeply aware of the importance of strength.

Filled with shame and anger, he struggled to reach the third level after having stayed at the second level for a long time.

And today we came here to stop the Griffith family’s winning streak in their home court.

Not only did he want to avenge Eric's arrow, he also wanted to continue fighting and make sure that the first thing hung in the arena would be the shield of his Kvoga family!
That will be a shadow that the Griffith family will never erase, a failure that will be passed down forever in this arena!
This feeling is as comfortable as exercising the right of virginity to a commoner whom I dislike!

At this moment, Ingra's voice rang out: "Eric Dyson requests to withdraw!"

"The one who replaced him in the Griffith family is..."

Ingra swallowed and raised her voice: "Baron Raven Ota Griffith!!"

As soon as this sentence came out, it immediately caused discussions among the nobles present. They all knew that Raven was a mage, not a knight, so why was he in the arena now! ?

But the facts before them made them believe it.

When the gate rose, Raven, dressed in armor, rode out on his horse and passed by Eric.

Eric looked surprised: "Baron, you..."

"Leave it to me." Raven said with a smile.

Eric swallowed and nodded heavily.

Raven's long black hair was tied into a ponytail and floated behind his shoulders, looking like a soft short cloak; his high brow bones were delicate and firm, and his dark eyes reflected obsidian-like light under the sunlight.

Some young noble girls had already begun to scream, looking at Raven with extremely eager eyes, while many more were surprised at his boldness.

He held a shield in his left hand and a standard wooden lance in his right hand, which was nothing surprising, but he was actually wearing a set of black leather armor!
Visasen's brow twitched slightly as he watched, his breathing starting to become heavy.

You know, although the rules of knight duel only count as points if the opponent's shield is hit, armor is not dispensable.

Even in today's knight duels, which are more entertainment-oriented and performative in nature, fractures and internal organ injuries are not uncommon.

People always fail sometimes. Even though the lance is made of wood, the huge impact force is real. If it really hits the body without the protection of armor, it can also make a bloody hole!

"Baron Raven, this is a knight's arena." Versacim stared at Raven, "It's not a club for you to have fun."

"This is the arena of my Griffith family." Raven stared into his eyes with a cold smile on his face. "The final battle to the top should be fought by me."

The two people's eyes met in mid-air, and the friction was so intense that it almost produced lightning.

When they reached the center of the field, the two men clinked their lances politely, then rode their horses back to the two ends of the field.

The corners of Versacem's mouth curled up into an uncontrollable smile.

Of course he knew that Raven must have something to rely on when he came to fight him.

But so what? He is not Raven, who hangs the badge of a second-level magician on his chest and wants the whole world to know about it.

Could Raven know that he was already a third-level knight?

No matter what trump card Raven has, it will be in vain in the face of absolute power!
Although it was a pity that I couldn't defeat Eric personally, the pleasure of jumping over the dog and beating the owner directly was much stronger!

He planned to have the artist record this scene, recording how he defeated Raven and trampled on the reputation of the Griffith family!

Vesasi slowly turned his horse's head, lowered his armor, and concealed his confident smile.

“Ready—Go!!!”

Raven tightened the reins, spurred his horse on, and galloped along the railing.

This was Raven's first time in the arena, but he didn't feel nervous. In comparison, the war on the Bloody Highlands was far more brutal than here.

His mindset began to become focused, the noise from the stands gradually disappeared, leaving only the sound of the wind in his ears. As his concentration increased, even the sound of the wind disappeared at this moment.

Raven is not sure of winning.

That's why he has to do it himself. Victory or defeat will be decided by himself!

The warhorse's speed was getting faster and faster. Dust rose up, instantly obscuring the vision between the two people. Raven narrowed his eyes slightly to cover up the silver light flowing from his pupils, and the Eye of Truth was activated with all his strength!

At this moment, the flow of time slowed down quietly. In Raven's eyes, there was no secret in Vissaxin's body. The direction of his muscle movements, the direction of the flow of fighting spirit, and the details of the joint operation were all seen clearly.

The fighter plane has arrived.

Both sides raised their lances almost at the same time, and the trajectories of their movements were almost identical.

This made Visasi so sad that he wanted to vomit blood. Raven's movements were almost the same as his, which meant that at the same time he hit Raven, Raven would also hit him!
A draw, this outcome, Wesasi cannot accept.

Then, his movements changed, no longer aiming at Raven's shield, and his lance locked onto Raven's horse.

At such a high speed, if Raven, a weak mage wearing only leather armor, fell off his horse, he would definitely be dead or crippled!

This is indeed a violation of the rules, but there are always unexpected things in the arena.

Griffith relies entirely on Raven for support, and he has no children. If he falls, who will speak up for him?
The nobles are all very realistic!
At the same time, Eric, who had returned to the spectator seats, also saw what Wesasi was up to. He stood up, his whole body filled with fighting spirit, and he wished he could rush down immediately. He was already cursing, and the words he opened gushed out along with his saliva.

But it's too late!
The lance in Raven's hand was still one meter away from Visacine's shield, and Visacine's lance was already close to the forehead of Raven's mount!
At this critical moment, there was no despair in Raven's eyes.

He clamped his legs together, and the warhorse running at full speed under his crotch tilted its head slightly, but did not completely avoid the attack. The lance grazed the horse's eyes, and a stream of blood spurted out!
The great pain caused the warhorse to kneel down on its front hooves, and at this moment, Raven thrust out the lance in his hand and slammed it hard into Visasi's throat!

boom--

The spear tip exploded, the armor on Vissasim's throat broke and deformed, and then it cut into his skin. The whole person left the horse's back, turned 180 degrees in the air, and fell to the ground with a bang!

At this moment, Raven kicked his legs and jumped up from the warhorse. As the warhorse fell to the ground, leaving a trail of blood, he stood firmly on the ground!

The scene was silent.

After Eric took a heavy breath, he shouted excitedly: "Long live Baron Raven!!!"

At this time, Ingra finally reacted:

"The winner! The Griffith family, Baron Raven Ota Griffith!!"

"Griffith family, take the summit here!!!"

The shield on the shelf was lifted to the top layer. At the same time, the retainers of the Kvoga family rushed up and hurriedly stripped off Visasinn's severely deformed armor. His entire face and half of his chest were covered with sticky blood.

Visasi's larynx was broken, and he was already very strong for having preserved his spine.

The broken armor dug into his throat, leaving a V-shaped bloody wound. Although it was not fatal, he was unable to speak.

He pointed at Raven, his fingertips trembling, his eyes filled with resentment and anger.

He was clearly here to interrupt the Griffith Family's winning streak, but now, he has become a stepping stone!

Raven did not look at him.

A defeated general is not worth a single sneer.

He raised the broken lance high, looked around the room, took a deep breath, and shouted wildly:
"Griffith, invincible!"

……

(End of this chapter)