The booing of the crowds which had been getting louder and louder stopped the moment a tall man appeared at the end of the stadium, confidently walking towards the center of the field where his challenger was waiting.
He wore black leather armor which covered his entire body including his palms. While his black hair flew in the wind, a confident smile appeared on his face as he raised his hand to wave at the crowds who had just started an ear-shattering cheer.
Meanwhile, Elanev, who was putting on the façade of a warrior who knew no fear couldn"t help but feel a slight amount of trepidation feeling the entire stadium itself shake due to the people on the stands who had all gotten up the moment the King had arrived.
Yet, at the same moment, the thrill of a challenge coursed through him, making him enter the familiar zone of concentration which he had relied on often in his journey to save his life.
Whether it be the fiercest animal or the strongest bandit, no matter who his enemy was, this zone allowed him to ignore all distractions and focus completely on the movements of the one in front of him.
Hence, with his eyes fixed firmly on the King who was walking towards him, Elanev started to plan the first move he would make.
He knew very well of the history of this man who had gone through countless battles before challenging the previous King and defeating him in the process.
Even though he would be wearing a special trinket designed to limit his power to that of an Eminent Human Fighter, his experience would definitely give him an edge in this fight.
Yet, Elanev was confident in his own trump cards which might even result in a surprise victory.
Unlike before when he had completely disregarded the threat that his opponent represented in the last Battle Royale match, Elanev entered into a stance with both of his fists pointing forward while his legs loosened up, enabling him to be light on his feet when needed.
After the King reached a distance of 50 feet from Elanev, he stopped and waited for an official who had entered from the other entrance of the field.
In the official"s hand was a cage in which a Raven was looking around astutely, trying to figure out where it was.
In the Black Raven Kingdom, there were actually two types of Ravens which were known as awakened and unawakened.
According to their doctrine, any Raven which managed to form a connection with a human, thereby awakening its ancestral blood, was considered an awakened Raven which would always be treated with the highest of respect and would never be forced to do anything by anyone.
Unawakened ravens were those which had not formed a bond with anyone. Hence, no one would say anything even if they were caged in this way.
According to the statistics, of all the Ravens bred to power using the Kingdom"s secret technique, a small percentage were always unawakened.
Still, these ravens weren"t treated unfairly. Put in cages and fed well, they waited for someone to come along who could bond with them.
Apparently, this was one of those ravens. Its size was similar to the one which had fought alongside Elanev"s opponent in the Battle Royale before, at around double the size of a man"s head.
Yet, unlike that Raven and the one which had been the partner of the woman, this one did not have any special features such as a bulkier or more agile build.
After the official reached them, the King opened his mouth and shouted in a voice which did not need any amplification trinkets to resound across the stadium.
This was because the people had already fallen silent the moment the King had done so.
Even before Elanev could marvel at the absolute respect and obedience the people had for this man, the Black Raven King"s words had already started to echo in the stadium.
"People of the Black Raven! Today, a challenger is in front of me who doubts that the descendants of our glorious ancestor give any boost in power to those who are lucky enough to bond with them. You know very well that many soldiers would have already torn this man to bits if I had allowed them to."
This line drew a roar from the crowd, inundating the stadium for a few seconds before fading away because the King had resumed speaking.
"I only stopped them, because this is a great opportunity for the continent to be reminded about the sheer power of a Black Raven Fighter. And for this purpose, I myself am ready to defend our honor.
"For the purpose of fairness, I will only be using a Raven which has been unawakened and thus not trained in a specific way to build a specific power. This man is a 6th Grade Eminent Human fighter, but I will be restricting myself to the level of a fifth-grade one so that he won"t whine later that he lost because I have more experience than him."
The Black Raven King chuckled as he said these words, making the crowd laugh alongside him while the desire for revenge in their eyes only got stronger.
Walking to the official, he first looked at the Raven for a few moments before using a finger to scratch at its head, right above its sharp beak.
Initially, it tried to resist, but it was soon enjoying itself and tilting its head in happiness as the King continued scratching.
While still doing so, the King carefully opened the cage door and coaxed the Raven onto his hand.
Yet, as soon as the Raven did so, it screeched as if in pain.
With his sharp eyesight, Elenav could see that there was some sort of ring with a pointy needle on the fingers of the Black Raven King.
The ring had penetrated the leg of the Raven, and although it was about to fly away seeing that it was actually free, it stopped itself after unfolding its wings and turned around to look into the eyes of the King.
With its head c.o.c.ked to one side, the raven"s eyes connected with the Kings for a few seconds before it completely turned docile and got onto his shoulder.
"So fast!"
"That"s our King! The one with the strongest Black Raven blood!"
"Praise be to our Saviour, the legendary Black Raven!"
Statements like these resounded across the stadium, making Elanev raise his brow as even he couldn"t help but feel impressed at the feat of the king.
According to what he had heard, connecting with a Raven was usually a process that took weeks or even months depending on the blood of the person.
Seeing it happening in a few minutes was truly fascinating, and it had also revealed to Elanev exactly what kind of trinket was used in the process.
After this, the official handed over another trinket which was shaped like a belt with thorns all around.
As the King wore the belt, he winced as the thorns dug into his skin, but his expression returned to normal as the feeling went away after a few moments.
Yet, a grimace pa.s.sed across his face after this had happened, as he felt his strength receding to the level previously set on the trinket.
Such trinkets were actually quite rare and limited, but they weren"t very sought after due to their limited uses. Apparently, even the design for creating such trinkets had long been lost, making it so that this one was one of the last that was still in use in the continent.
With his job done, the official left the stadium while the King said one last sentence before the fight began.
"To all those listening, I only say one thing. If you ever even think of opposing my Kingdom, then remember this fight and cower in your boots."
With the bold proclamation, a bell sounded across the stadium, signalling the beginning of the fight.
It was as if his statement had served to fire himself up, as the Black Raven King"s eyes had become bloodshot just like the people in the stands who were cheering for him as if there was no tomorrow.
The first attack itself made a cold sweat appear on Elanev"s back.
Taking a single step forward and swinging his body while holding both legs of the Raven in his hand, the King flung the Raven at him with a blinding speed that made him lose hope of even trying to intercept it.
Rolling to the side, Elanev prepared himself for a tough fight.