The anticipated tournament was about to arrive.
In the afternoon, the people flocked to the central square, surrounding it so tightly that not even a drop of water could trickle through. This was even after Hogg demolished the old buildings around the city and doubled the size of the square.
In order to achieve enough publicity, the Black Dragon had announced the announcement to the people two weeks in advance. The Elegy Taverns in various cities had also announced the announcement at eye-catching locations in their taverns. Apart from that, the Publicity Department had also worked with the Commerce Department to mobilize the farmers and foreign merchants living in the outskirts of the city to come and watch.
That's right. The competition this time wasn't the usual martial arts competition or gladiatorial tournament that was commonly seen in the various countries of Aladia. Instead, it was the Elegy Card Competition. It would be held at the same time in various cities of the Blackwing Empire. After going through a series of complicated shortlisting stages, the victors of each region would receive a ticket to the Royal City. In the Blackwing Empire's Royal Court, under the sea of flowers, they would compete for the Glory Trophy as well as a generous reward that was beyond their imagination.
This was the intention of the Black Dragon. The Elegy Card had already taken root in the soil of the North, and the Commerce Department was already preparing to open up other markets in the continent. Before that, Caesar was prepared to add fuel to the fire for the Elegy Card, using the name of the government to build support for it.
No matter the era, the government was synonymous with authority. If the Court could support the Elegy Card on the surface, the positive impact would be self-evident.
It was worth mentioning that the development of the Elegy Card was not the willful nonsense of the Black Dragon.
Since ancient times, the existence of the entertainment industry was necessary. In any world, especially in a world like Airadia where social stratification was fixed, the entertainment industry had a very important meaning.
This was not an idealistic world. In any era, there would be such a group of people — they were energetic but lacked the right to speak and status. Their strong desires could not be satisfied and vented. These people were usually strong youths. Once there were many of them, the impact was very frightening. Over time, repression would lead to crime and social unrest. If these people had strong racism and were dissatisfied with the current state of the country, the consequences would be even more severe.
Therefore, cheap, efficient, and even violent entertainment industries were born, such as taverns, brothels, and arenas. These industries had the ability to attract the energy of these people and satisfy their desires in another way.
Regardless of whether it was the past, present, or future, the entertainment industry would not die. Instead, it would change and evolve. It would put on a coat that was in line with the current era and make a comeback.
Of course, the Blackwing Empire was a powerful country. Caesar had the ability to suppress all unrest and resistance. However, the cost of doing so was disproportionate. Therefore, Caesar would rather promote the development of this industry. As mentioned earlier, brothels and taverns were the first things that appeared during the reconstruction of the Northern Lands.
The only difference was that the Elegy Card Deck was in the entertainment industry as well. The Blackwing Empire's Elegy Card Deck's true mission was to popularize the Blackwing Empire. It shouldered the heavy responsibility of bridging the gap and abandoning racial differences. Its special trait could allow races with completely different levels of culture, intelligence, and strength to sit at the same table. Although it sounded a little unbelievable, it now appeared that the Elegy Card Deck had accomplished its mission well.
However, the main reason for the stability of the country was Caesar's preferential policies after he ruled the Northern Lands. The carrot policy and the stick policy worked well together, arranging everything clearly. Now, there were very few voices that opposed the Black Dragon Emperor in the Northern Lands. Even if there were, it was the voices of a few rats hiding in the dark sewers.
In order to maintain the development of the Elegy Card Deck according to Caesar's wishes, the Royal Court's Publicity Department and the Ministry of Commerce had jointly formed a team that was in charge of the Elegy Card Deck's operations, research, and rule changes. In the past two years, the Elegy Card Deck had reduced the frequency of new expansion packs, allowing card players to calm down and delve deeper into the tactics and usage of cards. Some of the changes were also deliberately aimed at nurturing the emergence of high-end card players. This was a project that was constantly evolving, always pursuing a new balance of tactics.
Airadia's people were not stupid. With the core data in their hands and the support of the government, the team in charge of the Elegy Card Deck's operations had been growing rapidly. Due to the lack of competitors and the inability of the public to actively screen the cards and other reasons, the Elegy Card Deck's vitality was even stronger than in Caesar's previous life.
From Caesar's point of view, the operations team still had a long way to go before they could become a professional. The tournament this time was also a way to unearth talents. In the final round of the King's Court, there might be many players who would be drawn into the King's Court Elegy project team and directly participate in the Elegy project.
The central square was filled with rows of oak tables and chairs, separated by eye-catching red cloth strips. As a wealthy businessman, Sotana was obviously able to get preferential treatment through his connections. He was arranged to sit closest to the game platform, together with the rising nobles and black shirts.
"So many people." He sighed softly in his heart.
With the game platform as the center, the central square was built with temporary wooden platforms stacked layer by layer. There were five rows of wooden platforms in total, which could accommodate at least 200 people. However, the people behind could not see the real scene of the game platform clearly.
To ensure safety, the people around the platform were all guards in black shirts. Of course, there was no lack of monsters among them. While they watched the game, they isolated the players from the outside world.
It was around four in the afternoon, and the scorching sun had receded. It was a good time to start the tournament. Amid the noisy discussions and the occasional cheers, the players went up the arena one by one.
To be honest, Caesar had no idea what effect this tournament would ultimately achieve. This matter was fully handled by the publicity department. After Black Dragon handed the planning to the former bard and current publicity department head, Barrett, he had not been involved in this matter. Whether it was publicity or the auditions, it was all done by the publicity department with the cooperation of the Elegy Card Deck project team. Now that he thought about it, how much experience could a bard have in organizing a tournament?
Furthermore, the people under Barrett were all bards who were in charge of publicity.
In other words, this was a competition that was completely organized, selected, and arranged by the rookie team. This was Caesar's mistake. Logically speaking, for this type of event, he should have asked Barrett to find the person in charge of the fighting room and arena to assist him.
Fortunately, Emperor Black Dragon did not mind failure. This tournament was not for the sake of ticket sales, nor was it a historical event. This was an enlightenment to change one's thinking. If possible, it would also promote the reputation of the Elegy Card Deck and attract merchants from all over the world to seek cooperation. This tournament was not a one-time event. If they did not do well this time, they just had to work harder the next time.
There was no curtain or grand opening ceremony. After a brief speech by the temporary host, the head judge announced the start of the game. The pioneers of the Elegy Card Deck straightened their backs. This was the first time a tournament was held in such a formal setting. It was inevitable that they were nervous.