Chapter 151
There was silence inside the building. Naturally, the reason they were silent was the young man who had just arrived.
“Cra—eup!”
Estu was about to curse, but he managed to stop himself at the last moment.
The new arrival was a handsome young man more than 180cm tall. His physique was lean and great, and his facial features looked like the gods themselves had sculpted them. Unlike Estu’s, the young man’s skin was immaculate. His eyes also seemed like they could pull anyone into them with a glance.
Estu could finally see with his own eyes that the rumors about Joshua Sanders’ appearance were never exaggerated. Honestly, Estu thought that the rumors weren’t doing Joshua justice.
“H-he’s Joshua Sanders?” Sonna muttered blankly. Sonna had met many members of the nobility, and those people were beautiful in their own right. However, Sonna had never met a young man as handsome as Joshua Sanders.
Step, step, step.
“...” Babel watched calmly as Joshua walked past him without sparing a glance at their table. Joshua was widely acclaimed as the first Rising Star of Avalon whenever he was compared to Babel. It shouldn’t have been the case since Babel had seniority over Joshua, but people never hesitated to call Joshua like that.
“Joshua von Agnus.” Babel sighed.
This was their first meeting several years after his brother left the family.
‘I don’t feel happy at all...’
Joshua was no longer an Agnus, so there was no connection between them anymore. As such, Babel didn’t really feel that he stumbled upon his brother in a foreign place. In addition, Babel never really regarded Joshua as his brother.
Jealousy? It was the same. Of course, Babel would be lying if he said there was none at all, but the immature emotions from his childhood had faded long ago. In fact, Babel found the sight to be pretty interesting.
Honestly, he found it even more intimidating. The gap between Babel and the person who was once his brother—he found it even more terrifying to look at. The gap between them was like earth and the towering fortifications of the Imperial Palace of Avalon.
Just looking at his brother alone made him feel intimidated…
‘I know… I admit it.’
Joshua von Agnus, or rather Joshua Sanders, was on a different level compared to him. In a room filled with powerful and influential people, Joshua bowed to no one.
“Hooh.” Babel took deep breaths. After relaxing a bit, he opened his eyes once more and stared in that direction.
He was staring at that unique individual.
“You’re late.” Akshuller seated directly in front of the podium noticed Joshua.
Joshua went over to Akshuller and responded, “I saw you pass by me.”
“Well, it seems that the main characters always make the latest entrance,” said Akshuller with a chuckle.
“Can I say the same about you?” asked Joshua.
“I really don’t know what to say.” Akshuller shook his head. “If the Masters’ Battle is fought with eloquence, you would definitely win.”
At that, Joshua paused for a moment muttering, “Even if it’s not about eloquence, the result will remain the same.”
“...!” Akshuller’s eyes widened at Joshua’s confidence.
However, the voice of an eavesdropper suddenly interrupted them. “Pretentious.”
A conversation between the great Akshuller and Joshua—one of the most talked-about people of this generation was sufficient to garner everyone’s interest. Aside from their popularity, both Akshuller and Joshua were formidable combatants. The apparent connection between the mercenary and a scion of the most prominent noble family of Avalon was something everyone had to think about.
“...” Joshua stopped talking and swept his gaze across the area.
Only Masters Battle’s competitors and their accompanying officials were seated at the tables closest to the podium. In other words, the only people who could hear them were those who were truly powerful.
“Good.” Joshua smiled.
“...!” The onlookers’ eyes widened. Confidence and arrogance were two sides of the same coin, so how should they interpret Joshua’s brashness? Should they say he was being arrogant, or should they say that he was just confident in himself?
“It’s always fun to fight those who are strong,” muttered Joshua with an even wider smile. For Joshua, he was just expressing his feelings. However, the meaning behind Joshua’s words made Akshuller’s skin tingle. After all, he had just indirectly mentioned the most prominent and powerful individuals of Igrant present here.
“Joshua Sanders…” A pair of red eyes flashed as they stared at Joshua. “That’s a familiar name…”
Ulabis tilted his head, trying to pin down the unfamiliar sensation. Ever since Joshua had walked in, Ulabis hadn’t been able to take his eyes off him. He made Ulabis’s nerves itch, and it was a feeling Ulabis had never felt before.
The host noticed the odd atmosphere and quickly made a move.
