Wandering Ma paid the bill and walked quickly into the El Paxin Artisan Association. A thick red carpet was laid on the floor in the hall, and flower petals were scattered. He had not seen such a grand ceremony the last time he came here.
scene.
As soon as he passed through the crowd, the wandering horse heard someone calling his name.
"Mr. Wandering Horse, this way! Thank God, you've finally arrived!" A naive dwarf lady was waving to him. She was a little fat, and the wrinkles on her face were piled together: "Lotus, I heard
Your ferry is a little late, and I should have asked someone to pick you up. But you don’t know how many busy things there are here, and I’ve been very anxious all morning.”
"I'm here right now, Ms. Elsa," the wandering horse opened his arms and enthusiastically gave the dwarf lady who was trotting over a hug: "You haven't changed at all. The last time I saw you was half a year ago.
Oh no, if I must say it, you are much younger, madam."
The dwarf lady laughed happily. "Come on, I know, I know, I know my own situation, dear friend. I am old and no longer young. I am already one hundred and twenty years old.
This is not young among dwarves. This may be the last time I serve as a preparatory committee member for the Continental League. After that, I have to retire. How I miss the mountains of Ithulian and my warm little cave.
, when winter comes, the fire in the fireplace is bright, and my knees won’t hurt so much.”
She enthusiastically grabbed the latter's hand and said: "Let's go, I'll take you to meet those old diehards. They've been so busy recently that they definitely didn't expect you to come to host this competition this time. Speaking of which,
How did you get this opportunity? The last time I met you, you were still a newcomer."
The wandering horse smiled slightly: "It's just a coincidence, Ms. Aisha, I didn't expect it either."
He didn't just talk nonsense. Before receiving the commission from the military, he really didn't expect that a freelance anchor who was not in the mainstream view would get such an important opportunity.
That's why he immediately interrupted his live broadcast plan in the Hill of Giant Trees and hurried back to Aquin.
Although the Continental Alchemy League is only a non-combat-oriented event, in terms of scale, it is only second to the three major super events in the second world. The participating areas include the Sea of Clouds, Oshu, Giant Tree Hill and Lotao
There are four floating continent groups, so there is also the saying of the Intercontinental Alchemy Competition.
It's just that this competition only includes traditional alchemy events, and no combat craftsmen participate, so the attention on the earth is only tepid.
But even such a live broadcast task is an item that all major platforms compete for. Wandering Ma didn't know that the military took the wrong medicine this time and actually caught the strong man on his head.
He had signed a long-term contract with Stargate Port before, but that was only a temporary worker at best.
However, he has heard rumors that Stargate Port has been short of manpower recently. It seems that most of the internal security forces in Stargate Port have entered Aitaria in the past week. In addition, there have been reports about the situation in the Second World some time ago.
The stable news came, which made people panic for a while, thinking that another world war was about to break out.
Naturally, he was skeptical about these rumors about wandering horses, but fortunately, he finally had some connections in the Elpaxin Artisan Association, so he didn't become blind.
I don’t know if the military is interested in this.
The Continental Alchemy League doesn't get much attention on Earth, but in Aitaria, it's just the opposite.
The league rotates approximately every two years. In the first year, the 22 winning teams from each region are determined through a round-robin system, and then enters the offseason for half a year. Half a year later, the second half of the league starts from the 22 winning teams.
Among the winning teams, the five teams with the highest points will be selected to advance to the finals.
In the finals, there are a total of twenty teams from four regions, plus six directly invited teams appointed by royal families of various countries. Twenty-six teams will compete for the final title in the hall of the Holy King of the Oshur Empire in the hot summer.
champion.
In fact, every two years, many talented alchemists will emerge on the mainland because of this competition, because most of these talented alchemists will eventually flow to major forces and the Chosen Guild. Therefore, this competition has also become a symbol of these major forces.
Targets to focus on.
For example, the Kaolin Merchant Alliance actually relied on the absorption of these outstanding alchemists. In recent years, it has shown signs of unifying the sea of clouds and even competing with the Kaolin Craftsmen Association.
And almost a quarter of the master craftsmen of the two largest guilds in the country, Silver Vislan and Elite Guild, come from this group.
In Aitaria, the royal families of various countries also regard it as a means to cultivate their own echelon of young alchemists, and regard it as an important way to demonstrate national power and show off the development level of alchemy.
