Caesar"s playful wink didn"t receive much of a reaction from the clan heads, however, he could tell their solemnity had increased after witnessing his fight. This was, after all, a tournament that decided wheater or not they could maintain their position on the council.
After a few moments, Caesar shifted his attention from the clan heads and focused on Musashi, who still had an easy-going smile on his face. In response, Musashi returned Caesar"s gaze and nodded his head.
Though short, this exchange was caught by many fighters, spectators, and even some of the clan heads. Thus far, Musashi hadn"t placed much importance on a fight, let alone a single person… this garnered the envy of many fighters while also capturing the curiosity of the spectators.
Most of the people present had no clue as to why Musashi abruptly started this tournament in the first place, especially when the war with the trolls was still ongoing. Even now, many of them were afraid of being surprise attacked, however, Musashi and the upper echelons still had the energy to host a grandiose tournament such as this.
This confused many pedestrians and fighters alike, alas, it was quite different from their normal routine, and it also raised their morale. However, not many people understood that from a troll"s perspective, there would be absolutely no reason to attack the fox-kin stronghold in its current state. Not only was their morale currently raised, but most of the elites were pumped up and ready for battle.
A siege was much more likely to take place during at a time when their soldiers were sleeping or not expecting it. Musashi wasn"t stupid, he had naturally prepared a few countermeasures and doubled the guards at the front gates… lowering the chances of being a.s.saulted even further.
Although this was a simple deduction from Caesar, not many people were capable of understanding such simplistic matters. Caesar did, however, expect that there was another unknown reason for why the trolls had not launched an attack thus far. There was simply no reason to let the fox-kin rebuild after their devastated state when Caesar had first arrived.
Caesar didn"t know why the trolls were so hesitant, nor could he understand how they infiltrated the fox-kin so thoroughly. Although confused, Caesar didn"t dwell on topics that were impossible to deduce without more information.
After thinking to here, Caesar stopped contemplating about such troublesome matters and walked towards the referee. He figured there would be a new set of rules, alongside a new format when the clan heads joined the midst.
Seeing Caesar"s approaching figure, the referee straightened his back and had a wary expression on his face. He couldn"t help but be scared of this man who always had a calm smile on his face, he carried the same expression when talking and fighting, which brought shivers to the poor referee.
"Where are the next matches taking place?" Caesar asked after reaching him.
After hearing his words, the referee breathed out a sigh of relief, "all of the future matches will take place in this general area" he replied whilst gesturing towards a few dozen meters around the podium Musashi sat.
Caesar nodded his head in understanding, "how many fights will be taking place at a single time?" Caesar asked. He wanted to get through this tournament as quickly as possible.
"Every remaining fighter will engage in battle, after that, the last few will fight for positions on the council" The referee replied with confidence. The remaining 15 fighters and 13 clan heads would then fight together, with the last fighter standing, gaining one of the two awards Musashi proposed.
Caesar was quite satisfied with the referee"s answer so he patted him on the shoulder and thanked him courteously before walking to the area he pointed out. Since the remaining matches were wrapping up, his next fight would undoubtfully be soon.
With this in mind, by the time Caesar arrived at the roughly 20 meters wide, squarish area that the referee had pointed out, the rest of the rounds ended. Musashi stood up from his chair and clapped loudly, bringing joy not only to the winners, but also the losers.
"For those that have won, and even those that lost, please hold your head up high… even if you had lost in the first round, the fact that you came to this tournament in the first place, already shows you are a brave warrior. I want to personally thank all of you for attending, and without further ado, I must announce that we are finally entering into the final rounds. You will now see our very own clan heads fight!" Musashi roared in a very charismatic manner, gathering the attention of the crowds and exciting them at the same time.
With Musashi"s roar, all 13 clan heads took a step forward and presented themselves, causing the spectators and fighters alike, to cheer loudly. Everyone had a personal favorite that they wanted to win, even with Caesar"s arrival, most fox-kin still, unfortunately, wanted their own kin to win.
Once the cheers died down with a wave of Musashi"s hand, he started presenting each clan head, as if he were directing a show.
He started with gesturing towards Faust, and announced each and every clan head after, in a grand manner… exciting the crowds even further.
"Faust, the head of judgment and law"
"Khan, the head of protection"
"Leo, the head of hunting and food"
"Riku, the head of the cavalry"
"Kaito, the head of shield bearers"
"Touma, the head of spear-wielders"
"Haruto, the head of reconnaissance and information"
"Azir, the head of rations and welfare"
….
With every name called out, the citizens got more and more excited, until finally, every clan head was showcased and the matchups decided. Fortunately, Caesar was put up against a relatively familiar figure.
Inside the middle-most ring, Caesar stood on the northern side, while facing him, was a man with long green hair and a handsome face… this was naturally Azir, who always picked a fight with Caesar.
"What are the chances?" Caesar asked Azir slyly whilst taking his scythe out of his storage ring, to which Azir responded by deeply creasing his bows.
"After three more fights, I"m going to finally rid this place of sc.u.m like you… I"m glad you"re the first of the three" Caesar whispered while licking his lips, just audible enough for Azir to vaguely hear the contents of his whisper.