Chapter 357: Zero points?!
Three full days and three nights had passed since that snowy night, and Sir Kyle Richter, the master of Eagle Rock Territory, had also spent three full nights in agony.
His Highness Colin still hadn't come to his castle.
He paced back and forth in his study, which was built with expensive tax money, like a caged beast.
He stopped by the window, cursing the endless snow outside in annoyance, and then ran to the wall, devoutly made the sign of the cross in front of the holy portrait of Saint Sixtus, praying to God to protect the carriage of "His Highness Colin" from being trapped in the snow and wind in the deserted place and that nothing would happen.
Of course, he was not really worried about Prince Colin, but he was worried that he had missed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish a relationship with a big shot in the Holy City.
"Perhaps His Highness just changed his mind and went somewhere else," a sarcastic voice came from the fireplace. His wife was sitting on the sofa leisurely drinking hot tea. "Kyle, you can save those good wines of yours for next winter."
These words were like adding fuel to the fire, making Sir Richter even more furious. But before he could scold him, a servant came crawling in from the door with a panicked look on his face.
"My lord! My lord!"
Sir Richter's heart tightened, and he asked hurriedly: "Is there any news about His Royal Highness the Prince?!"
"No... no," the servant panted and said hesitantly, "It's... it's about the follow-up of the undead attack in Pompeii Village a few days ago. People in the village are saying that among the adventurers who went to deal with the undead trouble a few days ago, there was a leader named 'Colin'! A sentry who was out on patrol heard about this and came back immediately-"
"Colin?! Are you sure?!"
Sir Richter was struck by lightning and froze in place.
I don't know what was wrong with that noble prince, he actually disguised himself as an adventurer during his journey.
And not only did I fail to fulfill my duty as a host, I also asked this noble prince to deal with the undead in my territory! "Saint Sith... please forgive me, I... I really didn't expect things to turn out like this!"
In an instant, Sir Richter was overwhelmed by regret, and he wished he could kneel before the statue and repent for his negligence.
but--
It’s not too late!
Sir Richter suddenly realized that the prince should still be in his territory at this moment, in other words, he still had a chance to fulfill his hospitality! He couldn't wait any longer! He had to make up for his heinous mistake immediately!
"Prepare the horses!" Sir Richter shouted frantically, his voice changing with excitement. "Quick! Bring out my best warhorse! Gather all the guards! Quick!!"
He rushed out of the study like a mad bull, amid his wife's harsh contempt. The entire Eagle Rock Castle fell into a chaotic clamor because of his order, so much so that some new recruits who did not hear the order clearly thought that the undead were coming to kill them.
On the other side, the faint light of dawn had just passed over the plows of Pompeii village, and this poor village had just regained some tranquility from the fear of the dead.
The early morning sun melted the snow, and the villagers were busy repairing the fence that had been destroyed by the undead, carrying tools.
The air was filled with the joy of surviving the disaster and a hint of peace.
However, this hard-earned tranquility was soon broken by the sound of horse hooves and the collision of armor that came from far away.
Sir Richter led his men and marched into the village with murderous intent. There were about two hundred people under the banners.
The smiles on the villagers' faces froze instantly, replaced by deep fear.
They all stopped what they were doing and stood by the road in a daze, fearing that the old man would do something weird again.
This scene obviously doesn't seem to be meant to protect them.
Sir Richter ignored the timid villagers. He rode his tall warhorse straight to the village mill and looked down at the miller who was directing everyone to repair the waterwheel.
"You!" He pointed his whip at the miller and asked angrily, "I ask you! Was there a Mr. Colin here a few days ago?!"
The miller was so frightened by this that his legs went weak. He nodded quickly and dumped out everything he knew.
"Yes... yes, sir! I, I saw Mr. Colin and his companions. It was they who killed the witch and saved my son..."
"I don't care who he killed!" Richter interrupted him rudely and asked anxiously, "Where is that prince? Where is he now?!"
Your Highness?! It was only at this moment that the miller realized what was happening, and his face turned slightly pale.
Could it be——
That Mr. Colin is the prince in the rumors? ! His Highness's name is not Crankle, but Colin! Thinking of what he had said before in front of His Highness, the middle-aged man was immediately frightened out of his wits, and stammered as he pointed in a direction: "He... they seemed to be heading towards the traveler's camp early in the morning a few days ago..."
"A few days ago?! Traveler's camp?!"
Upon hearing these words, Sir Richter's eyes went dark, his body swayed on the horse's back, and he almost fell off.
A dizzying feeling swept over him, and then what surged into his heart was great shame!
