They don't want me to try anymore.

Zoe sat in the VIP seats reserved for students of St. Goethe, and was stunned by the audience that filled nearly a fifth of Connaught's population.

What a magnificent stage this is!

And the person about to step onto this stage is his own brother!

Zoe proudly straightened her steel-plate... no, her chest, and was about to feel proud of Richard, but then she remembered that at this moment, Richard's two teammates were Catherine and Sophia, not her...

She couldn't help but pout, feeling a little lonely.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Katyusha's eyes also revealed the same emotion.

"...Katyusha, do you also feel like Richard has abandoned you?"

Katyusha paused for a moment, then nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Your Highness seems... to not need my protection."

"Don't say that. Without you, Richard wouldn't even have a sip of hot tea... Ah, really!"

Zoe pushed off with both feet and suddenly stood up on her seat, one hand clenched into a fist, the other grabbing Katyusha's hand, shouting, "Go for it! You have to do your best!"

Katyusha blinked, puzzled.

Zoe explained, "This isn't just for Richard, it's for ourselves! When we turn twenty, we'll both break through to Silver and team up for this competition! How about it?"

"……Um."

"Hehe, I knew Katyusha was ambitious too! Come on, let's shout together~"

"come on!"

"Come on, Your Highness!"

The girls' shouts merged with the shouts of countless others, creating a deafening sound.

At that moment, colorful ribbons fluttered and fireworks soared into the sky.

The 117 individuals who passed the preliminary rounds, representing 39 participating teams, entered the venue under the guidance of the honor guard.

Richard and his two female companions walked in front of the group until they were close to the center.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a nervous Anton, Damon winking at him, and some familiar faces from the qualifiers.

Then, he looked towards the stands and just as he was figuring out where the imperial officials were sitting, a large hole suddenly appeared in the ground in the center of the arena.

A giant oil painting scroll, ten meters high and of unknown length, slowly rose from inside, seemingly depicting a panoramic view of a war between dwarves and orcs.

"Everyone..."

The host's voice rang out.

Ignoring all the formalities, the greetings to the emperor, and the oaths, Richard finally received an explanation of the specific rules of the competition.

It turns out that this enormous, suspended scroll is the venue for the competition, which uses illusions to recreate the brutal war three hundred years ago when orcs attacked a border city of the dwarf kingdom.

The task for everyone in a moment is to travel into the painting and find the trophy hidden in the battlefield!

Once someone wins the trophy, their position will be revealed to the other contestants. If that person can hold onto the trophy for an hour amidst the competition, their team will be the champion!

As for the rankings of the runner-up and others, those will be determined after the competition based on their overall performance.

In addition, this painting contains a certain protective mechanism that will teleport players out when their lives are in danger, but this cannot guarantee absolute safety. In other words...

Although the chances are slim, people can die in the competition.

However, everyone was prepared for this.

This is the grandest competition that the young people of the empire can participate in before His Majesty the Emperor. Even if someone sheds blood on the field, it is not surprising.

"...May you all have great military success!"

Finally, accompanied by the sound of cannon salutes and cheers, the competition officially began.

The scroll slowly unfurled, occupying most of the sky above the arena, emitting a powerful suction that drew one by one the contestants lined up on the ground into its dazzling colors.

Less than half a second later, Richard opened his eyes again and found that the world around him had changed.

so fast.

And it's actually quite comfortable. Compared to that, the physical discomfort of teleportation is like suddenly needing to poop while riding a bus—it's unbearable.

He stood in the bushes halfway up the mountain, with only his two teammates behind him—not bad, at least the organizers didn't intend for the players to start a chaotic brawl as soon as they landed.

"It's much bigger than I imagined..."

After taking a moment to prepare herself, Sofia gazed at the distant horizon and sighed.

Then she bent down, stroked the wild grass, and said, "In terms of illusion magic, the quality is exceptionally high... Just building this competition venue would probably consume a mountain of gold coins and magic crystals."

