Chapter 216: Chapter216:Arena Competition
The regulations for the arena competition were established in the royal council held prior to the event. Participants were restricted to those under thirty years of age.
The competition would take place at the foot of Star Peak.
There was a large arena constructed and reinforced with precious materials, making it resistant to damage even from high-level supernatural battles.
Only a few participants from the major royal families were high-level supernatural beings.
As the day of the arena competition arrived, representatives from various royal families gather at the foot of Star Peak, bringing their contestants and many clan members to watch.
The Grey Wolf Royal Family stood out, however.
Matthew walks ahead of Enzo, personally leading a stone armored cow—an exceptionally docile and rare supernatural creature typically used as a mount to signify uniqueness.
This mount was originally intended for Matthew.
Now it had been gifted to Enzo. The leader of The Grey Wolf Royal Family humbly leads the cow by the reins, as if Enzo were the true leader of the family.
Such behavior from Matthew provoked disdain among the other royal families.
There was much ridicule around.
"Matthew, as the leader of a royal family, it's disgraceful to be so obsequious to someone. You've brought shame upon all of us!"
"That arrogant kid! Making a royal leader hold the reins of his mount—once the arena competition begins, he'll surely become the target of everyone's scorn."
"Ha, it's just a cheap stunt to attract attention."
"…"
Not everyone paid attention to the unusual behavior of The Grey Wolf Royal Family. To the powerful royal families, weaker ones and other minor factions were seen as insignificant and easily eradicated.
As the anxious wait continued, Mikelov, the leader of the Solar Dynasty responsible for the arena competition, made his appearance. His face was dark and his gaze harsh, as if everyone owed him money.
In fact, Mikelov had been having a rough time recently.
Especially after sending Colin and Veena to the Barren Peninsula to investigate the Beast God clan's giant egg, only to have the mission sabotaged and fail, his luck had worsened significantly.
He had shared some information with the Ice Moon Royal Family's Shadow Corps, such as the whereabouts of a royal princess, Mona. As a result, members of the Shadow Corps mysteriously died, and Mona returned to her royal territory, informing Kladno of the events.
This led the entire royal family to enforce martial law and begin internal investigations.
Mikelov narrowly avoided scrutiny.
But as he prepared to implement other plans, he faced a significant setback.
Moon Tide disappeared .The Ice Moon Royal Family chose ceasefire.
That abruptly disrupted Mikelov's plans. However, he saw an opportunity in this arena competition.
Mikelov resolved to ensure the Solar Dynasty's contestants would lose, as revenge for not being chosen as the Solar Dynasty's First Leader.
However,it was unbeknownst to Mikelov.
The outcome of the arena competition was predetermined; whether he was the referee or not, the Solar Dynasty's contestants would fail.
On the arena, as Mikelov prepared to announce the rules .
His voice was a hoarse and emotionless .Enzo could no longer tolerate the monotony. He jumped onto the arena and challenged, "You all come up at once. I'm in a hurry."
This provocative act enraged many participants.
They then requested to join the competition.
However, this went against the competition rules.
Everyone hesitated, but Mikelov was visibly excited. He smiled at Enzo and then addressed the others, "The arena competition requires individual matches, which is time-consuming and unfair. I believe this participant's suggestion is excellent.
Everyone will enter the arena together, and the last one standing will be the ultimate victor!"
After Mikelov's announcement, he looked around at the crowd.
Below the arena, Eve from the Ice Moon Royal Family was stunned, unable to believe her eyes. How could Enzo be on the arena?
His strength was clearly so strong.
His strength was far superior to the other participants, making them no match for him.
There was something wrong!How did Enzo pass the pre-competition checks?
Identity could be faked, but age could not be faked. Unless someone controlled the power of time, which was extremely rare.
Unless—
Enzo's age truly matched his appearance!
This realization left Eve in shock.
She finally understood the extent of Enzo's talent.
Trelina from the Solar Dynasty was equally astonished.
She thought to herself, "Enzo? How could it be him? Isn't he from the Barren Peninsula? How did he become a participant from The Grey Wolf Royal Family?"
The thoughts of those present varied.
