143 Loose Ends 2 (1/2)
After that Grand Finals had ended, Mr White briefly conferred with Duke Leanne who had a personal word with him. He went up to her grand stand private box and received his instructions dutifully, then returned to the stage below to announce the decision.
”ATTENTION!” His loud booming and low voice shocked the spectators who were busy discussing the battle they had seen. It was somewhat of a puzzle and a mystery to most of the audience members as the fight had happened in a blitz then ended within 3 minutes.
What's more, the clashes had been clouded by dust, smoke and explosions which, despite being kick a** cool, also obstructed their view of the action. As a result, there were countless small pockets of heated conversations going on around the stadium between passionate fans of either contestant.
Some felt that the result was absurd - wasn't it Vignis who had dominated from the beginning till the last legs of the battle? And wasn't Lars' victory merely a matter of deceptive moves, never truly facing his counterpart's powers full-on?
On the other hand, proponents of the boy claimed the moral high ground, stating that it was Vignis who had begun with deception first - at least, this was the view of those sophisticated enough to keep track of the combatants' moves. More than half the spectators couldn't do this and were listening with rapt attention even despite the deafening noise of voices all around them, trying to catch a recounting of the earlier fight.
In fact, even the nobles and those of higher birth were stumped! Even though they COULD follow the actions for the most part, what puzzled them was how Vignis had pulled out one surprise after the other... And how Lars had managed to counter-trick Vignis in return.
After all, since when had Vignis become a trickster on the battlefield...? Hadn't she always been the in-your-face, combative melee brawler spinning and whirling her way in battle, leaving carnage in her wake?
What had happened to cause this substantive change in her approach to combat...?
However, all this chatter, discussion, wonder and puzzlement ceased when Mr White spoke to draw their attention.
Hearing Mr White's rumbling voice echo through-out the stadium, even the die-hard fans quickly quietened down to hear him out.
He gazed from side to side quickly and upon seeing that he had their ears to himself, Mr White gave a simple announcement.
”Attention, noble guests, beloved citizens of Gorun City, honoured guests from afar! Greetings once more to you, all our dearest audience members. As you have witnessed, the dark horse competitor who seemingly emerged from nowhere, yet based on the records is a registered citizen of the Kingdom fo the Sands, has risen from the masses of talents to be the Gorun City tournament champion!”
He was met with approving nods; whether it was grudging responses from Vignis' fans and those who leaned towards her side or raucous applause from Lars' impassioned supporters - mostly young teenage girls and middle-aged housewives who had an eye on him for their daughters!
...As well as blushing young teenage boys and many balding men approaching their middle-years, who Lars intentionally shut out from even noticing!
”However!” Mr White's voice struck through the din of sound like a thunder clap piercing through the rumbling of the night winds, even as the mid-day began to turn to the early scents of dusk. At his sharp exclamation, the audience began to settle down again to hear him out.
”However...! Due to the contestants' injuries, it was considered for a while and finally decided by our beloved Duke herself, Her Grace Duke Leanne, that the prize giving would only be held a week later, once all the top 3 placers are fully recovered. The reason for this...”
As his voice trailed off, even the quietest whispers or the softest mumbles ceased as complete stillness enveloped the arena. You could even hear the sound of a pin drop and man cursing as it pierced his foot, followed by vicious ”Shhhh!!!!” sounds from all around the poor chap who felt greatly harassed on top of his injured foot!
They were all ears to hear the reason, anticipating that it should be some piece of big news!
”The reason is that... The national-level competition this time around is a team contest, with each constituent of the Kingdom of the Sands fielding a team of 4 fighters to challenge for only three slots in the continent-level Battle Through the Heavens!”
His shocking announcement rang through the minds of the hearers like a bolt in the blue; those who knew of this morsel of information beforehand merely nodded in acknowledgement whilst everyone else literally exploded into activity!
What amazing news! It was not just the winner Lars who would be representing Gorun City to the nationals, he would be going together with the puissant Darius and the analytical, sharp and sly Vignis!
And what about the precocious youth, Miller Knight Larsson? The boy who had defied all odds and even beaten the former two, his seniors? Didn't he have almost infinite potential based on his showings this year?
To round it all off, their bid for qualification to the continent-stage would be spearheaded - literally - by the genius regnant who made all other geniuses pale in comparison, Alayna de Caldis who had exceeded all common sense and broken through to the Master-level at the tender age of 17!
Based on the rumours they had heard, only a couple dozen youths in the entire history of the Kingdom of the Sands had ever made such an achievement; whilst this year, there should be less than 5 such teens across the Yiluo continent who could lay claim to such an achievement.
After all, a normal cultivator might not even dream of reaching the Master-level before the end of his or her life, whilst a normal talent might reach the Master realm in their latter years, never able to see the Grandmaster or higher stages in all their lives.
Whereas Alayna might very well be the first person in the history of Gorun City to breach the Mythical stage... And maybe more if she gained access to sufficient cultivation resources to boost her mana pool, hone her mind and train her physique's blood energy!
With such a superstar team of young talents, what more could the populace ask for? Wasn't this almost a certainty to take top 3 at least, if not the very top spot?
So it was with a roar of crazed enthusiasm and the flames of passion that the curtain fell on the Grand Finals and the youth tournament of Gorun City as Mr White left the stage and bid adieu to his captivated audience who were so caught up in discussion that they didn't even realise that they were overstaying their welcome until the cleaners came to shoo them off!
* * * * *
The first thing that caught Lars' attention as he left the arena field was that there was no one in the private viewing room.
However, there was a letter placed on the table used for placing their teacups, which he picked up casually, half-expecting it to be Charley on another escapade or off to explore a new business opportunity.