Chapter 59: Dominance

  Thomas stood behind Eloise with his arms crossed and a self-satisfied smile on his face. He expected the crowd to erupt into thunderous cheering after a moment of shock, just like they did for Damon. However, even after a whole minute had passed, only a few small cheers and scattered clapping could be heard.

  “But… Wasn’t that cool? Why aren’t you cheering? Where did that noisy commentator go? He was shouting nonstop for Damon…”

  His expectant expression and hopeful spirit were both torn apart by the truths of reality. With heavy steps, he trudged back to the group from the Academies with a face filled with indignation. Even they just quietly patted him on the back with pitying eyes. Those consoling gazes hurt more than even the lackluster response from the spectators.

  Wesley had lifted a note in Alan’s face. It said ‘CHEER!’. However, Alan ignored it and just began his usual droning commentary.

  “That was Thomas Blight, everybody. With that victory, we’ve secured three spots in the quarterfinals already. Let’s move on from that and focus on the upcoming matches. Next, we have the matches for bracket three. First up, Erik, the first seed from Violet Mist against the sixth seed from Argent Flame.”

  With his expression twisted from his desire to yell but without the ability to do so, Wesley stabbed a finger in the direction of Alan a few times. Huffing and puffing, he stomped off with a purple face.

  Alan shot him a sidelong glance before looking back at the ongoing match. However, his eyes were unfocused, and his attention was elsewhere. He stroked the wooden slip hidden in his sleeves as he deliberated on how to spend his winnings after the matches for the day ended. A contented smirk appeared on his face.

  Damon watched as Erik descended from the platform with a calm smile. He had defeated his opponent using the most basic spells and didn’t reveal any special techniques. The sixth seed from Argent Flame had just defended against a few attacks before claiming he had run out of arcane power and forfeiting. Though the result was expected, the way all the lower-ranked cultivators of the Towers just gave up showed their conniving nature.

  Damon turned to look at Nolan, whom he had yet to properly meet. He was quite antisocial, perhaps even more so than Damon himself. He lay flat on his back with his hands behind his head and one leg crossed on top of the other. A long piece of hard, red jerky jolted back and forth above his face as he chewed slowly. His long eyelashes fluttered over his closed eyelids before he abruptly opened them to his name being called.

  “Hey, Nolan, it’s your turn to go up. The Adjudicator is calling for you.” Jackson had walked up to him and nudged him with his foot.

  Nolan got up with sluggish movements, then leisurely walked up the steps onto the stage with his hands tucked in his pockets. Still chewing on his jerky, he did not even thank Jackson for alerting him.

  “Good luck!” Jackson yelled after him, not minding his aloof personality.

  Damon turned to Lilith, who had been standing close to him ever since his match ended, and asked, “What’s up with that guy?”

  Lilith flashed a toothy grin at Damon, not so much in a friendly manner, but more similar to how a wolf bares its fangs at an unfamiliar being. “Nolan’s a good guy, but he’s not very cute. He ignores everything unless he is required to respond.”

  Slightly disturbed by the predatory expression displayed by Lilith, Damon turned back to face the platform while side-stepping further away from her. He watched as Nolan strapped on his bladed boots in preparation for the battle. Interesting guy. I wonder if he’ll be able to beat his opponent. It’s the second seed from Argent Flame, right? Wait, why is there no commentary? They normally introduce the participants right about now…

  Ragged breathing resounded from the dark corridor leading to the commentator’s terrace. Soon, a haggard figure covered in sweat emerged from the void, huffing and puffing as he glared at Alan.

  “Why… Aren’t… You… Commentating?” Wesley panted out as he fell back into his seat.

  At his words, Alan finally stirred from his rumination. “Oh, you’re back? When did you get back? Your voice sounds better now. Where did you go?”

  Breathing through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, Wesley strove to calm his breathing as soon as he could, even as he shot daggers at Alan with his eyes. After a minute, he finally managed to regain his normal respiratory rhythm.

  “I went to the infirmary to get my throat healed. You barely said anything the entire time we were gone! You do realize that they might dock our pay if we don’t do our job properly, right?”

  Alan didn’t reply and just looked away with his usual smirk, no longer worried about the pittance he would receive on completion of his commentator duties. In his palm lay a fortune much greater than that. He also had plans on placing more bets on Damon, given that the odds remained stacked against him.

  Wesley ground his teeth and turned back toward the stage instead. He had to get back on track with his mission. He yelled with even more enthusiasm than before.

