In the year 640 of the Chenxi Calendar, October 10th was the Sacrificial Festival of the Feis Kingdom.
As the first rays of dawn shone over Bright City, the bustling citizens had already risen from their beds, making preparations for today's Sacrificial Festival celebrations.
It seemed that in an effort to dilute the impact of the recent Blood Sacrifice Chaos, the Feis Kingdom had put forth considerable efforts; the main streets of Bright City were filled with an abundance of food and wine, free for the enjoyment of the public.
Although just ordinary wine and food, it was enough to allow the hard-working citizens to truly savor the moment.
Of course, on the day of the Sacrificial Festival, the streets were everywhere crowded with acrobats, vendors selling snacks and special wares, and joyful throngs of people streaming through the streets and alleys.
Above Triumph Square, the white bellflowers that represented the Feis Kingdom blanketed the surroundings of the square, and servants dressed in gold and white armor bustled about, making final preparations for the ceremony.
The players, too, were the same; having entered this world only a few days ago, they had just begun to get to know Bright City, so everything about the Sacrificial Festival was incredibly novel to them.
Of course, the main thing was that today they had all received a system quest.
[Main Quest: A New Beginning—Sacrificial Festival Celebration]
[Quest Requirement: Head to the Triumph Square in Bright City and witness the Feis Kingdom's Sacrificial Festival celebration!]
[Quest Reward: 1000 Experience Points]
"Wow, it's a celebration today!"
Mo Yun, excited, exclaimed as she looked at the crowded flow of people on both sides of the street.
"It's alright, but indeed it feels different from where we're from."
Zhao Zhao nodded in agreement, holding a cup of beer with a frothy white head, exuding the aroma of freshly malted barley.
"Hey, I just heard from those NPCs that all the nobles, including the king, will attend the Sacrificial Festival celebration at Triumph Square!"
Mo Yun, with her arm around Zhao Zhao, had been teaming up to complete quests these past few days, becoming quite good gaming buddies as a result.
"So what? We can't get in anyway."
Zhao Zhao was somewhat puzzled. To be honest, Mo Yun was a nice girl, just a bit scatterbrained, and sometimes he just couldn't keep up with her train of thought.
"But what if Lis shows up!"
Mo Yun got excited, almost starry-eyed.
"So what if he shows up? Enough already, I'm tired of hearing 'Lis, Lis, Lis' from you every day."
Zhao Zhao was somewhat exasperated; this girl must be enchanted by something.
"But he's so handsome!"
Mo Yun nodded firmly, a run-of-the-mill handsome guy wouldn't catch her eye.
Zhao Zhao took a sip of the beer in his hand; the slightly bitter taste spread in his mouth, and the unique experience of eating and resting in the game these past few days intrigued him immensely.
Mo Yun rolled her eyes and retorted contemptuously,
"You, the connoisseur, who is the one always volunteering to stake out Lis with me every day?"
"Cough, cough, that was for the hidden quest!"
Zhao Zhao choked on his drink and protested with a reddening face,
"Besides, I'm a professional player; I was exploring the game's strategy!"
"Sure, sure, the former professional player knows best!"
Early in the morning, Lis was woken up by the maid Rossi and began to get dressed after washing up.
Lis, who had just developed a new arcane spell yesterday, was somewhat excited and had stayed late into the night at the First Magic Workshop. He had only returned home to sleep after midnight.
Now visibly fatigued, Lis cast an "awakening technique" on himself. After all, Duke Hade had come by yesterday to remind him specifically, it would be best not to be late!
Dressed in a Court Viscount's pale golden ceremonial attire, Lis had passed through the guard's inspection around Triumph Square and was walking toward the center of the square.
He wasn't sure whether it was an illusion, but Lis felt as if he could hear someone calling his name.
Looking at the evidently elite soldiers and the Golden Lion Knights standing upright on tall horses not far away, Lis nodded.
In this way, it seemed that the Kingdom's defenses at the Sacrificial Festival celebrations were quite strict, after all, this was one of the few occasions a year attended by His Majesty the King, and also one of the rare opportunities for an assassin to strike.
After all, His Majesty the King usually stayed within the Royal Palace, protected by layers of detection and protective arrays.
Thinking about it, it really was outrageous how that assassin from his previous life managed to infiltrate the Sacrificial Festival scene!
It's not that his teammates weren't strong, it's because there was a traitor in the team!
Lis smiled as he looked at Second Prince Yatean, who seemed to be arranging the celebration details not far away, wondering what surprises His Highness could bring him today.
Thinking back to a few months ago when he had just been reborn in this world, he was still worried about being assassinated in the future.
I stand here, let you make your move!
In his left hand a Shadow Talisman, in his right a Teleportation Ring.
It seems a bit arrogant. There are still two people in the city who can take me down, Lis stroked his chin.
Lis even prepared a "beloved" gift for His Highness Prince Yatean, hoping he would like it.
Yatean, who was communicating with the Guard Commander, felt a sudden chill for no reason and turned his head to see Lis staring at him with a beaming smile.
Yatean hastily turned away to avoid Lis' gaze; after all, the plan he had for later wagered everything he had, and his biggest worry right now was Lis, this unstable element.
It should be fine, right?
After all, he hadn't made a move against Lis since that time!
Yatean comforted himself in his heart, but an uneasy shadow began to spread from the depths of his heart.
A bustle of noise woke Lis; it turned out that the Sacrificial Festival ceremony was about to begin, with His Majesty the King's appearance imminent.
To be honest, Lis wasn't fond of these formal ceremonies when he was in school, thinking them a waste of life.
Having just found his place with the guidance of a servant, Lis was somewhat curious.
It was different from the position where Viscount Kane was assassinated in the game of his previous life; it was closer to the center of the sacrificial ceremony, which is where His Majesty the King would be.
Was this specially arranged? For the upcoming ennoblement ceremony, or…
However, the wait was a bit too long. Lis even closed his eyes and began calculating a new arcane model in his mind.
After creating his exclusive arcane like "Lis' Blue Flame Magic Sword," Lis felt as if he had broken through a bottleneck, with new inspirations and ideas constantly emerging.
That was just a skill with dual attribute enhancements to intelligence and strength, but Lis' goal was an arcane with enhancements to all attributes!
A majestic and loud voice rang out, suppressing the whispering voices of the nobles at the center of the Holy Festival.
Lis recognized it was Duke Hade's voice, likely amplified by some magic item to achieve this effect.
All the nobles present returned to their positions and stood obediently.
On this day, only His Majesty the King was entitled to sit on the throne; all other nobles, regardless of rank, had no seats and had to stand.
The voice of Duke Hade sounded again.
"Presenting, His Majesty Morton Fis!"
The salute of cannons fired, and the soldiers of the Golden Lion Knights surrounding the area drew their longswords and held them upright in front of their chests as a salute.
Lis also braced himself.
The Sacrificial Festival celebration, has begun!