Chapter 1063 - The Game Began! (1/2)
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Neverwinter held the first National Sports Meeting on the Victory Day.
Roland had simplified the process of the game, so there was neither an opening ceremony nor a running commentary on the match. However, this could not stop it from becoming a major event in the city.
Early in the morning, everyone spontaneously rushed to the Kingdom Main Street with a little stool or a felt-padded cushion in hand, since they all wanted to grab a nice position to watch the game. Most of them went out with all of their family members. Such a huge stream of people attracted lots of peddlers. They carried snacks and beverages on their backs, peddling along the way.
Considering that most people in the city needed to walk at least 28 kilometers to the middle section of the Kingdom Main Street, where the finish line was located, Roland decided to start the race at 2:00 pm. By doing so, he could allow more time for the spectators to get ready. Still, beyond his expectations, he soon found out that he had underestimated their enthusiasm for this game. By noon, this place had already been tightly surrounded by about 10,000 enthusiastic spectators, and more people were still coming here.
As the king of Graycastle, he did not have to huddle together with the common people. The Ministry of Construction had built a stand next to the street a day before. There were around 100 seats on its platform, which were reserved for the senior officials of Neverwinter. Some soldiers of the First Army also were placed around the stand to ensure their safety.
“Your Majesty, here’s the roster of the 1,462 participants.” Scroll came up with a thick stack of papers in hand. “But due to the limited registration time, I only categorized the information and analyzed the data rudimentarily. If I had two more days…”
“That’s alright.” Roland waved his hand to stop Scroll. “We are holding this sports meeting to boost people’s morale for the expedition. We can’t afford any delay.”
When he glanced through the roster, he found out that Scroll was just being modest. In such a short time, she found out every participant’s address and resume and recorded all the information in an orderly way. Roland believed no one else could do a better job.
In the roster, he came across some familiar names.
One was his old buddy, Yorko.
Another one was Lucia’s younger sister, Ring.
He also saw the three alchemists from the former capital city’s Alchemist Workshop.
He was happy to see them approve the sports meeting’s proverb, “the most important thing is to participate”, as none of them had any chances of winning the game, even though there were no witches involved in this match.
The names of the participants, who were more likely to win the race, were on the first page.
Roland saw that the top two names were Ferlin Eltek and Carter Lannis. He asked Scroll, “Do you think the champion is going to be either the Morning Light or my Chief Knight?”
Scroll smoothed back her hair and replied with a smile.
“Your Majesty, it’s almost time.” Barov, who was in a seat below, reminded him.
“Well, let’s get started.” Roland put down the roster and picked up the telephone next to him.
…
Guelz wore a desert-style fighting robe and was warming up before the game. He asked Rohan, “Do you know what the great chief is going to do to make all the participants in the two regions start running at the same time? The two starting lines are on the opposite sides of one another and all of us will run toward the middle of the street. Fairness is the most important thing in the holy duel. If this race is a little bit unfair, it’ll damage the great chief’s reputation.”
“Who knows. That doesn’t matter at all.” Rohan complained in his heart before replying with a little embarrassment, “Father… Could you please take that headband off? And the fur around your waist…”