Because of these reasons, the development of the mainland league has gradually gained momentum in recent years.
The two walked through the hall and passed through the corridor at the back. The Elpaxin Craftsmen's Association arranged the competition venue in the square behind the Craftsmen's Association. It was originally an arena, but it was only used for citizen celebrations on weekdays.
The second half of the league alternates between several cities. This is the second time we have come to El Pashin, and today will also be the most important one.
The top five finalists will be determined.
The wandering horse turned back and asked: "Ms. Aisha, how are you preparing for the competition?"
"Everything is fine, but you know those old die-hards who are holding their breath and want to avenge their shame. I have seen the young people Roger Tower selected from the union, and they are far from it. They are the most
But I just figured out what alchemy is. It’s hard for me to beat my opponents, especially the team from the Iron Oak Principality.”
"Is it really that difficult this year?" Wandering Ma'er himself is just a scenery anchor and doesn't know much about this aspect. He also did some homework on the way here. He knew that the Chinese competition area was generally sluggish this year, but he didn't expect it to be so sluggish.
.
Elsa shook her head.
The Kingdom of the Ancient Tower Knights is located to the east of the Sea of Clouds and to the north of Ithurian. It is a united kingdom composed of several small states. It has strong folk customs and has always had territorial disputes with Ithurian. And due to the return of clouds to the area
Only these two larger national forces belong to the same division, so the competition between them in the mainland league has been particularly fierce over the years.
It can even be said that a feud has been formed.
After all, in Aitaria, there is no such thing as friendship first and competition second.
It is said that before the new King Kaolin succeeded to the throne, the previous king Abedian would have his court alchemists visit various countries in Guta every year. In fact, they were showing off their strength nakedly, which made all the nobles of Guta's principalities angry.
itch.
The Continental League has a long history, even before the three major super events, and has been held for eleven times. The one that has won the most championships is naturally the unquestionable overlord of the alchemy world, the Oshu Empire. Kaolin Yixiu
Naturally, Ryan is not to be outdone, and the number of trophies he owns is close behind.
In the face of such strength, the people of Guta naturally had nothing to say.
But in recent years, the situation has gradually changed, especially with the overall sluggishness of the Chinese division in the past two years, Kaolin Ishulian has also lost successively in various competitions. In the game two years ago, Kaolin Ishulian
Li'an's four competing teams were almost completely wiped out, and in the end, it relied on a mysterious team of unknown origin to retain the second place.
And this year, in the first half of the round, most of the twenty-two teams from Kaolin Ithurian had already sunk. This was an unprecedented thing in history, and it even alarmed the Kaolin royal family.
"Look, not only the Kaolin royal family, but also people from the Forge Hall have come. We must keep at least three of the five seats, otherwise we will never even think about raising our heads in front of the ancient tower people in the next two years. Thorne will
My hair has turned gray due to constant worry, and even the team from the Elpaxin Craftsmen Association does not have an advantage against the opponent this year." Aisha replied.
The two of them have arrived at the square branch.
Today's square is naturally different from usual ones. Celebration curtains have been pulled up in the sky, banners have been erected, and a layer of carpet has been laid on the aisles.
The wandering horse looked around and saw a sea of people in the surrounding stands, a dense mass of darkness. Not far away was the VIP stand, which was red and the knights stood at attention. He recognized those as the Knights of the Dawn from Kaolin. And the red knight
One of the two people guarding him was the governor of Elpaxin. Count Sandor was tall and his black hair shawl was his conspicuous feature.
The other one was fat, with a slightly bald head, and was wearing a gorgeous robe. He was about forty years old. The dwarf lady turned around and told him: "That's Prince Coleman."
Only then did the wandering horse understand. Prince Coleman was born in the direct line of the Cowling royal family. He was one of the only two children of Queen Fossa, the biological brother of the former King Abedian, who did not die in infancy. She had been with a certain
The fourth son of the Earl's husband, whose identity has not been disclosed, and the uncle of the current young king.
It is said that he was born with extraordinary intelligence, but he was lame and had a harelip, and his ugly appearance was not liked by the courtiers.
This is the first time that the wandering horse has seen this long-famous prince. There are not many rumors about this prince in Kaolin Ithulian. Some people say that he is cruel and lustful, but others say that he is cold and fair.