"By the grace of Saint Sith!" He wailed in anger and grief, "I... I actually let Your Highness condescend to live in such a lowly place!"
He felt that his face and even the honor of his family were all trampled into the mud.
He no longer paid attention to the villagers who had already been frightened silly. He pulled the reins hard, turned the horse's head, and shouted orders to his group of bewildered guards.
“Full speed ahead!”
"To the Traveler's Camp!"
The huge team continued on their way, this time their destination was the travelers' camp more than ten kilometers away.
However, the distinguished Sir Richter always seemed to be half a beat behind in everything he did.
The undead that had been causing chaos died, and his army finally reached the village of Pompeii, which was infested by the undead. And now, His Highness Colin had gone far away, and his flag was pushed outside the gate of the traveler's camp again.
With his subordinates, the respected knight rushed into the traveler camp like a whirlwind, but plunged into deathly silence.
This place has almost become a "ghost town".
Since the school's exams had already begun, most of the students in the camp had already left for the snowfields beyond the border.
All that was left in the camp were some tattered tents abandoned by their owners, drifting helplessly in the cold wind, blowing up the broken snow and dust on the ground.
Sir Richter couldn't find His Highness Colin's magnificent carriage. His anger, which he had nowhere to vent, grew more and more intense. He was like a volcano about to erupt, with his eyes bulging like a frog.
At this moment, he suddenly saw a group of people doing nothing gathered in the corner of the camp.
To be precise, it was a group of women.
They were covered in sheepskin coats that were easy to unbutton, and their faces were covered with thick, cheap makeup, which stood out against the pure snow like dust on the statue of Saint Six.
Sir Richter frowned, pointed the whip in his hand at the sneaky women, and asked his men in a tone of extreme disgust.
"What are those guys who are painted like ghosts for?"
Several servants looked at each other. They certainly knew what those women did, but as the lord was on the verge of a rage, no one dared to speak easily.
It was not until a young servant, unable to resist the murderous gaze of the knight, whispered in an uncertain tone: "Sir... maybe... maybe she is a prostitute..."
"prostitute?!"
The word was like a spark that ignited a powder keg.
Richter was furious: "By the Lord Saint Sith! How dare these morally corrupt and hell-deserving guys appear in my territory!"
When he thought about how these filthy things polluted the noble eyes of His Highness Colin and brought shame to the Richter family and even Lord Blackwood, the Duke of the North, he wished that these guys who sold their souls to the devil would be hanged on the gallows.
He swung the whip in his hand violently, creating a loud whip flower in the air, and roared with sacred and unquestionable majesty.
"Catch them all! Throw them all into the dungeon!"
"I want to interrogate them myself!!!"
Sir Richter's roar echoed across the empty camp.
This knight who had remained silent when facing the real undead suddenly regained his chivalry and remembered that Saint Sith was watching from the sky.
His guards pounced on the screaming, panic-stricken women like wolves and tigers, tied them up and threw them onto their horses.
A moment later, the victorious team returned to the castle in a mighty procession, escorting the spoils and singing songs of victory.
The servants standing in the castle breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Master Richter looking proud.
Many people did not know what the knight who left in a hurry was doing, and thought that he set out with his army to punish the undead who harassed the village of Pompeii.
only……
Which one is Hekagelin the Green Tooth? Looking at the monsters on horseback, they were dumbfounded and couldn't tell them apart for a moment.
Sir Richter, who is always a step behind, is always so decisive.
He threw the reins into the butler's hands, and before he could say a word, he rushed to the next battlefield without stopping - facing the lady's screams and roars.
"That's enough! Kyle! I've put up with you for so long! You and Colin go ahead. I'm going back to stay with my father for a few days. Remember to write to me when you've had enough!"
"No! Madam! You, you listen to me!" Richter, who had stood straight before going out, panicked when he saw that his wife was really angry. His knees went weak as if he had been hit by an arrow.
He didn't dare to let his wife go back to her parents' home! It wasn't that he was afraid of his father-in-law, but if this got out, how would he face people at the lord's banquet in the future? !
Just like that, Sir Richter, who was busy putting out the fire in the backyard, completely forgot about those devils in sheep's clothing.
Saint-Six, thanks to busy Sir Richter.
Today, Eagle Rock Territory is as peaceful as ever, and the holy light shines on every inch of the empire as always.
This is cause for celebration.
…
Congratulations! Xuebang’s efficiency is amazingly high.
In just one day, tens of thousands of written test papers had been graded, and the students of the empire no longer had to endure the obedience tests of the wizards in the wind and snow.