Catherine unconsciously put her hands on her hips: "This is nothing to our country, just a little bit leaking out between Grandpa's fingers is enough."

Richard raised an eyebrow.

Sister, as the granddaughter of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is it really appropriate for you to say such a thing?

Aren't you afraid that Norton I will shout, "My money! It's all my money!"

Catherine, of course, failed to decipher Richard's micro-expressions.

She pointed to the area behind the hillside where thick smoke was rising and said, "Since the competition was specifically set against a war background, there must be clues to the trophy on the battlefield... Let's explore the area where there are people first."

Richard and Sofia nodded in agreement.

Then, as rehearsed beforehand, Catherine led the way, followed by the two mages. Sophia cast a concealment spell, while Richard released ravens for reconnaissance from a distance, and together they advanced cautiously.

Just as they crossed the mountain, they saw two robust orcs with grayish-green skin pointing and gesturing around an overturned chariot.

The chariot was quite small, and next to it lay a large ram with a broken neck, clearly a ram-chariot used by dwarves.

Thanks to the concealment spell, the orcs were completely unaware of the three-person team's approach. One of them was excitedly saying:

"I think this thing will make goblins run incredibly fast!"

"That's what I was thinking too!"

"Adding spikes to these wheels would definitely make them even more lethal!"

"That's what I was thinking too!"

"And there's more. We can put a dung bag in the back and stuff a goblin in it, so when someone is chasing us, we can throw shit in the enemy's face!"

"I...wait! This is great! How come I didn't think of that!"

"Of course, after all, you've never had goblins throw shit at you..."

The orc spoke with a proud expression, as if he thought himself very clever.

"Enough! You big dummy, get away from my vehicle!" A dwarf suddenly emerged from under the overturned seat and charged at the orcs with his bare hands.

Just as he was about to be smashed into a pancake by the orcs who had reacted, Sophia raised her hand to her chin and gently blew on it.

All of a sudden.

A cold wind howled, and frost was visibly forming on the orc's limbs.

Chapter 95 Do Orcs Also Like to Snatch Princesses?

"Roar!"

The orcs roared in battle!

The orc raised his great hammer!

The orc took a big step... then, because his right leg was frozen, he couldn't keep up with the pace of his left leg and tripped over himself.

During his fall, most of his body was completely covered by frost, and he shattered into more than a dozen pieces the moment he hit the ground.

So, um... he died from stepping forward with his left foot first!

Although he had watched it many times, Richard still couldn't help but think to himself that the ice mage Sophia was very imposing and would be suitable as a villain in a literary work from his past life...

Then, he exited his hiding place, finished off the remaining orcs with a single sword strike, and, reflecting on the feel of his movements, said to his companion, "Probably at the early Black Iron level."

Sophia nodded slightly, squatted down, touched the orc's frozen blood, and raised an eyebrow: "This isn't blood, it's red paint..."

She turned to look at the rescued dwarf, who seemed unsurprised by the paint and blood, and simply waved his hands excitedly, saying:

"Are you mercenaries hired by His Majesty the King?"

Is this considered choosing a side?

Richard and the two women exchanged a glance, then nodded and said, "That's right, we are. How's the battle going?"

"We've lost the outer fortresses and mines, but the orcs absolutely cannot take the main city, and with your help, they certainly won't!"

The dwarf stroked his orange beard, showing great trust in the team: "Come with me, everyone, the main city needs more manpower!"

After a brief discussion, the three did not refuse and followed behind the dwarf.

After all, the map is so big, you can't just search for the trophy randomly—Richard figured that even if the dwarves weren't in their hands, they must have some clues, so it was necessary to try and get some information from them.

On the way, they chatted with the dwarves.

"Everyone's saying those orcs came to kidnap the princess!"

The dwarf clenched his fists, filled with righteous indignation: "We'll definitely teach these big idiots a lesson!"