Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Contest Begins
The clowns held cardboard boxes and handed them to the guests one by one, and under the influence of the atmosphere of the competition, these reserved nobles or businessmen seemed to have some expectations. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info
Charlotte saw a masked man waving his fist excitedly because he had chosen a project he was good at, and of course, there were also people who were frustrated because they had won an undesirable project.
Charlotte watched it all indifferently, and when the box was handed to him, he reached out and reached into the black wooden box.
Thoughts spread along her fingers in the black box, and they swirled around the box like a snake according to Charlotte's wishes, and after making sure that there were no magic traps in it, Charlotte pinched out a piece of paper and handed it to the other clown.
Then he heard the man announce in an exaggerated voice.
"The distinguished guest has drawn box 5, and the military formation has deduced-"
That's Charlotte's worst project, and during her time at Icewind Castle, Charlotte has learned all sorts of things, but she doesn't have the one to figure out the formation.
Admittedly, in order to improve her mind, Charlotte played the most popular Root chess game among mages with Sylvia and the various mages of Icewind Castle.
Although that game can be regarded as a business strategy game with a huge amount of calculations, to be honest, military formation deduction is only the most inconspicuous part of it.
The root chess game starts with a small town at the beginning, and each player controls a town for development and defense, how exaggerated is that game?
Exaggerated to the point that every false villain in the town can be controlled by you, you can give up development at the beginning of the game, and go all out to explore the location of the enemy town to fight to the death, or you can slowly develop the town into a country, a continent, and even the main material world comparable to the world of Stee, and carry out the so-called world war.
But a word of advice, if your thinking is not strong and refined enough, it is better not to force yourself to be good.
In Icewind Castle, there have been many mages who participated in the game because they were too competitive and fainted in the chess game, and Charlotte herself was tortured by Sylvia many times and fainted. But I have to say that such an entertaining and educational game is indeed enough to improve the thinking ability of the mage.
If you're really powerful enough to control a master material realm to play, then why shouldn't you become a legend?
The so-called military formation deduction is a game similar to the root chess game. The difference is that it only creates a battlefield for offensive and defensive purposes.
Moreover, that kind of virtual reality can only be achieved by the three wonder cities such as Icewind Castle, such as the nobles of Erosa...... Oh, it's better to play with mud on the sand table obediently.
However, if this ball is not a trick to confuse Charlotte and the others by the annihilation of all things, then perhaps these eager guests have become the dry bones of sacrifice before the so-called competition is decided.
Thinking of this, Charlotte quietly left a magical mark on the ground, and he decided to do everything in his power to stop a possible commotion.
As the clowns led the grouped guests to their respective venues, Charlotte noticed that not only Alec, but also the priest of Dagmar had been placed in her own group.
Charlotte felt that all this was too much of a coincidence, so he stepped forward again and walked side by side with Mr. Reverend, and tentatively looked at him with a blank expression.
"Looks like we're very close, Mr. Pastor. ”
Neham—yes—the priest was Neham, and he frowned slightly at Charlotte.
Although he couldn't see Charlotte's expression behind the mask through the fox mask, the other party's different voice characteristics made him suspicious.
"I don't believe in fate, and besides, please stay away from me, I'm not in the mood to communicate with anyone here. ”
Still couldn't see anything wrong, and his cold and serious tone made him act like a spy who was wary of everyone.
Could he really be the pastor of the Church of Justice? Could it really be an assistant sent by Evan to help him? Or could this guy be a member of the Forest of Illusions or the Society of Annihilation?
If the former is the case, then the person must be aware of his existence, but he can't be sure who is the target of the mission. In this way, it is right that he behaves vigilantly and indifferently towards himself.
And if it's the latter, it means that this guy is deliberately approaching himself to gain his trust, and then giving himself a thunderous blow at a critical moment.
Which kind of is it? Will he be a trustworthy companion or the most insidious enemy?
Actually, either one doesn't affect your choice. Under the influence of a mechanical mind, Charlotte removes all emotional thinking and realizes that she has fallen into a misunderstanding.
Identifying himself to him at this moment is the right choice.
Because if it is the former, he will get a reliable helper, and he will not fall into the dilemma of two people acting separately and failing to cooperate.
If the other party is someone sent by the enemy, then there is no need to think about it so much, because it means that the identity that you want to hide is in the hands of the enemy from the beginning.
"Okay. Mr. Pastor, I think we should be honest with each other. I'm Charlotte Clayderman, and as you can see, I'm Grand Duke of Icewind and I'm Aven's brother. In other words, if you are also a pioneer in the fight against evil, then I will be your most trustworthy companion. ”
After saying this, Charlotte stared at the other party's eyes. He couldn't see the priest's expression, so he could only use this way to confirm the authenticity of the other party's identity.
