Legacy of the Dark Sage

"I request to speak with Disciple Tyr."

Kairo's powerful voice broke the silence.

Hushed discussions filled the gallery as soon as he said this.

The female announcer looked at him with a slight frown.

"You can speak with Tyr after the competition," she said.

"This can't wait. After all, it affects the remaining matches we will have," Kairo insisted.

Kyran, who ignored Kairo's words, went down the arena. It appeared he did not care what the latter had said and chose to let the Courtenay announcer handle the rest.

"'Affect the remaining matches'?" The female announcer repeated dubiously.

Kairo nodded, "I feel Disciple Tyr's attacks are very... ruthless and unbecoming. As if he's attacking base on personal biases."

The gallery erupted in chatter, with the audience's opinion split in half.

Looking back at all of Kyran's matches, indeed, his actions were too ruthless, resulting in his opponents retiring from the competition or losing consciousness.

In the first match, he ruthlessly broke Vanadin's bone. For the second match, he smashed Ganza out of commission. He only hit the latter once, but looking at the huge hammer and the intensity of the latter's fall, the hit was a sure-kill if Ganza's defenses were weak.

Lastly was Osman. How Kyran smashed the latter's head felt like he intended to break the latter's skull.

Nevertheless, some did not see Kyran's actions as ruthless. In the first place, Kyran had a huge disadvantage against his opponents, which was his mage level. Not only that, his magic was far inferior compared to theirs. The Royal Army officers also exuded an overbearing pressure that anyone faced with such had no choice but to exert everything they had in order to snatch a win.

Besides, in the very first match, didn't Ganza almost fatally wounded Tilda? Even Osman ended up burning Deo in the second match. The few wiser members of the audience saw the Conclave's actions were only a retaliation after the Royal Army's blatant provocation at the start of the competition. In their opinion, Kyran's attacks were justifiable.

Rake stood up while glaring at Kairo, "You son of a—."

"Rake, stop," Styx had also stood up to grab his arm.

"But Styx," Rake turned to look at him. "That son of a b*tch is trying to twist the truth."

Styx looked at him meaningfully and shook his head. He then jerked his head toward Kyran, who had stopped in his tracks.

Rake followed Styx's line of sight and saw Kyran with his head lowered, making it impossible to see his expression properly. Not that there would be any change. So far, he had only seen the latter wear an indifferent expression since the start of the competition.

"That is a huge accusation, Major General Kairo," the female announcer said, still wearing a slight frown.

"Don't get me wrong. I am not accusing Disciple Tyr of anything, which is why I wanted to speak with him first," Kairo explained with a smile.

Others felt the sincerity of his words and also agreed. Indeed, if Kyran was attacking his opponents due to personal biases, then Kairo and Rivka, the last two members he had to fight later, might end up in the same condition as the previous three. Only by talking to him would they get things right.

Or at least, that was what others believed.

Most actually thought talking was pointless.

Would Kyran openly admit that his attacks were due to his personal biases? Of course not. Once he denied that, what would Kairo do?

He would most likely demand proof or request Kyran not to use his 'weapon.' Because as far as they could see, the latter could only keep up with his opponent because of his weapon, which seemed to have started forming its own spirit.

The female announcer clearly understood what Kairo was planning. She was about to reiterate that they were still in the competition and could talk after when her four-leaf clover earrings blinked a few dozen times. Soon, her furrowed brows deepened.

After a few seconds, she took a deep breath and looked at the Conclave's side.

"Disciple Tyr, do you have anything to say?" She asked.

The audience fell silent. They were all curious about how this scene would unfold. While most only wanted to witness the drama in the competition, others knew that every action made by the two would definitely affect the relationship between the two major factions in the empire.

Kyran looked back at Kairo, and with a slight smile, he said, "An eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth."

As soon as he said these words, the gallery went into an uproar.

Kyran was clearly admitting to Kairo's accusation!

The female announcer was also shocked. She started, "Disciple Tyr, your words just now is a clear indication of—."

"—of what?" Kyran cut her midsentence. He looked at her with such piercing eyes that she fell silent.

"As far as I remember, the rules of the competition are:

"The Solo Competition will adopt a round-robin bracket, with each team member having a chance to fight the opposite team's members. Each match will last five minutes, and the top four participants will participate in the quarter-finals.

"Because of the setup of the competition, there is a chance where all participants moving to the quarter-finals are from the same team. But that will not affect the matches. They will still face each other until one emerges as the victor.

"Based on these, I don't see why it's wrong to act according to my own convictions. Ah, right. I prefer to call it conviction rather than 'personal biases,'" Kyran said with a shrug. "In the first place, your members are the first to show hostility towards us.

"Don't think because the Conclave being a neutral faction meant we'll take everything you throw and not do anything. As far as I remember, being neutral doesn't mean we're pushovers. We simply do not like to meddle with the power struggle you guys are so adamant at playing. As long as you don't cross the line, then we will not do anything. However, once you do, then we will not be polite. At least, I won't be polite."

BOOM!

As soon as Kyran said these words, the audience went wild.

They all knew this competition was part of the Joint Military Excercise between the Conclave and the Royal Army. Even without anyone confirming it, this event was done in order for the Royal Army to show its dominance over the Conclave. For this reason, most of them expected the Conclave to be meek and endure anything the Royal Army did in the competition.

In the first two matches, that had already been the case. The Royal Army had shown its might by winning twice in a row. They even showed their ruthlessness by forcing Deo to retire. Honestly, most of the wiser members of the audience were already expecting the Conclave leaders to stay silent and sacrifice their members to preserve their 'neutrality.' The only thing they could do to protect their members was to declare their resignation in the whole competition on their behalf. Even Chairman Malia provided some high-grade potions to ensure their members could receive immediate healing.

In any case, this had always been an unspoken rule in every Joint Military Exercise the Royal Army conducted with the other factions. Yes, the other factions could win a few matches, but they would never dominate the whole exercise.

They never imagined that someone from the Conclave would openly say such things and even declare that they had no intentions of pulling back.

Kairo's eyes glinted wickedly, "I'd be careful of the things I say if I were you, Disciple Tyr. Accusing us of such things will get you in prison."

Kyran shrugged, "I could say the same thing to you Major General Kairo. Can you really say that you guys have no ill-intent when you attacked my seniors?" He turned toward the Alchemy Competition side before adding, "They're making a Truth Serum, right now. Do you dare take one with me and confirm you have no ill-intent?"

The noise in the gallery doubled yet again.

Kyran looked back at Kairo and smiled; however, it did not meet his eyes, "What do you say, Major General Kairo?"

Kairo balled his fists in anger. Initially, he only wanted to 'scare' Kyran. Afterwhich, he would demand the latter not to use his weapon to show his 'sincerity.'

He did not expect Kyran to reverse the situation against him!

"I suggest you two refrain from deciding the course of the competition."

The female announcer interrupted, prompting the noise in the gallery to drop.

"Though Disciple Tyr admitted to acting according to his 'conviction,' it is also true that there is no rule that prevents him from doing so," she continued, looking at Kyran before turning to Kairo. "While it is true we cannot prove his accusation about your members attacking with ill-intention, it also cannot be refuted. Even if it can, no rule prevents one from acting this way.

"The only unspoken rule in this competition, is that no killing is allowed."

Kairo did not respond. He only looked at Kyran with daggers in his eyes.

On the other hand, Kyran retained a very lax attitude.

"Nevertheless, in order to prevent attacks that seemed 'out of line,' the head committee decided that all participants will not be allowed to use any weapon during their match."

The audience was again thrown into an uproar.

Such a decision clearly indicated that the head committee was biased toward the Royal Army!