«What? They give up?» … «Have we won?..» – Lee and Stephanie looked at each other, perplexed.The audience was also confused. No one could understand what had just happened.
Elder Boe rubbed his chin, puzzled. What was it? What were the Leontievs thinking of? Did they want to give their family some points? But why?
«Boe... Henceforth, don"t make decisions without consulting me first.» – Bai said wearily.
«I"m sorry, patriarch Bai. I am too impulsive, I am afraid... But the Leontievs have gone too far. I couldn"t stay calm. We are a family of the first, not the tenth rank, after all!»
«It"s something else, Boe. You were emotionally vulnerable, and the Leontievs took advantage of you. They deliberately provoked you to make you send the strongest of our partic.i.p.ants to defend family honor, which weakened our defense in the next summon.»
Boe slapped his forehead. He felt utterly stupid, completely out of his mind. According to the rules, it was forbidden to use the same defensive partic.i.p.ant twice in a row (unless there was no one else, or until another family attacked).
«There"s no need to be upset. Our Eric isn"t as green as you might think.» – Bai supported him with a faint smile on his face.
Meanwhile, Patriarch Leontiev summoned the Stones again, this time three against three. Three most powerful partic.i.p.ants in their family jumped from the platform on the arena.
Lee and Stephane had just returned to their platform. – «Grandpa, I"ve won! Grandpa?» – His face fell when he saw Boe"s sour expression.
The elder didn"t reply to his grandson, he said dejectedly:
«Eric, Ilya, Zoe, it"s your turn. Keep your heads down. Be team players in everything you do as I"ve always taught you. Show the d.a.m.ned Leontiev what we are worth!»
At the elder"s sign, the second, the fourth, and the fifth most powerful Stone partic.i.p.ants jumped from the platform.
Soon, the bell announced the start of the battle.
The three on three battle lasted almost five minutes.
In the end, the Stones won at the cost of losing Eric, the top 2. He was seriously injured when the three Leontievs attacked him at once. If he were a little more attentive and careful, or if the young Stones" actions were more coordinated, the result would have been different. Low morale must have affected their performance. Moreover, the difference in power between the families was too little. The young Stone generation was devoid of talent. And now, according to the rules, Eric dropped out of the tournament after saying, "I give up," which he did to avoid getting crippled.
The outcome of victory disappointed everyone in the Stone family. Elder Boe had got himself all worked up for his incompetence. Defending against low-ranking family attacks placed them at a disadvantage! The two victories had gained them virtually nothing. It wasn"t worth losing Eric, anyway. One successful attack 1a 1 against the Browns would have won ten times more points. Now the Stones had only seven combat-ready partic.i.p.ants left, and they had to last until it was their turn to summon the opponents.
Bai, Diana, and Boe grew silent. They didn"t even try to cheer up the young members of the family, which almost completely erased the remnants of their confidence in the successful outcome of the tournament. The nasty the patriarchs of other families kept mocking them, which only made things worse. d.a.m.ned jackals!
The Leontievs didn"t dare to mess with the Stones anymore. Eric"s defeat had gained lots of points. It was totally worth it.
The 6th ranking family didn"t dare to attack the Stones, but the 5th ranking family summoned them at once, and then again and again.
The Stones won twice but then lost, losing another partic.i.p.ant. The paltry number of points earned for a successful defense didn"t pay off.
The Milonovs, the 4th ranking family and the former allies of the Stones, stabbed them in the back with an air of icy indifference, making a devastating series of attacks.
The Stones lost their partic.i.p.ants one by one. The young fighters either missed a serious attack from a more powerful opponent or lost due to a lack of team cohesion and a general defeatist att.i.tude in the family.
Each next partic.i.p.ant dropping out of the tournament put another nail in the Stone family"s coffin. Patriarch Bai and Diana could no longer stand the nightmare happening in the arena... They couldn"t believe their former allies were depriving them of their future with a smile on their faces.
*victory* *defeat* *victory* *defeat* *victory* *defeat*
If things went on like this, they would slip into the 30-40th place in the kingdom. The family property would be a cheap delicacy at the feast of the vultures. With Tokens, the rest of high-ranking families would get anything of value on the cheap. They could even enslave a couple of unwanted Stones (with official subjugating formation).
There only two partic.i.p.ants left: Lee and Stephanie (and Juno). The whole family counted on them. They were both strong and skilled, synergizing effectively with each other.
The patriarchs, who had made a deal with the brotherhood of fat guys, couldn"t be happier about the gravy atmosphere on the Stone platform.
The royal representative handed over the sound amplifier to the Romanovs.
Charlie whispered something to their patriarch. He nodded several times, announced the summon, smiling:
«Two on two! Against the Stones! Charlie and Christie!» – The patriarch roared.
A charming effeminate young man and a tall, pretty girl jumped into the arena. They looked relaxed as if they were not to defeat the strongest partic.i.p.ants of the 1st ranking family but take out the trash.
Bai and Diana would love to find some inspirational words for Lee and Stephanie, their last hope, but they averted their eyes. It was useless to pretend. They didn"t stand a chance to hang in there until it was their turn to summon the opponents.
Elder Boe, tormented by guilt, fell to one knee before his young fighters. His trembling voice sounded pleading. – «My dears, give it your all, and whatever happens to you, never regret it. The hearts of all the Stones are with you. Good luck!»
Lee and Stephanie jumped down without saying a word, conscious of the heavy burden of responsibility which weighed on their shoulders. They already felt a bitter, pungent taste of defeat.
The young fighters took their positions, and the judge gave a signal to start the fight.
