136 Start
When the names of the first to the battle were announced, Mikaela was quiet for a second, and then you could hear the thousands of people shouting with excitement.
As soon as he heard his title called, Luke stood up. He was neither happy nor sad to be the first to battle. The moment he stood up from his seat, a man behind him also stood up and laughed briefly, woodenly, debauched.
Nathalia and Shiro didn’t even notice this but then whispered to the half-wolf, “Go ahead. You can do it.”
Suddenly, magic circles with runes appeared below the feet of the two competitors, and they were teleported to the sand circle many meters below.
The half-wolf looked around as he opened his eyes again and peered upward. Now the Municipal Arena looked bigger than ever. There were giant crystals around the entire circle of the Arena, which was more than fifty meters in circumference.
Mikaela’s hologram shrank many meters and became the height of an average person. She stopped floating and stood between the two competitors in the middle of the circle.
“The rules are simple and easy for everyone to understand… Imagine how this is a ‘Luck or Fight’ match in hard mode. You can do anything until someone says the safe word: It’s quit. Simple rules, right?”
While it was a game with simple rules, in a life and death battle, things were not as simple as in a ‘Luck or Fight’ Tournament. If there was a great power disparity, just one blow from a skilled person might be enough to kill someone weaker.
“By the way, there is another essential rule as well. The one who goes beyond the sand circle will be immediately eliminated.” The sensory continued to explain, and even from her size, her voice could be heard by everyone.
Luke looked at his opponent and noticed a great smile on the man’s mouth. He was a dark-haired, light-eyed Elf, plus he had a full, well-groomed beard.
‘The Champion’, as the man was announced, was wearing light armor with only a few metal plates protecting him. He was also carrying a single-handed sword in the scabbard at his waist and a long wooden staff in his hands.
“This will be easy…” The man spoke to himself as he checked that his bracelets were securely fastened, but his words echoed throughout the stadium, which surprised him.
That sentence was enough to make the crowds get even more energetic; after all, who doesn’t like a tease?
“Wait, did he really say that? I liked this guy!”
“Ahhh! If this guy is as strong as he thinks he is, this half-beast will be destroyed!!!”
“HE IS ‘THE CHAMPION’!”
“Are you guys kidding? You don’t know this half-beast? He works for the Strogueher’s!”
“WHAT? he is ‘that’ half-beast?”
“Never mind! That’s ‘The Champion’!”
The people in the stands slowly found out more and more about the participants of the playoffs. Since no list of participants had been released, the crowd would only find out who was actually participating when they were summoned, except for the names that were leaked in advance.
In the VIP area, many nobles were also excited about the first battle. Since this was a large area and was in the highest part of the Arena and had the best overview, many of those who were there had to use binoculars to get a good view.
Ayumi was sitting next to Nico Sallow when she saw several Strogueher arriving to watch the battles. This was such a big event that even the busiest people made a point of coming.
Carter and Ceroni Strogueher arrived and greeted her, followed closely by their two daughters, Livia and Jilly.
“Hi, Ayumi. Hello, Nico…” said Ceroni intimately and bowed slightly twice to the two Matriarchs.
“Hello…” the two answered her nicely as well.
Livia and Jilly also greeted the women politely, and only Carter said nothing. Soon after, the four of them sat down on the empty chairs in the row behind which Ayumi was standing. He was a cold-eyed man, so no one was surprised by this behavior.
The VIP area had over two hundred seats, and yet almost all of them were occupied by people from the highest echelon of the Broteforge Empire.
“Who do you think will win?” Carter asked Ceroni, taking advantage of the fact that he was near Ayumi to tease her.
“I’ve already caught a glimpse of this half-beast training in the gym… He didn’t excite me.” Ceroni spoke audaciously.
Jilly looked with embarrassment at her parents, who were taking advantage of the moment to create family tension, and retorted, “He’s in the playoffs and his daughters aren’t. If you underestimate them, you’ll be demeaning us. Is that what you guys want?”
Ayumi Yamazaki had no choice but to smile cynically as she brought her mother-of-pearl binoculars to her eyes.
The battle was about to begin, and she didn’t want to miss even one move, after all, the Elf had never seen a whole fight from her beloved, and she knew that he would try his hardest to win this competition because she had promised that she would make her relationship with him public if he won.
After ‘The Champion’ teased Luke, the half-wolf saw the intrigue proliferate throughout the stadium, and this time exclusively, he chose to react to that comment.
“I will finish you off with less than ten blows. Is that a good amount for you or would you prefer five?”
The Elf man measured Luke Lange from head to toe after seeing him retort his disapproval and mimicked a look of disgust. “I think you talk a lot for someone who is just a half-beast wanderer… or would it be better to call you ‘little wolf’?”
“Ehh… I think I was wrong… Three blows will be enough to knock down a prejudiced one.”
‘The Champion’ just smiled and slammed his staff on the ground, which raised some sand.
“Are you guys ready?” Mikaela Åkerman asked, seeing that the crowd in the Municipal Arena couldn’t bear to wait any longer. When she saw the two competitors nod, she smiled and shouted, “START!”
The Sensory Magician’s hologram exploded into golden particles, which formed a colossal shield around the edges of the stands, creating a large fence for no skills to fly towards the audience or vice versa.