Imperial Crown.

Chapter 240 Never give up

Chapter 240 Never give up.
Additional update to thank the big boss [Bi Luo Qing Zan] from Qidian for the reward!

……

Although the meeting just now only finalized a new prize, the intrigue and twists and turns involved really opened Raven's eyes.

Marquis Anthony seemed to have made some mistakes and omissions, but that was because he was a powerful dragon crossing the river and had the authority of His Majesty the King. He could and must offend others to maintain his absolute strong posture.

What's more, there is also an Earl of Tyrone to cooperate with him.

At first glance, Marquis Anthony seemed to have suffered a setback in the two discussions about the athletic competition, but if he thought about it carefully, he would find that all his goals had been achieved.

The competition was successfully held and the supplementary registration was successfully implemented, which made the Nord Province remember this great noble who came out of nowhere.

But what really frightened Raven was not Anthony, but Thomas.

This cardinal, who kept a low profile, actually had a huge influence on the two meetings. It is no exaggeration to say that he quietly controlled the direction of the meetings.

Faced with Anthony's pressure, they joined forces with Montreal to maintain the situation at a level acceptable to both sides.

The combination on both sides is the same, one person attacks and the other fills the gap.

But the difference is that Marquis Anthony attacked aggressively and was also the leader of the topic; while Montreal was more like Archbishop Thomas's pawn, charging for Thomas!

Moreover, Thomas not only further won over the Fox family, but also showed goodwill to himself, and he did not offend Anthony and the Slater family. It can be said that he took advantage of it.

This kind of figure and this kind of skill are truly amazing!

Raven sighed, "It's really scary. If you don't use your brains when you're with this group of people, you might die without knowing how you died!"

Next, we must decide on the new rewards after registration is opened.

This time, Raven did not sit idly by, but called old Gordon and Ingra over to discuss the matter together.

We were busy from noon to afternoon, and that evening, the new plan was released simultaneously on the Colosseum and the Sky Eagle platform.

For the first place, the gold coin reward is increased to 1, and the winner will also be exempted from the tithe for one year.

For the 2nd place, the gold coin reward is increased to 2000, and the "Hate of Hyperion" can also be obtained.

For the third place, the gold coin reward is increased to 3, and the "Essence of Life" is also obtained.

The 4th place, which originally had no unique reward, will receive 500 gold coins and a "Fire Soul Potion".

In addition, other ranking bonuses have also been significantly updated.

前10名，每人可获得500金币；前30名，每人可获得200金币；前100名，每人可获得100金币；前200名，每人可获得50金币。

Compared to before, the total prize pool has 17500 more gold coins, which are shared equally by Raven, Anthony, Montreal and Tyrone.

The result of the new plan is that everyone is happy. The expected rewards of those who had registered previously have been greatly increased, and new registrants have also got what they wanted.

On the Tianying platform, discussions about bonuses reached a new high.

The Eagle Town is even more lively.

In the Crystal Palace, the Paramount, the Wallace Hotel, the Lion's Pride, and even in the Colosseum, wherever there were nobles, people started discussing this topic.

前200名就有50金币的奖金，进入前100，就有100金币，前50更是有200金币！

This is literally money falling from the sky!
Many people are arguing about whether the "Nibelungen Hatred" or the tithe reduction is more valuable.

However, most people still locked their eyes on the third-place life essence, and some even secretly asked Raven if he had any stock.

People who are close to each other get together and exchange fighting experiences with each other. Some people even exchange fighting skills and borrow equipment with people who will not meet them after the competition schedule is confirmed.

In order to cope with the sudden increase in the number of registrations, the original 15 games per day were increased to 20.

Even so, it took another 11 days, the 28th day after the start of the competition and the 37th day after Raven's wedding, for the first round of competition to be completed.

After this period of fermentation, the competition began to be given more meaning.

It's not just a fight for money, but also a fight for honor.

