"Someone really thinks highly of himself. You only reach grade two of the Mortal Stage, dude! Are you
that stupid to think that you are invincible now? Man, you maybe piss your pants when the contest
starts." Bear chimed in with Priest Dean.
The other young men began murmuring among themselves and laughing at Rocky.
When Rocky heard Priest Dean and their laughter, he opened his eyes at once and jumped up from his
chair, with an imposing air. He shot Priest Dean a taunting glance and asked haughtily, "What if the
tables turn against the phoenix spirit manipulators you're tipping to win?"
Everyone looked at Rocky as if he was a lunatic. Nobody took his word seriously and they thought he
was making some ridiculous jokes.
"All right! Why don't you join the contest then?" A sharp voice from the rest area interrupted them.
Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice, where a slender woman was passing, dressed in a
cloak. When she took off the cap, her stunning features left everyone in awe.
"General Beauty!" Rocky cried out in surprise. Priest Dean and Mia were surprised as well. They knew
well that Marcia was a quirky person who didn't like crowded places and rarely showed up at
ceremonies.
"General Marcia! Why didn't you notify us ahead of schedule that you would be attending the function?"
Priest Dean changed his poker face and tried to fawn on Marcia.
"How would I have informed you when I didn't know anything about the event? I was only taking a
stroll, and it's by pure coincidence that I passed by here," Marcia answered as she looked at Rocky.
"May I inform His Majesty of your presence? Please wait for a second. I will have one of my men
prepare a seat for you," Priest Dean said.
"You don't have to do that. I've said I'm just passing by. I'm not staying, so it's not necessary to bother
His Majesty," Marcia replied, her brows knitting with firmness. Then pointing at Rocky she said, "He
looks arrogant. Let him join the contest. I want to see what makes him so smug!"
Rocky smiled and shook his head. He knew Marcia said that on purpose, but he couldn't figure out the
reason why she wanted him to participate.
"General Marcia! Although this is just a minor contest, it's not wise to count on him for our side. He will
bring us embarrassment with a resounding defeat," Priest Dean said nervously.
"Don't make it such a big deal, Priest Dean! You have said that this is just a little contest. The result
doesn't matter that much. I want him join the contest anyway. Do you have a problem with that?"
Marcia shot a cold glare at Priest Dean, pressuring him.
Beads of sweat broke on Priest Dean's forehead. Now that Marcia insisted that, he had no way to deny
Rocky's participation. Finally, he agreed. "All right, General Marcia.
Since you ask, I will let him join the game," he promised. Without another word, Marcia turned to Rocky
with a meaningful smile, before putting on her cap as she left.
"Priest Dean, are you sure?" Mia asked as she glanced at Rocky.
"Arrange for him to go up in the last round of the bout." Priest Dean nodded and continued, "Choose
the best six among those boys." Then, he also left.
"Basil, are you sure about that?" Mia asked, looking at Rocky with cynicism. She was worried that
Rocky might run away during the contest. If they arranged for Rocky to feature in the last round, he'd
definitely be up against the best phoenix spirit manipulators.
But Rocky didn't answer. Instead, he only smiled at her casually and headed to the beast stable behind
the rest area to check on Uriah.
After he left, Mia picked the best six, including Bear and Flint. All of them were at least grade three of
the Mortal Stage. They were the strongest ones among the thirty royal spirit manipulators, and their war
beasts were at least two-star.
But such a team was no match for those phoenix spirit manipulators. Once the preparations were done,
the contest participants from both sides moved to the stage for the official start of the competition, —
an area, measuring about five hundred meters in diameter at the center of the square.
The first round began. The two spirit manipulators from the Holy Dragon Empire and the Magic Phoenix
Empire brought their war beasts along for the match.
After they bowed to each other, their war beast charged forward first, to signal the beginning of the
match.
Although both of them were grade three of the Mortal Stage, the spirit manipulator from the Magic
Phoenix Empire was stronger by far. It took him a little over twenty minutes to wrap up the battle. Then
he was given to the second opponent whom he also made short work of.
On and on, in less than two hours, he alone had easily bundled out four opponents from the Holy
Dragon Empire.
Right on home turf, with the emperor himself watching, the Holy Dragon Empire had their backs against
the wall. Although they knew well they had a formidable opponent this time, the defeat was beyond
what utterly embarrassing.
It was until Flint entered the ring that they got some ray of hope. Working with his Cloud Tiger, whose
Ice nature had been triggered by Rocky, Flint launched a surprise attack that quickly turned the tables,
handing the Holy Dragon Empire their first taste of victory.
But the victory was short-lived as Flint met a worthy opponent in the next round. The nature of the
phoenix spirit manipulator and his war beast was both Fire. The Fire nature was aggressive and so
good at restraining the Ice nature. Although Flint and that phoenix spirit manipulator were at the same
level, Flint lost the match in the end, bringing the total number of loses for the Holy Dragon Empire
loses to five, against only two for the Magic Phoenix Empire.
That meant Phoenix had five more players to field, while Holy Dragon had only two left. Next in line
after Flint, Bear went up amidst wild cheers from all of Holy Dragon who knew their chances were
minimal and their remaining players had to fight tooth and nail to save the day. This was almost their
last ray of hope, and they cheered him on as if their lives depended on him. Born into the Holy Dragon
nobility, Bear was a Ximen — one of their very best of the best. And true, he didn't let them down, as he
handed Holy Dragon their second victory of the day, trouncing the phoenix spirit manipulator who had
defeated Flint.
They finally saw the chance now. If Bear took down another one, the score would be five to four. That
would be a better way to wrap up the day. However, their expectations fizzled, the moment they saw
the next phoenix spirit manipulator in the ring. Although Bear was a talented man, his opponent was a
class higher. It was ridiculous to expect another victor for Holy Dragon.
Six to three, Holy Dragon was again exposed, unless something drastic happened. And so they once
more rallied all their support for their next man in the ring. Logically, their last player was the strongest.
He might have a chance or even turn everything around. However, their jaws dropped when they saw a
man, strutting to the ring without his war beast.
It was Rocky, who joined the contest purely on Marcia's insistence.
Just on purpose, Rocky didn't bring Uriah along with him to the ring. That way, no one would know
which grade his war beast had reached. What's more, he could easily take down these phoenix spirit
manipulator, even without Uriah's help.
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