Samael Astreas looked away from Varian. Eshala's blade was more than pissed off. As he was observing him for quite a while now, the 7th Prince was having second thoughts about this inexplicable tool.
'Is he really that pissed off because he couldn't establish Eshala's prestige?'
Something felt off. It was a very valid political reason for him to get pissed at. But somehow, his intuition disagreed.
This man was different. Somehow, anyhow. How, he had no idea. But the faint feeling of incongruence grew strong and stronger every time he saw Varian fight.
"Victor, what do you think about h—"
"Weird." "Hm?"
"That boy is weird. He's either hiding his strength or growing stronger. It should be the former. The latter makes no sense. But he's weird." Samael raised a brow. If he could have one person to judge people, it'd be Victor. He'd always been accurate in his readings.
Didn't he prove it by subjugating that violent tribe and subordinating Tegya?
When she was captured, Tegya was as ordinary as anyone in her tribe. But Victor saw something in her they didn't. Not only was he right that she was special, he's also right in betting big on her by pouring so many resources.
"I don't think it's just us."
Samael narrowed his eyes at Victor's words and turned to Eshala Starlight.
The princess who had to fall in this competition used that boy as a shield. He did underestimate her. This woman was more dangerous than he imagined. 'But if you stand in way to gain the slivers, even you have to burn down.'
She seemed to feel his gaze but didn't move her eyes from Varian. "Huh?"
Samael tilted his head as he observed her eyes.
Those eyes…
"What the hell is she doing?"
On the ground, the audience cheered as the final rounds were about to begin.
Varian was lined up with the four people on the stage. Even though he would've liked to fight with the rest and win more shards, he decided to satisfy himself with some hearty fights.
Anyway, killing was not allowed. So, as long as he fought as hard as he could and progressed his ranks, this would be considered a successful trip.
Of course, there's still hunting he had to do with all the princes and princesses he marked during the auction. 'Unless I fight with all my paths and reveal my strength completely, I'll lose against all three.'
Even though path fusion boosted his sub-rank to peak rank 1, his application of the path was not as strong as it would've been if he was a natural peak rank1.
Moreover, using just one path to fight was not letting him to exert his full potential. The power of seven paths didn't just come from having more aura or different powers but in the combination of using paths for a stronger, more dangerous attack.
With all that denied, Varian could hardly fight against these monsters on an even ground.
Even though he's technically a high rank 1 in five paths, he just entered the sub-rank.
High rank 1 extended from [51] to [90] and was the largest sub-rank. The strength he could exert so far was in the bounds of early peak rank 1. The reason he even won the matches he did was thanks to the absence of insanely strong peak rank 1s and weak opponents deliberately appointed by the prince.
It's not that they didn't exist. But they were one of the few people who were absent from the match.
Varian could only guess they were in a seclusion, preparing to up their strength to call for an impeaching competition after a few hundred years to bring down the newly elected leader.
They're doing this only because they're confident in their strength and that meant these were the real peak rank 1 powerhouses.
Still, if one looked at the entire Jai Empire, he should be in top 20 at the moment. And that rank would only climb higher with battles.
"The battles will now begin. With five people, four will be matched against each other and one will get a by—"
"Son of a b—"
"He must not get a bye." A curtain of starlight floated above the arena and Eshala's voice rang with unquestionable authority. "I-I…" The referee's voice stuttered as he paled at the 4th princess' order. It's blatant rigging to arrange matches as she pleased. But what could he do about it? He just glanced at the 7th and 2nd Princes. None of them spoke a word. But as if they saw something very interesting, they watched the scene with an intense expression.
The 2nd Prince had a lost look while the 7th Prince displayed a kind smile. It's impossible to read what's on their mind through their expression alone. What's obvious, however, was that neither of them intended to intervene.
If they didn't care, what could he do?
Swallowing his saliva, the referee turned to Varian and said. "W-Who do you want to be paired with?"
The ranked princes in the audience felt as if someone slapped their faces. Even though it's common for the powerful to have privileges, this was too much. For a moment, a quiet rage boiled in the seats. Unbothered with what they thought, Varian pointed to the weakest of the four, leaving behind Samus of 7th Prince, Tegya of 2nd Prince and Guan. "Very well, the matches are decided. Blade and Avnir. Tegya and Samus. Guan gets a bye."
Guan nodded at the referee with an approving smile. With a bye, he'd be better prepared to challenge Eshala and not waste energy on these people.
As for her trump card, the so-called Blade? He was never in Guan's eyes to begin with. Guan looked up and his gaze clashed with Eshala. But she only glanced at him for a moment before turning to her blade. A vein popped up on his forehead and Guan clenched his fist. Even at this moment, when he's about to snatch her position away, this woman was so arrogant!
'You'll regret it.'