Chapter 69

The morning match ended after various unexpected situations arose.

Then there was a two-day break, as another child had been injured.

The empire sent its best medical team to treat the children. Under the intervention of the referee, the children would not suffer permanent damage or be severely injured beyond treatment.

For simple flesh wounds and internal injuries, the empire's mages would quickly heal them.

After resting and adjusting their moods, they could continue the competition.

During these two days, Gongsun Murong and Nalasha did not go exploring anywhere, nor did they use the nineteen items they obtained from the tourist area.

They were worried that if they entered a special meditative state while using the items, they would not be able to continue the competition.

The items were good, but they were not suitable for use at the moment.

The two continued to study various combinations and applications of magic, especially those involving electricity.

They placed great importance on this type of attack, regardless of its power. Even if they couldn't directly eliminate the enemy before they could set up a magical defense or battle aura.

What they cared about was the speed and paralyzing effect.

How fast could a lightning attack be?

There was no need to explain; when the attack was launched, the target was hit.

It was impossible for the situation to be like in the stories of bards, where one could see a lightning bolt coming and then figure out how to defend or dodge.

What kind of lightning would slowly come down?

In any case, Gongsun Murong and Nalasha had not yet figured out how to detect and dodge lightning.

It wasn't that they weren't trying hard enough; it was just that lightning was too fast, and by the time they detected it, they were already hit.

They even tried to defend fully and fly up to feel the rhythm of the thunderclouds.

In the end, they confirmed that they couldn't keep up with the rhythm of the thunderclouds, even with spatial movement. They needed time to think and react.

Nalasha could sense it in advance, but she was still hit several times while trying to dodge. Sometimes her perception couldn't cover the entire area, especially with large clouds.

Later, Gongsun Murong put on his equipment and finally managed to dodge. He could calculate the position and intensity of the cloud's discharge.

Thus, the two decided to focus on lightning research, so they could use it to attack others. How would you dodge it?

Dodge the speed of light? Even if the speed of light in the air is not absolute, could you possibly have the time to dodge?

Unless your perception distance and your evasion speed were balanced, for example, if you could dodge in 0.01 seconds, your perception distance would need to be 30,000 kilometers.

To detect and dodge an electric attack.

The problem was that they would launch a lightning attack from a distance of a few kilometers, or even a few hundred meters.

Want to dodge? You would have to perform exceptionally well and predict it in advance.

Predict once, predict twice, could you keep predicting?

Nalasha admitted that she couldn't. In the thundercloud layer, she was hit while trying to dodge.

And her soul prediction was already very strong.

If she didn't have defensive equipment and methods, she would have been fried to a crisp.

"Brother Murong, let's study more. It might be very useful in the future. Even if we can't kill someone, paralyzing them would be fine. Don't casually use your laser weapon. It takes a long time to recharge, and it's for saving lives in critical moments."

Nalasha already knew how to defend against lightning attacks. She could set up a water shield around her body in advance, and when the lightning came, it would be directed to the ground, keeping her safe inside the shield.

But she absolutely didn't believe anyone would walk around with a shield up all the time.

"Sure! If we could simulate nuclear fusion and fission, we could sweep a large area," Gongsun Murong said wistfully.

******

The two days passed quickly.

Gongsun Murong and Nalasha came out of their courtyard.

Yif, seizing the opportunity, approached and asked, "Do you need to place more bets?"

Previously, he had bet 15 million gold coins and made a profit of 7.5 million, which, after taxes, was 4.5 million, and after interest, 840,000, leaving him with 3.66 million.

Including the principal, he had nearly 7 million.

Gongsun Murong and Nalasha were very happy. Seven million gold coins could buy a lot of materials, and even if they had to share some, the remaining amount would be enough for their research and for their family.

What troubled them was that the betting house would not offer them high odds again. If they placed a bet today, the odds would have at least six zeros after the decimal point.

Perhaps even seven or eight, as the betting house would not let them make more money.

Even if they bet all 7 million, the winnings after victory would not exceed 100 gold coins.

