The Arena Beckons

Soon, two days passed.

The Solstice Eve is here.

Emperor Verlia has arranged a grand competition as the main event of the Solstice Festival. People from across the empire and allied kingdoms have gathered to compete through martial arts, strategy, literature, or other talents—and the winners will receive prestigious prizes, titles, or even royal favor.

"Leon also received an invitation, so he bid farewell to Lady Elira early and headed to the Aurelius Grand Arena."

Located at the heart of the capital, Aurelius Grand Arena is an expansive coliseum designed for the Empire's most prestigious events. Crafted from gleaming white stone and engraved with ancient runes of wisdom and valor, the arena seamlessly merges the grace of scholarship with the thrill of battle.

The arena is divided into two sections:

The Scholar's Terrace, where literary contests take place on a raised marble platform flanked by golden pillars, echoing with the words of poets, philosophers, and debaters.

The Warrior's Circle, a vast combat ring surrounded by enchanted barriers, where steel clashes and magic bursts under the watchful eyes of nobles and envoys.

Only at this moment did he realize how naive his thoughts were.After showing the invitation, the eunuch in charge of reception actually led him to sit at the table for the children of nobles.Moreover, it was the lowest seat.

There are at least three barriers between the seats of the princes the front row and the royal relatives, civil officials, and nobles.At this distance, it might not be easy to contact Emperor Lucius .

"Eunuch, did you make the wrong arrangement?" Leon couldn't help but ask.

"That's right, the red invitation card is from this place." The young eunuch checked the invitation card in his hand again and nodded with certainty.

"Really?" Leon suddenly asked, "Then what color are the invitations for the princes?"

Are you kidding me, sir? The princes don't need invitations to enter."

"Uh, sorry, I spoke out of turn."Leon smiled awkwardly and sat down.The young eunuch probably took his status as a guest into consideration, so he didn't look at him as if he were an idiot. He bowed and turned away.

"It seems that I have oversimplified things."

Leon had come to his senses at this moment. It turned out that the Emperor of verlia had never treated him as a prince, so he had only sent him an invitation.

As an abandoned son of the royal family, he sits at the bottom of the list of children of nobles, which is quite fitting for his status.

"Poor mother, I thought this was a sign that they wanted to resolve the rift... We can only keep this a secret for the time being."

Leon actually didn't care.

"Firstly, he had no illusions about the behavior of the Emperor of Verlia."

"Secondly, there were many competitions with generous rewards, and he wanted to seize the opportunity to win some."

"He was short on crowns—the empire's currency."

"Taking the opportunity, he quietly surveyed his surroundings. News of this grand competition had already spread far and wide over the past two days."

Therefore, hundreds of meters away from the venue, you can see many scholars and fighter watching from afar However, due to the guarding of the imperial guards, no one had the courage to step into the forbidden area.

"The Aurelius Grand Arena was already packed with court officials, dignitaries, and invited scholars—easily numbering over a thousand."

Such a scene is unprecedented.

Those invited talented people had never seen such a grand scene before, and they were all excited and ready to go.

This is a poetic line, likely from the perspective of a participant. If it's intentional, consider italicizing or quoting it for clarity:

"In the morning, I am a farmer, and by evening, I ascend to the emperor's palace."

"They had studied both the literary and martial arts, hoping to present his skills before the imperial court."

Today, His Majesty is here in person, and the opportunity to showcase my talents has finally arrived!

As the last group of important figures entered, Velantis Kingdom crown prince Juran and princess Meilin arranged opposite the princes along with the royal relatives.

As soon as Meilin sat down, she looked around the prince's seat, which aroused Juran curiosity:

"Meilin, what are you looking for?"

"I wanted to see if the Fourth Prince had arrived, but it seems he hasn't come yet."

Juran sighed and warned: "By the way, this is a very important occasion, I have to remind you in advance..."

"Observe etiquette and don't be willful or unreasonable... "Brother, you've told me that at least eight hundred times. I already remember it!"

Meilin was wearing a gorgeous skirt of appropriate cut. Her delicate little face was as white as jade, set in the snow-white fox fur, like a blooming white rose.

After she said that, she stuck out her tongue at her brother, which was both playful and funny, and made Juran burst out laughing.

Meilin took the opportunity to ask in a low voice: "Brother Crown Prince, I don't understand, it's just a banquet, why do we have to be so cautious?"

"You don't understand." Juran sighed softly, "I'm afraid you'll get angry if I tell you."