However, the powerful royal families did not object. Instead, they supported the idea, as having so many people fight in the arena provided a good diversion for them.
As for the supernatural Trial Crystal...
The Ice Moon Queen had already paid some costs.
Once permission was granted, all the participants jumped into the arena, glaring angrily at Enzo.
Some even shouted threats.
"You'll pay for your arrogance, kid!"
Enzo sneered, uninterested in fighting these opponents.
He lightly stepped on the arena floor, and a silver-white ring of lightning spread from his feet to the edges of the arena, pushing the participants out.
The match, which had barely started, was already over.
The remaining contestants had no chance to fight back. Some tried to withstand the lightning ring but were thrown out and lay on the ground, convulsing.
The result left everyone stunned, unable to react immediately.
Until Mikelov, excitedly declaring, said, "The winner of this arena competition is The Grey Wolf Royal Family's participant. The Grey Wolf Royal Family will have ownership of the supernatural Trial Crystal!"
"Hold on." Someone suddenly spoke up.
Everyone turned to see a middle-aged man from the Ice Moon Royal Family standing with a dark expression. He addressed Mikelov, "This competition was not conducted according to the rules, so the result should be considered invalid!"
This statement sparked a flurry of discussion among the crowd.
However, no one formally opposed it, indicating they shared this sentiment, as Enzo's overwhelming display of power .
Winning was too easy and gave a feeling of unreality.
Matthew stepped forward, mocking, "I was wondering who would object. It turns out to be Mr. Lusca, the deputy leader of the Ice Moon Royal Family.
If every time Ice Moon Royal Family's participants are eliminated you claim it's against the rules, perhaps we should just hand the supernatural Trial Crystal over to the Ice Moon Royal Family directly."
This comment reignited discussions among the crowd.
The weaker royal families supported Matthew, while the powerful ones remained silent, curious to see Lusca's response.
Faced with such a large assembly of royal forces, Lusca chose to swallow his anger rather than provoke everyone.
However, he harbored other thoughts.
The Grey Wolf Royal Family might win the supernatural Trial Crystal.
But whether they could keep it was another matter.
Other royal families shared this sentiment.
Matthew, fully aware of this, had agreed to hand the supernatural Trial Crystal to Enzo deliberately.
After announcing the final winner, Mikelov directed Enzo, "You can now retrieve the Star Trial Crystal."
He pointed to a nearby large stone .
The large stone was with intricate patterns.
To obtain the supernatural Trial Crystal, the winner must place their hand on the stone, a unique mechanism that, while not native to Dark Night Forest, could be used by its inhabitants.
Enzo placed his hand on the stone.
In the next moment, his consciousness traversed several spatial passages and reentered the Multiple Layers of Space.
Before Enzo, the familiar heap of Spatial Stones and the enigmatic orc, Melokuhle, appeared.
"Mr. Melokuhle, we meet again."
Enzo greeted.
Melokuhle was momentarily taken aback, not expecting to see Enzo again. A glimmer of golden light flashed in his eyes, and his usually cold expression softened into a rare smile as he said, "You've managed to come here again, even if just in consciousness. It's quite impressive."
Melokuhle handed Enzo a Trial Crystal.
After giving Trial Crystal, he handed Enzo then a key made of a shiny silver crystal with special characters.
"This Trial Crystal is for successfully completing the arena competition outside." Melokuhle explained. "The Mithril Crystal Key is a personal gift from me. When you enter the supernatural trial space, you can go to the Emerald Tower. At the top, you'll find a chest containing a mysterious surprise."
Another mysterious surprise?
Enzo was internally complaining about Melokuhle's bad taste, but the Melokuhle in front of him likely came from Starry Sky.
The treasure chest he had specifically mentioned was definitely extremely valuable.
Therefore, Enzo solemnly put away the Mithril Crystal Key and expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Melokuhle."
Melokuhle nodded and said, "Go back."
In the next moment, Enzo felt his consciousness return.
To those around the arena, it appeared as if there was a flash of light, and Enzo had retracted his hand, now holding a crystal.
The crowd's gazes were intense, and their breathing quickened.
Sensing the change in the atmosphere, a smile appeared on Enzo's lips as he looked at the crowd and announced some news.