Chapter 372 Attend The Ceremony (Part One)

Austin was soon becoming indomitable. When invited to Prince Reuben's banquet, he defeated Hasson within seconds. Hasson, the foremost disciple of the Peripatetic Sect was formidable but in front of Austin he looked like a rookie. Little did Hasson know that by brazenly provoking Austin he had become a lesson to the rest. Their scheme of prevailing over Austin from the very first encounter was now a laughing matter.

Austin, on the other hand, was strong, fierce and warlike.

By beating Hasson, he had made his presence felt among the greats. He was not just one among the hundreds of the young competitors present. Rather, he had joined the ranks of the top ten warriors. Nobody could question Austin's position now and naturally, his invitation to the Outstanding Talents Exchange Games by Prince Reuben.

"Your Highness, I am so sorry for what I have done to your banquet. It wasn't my intention," said Austin humbly.

Now that nobody had the guts to challenge him anymore, Austin put on a sincere face and apologized to Prince Reuben.

His Highness had been observing Austin right from the start. In his usual impassive manner, the Prince saw how Austin fought his warriors and not a single one of his dared challenge Austin anymore.

Austin too took note of His Highness's detached manner. He understood that the Prince enjoyed fights and liked to gauge the strengths of the warriors in combat. To the Prince, this was an obvious way to select the truly strong and fierce. And, the weakest were rid of conveniently.

"You don't need to apologize. You beat him up in self-defense. End of story. But I am impressed with your skills. Austin, I am surprised and pleased by your fights," replied His Highness.

There was something more on Prince Reuben's mind that he didn't reveal yet. After seeing Austin fight, he felt that Austin was worthy of being one among the fifty of his seeded team of the Mysterious Nether World. In fact, he knew that Austin would make a great addition to his elite group. Prince Reuben valued talents and Austin had earned his place of pride in his thoughts.

After Prince Reuben dismissed Austin, he saw hundreds of servants file in with the choicest of dishes and delicacies. From meats to fish, exotic vegetables and fruit. There was a wide array of mouth-watering preparations at Prince Reuben's feast.

The air was tinted with the spirit of reve

ons—all of it certainly looks a wedding to me," thought Austin to himself.

He felt thirsty and licked his lips instinctively.

But with so much going on, no one even looked at Austin. As everyone streamed into an enormous square of pearly white jade, a horde of so-called guests too arrived from another entrance.

The luxurious hall was docked with people occupying every inch of the place. At one end, was a high platform erected specially for the ceremony. Antique plush armchairs lined the red carpeted-stage as if they overlooked the audience seated below.

At the center of the platform, ten seating arrangements with exquisite tables and chairs were arranged for the premium guests.

To help the servants usher in each person to their designated seat, placeholders were kept as

The Grand Prince, Prince Geoffrey, Prince Frederick, and so on. Of course, towards the end, came the placeholder

for Prince Reuben.

It was understood that each table meant seating for a certain prince and his privy council. Prince Reuben was not a man to flare up easily and take offence at his name being put towards the end. Quietly, he and his council took seat to observe the undercurrents at the event.

Some had heard that the hidden agenda behind the occasion was to assemble all warriors aiming at the Outstanding Talents Exchange Games today. Since becoming a part of a prince's camp was necessary for participation in the competition, Austin realized that in a way, the whole ceremony was for each prince to size up all warriors and calculate the chances of winning they had.