“All right. It’s time. Let’s begin by describing the matching method before the lottery. If any parties haven’t arrived just yet, may the related officials please relay to them the information and inform them of the lottery’s results. If I could please have your attention for a minute, parties and representatives.”
“...” After a short pause, the audience's focus turned from Joshua to the host.
“Inside this wooden box are glass beads with various numbers. There are precisely twenty-one marbles, according to the number of participants. Each participant’s matches will depend on the marble they end up choosing as well as this table.”
The host gestured to a huge board on the podium. The board displayed a traditional tournament bracket with rules similar to last year’s Masters’ Battle. The one who the number ‘1’ would be matched with the number ‘2’, the number ‘3’ would be matched with the number ‘4’ and so on. However, the odd number of competitors meant that one person would be given a direct advancement to the next round.
Amidst the silence, the host continued. “As you may already know, the outcome of your matches has no bearing on being qualified as a Master. If three or more of the six current Masters agree, the participant will immediately be deemed a Master, even in the middle of a match. For the sake of fairness, three Imperial Masters and three non-Imperial Masters will be judging the Masters’ Battle. Any questions?”
Someone raised their hand.
“My name is Akshuller.”
“I have heard of your great reputation.”
Akshuller nodded at that and asked, “Continuing with the Masters’ Battle is up to the individual participants, yes? Just like last year?”
“You are correct,” said the host.
“Then… ” Akshuller paused for a moment before asking, “The rewards are the same?”
“If you are talking about challenging the Twelve Superhumans and the great Nine Stars, then absolutely.”
The crowd stirred, especially the people from the three great powers.
The Twelve Superhumans and Nine Stars were the only known people superior to a Master. Any one of them could shake the continent. From a different point of view, they could be considered more powerful than any nation’s king.
As such, only someone who had been a Master for at least a decade could challenge them, and if the challenger lost, then they would have to wait another ten years without losing their Master title before issuing another challenge.
These formalities were time-consuming and annoying to deal with, but one could escape the lengthy process by becoming the champion of the Reinhardt Masters’ Battle.
Of course, this wasn’t the only reason those from the three great powers were so excited.
“The champion of this year’s Masters’ Battle will become the owner of the Nagasin Hammer.”
“...!” the audience trembled as the host’s voice reverberated.
Reinhardt was a neutral city that didn’t belong to any nation.
In addition, Reinhardt was the heart of the continent and an economic powerhouse that could put any large metropolis to shame, among many other desirable traits. As such, many rulers had been drooling over the city. It was in a strategic location as well.
The issue was how the owner and ruler of Reinhardt would be decided. Compared to other nations, the ruler and owner of Reinhardt for that generation had always been decided in a unique way.
“So the winner of the Masters Battle will become the owner of Reinhardt,” Ulabis muttered, “Such is the will of Nagasin, the first successful ruler of Reinhardt.”
The owner of Reinhardt wouldn’t actually have much influence on the city itself because Reinhardt was a symbol of peace. As such, it couldn’t be considered a nation. Still, being the owner of Reinhardt was symbolically significant. The ten percent cut of Reinhardt’s astronomical tax revenue was a welcome bonus as well.
“I know that everyone has been waiting here for a long time now, so the lottery shall commence. Participants, please draw a marble and hand it over to our resident mage.”
The mage in a corner bowed upon being introduced to everyone.
“This is the Reinhardt Masters’ Battle, and it is both an honor and a festival. Thus, to add a little suspense, we will withhold the schedule until after all the marbles are drawn. Of course, you need not worry about cheating. The participants themselves will be able to see the marbles with their own eyes.”
With that, the host stopped speaking, and the building was enveloped by silence.
Fortunately, the silence didn’t last for a long time as the participants started making their way toward the podium, where the wooden box was located. The participants were sitting in front of a table where no one else was allowed to take a seat.
The drawing order depended on who was the closest to the podium. From the relaxed and smiling His Highness Ulabis to the seemingly grim-looking Akshuller.
Finally, Joshua drew his own marble, and everyone moved to examine their marbles.
.
“Well, then. I shall be announcing the results of the draw.”
With a loud crackle, letters immediately appeared next to the numbers on the board.
When the matchups were finally revealed, everyone gasped in disbelief.
“Oh my god…!”
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