My Goal Is Victory

Behind the military personnel stood over twenty members of the Silverwood Spear, clad in silver cloaks. Tian Lan spotted the two annoying individuals in the crowd at a glance and couldn't help but let out a soft scoff.

However, the other party didn't notice Fang Heng and his group. The two walked in the middle of the procession, occasionally conversing with each other, and soon disappeared from everyone's sight.

Next to enter the hall was a man as imposing as a giant tower.

He wore only a thin linen shirt, revealing his sturdy, bronze-colored muscles. His lips were thick, and he looked stern. Beneath his high brow bones, his dark, deep-set eyes resembled those of a sharp eagle. Two greyish-white patterns were painted on his cheekbones, with another stripe running vertically from his forehead to his chin.

His black hair was braided into several strands at the back, which hung down to his hips. Small copper rings were tied to the ends of the thick braids, making a clinking sound as he walked.

With this man's appearance, the entire hall fell silent.

"Mazak-Cadmus," Tian Lan whispered to the others. "He's the owner here, the best blacksmith in the wilderness, and the one who established the laws of 'Traveler's Respite'."

The tall man stopped in the middle of the hall.

Four dwarves followed behind him, their eight arms working together to lift a stone platform into the hall. Carved into the base of the platform were twelve naked giants, standing together and raising the stone tray above them.

They placed the stone platform heavily in the center of the hall, emitting a dull roar.

Jita then quietly told the others that the twelve giants were the leaders of the twelve giant clans defeated by the dwarves. Rotas had ordered them to serve an endless servitude under the Seat of Saint Forging.

At this moment, a buzzing murmur of discussion arose from the hall.

But Mazak clapped his hands, silencing the crowd once more. He spoke, "Welcome, everyone, to my camp. Tonight, a special duel will be held here. The final victor will receive a precious gift from me—it is my proudest creation from my early years."

The dwarf monsters extinguished some of the lights, and the hall grew dim.

As everyone watched in confusion, Mazak suddenly raised his hand, holding a transparent, fiery golden platinum ring. It resembled molten iron that had been heated but not quenched, emitting a bright glow in the darkness.

Everyone couldn't help but gasp.

Without any need for words, they understood that this was the Golden Flame Ring.

Amidst envious gazes, Mazak placed the ring onto the tray.

He raised his head, his dark eyes reflecting the fiery golden light. His sharp gaze swept across the hall. "Today, under the witness of the Arbiter Oli, we will see the birth of a champion. I hope that every participant will swear in their hearts to the Arbiter that they will win the competition through fair means—otherwise, you will bear the consequences."

His voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable authority. He then softly added, "Now, the competition begins."

The hall brightened again.

A gnome representative from the Kaolin Merchant Alliance stepped forward, holding a brass megaphone. He shouted in a high-pitched voice, "Those lingering in the center of the hall, please leave the competition area immediately. Official contestants will enter from this direction. Furthermore, registration for the preliminary rounds will take place on the east side of the hall. Other contestants, please proceed in that direction!"

The hall immediately erupted in a cacophony. The crowd dispersed, some trying to push through the hall to register, while others searched for their seats.

Fang Heng saw that the military personnel were swallowed by the crowd.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief and wiped away a cold sweat. But to be cautious, he pulled up his hood, letting the brim hang down to cover most of his face. Jita looked at him curiously, "Brother Ed, you look a little pale."

"It's a bit too cold."

This answer couldn't have been more forced. Etila looked up at the brightly burning fireplace not far away.

Jita, however, didn't suspect anything and nodded seriously. "The temperature in Egonen Forest drops quite low at night, but it's actually quite alright in the inn."

Tian Lan, on the other hand, wasn't listening to their conversation. The young French girl seemed very excited, looking around at the bustling crowd. She then turned back and said gleefully, "Let's go, let's go register over there. Didn't you see? Everyone else has already gone."

This suggestion put Fang Heng in a difficult position.

He no longer wanted to participate in this competition.

He wasn't foolish enough to draw attention to himself under the watchful eyes of the military. He hadn't forgotten that the Stargate Special Operations Team, a standing force stationed at the Stargate, was specifically tasked with apprehending stowaways from various countries.

But Tian Lan clearly didn't understand Fang Heng's complex feelings. She blinked at him, "Brother Ed, what are you spacing out about?"

"It's not..."

Fang Heng was trying to find a plausible excuse.

Just then, Etila suddenly stood up and said, "I'll take Ed to register. The rest of you stay here."

"Huh?" Tian Lan was stunned. "Why?"

