Various thoughts occurred in the minds of the audience, but no one complained outwardly as Azzy mentioned that this decision was taken by the Clan Head.
As for the participants, they were informed beforehand. So, they stayed calm and composed.
But, the surprise is yet to come.
Azzy continued to speak, "During the selection process, when we met the kids early in the morning and asked them to pick their choices, some of them were quite interested in getting teachings directly from their clan leaders and pavilion masters.
Hence, I request, all pavilion masters and sub-clan leaders to participate in this special event to have a friendly spar against each other, giving the future generation a memorable lesson to remember as well as reassuring our villagers that the clan is still as strong as ever. Who knows some spectators could even draw inspiration from these spars to choose their path."
"Vesyrn, what is your brat doing now?" Francis couldn't hold his speech, commenting on Azzy's cheeky request. He straight away took it with the Clan Head.
This wasn't something they were prepared for. Azzy took them by surprise, including his own dad.
Vesyrn awkwardly smiled as he replied, "I guess he wants to put up a show for the scouts. Moreover, it isn't a big deal. Just spar a couple of minutes against each other using flashy techniques," His words attracted the attention of other clan leaders and pavilion masters who were nearby. "Are you serious?"
As they collectively turned their heads to look at him, some of them had questioning gazes as if they wanted to ask whether he would let his son do whatever he wanted, Vesyrn added in the end, "I'll reprimand him later on. But the words are already out and it has now become the question of the Palace's prestige. So, please..."
The Night clan's grand elder was about to protest but the interim Patriarch grabbed his arm and gestured not to say anything.
The Crescent Clan's leader and Vesyrn's uncle-in-law, Kylan/Kyle Crescent, acted as the others were murmuring among themselves, "Alright. If it means dragging out experts from the other clans, I will gladly show these scouts why our clan is often touted as the strongest hidden clan for the past hundred thousand years."
Perhaps, everyone is waiting for someone to act first.
Once Kyle poured for others to slip down together with him on the floor, Francis added the flames to it, burning their egos with his comment, "Well, the future clan head has spoken and we shall abide by it. Moreover, it doesn't also concern the scouts. I also needed to show my fellow delusional clan leaders that Blood Clan is still the strongest sub-clan in the village."
"Blood clan? Dream on, Lord Francis. Unlike you people who majorly stay lazy, our Silver clan's Central Order is the one that's been actively defending the clan. Without us, the crime rate would have been incredibly high." Silver clan's Patriarch, Ares Silver, was triggered by Francis' comment.
"Eh?" Vesyrn was taken aback by his words and so was everyone else. "But, I was only the acting family head."
"So, what? In the absence of Qridus, you are representing him," argued Francis. After a brief pause, he pointed at the Night clan's leader, "Roger Night was also an interim clan leader. He is still participating in the wager, right?"
Roger Night's facial expression turned even uglier when he heard that. He wanted to say that he didn't do it but his great aunt forced him to do so. But, since he has already fallen into the abyss, he dragged Vesyrn with him too, "Your Majesty, don't think too much. It is just a spar. I don't know about others but I acknowledged the power you displayed against Prince Velez years ago.
Moreover, you just heard what Young Master has said, right? He wants to reassure the villagers that they are safe and secure under our protection."
At first, those words made sense but at the same time, some clan leaders also felt like something was amiss.
"Power struggle?" That's the only thing that came to the minds of these power-hungry leaders as they thought a bit.
If Vesyrn would humiliate himself here, there is no question that villagers would have reservations about his position. He won't be dethroned but that also gives them a bit of advantage when discussing policies in the future. Moreover, when Qridus returns, he will surely punish his dear great-grandson for losing their ancestral treasure.
But, what if Vesyrn proves himself?
Well, in the future, they might have to act more courteously toward him. It shouldn't be a big deal.
Compared to the gains, the losses appeared minimal.
As if they were all made of the same brain cell, everyone surprisingly had the same thought and each one echoed with one another.
"Yes, I agree with Clan Leader Night" "Me too" "Your Majesty, please state your decision. Young master was looking at us, to come down." "Your Majesty..."
"Alright, I too join you all," Vesyrn was convinced in the end, bringing out a skill card instead of a treasure, surprising them all, "My great-grandfather had given me two life-saving treasures a while ago. I had to use the offensive one, in a certain situation. This one is defensive. It contained the power of a demigod that could render anything below the demigod level power useless.
I put this as the wager, hand it to the one who could land a strike on me."
"Oh"