After Musashi"s loud roar, the few clan heads" that were not mentioned grew enraged. Not only did they make it into the top 13, but they were also very confident in their power unless of course, they were fighting someone like Caesar.What angered them the most, however, was the fact that a mere woman had replaced them. Even if she was strong, the fox-kin did not treat women as warriors, but more so just things to protect.
"I don"t understand why am I no longer apart of the council when I was clearly amongst the top 13" one of them voiced out their grievances, they didn"t even seem to care about the new and strange "general" position Musashi announced.
Musashi stared down at the figure who raised his voice, he had long, wavy and unkempt brown hair, a rough face, and a rounded chin. His looks were average and nothing about him could be considered extraordinary. He was a previous clan head that held a decent amount of power within the clan, however, his strength was lacking when in comparison to Akari.
"I hosted this tournament in an effort to find the strongest warriors, whether they are female, old, or even decrepit. Even though you are amongst the top 13, I can easily discern that you are far weaker than Akari" Musashi replied without care for the man"s pride.
As the man was about to retort, Musashi opened his mouth once again, "If you think my judgment is incorrect, feel free to challenge Akari for the position…" his words paused for a moment as he scanned the other two, "that goes for you two as well"
The threes" expression looked as though they swallowed a bug… they wanted to retort with a million different things, however, they were not capable of doing so. His words were irrefutable, and the only way to prove themselves was to defeat Akari, which they themselves knew better than anyone, was impossible.
"You may leave" Musashi dismissed with a wave of his hand and shifted his attention back to Caesar as if he had lost all interest in the trio. He carried a smile on his face, but his eyes were squinted.
He leaned back in his large chair and took out his tobacco pipe from G.o.d knows where… "as I promised, you may have one of the two rewards I declared… which one do you choose?" he asked, resulting in the ma.s.s of people to focus on Caesar.
The citizens, warriors, clan heads, and even referees were looking at Caesar, who was still standing in the middle of the arena with bloodstained clothes. His white hair elegantly fluttered in the air, giving the onlookers a glimpse of the subtle smile on his lips.
If it was before, Caesar would have probably challenged Musashi, but now, the more he thought about it, the more foolish he felt that idea was. Not only would it sadden Ahri, but it would also weaken Musashi"s already decaying body. Not to mention the fact that Musashi already created a whole new rank in the clan, especially for him. Attempting to take the clan leader position at present could only be considered rash.
Thinking to here, Caesar raised his head, "I don"t want either" Caesar replied after a moment of thought, causing the bystanders to take a breath of cold air, even Musashi furrowed his brows in shock. Ahri raised her head with confusion apparent in her eyes, however, before she could speak, Caesar started walking towards her.
"How can I, a man, be content with marriage being "bestowed" upon me. It"s distasteful to be given something for free, thus, I much prefer earning or taking something by force" Caesar"s words continued until he was only a few feet away from Ahri.
He didn"t want his "proposal" to be an award from a tournament, he wouldn"t be able to stand the fact that some people would believe his marriage was a forced and loveless relationship. Thus, he came up with this idea.
Caesar slicked his hair behind his slender ears and slowly kneeled in front of Ahri, he took out the blue necklace that she had thrown at him earlier and presented it before her, "you are the only person I have ever kneeled for on my own volition, and you are the woman I have decided to spend my life with… will you marry me?" Caesar asked. Although his clothes were b.l.o.o.d.y, his appearance was still unparalleled.
The sun seemed to gleam on his kneeling figure and Ahri, who was standing in front of him, was put on the spot. Everyone in the audience held their breath as they examined the beautiful girl who was once again crying.
Two small streams of tears fell from her eyes and dropped onto the ground, however, a wide and very apparent smile blossomed on her face as she spoke as loudly as possible, "YES!" she roared happily and brought Caesar into her embrace.
Although she never admitted it, she was quite sad at the fact her marriage would merely be an "award" at a tournament. Even though she wasn"t an ordinary woman, she still had romantic fantasies. However, Caesar truly surprised her and she couldn"t help but feel extremely warm inside.
"Whoa!!!"
"WHEW!"
"CONGRATULATIONS!"
Loud cheers echoed throughout the training grounds, even though some people were still jealous or dissatisfied with the tournament results. Almost everyone cheered them on, as it was the only joyful event that has transpired in the war-torn fox-kin stronghold for a long while.
Caesar also smiled and glanced at the large audience, his sight landed on a short figure that held two prisoners by chains. This was, of course, Rakan and the two traitors they had captured.
Alas, Caesar didn"t want to ruin the joyous mood so he decided not to give the other spies a "lesson" right now. He simply shook his head in Rakans direction and tightened his embrace around Ahri. His purge would begin tomorrow.
"Do you trust me?" Caesar whispered in Ahri"s ear, to which she nodded her head and looked at him curiously.
Caesar pecked Ahri on the forehead with his thin lips and then proceeded to gaze into her eyes, "I am aware that you love your clan dearly, so what I"m going to do tomorrow will certainly hurt you. I want you to promise me that you won"t get in my way" Caesar said seriously, he had no plans to keep his from her, he had learned from his previous mistakes and decided to be more open with her.
"What do you mean?" Ahri"s smile disappeared and was instead replaced by a serious expression.
Caesar just smiled and shook his head, "it"s a rare and joyous occasion, so let"s enjoy it while we can… I will explain more to you, tonight" Caesar replied soothingly and stood up from the ground. He hugged her tightly and whispered something that she could vaguely hear.
"If you let even a single rat escape, they will breed and multiply at an astonishing pace… they spread disease and are a recipe for disaster. You must exterminate all of them in one fell swoop, no matter the cost" Caesar whispered quietly so that Ahri couldn"t hear the gist of it.