Imperial Crown.

Chapter 235: Opening Ceremony, Opening Battle

Generally speaking, the Colosseum is most lively at night.

But today, nine days after Raven's wedding, although it is still daytime, the arena is already full of people.

In the front, viscounts, barons, knights and their families occupied a considerable number of seats, and further behind them were merchants, mercenaries and adventurers from all over the country who came here to admire the reputation of the place.

The opening ceremony of the duel tournament is today.

Although the mercenaries and adventurers who came here were not eligible to register, which was somewhat disappointing for them, the fact that they could witness the intensive knight duels made the trip worthwhile.

You know, so far, there are 537 people who have signed up!
Normally they work for the nobles, but now it is their turn to perform for them. This is something that cannot be bought with any amount of money, not to mention that the ticket is only 5 copper coins.

As the host of this conference, Raven had to be present in person. After a brief speech, he returned to the box.

When the Colosseum was first built, no one imagined that one day two earls, a marquis and an archbishop would gather here. There were only three high-class private rooms, and it would be inappropriate to divide them any way.

So Raven simply gathered everyone in his box.

There is a warm-up performance before the competition officially starts.

After nearly two years of development, especially after the Dark Side of the Moon Circus moved in, the performance content of the Colosseum has been enriched a lot, and there is now a dance troupe belonging to the Colosseum, with a total of about 40 people.

These young and beautiful dancers poured into the center of the arena and began to dance to the rhythmic beat.

This was already a classic show in the arena, and Raven didn't pay much attention to it. However, as the dance progressed, he began to feel that something was wrong.

Why are the people around me breathing heavier?

He glanced to the side and saw that Earl Tyrone had hunched over with his hands on the table in front of him; Montreal had his legs spread wide, leaning back in his chair; Marquis Anthony had a frown on his face and his mouth corners turned down; even Archbishop Thomas had shock in his eyes.

But without exception, their eyes were fixed on the dancers below.

Raven's mind was full of questions - is this so powerful?

His eyes also looked down.

These dancers were wearing "hunting suits" which were common among aristocratic women of that era when going out. They usually consisted of a wide-brimmed leather hat, jacket, shirt, leather pants and leather shoes.

But Raven made some minor changes to it, such as replacing the leather cap with a sail hat, removing the shirt, making the jacket tighter, replacing the leather pants with a leather skirt, wearing white suspender stockings, and wearing black high heels.

Because Raven had participated in the design of these dances, they adopted the style of the Smecta Dance Troupe from his previous life, which is the most eye-catching.

And considering the conservative nature of this world, the exaggeration of the movements is only about 1/3 of the original version.

But unexpectedly, this little trick would open the eyes of these nobles!

Ninety-nine percent of the men present were so captivated by the dance that they couldn't bear to look away.

Not all of them focus on dancing.

Viscount John was the exception.

He was already too old and didn't have such a strong desire for the physical body, so he withdrew his spirit first.

To him, these attractive gimmicks and clever ideas were nothing. What really shocked him was the arena itself.

It's really grand.

The dueling area below alone can accommodate two legions if they are arranged in a dense formation!
The spectator seats next to it are large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.

I'm afraid there won't be another venue as carefully built as this in the entire Nordic province!
Viscount John knew that the arena had been under construction for two years. Calculating the time, Raven had probably been planning its construction before he set out for the Bloody Highlands.

At that time, Raven only had Eagle Town and Shining Gold Town, and had not taken back Thousand Needles Jungle and Eagle Beak Mountain at all, let alone exchange territory with himself.

If all the money invested in the arena is lost, it will likely drag the Griffith family into bankruptcy!
Did he anticipate and be confident, or was he courageous despite his madness?

Hyde also expressed his feelings.

Although he was qualified to go to the box, he always felt stuffy, so he chose to watch in the crowd.

It is also because of this that he was able to immerse himself in it and truly feel the enthusiasm of the crowd.

The desire revealed in the men's eyes made even the women crazy, making the atmosphere more and more heated, with screams and shouts ringing in the ears.

Even Hyde, who always considered himself to be a gentleman, couldn't help but unbutton the top button of his collar and let out a cheer!
Where is the dignified and respectable appearance of the nobility?
When he came to his senses, the dance was over, as if he had just experienced a dream.

The light reflected by the handkerchiefs, rings and earrings thrown in the venue told him that everything that had just happened was real.

"No wonder this arena is so famous!" Hyde murmured in a low voice: "Anyone who is here will probably be immersed in it."

"Vulgar, too vulgar!" In the box, Marquis Anthony's throat moved and his face turned pale: "Baron Raven, how can such a rude performance appear in such a solemn competition?"

"This is simply a blasphemy against pure souls. It corrupts morals, corrupts morals!"

Lei Wen was quite speechless, thinking to himself, weren't you enjoying what you just saw?

But it’s not appropriate to say this directly. Even if we don’t consider Anthony, we have to consider other people’s opinions.

