As Minos' party traveled to the Elves Island, those who knew the least about the event learned about what was about to happen there.
The Continental Tournament was a great event for observers, bettors, and participants. It was undoubtedly more beneficial to the bettors who won the best prizes, but it could still contribute to everyone involved.
Because it was such a prestigious and sought-after competition, just participating or even watching the tournament could change people's lives in ordinary times.
That wasn't the case in the current era. Still, in other times, the Continental Tournament would have been enough to open the eyes of young and old alike.
At first glance, the bets might seem unfair, as someone with more powerful representatives would have a better chance of winning their bets, right? However, the organization of the tournament wasn't so simple.
The tournament was fair despite the apparent imbalance between the participating powers and their respective participants and bettors.
One empire could send a level 89 Sage, and another state could send a level 80 Sage, each betting on their own envoy. But even with that difference, both sides had a chance to win.
Obviously, the side betting on a level 89 had a better chance of making the right moves than the side using a level 80. However, the stronger the participant, the lower the score for each hit. On the other hand, the weaker the player, the higher the score for the side that hit the bets on that player's name.
For example, an organization using a level 89 player might get 5 points for a particular hit. But if the same hit had come from someone at level 80, that bettor could have collected 40, 50, or even more points!
In this way, the Continental Tournament balanced out the differences in power and influence of its participants and bettors.
Stronger individuals had a better chance of success, but the points they could offer their bettors were lower. On the other hand, the weaker ones had less chance of succeeding, which meant that betting on them was riskier, so the prize was higher.
Now that they knew how the Continental Tournament worked, the group traveling in the Black Plain Empire's spaceship was reassured about their chances in the event that would begin in the next few days.
And so the journey continued for a few more days until the group finally arrived at Elves Island, with some of them reaching the area for the first time in their lives!
...
When they reached 90 kilometers from the southernmost coast of Elves Island, the Black Plain Army soldiers controlling the spaceship slowed down when they saw a large barrier ahead.
As they dodged the rain of ice blades in their path, the ship's commander announced over the vehicle's loudspeakers.
"Good morning, crew. Prepare to land on Elves Island." Every room on the spaceship received this audible warning, including Minos and his two eldest children while they were in the spaceship's training room.
"You have heard. Your training is over." Minos told the two, both youths extremely exhausted and sweaty from training with their father.
Minos then left them behind and, without hesitation, went to the control chamber of his spaceship.
Once there, he saw on one of the surrounding screens the image of what stood in their way: a group of elves who were there to stop visitors and inspect new arrivals.
Elves Island was closed, and only authorized personnel could enter the area.
Minos then turned on the ship's main communicator, which immediately made a hologram of himself appear outside the ship.
"Friends of Elves Island, I'm here with my group to participate in the Continental Tournament."
The elves near Minos' ship already knew that this group was from the Black Plain Empire, but they were still surprised to see the light projection showing Emperor Stuart in front of the ship as if he were actually outside of it.
"Your Majesty Minos Stuart." The elves there greeted him with respect, already aware of this emperor's recent achievements and the fact that he had a God on his side.
The leader of this group then said. "Your Majesty, welcome to the island. We have closed our territory, and only personnel accompanied by members of the Elven Guard can enter the island. We also need to make a quick inspection of your ship. I'm afraid I can't close my eyes. These are the orders of my superiors."
Minos heard the words of this level 95 elf and saw no problem.
He quickly let some elves into his ship to check the passengers and cargo.
After making sure that there was nothing that could seriously endanger Elves Island, the leader of the group of guards authorized Minos and his people to enter the area ahead, leaving an elf behind to lead them there.
The Elves Island was not a large place, but the tribe preferred that their guests not roam freely through the territory. That was especially true in this time of the Ice Age when everyone was in danger.
It would only take one person with bad intentions to go to the wrong place on the island for all the elves to suffer terrible consequences!
Minos paid no attention to the elves' concerns, and soon, his party was on their way in the spaceship, taking only a few seconds to enter the protected area of this territory and land in a suitable spot.
As he left the spaceship, Minos looked at the island paradise he had been planning to visit for decades, one of the most beautiful places in this vast world, where the spiritual energy was the densest on the planet.
This was a blessed land, the place in the Spiritual World that most resembled a piece of a higher world.
However, the immortal energy available there was only slightly stronger than what Minos could feel in other parts of the world, as it was far from the normal levels of the weaker areas of ancient Panvuter.
In any case, this place was wonderful, and even amid the Ice Age, it was not so affected, with a cold climate but no ice in its territory, something remarkable.
Minos' group members were amazed to set foot in this place, and his children loved the trip.
"Wow! This place really is as beautiful as the stories say." Hollie commented as the elves who led them felt proud of his territory.
