Upon hearing this, the three squad members, who were in the midst of selecting their competition weapons, all turned their heads and gathered closer.
"Kid, you look young and scrawny. Can you even swing a weapon?"
"Fenmier, don't underestimate him. I heard that before the tournament, he had a knight's duel with Adris and took down that annoying fellow with just two swords."
Suddenly, the blond young man, who had been leaning against a wooden post with his arms crossed, changed his expression slightly and immediately became serious.
"My apologies, brother, I spoke out of turn."
He had personally experienced Adris's strength; although the man was a bit arrogant and conceited.
In terms of individual strength alone, he could rank among the top ten in previous Martial Arts Tournaments.
At the very least, he certainly couldn't beat him, and would be on the ground in at most two rounds.
"Come, Carl, let me introduce you."
The middle-aged man enthusiastically put his arm around Carl's shoulder and pulled him in front of the three.
"These two brothers, I'm sure you've noticed, are twins, and both are rather taciturn."
"The taller one is Lasu, and the slightly shorter one is Laqi, with the former being the elder brother."
The middle-aged man patted the shoulders of the two brothers and smiled amicably at Carl.
Both Lasu brothers had black hair and were about 1.7 meters tall.
Both had a melancholic temperament, but their eyes were bright and sharp as they scrutinized Carl.
Carl turned his head, looked at the middle-aged man, and asked with a light laugh, "What about you? What's your name?"
"Aitorc, your captain."
"Carl, is this your first time competing? Don't worry, we'll look after you."
"However, no one in our team has ever won first place in either the team or individual competitions."
"Don't hold too much hope… it's not bad just to get more exposure in front of His Majesty the King."
"After I finish this tournament, there might not be another for me. I'm getting old, and my physical strength is quite a bit worse than younger people."
Aitorc shook his head, sighed softly, and shrugged, looking rather dejected.
"In previous years, the most competitive teams were the White Rose Team, Erlend, and the Maribo Squad."
"Although our squad was formed long ago, its members are not fixed, and some people don't participate each year."
Just then, Triss walked out from a corner behind them and glanced at Aitorc and the others.
"Carl, is this not a good time for you? Should I come back later?…"
Aitorc and the others froze when they saw Triss arrive.
Wait, this lady was in the VIP section earlier, and it seemed she was standing next to the King?
Uh, their new teammate… actually knew someone of such status? And seemed to have a close relationship with her?
Otherwise, why would she come to secretly meet Carl just as the competition was about to begin?
Aitorc showed a knowing smile and winked at Carl a few times.
He indicated that he hadn't expected it; you're quite capable, kid? You can even hook up with someone of such esteemed status.
He went to stand beside the Lasu brothers, putting an arm around each of their shoulders, and subtly raised his chin to signal Fenmier.
"Ahem, no… this lady. Carl is quite free."
"Hmm, the four of us are going to the other teams' locations for some friendly exchanges."
Then, Aitorc, without thinking twice, dragged the others away, leaving Carl and Triss some space.
Triss pursed her red lips and winked at Carl, seemingly pleased with Aitorc's tactful actions.
"Your teammates are quite interesting, not as serious as the knights from other teams."
"Also, the bet you asked me to place, all one hundred twenty oren, was placed just before the betting closed."
"Hmm, I also placed a small bet of three hundred oren. I have confidence in you." Triss looked around and chuckled softly.
"One hundred twenty oren? Didn't I tell you to bet half? And you bet another three hundred oren, will the bookmaker be able to pay up then?"
Immediately, Carl's face twitched. He leaned closer to Triss and lowered his voice.
Triss snorted lightly and chuckled, "Carl, among the popular contenders for the championship, you're not conspicuous, and the odds are one to four."
"If I hadn't bet too much, your original odds would have been one to eight."
"You underestimate the grandeur of the Martial Arts Tournament. Not only His Majesty the King participates in the gambling, but even Duke Sievard and others are involved."
"The total stakes of the entire gambling pool amount to twenty thousand oren. As long as the odds aren't too high, even if someone bets over a thousand oren, they'll accept it."
"In the past, there were even cases where people secretly manipulated matches, with knights deliberately losing to earn bets. Later, His Majesty was furious and ordered strict investigations, which regulated things a lot."
Hearing Triss recount the amount of the bets and the number of people involved in the gambling.
Carl realized he had greatly underestimated these nobles. Commoners only earned a few oren a year.
After deducting tithes and other expenses, they were so poor they couldn't even afford meat.
Meanwhile, the wealth controlled by some nobles was enough to allow them to enjoy feasts unimaginable to commoners at every meal.
Of course, to some extent, it was also due to the special nature of the gambling, where collective funding led to such a massive amount.
Under normal circumstances, even if the King were to pay this amount, he would feel immense pain.
Kaira's earlier desire to discuss cooperation with him was likely due to his defeat of the formidable Adris, indicating great potential.
She probably estimated that he had a high chance of winning, so she bet on him, expecting to gain a lot.
After all, who doesn't want more money?
"With your ability to hunt Water Ghouls and Drowning Undead alone, one-on-one combat is not a problem."
"But in team melees, you need to be careful. Don't be overconfident." Triss raised an eyebrow, reminding him with a serious expression.
"Triss, don't worry, my performance will satisfy you."
"Hmph, then I shall wait and see. Kaira has been disparaging you, not believing you can win."
At this point, Triss looked indignant, clearly displeased with Kaira's behavior of belittling Carl… A few minutes later, Aitorc and the others quietly peeked out from beside a tent.
Seeing that Triss was no longer present, and only Carl remained, the four of them emerged from behind the tent and returned to Carl's side.
"Oh, look, our new teammate is very charming; a lady actually came to cheer him on." Aitorc said teasingly.
"Captain, don't concern yourself too much with other people's private matters. We don't have much time left, let's quickly choose our weapons." Fenmier pouted and reminded him.
The Lasu brothers didn't speak, merely walked silently to the weapon rack and picked up a morning star and an oak round shield.
"Fenmier is right, we've wasted too much time. Carl, what weapon are you good with?" Aitorc's easy smile faded, and he asked seriously.
Fenmier also came to the weapon rack and selected a good blunted sword and a round shield.
He even used a little force to tap the round shield with the blunted sword, checking its quality.
"Uh… a weapon I'm good with? Perhaps a sword."
While conversing with Aitorc, Carl took down a weapon from the weapon rack that surprised everyone.
Carl was holding a long-handled weapon with a bladed head, resembling a combination of a spear and a pike, forming a 'predict' shape.
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