The location of the spring hunt was in the royal hunting grounds north of the imperial capital. There were vast primeval forests, more than a dozen scenic lakes, hills, valleys, and the Silver Winter Mountain Range connected to the Mountain of Dawn. Four days after Allen's award, the camp at the entrance of the hunting grounds suddenly became lively. Crowds poured in from the open space of the camp, and after a while, tents were propped up one after another. Shields with different symbols and crossed spears as support were placed at the entrance of the tent. A long triangular silk flag was erected under the tent and fluttered in the wind.
Longswords made of fine steel and gold-plated spurs refracted the sunlight. The bugle at the entrance of the camp sounded frequently, and people and horses continuously poured in.
According to the rules, the spring hunt would be held for three days in a row. The participation was not limited to princes, but the children of the royal family, nobles, and officials were eligible to enter as long as they were under the age of 25 and over the age of 13. Even if this spring hunt did not involve the Crown Prince's examination, the hunting grounds of previous years were filled with competition. This was also an opportunity to show the strength of the family to others, so there were many teams signing up for the spring hunt every year.
This year, there were even more.
In the Second Prince's tent, Julian wore a silver-white light armor and a cloak of the same color, which made him look extraordinary. However, Julian's combat strength was mediocre, and his participation was just a formality. If he wanted to achieve good results in this spring hunt and even win the championship, he needed the rest of the team. At this time, the other members of Julian's team entered the tent one after another, led by Allen, who was wearing a battle robe and a reverse scale armor. Today, his battle robe was simple, and he carried Gojoseon on his back. The devil's praise was hidden behind his waist, and he went into battle lightly.
Then Regis, Lola, Fares, Nairi, Adele, and the others filed in. Apart from these people, there were three unfamiliar faces. The one walking at the front was a man with vigorous movements and a calm demeanor. The man's brown hair was casually draped over his shoulders, and his face was covered with a beard. He wore a bronze half-body armor, and a short cloak hung down diagonally to cover the right side of his body. He carried a round shield on his back and a longsword on his waist. With one hand on the hilt of his sword, he walked up to Julian, bowed respectfully, and retreated to the left.
When he looked at Allen, he lowered his gaze slightly and nodded as a greeting.
Following that, a short and stout middle-aged man walked in. He was only as tall as Allen's chest, but his waist was as thick as a barrel, and his shoulders were much broader than a normal man's. The man's hair was all braided into braids, and the braids were tied with colorful knots. He had a beard that reached his chest and wore thick plate armor. He was carrying a battle axe with a dark red blade. When he saw Julian, he grinned, revealing a mouth full of yellow teeth. It was really unflattering.
The last person was extraordinarily handsome. His blonde, nearly white hair was meticulously combed to the back of his head, and braided from both sides to secure his hair. He wore a light brown leather armor with many pockets, which hid a lot of toys. A dark green cloak was worn on his body. Behind the cloak was a hardwood longbow and a quiver of arrows. A short sword hung from his waist. It seemed that this person had a certain level of attainment in sword and archery.
Julian looked around and gently pulled Allen. "Come, let me introduce you." The Second Prince looked at the brown-haired man and said, "This is Mr. Berlin Duncan. Berlin is an excellent warrior. He is proficient in horse combat and is also first-rate in combat. What's more, he is meticulous and once served as the captain of the Bucks Army's cavalry. At level 22, he was expected to rise to a higher level, but unfortunately … "
Julian didn't say what was unfortunate. He just patted the man named Berlin on the shoulder. The latter bowed to Allen and said, "It's an honor to work with you, Earl Allen."
With that, he retreated.
Before Julian could introduce him, the bearded man had already walked forward and said, "You can call me Hu Gao, Earl. I don't know anything but how to cut people! "He shook the battle axe in his hand and grinned.
"Just like he said, Hu Gao. He's a brave warrior from the High Mountain Tribe. He's not afraid of anything, but he's afraid of not having wine to drink. "Julian smiled and pointed to the third person." Yali, he's a versatile man. His archery skills are superb, and his fencing is also first-rate. He's also a natural hunter. No forest can make him lose his way. In addition, he's a singer, poet, harpist, and the dream lover of many young girls. "
Yali bowed elegantly to Allen and said with a smile, "Your Highness, you should give this last title to Earl Allen. Under the glory of Earl Allen, I'm just a clown. The young ladies of Oliska are talking about the Earl the most now. "
"Oh, that's true. Even I'm ashamed of Earl Allen's grace on the day of the award ceremony." Julian joked and then said seriously, "Alright, I've decided to let Earl Allen be in charge of the spring hunt. Everyone, including me, will listen to the Earl's orders. "
Hearing this, Berlin and Yali's faces flashed with surprise. Only Gao Hu was still grinning without any change. Julian coughed dryly and said to Allen, "What's the Earl's plan? You can tell us now."
