When the sun shone at its Zenith, the Grand Coliseum of the Kraetor Empire opened its doors.
Tens of thousands of people took their seats as they waited with bated breath for the end of the Quarter-Finals. This will be the last hurdle before the Semi-Finals. The gambling houses were in full swing as they accepted the bets of those who wished to try their luck in the tournament.
They looked at the finalists in each bracket and weighed the pros and cons of their decisions. In the end, all of the remaining contestants were said to be the strongest among the young generation, and it was hard for anyone to make a decision.
Naturally, the Kraetor Empire was a bit biased when it came to their own Prince. Right now, all the bets were placed in favor of Prince Jason, while a few individuals decided to pin their hopes on the beautiful elf, Pearl McLean.
—–
Bracket A
— Prince Jason
— Pearl McLean
Bracket B
— Kenneth Xin Ashleigh
— Eleazar Blackthorn
Bracket C
— Ephemera Fortuna
— Silvanus Rahl
Bracket D
— Lilith Lynn
— Luther Luna
—–
Prince Jason stepped on the arena and raised his fist. The cheer of the Kraetorians resounded like thunder as they gave their full support to the remaining representative of their Empire.
Luna entered the arena with a confident smile on her face. Even though she wasn’t the crowd favorite, none of that mattered to her. Her goal in coming to the Kraetor Empire was to force William to free her sister.
It was quite unfortunate that the Half-Elf was nowhere to be seen, so her initial plan was thrown out of the window. However, she still intended to win the tournament. The Silvermoon Continent wanted to regain their face on the world stage. As an Elf, it was her duty to bring glory to her race.
She could always ask the Kraetor Emperor to use his influence to force William to release her sister. This way, her trip to the Human Empire wouldn’t be in vain.
The referee glanced at both combatants and nodded his head.
“The two of you already know the rules,” the referee said. “Are both of you ready?”
Prince Jason raised his hand in a gesture to pause the start of the match.
“Why don’t we make this fight more interesting?” Prince Jason commented with a smile. “How about the two of us have a bet. If I win you will b–”
“There’s no need,” Pearl interrupted Prince Jason’s words with her own. “I’m not interested in your bet because you don’t have the power, or the authority to grant me my request.”
The smile on Prince Jason’s face stiffened when he heard the beautiful Elf’s statement.
“You’re questioning my power and authority in my own Empire?” Prince Jason asked with a sneer. “How bold of you. Well then, why don’t you tell me what you want and I’ll tell you whether I can grant it or not.”
Pearl returned Prince Jason’s sneer before answering his question.
“William Von Ainsworth took my sister captive,” Pearl replied. “Do you have the power and authority to give her back her freedom?”
Prince Jason used all of his willpower to keep the smile on his face. He was aware that William had taken several Elves with him back in the Southern Continent. His relationship with William was like oil and water. The mere thought of asking the Half-Elf for a favor was enough to make his skin crawl.
“Well, can you do it?” Pearl took a step forward. Her voice was filled with ridicule and contempt.
Prince Jason nodded, “Of course I can. I am the Prince of this Empire. There are very few things that I cannot do.”
Prince Jason couldn’t afford to lose face in front of his people. He had to act bold and confident because he would definitely lose face if he backed down. Even though he was sure that William wouldn’t release Pearl’s sister if he was the one to talk to him, he still gave Pearl a positive answer.
He would just worry about the Half-Elf once he returned to the Empire. For now, it was more important to show the Emperor that he wasn’t afraid of his love rival.
The corner of Emperor Leonidas’ lips rose. Sometimes, it was important to learn the art of bluffing because it could give you the advantage in a negotiation.
Unfortunately, Pearl didn’t bite and only shook her head helplessly.
‘A man who is lusting over the fiance of another man cannot be trusted,’ Pearl thought as she summoned her bow. ‘Humans are truly despicable.’
Seeing that the Elf had no intention of accepting his bet, Prince Jason summoned his sword and prepared for battle.
The referee glanced at the two fighters before raising his hand.
“Fight!”
Both combatants immediately reinforced their bodies using their auras and spells.
Just like she did during the battle against Prince Maximilian, Pearl jumped around the arena while showering Prince Jason with a hail of arrows.
The Prince of the Kraetor Empire calmly deflected and dodged her attacks as she closed the distance between them.
Prince Maximilian who was watching the battle along with the other Princes and Princesses, frowned. This was the same style that Pearl had used against him, and his power of clairvoyance watched her each and every move.
In Prince Jason’s vision, the two fighters in the arena had clashed several times, before Pearl unleashed her Trump Card that was enough to destroy half of the arena. This attack was also the reason why Prince Maximilian decided to surrender.
As he watched the battle unfold, the scene that he was dreading came into fruition. Pearl had unleashed a powerful attack, leaving no place for Prince Jason to escape.
Prince Maximilian increased the power of his clairvoyance, but the result astounded him. He couldn’t see past the point when Pearl had unleashed her attack.
No matter how hard he tried, the Prince wasn’t able to see the outcome of the battle. It was as if there was some kind of power that was blocking his ability to see the future.
Originally, Prince Jason could only use this ability for things that were going to happen to him. But, if he paid a price, he would also be able to see the future of others, albeit for a short period of time.
‘This is my limit,’ Prince Maximilian sighed as he stopped the use of his ability. Blood seeped at the corner of his lips, but he quickly wiped it with his handkerchief.
“What’s wrong, cousin?” Princess Vanessa asked. “Are you not feeling well?”
Prince Maximilian patted her hand to assure her that he was alright. He didn’t dare open his mouth because he could still taste the blood. If his cousin saw this, she might start to panic, so he decided to just act as if nothing had happened and focused on the battle that was currently happening in the arena.
Princess Vanessa frowned, but didn’t say anything else. She once again returned her gaze to the arena where her beloved was having an intense battle against the beautiful elf who was hopping, and flying around the arena like a pesky grasshopper.
A few seconds later, the scene that Prince Maximilian had seen using his ability came to pass.
Pearl jumped high up in the air as the arrow on her bow glowed brightly.
“Air that flies freely in the world, eradicate those who stand in your way!” Pearl shouted as she released the arrow in her hand.
“Aero Annihilation!”
