A heavy silence blanketed the forest part of the mountain spire.
People in the arena and even those in The Spirit Observer halted their excitement.
Out of nowhere, Jake abruptly disarmed Hans by cutting off his dominant hand!
Though it may have seemed like an instant break in their exciting duel, this unexpected move had snatched the hearts of Jake's fans. Those who were so clueless about the swordsmanship and battles swallowed up their shock and screamed out of their lungs to cheer on Jake.
The rest remained quiet and serious.
Jake looked into Hans' eyes.
The man was distraught.
It wasn't just Jake who had been learning a lot.
Fighting him had helped Hans see a different kind of swordsmanship and receive a new kind of experience, to say nothing of it being so fun and challenging. He couldn't have thought of anything else but victory at the time, but now that he had lost this privilege, he felt sorrowful.
It was such a huge loss.
Hans faintly smiled. "I didn't want to apologize to anyone because what we did was not against the rules. We maximized our chances of attending the international tournament as much as possible. Cards seemed to have been on our side, but it appears that you're truly a... Joker.
"I will, therefore, only apologize to you. I'm sorry for teaming up with The Heavy Spree Team. It was fun to fight against you, but only in this forest! You're such a pest outside of it. Anyway, thank you."
Jake nodded. "I accept your apologies only because you're a strong swordsman. Next time, cross your swords with my boy SWalker and Babe Sin."
"Well, I'll visit you, I guess?" Hans replied.
That was when the rest of his team entered the forest.
Looking at his true teammate's expression, Hans could infer that the group had heard his talk with Jake.
Quento's countenance was so twisted that Hans didn't doubt himself.
Quento confirmed his thoughts.
He shouted, "What do you mean it's your loss?! Pick up your sword with your left and fight him! Help us achieve the victory! Don't be a loser!"
Catching on that relatively quick, Jake raised his voice and shouted. "Who was it?! Who came up with such an excellent idea to win the tournament?! The idea without any flavor and excitement! No love, no passion, no affection! So dull!"
Quento screamed, spitting out a lot of saliva. "It was me! I proposed that idea! I'm taking the entire responsibility on myself! That's right! It's all on me!"
He may have sounded righteous and fair, but deep inside, Quento was seething.
He thought, 'I can kill this clown! I've evolved! I am not a mere mage! He's dead! He's for sure dead! All but me can die!
I will win, regardless of hate and public! I'll win this tournament and the international! I will swim in money!'
Meanwhile, Hans and his teammates were done talking.
They smiled at Jake.
Hans said, "We'll suicide. Good luck on the international."
They nodded.
They couldn't fake their deaths because the system announced each team's loss.
Quento and his team didn't save them from slander. They shouted various insults and speculations, calling them losers and traitors. Even Hans' mom once again caught the strays.
Jake pointed at the man who had insulted Hans's mom.
He said, "You'd better watch out your language, lovely boy."
"Shut up, you clownish saint!"
"I'm not a saint. It's just that only I can insult his mother," Jake replied.
[The Golden Lotus team has been eliminated.]
"They deserve a few whistles of my soul on their funeral, don't ya think? I could use a lot of your screams, too, to ceremony their deaths," Jake said.
Quento and his team scowled at him.