When they arrived, Gongsun Murong found out that he had overestimated the integrity of the betting house. The odds offered to the three of them were 0.000000001.

If they bet all their money, they would get 7 copper coins before tax.

And betting on the opponent was not allowed.

Gongsun Murong did not want to lose in the 50 to 25 match, as it would cost him his qualification.

He asked Yif, "Are there other ways to bet? Like other betting houses?"

"Lord Gongsun, there are no other betting houses. If one appears, someone will report it, and the person who reports it will get all the profits. The person who runs the illegal betting house will be imprisoned for at least fifty years until the next selection tournament."

Yif shook his head regretfully, knowing he wouldn't make any money.

"25 to 13, is there a bye?" Gongsun Murong asked, not giving up.

"Yes, the betting house has set odds, 1 to 5, on who gets the bye," Yif replied immediately.

"Really greedy," Gongsun Murong said indignantly.

Lucia even nodded. Even without studying probability, she knew that out of 25 people, one would get a bye, which was a 1 in 25 chance.

The odds given were 1 to 5, so on average, the betting house would definitely make a profit.

Moreover, it was a matter of luck, not skill, and there was no way to analyze it, like drawing a number from 25.

Nalasha, however, smiled and asked, "Can we make a lot of money again?"

"Hmm?" Yif and Lucia looked at Nalasha.

"Why do you think Brother Murong faced an earth mage in the third and fourth matches? Why did I face a warrior of the same rank?"

Nalasha blinked.

"Hmm?" The two continued to look at Nalasha.

Could there be cheating during the draw? But it was a box that suppressed magic and battle aura.

"Ah~!" Lucia suddenly realized, her eyes wide.

She remembered that in the forbidden magic field, Brother Murong had created a series of figures to protect everyone.

The forbidden magic field couldn't suppress Brother Murong's abilities.

So...

"Probably the last time. Do you want to borrow more money?" Lucia said excitedly.

"Yif, go ask Manager Nigel if the empire's betting house is making a profit or a loss, and ask for the specific amount," Gongsun Murong said without directly stating what to do.

Leave them a way out.

If you don't leave a way out, it will be hard to meet in the future.

It's not good to ruin someone completely, right? Everyone is just trying to live.

If they borrowed more to make 60 million gold coins after tax, what would the others do?

The national GDP, how many 60 million gold coins could it produce in a year? That's 60 billion copper coins.

The total population of the empire is over 20 billion and less than 30 billion.

Let's say 30 billion. If each person contributed 20 copper coins, that would be the average national income for two days. Do you think the planet revolves around you?

Gongsun Murong wasn't foolish enough to calculate based on theoretical data. With 30 days in a month and 20 months in a year, two days would be 1/300th of the year.

Why should one person take up such a large proportion of the annual average income?

Even the Sunflower couldn't withstand such pressure.

"Okay~~~" Yif understood, so he stuttered.

"Fear what? It's just making some money. At worst, we can donate it to public welfare. It wouldn't even be enough to provide education for all the children in the empire, let alone improve the lives of the poor.

Grandpa Butler said, it's not about how much money you have, but how you spend it. If you keep it all to yourself, it will cause public outrage. If you share some with others, you're a good person, and someone will protect you."

Nalasha thought it through. If it made people too envious, they could use the money for the children of the principality.

Was there a better reason or excuse?

So what if they made more money?

"Right." Gongsun Murong made up his mind. "Borrow another 2 million and bet on me, Nalasha, and Lucia getting a bye. Make it look like a bet, then lose 3 million and make 18 million, a net profit of 15 million after tax."

"Oh~~~ Oh~~~" Yif's voice still trembled.

He left to place the bets and borrow the money.

Gongsun Murong and Nalasha briefly discussed and decided to use half of the winnings to form the Sunflower Children's Assistance Fund.

Dedicated to the children of the empire;

To promote their good deeds and praise them.

To make the people grateful to them.

When they had trouble in the future, at least the empire would stand behind them, right?

After all, they were contributors to the empire, weren't they?

The match started soon, and the opponents of the three, after drawing, conceded very quickly.

They couldn't fight.

Gongsun Murong's opponents were