Ch. 286 Back in the day, a certain person

Windrest Fortress.

One of the twelve main cities of Vanir in Vanaheimr, Windrest Fortress was also the largest city in the Windrest region.

From the name itself, it's evident that Windrest Fortress was not just a main city but also a highly strategic fortress.

The reason was quite simple: Asgard's front-line camp was located just outside the Windrest Fortress.

The front-line camp where Russell and Thor, among others, were stationed was just one of Asgard's camps in Vanaheimr.

Similar camps could be found in seven other locations within Vanaheimr.

In total, Asgard had only eight front-line camps in Vanaheimr, and four of them were located near Windrest Fortress.

Due to this reason, Windrest Fortress had a permanent garrison of over a hundred thousand Vanir soldiers.

Furthermore, it was rumored that there was a teleportation array within Windrest Fortress that connected directly to the imperial city, Noeuthong.

If Windrest Fortress faced a crisis, the imperial city of Noeuthong could send reinforcements immediately.

All of this information was extracted by Russell from the minds of the Vanir people.

Upon arriving at the gates of Windrest Fortress, Russell casually assessed Vanir warriors guarding the gate.

These guards wore black armor, wielded long spears and single-handed shields, standing like statues as they guarded the entrance.

Russell didn't use magic to assess their strength; he simply gave them a casual glance.

Though he hadn't seen any Vanir mages yet, he knew that the city guard of Windrest Fortress definitely wouldn't be lacking in mages.

His magical abilities were decent, but not to the extent that he could ignore other mages.

More importantly, fluctuations in magical power were not easy to conceal.

It was better to be safe than sorry, so Russell restrained his curiosity and used his superhuman vision to casually assess the soldiers on the gate and the walls without attracting the attention of the city guard mages.

After the Vanir ahead paid the entrance fee and entered Windrest Fortress, Russell took out the silver coins he had picked up along the way and handed them to Vanir warrior in front of him.

After receiving the silver coins, Vanir warrior looked Russell up and down.

Once he confirmed that Russell was neither a wanted criminal nor an Asgardian, Vanir warrior waved him in, albeit somewhat haughtily, urging him to enter Windrest Fortress.

Although the Vanir warrior's attitude was a bit condescending, Russell didn't show any signs of displeasure.

He was currently dressed in the most ordinary Vanir attire. If it weren't for the absence of vegetables and fruits on his person, he would be indistinguishable from Vanir farmers who entered the city to sell their produce.

Of course, a glance at his appearance would easily set him apart from Vanir farmers.

The handsome farmer was indeed a rarity; there weren't many who looked as outstanding as he did.

If he weren't currently wearing ordinary, nondescript clothing, and instead put on some luxurious attire of better quality, he would give off the impression of a noble from a prestigious family.

After entering the city, he didn't immediately plan to seek out the lord of Windrest Fortress. The evacuation from Thor's side wouldn't conclude anytime soon, and there was no rush to threaten the lord of Windrest Fortress.

Moreover, this was his first time visiting a city of Vanir, so it wouldn't do to not explore and experience it.

With this in mind, he took out the remaining two Vanaheimr silver coins from his pocket.

Glancing at the two silver coins in his hand, he quickly formulated a "money-making" plan.

When you possess various superhuman abilities, making money, especially for ordinary people, becomes incredibly simple. Legal or illegal means, both can yield significant wealth in a short time.

Due to his unfamiliarity with the place, Russell didn't intend to draw too much attention to himself. He chose a "legitimate" way to earn money.

After a quick observation of the city using his superhuman vision and X-ray abilities, he headed straight for the nearest casino.

Before long, he arrived at a casino not far from the city gate.

"Goddess of Luck!"

Seeing the shield-like sign hanging in front of the casino's entrance, Russell couldn't help but smile. Without looking back, he walked right in.

Back in the day, a certain person could turn 20 into 37 million, and today, Russell could turn 2 silver coins into 20,000 gold coins, no problem!

Russell's plan was simple: to win his first pot of gold in the legitimate casinos of Vanaheimr. Given his mastery of magic and various extraordinary abilities, it shouldn't be difficult to make a fortune in what appeared to be a relatively unknown casino.

However, reality had other plans. Just after placing one bet, he lost his only two silver coins.

This... This couldn't be right!

How was this possible?

Staring at the young, well-dressed female dealer who had taken his entire fortune with an expressionless face, Russell couldn't help but be stunned.

I had already used my X-ray vision to see the dice inside the cup; how could I have possibly bet wrong?

Realizing this, Russell furrowed his brows. He had been careless!

He had assumed that the casinos in Vanaheimr, like those in Las Vegas, earned their profits through house edges and probabilities. However, this casino called "Goddess of Luck" seemed far from legitimate.

