Chapter 274 - End of Round Two

The soaked ground failed to shake and tremble under the elephant's stomps and charges. It moved but Tilgron was no longer at any disadvantage, moving freely around the elephant.

In seconds, Tilgron shifted the tempo and skated directly into the towering foe. His claws latched onto the elephant's loose skin. His teeth sank in as well. But while he wasn't able to fully injure the massive beast, he had already done enough to claim victory. 

Shivering, the elephant hurled its trunk into the tiger but failed to throw him. The elephant was forced to endure the sheer cold pouring into his bloodstream and body.

Thinking quickly, the elephant suddenly threw itself on its side. It prepared for impact, ready to either crush the tiger underneath or use the earth to roll back over. However, the elephant only managed to get off two feet. It was stuck leaning in the air, braced on the sides by icy pillars.

"I concede…" Lymba sighed, nodding and glaring at Zelsh.

Without wasting a breath, the tiger retracted his claws and fangs. Sucking in a drawn-out breath, Tilgron did his best to remove the chill lingering in the air while the icicles fell apart. 

The elephant carefully landed on its other legs, breathing slowly while trying to regain his former body temperature. "That was good…"

"I enjoyed the match. Thank you." With a bow, Tilgron thanked his opponent and then Lymba in the stands. After his show of formalities, the tiger returned to his fellow representatives with a proud yet tender smile.

"Nice job," Vant greeted with a nod.

Tilgron shrugged. "Well, you won, so of course I had to. Someone needed to make up for his loss?"

"Hey, you know I'm just following orders?" Kraz jeered.

Chuckling with them, Oli noticed more and more of the chemistry between the three men. It was nice to see their chat amid the tense exhibition, as if they truly didn't care for the results at all.

Lady Inka quickly reset the field, showering the arena in yellow and white energy. It quickly recompacted and the water was dried out. In seconds, the floor was ready for the next battle.

"Numbers 13 and 14, please."

The moment they were called, both Shraal and Kirsdyn presented their tiles. Their final representatives scurried down and stared each other in the eyes. Not a word was said between the two but they nodded to Lady Inka.

"Then… you may begin."

"I forfeit," stated the human man, bowing to his opponent without even offering any threat. 

The tall crane nodded in return before flapping its wings and landing back in the stands.

As Kirsdyn's second seed sighed in disappointment at his own forfeit, Lady Inka already began calling for the final battle.

"Numbers 15 and 16?"

Grinning, Guadel happily held up his hand. With the number fifteen, he sent out his remaining second seed. Brak chuckled and did the same with the final tile as he waved off the badger below.

The badger strolled down the steps and confidently stood before its hovering opponent. Its buzzing wings thumped due to their size and its sharpened stinger was red hot. As a Giant Fire Wasp, it held up its name well.

"Are you two ready?" Noting the confident yet not c.o.c.ky expression on the badger's face, Lady Inka chuckled. "You may begin."

Immediately, the fiery wasp bolted toward the badger. Unlike many predatory beasts, it showed no lack of confidence in piercing the badger's strangely tough hide. It narrowly missed the charge of its stinger and then snapped at the badger with its hot, sideways jaws. Embers dribbled out of the wasp's mouth after missing again, but not by much.

Both beasts were low-adepts but the badger's usual aggression was gone. The scene was so rare, even the other representatives of Scale Region laughed.

"What's wrong? Hurry up!" prodded the jaguar.

Drogat laughed even louder, "You dare represent us, yet you don't attack?"

The badger subtly nodded and shifted strategies, going back to what normally worked. It watched the flaming stinger carefully while readying its earthen armor. Not allowed to hesitate, the badger dove in for the attack.

"That's better!" chuckled Brak.

But while Brak's laughter grew louder, others in the crowd winced and drew in sharp breaths.

Able to adjust its flight pattern with ease, the giant wasp repositioned and jammed its long, thin-pointed stinger into the badger's shoulder. This kept the badger from sinking its fangs in the wasp while also setting the smaller beasts shoulder ablaze.

"The match is over."

Instantly retracting the stinger, the wasp backed away and dropped all essence. The badger, on the other hand, could drop its essence but tumbled to the ground in pain.

Light essence dripped off of Inka's hands, soothing the badger's immediate pain and calming its spasms. "You don't need to listen to them if it means you'll die…"

The badger nodded, but the look in the badger's eyes said nothing.

"Good job, at least," Brak stated with a shrug.

"With the end of the second round, we'll begin the second intermission. Kings, you have thirty minutes to strategize. Representatives, you have only thirty minutes to rest. Use it wisely."

Lady Inka waited a moment for the badger to get up and limp back to the stands. She then shook her head and leaped back to her seat overhead.

Though the kings and higher-ups wouldn't say anything, the other representatives were already discussing what they saw. They watched as the badger shook in pain. No potions or medicine were taken out. The badger simply laid there and did its best to act as if nothing had happened.

"Is that normal?"

"I don't think so…" Kraz sighed.

Oli nodded slowly and couldn't help but glance at Brak's casual grin. "Then it's just the Scale Region?"

"Well, I'm sure there are other regions like that too. But the Scale Region is known for its brutality, and for its powerful combatants."

"So they're used to that sort of treatment?"

Shrugging and shaking his head, Kras answered, "Sadly, I believe so."