"Mr. Hamilton, you are really lucky."
When they saw 21, the two Mr. Forans threw their cards onto the table together. Although no one busted, no one had 21 either.
Therefore, after the first two rounds, Shade led by 4 points, but Eric Foran and Charles Foran had 3 points and 2 points respectively, so Shade was not sure to win.
The third round of cards was drawn very quickly. Because it was the last round, everyone was very focused. Xia De looked at his first hidden card, frowned slightly, and then observed the expressions of Mr. Fulan. But they were indeed good at Rhodes cards. Their expressions were very calm, and they definitely didn't give Xia De the opportunity to see their mood.
"By the way, have you watched the news? The newspaper said that a perverted murderer appeared in the city. The murderer was also a man, and he used the excuse of 'looking for his brother' to contact other people."
Shade said again, taking out the third card, intending to test the two fifth-ring sorcerers. Mr. Eric Foran nodded:
"Of course I saw the news. The Baron Sally from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who was in charge of our mission even specifically told us not to leave the embassy at night. I never thought Tobesk would be so dangerous."
"After all, this is a big city, and all kinds of things can happen. The number of gas explosions that occurred here last year will probably surprise you even more."
Xia De said, then tapped the table with his fingers:
"I think this game is over. I'm standing down."
The Foran brothers, who also held three cards, also stopped their cards, and Mr. Charles Foran, who wore a monocle in his left eye, announced:
"My luck has come too. Look at this card."
He turned over his third card, which was indeed a special rule card:
"Star 7, the text of the times, the Willendel Sun. Roll a 20-sided dice. If the number on the dice is not greater than 10, adjust this card to the number on the dice."
The "Times Word" series was released about 30 years ago. It is a series of decks released by the Prophet Association in cooperation with the newspaper industry. The deck includes newspapers with huge circulation. The card with the King suit is the Times Word · Threepenny Newspaper, which is the newspaper published by the Prophet Association itself.
Mr. Charles Follen took out his ivory dice, had Shad examine it, and then tossed it gently. The number was 10:
"I knew it would work."
He showed his hand, the other two cards were Sun 1 and Flower 10:
"21!"
His brother, Mr. Eric Foran, shook his head:
"It's really unlucky. I thought I would definitely win this round."
His three cards are Flower 8, Sun 5 and Sun 7, with a total of 20 points.
"Then I'll activate my special effects as well."
Shade said, throwing out Star 5 from his three cards, which was a common card. Then, he showed Flower 12, Genesis Earth:
"Remove a star suit card from your hand, and add 3 to the total points of all players. My last card is a flower 6. So, my total points are 5+12+6-5+3=21 points. As for the two..."
The total points of the Forlan brothers added 3, and both of them busted.
"Origin Earth?!"
Mr. Eric Foran then understood what his brother was surprised about when he checked the deck just now. After obtaining Shade's consent, he carefully picked up the card for inspection. On the other side, Mr. Charles Foran handed over his flower 3 Shakadi Story·Mrs. Misty with some regret, and watched Shade insert it into the deck.
Although it was a pity, he did not feel sorry at all for losing to the champion of "Big City Players 1853". He even thought that after returning to Willendale, he would have something to brag about with the players in the local club:
"Mr. Hamilton, you are really good at playing Rhodes. If you have the chance to go to Willendale City in the future, remember to come and play cards with us again. But next time, I can try to bet on something else."
“I seldom gamble.”
Xia De said seriously:
"But I don't mind playing cards. I wonder if there is any news about other founding series cards in Willendal City."
When mentioning the city of Willendel, one naturally thinks of the princess of the southern country and the young witch who serves as the princess's tutor.
"I don't know what they are doing now."
They talked for a while with the Forlan brothers at the table, and when everyone's glasses were empty, the three of them said goodbye.
Xia De did not continue to wander around, but went straight back to his tent.
The huge tent with two exits to the east and south was well decorated. At the innermost part was a bed, and it was equipped with bedside tables, wardrobes, armor racks, desks, coffee tables, and dressing tables.
The maids were either watching the groom feeding the horses outside the tent, or busy cleaning the tent. Although Shade did not live here at night, this was also his main base for activities in the next few days.
