Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn!

The only challenge they would have now... Was how to wipe out and uproot every single one of the slavers in one fell swoop?

And the second challenge was how the Laughing Man and House Jamal would react when one of their largest revenue streams was suddenly cut off! For such a large operation would be virtually impossible to keep completely secret - once it was leaked, Lars" and his team would be likely to face strong resistance and retaliation from the remaining Three Paths of the Underworld and House Jamal.

Though House Jamal would not be able to dispatch a Legendary combatant, the Laughing Man himself could likely make a move, along with the Three great Captains under him, all of them stronger than Susano as he was the weakest member of the Underworld"s leaders and the only one of the heads of the Four Paths who was still at the Grandmaster realm!

The group eventually decided to delay making any moves until after the closure of the Battle Through the Heavens selection tournament and the upcoming Bi-annual auction. With the wealth pilfered from the raiders and from Patricia Trenel"s secret funds, Lars and Seline"s new faction was effectively scandalously, filthily rich! F***ing rich!

...But the money was not in Lars" own hands, as he consistently lost in every round of gambling...!

Still, his faction would definitely use the money for the improvement of Lars" strength. Also, the newfound wealth gave him the confidence to vie with the Great Houses and even the neighbouring delegates to obtain the strengthening runes and rare artefacts he needed for his alter-ego, "Great Lord Mikael" to match up against the true t.i.tans of the Leez continent...

And also to strengthen his Lars ident.i.ty to match up against those rich young masters and descendants of n.o.bility and even royalty that he would likely face in the nationals and the continent-level compet.i.tion.

After all, though skill was more important than power... Money was greater than any amount of skill!

At least, that"s what Lars believed...

* * * * *

[2 days later - the day of the selection tournament for the Battle Through The Heavens - National-level compet.i.tion]

[In the damaged but still functional Gorun Stadium]

As the seniors vying for employment with the Duke"s household were completely wiped out by Devil Lord Wesley, only the juniors" compet.i.tion was still proceeding. And even the juniors" numbers were whittled down from the original 64 youths who pa.s.sed the preliminaries along with the 2 seeded contestants Leocadius Trenel and Vignis Jamal. Currently there were only 16 contestants still in fighting shape who would compete for the right to face Vignis Jamal in the grand finals!

Nonetheless, in the eyes of the higher-ups of the city, the outcome of all the matches was already a foregone conclusion until the grand finals. The only question was whether Lars, Lord Mikael"s disciple, or Vignis Jamal of the ill.u.s.trious Great House would come out on top!

Either way, the top 5 contestants would still be recruited to the Duke"s household while only the warrior who emerged as the number 1 among the younger generation would join Alayna de Caldis to Gorun City in 2 weeks time for the national selection for the Battle Through The Heavens where only the 4 strongest and best youths would proceed to the continent-level rounds!

A great ma.s.s of people had gathered to witness the grand event that was about to begin; it was a welcome change and a celebratory occasion, one that held the promise of better days and years to come for the Northpoint capitol of Gorun City. And it was also something festive to draw their hearts and minds away from the recent string of tragic events.

In the absence of Head Administrator Natiro, Mr White was the next most senior administrator and also the person in charge of the juniors compet.i.tion had taken over. In view that many ticket holders would no longer be in the mood to attend, or perhaps would have already been critically injured or even lost their lives, Mr White had put forth the proposal for the tickets cost to be refunded and entrance fees to be waived instead.

This proved to be a wise move, as even with entrance made completely free, the Gorun Stadium was only slightly overly filled. It turned out that no small amount of the original ticket holders was no longer able to attend - or perhaps no longer in the world.

In the upper stands, there was literally only standing s.p.a.ce while on the lower areas, people were crowded together with every seat filled. As another form of encouragement and comfort to the beleaguered citizens of the city, the organisers had been given extra funds to provide free food, drinks and entertainment stalls such as games stalls and lucky draws.

Nonetheless, the greatest draw was not the free food, drinks nor the side attractions. The main event was just about to begin, and the jubilant, noisy crowds began to quieten down despite the rise in the quiet antic.i.p.ation for the start of the battles!