Archbishop Thomas has even left the scene on the pretext of something!

"Ahem." Clearing his throat, Raven whispered, "Then I'll arrange to cancel this kind of performance from the next show?"

Anthony was stunned: "What, there's more?"

"Yes, there are basically several dances every day to relax between fights. There are more than one kind of dance." Raven said casually: "But since the Marquis doesn't like it..."

But before Raven could finish, Marquis Anthony suddenly said, "Look, the competition has begun!"

The opening of a game is extremely important. It must be grand and lively enough, but not overshadow the main event that follows.

Therefore, the first match was arranged to be a duel between the second-level knights.

Also for the sake of visual effect, horse fighting was not adopted, but instead the duel was conducted on foot.

Ingra's voice resounded throughout the venue:

“Ladies and gentlemen.”

"Welcome to the Eagle Town Arena. Today is the first competition of the competition."

"In order to commend the warriors of the first battle, the winner of this battle will receive a reward of 100 gold coins, which will be distributed on the spot!"

"The second-level Yellow Sand Knight Jennings from Xuefeng County and Kojia Territory will face—"

"Jia Peng, the second-level flame knight from Xuefeng County and Xiecha Territory!"

Intensive drum beats sounded, and fences on both sides of the venue rose up, and two muscular figures walked out of them.

Jennings on the east was tall and strong, not much shorter than an ordinary warhorse. He was wearing bright yellow enchanted armor and holding a square-headed heavy hammer in both hands. The hammer head was dragging on the ground, leaving a mark on the hard ground.

Jia Peng in the west was considered strong among ordinary people, but he looked a little thin in front of Jennings. He was wearing a dark enchanted plate armor, holding a shield in his left hand and a gun in his right hand. There was a smoldering fire on the tip of the gun, like a piece of charcoal that was burning quietly.

As an indispensable etiquette before a duel, both parties slowly walked to the center of the field, knocked their weapons against each other, and then retreated to a distance of about 20 meters. "Duel - Start!!"

Before he finished speaking, Jennings shouted wildly, and bright yellow fighting spirit swept up, solidifying a layer of armor made of flowing yellow sand around him. The armor rotated around his body, causing a terrible impact force to burst out under his feet. He raised the war hammer with both hands and leaped out in an instant!

"Knight Jennings took the lead in launching the attack. As we all know, as a variant of Earth Fighting Qi, Yellow Sand Fighting Qi can also play a full home advantage in any place with land!"

"And our Knight Japon——he actually chose to defend!?"

Ingra spoke for the audience.

The flame fighting spirit is good at attacking but not at defending, and Jennings uses a highly offensive hammer. With the strength of both sides decreasing, the defense is simply seeking its own death!

With the help of fighting spirit, even though he was wearing heavy armor and holding a war hammer, Jennings still only took three steps to leap above Jia Peng!
His war hammer was wrapped with a sandstorm-like fighting spirit, ready to strike down at any time!

"It appears! This is Knight Jennings' signature second-level combat skill, the Crazy Sand Explosion Hammer! It is said that even the Earth Bear cannot withstand this attack. Let's see how Knight Jia Peng will deal with it."

"It's a second-level combat skill, Fierce Dance in the Sky Ring!"

Just as Jennings was about to fall, a raging fire spread out with Jia Peng as the center, rolling the ground into a circle of fiery red lava-like scorch marks. After expanding to a diameter of two meters, a column of fire shot up into the sky!

"This is the battle of a second-level extraordinary being, the martial arts of a second-level knight, yellow sand versus raging fire. Even if the mad sand blasting hammer is dyed red and burned into glass, its momentum remains unabated!"

"The power of the Fierce Dance Sky Ring has been dispersed after all, and it can't hold on any longer!"

"But fortunately, Knight Japon retreated in time."

“What a wonderful confrontation!”

As Ingla was explaining, Jia Peng had already withdrawn, and the heavy hammer in Jennings' hand slammed down to the ground with all its force, creating a rain of fire on the already softened ground!

Jennings snorted coldly, jumped up again and chased after him.

"Oops, Knight Jennings got fooled!"

Just as the audience was puzzled by this sentence, a blazing white flame burst out from the spear in Jia Peng's hand!
He bent his knees and stood still, lowered his left hand, raised the spear high with his right hand, then pressed it behind his body. His whole body tensed up like a spring, and then he suddenly threw it out!
"It's the Spear of Boiling Blood! How could someone master this fighting skill inherited from the orcs?!"

The color of the blazing white flame in the air became darker and darker, really like blood, almost igniting the air, as if a knight covered in blood was riding a warhorse, launching a charge with the last of his life essence!
At this moment, Jennings had just landed, and his old strength had disappeared but his new strength had not yet been generated, so he had no time to dodge!

There were exclamations and screams around the arena - is the first battle going to end in blood and lives! ?