Seeing that the other party showed a relieved and wary look, he asked quietly in a low voice.
"How can I be sure of your true identity?"
Charlotte flipped over and took out a badge, where there were three elliptical overlapping six-pointed star patterns, with a solid circle icon in the middle, and a line of gold wire on the outer circle of the six-pointed star.
This was the emblem of the Icewind Castle family, and when he saw this, the unidentified priest bowed his head slightly, and then pulled out a silver badge with a balance pattern.
That's the hallmark of a just church.
"I, Neham, am the deputy commander of the Church of Justice's demon-exterminating operation, a five-ring priest. We are here to help, Your Highness the Grand Duke. ”
"Well, from now on we are companions. ”
Charlotte nodded at him, habitually groping his chin, his mind racing for clues.
There are no flaws at all, and the other party's demeanor and actions are flawless, so should I trust him unreservedly?
No, it seems that I have left out a little bit of crucial information.
If this guy is a spy, it means that the Annihilation Society and the Forest of Illusions don't have enough power here, at least until the Ritual of Desecration is complete. Otherwise, why would they go to great lengths to gain their trust and get close to themselves?
They are afraid of their own power!
At this thought, Charlotte completely let go of her worries. He followed Neham closely behind him and headed for the tunnel, commanding in an inaudible voice.
"So, let's take the chance. If something goes wrong, Mr. Neham, you are responsible for protecting the crowd, and I, I am responsible for cleaning up all the cultists. ”
"As you wish, Your Highness. ”
Another 10 minutes away, along an even more complex and dizzying underground labyrinth, this time they came to a brand new hall.
The hall looks even more rudimentary than it had been, with no ornaments left except for a few coats of arms hanging from the walls and torches mounted on hard earth walls.
In the very center, as Charlotte expected, there was a pair of sand tables about two feet long, and on each side of the sand table were placed ordinary black wood chairs. It seems that this is the place where the military formation is rehearsed.
This time, however, no one complained about the poor environment. People either look eagerly at the sand table or stare at these potential opponents with scrutinizing eyes, and assess their own chances of victory in their hearts.
Soon, two masked guests were led to both sides of the sand table by the clowns. On the sand table, blue and red figures represent their respective military formations, some of them carry halberds, some hold bows and crossbows, and some drive horses, which represent the infantry, archers and cavalry armies respectively.
The spectators stood around the sand table, and Charlotte noticed that one of the two exhibitors was pinching his bones in delight, while the other shrugged his shoulders boringly.
Just a little thought can tell you why they have different moods.
In fact, the real military sand table is not so simple, all the troops, including the farmers who transport all kinds of military supplies, will be reflected on the sand table one by one.
A truly qualified general can not only arrange his troops, but also where to camp, how to march to shorten the supply lines, and how to protect his own supplies. This kind of military formation deduction, which only has three basic types of troops, is just a plaything in the enlightenment education of the aristocracy.
If it's such a game, Charlotte thinks she still has a little bit of experience. After all, when he was a child in Savoieburg, he also played such a game more than once.
But even in the simplest of games, there is a huge difference between a nobleman with an orthodox military education and an ordinary businessman. The masked man shrugged his shoulders easily won, and the next round soon began.
Because the military formation deduction is too simple, the game is too fast in every game. Soon, it was Charlotte's turn.
When he sat at one end of the military formation and raised his eyes to look at his opponent, he couldn't help but feel a little stunned.
The opponent is none other than Alec, who has repeatedly met with him. The latter, apparently not expecting his opponent to be Charlotte, could be seen fidgeting and twisting in his chair, as if he was struggling with whether or not to make the necessary release.
Charlotte raised her hand in a gesture of invitation, and then moved the villain unceremoniously after Alec's humble gesture to go ahead, and he used one of his cavalry as a scout to scout the battlefield. Alec was quick to react in the same way, and it was the most standard way to start.
It seems that neither of the warring sides has any intention of being ingenious.
The military formation deduction soon passed the tentative stage and gradually entered a fierce offensive and defensive battle. Charlotte recalls childhood memories of a time when his extraordinary thinking skills gave him quick reflexes, which made up for his lack of knowledge of military formations.
Soon, Alec's deduction of each move became more and more difficult, and he had to rack his brains every time to deal with Charlotte's moves.
After taking another step, Alec was slow to respond, and Charlotte, feeling impatient, looked up at the chess player across the table, and only then did she notice that something was wrong.
Alec's bare pupils through the mask - dilated!