Chapter 93 Royal City Banquet: "May I have them all?"
Shen Su tapped his fingers lightly on the tea table, organizing all the information he had gained since entering the instance.
This is a role-playing instance where each player is restricted by their assigned character, and their words and actions must conform to the character's persona. If a player's persona goes out of character (OOC) more than three times, the game ends. This makes it difficult for players who join in a group to recognize each other.
But at this moment, the system did not prevent them from recognizing each other, nor did it prevent them from sharing their respective main quests.
Why?
Because it's not a bad thing for players to recognize each other.
This way, they can be made to kill each other in advance.
Shen Su was wondering whether or not to pass on the information that "Princess Shi Yu" to them.
But I hesitated.
Although they came in as a team, Qin Ke and Mo Rugui were only temporary teammates. He didn't know them, and there was no friendship between them, let alone any trust.
They had already seen Qin Ke in the "Platinum Supermarket" instance. He was shrewd, good at disguising himself, and had a strong ability to protect himself, but he was also an egoist. Mo Rugui, on the surface, was a quiet and kind-hearted person, but how could someone who had cleared hundreds of high-level instances and ranked second on the skill leaderboard be a good guy?
They might cooperate temporarily when their interests don't conflict, but when their lives are at stake, everyone's first reaction is to protect themselves.
Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Qin Ke spoke first: "In that case, let's each rely on our own abilities from now on."
Mo Rugui nodded: "I have no objection."
Shen Su: "Mm."
Therefore, Shen Su never told them that the princess was Shi Yu.
Royal City Banquet Official Livestream Room——
[Although I know games are cruel, Qin Ke's attitude is too cold. Can't a team just disband like that? Can't we all work together to find another way?]
[It's not a matter of indifference; in high-level dungeons, you really can only rely on yourself. Teammates become competitors. Qin Ke not killing anyone outright was already a favor. Besides, once the main quest for a high-level dungeon is released, it can't be changed. There's no point in racking your brains.]
[Mo Rugui is ranked second on the technical leaderboard, and Qin Ke is someone who has a safe haven... I feel like Shen Su is in danger.]
[Hey, have you all forgotten our princess's true identity? It's still uncertain who will ultimately win her heart.]
[Exactly! Shi Yu will definitely choose Chen Su!]
[That's hard to say. Have you forgotten about Lucius? Right now, the princess has the highest favorability rating towards Lucius...]
...
The first half of the banquet on the third day was still a competition between princes, but tonight's competition was not a solo talent show, but a two-person PK, with the winners PKing again until the final victor was determined.
The ultimate winner will also gain the right to the princess at tonight's banquet.
A square cardboard box is placed in the center of the stage. Twenty princes step forward to draw slips of paper, and those who draw the same number become opponents.
In the first match, Shen Su, Qin Ke, and Mo Rugui were lucky enough to draw NPC opponents, and thus won smoothly.
In the second round, the ten victorious princes were matched again by drawing lots. Shen Su, Qin Ke, and Mo Rugui were matched with NPCs again, and they won this round as well.
The players who ultimately advanced to the third round were: Lucius, Soyer, Moses, Ron, and Leah.
Compared to solo talent shows, duo competitions are obviously more exciting and easier to win the princess's favor.
While casually watching the match, Lucius discreetly observed the statistics card showing the princesses' favorability towards the princes backstage. In the first two matches, all the princes had gained some favorability, but the winners had clearly gained more.
In the third match, a five-person competition, Lucius faced off against Leah, with Lucius winning. Moses then faced off against Ron, with Moses winning. Sue received a bye and advanced directly to the fourth and final match.
In the first game of the finals, Chen Su had a bye again. Lucius vs. Moses, Lucius won, and then Lucius vs. Chen Su.
Throughout the event, Lucius observed the backstage area. When he won, the princess's favorability increased significantly more than that of the other winners. However, since Suye received a bye, her favorability had stagnated. Everyone else, including the losers, had their favorability slowly increasing, but Suye's remained unchanged. Now, Suye's ranking is almost at the bottom.
Lucius was satisfied with the result. He walked up to the platform with a smile and looked at his final opponent.
The God of War remained expressionless, his eyes devoid of any emotion. He looked at his opponent with the same intensity as he looked at the flowers and plants around him.
The banquet reached its climax when the two stepped onto the platform, with screams erupting from the audience and enthusiastic fans chanting Lucius's name incessantly.
Lucius raised a hand, and the sound from below the stage instantly stopped. He shifted his gaze to Sue's face, his voice carrying an air of aristocratic elegance.
"Your Highness Suye, what do you wish to compete in?"
At the same time, a message popped up in the background of the slumbering system—
[Note: Due to plot requirements, player "Character Setting 1" will be temporarily disabled during the competition.]
Character Setting 1:
The God of War was a man of few words, speaking no more than three sentences a day, with each sentence containing no more than five words.
In other words, he could speak freely during the match against Lucius.
Shen Su stared at Lucius across from him for a moment, then said, "As everyone knows, I was born and raised on the battlefield. If we were to compare strength, combat, or martial arts, it would be unfair to His Highness Lucius. Let His Highness decide what to compare this time."
That's a rather arrogant statement.
However, the God of War does indeed have the right to be arrogant.
Lucius stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then, without refusing, said, "We've already had too many matches based on skill, and I'm sure everyone's tired of seeing that. How about we... test our luck?"
Shen Su: "How do we compete?"
Lucius pulled out a revolver.
"Have you ever played Russian roulette?" Lucius explained the rules of the game slowly and clearly. "You put one or more bullets into the magazine, spin the reel, and then the participants take turns pointing the gun at their own head and pulling the trigger. The one who gets hit or is ejected automatically loses, and the one who lasts until the end is the winner."