Dorothy was sitting on the bed, reading a war novel called "Gunfire on the Dover Bank", while Mia was standing on the bed, looking around, not knowing what she was reading. Tifa was standing by the small stove at the east entrance of the tent, preparing tea. When Shad came back, she smiled and nodded at him. When Shad walked into the tent, the writer also put down the book and said:
"I just heard that something happened to Count Lewis of Carsonrick. You'd better stop wandering around. Be careful not to run into the killer."
He laughed as he spoke, and then asked:
"You seem to be in a good mood. Who did you play Rhodes with?"
"How do you know..."
This time it was Xia De's turn to be surprised. He had just returned and hadn't told anyone about his itinerary.
"You are such an easy person to understand."
The blonde stood up:
"If I don't know you, how can I write your story? And you only have so many hobbies. You didn't go to play cards. Did you meet other cats and play with them for twenty minutes?"
"Meow?"
Mia turned her head and looked at Xia De again. After being picked up by Xia De, she moved her nose as if she was sniffing something.
Although Tifa suggested that Shad take a nap at noon to prepare for the afternoon game, Shad had no habit of taking naps, and he didn't like sleeping outside of his home.
So he stayed in the tent all afternoon talking to Dorothy and Tifa. During this time, a detective came to ask people here if they had seen anyone suspicious half an hour ago, but he didn't get an answer.
The assassination of the Earl did not affect the afternoon's game. It was not until 1:30 pm that Shade confirmed his order of appearance in the afternoon.
The afternoon event was "horse archery", which required running enough laps around the arena within the specified time and shooting at targets in the process.
The arena can only accommodate a group of three people at a time, so the schedule that starts in the afternoon will last until the evening. The afternoon sun is also glaring, so if you can draw a match after four o'clock, your results will be better.
But this time Xia De did not have such good luck, and his three-person team was the second to appear.
After confirming the order, Shad immediately returned to the tent to prepare. Tifa and Dorothy helped him check the horse gear and confirm the clothes. They looked more nervous than Shad.
Xia De suggested:
"I'll be leaving in a bit, Tifa, you and Dorothy should get ready, and we'll go for a walk outside the camp when I come back."
"Do you want to familiarize yourself with the route for tomorrow's long-distance horse race?"
The maid asked, this is also the practice of the annual competition. After all, if you are familiar with the route in advance, at least you will not go the wrong way.
"No, no, Tifa, please help prepare snacks and tea for takeout. Since we have time today, how about we go for an outing after I get off the field?"
Shad said.
"Is this an invitation?"
The writer asked with a smile, and Shade nodded:
"Of course, with such nice weather, we can go riding to the suburbs to relax, then sit on the tablecloth and drink tea while watching the sunset by the river. This should be a good activity, right? Spring is here, and since we want to rest, we naturally have to enjoy life."
Dorothy answered without speaking, but gave Shad a kiss on the side of the cheek.
Shade then looked at Tifa again. The black-haired maid was a little hesitant:
"The task the lady gave me does not include going to relax with you."
"But isn't this to help Shade relax? Besides, we do need the maid to help get some things."
Dorothy said, with a smile that looked exactly like Leicia's:
"Ms. Carina, I will forgive you."
The afternoon's horseback shooting competition officially began amid the cheers of the audience and the sound of melodious horns. The knights nervously prepared for their respective competitions, and the cheers from the venue made those who couldn't buy tickets very curious about who was showing what kind of superb skills.
There were no accidents in Xia De's competition. Although the sunlight was still very strong when his group entered the field, it was not a problem for Xia De who did not need to aim with his naked eyes.
However, Mr. Ben Silver and Mr. Doon Wisworth, who were in the same group, did not perform very well in the afternoon because of the glare of the sun. When the three of them rode their horses away from the competition venue at the sound of the horn, the two frustrated gentlemen wanted to invite Shade to have a drink together, but Shade politely refused.
"Mr. Hamilton!"
As soon as Shad left the side door of the arena, people gathered outside the arena and surrounded him. Among them were reporters from the newspaper and supporters Shad didn't know. Thanks to the "boast" in "Hamilton Detective Stories", Shad was one of the favorites in this game.
Fortunately, Miss Carina's maids properly dispersed the crowd, allowing Shade, who had just experienced the event, to escape as quickly as possible.
"How does it feel?"
When Shade was leading the horse back to his own camp, the writer asked curiously, and a smile appeared on her face when she got a positive answer.
In fact, tomorrow morning's newspaper will publish the scores of the 36 players after today's competition. Then we will know where Xia De currently ranks.