  “Hey everyone, looks like we have another enjoyable match on our hands! The fourth seed from our Military Academy, Nolan, is facing the second seed from Argent Flame, Christopher! He’s already created an upset with his instantaneous defeat of the third seed during his first match. Will he be able to do it again? We’ll find out in just a moment!”

  Thomas stared at the commentator’s terrace with exasperation and resentment. His normally pale complexion had darkened, turning his face into a mask of stone-cold malice. With a fierce scowl, he glared between the commentators and the excited audience.

  “Why now? Where were you during MY match?”

  Even though Thomas was making a fuss to the side, nobody paid him any attention. Their focus was on Nolan, who had finished his preparations on stage, and Christopher, who stood opposite him while holding what appeared to be a pair of iron clubs.

  Nolan swayed back and forth as he maintained his balance atop the blades sticking out from under his boots. He looked at the last remaining Adjudicator waiting silently at the corner of the platform before looking at the main Adjudicator standing at the center with his arm raised. This time, he pulled out his hand from his pocket and put away his jerky. He faced Christopher with a stern expression.

  “Start!” The main Adjudicator shouted before jumping back to his corner of the platform.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Immediately after the match had begun, Nolan’s body blurred as he ran toward his opponent. For a moment after he had left, an afterimage quivered in his previous spot before vanishing. The blurry Nolan arrived in front of Christopher and delivered a roundhouse kick toward his head.

  Christopher surprisingly struck back with one of his iron clubs in response, instead of casting a spell or barrier. Though slightly taken aback, Nolan swung through with his kick, unwilling to reduce the momentum of his attack just because his opponent did not react in the way he expected.

  Clang.

  A sound similar to the tolling of a bell rang out from the collision of the iron club and the shiny blades of Nolan’s artifact boots. The force of his kick had been completely absorbed by the iron club. Before he could withdraw his leg, another startling change occurred. The iron club liquified and covered his boots before solidifying again. His foot fell to the stage with a heavy thud.

  Although he had not anticipated such an event, he ignored the shackles weighing down his right foot and whirled in the opposite direction of his initial movement, throwing a spinning back kick right at Christopher’s chest. Unfortunately, this was met by the other iron club, forcing his left foot to fall to the ground as well.

  With a cocky grin, Christopher pointed at the immobilized Nolan with his empty hand. A Fireball materialized before shooting at Nolan almost instantly. He crouched, yet the distance was too close, and there was no way to avoid it. The bracers on his forearms activated with a vibrant light, blocking the ball of flames with a barrier. Now, he only had four left.

  Additional Fireballs trailed right behind the first one, but they hit the stage instead. When the burst of flames disappeared, Nolan had as well. Only the two artifact boots, weighed down by clumps of iron, remained in the spot. Christopher’s eyes widened as he quickly glanced around with nervousness.

  He had only spotted a blur when he heard a small crack as a barrier was broken. In his panic, he felt a strong tug at his arms and looked down to see that his bracers had activated as well, revealing only four lines. Abruptly, another line vanished, closely followed by another.

  With a desperate yell, he shot Fireballs at the blur, but he was a step late every time. In just a moment, his final two barriers were destroyed, and the bracers fell off his wrists. He fell forward onto all four of his limbs in despair as Nolan appeared beside his boots.

  “Hey, the match is over. Can you take these things off my boots now?”

  “There you have it! The speedster of the Military Academy! Though Christopher of Argent Flame tried his best to tie him down, he failed miserably! Perhaps we are witnessing the rise of another dark horse similar to Damon! Let’s give him some love, folks!” Wesley screamed into the crystal orb until his face turned crimson.

  The audience erupted into cheers and began chanting Nolan’s name as well, with slightly less furor than when they had rallied for Damon. Only one person from Tradehaven did not cheer. Thomas instead gnashed his teeth as he glared at the audience, and then the commentators, and then finally at Nolan.

  As the excitement died down, Wesley continued talking without missing a beat. “And with that, we have our fourth participant in the quarterfinals! The next two matches in the fourth bracket also feature someone from our Assembly each! If we can achieve victory in both, we will show our complete dominance over the Towers!”

  After taking a sip of water to moisten his throat, Wesley glanced over at Alan. “Aren’t you going to add anything?”

