"Clan Leader Francis is a 9-star?" "How? When did this happen?" "How long has he been hiding his strength?" "I heard Blood clan is conducting suspicious experiments lately. Is it related to it?" "Nah, just take a look at that layer of aura around him. It is perfectly stable. He should have achieved it years ago" "Maybe, that is why Lord Qridus left the clan in His Majesty's care?
Cuz, he knew that he had someone to rely upon?"
"Brother, forget about him for a moment. Even Night clan's Matriarch has made the breakthrough. We now had two nine-star realm experts. In a century or two, His Majesty and His Highness will also reach that stage. Then, we will become a formidable force in the world"
"But, they are talking about death match here. Doesn't that mean one of them will die?" "I believe in His Majesty. He can stop them." "How could he? They are 9-star rank Arcana Masters, you know.
Only Lord Qridus had the power to stop them and now, he is away." "Ugh...why do I get a feeling that soon, our clan will experience civil war between two factions?" "What will happen to Young Master and His Majesty, then?" "As long as Lord Qridus, no one dares to touch them. But, they might control His Majesty's actions from now onwards."
Various discussions were happening all over the stadium, with everyone from commoners to elites were discussing of the consequences. None had interest in the tournament finals anymore. They were more focused on these two clan leaders.
As if both of them wants to create more havoc in their hearts, Yashna Night then said to Vesyrn, "Your Majesty, as you can see Clan Leader Francis is a nine-star Arcana Master and so am I. If both of us are active in the village affairs, I'm afraid the village will experience chaos.
Unfortunately, Lord Qridus has become a demigod and cannot interfere in the affairs of mortals anymore, unless our survival is at stake. If Clan Leader Francis takes the oath that he will retire and only spends his time in his home, I will drop my challenge."
It doesn't take an intelligent to understand what she meant. Even a commoner understood it.
Vesyrn isn't powerful enough to control them. So, if both of them go against each other, the other clans would be divided into factions.
Naturally, Vesyrn wouldn't like if someone calls him weak too. But, he was holding himself to be calm, out of respect for the elderly who had the strength to act arrogant to some extent. But then, Francis' reaction changed everything.
"Why would I retire?" Francis scoffed at her remarks. "As long as you don't interfere, the clan will continue to stay in peace, with everything under my control. I promised Qridus that I would make sure the clan remains stable until the kid sits on that throne, whether through influence or force.
I used my influence so far to prevent all kinds of conflicts among the other clans but since you forced me to reveal my true strength, I will resort using force if it is necessary in the future too."
No one knows whether he said it on purpose or was it a slip of a tongue, but a certain part of the sentence triggered Vesyrn's ego. 'Everything under my control,' those four words are enough to hurt Vesyrn deeply. He couldn't help but remember how the other clan leaders are obeying Francis' words earlier.
To prove himself that he was an able clan head, Vesyrn flew into the Arena and landed on the battle platform.
He then raised his voice to both of them, speaking in a deep tone, "Fine then, since you think both of you will have to take the clan in your hands because of Lord Qridus' absence, let's do this. I'll let both of you give an opportunity. Force me to get out of this battle platform during the next 3 minutes and you can have a death match between yourselves.
The resulting barrier is of peak-stage 9-star rank with incredible self healing capabilities. More than a barrier, this is like a prison where none could enter from outside nor escape from inside, unless they destroys it.
Azzy wasn't worried about the barrier. He had the power to destroy it. However, his father was adamant on taking this to the end. If it was someone else, he would care less about their opinion and use force to convince them, but it is his dad. He can't help but respect his decision. The only one who could help in this situation is Qridus and he cannot be contacted.
What other options he had? Azzy wondered.
He had to protect his father's integrity in the front of the clan and also make sure not to hurt his feelings too.
Meanwhile, a giant Dracolich of light and death, Raya, made its appearance on the platform and Vesyrn landed on its back, looking down at the oldies, "What are you waiting for? Make your move."
"Fine, since it had to come to this, I'll do my best," Yashna Night was the first to respond this time. "Come out, Nisha." Six daggers appeared behind her at the same time, forming a circle and moving around.
Francis followed the suit, summoning a trident in blood red. "I'll send you off with minimum pain, Vesyrn." He grabbed the spear and threw it at Vesyrn, making everyone letting out a collective gasp out of their mouths.
Meanwhile, far away from the Death clan village;
Inside the Forest of Death, Arcana World;
All the powerful rank-9 beasts were seen running away from a certain section of the forest where an intense battle was going on.
Qridus Garcia and some other woman were working together against a young man in black suit. The fellow, who looked like he just returned from attending a wedding, had a death scythe in his hands and he was absolutely overpowering both of them.
With every swing of the scythe, he leaves a cut on their skins, which not only heal up but also slows them down heavily.
During the past hour, they were struck so many times that their speed reduced to that of a rank-6 Arcana Master.
The stranger swings down the scythe one more and blast both of them away. As they crashed to the ground, he charged forward and grabbed the head of Qridus, "I'll give you a better choice, for the last time. Surrender yourself and I'll leave your master with life."
"You bas..." The woman was about to curse out, but the stranger gives a glance at her and proceeds to kick her. She blasts away and crashes onto a tree, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"So, what's your choice going to be?" He turned to look at the old man, waiting for the choice. "Watch the death of your master and destruction of your entire clan or surrender yourself and your one precious descendant?"