After that Grand Finals had ended, Mr White briefly conferred with Duke Leanne who had a personal word with him. He went up to her grand stand private box and received his instructions dutifully, then returned to the stage below to announce the decision."ATTENTION!" His loud booming and low voice shocked the spectators who were busy discussing the battle they had seen. It was somewhat of a puzzle and a mystery to most of the audience members as the fight had happened in a blitz then ended within 3 minutes.
What"s more, the clashes had been clouded by dust, smoke and explosions which, despite being kick a** cool, also obstructed their view of the action. As a result, there were countless small pockets of heated conversations going on around the stadium between pa.s.sionate fans of either contestant.
Some felt that the result was absurd - wasn"t it Vignis who had dominated from the beginning till the last legs of the battle? And wasn"t Lars" victory merely a matter of deceptive moves, never truly facing his counterpart"s powers full-on?
On the other hand, proponents of the boy claimed the moral high ground, stating that it was Vignis who had begun with deception first - at least, this was the view of those sophisticated enough to keep track of the combatants" moves. More than half the spectators couldn"t do this and were listening with rapt attention even despite the deafening noise of voices all around them, trying to catch a recounting of the earlier fight.
In fact, even the n.o.bles and those of higher birth were stumped! Even though they COULD follow the actions for the most part, what puzzled them was how Vignis had pulled out one surprise after the other... And how Lars had managed to counter-trick Vignis in return.
After all, since when had Vignis become a trickster on the battlefield...? Hadn"t she always been the in-your-face, combative melee brawler spinning and whirling her way in battle, leaving carnage in her wake?
What had happened to cause this substantive change in her approach to combat...?
However, all this chatter, discussion, wonder and puzzlement ceased when Mr White spoke to draw their attention.
Hearing Mr White"s rumbling voice echo through-out the stadium, even the die-hard fans quickly quietened down to hear him out.
He gazed from side to side quickly and upon seeing that he had their ears to himself, Mr White gave a simple announcement.
"Attention, n.o.ble guests, beloved citizens of Gorun City, honoured guests from afar! Greetings once more to you, all our dearest audience members. As you have witnessed, the dark horse compet.i.tor who seemingly emerged from nowhere, yet based on the records is a registered citizen of the Kingdom fo the Sands, has risen from the ma.s.ses of talents to be the Gorun City tournament champion!"
He was met with approving nods; whether it was grudging responses from Vignis" fans and those who leaned towards her side or raucous applause from Lars" impa.s.sioned supporters - mostly young teenage girls and middle-aged housewives who had an eye on him for their daughters!
...As well as blus.h.i.+ng young teenage boys and many balding men approaching their middle-years, who Lars intentionally shut out from even noticing!
"However!" Mr White"s voice struck through the din of sound like a thunder clap piercing through the rumbling of the night winds, even as the mid-day began to turn to the early scents of dusk. At his sharp exclamation, the audience began to settle down again to hear him out.
"However...! Due to the contestants" injuries, it was considered for a while and finally decided by our beloved Duke herself, Her Grace Duke Leanne, that the prize giving would only be held a week later, once all the top 3 placers are fully recovered. The reason for this..."
As his voice trailed off, even the quietest whispers or the softest mumbles ceased as complete stillness enveloped the arena. You could even hear the sound of a pin drop and man cursing as it pierced his foot, followed by vicious "Shhhh!!!!" sounds from all around the poor chap who felt greatly hara.s.sed on top of his injured foot!
They were all ears to hear the reason, antic.i.p.ating that it should be some piece of big news!
"The reason is that... The national-level compet.i.tion this time around is a team contest, with each const.i.tuent of the Kingdom of the Sands fielding a team of 4 fighters to challenge for only three slots in the continent-level Battle Through the Heavens!"
His shocking announcement rang through the minds of the hearers like a bolt in the blue; those who knew of this morsel of information beforehand merely nodded in acknowledgement whilst everyone else literally exploded into activity!
What amazing news! It was not just the winner Lars who would be representing Gorun City to the nationals, he would be going together with the puissant Darius and the a.n.a.lytical, sharp and sly Vignis!
And what about the precocious youth, Miller Knight Larsson? The boy who had defied all odds and even beaten the former two, his seniors? Didn"t he have almost infinite potential based on his showings this year?
To round it all off, their bid for qualification to the continent-stage would be spearheaded - literally - by the genius regnant who made all other geniuses pale in comparison, Alayna de Caldis who had exceeded all common sense and broken through to the Master-level at the tender age of 17!
Based on the rumours they had heard, only a couple dozen youths in the entire history of the Kingdom of the Sands had ever made such an achievement; whilst this year, there should be less than 5 such teens across the Yiluo continent who could lay claim to such an achievement.
After all, a normal cultivator might not even dream of reaching the Master-level before the end of his or her life, whilst a normal talent might reach the Master realm in their latter years, never able to see the Grandmaster or higher stages in all their lives.
Whereas Alayna might very well be the first person in the history of Gorun City to breach the Mythical stage... And maybe more if she gained access to sufficient cultivation resources to boost her mana pool, hone her mind and train her physique"s blood energy!
With such a superstar team of young talents, what more could the populace ask for? Wasn"t this almost a certainty to take top 3 at least, if not the very top spot?