"Especially you, Fuli," Etila said, looking at her. "You're the one I worry about the most. Stay here obediently until I get back, you're not allowed to go anywhere."

Tian Lan pouted her lips, her displeasure evident on her face, but she didn't retort. She sat down sullenly, her arms stretched out flat on the table, like a dead fish.

Etila shook her head, finding her behavior both amusing and exasperating.

She then turned back to Fang Heng and said, "Let's go, Ed."

Fang Heng hesitated. He knew he couldn't refuse, especially since he had shown too much enthusiasm for the prize money earlier. Changing his mind now would inevitably arouse suspicion. Moreover, Luo Yu had seen his video and might recognize him immediately.

Although he vaguely felt that Etila and the others wouldn't do anything to him, there were too many people here, and it was possible that others might notice something.

However, inspiration struck him. He suddenly noticed a Paparal lying on a chair nearby, fast asleep with its belly rising and falling. A sheathed short sword was slung diagonally on its belt.

Fang Heng pretended to get up and, with a sleight of hand, drew out the short sword.

Under the cover of his long sleeves, a few people didn't notice his small action.

He sheathed the short sword behind his back and then followed Etila through the crowd. Silently, he opened the craftsman menu, envisioned the shape of a mask in his mind, adjusted its structure with the system, and then applied it to the short sword.

This was his first time crafting under such circumstances, and he realized how difficult it was to connect structural points while distracted. Because his mind couldn't concentrate, he failed several times in a short period.

Fortunately, the short sword was well-made, and the original craftsman's skill was superb, leaving many redundant structural points, which allowed him to complete the crafting somewhat clumsily.

However, looking at the quality of the finished product, it was basically on the verge of being scrap. It was fortunate that it was only a mask; such work would be completely unusable on a precise Flexible Construct.

Fang Heng was preparing to put on his mask.

At that moment, Etila, who was in front of him, suddenly asked, "Ed, do you have a grudge against anyone from Silverwood Spear?"

"Huh?" Fang Heng was taken aback.

"When we encountered those two earlier, your reaction was much more vigilant than usual. And before, you pulled up your hood, were you actually unwilling to face them directly?" the elven maiden replied softly.

Fang Heng hadn't expected Etila to be so observant.

But something was fundamentally wrong.

He didn't know how to explain to her that his vigilance stemmed from the incident at the Elven Ruins, which made him instinctively distrust people from Silverwood Spear and Jefflit.

And as for what happened later, it was even more absurd—

But these were things he couldn't possibly explain, so he could only play along and nod foolishly.

"Don't mind me, I'm not trying to pry into your business," Etila said. "I'm just worried that Fuli might not have noticed this and exposed you."

"Was I being overly cautious?" She turned back, looking at Fang Heng with her emerald green eyes.

Fang Heng was slightly stunned.

He couldn't help but feel deeply touched. He hadn't expected this elven maiden to be so considerate of him. This filled him with guilt, and he resolved to tell her the truth after they left this place.

As they talked, the two walked to the registration point. Several small goblins carrying boxes passed by in a line. Fang Heng hadn't seen any staff yet when he heard conversations from not far away:

"It's the military."

"Why are they involved in such a small competition?"

"Who knows? I have a feeling this competition isn't as simple as it looks..."

Fang Heng's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

He looked up. The crowd in front of them parted, revealing the scene behind—military personnel in black coats had set up a cordon. Every participant entering was being meticulously checked one by one.

Seeing this, Fang Heng's vision nearly went black, and he almost wanted to grab Etila and turn back.

Unfortunately, it was too late. The participant in front had already stepped past the cordon, and the young soldier in charge of the inspection had noticed them, waving them over.

Compared to Etila's composure and natural demeanor, Fang Heng felt as stiff as a mummy at that moment.

Etila seemed to notice Fang Heng's abnormality behind her and whispered, "Don't act too nervous; it'll draw attention. Look around, people from Silverwood Spear aren't here."

Fang Heng felt like crying without tears.

He wasn't afraid of any random person from Silverwood Spear!

Meanwhile, Zhang Tianmou was frowning as he looked at the young man in front of him—the taller forest elf maiden was clearly a native and not within his scope of concern—but this one, this guy was wearing a silver metal mask on half his face.

Of course, in the New World, it was common for Chosen to make enemies, so wearing a mask or wrapping oneself tightly in a heavy cloak wasn't unusual.

But he had never seen such a cool mask before.

Fang Heng himself was feeling guilty. The short sword from the Paparal was forged from Mithril. He only discovered this when he put on the mask, which explained the numerous redundant structural points on the sword.

A Mithril mask—

He could understand why the soldier in front of him was looking at him like he was an idiot.

