Cloud Thinking

This was the first time that the Empire had publicly selected members of the Royal Knights. The meaning it conveyed was self-evident, which also led to a large number of people coming to participate and watch.

The event was so grand and had an unprecedented impact. Not only did ordinary people come to join in the fun, but even those nobles and children of wealthy families who thought they were superior and put on airs came to the imperial capital one by one.

You never know, you might even find something missing.

Moreover, such special competition and assessment can, in a sense, be regarded as a large-scale social occasion. People come here to either build relationships or expand their network of contacts.

The judging panel did meet together the day before the test, got to know each other, tested each other, and determined which ones they could not afford to offend.

Only one of the twelve was missing, and he was said to be on the way, but no one knew who he was.

Claude decided on the members of the jury and asked someone to deliver the invitation letters. This was done in a secretive manner, so many people didn't know who was on the jury until that day.

Of course, everyone's main attention is still on the four referees.

The brave Giselwell is an honest and amiable man. Whenever someone asks him something, he just nods and says yes. From his attitude, it is obvious that he is a fence-sitter who is trying to please everyone.

Dorado was a muscular man as strong as a bear, with extremely thick hair and he was very unkempt. When Helia first saw him, she thought he was a savage from somewhere.

He seemed to have some opinions about Helia and didn't like her very much. When they first met, he only greeted her in a stiff tone, and then sat far away from her, not even willing to give her a glance.

Grand Duke Mossen Leighton, Cheko's father, Valosinger, looked cold and serious, but he unexpectedly talked a lot to Helia.

He cares about this and that, but it's strange that he doesn't care about his only child.

When almost everyone was gathered, Helia took a quick look around, matching them one by one with the names mentioned in the information, and roughly divided them into camps in her mind.

The royal family still had a great advantage. The people on the jury were either close to the royal family or did not dare to offend the royal family easily, which made Helia feel at ease.

Everyone briefly discussed this open selection and assessment and exchanged some opinions.

Of course, these were just some polite words. Claude had already set the rules and they had no right to change them.

The opening ceremony was scheduled for the morning. Helia naturally gave the opening speech on behalf of the royal family. She went on stage wearing a set of dragon scale armor that would make anyone's eyes light up.

The selection and assessment was held at a large stadium in the imperial capital, with a circular competition area in the middle and the audience seats arranged in a circle in a stepped manner from low to high.

Of course, events like this would naturally be recorded by magic props that could be broadcasted, just like the previous team competition at Carter College, where the nobles could stay comfortably in their houses and still see the real-time scene with the help of magic props.

Early in the morning, the three circles inside and outside the stadium were filled with crowds of people and the noise was deafening.

If the stadium had no roof, the noise would have been deafening by now.

Helia, wearing red armor, went up to the round platform in the middle, took out a 3,000-word speech in front of nearly a thousand spectators, pointed it at the prop used for amplification, and read out the opening speech word by word.

"I hope this selection can go smoothly, adding further impetus to the strength and glory of the empire and further guaranteeing the happiness and well-being of the people."

"I declare that the first public selection examination for the Royal Knights will begin now—"

As soon as she finished speaking, applause rang out like thunder. She slowly walked down the stage, listening to everyone's applause and praises as she walked to the judges' seat. She even received flowers thrown from the audience on the way.

She pretended to be so arrogant that she felt like her skin was all over her body. Is there anyone who can understand how she feels now?

The one who presided over the selection and assessment was Captain Carlisle, but it was Deputy Captain Damian who sat in the referee's seat, which surprised Helia a little.

Perhaps, Claude did not trust Carlisle, this ambitious dog, so much that he was afraid that he would bite him back.

As for the last of the twelve referees, he was sitting on the left side of Helia's seat. When he saw her coming, he waved at her with a smile.

It was Ansel?!

But after thinking about it carefully, Helia could understand it. As the organization with the most say in the southern continent, Tasley could be said to be half a local emperor.

As the leader of Taslai, Ansel is not incapable of sitting here on behalf of the forces of the southern continent.

After Helia sat down, Carlisle introduced the judges to the audience one by one. When it was their turn, they stood up and greeted the audience, and the audience welcomed them with applause.

It felt like returning to the school sports meet in the world where she lived.

How come even the other world has this kind of thing?