Many of the knights and nobles, whether they were promoted or defeated, were connected together by counties, exchanging experiences and information, and even began to compete with each other in an organized manner, in order to allow those who were still on the field to go further.

If a noble from his county could win the championship in this competition, it would be a major event that would be celebrated in the Nordic province for dozens or even hundreds of years!
Of course, there are indeed significant differences between the noble groups in different counties; some counties, such as the three counties of Hodges, Mansa and Arag, which have been whitewashed and filled, are very close-knit because they have no historical grievances.

Especially the Mansa County where Viscount John was located. The professionalism of its preparations impressed Raven greatly. They faced the competition with a combat mentality. Not only did they have internal duels, but they also invited knights from other counties to exchange combat skills and even formulated rules for redistributing prize money.

So much so that it became the best performing county.

After a short 3-day break, the second round of competition began.

As the knights from various counties became more professional in their preparations for the competitions, the intensity of the battles increased steadily, and the mortality rate in battles between nobles, which was originally less than 1%, increased to 3%.

The competition was no longer a purely entertaining activity. The nobles from each county began to show real anger and the atmosphere became tense.

The originally harmonious Tianying platform was also filled with discordant noises. The nobles from various counties formed groups to praise the contestants from their own counties and belittle those from other counties.

It can be regarded as regional discrimination and map cannon of this era.

The intensity of the words and the intensive exchange of fire attracted people's attention, so much so that every time Raven opened the Sky Eagle platform, he had the illusion of returning to his previous life.

If the game wasn't still going on, Raven had no doubt that the verbal abuse would turn into a gang fight.

As the competition progressed, Raven gradually realized the seriousness of the problem.

Most of the extraordinary people under his command were of the first level, and they began to lose one after another in the second round.

Among the 8 extraordinary people, except Simon who got off to a good start, Bobby, Wade, Boris, Otto and Volaf were defeated one after another. Although Eric maintained a strong posture, Link lost the game beyond everyone's expectation.

Although it was during Raven's wedding, public opinion had already begun to turn into a frenzy and no one cared about that. Some rumors began to appear in the market and spread widely, gaining quite a following.

Some people lamented that although Baron Raven was rich, the Griffith family's foundation was too shallow after all!
Some people are proud and say that even though Raven has a lot of clever ideas and has created something like the Sky Eagle Platform, his hardware strength is still too weak, and this time, he is destined to become famous for others.

Some people even expressed their gloating attitude, saying that Raven did not know his place and that he lacked foundation, yet he still wanted to make such a big show of the competition.

Now, during his wedding, there was a competition to celebrate, but none of his knights could get a good enough spot.

Not to mention the top 3, we may not even be able to make it into the top 64!
This is unprecedented and it will be difficult for anyone to surpass it in the future. They have simply nailed themselves to the pillar of shame!

Faced with these public opinions, even the usually steady old Gordon repeatedly expressed his concerns, and even implicitly suggested that Raven forcibly shut down the Sky Eagle platform to suppress this wave of public opinion.

But Raven refused.

To shut down the Sky Eagle platform for a little bit of public opinion would mean destroying the foundation of the Sky Eagle platform's existence and making a joke of the Griffith family's reputation.

"But Baron, we have to do something, right?" Old Gordon said worriedly. "As the old saying goes, a lie told three times becomes true. If we leave the impression that our Griffith family is rich but weak to the outside world, the hidden danger will be too great!"

"Don't worry, I know." Raven acted very calmly: "It's just a small setback. They only see our weakness now, but they will realize how powerful we are later."

Having said that, Raven was not completely sure in his heart. The development of things to this point was completely beyond his control.

He even doubted himself a little, wondering if he should not have agreed to the supplementary enrollment in the first place, which led to the situation developing to such an extent.

However, as a lord, he must not show the slightest sign of wavering in front of his subordinates.

Nancy also heard about the raging public opinion. She found Raven and poured everything in the ring onto the table.

