Chapter 778: The Wargrave Family Luxury Viewing Box
Within one of the Luxury Viewing Boxes within the Coliseum, the Wargrave family gathered. Every single person could be seen here, the three Great Elders, the five Elders, and the seven Suns and Moons.
As for those who were absent, they were Azaron and Malrik, as they had chosen to stay together within a single Luxury Viewing Box, but Azazel had left his own Luxury Viewing Box and intruded upon theirs. And also absent were the last two Suns; Ninth Sun, Thalric Wargrave, and Tenth Sun, Asher Wargrave.
The entire Wargrave family was in full attendance as no one had been left behind at the Wargrave Ducal Estate. And why wouldn’t they be in full attendance? It had been almost forever since a Wargrave had participated in one of these Inter-Empire Competitions, as though the world of Crymora itself didn’t want them to participate, as though it somehow knew that this particular group of people would win by default.
And secondly, two Wargraves were participating at the same time, which was unprecedented and almost unheard of. This made every single Wargrave gathered here extremely hyped and eager for what was to come.
Even they too were screaming alongside Commoners, Merchants, and Adventurers as the electric atmosphere reached them, infecting even people of their status with excitement.
"Hahaha!!!!" Great Elder Morthen, who always had a relaxed demeanor, laughed as he spoke, "it’s been a while since we participated in one of these," the smile hanging prominently on his old face.
"Indeed," the Second Great Elder, Morgana, replied with a smile. To them, this was a way to pass time, spend money, relax, and unwind, which was a bit rare for old bones like them who were always stuck within the confines of the Wargrave Ducal Estate.
"The youngest seems to have grown taller again," Wuthenya stated as she stared at Asher from her seat with a calm smile resting on her face.
Ezekiel Wargrave, the Sixth Sun, smiled as he replied, "he has even grown taller than you, Mary," he teased, his brown eyes shifting toward the Seventh Moon.
The Seventh Moon, Mary Wargrave, simply shook her head as she replied, "height doesn’t really matter in anything. As long as I’m always stronger, why should I be bothered about a height difference?" she shrugged, not falling for her Elder Brother’s teasing remarks as she was already used to his playful behavior and endless attempts to poke at her.
"I wonder how much stronger Thalric and Asher are. It’s a shame that I graduated two years ago. I could have been participating. Sigh, I shouldn’t have entered Star Academy early if I knew this Inter-Empire Competition was coming up," Olivia Wargrave stated with a slightly saddened tone. She was the Eighth Moon.
As the siblings discussed among themselves, the Elders also spoke amongst themselves.
"Where is Azaron?" The First Elder, Castle Wargrave, spoke as he couldn’t find his brother no matter where he looked.
The Second Elder shook her head as she spoke, "he isn’t coming. He booked a separate viewing box because Azazel is here," her voice came calmly.
Her name was Isabella Wargrave, the Second Elder. She sat with calm ease, one leg crossed over the other, displaying a composed demeanor.
"Azazel is here?" The Third Elder asked. "Well, I shouldn’t be surprised, that fool has always been bothering Azaron since our younger days," Willow Wargrave shook her head as she spoke.
As they were Azaron’s siblings, of course they knew about Azazel. The man basically showed up at the Wargrave Estate like he owned the place. And he was only able to do that because their father, the previous Primarch, liked him. If not, he wouldn’t have dared to show up so many times prior to Azaron becoming the Primarch and inheriting authority over the family.
"Sigh, let’s not even talk about that guy," the Fourth Elder, Zane Wargrave, spoke. "We should focus on the bets," a smirk appeared on his lips as he stared at the odds in front of him.
"Exactly," Alexander, the Fifth and last Elder, stated as his eyes focused on Asher’s and Thalric’s odds. "But who should we choose?" he asked, his question directed at everybody present.
They didn’t exactly know how strong Asher or Thalric was. They were literally the youngest children in the bloodline and family, making it difficult for most of them to properly judge their capabilities.
"Well, shouldn’t Thalric be stronger?" Third Great Elder Damian asked calmly.
Wuthenya, who was seated at the side, spoke, "he should, but you all seem to have forgotten about the Youngest’s True Awakening. If that is anything to go by, he is worth considering," she stated as she stared thoughtfully at Asher’s odds.
The Seventh Moon, Mary, shook her head as she spoke, "while that is true, Asher has only had two years to train and catch up, while Thalric has had six years. If I’m not mistaken, such a gap can’t be closed so easily," her words logical, grounded, and backed by simple reasoning.
Yes, Asher was talented, but it was impossible to close such a gap within just two years.
"But Asher’s odds seem tempting," the First Elder, Castle, stated. "I will bet ten million platinum coins on Thalric, then bet a million platinum coins on Asher," his mind moving as he made the calculations internally.
He could tell that the betting organization had made Asher’s odds very large to lure in greedy people who wanted to stake huge sums and win sixteen times their money. But it didn’t matter to Castle. While he believed in Thalric more than Asher, he simply decided to bet on Asher because he was participating and because he was still family.
Although Azaron and Malrik had locked in on Asher without a second thought, that was because they possessed information no different from insider knowledge. While the rest of the Wargrave family had been left in the dark and could only believe in Thalric simply because he had more time and experience on his side.
"I will be betting twenty million on the youngest," Great Elder Morthen stated as he stroked his beard thoughtfully.
Everyone’s eyes turned to Great Elder Morthen in surprise. They were all locking in their bets on Thalric, but the man had taken a completely different approach.
"Great Elder Morthen, is there something you know that you aren’t telling us?" Third Elder Willow asked as she stared at him with narrowed eyes.
Morthen shook his head as he spoke, "I don’t really know anything, just an old man’s hunch," he replied. "Besides, I can always stake on Thalric during his individual battles, and you all can do the same for Asher if you don’t bet on him at this moment," he explained.
Everyone stared at him for a moment before simply agreeing with what he said. The man had no reason to lie to them, nor was he someone known for making deceptive statements.
"But who would have thought that this betting organization thinks that Azazel’s daughter would win the competition?" Fifth Elder Alexander spoke as he stared at Arianna’s name.
Of course, neither he nor the others knew that Azazel had a daughter. After all, they weren’t friends with the man, so basically only Azaron and Lily knew at the time.
"They are in for a surprise," Morgana stated as she also placed her bet on Thalric.
But alas, they were the ones who were in for a surprise. While Mary’s analysis was sound, that analysis failed the moment Asher was added as a factor into that equation.
The only way they could make money now was through betting on battles that would happen in real time, and through which Empire would ultimately win the Inter-Empire Competition.
The betting organization was indeed going to make billions upon billions of platinum coins. After all, everyone was either betting on Arianna, Isaac, or even Thalric.
Everyone was destined to lose money across all four Empires, and by the time they realized this, it would already be too late, as the betting organization would have swallowed all their coins and walked away with unimaginable profits.
The air within the Wargrave Luxury Viewing Box was lively. Although they were all of different ages and power levels, no one spoke above the others or demanded some fleeting respect. They simply talked and laughed as one family, regardless of age, status, or power.
But their laughter and joy were about to vanish, as they might very well be the ones buying eggs and tomatoes to throw at Thalric for making them lose money.