"I'll be angry if you don't tell me."

"I knew it."

"So will you tell me?"

"Okay, I can tell you, but you have to promise me in advance that you won't do anything reckless."Juran had a headache and had no choice but to respond to his sister's interrogation: "Today's event is not just a banquet, but also a talent competition. His Majesty the Emperor of verlia specially arranged for us to attend. Do you understand?"

"Specially arranged?" Meilin was no fool, and figured out something. "Could it be that they are targeting us?"

"Yes and no." Juran smiled mysteriously.

"What do you mean? Did the Royal brother notice something?"

"This matter came out of my mouth and entered your ears, so don't let anyone else know."

When Meilin heard this, she nodded quickly. Juran actually glanced around, then leaned closer and said in a low voice: "Speaking of which, this matter is also related to the

Varyans."

"Varyans?"

"That's right. Ever since the Varyans rose to power, they have become the biggest enemy of the verlia Empire. Over the past twenty years or so, the verlia Empire has suffered a lot.

""Especially in recent years, brilliant warriors have continued to rise from the Varyans," Juran said in a low voice. "Among their five ruling houses, there is a young woman who has become a living legend on the battlefield—Lady Seraphina Valorin. They call her the War Goddess of the North."

"The War Goddess?" Meilin blinked, her eyes wide with awe.

"Yes. She's fought in over a hundred battles, large and small, and hasn't lost a single one. Not even once."

"That's incredible!" Meilin gasped. "She must be terrifying on the battlefield."

Meilin's rosy lips formed an 'O' as she imagined the terrifying prowess of such a warrior.

"More than just amazing, it is said that this female warrior is not only a master of martial arts, but she is also young and beautiful. Many knowledgeable people privately rank her beauty among the three most beautiful women in the world.

"Hey, she's born into a royal family, she's beautiful, and she's such a great fighter. I'm really a little jealous."

"Meilin puffed up her pink cheeks, and a sly glint suddenly flashed in her eyes. She smiled mischievously and pursed her lips:"

"Brother Crown Prince, since you admire Lady Seraphina Valorin so much, how about asking her to be your wife?"

"Shh, don't let anyone from verlia hear this!"

Juran was actually startled and signaled her not to talk nonsense. He glanced around nervously before he felt relieved.

Turning back, he warned Meilin in a low voice:

"Meilin, don't joke like that again," Juran warned with a frown. "Verlia and the Varyans are sworn enemies. And Velantis Kingdom is just a small coastal kingdom that relies heavily on the Empire of verlia."If anyone from Verlia hears that, they might suspect our intentions—and that could cause serious trouble for our entire kingdom."

After a pause, he shook his head After a pause, he shook his head and laughed, "Besides, even I have to look up to a woman as extraordinary as the Goddess of War. How could I have such unreasonable thoughts as you said?"

Meilin curled her lips: "But she'll have to get married eventually, won't she?"

Juran spread his hands helplessly. 'Yes… but unfortunately, that groom won't be me.'"

"Who do you think will become her husband in the future?"

"Who knows? He must be a great man who looks down on the world Juran shook his head and returned to the topic: "Let's not talk about this anymore, let's talk about this conference. The reason is not as simple as you think.

"In the past two years, the verlia Empire has been increasingly weakened in the face of the Northern Varyans's attacks. This has also caused many small countries that used to be on good terms with the verlia Empire to become disloyal and secretly ready to make moves.

"And at this time, the verlia Empire needs to show its strength and stabilize these countries to prevent them from turning against us.

"And showing strength can be divided into two types: civil and military. This talent show is probably to warn small countries like us that the verlia Empire is full of talented people and will not become weak just because it is temporarily defeated by the Northern Varyans in terms of military strength."

Milin nodded in sudden enlightenment, with a look of admiration on her face: "As expecte of you, you are the prince brother. You are smarter than most people."

She sighed softly and frowned. "If the Verlia Empire really wants to showcase its talents, then won't we just become background players in their show?"

"Why? Verlia Empire is full of talented people. The Fourth Prince alone makes me feel inferior to him. Do you want us to be in the spotlight?" Juran smiled bitterly.

"Yeah, I almost forgot about him. He's different from the rest… but where is he?"

Milin held her cheeks with distress and subconsciously looked towards the prince's seat opposite. Then her little face showed surprise and disappointment.

"Eh? Weird, the seats across the street are all full, but why is the Fourth Prince nowhere to be seen? Where did the Fourth Prince go?"