Betting?
This suggestion immediately gained the unwavering support of the majority of the soldiers!
Life in the barracks was devoid of entertainment. On rare rest days, soldiers might venture out to the nearby town for a drink, or spend their hard-earned military pay in the company of prostitutes.
Of course, there was one universally popular pastime—gambling.
The football game introduced by Young Master Duwei had already lifted everyone's spirits... and now this enjoyable game could be turned into an opportunity for betting!
The eyes of many officers gleamed with interest, while those soldiers who had been eliminated in the first round, once gloomy, now grinned with excitement.
This Young Master Duwei... he was simply too clever! He truly understood the hearts and minds of us soldiers!
The cheer of the crowd made Robert, who had intended to object, hesitate for a moment. He glanced at Duwei, sighed, and finally decided to remain silent.
After all, it wasn't a matter of great consequence... and it was a period of rest. Gambling among the soldiers was quite normal; it wasn't worth worrying over.
When it came to betting, Duwei's imagination ran wild!
A simple bet on win or lose? That was too trivial.
Duwei immediately laid out his well-thought-out scheme!
Not just win or lose, but bets on how many wins or losses! Perhaps even bets on who would score, how many goals, or when the goals would be scored!
There were even wagers on whether someone would be sent off... or if there would be any penalties, and so on!
And then there were the more complex odds... one-to-one, two-to-one...
These intricate number games were beyond the understanding of most soldiers and officers. Duwei briefly explained, and everyone found it intriguing, sensing the potential for profit. Soon, they were rushing back to fetch their money.
Duwei, on the other hand, smiled with glee.
He, a man educated in the full rigors of mathematics in his previous life, knew that such numerical games were beyond the comprehension of most people in this world. Here, even basic arithmetic was something few scholars could manage.
Duwei, however, could calculate the odds, balance the wagers, and set limits on the stakes. No matter who won or lost, as the house, Duwei was guaranteed to win!
It must be said, the treatment of the private army under the Roland family was quite generous! Most soldiers had a few coins to spare, and the officers were even more affluent, tossing around three or five gold coins as easily as if they were pennies.
What's more, Duwei had caught a fortunate timing! After the spring drills, the soldiers had just been paid their wages!
Most of the soldiers didn't fully understand the game or the odds, so they bet according to their personal preferences: maybe based on who they were friendly with, or who they found more unappealing.
The afternoon passed, and by the end of the second round, the results were in.
The busiest people were the clerks in the barracks, who were frantically calculating the stakes and winnings.
Duwei, seeing the results, was smiling from ear to ear.
In the second round, out of the ten matches, the majority of the betting soldiers had lost, while a few lucky ones walked away with some winnings. But in the end, a grand total of six hundred gold coins found their way into Duwei's pocket!
The biggest losers were the wealthy officers.
This outcome greatly pleased Duwei!
There was even a small twist in the final match he watched. The game had been fiercely contested and ended in a draw—quite the unexpected result! After all, football is a round ball, and even Duwei's predictions couldn't be perfectly accurate. Had the match ended differently from what he had anticipated, Duwei might have lost quite a bit.
Thankfully, just before the match ended, someone came to Duwei's rescue!
The team Duwei had predicted to win was awarded a free kick in the front. A cavalryman stepped up, and with a stunning arc, he sent the ball into the net!
After the match, Duwei personally summoned the hero who had scored the goal... for he had saved Duwei's wallet!
The young man was from Robert's cavalry unit—blond, handsome, and impressively built.
"What is your name?" Duwei asked.
"Honorable young master, my name is David... full name, David Beckham!" The young man answered, somewhat shyly and nervously.
Clutching his purse, Duwei concluded the day's matches. After the second round, only ten teams remained. They were met with cheers worthy of heroes. Though exhausted, every player was filled with fresh determination, their spirits high and full of vigor. Had the sun not been setting, these lads could have easily played on for two more matches.
But now, with only ten teams left... how would the next round be structured?
If they continued with a single-elimination format... ten teams would mean five would remain, but five is an odd number, making it impossible to continue eliminating in pairs. One team would be left with no opponent!
Duwei, having planned this in advance, smiled slyly.
"I've got it! If single-elimination doesn't work... let's use a league format instead!"
A league format?
Duwei quickly explained the league format: each team would face every other team once. Winning would earn three points, a draw would earn one, and losing would result in no points.
At the end of all the matches, the team with the most points would be crowned champion.
Duwei's scheme was devious...
The more matches, the more chances to gamble!
"I must say... you are truly despicable." That evening, on the third-floor terrace of the small building, Semele looked at Duwei with a complicated expression. "How did you come up with such an idea?"
Duwei shook his head. "I can't say."
"Don't think I don't see through you." Semele's gaze fixed on him. "Those odds you've set—I've calculated them myself several times! I found that, no matter what, as the house, you have a very strong chance of winning... How did you calculate that? These odds, these rules, are they all your own invention?"
Duwei couldn't even be bothered to explain. He simply closed his eyes and began meditating...
Of course, the real reason was that he didn't want to look at Semele's... distracting posture. Why did she like sitting on the railing, swinging her long legs so much?
Uh... though, her legs were indeed quite beautiful...
That night, Duwei still felt nothing resembling the "Power of the Stars."
But after a full night of meditation, combined with the incantation Semele had given him, Duwei was delighted to discover that his mental energy had taken another significant step forward!