Fortunately, this time she was not a student standing below in the scorching sun listening to her leader chattering nonsense, but a leader sitting up there feeling refreshed.

Oh, it makes me happy just thinking about it!

When Carlisle announced the selection and assessment process, Helia turned to look at Ansel and met his gaze.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

It was Helia who spoke first. She leaned over towards Ansel and said in a low voice, "Why are you here? I didn't expect you to come."

Seeing Helia whispering to each other in a secret way, Ansel felt soft in his heart and the smile between his eyebrows became even more intense.

He also leaned over and whispered to Helia in front of so many people: "Didn't I promise Aya before that I would come to the imperial capital to see you openly?"

"Aren't I here now?"

"We rushed all the way here, but luckily we made it. I spent a lot of time on the road to bring you those specialties of Kenleka."

"I've asked someone to bring it to you in the palace. You can eat it during your lunch break."

When Helia heard that there was something delicious, her eyes lit up even more. She chuckled twice and said politely, "That's too much trouble. Thank you~"

Ansel looked at Helia repeatedly and praised: "Aya is so handsome today. I can't even take my eyes off her."

Helia raised her eyebrows proudly and held her hand out in front of him, showing him her armor.

"Of course, this piece of clothing of mine is made of dragon scales, and I am the only one of its kind in the world."

"Do you want to touch it?"

It was a rare occasion that Helia took the initiative to invite Ansel, so he naturally couldn't refuse her kindness. He touched the armor on her arm carefully, and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration as he touched it.

It satisfied Helia's vanity very well.

"Dragon scale armor? But that's the one you killed, Your Highness?" Varosinger, who was standing by, heard Helia's words and cast a curious look at her.

He spoke without lowering his voice, and now everyone else in the referee's seat turned their heads and looked at Helia.

Of course, we also saw the intimate interaction between Ansel and Helia.

Helia didn't think there was anything wrong with it. After all, she was only thinking about showing off and didn't have time to think about anything affectionate or ambiguous.

Hearing this, she decisively raised her other hand and stretched it in front of Valosinger on the other side, and boasted: "Yes, it is made of the scales of the fire dragon. Duke, do you want to touch it?"

Valosinger did not refuse, but compared with Ansel, his actions were visibly much more polite and courteous. He just stroked lightly and quickly withdrew his hand.

"How does it feel?" Helia asked.

"It's smooth and shiny, and you can tell at first glance that it's not ordinary. It suits you very well." Varosinger couldn't tell whether it was good or bad after just a simple touch, so he just replied with a few nice words.

This made Helia not know how to respond and continue showing off.

However, Ansel at the side was very understanding and asked curiously, "But this armor must be very heavy to wear, Your Highness, aren't you tired?"

"No, no, no, this armor is very light, almost indistinguishable from a robe, and it is very flexible."

Helia demonstrated a few moves on the spot, and the armor followed her movements very smoothly, with almost no hindrance.

She even jumped several times to restore her position. When she landed, there was no dull sound like a heavy object landing, only the crisp sound of armor rubbing against each other.

"Also, the biggest advantage of dragon scales is that they are indestructible." She bent her fingers and tapped the armor on her arm, making a crisp clanging sound.

Then she asked Ansel for his sword and slashed it hard on her arm, but there was no mark left.

Everyone in the referee's booth was stunned.

"If armor like this could be used on the battlefield, wouldn't it be..." Someone took a breath and said in shock.

"Forget about it." Helia ruthlessly shattered his fantasy. "Dragon scales are indestructible, but cutting them is a problem now. It took a lot of effort to make the one I'm wearing. I'm afraid mass production won't work."

"Then may I ask, Your Highness, can I have the honor of ordering a set of your armor?" Someone was quick-witted and actually wanted to do business with Helia.

Helia shook her head and refused. "I've already said that this outfit of mine is the only one in the world. It's hard to make another one."

Nonsense, things are valuable because they are rare. Naturally, only something that is the only one in the world is worthy of her, a show-off!

Besides, she didn't have the guts to ask Watersiser to do another one.

He is the god of war, not a tailor!

Also, what level are you, a guy, to be worthy of wearing the same clothes as me, and to be worthy of wearing clothes made by Father God himself?