For a casino to rely on cheating rather than the odds was a disgrace to the gambling world!

Seemingly recognizing Russell as a "pauper" because of his appearance, the young female dealer rolled her eyes in disdain.

Looking like a noble but possessing only two silver coins... Ridiculous!

Seeing the young female dealer's disdainful look, Russell's already displeased mood soured further.

So, they're cheating, huh?

If they're the ones disregarding fair play, then they shouldn't expect me to play by the rules either.

Suppressing his anger, Russell reached into his pocket, pretending to prepare to take out money.

In reality, he activated his system space and retrieved a ruby the size of an egg. While this ruby was a gem from Earth, Russell had confirmed that rubies were also highly valued in Vanaheimr.

"Can I bet with a gem directly?" Russell asked the female dealer in Vanir language, a language he had recently "learned."

"You can," replied the scantily clad female dealer, expressionless.

She had already concluded that Russell, who looked like a pauper despite his noble appearance, wouldn't have much.

After receiving the dealer's response, Russell took out the ruby and placed it on the table in front of him.

"How much is this worth?" Russell asked calmly.

This...

Seeing him calmly produce a ruby the size of an egg, not only the gamblers sitting beside him but also the female dealer across from him were all stunned.

While this wasn't a jewelry store, anyone who came to a casino to gamble was not impoverished. A glance at the size and brilliance of the ruby revealed that it was a valuable gem.

Moreover, this ruby was already cut and polished, ready to be set into other jewelry pieces.

This egg-sized ruby was one that Russell had specifically acquired at an auction, something like the "Star of Something." He had forgotten the exact name, but he remembered that he had originally intended to gift it to Diana.

However, when he planned to give this ruby to Diana, she said something that he couldn't forget to this day.

"I used to love playing marbles with rubies this size when I was a child, but I stopped playing such childish games as I got older."

Russell not only remembered Diana's words but also the nonchalant expression she had when saying them.

Underestimating Diana's childhood led to this ruby not being given away and staying in his system space.

"Please wait a moment; let me have the steward take a look," said the female dealer respectfully, although she found it hard to believe that Russell, who appeared so impoverished, could produce such a valuable gem.

Simultaneously, an idea flashed through the female dealer's mind. Could this seemingly destitute young man, who appeared like a noble, be a runaway from a noble family?

Although Russell's current attire didn't resemble that of a pampered noble, it was clear that he wasn't wearing his own clothes. Not to mention the material and style, the size of the clothes was clearly off.

At the female dealer's signal, a middle-aged man in an exquisite black robe approached the gaming table.

As he came closer, the steward was drawn to the ruby on the table.

As the steward of the casino, his eye for appraisal was undoubtedly more experienced than the young female dealer's.

Just by taking a glance at the color, clarity, and craftsmanship of the ruby, he could roughly determine that the ruby on the gaming table was genuine.

For outsiders, distinguishing between real and fake gemstones wasn't easy, but for the casino steward, it was a skill he had to master. You never knew when a gambler might decide to wager their treasured jewelry.

After carefully examining the ruby on the table, the middle-aged man calmly said, "A medium-grade ruby, worth 500 gold coins!"

Medium-grade?

Upon hearing the steward's words, both the female dealer and the gamblers around the table breathed a sigh of relief. When they first saw the ruby, they thought it was some priceless treasure, but it turned out to be a medium-grade gem worth only 500 gold coins.

Russell also paused for a moment after hearing the steward's assessment. This was the best-quality ruby, not only in terms of size but also color and clarity.

Additionally, it had been cut and polished by a renowned Earth jeweler.

First, cheating, and now they were trying to rip him off. Impudent!

Russell's suppressed anger flared up again. "500 gold coins it is!"

With that, Russell didn't give the steward a chance to exchange the ruby for gold coins. Even if he did, it wouldn't be 500 gold coins; they'd likely shortchange him.

Although he could display his strength and force the casino to return the ruby to him, he didn't want to disrupt his future actions. Instead, Russell chose to directly use the ruby for betting.

This middle-aged steward hadn't expected Russell to take back the ruby so abruptly, and he was momentarily taken aback.

However, he quickly regained his composure and put on an indifferent expression.

"Don't waste any more time; let's begin!" Russell told the female dealer.

The young female dealer, who knew the dice's result inside the cup, didn't even consider tampering with the game. She was aware that she had already won this round.

After all the bets were placed, the female dealer reopened the cup.

This...

When the cup was opened, everyone around the table was left dumbfounded.

All three dice showed the number 20!

Russell had hit the mark!

"1 to 150, a total of 75,000 gold coins, pay up!"

Russell first retrieved the ruby from the gambling table, then calmly spoke.