Allen nodded and looked at the crowd. "There's only one goal for this spring hunt, and that's to win the championship. We want to take first place. As for the other spots, they're not within the scope of consideration! "
"Just fight for first place? I like that. Earl, just tell us what we're going to do! "Gao Hu clapped his big hands with his battle axe and said excitedly.
"Before this, Mister Ryan had already told me the details of the royal family's spring hunt. Every spring hunt uses a point system, and different prey have different points. After three days of hunting, the one with the highest points wins. But there's one rule. If any team can kill the Silver Winter Mountains' Vanishing Shadow and bring back its head, they will be ranked first unconditionally. So my plan is to directly enter the Silver Winter Mountains and kill Vanishing Shadow! "
There was silence in the tent.
Vanishing Shadow was naturally not a docile beast. On the contrary, it was almost the lord of the Silver Winter Mountains. It was a fierce beast even more terrifying than the Barbarian Elephant King in the depths of the hunting grounds. So even though there was such a rule in every spring hunt, no one brought back Vanishing Shadow's head. Even Julian did not expect Allen's plan to be so crazy and was immediately speechless.
In Allen's opinion, he had even killed Tarin's Aisha's Ice Wind. A Vanishing Shadow from the Silver Winter Mountains shouldn't be more terrifying than an Ice Wind, right? So the feasibility of this plan was very high. It all depended on whether Julian could give it a try. At the same time, it was a test. Edward suggested that he test Julian to understand the prince's temperament and bottom line, so that they could use more suitable auxiliary methods in future cooperation. Edward's arrangements were interlocked like the highly interlocked gears of a machine. Allen admitted that his methods were very efficient, but they always gave people a cold feeling.
Julian walked back and forth in the main tent, frowning. Obviously, Allen's decision exceeded his psychological expectations. At the moment, he was under invisible pressure. After a moment, he exhaled and said to Allen with a smile, "The count's proposal is bold and crazy. The spring hunt has been held for so many years, but no one dares to have any ideas about that Vanishing Shadow."
"Then what does Your Highness mean?"
"I just said that everyone in this spring hunt will act according to the count's orders, including me. If the count thinks it's feasible, I don't mind taking a gamble! "Julian said calmly.
Allen knew that it was really not easy for him to make this decision. After all, Julian was not Howson. It was not surprising that the eldest prince, who had fought on the front lines, would agree to this decision. But it was another matter if Julian, who had lived in the palace for a long time, was willing to take the risk. Of course, he would not let Julian take the risk. Otherwise, if anything happened to the second prince, it would be meaningless even if he won the spring hunt.
At the moment, Allen made another arrangement.
In every spring hunt, participants could form their own hunting teams. Teams generally could not exceed 30 people, and it was rare for someone to bring such a large team into the field. After all, having more people did not mean an advantage. Ten mediocre people were far inferior to one expert. Only if they could directly bring an army would they have an absolute advantage. Therefore, participants would try to optimize their teams. This time, Julian brought Allen and other strong people, as well as ten Silverfrost Guards given to him by the king. Allen's final arrangement was that Julian would be the leader, accompanied by Nairi and Berlin, and ten Silverfrost Guards to form the first team.
This team was responsible for wandering and hunting in other areas of the hunting ground. Allen did not have any special requirements for this team. The only thing was to ensure Julian's safety. As for him and the others, including Gao Hu and Yali, they formed the second team. Their team would go deep into the hunting area and go to the Silver Winter Mountains, responsible for killing Vanishing Shadow.
After the detailed arrangements, Allen gave the stage back to Julian. The second prince was about to say some encouraging words when suddenly there was a burst of laughter outside the tent. Then, someone opened the tent and entered. It was the first prince, Howson. Behind him, two Ironfrost Guards hurriedly followed in with helpless expressions. It was obvious that they could not stop Howson. Julian narrowed his eyes. He was very unhappy with Howson's trespassing, but he did not show it on the surface. He only smiled and said, "Big Brother, you're in a good mood. You don't have to make arrangements at this time and still have the time to come here to stroll around."
Howson laughed and said, "What's there to arrange? Anyway, I've always been the one to fight the chelicerae alone in the spring hunt. This year is no exception." He still looked down on everyone. The first prince then looked at Allen and said, "But this time, I'm not here to visit you, second brother. I've brought an acquaintance to Earl Allen. According to him, you're old friends who have known each other for a long time. He's very excited to hear that you're here. "
Allen frowned slightly. He could not think of anyone who fit Howson's description.
The first prince raised his hand and clapped. Someone came in from outside the tent and said, "Earl Allen, long time no see."
This was a familiar voice. Allen looked up and was immediately startled. He softly cried out, "It's you?"
The newcomer smiled.
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