The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 392: Preparations and information

Chapter 392: Preparations and information

"The tournament will start with a ceremony. Several nations, factions, and individuals will be introduced with speeches from a select few Elders and a High Elder."

Sterling discussed the information he had been able to gather over the past few days. The tournament was a regular event but was known to be full of surprises and upsets. However, as the date of the start approached, more and more information leaked out.

Spies gathered every bit of intel they could find. These were compiled by experienced professionals and merchants with vivid imaginations.

Upon inquiring, Hex learned quite a few fascinating things about the entire intel gathering done by the spies.

He had assumed they broke into the offices of Elders to peek into files. Or that they spend enormous amounts on bribes. These were done, yes, but only by a few served as a minor source, and were often unreliable.

The way true professionals worked, differed from this. Some of them followed the flow of goods, such as tents, drinks, and food to locate the venues.

Others searched for unusual activities. They were looking for anything that deviated from the norm established over a span of a set amount of time. The standard was ten years but why, no one Hex consulted knew.

The movement of Elders, Guardians, and other prominent figures was monitored as well. It made sense why only gambling houses were able to gather enough intel, which they gladly sold to anyone willing to pay. Daily updates were for sale too. Only the merchants could afford to dedicate so many resources to all this.

"Argh," Hestia groaned. She was sitting beside him and listened to Sterling’s information. "Can we skip the opening ceremony? Or the speeches at least?"

"Sure," Sterling chuckled.

"Only a few of us will remain behind. You guys should focus on the matches," Ella added. Since they had decided to team up, albeit temporarily and loosely, they had decided to pool all the intel they gathered together.

Hex didn’t trust them. Not enough to trust every bit of information they offered. He was certain the feeling was mutual.

If it had been for Hestia, he would never agree to share a space with people such as Ella and Elron. These people had inflicted a lot of harm on Grindeston and his master. Someday, they would have to pay for it. He would make sure of it.

"The sequence of matches and modes will be very important."

Sterling emphasized it again. His team had plenty of people for each mode. But Hex knew that Sterling hoped Hex could participate in as many as possible.

They had never discussed Hex’s abilities and expertise properly. Despite that being the case, Hex believed the silver-haired boy knew a lot.

Sterling was by no means stupid. In fact, Hex was certain that the Silver Serpent’s cunningness and resourcefulness surpassed his. Why else would an experienced person like Old Perl follow him otherwise?

"The matches and modes will be revealed after the speeches. And that too will be limited to the first round," Ella nodded.

They spent the rest of their time together coming up with strategies for different scenarios. All the scenarios were based on the intel and the likelihood of them occurring.

"We will have to disguise you," Hestia said at some point. "If you pop up in every mode and perform exemplary, which I am certain you will, people will start questioning your background and whether you have some sort of secret."

She was right of course. If he was seen everywhere it would raise questions. His partial transformation would help a lot. Only, he hadn’t revealed it yet. He wasn’t planning on either. No matter how much he trusted and liked Hestia, she was part of the Divine Lord’s team at the moment.

"You don’t need to worry about it. I have found a solution. I bet none of you will be able to recognize me," he said, giving them his best smirk. It was easy. He imitated what he had seen Sterling do.

It earned him a few irritated gazes but he ignored them. In his head, he was already planning the different personas he would embody during the competition.

"Now, the most important part," Sterling said, raising his voice so everyone would listen. "The point system."

Everyone quietened down immediately. After all, they all wished for their leaders to win. At the very least, the Silver Serpent wished to see Sterling either win or perform exceptionally well. They had already lost their homes and everything they had worked for. If Sterling failed, they would lose their place and would end up becoming workers.

Although it didn’t sound too bad in Hex’s ears – if they would lose their lives or end up being indebted for life, that would be worse – he learned that merchants considered becoming workers as something worse than being dead.

"There are some alterations to the point system this time but overall it’s still similar to the old one," Sterling continued. "You get points by winning and lose points when losing. Draws, though rare, are worth just one point. That is fixed. Irrespective of the stage of the competition or the mode you are participating in, a draw will always be one point."

No one showed any reaction to it. It had always been like that. They expected it so there was nothing to complain about. Hex had his opinions about it but he kept them to himself.

"The competition this time focuses on fielding warriors and battle-related abilities. It should be obvious as to why that is." Sterling looked at them, perhaps expecting some questions, but everyone remained silent. Except for one person.

"Wait," Elron complained, "are you telling me to battle during potion creation? Or to kill someone when I see something interesting they have?"

’What the hell is he asking,’ Hex frowned. While the first part sounded concerned, the second seemed crazy. Hex had a bad feeling about Elron’s participation in the competition. The man had a record of going overboard when intrigued.

"No, no," Sterling said, shaking his head. "Battle-related abilities refer to – let’s pick your example – a potion perhaps that enhances or assists in battle. Or a Dryad performing multiple surgeries at once in the middle of a battlefield with limited supplies. That sort of a thing."

"Oh," Elron said. "Makes sense."

So, why did he appear so disappointed?

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