"My King, please enlighten this confused subordinate of yours. What is it that you wish to achieve with this?" said Philips Corvin, standing on the main balcony facing the ruler of the Silvermane Planet.
Three prominent figures from major factions were seen standing right behind him; Rikard Karst and the pair Meryl and Chester Locarios. Even though they didn't say anything, the expressions on their faces made it clear they also wanted an explanation from the Alpha King.
Hearing those words, Marcus Silvermane didn't even turn his head to look at the four. He seemed to still be enjoying watching the battle unfolding in the arena as he said, "You all knew those criminals would be executed today, weren't you? Let's just watch how this turns out first."
While Philips was getting increasingly confused by such a response, the other three were trying their best to contain their turbulent emotions after hearing those words.
The dozen or so leaders from various factions, who were also on the balcony, could feel the tense atmosphere in the air. Some watched the interactions with concern, but not a single one dared to move from their positions. Not wanting to offend either side, all of them could only watch from their seats as the Hunt progressed.
Down below in the arena, Jason together with the other 40 magus dealt with Jester and his men. It took them all a little over a minute to overwhelm the group that decided to stand up for the infamous rebel leader.
However, to their great confusion, from start to finish, Tidus the Chain Breaker did not make even an inch of movement. Even though he had been freed, the man still had his face down, his body kneeling on the ground.
"Please, leader! Defend yourself, or at least run! You cannot die in this place!"
A deep sigh came from Tidus' figure as he raised his head, looked at Jester and said somberly, "Stop it, Jester. Just let them do what they want. There is no hope for this kingdom, not anymore."
"No! I will not give up!"
Saying those words, Jester took out several pills from his storage ring and devoured them all. Everyone could feel the pressure his spirit energy gave off increasing before he transformed into his Beast Transformation form.
A few moments later, Jester's figure was no more. He was replaced by a brown wolf with lots of sharp thorns spread across its body. Of course, he was quickly bombarded with attacks and spells from Jason and the others.
Even though it was apparent he was destined to lose, Jester kept trying his best to hold his ground, enduring the rain of attacks that were thrown his way. But on the other hand his men weren't as strong as him. Facing such an attack, they started dying one by one.
That ugly and cruel scene managed to make even Yoro, who was standing behind Emery, turn emotional. Thanks to their connection, he could tell the young Sandune Wolf wanted to join the fight, but didn't dare to ask his permission.
"Calm down, Yoro. Not now. Just wait," Emery said, trying to calm him down.
Emery knew they would only willingly throw themselves into someone's scheme if they joined in right now. Since there were still many unknowns, the best course of action for them was to wait and see. Even Beowulf agreed with his thoughts.
It was truly unfortunate, but Jester and his team of rebels were eventually unable to hold on anymore. In the end, the former's figure was the only one left standing, his condition was terrible to say the least.
The thorny beast that was Jester had sustained many wounds, most of his body was charred, his chest was pierced by a spear thrown by Jason as his body fell backwards landing right in front of Tidus' feet.
Now with nothing else to stand in their way, two magus quickly dashed forward and held the rebel leader by each of his arms. But once again, the man didn't resist at all, his eyes fell on his dying men.
"Why Jester… I told you no. So why…?"
With the last breath and energy he could muster, Jester looked at the man he admired and weakly said, "I… dream… of… runnin' free… unchained."
The moment those words rang through him, Tidus could feel a storm raging through his mind. But while he was still struggling to process the situation, he saw one of the magus pull the spear from Jester's chest and thrust it into his head, killing the man for sure.
"NOOOOO!!!"
Tidus cried out hysterically as his eyes caught sight of Jester's headless body. His sorrowful howl resounded throughout the arena before his figure rapidly grew and changed, turning into his wolf form, a purplish dark wolf enveloped by dark lightning.
The two magus holding Tidus' hands found themselves hurled through the air. His figure then vanished, darting towards the magus holding the spear at breakneck speed.
Before everyone could realize what was happening, the latter had been knocked to the ground, his head blown off. A gory scene was painted as blood and brain fragments splattered everywhere.
Howwwlllll!!!
"Attack him! What are you all waiting for?! Attack!" Jason Corvin shouted in panic, as he was reminded of the brutality of the Chain Breaker he had witnessed.
In a matter of seconds, dozens of Tier 4 and Tier 5 spells flew through the air heading towards the rebel leader. Powerful thunderbolts, scorching flames, sharp gusts of wind and columns of tornadoes. Even Tier 5 flying weapons were present in the mix.
However, all those attacks were completely unable to stop Tidus' ferocious advance. He went completely berserk as he performed a bloody streak, incapacitating all that attacked him one by one.
Such a scene quickly made the two sides – Riddick Karst and Vivivan Locarios – that were about to clash with each other stop in their tracks.
"Is he really only a Full Moon magus?" Vivian said as she watched the ongoing massacre, intrigued by the strength the rebel leader displayed.
Seeing the one-sided beatdown, the two of them who previously thought Tidus wouldn't be a real threat due to his lack of supporters suddenly realized they were severely wrong.
The two of them looked at each other and came to an understanding with a simple nod. They put their conflict aside for now as they rushed over and attacked Tidus, clearly intending to eliminate the rebel leader first.
Backed with their respective packs, the addition of Riddick and Vivian into the fray made the number of opponents Tidus had to face to a staggering 60 magus. The two Full Moon took the initiative as they ganged up on the Chain Breaker.
What was unfolding in the arena was no longer an entertaining sight – Tidus who was being beaten left and right by the two elders of major Wolf factions, yet still being showered with spells from dozens of magus.
Such an act of cowardice, dozens of elites attacking a single person, and how Tidus bravely fought, fiercely resisting made more people sympathize with the Chain Breaker. It couldn't help but remind them how injustice had befell to their kingdom.
"Chief, please… Let me..!" Yoro said, wanting to jump in and help.
"Do you want to die?!" Emery snapped in response. He could also feel his heart moved seeing Tidus' plight, but he couldn't fathom what Yoro was thinking.
What could a mere saint-level like him do to help out in such a situation?
Ignoring the young Sandune Wolf, Emery scanned the surroundings and saw Zed and his warhounds still standing still. The other two packs, Sacred Rose and Bone Coyote, also didn't seem to have any intention of making a move.
However, there was actually a movement from someone who seemed to want to join the battle. It wasn't any of these magus. Instead, it came from among the wolf packs in the corner of the arena – those that didn't make the top 20.
At first it was just a few, but seconds later several joined in, and more followed behind them.
Emery quickly recognized them as the rebels group, Jester's associates. He also spotted Doppa and his Metal Wolf brothers among these people. All of them were rushing into the arena, ignoring the rules to help their idol.
These people dared to pull off such stunts in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators. But to Emery's surprise, the crowd's reaction was mixed, with the majority actually supporting such an action.
"What is going on?!"
Even more surprising was the fact the guards and tournament officials made no attempt to stop these people. Even Alpha King just stood there quietly, watching the commotion from the balcony.
Within seconds, the number of people entering and fighting in the arena increased to hundreds.
They all risked their lives to help Tidus the Chain Breaker reverse the balance of power.
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