Free Web NovelChapter 830: Chapter 95: Sudden Wealth—Earning Tens of Thousands a Day! Massive Talent Acquisition with Su Li
The two sides possessed a rather cultivated perspective on warfare, showing humility in victory and grace in defeat. It attracted a chorus of cheers and screams from the women. To them, war meant knights adorned with white gloves, roses pinned to their chest, riding white horses, gentlemanly and courteous.
However, aside from a rare few battles where either tactical countermeasures or overwhelming differences dictated the outcome, the rest were filled with bloodlust and violence. Most knights were immensely volatile, like stubborn mules, refusing to easily concede defeat.
Fighting to the bitter end was their norm. Even when knocked down, they would howl defiantly, insisting on paying a ransom to battle again. Especially those who fought to the last, only to narrowly lose, were the most indignant. The moment the referee announced the decision, they would spring back up from the ground, roaring for a rematch.
These ransoms were exorbitant, equating to a tenth of one’s net worth, meaning an Official Knight had to pay at least 5 Golden Crowns for a rematch, while an Elite Knight had to pay at least 25 Golden Crowns.
In just less than half an hour, the arena’s stages brought more than 4000 Golden Crowns rushing to Su Li like flowing water, an instant windfall!
As long as someone demanded a rematch, more than one round was inevitable, allowing up to three revival matches, where the first to win four rounds or have the opponent concede would emerge victorious.
Yet, the knights of the Empire were so impetuous, refusing to concede even in horse lance duels, let alone in such high-profile dueling events.
Many arenas saw matches stretch to the seventh round before a winner emerged, generating 150 Golden Crowns in ransom from an elite match, with Su Li taking a 60% cut, equaling 90 Golden Crowns.
As for the champion-level arenas, gold flowed like water, and a single rematch could amass nearly 150 Golden Crowns in defeat ransom.
What if someone couldn’t afford the ransom? Not a problem at all, as the arena offered comprehensive services! Alongside the gambling tables were Half-Elf banks, providing loans to knights. And if they couldn’t repay, no worries, they could sign a conscription contract with the Territory, where an Elite Knight’s monthly salary was 5 Golden Crowns, with 4 used to repay the loan.
With this setup, Su Li was practically raking it in.
This contest blended the passion of combat with the thrill of gambling perfectly, causing every participant and witness to feel their blood boil, unable to stop.
The opportunity to become famous from a single battle existed here, such as for the unique Elite Knight, Blood Shield Jes Stuart, a knight of incredible resilience. In earlier selection matches, many were already drawn to this powerful Elite Knight.
He was akin to a Saint Fighter, unbelievably tenacious. Maybe the enemy could defeat him once or twice, but each time, he would rise again, his fighting spirit burning anew, resuming the battle.
A Saint Fighter cannot be felled by the same move twice, and he was no different. He consistently learned and evolved in combat, leveraging his potent defense and recovery abilities to crush his opponents.
There were times when even the wildest gamblers believed this knight couldn’t hold out any longer. The referees and commentators on the sidelines thought this blood-soaked knight would never rise again. Yet, to everyone’s shock and awe, he would always stand up, grit his teeth, and continue battling, wearing down his opponent.
Based on his current performance, he was undoubtedly a top contender for the elite group championship.
Given that the bloodline and divine magic abilities of Elite Knights are few and have little variation, this formidable Elite Knight could clearly rely on his strong resilience and learning ability to turn the tables.
His name, Blood Shield, wasn’t because he carried a blood-stained shield but because his blood-stained body was as tough as a shield, always standing firm!
Of course, there were also broke gamblers who lost everything in a single round. Gamblers, after all, often lose — nine out of ten times!
Like this Blood Shield Jes Stuart, although he repeatedly turned defeat into victory, the fact remained that from the moment he engaged in this gambling and competition, his fate was sealed as one leading only to bankruptcy!
From the first time he paid the ransom, there was no turning back. Although he often managed to turn the tables in the end, when he won, he could only receive a post-tax share of 40% of the ransom, just 10 Golden Crowns. Yet when he lost, he had to pay the full 25 Golden Crowns as ransom.
Thus, from the beginning of his participation in this contest, Jes was on a gambler’s destined path. His only chance for reversal was to win all the way to become a Champion.
However, to a gambler, the worst thing is having a glimmer of hope for turning things around. Such an illusionary hope will certainly drag the gambler into an even darker abyss.
All this aligned closely with the world’s dark and despairing style here.
Yet, Su Li was in a splendid mood, as this meant that this powerful Elite Knight was destined to belong to him.
Su Li had seen his battles, and he held a high probability of breaking through to become a Champion Knight. If he indeed managed to break through to a Champion Knight, then the debts he now owed, Su Li wouldn’t mind helping to settle them. What seems an enormous trouble for an Elite Knight is actually quite manageable for a Champion Knight.
