“This is a surprise,” a beautiful elf with light-green hair said with a smile. “You don’t look disappointed.”
Prince Maximilian grinned as he summoned his Rapier. “Lady McLean, although we quarrel, and treat each other as rivals, the members of our family don’t find satisfaction in the death of our kin. I will appreciate it if you remember that.”
Pearl McLean nodded her head as she summoned her bow. “I will remember that.”
The earlier battle may have ended quickly, but the outcome of the match was something that the spectators didn’t expect. One died, and the other one would have also died, if not for the Oracle personally making an appearance.
“Battle Start!” the referee declared.
Immediately, Pearl jumped backwards and her body floated in the air. The Elves were known for their strong magical power, and affinity to Wind and Earth Magic. Some of them specialized in Spirit Magic which allowed them to summon Spirits to aid them in battle.
Unlike all Elves, Pearl was a prodigy that specialized in Wind Magic. She was also Charmaine’s older sister.
The reason why she joined the tournament was to find William and ask him to release her sister. Several of the survivors that had returned to the Silvermoon Continent had told her that her sister had been taken hostage, by the Half-Elf who was also the son of the Human Hero and the Saintess.
Pearl was out on a mission when the Elven Expedition sailed to the south. She only knew about the events that transpired there when she returned to the Silvermoon Continent.
Because of this, she begged the Elven Council to allow her to be one of the Elven representatives that would go to the Kraetor Empire and participate in the Tournament of Champions.
The Council approved her request because Pearl was truly one of the most outstanding members of the young generation. However, she had been made to swear an oath to never antagonize William.
Clearly, the Elven Council didn’t want to have another confrontation with William after what happened to the Southern Continent.
Pearl released several wind arrows with deadly precision. Although she could only use Wind Magic, her proficiency with it was well beyond the ability of her peers.
If there was a ranking among the young prodigies of the Elven Race, Pearl would be on the Top Five because of her uncanny fighting ability.
Prince Maximilian’s face remained calm as he dodged the attacks that were coming at him from different directions. The Elven beauty didn’t stay in one location, and flew all over the arena, sending a rain of arrows that showed no mercy.
The Prince dodged, and deflected those that he couldn’t dodge. The fight had only been around two minutes when something unexpected happened.
“Okay, you are good,” Prince Maximilian said as he dodged an arrow that was aimed at his head. “I concede.”
Pearl, who was jumping around the arena, almost lost her balance when she landed on the ground. She was secretly preparing a full-powered attack that was capable of destroying half of the arena once it was unleashed.
However, before she could finish her plan, the Kraetor Prince had already surrendered, which left a complicated feeling in her heart.
“Are you sure you want to surrender?” the referee asked Prince Maximilian for confirmation.
The Prince nodded his head. “Yes. I concede this match. It is Lady McLean’s victory.”
Prince Maximilian gave the beautiful Elf a curt nod before leaving the arena.
The citizens of the Kraetor Empire didn’t react to their Prince’s surrender, but the foreign guests were unable to understand why Prince Maximilian gave up on the match.
A few minutes later, Prince Maximillian appeared in the VIP Box reserved for the Kraetor Royal Family.
“It seems that you met someone very formidable, cousin,” Princess Vanessa said in a teasing tone.
Prince Maximilian chuckled as he sat beside the girl who had developed a crush on Prince Jason, ever since she was ten years old. Since marrying their relatives was a common practice among the Kraetor Royal Family, no one prevented Princess Vanessa from making advances on Prince Jason.
Unfortunately, the one she loved didn’t seem to be too interested in her. Although they could talk normally, and even spent some time alone with each other, the Fifth Prince of the Kraetor Empire never said, did, or implied, anything that added fuel to Princess Vanessa’s infatuation.
Even so, the Princess believed that as long as she endured and persevered, her feelings would reach her beloved, and he would, in turn, return the overflowing feelings she had for him.
“Yes, she is indeed very formidable,” Prince Maximilian replied. “If I stayed there for half a minute longer, I would have definitely died. That b*tch intended to take half of the arena with me.”
Prince Maximilian’s scholarly facade disappeared as he openly cursed Pearl within their VIP Box. This room had been engraved by powerful runes, so he wasn’t worried that everything he said would be heard by others.
For him, everyone in the room was family, except for Ian, who was seated beside Princess Sidonie. Even so, he believed that William’s retainer was someone that could keep his lips sealed when it came to the secrets of the Kraetor Family.
Prince Darren, the Second Prince, almost choked on the fruit juice he was drinking. Many thought that Prince Maximilian was a strong fighter, but the truth was, he was more of a scholar.
The other Princes’ and Princesses’ were also alarmed by their cousin’s words, because they knew that the eldest among them wasn’t someone who liked making excuses.
The Prince was trained to fight using a sword since he was young, which helped cement the citizens’ misunderstanding that he was a prodigy that excelled in sword fights.
In reality, the First Prince’s sword skills were only average.
However, his true specialty lay in Fire Magic, but this was something that only the members of the Royal Family knew. Prince Maximilian rarely used this skill because it was his trump card. Those who had seen him use his magic had long been erased from the world.
He would not allow anyone to know the secret he was hiding, not only for his sake, but for the sake of the entire Royal Family since the Kraetor Family had a secret hidden in their bloodline.
The reason why the people thought that Prince Maximilian specialized in sword fighting was due to the Prince’s inborn blessing, which was clairvoyance.
Prince Maximilian could see the things that would happen in the future. This ability only triggered if his life would be in danger. This was why, among the Princes of the Kraetor Empire, he was the least likely to die in any given situation.
While fighting against Pearl, the Prince saw himself being blasted into pieces by a powerful spell with unknown origins. Since he had no intention of dying, the Prince ate his pride and surrendered.
He would rather live and fight another day, than die and not see another day.
It was a very easy decision to make, and Prince Maximilian chose the most suitable option that would guarantee his life.
With this, the battles within Bracket A had almost been settled.
Emperor Leonidas knew of his grandson’s ability, so when the latter chose to surrender, he didn’t berate him. In the end, only one Prince would proceed to the next round, so it didn’t matter if Prince Maximilian won or not.
Although the last battle was a bit lackluster, there was nothing that anyone could do about it. The next set of matches would be held the next day, and it would be Bracket B’s turn to take the spotlight.
Princess Sidonie and Ian were also very interested to see the results of those battles. After all, the one whom they had their eyes on, Kenneth, would be in tomorrow’s battle.
The beautiful Princess and her other half hoped that the lucky streak of the Silver-haired pretty boy would end. He was a threat to their happiness, so she wished with everything she had that William’s Ex-Roommate would kick the bucket.
Ian knew what Princess Sidonie was thinking and smiled bitterly.
If someone were to ask her if she liked or disliked Kenneth, the answer would be Yes. However, she also felt that the boy really didn’t have any malice, or hostility, towards William. It just so happened that he was so tight-lipped about the message he was carrying.
If only Kenneth had said the words that they wanted to hear, the two ladies might have been more than happy to allow him to personally pass his message to William, who was busy challenging the floors of the Tower of Babylon.