However, Zhang Tianmou wasn't concerned about this minor detail. He simply turned to his subordinate and beckoned, "Come and check him."

The subordinate immediately walked over. He glanced at the two of them, then took a box from a goblin and pulled out a piece of Radiant Equipment that Fang Heng had never seen before.

He then said to Fang Heng, "Put your hand on it."

Fang Heng was a little confused and instinctively hesitated. However, he knew he had no choice and obediently placed his hand on the device. In an instant, he seemed to see a faint blue stream of light in his vision.

It was somewhat similar to the light from his Dragon Knight system.

The entire process took only one or two seconds.

After a brief look, the subordinate nodded to Zhang Tianmou and whispered in his ear, "He has a system, level three."

"Just reached level three?"

The subordinate shook his head. "He's surpassed it by quite a bit, but it's hard to tell the exact amount."

Zhang Tianmou nodded, no longer looking at the two of them, and simply waved his hand. "You can go. Someone over there will explain the competition rules."

The two then passed through the military cordon. They could faintly hear the subordinate discussing with his superior behind them, "Captain Zhang, that person is wearing a Mithril mask..."

"I saw it."

"Are all the new recruits this wealthy now?"

"Who knows? Maybe they're just stupid? And why are you thinking about these trivial matters? Focus."

"Sorry, sorry, sir."

Although Fang Heng's face was filled with a black line, he finally let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't help but tug at his collar; his whole body was already soaked in sweat, dripping wet as if he had just been pulled out of water.

He was still somewhat puzzled, wondering what those military personnel were doing there.

Weren't they here for him?

Or had the Stargate Special Operations Team taken on other missions now?

Fang Heng couldn't help but ask, "Miss Etila, have there been checks like this before?"

Etila shook her head. "This is the first time. It's probably because of the finals."

Finals?

Fang Heng didn't believe it. When had the military ever started caring about these local little competitions? Moreover, even if they did care, they wouldn't need to deploy the Stargate Special Operations Team.

As he was thinking this, the two of them arrived at the venue for the preliminary round. The venue wasn't actually that big; it was just a cleared area on the east side of the hall. The little goblins hadn't even moved the tables and chairs yet, leaving them in place.

A gnome was standing on a table, shrilly explaining the competition rules to everyone else.

The rules for the preliminary round were actually very simple. The first round was a qualification test, and as long as participants passed the competition organizer's assessment, they would meet the standard. The test questions weren't difficult either; participants just needed to control a clockwork sprite to pass a sufficient number of obstacles within the allotted time.

Fang Heng roughly guessed the purpose of this assessment: it was merely to weed out those who were just going through the motions from the genuine contestants.

He looked around and found that there were quite a lot of participants in the first round, about thirty to forty people. He wondered how many would remain after the first round of assessment.

However, even for the simplest first-round assessment, there was a reward of a thousand Riser for those who passed, which was equivalent to a participation prize. Still, it was enough to make one marvel at the wealth of the host here.

At this point, the gnome had finished explaining the competition rules and then called out for all participants to get ready and put on their flexible manipulation gloves.

Fang Heng did as he was told. Etila nudged him from behind, urging him to step forward. It was then that Fang Heng realized his own manipulation gloves were far too tattered, and the dial even had only two silver rails.

To avoid attracting attention, he thought about wrapping the dial with a piece of cloth. However, he hadn't expected Fang Heng to underestimate just how much attention his manipulation gloves would draw.

As soon as he finished his preparations, he heard a light chuckle from beside him. Fang Heng subconsciously turned his head and saw a tall, thin alchemist wearing glasses looking at him, unable to suppress his amusement. "Sorry, buddy, I didn't mean to. But your gloves are certainly quite unique."

Fang Heng observed the man's attire and deduced he was also a participant. There were five silver stars on his collar, indicating a much higher level than his own. He was a level five alchemist.

Then, he looked again at his own gloves, which were torn to pieces and even cut by a dagger, exposing his fingers. He felt a bit embarrassed and scratched his face, forcing an explanation, "It can't be helped, I'm used to them and don't want to change."

The man chuckled, "I understand, I understand. Everyone has their down times."

He extended his hand to Fang Heng. "My name is Wandering Hu Di, my real name is Hu Di. You can just call me Hu Di. My goal is the same as yours; I just want to pass the first round and get the prize money."

Fang Heng was taken aback but shook the man's hand.

He looked up, a slight smile revealing half of his silver mask, and came up with a pseudonym on the spot.

"As for me," he said, "my name is Shaya, Shaya-Aznabul."

"As for my goal, it is only victory."