  With a scowl, Alan finally placed his hand on the crystal orb once more. “Yes, it will be a grand showing if we could achieve it. I do not doubt that Lilith will be able to attain her win against her third-seed opponent. However, if Jackson manages to defeat Nox, he will have achieved a similar feat to Damon.”

  “That’s right! But don’t look down on Jackson. Though he is only the sixth seed, he is one of the best fighters from the current batch of apprentices! First, let’s give our attention to Lilith, who is climbing the stage as we speak!”

  Lilith was shaking all over as she repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fists. With violent energy thrumming underneath her skin, she resembled a coiled spring about to snap. Her large, spirited eyes were fixated on her opponent with a wolfish grin on her face.

  Her opponent, a short and slender girl in Violet Mist robes, shivered and shrank back, hiding behind the long staff she held in her arms.

  The Adjudicator observed both contestants and then raised his arm. “Start!”

  The slender girl swung her staff through the air, and a wave of water gushed out from directly in front of her, shooting toward Lilith.

  Lilith, on the other hand, just walked forward one step at a time. She appeared to be in no rush, yet her steps grew increasingly heavy and more powerful after each one. Soon, an audible thud resounded through the Colosseum with every drop of her foot, the resonating quakes shaking even the audience stands.

  As the torrent of water came closer, a path of red stone pillars rose in front of Lilith, allowing her to climb up and walk over the attack.

  With the first attack having done nothing, and Lilith now elevated in a higher position, the slender girl changed her tactics and cast a barrier. Once a shimmering blue shell of arcane light surrounded her, she pointed her staff at the sky. Water condensed above her in a ball, growing larger and larger. Once it reached a certain point, it stopped growing and transformed into a long tubular shape.

  Finally, it resembled a large snake with a triangular head and even shapes that looked like scales on the surface. The slender girl, now drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, grinned as she pointed at Lilith with her staff. The liquid serpent flew at Lilith, baring its two menacing fangs. At the same time, it lashed out with its tail as well.

  Lilith did not slow down and continued walking forward at the same pace. All she did was draw back an arm before throwing out a punch just as the blue serpent arrived. The moment her fist touched the snake, it was blasted apart and the water it was made from showered down over the audience behind it.

  The slender girl’s jaw dropped, and her scalp tingled. Her hands turned numb until she could no longer feel the staff she was holding. This girl… She is no human. She is an overbearing beast! In her eyes, Lilith’s wicked grin grew wider until it resembled the maw of a horrifying monster.

  Once she arrived in front of her opponent, Lilith dropped down onto the stage from her stone pillars with a powerful boom. A crack had even formed in the white tile. The girl from Violet Mist fell back onto her bottom and trembled in fear as she covered her head. Lilith’s smile disappeared, and vexation appeared in its stead.

  Tch.

  She clicked her tongue and shook her head in disappointment. She swung her fist half-heartedly at the girl, upon which five gleaming barriers appeared to block her. Yet her single punch blasted them apart as though they were thin sheets of parchment.

  She turned around and walked back to her group with a disgusted grimace. With a loud hork, she gathered phlegm in the back of her throat before spitting it on the arena below. Her hands twitched, as though unsatisfied with the outcome and itching for more.

  “Wow, another magnificent win by Lilith! What domineering prowess! I absolutely love watching such a straightforward match! How about you, Alan?”

  Alan observed Lilith with narrowed eyes. “I agree. Her tyrannical bearing is definitely quite oppressive. She broke her opponent's will to fight before she even arrived in front of her. I’m impressed.”

  Wesley grinned so exaggeratedly, as though he had been the one complimented by Alan. “That’s right! There’s a reason why she’s the top Initiate in the Military Academy! Now, that makes five victories! The final battle seems to be beginning already. The next two contestants are coming up right now!”

  Alan looked at Jackson and Nox, who stood atop the white platform with confident expressions. “You’re right. The main Adjudicator isn’t calling for a break and instead brought them up immediately. It seems he wanted to finish off the last match of the day as soon as possible.”

  “That’s great! I’m looking forward to seeing another upset. I am hoping to see Jackson triumph in his duel! Do you agree with me, folks?” Wesley yelled out.

  The audience broke out into a thunderous roar of agreement. Alan glanced at the overstimulated Wesley before looking down at the two contestants standing on the platform. His gaze landed specifically on Nox. Just during the first round, he had blinded his opponents by getting past an Adjudicator with a trick.

  I doubt Jackson has what it takes to defeat him. I just hope that the match ends without any issues.

  Damon!

  comments below!