Chapter 263 - The First Round Continues

"Fine… You've got a deal. But send out your best candidate before the end, and I'll do the same."

"I look forward to our match," Brak replied, finally looking to his region's youth. "Since my nephew can no longer fight this round, my second will go instead."

Even without being named, the beast behind the dragon youth got up and walked down the stairs. It was a large jaguar with fiery red and yellow spots dotting his fur coat. He was almost the size of Vloz, licking his lips as he descended to meet his opponent, a huge eagle with white feathers and black spots.

"Allow me to apologize beforehand," Brak confidently teased. "Forgive me, Guadel."

Standing at the side, Lady Inka glanced over both competitors. "If you two are ready… then begin."

The eagle took off without wasting a single breath. But that didn't keep the jaguar from pouncing without hesitation. Having such a large, open space with no chance of ring-outs allowed for more reckless movements, letting the jaguar strike with full focus on speed. With horrifying speed, the jaguar bolted through the air and clipped the eagle's wing. 

This didn't stop the eagle but managed to slow the magnificent bird. By the time it was positioned in the sky, the jaguar was already leaping into the air for a follow-up attack.

Both beasts doused themselves in essence. Wind and light essence surrounded the eagle as it dove head-first with the utmost speed. Fire and lightning burst out of the jaguar as it never flinched or backed down from the confrontation. It took seconds for the second clash to occur, also ending the match well before a minute had passed.

Falling to the ground, the jaguar turned and rolled in the air. Plummeting without control, the eagle couldn't move or open its eyes. With a thud, both beasts crashed down. One partially absorbed the landing on its legs and the other hit the ground head-first not too far away.

Before the eagle could move and get up, the jaguar's heated paw landed on the bird's throat. The eagle had no chance to surrender as a second claw tore through the bird's chest with impunity. 

"The match is over!" Inka shouted, exerting pressure onto the jaguar without delay. As the feline backed away, Lady Inka sighed and placed her hand on the eagle. White energy left her hand and drifted gracefully into the eagle's chest cavity. "He'll live. Guadel, the rest is in your care."

With a lingering gaze, Guadel looked past Zelsh and glared at the ignorant Brak. "Thank you, Lady Inka. And Brak, I thought it custom to only bring one mid-elder per region?"

Brak then began to applaud and rose to his feet. "Well done! And congratulations on your ascension mid-battle!"

"Mid-battle? That didn't even last a minute," scoffed Guadel.

"Do you have any proof? I distinctly remember him exerting the pressure of a low-elder for the first strike, only ascending to win at last second," reasoned Brak, pressuring all the more in place of backing down. "Am I wrong?"

Guadel said nothing more, and neither did anyone else. Those from the Toxic-shadow Prefecture all retracted their gazes but their thoughts lingered on Brak all the same.

"Numbers 9 and 10, please."

The competition moved along without a hitch, despite the somewhat tense air lingering around the kings. Neither prefecture lord seemed bothered but they remained in their silence formation and didn't give any of their thoughts away via expressions. 

Victory in the fifth match was claimed by one of the last first seeds, which led to the sixth match. Brak casually selected his third seed and nodded to Zelsh with an approving grin.

It was against Shraal, who felt torn. He still had his best contestant available but he didn't like how sneaky Brak had been with his second seed. And there was no telling if a similar trick would occur for his other seeds. If anything, everyone believed it wasn't a one-time occurrence, based on Brak's personality.

In the end, Shraal chose to send out his fourth seed, a human woman. He watched as she entered the arena and promptly nodded back to her with an unsteady smile.

"If you're ready… then begin."

"I surrender!"

The sudden shout filled the air but wasn't enough to stop the large wolf with fangs born. Dark energy pulsated around the wolf's claws as he descended toward the woman. 

But the wolf suddenly froze in the air, just before reaching his target. Lady Inka stood beside the wolf, gripping the wolf softly yet firmly by the neck. "The match is over. Thank you for your participation."

"Thank you, Lady Inka." The woman gratefully bowed and scurried up the stairs.

Setting the wolf down, Lady Inka petted his fur. "This is your only warning. Dare to keep your essence active after a statement of forfeit, and I'll make sure you never use essence again. Am I clear?"

"Y-yes!" the wolf shouted telepathically. 

"I said, am I clear?" Inka shouted, looking over all the contestants around the arena.

"Yes, Lady Inka!"

Satisfied with the unified answer, Inka allowed the wolf to retreat. "Then, we move on to the next match. Numbers 13 and 14, please."

Everyone then looked to Zelsh, who had already revealed his numbers but not who would fill them. Jeminine stared over Zelsh's entire body as she attempted to thoroughly deduce just who he might send out. Taking a moment, Jeminine finally sent out her second seed.

"Sorry, Jeminine. But either way, this wouldn't have worked out for you…" Zelsh sighed. "Tilgron, go."

Everyone was taken aback as the Tundra Tiger nodded and entered the arena below to meet his opponent, an emerald green praying mantis the size of a human. Few expected Zelsh to send his first seed into the fray so soon. 

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Brak laughed heartily, eyeing Kraz from a distance. "To think our clans will get to fight again... For once, I'm excited for history to repeat itself!"