Silver Moon City.
Crystal River.
Hundreds of tents, stables, and carriages turned the vast grassland into a huge camp. Other than the half-elf nobles and their squires, there were also tens of thousands of civilians who came to watch the hunting party.
Nobles dressed in splendid attire, soldiers in shining armor, fine horses adorned with gold and silver, excited people, children running all over the place, bards in strange clothes, acrobats working hard, mercenaries with rude manners, hawkers shouting loudly, and countless flags fluttering in the wind, formed a vivid and wonderful picture.
The annual hunting party was a large festival only held by the half-elves. It was also a rare entertainment.
Of course, a high rank knight like Colin would not participate in the hunting party. After all, no matter how fierce the beasts were, they were not qualified to be his prey.
The main participants of the hunting party were the low-rank professionals and apprentices.
After the hunting party, there was a martial arts competition.
The hunting party was just an appetizer. The martial arts competition was the main course.
In the martial arts competition, the real high-rank professionals would participate. They would show their strength and courage in front of the queen and win their own honor.
Every year, the winner of the martial arts competition would be personally rewarded by the half-elf queen. Swords, armors, horses, and even titles would be given out.
Before this year's martial arts competition, there was a rumor that the rewards of this year's martial arts competition would be unprecedentedly rich. There would even be titles as rewards.
The half-elves believed in this rumor. During the previous rebellion, the half-elf nobles were cleansed. Many titles and positions were vacant and needed to be filled.
Therefore, Queen Aisha would use this martial arts competition as an opportunity to find new blood and train new nobles who were loyal to her.
With such expectations, this year's hunting party became unprecedentedly grand.
Almost all of the half-elf nobles, even those who had been stripped of their titles, such as the Lute family of Alfalfa City, had sent their knights to Silvermoon City, hoping that some of them could stand out and be appreciated by the queen, restoring their family's glory.
When Colin and Queen Aisha arrived at the viewing platform, there was already a sea of people around the venue. The ceremonial officer was loudly chanting the names of Queen Aisha and Earl Angele, announcing their arrival.
Queen Aisha held Colin's arm generously, and the half-elf maid Cathy carried Sylph behind them. Together, they went to the main seats of the viewing platform.
The half-elf nobles along the way all stood up to greet Queen Aisha and Earl Angele. Aisha and Colin had perfect elegant smiles on their faces, and nodded in response.
Even in such a public place, Queen Aisha acted like a gentle and beautiful wife, accompanying her husband.
Perhaps she felt that since everyone knew about her relationship with Colin, there was no need to deliberately hide it anymore. Also, in the half-elf kingdom, no one dared to challenge Aisha's authority.
Also, with the purity of Sylph's phoenix bloodline, even if she was an illegitimate daughter, no one would say that she was not qualified to be the half-elf queen.
Woo —
Amidst the sound of the horn, the hunting team gradually appeared at the edge of the forest not far away. They were galloping toward the viewing platform.
"Master! Master! Brother really hunted a brown bear! "
Before reaching the platform, Colin heard Princess Judy's loud voice. Even the rumbling of the horse hooves could not cover it.
"Is that so?" Colin stood up and greeted the returning hunting team with a smile.
Prince Harrison took the lead and naturally rushed to the front of the team. When he was about to reach the viewing platform, he skillfully reined in the horse's reins, slowed down, and jumped down from the horse's back. He rushed forward a few steps and stopped right in front of the platform. He bowed and said:
"Yes, master! Please allow me to give this honor to you! "
Logically speaking, today's prey should all be given to Queen Aisha, but Prince Harrison's identity was special. He was not a vassal of the half-elf queen, so no one dared to say that he was rude.
Colin looked at the giant brown bear's corpse that was being pulled over by the flatbed cart and was a little surprised.
Thinking about it, even his predecessor didn't have the ability to hunt an adult brown bear alone when he was Harrison's age. It seemed that this student of his was quite talented.
"Very good!" Colin nodded with a smile and praised.
Prince Harrison raised his head with a smug smile on his face.
Princess Judy rode her pony to the front of the platform and yelled, "Master, what about our reward?"
Colin raised an eyebrow and asked, "What reward do you want?"
Before Prince Harrison could say anything, Princess Judy yelled, "I want Bella!"
As she said that, she waved the reins in her hand, indicating that "Bella" was the pony she was riding just now.
That pony impatiently scratched the ground with its claws. Clearly, it hadn't been completely tamed by Princess Judy.
This pony was the property of the half-elf royal family, but it was only a pony. Colin didn't even need to ask Aisha. He nodded with a smile and said, "Of course.
"Of course, it's my honor. But you have to let your servants feed it carefully. This Miss Bella doesn't seem to have a good temper. "
"I'll feed Bella myself!" Princess Judy hugged the pony's neck and scratched it affectionately with her snow-white hands. It seemed that she had scratched an itch, and the pony actually let out a comfortable purr.
Princess Judy immediately started giggling.
Colin looked at her charmingly naive appearance and laughed as well. Then, he turned to Prince Harrison and asked, "Harrison, what reward do you want?"
Prince Harrison hesitated for a moment and secretly glanced at the viewing platform. Then, he immediately retracted his gaze and said, "Teacher, your approval is the best reward for me."
Colin didn't need to look back to know that Prince Harrison must have secretly glanced at his half-elf maid, Cathy.
But fortunately, he still had some sense of propriety and didn't dare to ask Colin for Cathy on such an occasion.
Then, Colin returned to his seat and let the other half-elf nobles present their prey to Queen Aisha.
After the presentation, the long horn sounded again through the viewing platform.
Two knights riding tall warhorses slowly stepped onto the field, and the highly anticipated Martial Arts Competition officially began.
At the same time, an attendant quickly came to Colin and reported,
"Your Majesty, Count, the messenger of the Eastern Region is outside asking for an audience."
Colin smiled faintly and said, "He came at the right time. Invite him to come and enjoy this tournament."
"Yes!"
Not long after, Viscounts Fiin was led to the viewing platform by the attendant.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
Viscounts Fiin respectfully saluted his master.
Colin withdrew his gaze from the field and said with a smile, "Viscounts Fiin, you've had a hard time. Why don't you watch the tournament first?"
"Okay." Viscounts Fiin nodded in response, but he didn't take a seat. Instead, he continued, "Your Majesty, our Eastern Region has also prepared a big gift for the winner of this tournament."
Queen Aisha was slightly stunned. Then, she narrowed her eyes and looked at the young Viscounts of the Eastern Region.
"Viscounts Fiin, you're too kind. However, the half-elf subjects don't need the Eastern Region to reward them."
Logically speaking, since the host had already explicitly refused, the guest should have retreated.
However, Viscounts Fiin clapped his hands and asked the squire behind him to take out a knight's sword.
"Your Majesty, don't worry too much. This is just a small gift from the Eastern Region."
Colin didn't care at first, but when his gaze fell on the knight's sword, he instantly clenched his fists.
Because, he recognized the knight's sword —
It was the sword of Marquis García!
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