But at this time, Dorodo sneered contemptuously, glanced at Helia, and said sarcastically:

"Yes, everyone knows that it was you, Her Highness Helia, who stole the credit from others and monopolized a rare dragon corpse in the world."

"Sir Dorodo, are you saying that my title as a dragon-killing knight is not legitimate?" Helia's pretentious good mood was immediately ruined by this idiot.

What does he mean? He wants to confront her in front of so many people. He wants to go against her, right?

"No, no, after all, it was awarded to you personally by His Royal Highness the Prince who loves you the most. How dare I question it?" Dorado continued.

What he meant was that all her current achievements were due to the favor of her brother and her father. How much value could an award given by family members to family members have?

Helia: You dare to challenge a master of Yin and Yang like me? Wait! I will kill you with Yin and Yang!

"Why not? I think Lord Dorodo is very brave!" Helia shot back, "After all, everyone knows that the Magic Association has always been arrogant and doesn't even take the royal family seriously."

"Oh, what if what I said makes Lord Dorado bear a grudge against me and asks the people of the Magic Association to embarrass me and take revenge on me in the future? What should I do then?"

"After all, when I graduated from the academy this year, I was given a hard time by the association's elders during the final magic assessment. I was scared!"

"Please be magnanimous and forget what I said!"

Although her words were not very aggressive, her tone was so accurate that it made people's veins pop out and their fists harden.

"Sir Dorado, questioning the royal family and slandering the royal family are all serious crimes. You'd better weigh the consequences before you speak." Valosinger warned.

"Ha! I won't bother with a woman like you." Dorado snorted, looked away and stopped bickering with Helia.

But Helia would not allow him to leave just because he had stirred up trouble. She continued, "What's wrong with being a woman? Did you come out of a stone and have no mother since birth?"

It's like this, it's always less aggressive if you don't bring your relatives into the discussion of insults.

"You!" Dorado was so angry that he slammed the table and glared at Helia. His face turned red with anger, and veins bulged on his exposed forearms. It seemed like he was about to punch her in the next second.

"Dorodo, this is not the place for you to act so unruly." Ansel glared at him unkindly without even using a respectful title, which showed how unhappy he was.

But Helia reached out and held Ansel down, and patted his hand soothingly, indicating that he didn't need to take action on such a small matter.

"What do you mean by you and what do I mean by me? Lord Dorado, do you need me to hire a special teacher to teach you the etiquette and respect for hierarchy?" she said.

Dorado was so angry that he gnashed his teeth, but after all, this empire was still the empire of the Abraham royal family, and he had to bow his head under their eaves.

"Yes, I just offended Princess Helia. I hope you will be magnanimous and forgive me."

The tone of his voice when he said this didn't sound like he was asking for forgiveness, but more like he was thinking about how to put Helia into his mouth and chew her up, it was terrifyingly ferocious.

Helia pointed at him and smiled, looking at Ansel and said, "Oh, don't you still remember that the empire is ours? If you don't know, you might think that your Magic Association is so big that you can look down on the royal family."

She exaggerated all of Dorodo's mistakes and blamed everything he had done on the Magic Association, putting the blame on the association for many things.

"I was wrong in this matter. Why does Your Highness the Princess keep pushing the blame onto the association?" Dorado said gritting his teeth.

"The reason why you can stand here and talk to me is not because you are so powerful, but because you are here on behalf of the Magic Association." Helia replied.

"In that case, all your actions and every move during this selection and assessment will represent the association's intentions and attitude."

"If you haven't thought this through, why did you accept the invitation letter my father handed to the association?"

The selection hasn't even officially started yet, but the two referees have already started arguing. How can others feel about this?

So the peacemaker Giselwell stepped forward and said, "Calm down, both of you. Calm down."

"It's just a small matter. Don't hurt each other's feelings."

"Besides, the selection and assessment has not even started yet. We can't let others laugh at us and question whether our judgment is fair. Wouldn't that be like losing both the watermelon and the sesame seeds?"

Dorodo was concerned about the royal family behind Helia, so he snorted coldly and sat down.

Helia glanced at Giselwell, who was trying to smooth things over, and said in an ambiguous tone, "I didn't realize that Lord Giselwell likes to negotiate peace so much."

Gisever simply smiled and replied, "I just don't want us to fight among ourselves and make a fool of ourselves."