"…"
"…"
"…"
Absolute Silence.
*Gulp*
The Battle Arena was so silent that even a gulp could be heard loud and clear.
The Crowd, which was roaring and howling because of how excited they were turned so deathly silent that it looked like someone had casted a Grand Magic to seal off all the voices from their mouths.
This reaction…
Never in the long history of the Battle Arena has this ever happened…
But what could they do?
What they were seeing was also something that never happened before.
A Sage Stage Cultivator was lying on the floor with bruises all over his face and his opponent, he just stood there, with his hands in his pockets, waiting for him to stand up.
He didn't prepare any Magic Spells or Sword moves, he actually just… waited…
The Emperor just waited for his opponent, a Sage, to stand up and fight again.
And the most horrifying part was that when the Sage actually does stand up and attack him again,
The Emperor simply dodges his attacks a few times and once the Sage loses his balance after attacking the air so many times, the Emperor kicks his abdomen and then his face, making him fall on the ground again. All while his hands stay in his pockets.
Normally, a match where the underdogs are in the winning position gets cheers and roars from the crowd, the same should have happened here as well.
An Emperor was winning against a Sage after all.
How many times did the crowd get to see something like this!?
They should have gotten crazy over it.
However, for some reason, no one could utter a word let alone cheer.
In this battle… the Emperor never looked like an underdog.
From the start, it was the Sage who was being played around with.
It was as if the Emperor wanted to etch his superiority into the sage's mind.
He never capitalized over the advantage he had, he waited, he waited for the Sage to get on the even grounds with him and let him have the first attack, and only then, did he defeat him and he did it over and over again.
'No matter what you do, you cannot win.'
It wasn't just a physical defeat, he was being defeated at the phycological level.
In front of this huge crowd… being played around like this…
Graner…
Graner couldn't believe something like this was happening to him…
"You bastar- Ugghhhh!!"
Graner tried attacking again, but again, Nux kicked his gut, then a knee on his face and Graner fell down again.
Even that pattern didn't change.
Graner took a deep breath,
Not right now! Not like this!
He wouldn't give in!
This arrogant bastard!
He would destroy him!
He tried to stand up, but then,
*Thud*
Nux suddenly placed his foot on Graner's head and pushed him back on the ground.
Graner struggled to look at Nux's face, however, before he could,
He noticed something shining on top of him.
It was a Magic Spell.
If he gets hits from this distance, this would mark the end.
Graner's eyes widened in surprise, he quickly regained all his strength and stood up!
Then without waiting any further, he used his superior speed to move away from Nux, successfully creating distance and preparing for the incoming spell.
"!!!"
But then, Graner's eyes widened in surprise when he saw Nux appearing right in front oh him, without wasting any time, Nux grabbed Graner's face and pushed his head into the ground.
*Bam*
"AAAaggbhhafff!!"
Graner screamed in pain, but then suddenly, he felt something on his limbs.
He tried moving, however, he realized that this 'thing' on his limbs was limiting his movement.
Graner's expression changed.
What was this bastard trying to do?
A question popped up in his mind, but then suddenly, he saw that light again.
A Magic Circle,
And this time, it was right in front of his face.
And that too, a Fire Elemental Magic Circle!
'N-No!'
Graner finally realized what Nux was trying to do and his face paled in fear.
From this distance, even if it was a simple Fireball, the impact would be…
"Give… I Give up!
I Surrender!!
I LOST!!!"
Graner shouted at the top of his lungs.
A small smile appeared on Nux's face as he then stood up.
The Magic Circle in his hands that was glowing suddenly started getting dull before it finally broke apart.
The Purple-Black Wines that were holding Graner's limbs disappeared at the same time.
The battle had ended…
"…"
However, the Battle Arena was still silent. Even the announcer seemed in a daze.
Nux glanced at the announcer with an indifferent expression and spoke,
"He Surrendered, you can announce the results now."
"H-Huh? R-Right."
The Announcer finally came out of his reverie, he then turned towards the two beings wearing black cloaks, they had covered their faces and were sitting on a completely different box that seemed to be there for just the two of them.
They were sent from the Ancestral Order to ensure the fairness of the battle.
The two of them nodded their heads,
The announcer understood their message and nodded back,
"G-Graner from the Destiny has surrendered.
The Winner of this Duel is Nux Leander!
The Challenge between ExceedoGenesis and Destiny,
The Challenged Clan, ExceedoGenesis, has won!"
The announcer announced and only then, did the crowd finally react.
"YEAHHH!!!!"
"ExceedoGenesis!!"
"ExceedoGenesis!!"
"You did it!"
"That Graner! Look at him! Hahaha!"
"Nux! I love you!!"
"Nux! Give me a child!!"
The crowd went crazy.
Nux, however, still remained indifferent and just turned around, completely ignoring the crowd.
This action made the crowd even more excited, they shouted at the top of their lungs, the cheers that were supporting Destiny quickly changed their target of admiration.
Nux Leander from ExceedoGenesis, it quickly became a hot topic.
Soon, rumors that the Sword Girl is also part of ExceedoGenesis started spreading.
Nux's performance in the Battle Arena, combined with Astaria, who had already made her name as the Sword Girl, the ExceedoGenesis's name started spreading around as well.
…
In the VIP Box, as soon as the battle ended, the other members of the ExceedoGenesis stood up, there wasn't any particular change in their expressions.
It was as if the result wasn't surprising at all.
Aiden, the Vice Leader of the Destiny glanced at the members of ExceedoGenesis with a strange expression on his face.
His eyes fell on Melia again, then, he recalled her words.
'What if all of this was a Trap to begin with?'