As he spoke, Lucius loaded a bullet into the magazine, spun the cylinder, and then slowly looked at Shen Su, a smile still playing on his lips. "So, Your Highness Su Ye, are you up for a try?"
This is a very simple game.
But what's at stake are human lives.
I disagree.
Before Suye could speak, the princess in the audience stood up to object. She didn't look at Lucis, but looked at the king beside her and said, "Father, this competition is too dangerous. Both War God Suye and His Highness Lucis are invaluable talents for the kingdom. Losing either of them would be a huge loss for the kingdom. I don't think Father wants to see such a scene."
"This..." The king looked at the princess and then at Lucius, hesitating for a moment. Lucius slowly smiled and said, "What the princess said makes sense. How about we shoot at the hand instead of the head?"
"Can……"
The princess tried to stop him, but the king interrupted, "Alright, the capital has the best doctors; even injuries can be healed."
Whether it was Shi Yu's imagination or not, he seemed to see "smugness" in Lu Xisi's smile.
But before he could ponder it, the king beside him asked him in a low voice, his tone like that of an old father concerned for his daughter.
"Daughter, are you worried about someone getting hurt?"
Adhering to the principle of impartiality, Shi Yu said without changing his expression, "Both Prince Suye and Prince Lucis are pillars of the kingdom. I will be worried and saddened if either of them is injured."
During this time, Lucius took a quick look backstage, and during this period, his favorability towards Shen Su did not increase.
The fourth match begins.
Neither of them was hit in the first round.
Reset the turntable.
In the second round, neither of them was hit.
Reset the turntable.
...
In the fifth round, neither of them was hit.
Reset the turntable.
According to the rules of the Russian roulette, if the game continues without resetting, and two people each fire three times, the mortality rate for each person is 1/6. However, when it comes to the third fire, the probability of survival or death for the person who fired first is only 1/6. If that person fires an empty gun, the mortality rate for the person who fired the gun after them is 100%.
However, they use a method of resetting the wheel after each round, so the probability of death and survival are fixed at 1/6 and 5/6 respectively, and shooting a gun is a low-probability event.
Lucius said it was all about luck.
It certainly seems like a gamble.
But in game instances, who can guarantee that luck can't be manipulated?
As the game progressed, the atmosphere below the stage became increasingly tense, with everyone holding their breath and staring intently at the stage.
"Actually, I'm not very lucky..." Shen Su lowered his eyelashes, his handsome face devoid of any emotion, skillfully spinning the wheel in his hand, and before the sixth round began, he uttered these words, "The luckiest moment of my life was probably the moment I met the princess."
He raised his eyes.
His calm, unwavering gaze fell upon Shi Yu's face.
at the same time--
"Bang!"
Shen Su is safe and sound.
The gun was passed to Lucis, who watched as Sue's ranking in the backstage area jumped forward again. He sneered inwardly, but did not show it on his face.
"It's surprising that the God of War, usually so taciturn, is so eloquent when it comes to sweet talk, but..."
"Bang!"
Blood splattered everywhere.
The audience was horrified.
Looking at his palm pierced by a bullet, and then at the sudden surge in favorability ratings on the backstage, Lucius even managed a smile.
"The hands of the God of War are for wielding weapons, for killing enemies on the battlefield, for protecting the homeland..." Lucius tore off a silk scarf from his chest and casually wrapped it around his palm, showing no sign of pain on his face, but rather a hint of relief. "So, how can we let the hands of the God of War get injured?"
Lucius was very pleased to see the princess's favorability towards him skyrocketing.
It appears that Lucius lost this round.
In reality, Lucius won.
However, according to the rules of the game, the final winner of tonight's competition is Suye, so the princess belongs to Suye at the banquet tonight. But since the competition has lasted for too long, there is less than half an hour left before the banquet ends.
The two found a secluded spot.
Half an hour isn't enough time to do much, and Shen Su is restricted by his character to speaking no more than three sentences a day, so he can't chat with Shi Yu either.
However, Shen Su still managed to convey three pieces of information to Shi Yu: "Qin Ke and Mo Rugui are Ron and Moses," "Their main quest is to marry the princess," and "They are no longer teammates."
Shi Yu did not show much emotion after hearing this.
This is normal.
In this game where lives are at stake, filled with death and slaughter, there are no eternal friends, nor eternal trust.
But it's strange.
Shi Yu knew there were no eternal friends here, but he never doubted Shen Su and always trusted him.
He didn't know why he was so blind.
All he knew was that Chen Su was special.
But he didn't know what was so special about it.
After the banquet, the king summoned the princess to the same palace where he had last met her. The king sat in the main seat at the front, smiling kindly as he asked, "My daughter, what do you think of the princes' performance today?"
"very good."
The princess lowered her head, her veil covering half her face, revealing beautiful and delicate dark eyebrows and eyes. Her downcast gaze made her look very obedient.
"So, do you have a prince you like?"
"Yes," the princess answered affirmatively. The king's bright eyes lit up, and he looked on with great interest. "Oh, who is it?"
“Your Highness Lucis…” The princess lowered her eyes, pondered for a moment, as if after careful consideration, and uttered two words, “Very good.”
A satisfied smile instantly spread across the king's face.
"His Highness Suye is also very good."
Upon hearing this, the king's smile froze on his face, and his expression turned ugly.
The princess continued, "Ron and Prince Moses are both very well..."
The king's face grew even uglier.
"Father, they are all well." The princess, seemingly oblivious to everything, lowered her head shyly, her voice still soft and weak, yet her words were remarkably bold, "I can't bear to part with any of them, so..."
Can I have both?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com