, but it is almost certain that this person will not be liked by the new king who is only fourteen years old.
But in any case, His Excellency the Prince can be said to be a heavyweight in the field of El Paxin.
No wonder the dwarf lady said how much pressure there is on the Elpaxin Artisan Guild.
However, as a selector, he was not very interested in the political structure of the Kingdom of Kaolin, and only turned his gaze to the side. Next to the red knight was a deep black, with rows of Ithurian dwarves sitting neatly, mainly
The two clans of Steelbrow and Dwarf didn't need Elsa to remind them this time. The wandering horse recognized the origin of these dwarves.
The dwarves are taciturn, do not whisper to each other, and have solemn expressions. These ethnic groups under Eldron are good at metallurgy and alchemy. The shaken status of Corin Ithulian in the alchemy world has a much deeper impact on them.
He looked beyond these dwarves and looked eastward before he saw the representatives of the Kingdom of Knights of the Ancient Tower. In that direction, the staff of the Craftsmen's Association were debugging the last set of projection crystals. Not far away, there were several people wearing Elpaxin.
The dwarf in the alchemist robe of the Artisans Guild was arguing fiercely with the other party about something.
The wandering horse was slightly startled. "What are they doing? Are those people from the Ancient Pagoda Craftsmen Association?"
"Who says it isn't?" the dwarf lady said with a frown. "Those people are the chosen ones of the Ancient Tower Craftsmen Association, they"
She was about to say something else, when a burst of cheers suddenly erupted outside the stadium, attracting their attention.
The wandering horse and Elsa both turned back in that direction. The dwarf lady couldn't help but widen her eyes when she saw the crowd entering in that direction. The former had already shouted in a low voice before her.
"Elf Aquin, why are they here too?!"
"Brianne Caranthill!"
Outside the gate of the Craftsmen's Association.
Fang looked at the carriage team on the other side of the street with some disbelief, as well as the elf lady who came out of the carriage. He seemed a little unfamiliar with many things in the first world, but these pair of silver-clad elf guards
However, they are very familiar with the Dawn Guards, the guards of the Aegnor Elf Court.
And he happened to know that elegant lady.
"How did the hero of the Battle of Byrne, the daughter of Alanya, the Unicorn Ranger, and the mistress of the Far Star Bow get here?" Rhett also straightened up, looked at this scene curiously, and scratched with his claws.
Scratching the mane on his chin: "Elpaxin is really strange today. It seems that the harvest celebration is not yet time. The elves of Aquin are also here. They have been living in seclusion in the Summer End Forest for a long time.
He is no longer in the public eye."
The three of them watched silently as the Elf Princess disappeared into the Craftsmen's Association. It took a while before they came back to their senses.
Fang and Rhett looked at each other, each a little confused.
The Equan elves are the remnants of the Numerin elves. They have been allied with Corrin Ithurion after the Giant War. Before the Holy Sword of Dawn was lost, they had always maintained a good relationship with humans, but after that they gradually
Alienation.
Until the Battle of Bain more than ten years ago, Oshur invaded the southern border of the kingdom. At that time, the Equin elves also sent an army to help the Kaolin people resist the imperial army. At that time, Brianne Caranthir served as the Elf King.
The daughter of Alanya also participated in that war, and after the war became one of the Seven Heroes and the most legendary female ranger.
The battle in which she killed the Floating Island Whale with one arrow on the battlefield using the Bow of the Far Star was recorded as a video by some good people. It is still widely circulated in various communities and is one of the most classic battle examples in Aitaria.
However, after that, the Princess from the Far Star returned to the Summer Forest and lived in seclusion. She has not appeared in front of the world again for at least thirteen years.
In fact, if it weren't for her iconic long white hair, Fang would have almost not recognized Zeng, a hero who has appeared on promotional posters for the Chinese competition many times.
"Why is she here?"
Fang also had doubts in his heart.
As the 'chosen one' in the Chinese competition area, he has grown up listening to the legend of this elf princess. The Seven Heroes of Kaolin Ithulian is the dream of many teenagers in the Chinese competition area, and now he has finally seen it with his own eyes.
Almost without thinking, I subconsciously followed the elf guards.
But before he took a few steps, he was stopped by someone.
The person who stopped him was a staff member of the Craftsmen's Federation.