In the afternoon of the next day, the black stone tablet that represented absolute authority once again glowed like a firefly under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
However, this time, what appeared on the surface of the stone tablet was no longer the test questions, but a long string of densely packed numbers of candidates representing "pass".
The list of candidates who passed the written test is out!
The entire snowfield exploded instantly! Tens of thousands of candidates looked at the stone tablet in unison, holding their breath, frantically searching for their own destiny among the dense numbers.
Whenever someone found his or her number on the list, the crowd would cheer in ecstasy, some even crying with joy.
And more people, after repeated confirmation without results, let out sighs of loss, and the light in their eyes quickly dimmed.
Thousands of families are happy, tens of thousands are sad.
Although passing the written test does not mean you get into Xuebang, but at least you get a ticket to a bright future!
"I... I passed!" Ilala pointed at a line of small words on the stone tablet, her voice trembling with excitement, "70 points! I passed!"
"I'm on it too! Sixty-five!" Phoenix excitedly high-fived her, then turned his gaze to Barrett.
"Hey, I'm also... 60 points!" Barrett smiled naively, and the two of them were sincerely happy for the blacksmith's child.
After their ecstasy, they immediately began to look for the number of "Mr. Colin" on the list, but they looked through it several times from beginning to end and found nothing.
"Could it be that Mr. Colin's name was missed?" Ilala asked in a low voice, with confusion written all over her face.
Phoenix and Barrett looked at each other, and the joy on their faces was replaced by deep worry.
How could Mr. Colin fail the exam?
They could accept that they were not good enough and failed the written test, but they could not accept that the respected Mr. Colin did not pass the exam.
Soon, they found Luo Yan, who was sitting in the carriage and reading a book leisurely, and told him the situation with great concern.
“Puff—Puff, puff, puff!”
Tafu, who was dozing off, couldn't help laughing out loud, while Luo Yan was slightly surprised and closed the book in his hand.
"Oh? Then I'm a little curious."
After that, he got off the carriage and told Sarah that he wanted to eat noodles with three eggs in a while, then left Tafu, whose face turned pale, and went to a nearby camp.
Out of concern, Phoenix and others hurriedly followed.
The camp was packed with people, more than half of whom came to ask for scores.
There were also some people who couldn't accept the fact that they were not good at the test and shouted loudly to see the test papers, but without exception they were driven away.
This is not a troublesome thing, but it does not mean that these apprentices with a permanent position have the obligation to help them.
When Luo Yan found the magic apprentice who was responsible for handling the invalidated test papers, the freckled boy was impatiently throwing the invalidated scrolls into a huge recycling bin.
He took the wooden sign handed to him by Luo Yan, glanced at him with an almost contemptuous look, found the corresponding name on the list, and announced coldly.
"Colin, zero."
As if that wasn't ironic enough, he added another cold, sarcastic remark.
"It's really hard for you to get any of these simple questions right. I suggest you go home and grow pumpkins."
These words were like a bolt from the blue, shocking Phoenix and the other two so much that they didn't even come to their senses until the apprentice walked away.
Zero points?
How is it possible? Ilala was the first to react. She looked at Mr. Colin's still calm face and tried to comfort him with the most reasonable explanation.
"Mr. Colin, don't be discouraged! Could it be that... your answer just happens to coincide with someone else's? The rules say that this situation will be invalidated. With your talent, this... this is entirely possible!"
Faced with Ilala's well-intentioned comfort, Luo Yan just smiled without comment.
"Perhaps."
His calm reaction surprised Phoenix and the other two.
They thought Mr. Colin would be angry, frustrated, or argue, but they didn't expect him to be so indifferent, as if this result was just a trivial matter to him, like the occasional snow falling from the pine trees.
Luo Yan really didn’t care much about other people’s opinions, but he was still somewhat curious about the result of “zero points” itself.
After leaving Phoenix and his group, he walked alone at the edge of the noisy camp, analyzing quickly in his mind.
Theoretical differences? Unlikely.
Even though the magic theories of Hell and the Empire differ in details, the underlying logic is the same.
With his understanding of magic, even if the answers to those subjective questions were different from the standard answers of Xuebang, he would definitely not lose any points.
Same answers?
That's even more impossible.
If there really is another person on this small snowfield who wrote down the same answer as him, then this guy is definitely a genius.
The respected Senator Luo Yan would even write a letter for him personally, recommending this talent to the famous Professor Lilith, and sending him directly to his alma mater, the Demon King Academy, for further studies.