There are indeed a lot of things, including several secret combat skills of the Fox family, a second-level enchanted equipment, and even a bottle of Fire Soul Potion.

She pouted and frowned. Even after getting married, she still looked like a young girl. "We paid for this competition, but these people are mocking us. How annoying!"

"Take all these things and throw them at the people you trust. Let them know that we are not to be trifled with!"

Raven was amused and grateful, and gently held her in his arms: "No one among us who are participating in the competition has flame fighting spirit anymore, so these things are useless now."

Nancy twisted her body and said, "Then I will go on stage myself. Are knights so great? I promise that with one spell, I can send them to see their ancestors!"

"Okay, stop being so stubborn." Raven changed his position to make his second brother feel more comfortable. "If I could have performed in person, I would have gone a long time ago. What kind of thing is it to perform in person at our wedding?"

"...Humph." Nancy was still angry: "They'd better pray that we get good grades, otherwise, I will let them know why I am called 'Fiery Rose'!"

Raven's attention was attracted by her fiery lips, and the more he looked at them, the more fascinated he became.

Raven did not leave his study that afternoon.

As the second round of the competition draws to a close, it is basically certain that there will be less than 2 first-level extraordinary people advancing to the third round. Among the Griffith family, only Eric is at the second level, and Simon is currently only at the first level.

The Fox family also noticed Raven's predicament.

Gul'dan found Raven and privately said that he could transfer the Fox family knights who were currently participating in the competition to the Griffith family.

Although it may seem like an attempt to cover up one's own mistakes, it can at least play a role.

This time, Gul'dan really came with the utmost sincerity. After all, in his opinion, the two families now prosper and suffer together.

Raven accepted the good intention but refused.

Gul'dan was somewhat confused. This was not the time to act noble, and Raven did not seem like the kind of noble who followed the rules.

But after all, Raven was the head of the Griffith family, so Gul'dan couldn't persuade him too much. The second round of the game ended perfectly on the 17th day after it started, and the Griffith family was hit by a new wave of public opinion.

In the 11th battle of the day, Vesdon, a mortal man missing his right arm, defeated a first-level transcendent in foot combat.

Although there is no evidence, it is widely suspected that Vesdon's opponent accepted bribes and deliberately fixed the match to allow Vesdon to win.

For a time, all kinds of remarks were rampant, openly and covertly disparaging the Griffith family.

Some people even mocked that the Griffith family had the wrong surname and should be called the "Dinar" family.

Dinar is the imperial name for silver coins.

To put it bluntly, the Griffith family is so poor that all they have left is money.

That night, Raven was processing paperwork in the study when Weston came over with an extremely ugly expression: "Brother..."

Raven raised his head and smiled, "What's wrong?"

Weisdong sat down on the chair opposite Raven, biting his lip, and tears started to flow before he could say anything.

After all, he is just a 17-year-old young man, and he participates in the competition just to be a hero, to gain fame, and to gain attention and admiration from others.

Originally, before the competition, he had considered whether to give up, but as long as he passed this round, even if he entered the top 200, he would not only get 100 gold coins, but also gain recognition from everyone.

But when they won today, the boos from the whole stadium shattered his fantasy. The overwhelming malice was too much for him to bear.

He was really scared! And he regretted it!
"I'm sorry, Brother!"

"It's because of my selfishness that my family has suffered so much humiliation..."

"I, I want to withdraw from the next game!"

Snapped--

A loud slap rang out in the room. Raven glared at Weisdong, rubbed his numb palms, and said angrily, "Coward!"

“But, but…” Weisdon’s facial features kept twisting. “But they are all scolding me. They are scolding me! They say I am a disgrace to the nobility, and that I won by relying on gold coins.”

"Enough!" Raven stood up and walked to his side.

"They are all scolding me~They are all scolding me!" He imitated Weisdong's tone and then raised his voice:
"Are you the woman in the Crystal Palace? Huh?! Or am I the woman in the Crystal Palace?!"