At this rate, even if he never mastered Star Magic, the growth of his mental energy alone would be a monumental gain.
Duwei could clearly feel his mental energy becoming more refined... This so-called "refinement" was hard to describe in words. It was as if every detail had become sharper, clearer...
For example, his vision, hearing, and sense of smell had all improved. Whereas before, during meditation, Duwei could only hear the wind in the sky, now, with his more refined mental power, he could not only hear the wind, but also discern its direction, and even sense its strength and force!
This was a far more intricate perception, where every detail became more vivid... and the sensation was incredibly pleasant.
Day Three: The First Football League of the Roland Family, Led by Duwei
Duwei, of course, knew the dangers of overexploitation, and he understood that relying solely on the thousand soldiers in the barracks for the betting pool would limit the stakes. After all, soldiers were not wealthy, and their wages were modest. If he were to exploit them too much, Duwei would feel uncomfortably low, even by his own standards.
Thus, Duwei realized that to continue earning substantial sums, he would need to expand the scope of the game.
After a day of discussions with the officers in the barracks, both parties finally reached a compromise.
That day, Mad was sent to the nearby town to post a series of public announcements.
In a small town not far from the castle, Duwei used his family's influence to secure permission from the local magistrate to borrow the town square for a day.
Soon after, Mad led two squads of soldiers to the town to stage an exhibition football match.
The three-day football exhibition immediately won over the townspeople, who quickly became fond of the sport.
Then, much like what had happened in the barracks, Duwei decided to move the league matches to the town.
This also avoided further disruption to the regular training schedule of the soldiers, as the training grounds were no longer monopolized by the football games.
To Semele, the astute observer, it was obvious what Duwei's motivations were: "You couldn't bear to keep winning the soldiers' money, fearing it might spark a rebellion, correct?"
After relocating the football league to the town, the novelty of the game quickly attracted large audiences. Even children were starting to take a liking to the sport.
At Duwei's suggestion, Mad began setting up betting pools before every match.
"I am the first person in this world to invent football… and the head of the earliest betting syndicate," Duwei remarked proudly.
Whether this was a matter of villainy or nobility, within a week, Duwei had already earned thousands of gold coins!
There were plenty of wealthy townsfolk—some rich merchants found that this form of gambling was far more entertaining than the casinos. Their wagers often amounted to dozens, even hundreds, of gold coins!
However, the news Mad brought back left Duwei somewhat speechless.
First, there were imitators.
The sport spread rapidly to surrounding towns, and some places had already begun to play the game. A few casinos had even started forming teams and using the matches as betting events to attract customers.
Second… and more troubling to Duwei, was that someone was attempting to manipulate the games! There were reports of people trying to bribe the soldiers playing on Duwei's teams to throw matches. Some casinos had even begun operating off-the-books betting pools.
Who dared to steal Duwei's business?
The money in Duwei's pocket was not for anyone else's taking.
Furthermore, Duwei only saw this as a temporary way to raise some quick funds—he never intended to promote the gambling industry. He certainly didn't want the Roland family's territory to become a hub for rampant betting.
Thus, Duwei quickly devised a plan.
Two days later, in the towns within the Roland family's domain where football had taken off, a public decree was issued:
Exclusive Operating Rights!
Within the Roland family's territory, no one was allowed to host any football-related betting activities. The exclusive rights to the game and its associated betting activities belonged solely to Duwei, the game's inventor!
Anyone caught engaging in unauthorized gambling would face harsh punishment from the local magistrates and tax authorities!
The decree was officially endorsed and issued by the local officials of the surrounding towns.
As for whether this exclusive operating right was legally binding under the Empire's laws?
Nonsense!
This was the Roland family's territory! The officials drew their salaries from the Roland family. When the young master spoke, who would dare to disobey?
Thus, Duwei boldly embarked on the path of "monopoly."
With his pockets now filled, Duwei became more generous. He withdrew three thousand gold coins and distributed them among the thousand soldiers in the barracks.
This was both compensation for the money he had won from them previously and a reward for their physical exertion in playing the game.
The move was met with unanimous cheers from the castle's garrison soldiers! Although the football game had been incredibly enjoyable, it had, in a way, emptied their pockets. This had led to some grumbling and even a few undercurrents of dissatisfaction among the soldiers.
But now, with gold coins in hand, everyone was content. Most of the soldiers had recouped their losses.
Duwei set aside one thousand gold coins as working capital, while the majority went into funding the magical laboratory.
By the way, magical experimentation was an incredibly costly venture! Duwei had come to understand this all too well… Solskjaer made new material requests every other day, and the materials were not only consumed quickly, but they were also outrageously expensive!
In just a little over ten days, Duwei had already spent nearly five thousand gold coins, yet Solskjaer showed no sign of making any breakthroughs.
What exactly was Solskjaer working on?
At present, he had two tasks at hand. First, he was to extract a certain amount of "Fire Element," or as Duwei called it, "fire yao," each day.
Secondly, Solskjaer was researching a method to overcome his inability to improve his magical abilities.
Previously, Solskjaer had been able to use the magical elements he created to cheat his way into performing low-level magic. However, due to his limited sensing ability, he had never been able to cast higher-level spells. Now, he had conceived a bold, almost fantastical idea…
And this idea made Duwei think… if it were to succeed, then it would be worth spending every last coin in his pocket!