Under the night sky, Jenkins stood alone on the gentle slope of the empty snow mountain. Because of the cold, he wanted to call out the fire of grace to warm his body, but his instinct told him that once he did so, the chill that kept penetrating into his body would disappear. Moreover, the owner of the palace in front of him might not like flames, so he gave up after thinking about it.
There was nothing in the square at first, but after Jenkins stepped on it, it seemed to be activated suddenly. A bright blue line extended from the position of Jenkins' feet to the center of the square.
When it reached the center of the square, the light converged into a group of light spots, jumped three times, and then emitted more lines distributed at equal angles in all directions.
These lines together form a huge ritual matrix on the ice, and the spiral-like rotating lines outline runes and spells. When all these were formed, with the vibration of the ice surface, an ice sculpture of a swordsman rose from under the ice surface.
He was wearing a set of light armor covering half of his body, and the skirt armor had fine scale-like scratches.
When the booted feet also appeared from under the ice, the ice sculpture's right hand pulled out a long sword from his side and pointed at Jenkins:
"To enter the palace, my lord, you must prove your valor."
The ice sculpture speaks the common language, but has a different kind of intonation.
"How do I prove my bravery?"
Jenkins asked tremblingly, not surprised by the change, he was ready. While talking, he spread his hands to prove that he has no weapons or armor, only a light pajamas.
"Beat me."
The ice sculpture replied sonorously, pointing Jenkins's sword downwards, and then stuck it on the ice in front of the boots. .
"In any way?"
he asked rhetorically.
"Yes, any way."
Ice Sculpture nodded, and then pointed his sword at Jenkins again. He doesn't have a physical body, so even his eyes are ice. It's just that the ice sheet at the eye position has a very good reflective effect.
The gorgeous white sword light reflected in those eyes, that sword light seemed to be able to split everything, from far to near in an instant.
Shua~
Jenkins danced a sword flower, then retracted the sword, and let out a long breath slowly. Opposite him, the ice-sculpted swordsman has been split into two. His "corpse" slowly sank below the ice surface, leaving only his long sword in place.
The ice surface is still vibrating. The fountain rises in the center of the square, and then it really starts to spray water. There are unevenly distributed ice sculpture benches on the edge of the square. There are scattered lampposts in the square, and there is no one under the lampposts. The peddler's cart parked there quietly.
Ice sculptures of various colors rose in turn, making the originally empty square suddenly crowded. An ice flag appeared on the flagpole. Although it couldn't flutter in the night wind, Jenkins could still see the symbols on the flag at the moment it was frozen.
It was a symbol of a snowflake. As far as Jenkins knew, no family or force used such a symbol to represent itself.
"What's the meaning?"
He wondered in his heart, bent down to pick up the gifted long sword. But as soon as the hand touched the sword, the sword turned into a blue light and shrank into a light spot.
The spot of light was actually a chess piece, the chess piece of the sword holder, and the engraving technique was no different from the ice chess piece held by Jenkins.
"Um… "
He froze for a while, then put the swordsman's chess piece into his body, then crossed the "lively" square and climbed the steps in front of the gate.
When both feet stepped on the ice steps, the sound of footsteps appeared from the gate of the palace. The footsteps were steady and strong, and when Jenkins climbed all the steps and came to the door, he happened to see the ice sculpture of the knight standing there.
"Welcome, guest, I am the gatekeeper here. If you want to enter the palace, you need to prove your qualifications to me."
Bing Sculpture said, using a woman's voice, although there was almost no ups and downs, it was unexpected to be able to feel the unique emotional color of intelligent creatures.
"How do I prove it? Do I want to fight you too?"
Jenkins asked, ready to draw his sword again.
"No, noble spirit does not need to be proved by brutal force. Please answer my question, guest, how do you understand chivalry?"
The ice-sculpted steed of the knight snorted impatiently, and took two steps in front of the gate with its hooves nailed on the horseshoe.
"Be kind to the weak;
stand up against violence bravely;
against all errors;
fight for the defenseless;
to help anyone who asks me for help;
harm no woman;
Help my brother knight;
treat my friends with sincerity;
Will remain true to the one I love until death. "
Jenkins said quickly, because he was already too cold, and wanted to enter the room quickly. This question was not difficult for him. Similar words, he said it once when he first met Miss Windsor in Belduran City.
Anyway, he is not a knight, and it is no psychological burden for him to say such beautiful words.
"I recognize your spirit and welcome you, guest."
The knight nodded to Jenkins, and flew into the air with her steed in a bluish spot of light. Those light spots drifted toward the outside of the castle, and the light spots attached to the walls, pillars, windows, and steps, leaving behind continuous patterns and complex decorations.
The final point of light stopped in front of Jenkins, and Jenkins reached out to grab it and realized that it was the knight's pawn.
Silently, he took this chess piece back into his spirit, and raised his leg to enter the palace. Although the indoor temperature is still very low, at least there is no biting cold wind.
The main door opens onto two spiraling inward staircases, which lead to the second floor. In front of the stairs, there are corridors leading to the side on the left and right sides of the hall, and in the center of the empty hall, an ice sculpture holding a crystal ball is waiting for Jenkins.
"This time it's the wizard's turn... Are there spearmen, killers, and berserkers waiting for me?"
Jenkins couldn't help but said, and walked towards the center of the hall.
"No, I don't quite understand what you're talking about."
The ice sculpture replied, this is the image of an old man:
"First of all, I'm not a wizard, I'm an astrologer; secondly, haven't you ever played the prank board? This is the most fun board game that has been popular since the seventh era (note) until the era in which I lived."
"Sorry, it's the 18th century now, and I've never heard of a prank board... Excuse me, does that have something to do with Mr. Mischief?"
Jenkins asked hesitantly.
His question seemed to please the old man who called himself an astrologer, and he probably really liked this board game.
"Yes, the prank chessboard is an invention of the great master before he achieved himself, and it is also one of the few inventions of the master that does not have the function of pranks... Although I have heard that after someone loses, the activated chess pieces get into their nostrils There are 29 types of chess pieces in this chess game, but there are only five main types: swordsman, archer, knight, astrologer, and priest. Since you have archers, I thought you already knew this."
PS: Mister Mischief achieved [Master] at the end of the sixth era, which was mentioned in the information chapter.
I didn't plan to add an update, and the second time in the morning was set at the wrong time. I actually finished the exam in the afternoon... Now that it has been sent out, let's add an update. Please ask for tickets and rewards for blades.