Vignis Jamal sat together with her family up in the VIP viewing area whilst all the other contestants were lined up in the stadium field while Seline, Sharon, Susano, Byrus and the rest were secreted away in the audience, keeping an eye out for any retaliation or infiltration by their enemies or the Laughing Man"s troops.

However, according to Boa, House Trenel was unlikely to make any move as their Patriarch was someone who paid no heed to matters of the world. As long as his privileges of training were still there and his life was not threatened, he would not make any moves against others!

At the stroke of 9 AM, a single bell was rung. It should have been quiet and drowned out easily in the midst of the sea of voices, however, it rang out clearly and distinctly, bringing all the spectators to focus on the source of the sound.

The clanging bell was held in the hand of a raven-haired woman, her skin radiant and glistening in the morning sunlight. She was dressed in a purple robe of simple design but which was clearly of excellent quality.

She was none other than Duke Leanne de Caldis herself!

The citizens who were at first silenced by the interruption of the sound of the bell then began to stir once more as they were roused to a great roar of appreciation and pa.s.sion.

"DUKE LEANNE! DUKE LEANNE!!"

"WE LOVE YOU!!! OUR SAVIOUR!!!"

"YOUR GRACE! Thank you for everything you"ve done! Our protector and heroine!"

The people went crazy with delight as they saw the source of their hope, peace and bastion of defence throughout the years in this city; for in the many incidents that they had encountered over the years, it was always Duke Leanne who led (forced) the other Legendary combatants to the rescue of the populace!

In other words, she was the true blue hero of the city, not just their ruler but their idol and the aspiration of innumerable young people!

Duke Leanne allowed the great cheers to go on for a good 30 seconds before she raised one hand up, as if though requesting for the people"s ears and their silence for a moment"s time.

Her silent request was quickly complied with as everyone quickly quietened down. Those who were too caught up in their excitement were shushed or knocked on the back of their heads by others beside them, while anyone who was too rough or noisy were mobbed by their zealous neighbours who would not tolerate disrespect to their Duke and Lord of the city.

And after the ravis.h.i.+ng and handsome woman saw that she had the attention of everyone gathered, she cleared her throat and then spoke with a voice of great clarity, sounding out as if it were a clarion of war!

"Citizens of Gorun City! Esteemed n.o.ble Families! Benevolent Merchants! Respected residents! Honoured guests and visitors! And last but not least, brave contestants! I, Duke Leanne de Caldis Buraizan bid you the warmest and most joyous welcome!!!"

"DUKE LEANNE!!!!!"

"We love you!!!"

"Marry me!!!"

All kinds of crazy shouts and a great clamour broke out across the entire stadium as the commoners struck their hands together in applause and cheered while the contestants looked on with a serious gleam in their eyes. The n.o.bles folded their hands and remained seated in the private area, acting high and mighty in front of the populace to maintain their esteemed image.

And among all of these multiple scenes occurring roundabout him, Lars who was standing among the 16 contestants stifled a yawn.

Though he looked forward to the prize money of somewhere around 100,000 platinum coins, he was also dead bored and not keen on the coming fights.

After all, what surprises could there be fighting some underage, snot-nosed brats?

He tried to look attentive as he listened to the crowd cheering again and again in response to Duke Leanne"s rousing address and fervent rhetoric. She was skilled and eloquent, at times stirring up the crowd while at others she implored them for their continued support and belief in the leaders.h.i.+p of the city. She exhorted and urged the crowds, asking them not to give up hope and to continue giving their best to rebuild a glorious future once more for their future generations" sake!

Lars gritted his teeth tightly and forced himself to look straight ahead as he fought back the yawn that was rising up. After the opening ceremony and speech by Duke Leanne would be the pre-match briefings, followed by the drawing of lots to determine the pairings of combatants for the first round.

And finally, the speech was done and Duke Leanne gave her final words to the gathered people and contestants.

"Ladies and gentlemen and the young men and women on whom we of Gorun City place our hopes...! I now officially p.r.o.nounce the beginning of the 18th Bi-annual Gorun City Youth Tournament!"

And then she raised her voice to a crescendo, utilising her puissant aura to enhance her exclamation that rumbled out like a thunderclap:

"May the best fighter prevail!"

A great din of excitement and pa.s.sionate yells met her declaration, marking the beginning of the tournament which would cement Lars" position as the ultimate talent of Gorun City.