Chapter 399

Chapter 399: Drawing Lots

With the crowd roaring in excitement and the prefecture lords staring at Toseko in confusion, the god laughed some more. Toseko ignored the normal protocol for his introduction and the lords’ usual show of fealty. Instead, he simply made a motion with his hand toward the arena.

On command, two figures entered the stage from the tunnels, Slazza and Narja. Narja began to walk on the air and hovered there while Slazza took center stage.

“Everyone!” Slazza shouted, easily capturing the entire colosseum’s attention. “I, Sir Slazza, shall be the referee of this exhibition, as directed by the Noxious God. That is Lady Narja, who is in charge of protecting the crowd from stray attacks. Now, we’re officially ready to begin the first round of the exhibition, the duels between prefectures!”

As always, the crowd cheered with all its might, even if some people from the territories didn’t fully comprehend the significance of Slazza’s words.

A pot suddenly appeared in Slazza’s hand. “One by one, the contestants from each prefecture will approach me and select a number from the jar. It will be a number between one and five. After one prefecture’s contestants have made their selections and hidden their numbers away, I’ll call for the next prefecture’s candidates to do the same.

“Now, Draco Prefecture, send your contestants!”

Very quickly, the prefecture lords realized the order was based on the lords’ seating arrangement, from left to right. When Isla Draco’s contestants finished, Peimar’s Thunder Prefecture followed, and then Warak’s Razor Prefecture.

.....

Group by group, the contestants showed discipline and respect as they stepped down to receive their numbers.

Treeda’s contestants were next, then Isaac’s, and finally Inka’s. The process went by smoothly, and much quicker than the crowd expected.

“Now that each contestant has received a number, and hidden that number from the crowd it’s, time for the next drawing.” Slazza suddenly leaped and landed before the prefecture lords.

A new pot appeared in Slazza’s hand, extending it toward the elite prefecture lords. “It’s time the elite prefecture lords make their draw. They’re numbered one, two, or three. Then, after the elite prefecture lords have drawn, the remaining prefecture lords will draw the numbers one, two, or three to decide the pairings. And, of course, the prefecture lords will keep their numbers hidden until their numbers are called.”

Without any needless instruction, Isla stood up and took a number from the pot. She smiled and walked back to her seat. Peimar took his number without a word or change of expression. When Warak chose the final number, he scoffed and shrugged, as if the number didn’t hold any actual meaning.

“Now,” Slazza continued, storing that pot and retrieving an identical one, “Lord Treeda, if you would, please.”

Nodding, Treeda stood up and walked to the pot. She inserted her hand and pinched a folded slip of paper. However, the paper was abruptly tugged out of her grasp. But before she could react, a different slip of paper flew into her grip.

Treeda didn’t fight the phenomena, as if waiting for a mysterious telepathic whisper that never came. She silently accepted the slip and returned to her seat.

Isaac drew his number while keeping the straightest face he could. And Inka drew her number with her usual smile and charm.

Bowing to the prefecture lords and God Toseko, Slazza jumped back into the arena. “Now, it’s time for the first prefectures to duel! There will be five matches, and the combatants will be those sharing the same number. The prefecture that gains at least three wins will move on to the second half of the exhibition. However, even if three victories are immediately claimed, all five matches will be held regardless. Now, which prefecture lords drew number one?”

Peimar raised his hand without hesitation, presenting his paper to everyone. Barley a split second behind, Inka showed her number.

“Thunder and Tempest Prefectures!” announced Slazza, getting more roars and shouts from the crowd. “Contestants numbered one, please enter the arena!”

“ROAR!” A large blue lion dove into the arena, growling and snarling while glaring at their opponent.

An equally large creature stood up and lumbered down the steps. It was a huge bear with patches of stone around its joints and paws.

“A Frost-mane Lion versus a Mountain Bear! Are you two ready?” Slazza shouted. The two mid-elders growled and nodded instantaneously, so Slazza jumped to the edge of the arena. “FIGHT!”

Essence poured out over the combatants, but they were simultaneously lunging at each other. Ice covered the lion while earth essence turned to stone around the bear’s hide.

It was evident that this match wouldn’t take long. Both contestants were straightforward brawlers, so it was a matter of power and defense. The first opponent to get a critical injury would likely fall in the match.

And, already, the first blood had been drawn.

The lion growled and smiled, licking its lips with pride. Across from the lion, the bear snarled, disregarding the gash near its neck.

As the match reached a quick end, the prefecture lords all had bored looks on their faces. To them, the result had become too obvious from the start.

“Enough! The winner, Tempest Prefecture!” Slazza declared, appearing between the brawling elders.

He handed them both healing salves and sent them back to the stands. “Numbers two, please come forward!”

“That was a lucky match-up, Inka.”

“That’s fair to say, Peimar,” Inka replied with a shrug. “Either way, I’m proud of my candidates, regardless of the end results.”

While the prefecture lords bantered, two more beasts flew down to the arena. The audience was far more enthused this time around. Not only would the battle be taking place in the air, one of the most intimidating contestants was up.

From Tempest, a huge crane raced to the ground, the same crane that had lost to Tilgron not too long ago. And, now, it had even more to prove.

Opposing the crane was the massive, royal blue bird. As the bird puffed out its chest and looked down at the impatient crane, sparks of electricity crackled and scattered across the bird’s feathers. Then, in a single flap, the bird zoomed through the air and appeared over the crane with lightning running through its eyes and across its body.

Grinning with intrigue, Slazza announced, “A Gust Crane versus a Thunderbird! Are you two ready?”