Chapter 1064: Ten Years of Persistence
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
In Border District, hundreds of race participants started to run!
They were greeted by cheers all along the Kingdom Main Street as they were running toward Longsong Stronghold. Some police officers who wore uniforms and bright ribbons, bicycled on both sides of the street, following the participants all the way. They worked as judges and relief workers for this long-distance race.
The same situation occurred in Longsong District.
For the first time in this world, more than a thousand people were running toward the same place at the same time. Not out of fear for their lives but to show their strength without any concerns. Undoubtedly, Neverwinter would gain a worldwide reputation for such an unprecedented event.
Soon, everyone on the continent would know that the new king's city of Graycaslte organized the first long-distance race in the world.
...
At the finish line, on the grandstand, Lance was bending over the handrails, shouting and cheering. Cole turned toward Edith and asked, "Sister, why didn't you join the race? If it's just about endurance, shouldn't you also be able to win a prize?"
Cole noticed that after Lance came to Neverwinter, Edith seemed to be in a better mood and became much more talkative. Most of the time, she would not even tease him in front of their youngest brother. Otherwise, he would never dare to disturb Edith with such a trivial question.
"Oh?" Edith glanced sideways at him. "Why do I have to win such a prize?"
"Uhm— Didn't you really like this kind of competition before?"
"If you hadn't stood out from the competition, you would've never become the Pearl of the Northern Region," Cole thought. In his view, Edith was a super competitive person. Back in the Northern Region, she practiced fencing with knights in the daytime and shone brightly at banquets in the evening. She defeated countless knights single-handedly and attracted lots of admirers on social occasions. Even Timothy was attracted to her.
After winning many fencing matches and outshining numerous ladies at banquets, she finally became a well-known figure in the Northern Region. Cole really could not understand why she suddenly started to keep a low profile and refused to join this long-distance race held by His Majesty.
"Because our family needed me to do that." Edith shrugged. "If I hadn't tried my best to increase the influence of the Kant family as quickly as possible, our father would've never got the duke title. I had to do that, even if I needed to act like a clown in front of those idiots to win their favor." She sneered before adding, "Do you think I enjoyed it?"
Cole could tell it was a threatening tone.
"No, I just..."
"But now, I don't have to rely on this kind of competition to grab the king's attention," Edith continued, seemingly not minding what Cold previously said, which made the boy feel quite relieved. "And... I'm not alone anymore."
Cole was stunned. "What do you mean by that?"
Edith looked at Lance and Cole. "I now have you guys, don't I?"
Hearing that, Cole immediately thrust out his chest. He felt that he should say something at this moment, but he did not know what to say.
Edith smiled at him and then turned her gaze toward the upper part of the grandstand. "Do your job well. That'll be the greatest help to me."
...
Guelz wheezed violently and began to slow down. "How long... do we still have to run?"
"The sign that we've just passed reads fourteen. That is to say, we've only run half the distance." Rohan felt worried and asked. "Father, are you alright? You're panting heavily. How about we stop here and rest for a while. Anyway, there are many people behind us now."
As Rohan had expected, not many people could keep running for more than an hour. The participants started running as a crowd, and then the crowd gradually turned into a line. At this moment, it was probably a dotted line.
Guelz and Rohan were among the leading runners. Since the beginning of the game, only several participants had surpassed them. Given that, Rohan thought even if they were to take some rest here, they could still do well in the race. He did not care much about the prize.
He was more worried about his father's health.
Guelz had not taken any strenuous exercise for a long time, and this long-distance race turned out to be even more consuming than traveling across a desert. In a desert, they did not need to run very fast. They just followed a planned route and could get food and water from the oases along the way. In this race, however, they needed to use lots of energy to keep a certain speed.
"You want to give up again?" Guelz glared at Rohan. "Because you're not the last one?"
"I..."
"Lorgar would never say anything like that. When are you going to become like her? Try your best to fight for a goal and never give up. Have you ever thought of winning the first prize?"
Rohan usually chose to keep silent when he heard this kind of talk, but today he felt somewhat irritated. He complained in his heart.
How can I defeat Lorgar?
Should I put some poison in her cup? Or publicly expose her half-animal look?
Otherwise, how else can I defeat a Divine Lady favored by the Three Gods?
I can not even defeat our family's Chief Bodyguard!
In order to maintain Wildflame's rank in the Iron Sand City, the clan worshiped outstanding warriors. That was why everyone thought Lorgar was the best successor. Faced with such a reality, Rohan chose to back down to avoid intra-clan conflicts. He did this for the entire clan's interests, but his father did not seem to appreciate it.
He really could not understand why his father always neglected his contribution to the clan.
He had felt oppressed about this for a long time, and now, he thought he really had enough of it. Besides, he was quite embarrassed by his father's wolf girl outfit. Under such circumstances, for the first time in his life, Rohan cried out to his father, "I'm worried about you! If it wasn't for you, I would be at the lead now!"
He felt regret as soon as he finished saying this.
It sounded like he was reproaching his father for dragging him down.
When he was about to say something to make up for his mistake before his father flew into a rage, Guelz said, "Well then, you can run by yourself."
"Father, I mean..." Rohan turned his head to look at Guelz. To his surprise, he saw a smiling face.
"Is this the first time you took the initiative to reveal your thoughts?" Guelz sighed. "You're right. I'm too old for this race now, no matter how strong I used to be." He paused for a moment before adding, "You can leave me alone and do your best. You're really good at running, aren't you?"
Rohan was frozen with shock.
"There's an old saying in the clan. If you practice a thing for ten years, you'll excel in it, no matter how stupid you are." Guelz paused and then added slowly, "Don't worry. I'll walk to the finish line."
Rohan clenched his fists. After a brief silence, he said in a low voice, "Then I'll go first."
"Wait," Guelz stopped him as he was about to speed up. "Put these two things on."
"Father—"
"Even though Lorgar had already left the Southern Territory, she's still a part of the Wildflame clan and your little sister. We should try our best to help her." Guelz put the headband on Rohan's head and continued, "Go ahead, show the great chief what we Mojins can do."
Rohan looked at his father quietly and then sped off.
As he was picking up the speed, he felt that the wind blowing past him was getting stronger and stronger.
At first, he could hear the spectators exclaim in admiration, but now, he could only hear the wind whistling.
He did not feel tired at all. He thought he could run even faster.
At the moment, he felt full of energy.
He was delighted to know that his father has always kept an eye on him!
In order to guarantee Lorgar's status, he suffered countless criticisms, both inside and outside of the clan. Whenever he felt overwhelmed by the pressure, he would leave the Iron Sand City to run in the small oases alone. He did this not only to vent his resentment but also to prove himself. He was not good at fighting, but he thought he might be able to outshine his sister in hunting, which required endurance rather than strength.
Unfortunately, he never got a chance to do it.
Rohan thought that no one noticed his attempt at proving himself, but now he knew he was wrong.
"You're really good at running, aren't you?"
"If you practice a thing for ten years, you'll excel in it, no matter how stupid you are."
His father's words reverberated in his heart.
Father, you knew it from the very beginning, didn't you?
Feeling encouraged, Rohan ran even faster.
He still remembered the day when he had first started running in the oases.
Ten years had passed since that day!