"You act like this, are you hoping that I will sympathize with you, hold you in my arms, and comfort you that Weston is a good kid?"

"You're a man!"

Weisdong stammered, "Brother, it is precisely because I am a man that I have to take responsibility and choose to withdraw from the competition."

"If I continue to stand on the court..."

“Visdon!” Raven said with a stronger tone, shaking his head, “When will you realize that you are not the one in a million chosen one?”

“The world doesn’t work the way you expect it to.”

"Does your withdrawal from the competition mean that you can redeem the damage to your family's reputation and your personal reputation?"

Visdon froze, Raven's words were like a bolt of lightning that struck his brain - he had never thought about these questions before.

Indeed, as the elder brother said, his choice was not to take responsibility, but to escape.

He calmed himself down and said in a hoarse voice: "Brother, then, what should I do?"

Seeing Weisdong's expression, Raven picked up a hand-rolled cigarette, lit it, took a deep puff, exhaled a long puff of smoke, and said in a softer tone: "Man...

Live one thing in your life."

After a brief pause, Raven continued, "That is to persist, persist again, and persist forever!"

“This is the path you chose.”

“No matter how many people insult you, belittle you, or beat you up, you can never give up!”

"Never Never give up!"

After saying this, Raven patted Weisdong's chubby face and said, "Do you understand?"

Weisdong's breathing began to become steady. He wiped away the tears on his face and his expression became extremely firm: "I understand. I will take on my responsibilities."

"I will stand on the field openly and fight with my true strength. Even if I lose, I will be a dignified Griffith!"

After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave the room.

"Wait." Raven's voice came: "You forgot something."

Weisdong turned around and his eyes were filled with uncontrollable surprise.

Raven was holding a bottle of potion in his hand. It was the God-given potion that Visdon had been dreaming about!

"Go ahead, don't leave yourself with regrets."

Taking the bottle of God-given potion, Weisdong nodded heavily: "I won't let you down...

Father! "

After Weston went out, he turned right and left without noticing that Denise was standing to the left of the main entrance.

She looked at Weisdon's back, wiped her wet eyes, and walked slowly into the study.

Originally, Denise came here for Visdon's matter, but unexpectedly she witnessed such a shocking scene.

She began to understand why Visdon admired Raven so much.

Raven was still sitting behind his desk, head bowed, seemingly unaware of her arrival.

He was only 23 years old, only 6 years older than Weston.

Denise realized this clearly again, but her mind became more and more confused.

Hearing the conversation just now, hearing Raven's disappointment, Raven's teachings, and Raven's patience, she felt from the bottom of her heart that Raven was Visdon's father.

Denise thought back to her two marriages and sighed.

If she could be a dozen years younger, she could have met Raven earlier; if Raven was really Weston's father, how great it would be...

Gathering her thoughts, Denise walked up to Raven and said, "...Thank you."

Raven looked up in surprise. He thought it was Weston who came back, but it turned out to be Denise.

Today, Denise has her hair tied up in a simple bun, without heavy makeup, and under her black glasses are a pair of slightly rosy eyes.

She was wearing a light grey Yadara office dress, which was tight and conservative, and the black stockings on her legs made her white high heels look even more charming.

Raven's breathing quickened.

He has accumulated too much pressure during this period.

Standing up and walking in front of Denise, Raven gently placed his hand on her shoulder: "Maybe you can thank me in another way."

Denise pushed his hand away.

"Oh, are you complaining that I'm too busy lately?" Raven asked frivolously, and moved his finger towards her chin again.

But before he could succeed, he was opened again, and his tone became more serious: "What are you doing?"

Denise took a deep breath and looked at him steadily: "Before this, something did happen between us."

"But it was wrong, and it won't happen again."

Raven frowned: "But this..."

"Listen to me!" Denise interrupted Raven. "You just got married. You should focus on your family."

"...and don't forget, I'm your aunt!"

Denise turned to leave, but stopped at the door and turned back to say, "Thank you for Visdon's matter..."