Barton brought his carefully crafted deck of cards into the capital, heading towards the empire's tournament. The bright sunlight dyed the world golden. Outside the city walls and along the river banks, thousands of tents had been quietly set up. Tens of thousands of civilians from all over the world were flocking over to watch the tournament.
The spectacle of the tournament made it hard for Barton to breathe: the shining weapons, the tall armored horses, the loud cheers of the crowd, the bright flags fluttering in the wind … and the monsters, especially the monsters.
In Cassan City, Barton had seen many monsters from the Blackwing Clan, but today, these monsters had all retracted their usual ferocious looks. They carried small stools and found a place to sit in the square with simple and honest expressions. Noble dragon descendants streaked across the sky above their heads, scattering fine fireworks between their claws.
In addition, there were many foreigners that Barton did not recognize. There were people from the Narrows Bay and the Western Sea, as well as dwarves from the Kingdom of the Swamps. There were also cunning merchants from the trading cities, as well as noble southern poets.
In the eyes of the tourists and merchants from foreign countries, the scene before them was so illusory that it was unbelievable. The countless fictional scenes of humans and monsters living together in harmony in the stories were displayed in front of them just like that, as they waited for the tournament to begin in the square.
Barton wore a grayish-blue linen shirt without any ribbons or decorations. The thin gray cloak on his shoulders looked like a dirty rag, but today he was one of the main characters here. The emblem on his chest proved that he was a participant in this tournament.
"Have confidence, Barton. You are the person in Cassan City who knows the Elegy card the best.
Your friends, family, the upper echelons of the empire, and even His Majesty the Emperor will all see your performance on the stage. This kind of opportunity is rare. "
Before he left, City Lord Cassan had given him a lot of encouragement, but even so, the ordinary craftsman from Cassan City was still a little timid.
At this time, it was close to noon. Emperor Black Dragon's mountainous figure slowly appeared at the top of the sea of flowers, attracting a wave of cheers. At this point, the tournament was finally announced to officially begin.
Behind the central stage of the palace square, an illusory image was suddenly projected on the black curtain used to decorate the background of the stage opera.
Against the pitch-black background, a line of pale golden draconic text with a heavy presence was presented before the intelligent beings from all over the world: "Elegy."
While people were still pondering over the meaning of the Draconic language and how such a scene had appeared on the black screen, a passionate voice reverberated throughout the court square.
"Welcome to Elegy Tavern!"
With that, the huge font disappeared and was replaced by the images on the back of the Elegy expansion packs, which were projected in front of everyone.
Barton made up his mind and inserted the card that he had spent countless hours constructing into the black box that the staff member had given him. He took a deep breath and began to step forward onto the stage.
Unlike the noisy and chaotic auditions, the finals were slow and meticulous. Only one pair of players would be playing at a time, and Barton had drawn a number one, which meant that he would be the first contestant to go on stage.
Due to his mental fortitude, he didn't dare to look at the surging audience below him. He could only sit in his seat without looking sideways. The finals stage was larger than he had imagined. His opponent was far enough away that Barton couldn't even see his opponent's face clearly.
How was he going to compete?
Barton was a little doubtful, but he still followed the staff's instructions and placed the black box on the oddly shaped competition table. After waiting for a while, the passionate voice sounded again.
"Andoine versus Jaina!"
"The Holy Light shall grant me victory!"
"You asked for it!"
The emblems representing the clergy and the mage appeared on the big screen, followed by the portraits of the heroes representing their respective professions on both sides. The heroes said their opening lines, and the first battle officially began under the gaze of everyone in the court square.
The background was a wasteland scenery that no one had ever seen before, and when Barton played his first battle follower, the "Northshire Clergy," something strange happened.
A female clergy in a white robe was actually projected onto the finals stage, and even her solemn expression was vividly portrayed!
This scene immediately caused a huge uproar. Exclamations and faces were everywhere, and it also made Barton's hands tremble slightly. Although he didn't understand how such a scene appeared, he knew that the court had spent a lot of money on it.
At this moment, he didn't know why, but tears welled up in his eyes.
In the eyes of many, the Elegy card was just a fancy and useless plaything, a brand new form of entertainment.
Yes, they were right, and there was no way to refute them, but Barton himself had even deeper expectations of the Elegy.
This game that people talked about had clear goals, clear rules, and a certain degree of randomness. The extremely low threshold and extremely high ceiling made Barton deeply addicted to this game. He had spent countless days and nights studying the strength of each card, the combinations and restraints, and in order to become the best card player in the entire Empire, he had wasted countless efforts.
Countless times, his family and friends had said to him, "Don't be like this, Barton, this is just a game, just let it go."
But sitting here today, seeing so many people and unusual creatures from all over the Empire gathered together, and even His Majesty the Emperor himself, to share this moment together, was simply a miracle to him.
The tournament organized by the court and supported by the officials made Barton feel that everything he had done was worth it. He was willing to work hard for such an opportunity. Even if he was a useless mortal, he could still have a glorious moment in his life, standing on the stage and receiving the attention of millions.
— My turn, card draw!
Mind Steal!
…
Caesar looked at the surging crowd below, his eyes full of satisfaction. The value of the Elegy card was not limited to the present. In the future, it would slowly become a new industry.
As time passed, the Elegy card would gradually spread to a wider range of people, and the sale of cards would bring in a decent amount of income for the court. But for the market that was still growing, this income would have even more room for imagination in the future.
When a large number of people were addicted to the Elegy card, after winning over enough supporters, the Elegy card would gradually have the ability to support the professional system, and the tournament system behind it would come into being.
This was something that would inevitably happen when things developed to a certain extent. Not long ago, there were many private gambling matches between the people of the Empire for the Elegy card, but these things were firmly forbidden by the court because they could not be taxed.
After considering for a period of time, Caesar decided to simply put an end to such competitions among the people, banning them and letting the officials do it themselves. This was the direct reason why this tournament was held.
Promoting the tournament industry was a good thing. Caesar noticed the prospects of the Elegy card derivative system, not only in the Blackwing Empire, but also in the value that could be gained after exporting it to the outside world. Everything now was in preparation for pushing the Elegy card to Airadia.