So it was with a roar of crazed enthusiasm and the flames of pa.s.sion that the curtain fell on the Grand Finals and the youth tournament of Gorun City as Mr White left the stage and bid adieu to his captivated audience who were so caught up in discussion that they didn"t even realise that they were overstaying their welcome until the cleaners came to shoo them off!
* * * * *
The first thing that caught Lars" attention as he left the arena field was that there was no one in the private viewing room.
However, there was a letter placed on the table used for placing their teacups, which he picked up casually, half-expecting it to be Charley on another escapade or off to explore a new business opportunity.
But as he read the note, he had to fight the urge to instantly rip it apart as he took in the message left for him.
It read: "WE HAVE THE BOY, THE GIRL AND THE MAN... WOMAN... MAID. WHATEVER. COME TO NUMBER XX ON YYY STREET AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT OR ELSE. MAKE SURE YOU"RE ALONE."
And at the end of the note, there was but one signature, a smiley: :)
Trembling in anger and anxiety at his companions being kidnapped from within the Gorun Stadium, supposedly the seat of security and a place of unimpeachable integrity, Lars" shoulders heaved up and down as he forced himself to breath and calm down... Lest he erupt with catastrophic might and sweep away half the city in his righteous, mighty anger with flashes of lightning, thunder clouds and death!
But he desperately restrained his own despairing feelings that threatened to swallow him up in a blinding mist of red wrath. These were his friends! His precious people, companions who had accompanied him through his journey!
Even if they were not close companions... Did he actually have any closer friends?
No! They were all dead! And he"d be d.a.m.ned if he let anything happen to his precious people, no matter whether they were distant or the closest of kindred!
Lars caught his breath slowly, regulating his pulse and breathing as he forced himself to become ice-cold, super calm and a.n.a.lysed the situation. He decided that the best approach was truly for him to go alone, lest they foolishly harm his comrades in retaliation.
Then Lars smiled.
If he went alone, there wouldn"t be any witnesses when he slaughtered them all and showed them the horror of a near-Mythical, heavily equipped monster... I mean, mage knight, right...?
Lars quickly laid his plans down in his mind as he hurried off to make his preparations.
It was going to be a long night, one which he would ensure was the very last night for those who dared to oppose him or his people.
* * * * *
"Tell me the pa.s.sword for the spatial storage!"
A hissing cold voice spoke acidically as the sounds of thuds and thumps echoed through the dank and cold pa.s.sageways of the dungeon, while the speaker continued to beat into the captured grey-haired man"s bound body.
Despite him being a World-cla.s.s expert, he was still bound up and suspended in mid-air by his wrists, unable to resist nor fight back, bound by various runes and arrays, incapacitated - but still left able to speak by his tormenters.
Everaldus Slith remained obstinant, refusing to say a single word as he endured by now the 3rd straight hour of torture. His mouth was already full of blood for the umpteenth time but he merely grinned a toothless grin as he smiled mockingly at his torturer.
Or at least, he tried to - before the whip-thin tattoed and s.h.i.+rtless man grinned back as he stomped more than ten times on Everaldus" mouth.
The moment the beating ceased, he coughed and gasped, gulping down whatever oxygen he could, just in time before a finger-thick rod came smas.h.i.+ng down onto his shoulder, snapping more bones.
But instead of critically injuring him, the tattoed master torturer gestured with his hand and caused warm healing lights to s.h.i.+ne from his fingers, healing Everaldus" internal injuries - albeit with extreme agony as the bones knitted themselves back together unnaturally, causing the sharp ends of the bones to stick out through his flesh as they mended back together.
By this time, though Everaldus wanted to believe he was already used to it, used to the pain, used to the mutilation and used to turning more and more monster-like in appearance under his tormentor"s ministrations - but he just couldn"t force himself to believe what he himself said.
But what he could do was to thank the G.o.ds...
He was grateful, ever so grateful that he had managed to buy enough time for his entourage to escape through an instant rift, escape back to the Wiarno Kingdom.
Alas, he had no hopes of them returning. Even if they did, what would they do...?
Against 2 Legendary powerhouses, could his clan do anything even if they came in full force...?
As for seeking help - who would aid them without any benefits to be gained? And if they wanted to board a sinking s.h.i.+p just to plunder it and asked for the contents of his spatial ring, why, he might as well just give up his soul right now and leave the ring forever ownerless, useless forevermore!
"Heh... Mother... You won"t have to wait long... I"ll be coming to see you soon..."
Everaldus thought to himself morbidly as he awaited his death.
He was granted a brief respite though as his torturer stepped away and glanced at a timepiece in his hand as he smiled with pleasure and commented, "Oh, almost midnight huh... Looks like it"s almost time for another guest to arrive... I"ll make sure to entertain them just as a host should!"
He had a cheerful, smiling expression on his face as he donned a "laughing man" mask and glanced at his other guest, his n.o.ble partner from Danedaar who had authorised him to capture an official agent of the Kingdom of the Sands - i.e. Seline and Sharon.
And though it was the very image of a warm smile that was painted on the Laughing Man"s face, right now it was just as terrifying as that of a demon to Everaldus and all the 1,700 followers of the Underworld gathered in their headquarters at this moment.