As Lothur hugged the twins, everyone in the surrounding area looked at them, feeling a mixture of emotions over this unexpected start to the conference.
It was undeniable that all the young people in the area were jealous of Lothur, but what bothered everyone there the most was the talent displayed by this good-for-nothing.
After all, if Lothur was that good, how would they be ranked next to him?
It must be said that not many young people within the age limit of this competition were in the 2-star ranking of spiritual professions throughout the empire!
So just from his performance in the first match, many already saw Lothur as a formidable competitor to fight against, someone who would likely humiliate many competitors in his path!
But not only that, Lothur's first match may not have seemed difficult for him, but the truth was that Hartmut was one of the favorites of this 8th competition platform...
Cedric's uncle had tried his best to take Lothur down, after all.
Therefore, after eliminating Hartmut, Lothur had established himself as one of the favorites, and most there could not help but feel intimidated by him.
That was true even for the enemies of the Frost family, who were there either to act against him or simply to see the 'failure' he would bring to that organization.
'Damn it!'
'The Frost family hid him very well!' One of the representatives of rival families of that organization thought to himself as he saw Lothur acting intimately with Viktoria and Annaliese.
But not only enemies were complaining in their minds or making shocking comments in the surroundings. There were also some members of the Frost family sent by Aiken to follow Lothur's matches.
"Unbelievable!" A middle-aged woman, Aiken's trusted servant, said in a low voice, still not believing everything that had happened.
People in the surroundings thought that the Frost family had hidden the truth about Lothur, but the most surprised people were those of that family!
"How did he do that? Some kind of trick?" She asked the man next to her, trying to understand the situation.
Another trusted servant of Aiken then said. "I don't know. It looks like he hid from most of the family..."
Seeing this individual pointing at Viktoria and Annaliese, the woman beside him understood his meaning. 'They are not surprised, so they already know about this? What is going on here?'
As the strange atmosphere lingered in that area, new competitors walked up the competition platform while Lina walked over to where Lothur was standing.
"Lothur, seeing you in action is quite nice..." She commented as she got close to this young man and those twins, catching Viktoria's eye.
"You..." Viktoria looked at Lina, this 2-star formations master of the Christen family, and recognized her.
The Christen family was an ascendant power, so Viktoria, the heiress of the Frost family, naturally knew how to recognize each of the 2-star cultivators of that organization.
And seeing Lina addressing them in public, she could not help but be surprised since that organization was known for not wanting to relate to her House Frost.
"Hello, First Miss Frost..." Lina smiled at Viktoria as she greeted Lothur's wife while nodding her head to Annaliese, whom she had met before.
Lothur then asked. "Is Miss Engelmann here to follow the competitions on this first day?"
Lina nodded to him while Viktoria was still surprised and said. "Yes, as part of the Christen family, I am here to look for new talent."
Only families with noble status participated in this competition, which meant that everyone there was directly or indirectly related to noble houses.
But being or not being a noble organization did not mean that common power could not have better conditions than some noble families. On the contrary, some individuals of humble origins grew immensely in their activities and eventually even surpassed large organizations before receiving special status.
And this was precisely the case for the Christen family compared to the worst-ranked local noble families in the last competition of its kind.
Also, one of the powers competing in this edition of the Province Conference was in danger of losing its nobility status, while House Christen was one of the candidates for that spot.
As such, this organization would not let this opportunity pass and had sent its members to observe all the competitions in search of potential seeds.
Some could not simply leave their families, but there was always the alternative of making arranged marriages. So Lina was also there for this reason, not just for Lothur!
Viktoria then asked. "What exactly is your relationship with my husband for you to approach us, Miss Engelmann?"
Lina looked back at Viktoria and said. "Don't worry, First Miss Frost, I am not after your husband, although he is my type... We're just potential business partners."
"Anyway, that depends on your husband, but seeing him today, I can say that the chances of us getting closer in the future are not small." She finished as she looked at him.
"That's good to hear, hehe." Lothur smiled, eager to solve his financial problems with his business.
...
While that group was talking, Kai glared at them, still angry at the surprise Lothur had saved for him.
"Are you going to be able to cause trouble for this worm?" He asked his man who would compete on that platform in the second round.
That young man from one of the local families allied with the faction of the third prince looked at where Lothur was smiling with those three women and said. "Causing trouble for him, eh? Well, I can guarantee I will do that. But as for beating him, I'm not sure."
"The skills he has shown are far above average, but it could also be that he had a bit of luck during his match against Hartmut. So it's hard to say what the outcome of our confrontation will be..."
Kai then looked at this young formations master. "It doesn't matter. Everything will be fine if you manage to disturb him, even if he beats you."
The young man did not like hearing that, but since his family had ordered him to work with Kai, he listened in silence to this leader of the Mouse Company. "That bastard will still participate in trials for poison masters and tailors in the afternoon. So injuring him or taking away some of his concentration with this combat will be good enough."
Kai's subordinate next to him then smiled upon hearing that. "In those other trials, this wretch will suffer at the hands of our men!"
And so, while they had no idea of Lothur's abilities in those other professions, someone bribed by them made the appropriate changes to the combats in the second round of this 8th platform!
Because of this, within minutes, Lothur would find out that he would have to fight Kai's man in this last fight of the day for him in this formations masters contest.
So when minutes passed, and he finally returned to the previous platform, the audience again went silent, waiting to see him in action!
...