The Romanovs were in no hurry to attack just like the Stones.
«Christy, leave it to me.» – Charlie confidently declared. Tossing his gorgeous hair behind his shoulder, he released the combat aura of the beginning stage in the n.o.ble phase, so vast that even the spectators in the furthest corner could feel it a little.
Charlie Romanov"s beautiful looks and the power he manifested made numerous female spectators blush, while the guys tried to overcome envy, their arms crossed.
Juno immediately guessed who his gesture was meant for and grimaced in contempt.
Lee and Stephanie stoically withstood the pressure. They looked at each other and nodded.
Stephanie repeated the gesture with her hands. She formed a small dense air hurricane in the center of an empty sphere. It made the sound of an impending storm.
Both Stones threw their hands towards the enemy at the same time – «Flower tornado!»
The little air hurricane and the fiery flower united halfway and, with a loud, terrifying roar, transformed into a terrifying six-meter formidable tornado that looked like a whirlwind of sakura blossoms.
Most of the spectators widened their eyes in surprise. They had never seen such a powerful and beautiful technique.
Charlie grinned confidently at the approaching monstrous attack – «Sand G.o.d Axe!» – He threw up his hands and waved as if slicing the world in two. In an instant, a sand axe appeared in his hands. Not without effort, but it cut the whirlwind into two parts.
The audience immediately understood: Romanov number one bended the earth and the wind elements. The Sand G.o.d unique body made it easy to combine them. His attacks with the wind and small stones were monstrously heavy and dangerous.
Before the flames subsided, Romanov saw another joint attack.
«Earth dragon king!» … «Smas.h.i.+ng wind spear!» – The Stones cried out simultaneously.
Under the ground, a scarlet granite dragon"s mouth swiftly crept facing the opponent. It created a rocky ridge above the surface. This technique, unlike the one that Lee had created against Tsayan, really resembled an underground dragon, not a worm. If this dragon swallowed the target, it would grind the bones into tiny bits.
A few meters higher, a sharp translucent spear cut the air. Stephanie"s best technique could break through a thick metal layer. It was almost invisible and faster than an arrow.
«You"re wasting your time, wusses.» – Charlie said contemptuously and stamped his foot, crus.h.i.+ng the dragon"s mouth with the earth element like a fly. Then with his fist infused with wind energy, he smashed the air spear.
«How come...?!» – Lee cried out in shock.
«He is overwhelmingly strong…» – Stephanie whispered, horrified.
Patriarch Romanov burst into uncontrollable laughter, the rest of the partic.i.p.ants followed his lead. Their taunts quickly spread, reaching the other families whose patriarchs had made a deal against the victory of the Stones.
In the blink of an eye, Charlie closed the distance between him and the Stones, and almost carelessly threw a punch at Lee.
«Watch out!» – Stephanie warned him.
Fiery flowers flashed in Lee"s hands. He used the art of fire dance to fend off the blow and counterattack.
Charlie snorted and did a reverse kick.
The spectacular kick amplified by wind energy instantly put out the fiery flowers, nearly broke Lee"s fist and threw him to the edge of the arena like a rag doll.
«a.s.shole!» – Stephanie yelled, attacking with an air blade.
«Mind your language, girl!» – Charlie barked and slapped her in the face.
A smacking spread throughout the arena.
Stephanie flew a couple of meters, then rolled as far. She failed to react: the enemy was too fast!
The judge instantly a.s.sessed the situation and announced the winner.
Charlie proudly puffed his chest up and triumphantly raised his hands.
Charlie Romanov was standing amid the deafening applause of the audience. The families whose patriarchs had made the bet did not miss a nice chance to scoff at the Stones. Charlie"s dominance was amazing. He had scattered the strongest Stones like chaff driven by the west wind!
Charlie winked at Juno playfully.
As soon as the barrier was removed, Boe rushed to his grandson, examined him and breathed a sigh of relief: nothing serious. Stefanie wasn"t injured either, only her cheek was red and swollen, and one of her teeth got chipped.
The defeated partic.i.p.ants walked to their platform, feeling hopeless. Stephanie sobbed quietly from humiliation, holding her swollen cheek. Lee dropped his head and hunched his back. He was going to fight on equal terms with Kiyan but lost to a weaker fighter like an inexperienced greenhorn. He used to be proud of being the family"s a.s.set, the greatest genius in the kingdom, but in fact, he was only the best among the worst. What a stroke of bad luck to be born a Stone...
An oppressive silence hung in the air when Lee and Stephanie returned to the platform. The other partic.i.p.ants (who stayed out of curiosity after their defeat) guiltily lowered their heads, staring at their feet. Patriarch Bai had lost all hope and was standing with his eyes closed. Diana was silent: it was pointless to say anything. n.o.body blamed Lee and Stephanie in their defeat because the opponent was head and shoulders above them. The difference in four stages was an insurmountable obstacle...
Juno was the only partic.i.p.ant left. No one could understand Bai"s decision to register her for the tournament, even Diana couldn"t find out the truth.
Meanwhile, XiaoBai began to nibble on chips, wondering when Kyon was going to appear.
To everyone"s surprise, patriarch Romanov summoned the Milonovs, not the Stones. No one could understand why. They could gain a lot of points for the last partic.i.p.ant of the first-ranking family. Why not earn them all?
Juno noticed Charlie"s boastful glance after his next victory over the Romanovs. She closed her eyes, suddenly realizing what was going on. It became obvious to her that the stupid boy wanted her to see how strong and cool he was, so he had talked the patriarch into summoning last.