"The winner is..." Azzy bit his lip in frustration, his head hung down and his gaze was on his unconscious mom who was slowly shifted to a stretcher, "Aiden Smoke."
Seeing his actions, Francis Blood commented, "Vesyrn, I must say that I acknowledge your son as the referee now. His mother was lying there unconscious and he made sure not to show an ugly expression on his face."
The others also wanted to say something but they didn't dare to do it after witnessing Vesyrn clench his fist tightly, with a silent gaze fixed on the woman carried away by the helpers.
The tournament continued as usual. Azzy continued to do his job and Vesyrn tried his best to sit on his throne. At the moment, Vesyrn is not Izora's husband but the Monarch of the clan. He cannot show weakness.
For the semifinals, a 15-minute break was announced.
Once he did it, he calmly left everyone's sight and then proceeded to rush to the infirmary on the second floor of the Arena.
There, the healer informed him that Izora had already left the infirmary with her daughter and the foreigners (Isolde Searvale and Elias).
Azzy swiftly scanned the clan village with Aura sensing and found out that all of them were in the palace. He went to the palace, without wasting any time.
He didn't meet the other three who were elsewhere in the palace and went straight to his parents' bedroom, where he sensed his mother's presence.
*Knock* knock*
He knocked twice but there wasn't any response.
Azzy knocked once again and spoke out loud, "Mom, it is me."
The sounds of the footsteps were heard this time and soon, the door was opened. "Come in." Izora then turned around to walk to the bed and sat down. Her hair was messy and depression was clearly evident on her face.
Azzy dragged the chair and sat nearby, grabbing her hands in worry, "Are you alright?"
Izora let out a sigh, not even looking into her son's eyes, "I would be lying if I said I'm alright. No, I'm not fine at all. I was too confident about my winning and lost terribly. Your father might have also been humiliated in front of other clan leaders." She continued to face the window and added, "Aiden was right. I shouldn't have participated in the tournament."
The winner and the runners-up of various divisions in the tournament were automatically selected as the representatives from our side. Four weeks later, those who have reached the top 8 shall battle for two of the remaining three spots per division.
As for the last spot, the opportunity will be given to the warriors who haven't registered for this tournament due to various reasons. The selection process for them will be revealed later on.
With that said, let's welcome the finalists and give them a round of applause as congratulations in advance on their selection.
"From the beginner division, the finalists are: Kian Smoke and Damon Silver"
Two teenagers who weren't even 15 years old entered together, walking at a steady pace amidst the cheers from the audience.
As they reached Azzy and stood in front of him, he continued, "From the intermediate division, the finalists are: Sia Night and Sebastian Night."
The veteran assassins of the Night also followed suit. The audience's reaction was slightly mild, compared to when they cheered for the kids. One could guess why it was that way. First of all, the Night clan is feared by the villagers. Secondly, they are too brooding and neither of them pays attention to their surroundings, killing the mood of the audience.
But, it is going to be changed very soon.
"Now, from the advanced division, the finalists are: Sasha Blood and Avia Night"
The cheers were louder than ever as two beauties entered the arena, in their battle wear. In all of her battles, Avia always wore her one-piece body suit, which quite highlights her breathtaking figure, although the main intention is to give her fluid movements.
On the other hand, Sasha Blood was wearing a scarlet leather jacket over her tee and short jeans. Her new red and gold streaks of hair also looked stunning on her. It wasn't a natural look but a hair dye she applied for the sake of the final match. But then again, who cares about it? She looks beautiful and that is enough for the public.
Their legendary realm cultivation is also attributed to the sudden rise of their fan base.
While Avia's gaze was cold as usual, Sasha maintained a warm smile on her face as she waved to the audience, on the way. The screams only intensified even more, especially among the female audience.
Upon reaching the stage, Sasha walked past Azzy, giving him a brief glance. As Azzy's met hers, her gaze became sharp, and killing intense rose within her for just a fraction of a second but quickly subsided.
Azzy didn't miss it too. However, he didn't pay too much attention to her and continued to address the audience, "Now, as a part of a special event decided by His Majesty, we'll be inviting some special kids who went through awakening before last year, last year, and this year. They will be given the chance to spar against these representatives of the clan to broaden their horizons."
"Eh? Spar?" "Huh?" "C'mon, we want to see the finals" "Why?" "Interesting" "What is the Palace trying to do now?" "It is just a waste of time. What surprise could these kids who don't even have much training show us?" "I pity those kids who went through awakening just a while ago. Atleast, they should have been excluded"