At this critical moment, Jennings shouted, raised his sledgehammer suddenly, and blocked the path of the Spear of Boiling Blood!

click-

There was a sharp sound of metal collision and a raging fire spread, almost enveloping Jennings, while the boiling yellow sand fighting spirit struggled to resist the blazing flames.

The spear tip pierced through the hammer head and broke through the armor formed by the yellow sand and fighting spirit. Finally, it exhausted its strength and barely stopped.

"Defended! Knight Jennings' judgment and accuracy in grasping his fighting spirit are truly amazing. He is indeed a veteran second-tier warrior!"

"But Knight Jia Peng has also started to attack. After enduring for so long, is it finally time for the Flame Fighting Qi to take the initiative to attack?"

Jennings dropped the broken weapon in his hand, pursed his lips, then shouted loudly and launched a counterattack towards Jia Peng who was rushing towards him!
During the process, flames also ignited on Jia Peng's body, and he built a fighting spirit armor around him.

The two of them collided like two meteors!
boom--

Jennings' fist landed on the shield, and the collision of fighting spirit exploded into flames, while Jia Peng used his right hand to hammer on the left hand holding the shield, and pressed towards Jennings!
Both of them have been lingering in the second level for a long time. Both of them have the strength of ten stars, and there is no difference in superiority or inferiority. At this time, whoever holds the weapon will have a greater advantage!
"Knight Jennings is losing ground! This is a huge advantage for Knight Japeng!"

"Knight Japon suddenly stopped moving!"

"No, it's not that he didn't move. It's that his feet were stuck in the quicksand. Knight Jennings actually used his fighting spirit to create a piece of quicksand while retreating!"

Just as Ingra said, Jia Peng's right foot was now firmly wrapped by the quicksand and he could not move.

If it was just ordinary quicksand, he could melt it with just the fighting spirit and escape by himself, but this quicksand was maintained by Jennings using the fighting spirit!
Jennings took a few steps back to create some distance between them, then bent down and dug out a piece of dirt from the ground with his hands. He then used his fighting spirit to crush it, and it condensed into a ball of dancing yellow sand in his palm.

Then, it was thrown out!

It then transformed into a sandstorm, enveloping Jia Peng.

"This is the first-level combat skill 'Dust Roll', which is usually not enough to cause damage to a second-level knight. However, Knight Jia Peng is unable to move at the moment. Once the protective fighting spirit is worn out, he will most likely be swallowed by the quicksand!"

"Excellent tactics, it looks like we have to congratulate—wait, what is that, the Spear of Boiling Blood again!?"

A flash of fire broke through the dust tornado, burning the dust into sparks and flying towards Jennings.

This speed was much slower than the previous Spear of Boiling Blood. Jennings should have been able to dodge it, but now he was not only maintaining the Quicksand, but also the Rolling Dust, so his movements were inevitably a step slower.

And he really didn't expect that Jia Peng actually had a way to fight back.

In a moment of hesitation, the flames had already broken through his fighting spirit armor, leaving a huge dent in his shoulder armor, and he himself was knocked away by the huge impact force, spitting out a mouthful of blood, unable to get up again.

The dust dissipated, revealing the figure of the knight Japeng. His armor had been worn to the point of frayed edges, and his shield was still there, but the armor on his right hand had disappeared, and his entire palm was covered in blood.

"Use fire to burn blood, and use blood to create glory!"

"Knight Japeng actually used his gauntlet as a weapon and used the Spear of Boiling Blood."

"Let us congratulate Knight Jia Peng for winning the opening match of this competition. He will also receive a bounty of 100 gold coins!"

Cheers and screams were heard everywhere, and people were shouting Jia Peng's name.

The happiest person was Viscount Broca, because Japon was his knight; in comparison, Vissasim's expression was much uglier, because Jennings was his man.

Since all knights need to report their combat skills when they sign up, Wesacin even suspected that Raven took advantage of his position to reveal Jennings's background to Brocka's side.

But doubts were just doubts after all, so he had no choice but to gather his energy and prepare for his own competition.

This opening battle was a success, and although the following battles were less exciting, the atmosphere was already heated up and the nobles began to place bets spontaneously.

This also brought a new source of income to Raven.

The nobles were always rich, and the amounts they bet were much higher than those of the common people and merchants.

537 people signed up, so there will be 168 preliminary rounds, and 15 rounds a day will take a full 12 days.

As time went by, the competition became more and more popular, and some knights with outstanding performances even had their own titles and supporters.

For example, Jia Peng was called the "Burning Blood Hand".

Lei Wen was originally very happy about this. After all, the more lively it was, the greater the profit would be. He had already begun to arrange advertising space around the venue and look for rent.

But on the fifth day after the unveiling ceremony, Raven was startled by a message as soon as he opened the Sky Eagle platform.

At the same time, Old Gordon knocked on the door of the study:
"My Lord Baron, there is an important matter that requires your personal decision!"

……

(End of this chapter)