Chapter 320 Mage Archery Tournament 1
"Why did you even have to do that? Couldn't you have just announced it directly?"
This was the first question that Faxul asked Daneel after getting over the shock of seeing such an excellent performance.
"Competition, my friend. There are too many established betting organizations in the continent. I needed mine to have an impact; I needed something that will make those people run to the stall and start betting. Comparison makes one understand the value of something. And besides, with Arafell putting up such an 'unexpected' performance, there were bound to be a lot of people who were sore due to losing their bets. I just…cashed in on the opportunity."
Gambling was, after all, one of the most profitable occupations in the continent, provided that there were enough customers and enough things to gamble on. Daneel had had the idea to enter since long ago, as he knew very well about the success of the gambling business back on Earth.
The only problem had been that it would be both difficult and expensive to enter into a business which was already very congested. Hence, Daneel had put his plan off until this perfect opportunity came along.
Hearing Daneel's smug tone, Faxul said, "How do you even get these damn ideas? And what was that last line supposed to be?"
COUGH
Faxul's words made Daneel cough suddenly before he looked away, as if he was guilty of something.
Terms and conditions apply. One of the most dreaded sentences that could be heard on Earth.
And in most cases when this sentence became relevant, it usually meant bad news.
Sadly, Daneel had found no replacement for it no matter how much he racked his mind. No other sentence carried the same weight, along with the same anonymity that allowed it to pass by the eyes and ears of many Earthlings before making them regret in the future.
Of the many things he had brought over to Angaria to Earth, this was the one he was least proud of.
But because he was now a businessman who badly needed money, he had had no other choice.
Seeing the King of Lanthanor act weirdly for a few moments, Faxul was puzzled but he didn't press.
Instead, he chose to comment on the other novelty which had impressed him.
"What about that entire drama? Those were…actors?"
"Oh, yes. It's an advertisement. Eloise was running the whole thing from behind the scenes. Worked out well, didn't it?"
"Can advertisements even…be like this? I thought they were all just things either printed out and distributed or said repeatedly on the Network. This is the first time I'm seeing a…performance.
With a nod, Daneel replied, "That's how it was so far. You must agree that this is so much more effective. The problem is that you can't have someone repeatedly acting out stuff like this…instead, I used the perfect opportunity where I could catch everyone's attention. One's attention is really easy to catch when they are standing in line to eat."
"But aren't you fooling those who might think it's all real?"
"Well, it could be real. And that's what will make them rush to the stall."
Speechless, Faxul only looked at Daneel, unable to decide whether his friend was fooling people into betting with his organization.
Yet, before he made that decision, Daneel said, "Got to go. I should check on something," before teleporting away, leaving Faxul alone in the room.
With nothing else to do, the Black Raven King continued to look at the crowds, amused at the expressions of those who looked like they didn't want to miss another golden opportunity to make it big by betting.
While he was doing so, he realized that even this had been brought on by those sad, drooping shoulders of the man at the end of the ad which had been due to missing out on the opportunity.
With this realization, Faxul blurted out "It is cheating!" Before looking around and remembering that he was alone.
…..
Meanwhile, the King of Lanthanor had made his way over to one of the waiting rooms in the passageways which led to the ground in the middle of the stadium
There were display trinkets set up here too which were currently showing the mad crowds, but they had actually been placed to let competitors keep an eye on their opponents while they were waiting for their turn.
Teleporting to one corner of the room, Daneel first accepted the bows of all those in the room.
It seemed that the 49 soldiers here had assembled into a group, and were currently facing Cassandra who was floating a few centimeters in the air.
She looked ravishing in skin-tight leather clothes which were great for free movement but not so good at all in covering up her athletic figure honed after years in the military.
Yet, the fact that there were no inappropriate looks from the soldiers was a testament to the absolute respect and reverence with which these men and women treated their commander.
It seemed that Cassandra had been in the middle of some speech, so Daneel only told her through the oathstone to continue.
"As I was saying, soldiers, this is no less than a war. There might not be bloodshed, and there might not be a risk of death. But if we lose, then it is our honor that dies. And this death is so much worse than us physically leaving our bodies. Tell me, do you want to go back to your families and tell them that you lost even though you were the host? Do you want to be the one who has to say those words?"
All the soldiers vehemently shook their heads at the question, as if even the notion of what Cassandra was saying horrified them.
"Good. Then do your BEST. Pull out EVERYTHING you have in you. Because believe me, if I see that you aren't doing that, you will wish that this was an actual battlefield so that you can get killed by an enemy. Do you understand?"
'YES, COMMANDER!"
"Then show that to the continent. Dismissed."
Ending the speech and throwing her gorgeous red hair behind her shoulder, Cassandra floated to the ground looking every bit like those legendary heroines that Daneel had read stories about back on Earth.
After she walked to him, both of them ducked into a smaller room for privacy so that they could talk about the plan that Lanthanor had made to get to the top of the rankings.
…..
A few minutes later.
With renewed cheers from the people who had had an opportunity to regain their energy due to the food and drink, 5 lines of individuals walked up the podium in the middle just like before during the Fighter Archery Tournament.
The second stage of the Fighter Archery Tournament would take place after this one, so that the participants would have enough time to recuperate and give their best.
The main difference right now was that the soldiers who had just marched onto the ground weren't carrying any bows.
They were all bare-handed, leading the crowd to wonder how this could be called an archery tournament if there were no bows involved.
The targets from before were still in the air tho, and those with the best zoom trinkets noticed that there actually seemed to be more of them than before.
"I hope you all had a good break, because I'm ready to get this show started! How many of you have been to Olympic Bets? I can say with certainty that I have betted my entire life savings on the outcome of this match! So if you see a different announcer later, it might just be because I won a fortune, so I gave up my job! Or I might be in a nameless ditch somewhere for losing everything…"
As the crowd chuckled while settling down into their seats, Sylvesto continued.
"Now, onto the Mage Archery Tournament! Just like before, we will have a demonstration. Who should I- Ah, we have a volunteer! Go ahead, sir!"
When Sylvesto had just been about to ask someone, an elf had stepped out of their line and arrogantly walked forward.
He had a trademark sneer on his face, and his earlobes which were in the shape of a tri-bladed knife were pointing straight down.
Walking up to a pile of arrows which were placed at the front, he picked one up and weighed it in his hand.
His next actions shocked the audience, making them gawk and wish they could go back to the Olympic Bets stall.
The elf had thrown the arrow in the air before turning around, as if he didn't even need to see the outcome.
After it floated for a second, a cylinder of fire and wind came into existence which enveloped the arrow.
BANG
After a few seconds, with a loud sound, the arrow shot into the air at the first target.
After going through it, another BANG was heard before the funnel formed and the arrow accelerated again, taking it straight through the second target.
It was as if the arrow was also realigning itself after each target, as it never seemed to miss its mark.
Finally, after crossing the record set in the Fighter tournament before, it stopped and fell to the ground.
Clearly, it could go even further, but the elf had wanted to make a point.
And that point was that all those who hadn't betted on Eldinor winning in this tournament had been foolish.