Just as he was deep in thought, he suddenly heard two candidates who had also failed the exam walking past him dejectedly.
One of them complained indignantly.
"It's really unreasonable! After all, it was something I wrote with all my heart, why did they just destroy it like that!"
"That's right! These apprentices are too bullying!"
"I really don't know what they are so proud of! I thought they were all great magicians!"
The complaining voice faded away on the snow, but Luo Yan, who happened to hear it, stopped and a playful light flashed in his eyes.
Destroy? In his opinion, this is an opportunity.
…
In the afternoon, Luo Yan returned to his carriage.
The bustling snowfield now seemed a little desolate. Most of the failed candidates had packed their bags and set off on their journey home.
The air was filled with the silence of shattered dreams.
Those candidates who passed the written test, after the initial excitement, began to feel nervous about the upcoming interviews.
Sarah was holding Taffy and concentrating on "stimulating the eggs", while the latter's face turned red and her mouth trembled slightly, and it was unclear whether she was angry or exerting force.
Seeing Luo Yan coming back, Sarah said ashamedly.
"Your Highness... Tafu tried her best, but only one was produced. Please wait patiently for a while..."
Taffy: “%@￥%!!”
"Okay, Sarah, let's not worry about the eggs for now. I have a task for you."
Ignoring the kid who was cursing and speaking in an alien language, Luo Yan turned his gaze to Sarah and continued speaking concisely.
"Xuebang is planning to destroy the test papers. Go to the 'incineration point' to find my test paper and bring it back to me. Remember to do it cleanly, leaving no traces and making sure no one finds it."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Sarah's eyes flashed, and her figure flashed, then she merged into the shadow of the carriage, and disappeared from the snowy field.
Sitting on the ground, Tafu rubbed her tail which was pulled red, and glared at her master with bared teeth.
"I, I just laughed. Is it necessary to hold such a grudge against me?"
This scheming guy! Luo Yan gave her a strange look.
"Laughing? Holding a grudge? What are you talking about?"
Taffy: “%￥#@!”
…
As dusk falls, the setting sun is as red as blood, dyeing the white snow a sad crimson.
In a corner of Xuebang’s temporary administrative camp, in a huge tent under strict guard, several apprentices expressionlessly piled up boxes of invalid test papers next to the furnace in different categories, waiting for the final destruction order.
"Honestly, they're all garbage anyway. Is there a need to sort them out before burning them?" An apprentice couldn't help but complain. He felt that he was wasting his precious meditation time, and for a bunch of noobs who were not worthy at all.
Although the apprentice next to him also thought that this was unnecessary, he still pretended to be profound and criticized the ignorant junior.
"What do you know? This is called a sense of ritual!"
"Well, this damn sense of ritual..."
What are you showing off for? The young apprentice muttered, and turned to carry another box of files.
Just then, an almost imperceptible black shadow, like dusk itself, quietly slipped into the blind spot of the tent.
The shadow, as light as a cat, briefly stopped in front of a wooden box with "No. 1000~1050" written on it, and then the scroll on the top of the box disappeared into thin air.
The whole process happened in the blink of an eye, without disturbing anyone or even causing a breeze.
About a quarter of an hour later, Sarah returned to the carriage, knelt on one knee, and respectfully presented the scroll that was related to the master's "face".
"Your Highness, as you instructed, I brought the scroll back before they destroyed it... without alerting anyone."
As she left, she saw two apprentices carry the box and dump the scroll into a burning fire pit.
Luo Yan took the scroll casually and unfolded it slowly.
But when he saw the first line of words written on the scroll, his normal expression suddenly became subtle.
There was no doubt that it was his "number", exactly the same as the number on the wooden plaque in his storage ring.
However, the content of the scroll was not written by him, and it did not even answer the question at all - it was just a completely unrhymed doggerel.
"Ah, the cage of knowledge cannot lock up my soul that yearns for freedom.
My heart is a hungry wolf in the wilderness, howling under the starry sky. Foolish mortals, how can you know the blood, tears and sublimity of art?
The teaching assistant or apprentice in charge of marking the papers was considered to have a good temper as he did not tear up the messy test paper on the spot.
What the hell is this written on?
"This, was it switched?!" Youyou appeared in shock, staring at the strange scroll in disbelief.
It saw Luo Yan answering the questions with its own eyes! These were not the things written on his paper! "Obviously, this is not my paper." Looking at Sarah with a surprised expression on her face, Luo Yan raised a playful smile.
interesting.
I don't know which guy has lost his mind this time and set up a trap for "Her Highness Roxie Colin".
(End of this chapter)
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