Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Moments Before The Battle
"Why did you stop me from going with them?" Mira asked, still a little uncomfortable and wary of Sam.
She couldn't digest the fact that he was her younger brother. She didn't even know how to interact with him or how she should address him.
"Why are you being so guarded? I won't hurt you; you are still my sister after all," Sam said and tried to pat her head. She tried to avoid it, but Sam still managed to pat her.
Her expression remained indifferent, but Sam could see her face was a little red. "Stay with me, okay? I will not let those Flareheart bastards hurt you. Do you trust me?"
Mira didn't answer his question.
"Fine," Sam rolled his eyes. "As for why I didn't send you along with them, I might have a way to return your lost potential back to you."
"Are you speaking the truth? Why should I believe you?" Mira thought that as the son of that bastard, Sam must also be just like him.
She believed in the saying that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
"You should believe in me because I'm the man who is going to make your life better. I'm the man who is going to give you back the precious thing you lost," Sam held her chin tightly, slowly pulling it closer, much to the struggle of Mira, who wanted to keep distance from him.
"If you won't trust me, then who will you trust?" Sam let go of her face.
"I know what you are thinking, and you couldn't be more wrong," Sam said with a serious expression. "Don't you dare compare me to that bastard. I'm nothing like him. Comparing me to him is the same as humiliating me."
"An apple can fall far from the tree if the wind is strong enough," his tone almost sounded threatening.
"Making a mistake can be considered an accident, but repeating the same mistake again is foolishness. Don't be a fool."
...
Nightshade Arena, Nightingale.
Sam stood at one side of the arena's entrance, observing a figure rising from the ground to the center of the arena.
"Well, everyone, I, Kate Dracula, as the Queen of Vampires, welcome all the leaders of the continent who took their precious time off to witness this battle between the younger generation," Kate Dracula declared.
Her eyes glimmered with a red hue, and her dark, dense hair flowed down her shoulders.
"From the side of Celestial Dragons, we have leaders of five great clans: The Solheart Clan, the Hailstorm Clan, Flareheart Clan, Cristalini Clan, and the Mistheart Clan," Kate Dracula announced.
The great leaders of these clans rose to the sky, representing the entire dragon races. Each of them was a descendant of the mighty and prideful Dragon progenitor.
From the Flareheart Clan, Sam's paternal grandfather advanced confidently, though Sam saw through his act.
"This old man is a pretty good actor. He may fool others, but not me. I know what is creeping under that thin skin of his," Sam smirked.
"Not just him, I know for a fact that except for my grandma and the patriarch Mistheart, the remaining leaders have already fallen victim to devil arts. I'm really curious how they got their hands on devil arts."
"Continuing, from the Qilin race, we have Patriarch Fulmine and his son, King Shun of the Lumin Dynasty," Kate continued as Sam's father-in-law and grandfather-in-law stood in the air, looking calm and collected, showing simplicity and majesty without arrogance.
"As expected from my wife Yuna's family, they are not succumbed to the evil ways," Sam thought to himself.
"It's still a shame that the branch family of the Fulmine Clan is not as wise as the main family members."
"Moving on, last but certainly not the least, Nightingale's protectors, my generals, walking disasters, the Five Counts of Vampires: Countess Frostine, Countess Telluris, Countess Kaminari, Count Wichura, and Count Scarlett." After the announcement, three women and two men flew to the sky proudly, each possessing the beauty to start wars.
"As for the royal clan of Nightingale, I, Kate Dracula, will be the representative as always," Kate Dracula tilted her head cutely.
""What is hell is wrong with Queen Dracula? Why is she acting so strange? I have never seen her speak so sweetly about us like she is doing now. Usually, words like 'bitch' or 'bastard' or 'motherf*cker' are involved,"" Countess Frostine, with her curly white hair dancing in the air and red eyes gleaming threateningly, secretly sent a voice transmission to the remaining two countesses.
""Isn't she? I was expecting her to go all crazy and destroy stuff around here. I guess this battle between the younger generation kids is fun enough for her not to cause trouble for us,"" a woman with beautiful golden blonde hair and red eyes replied.
Even though her chest wasn't as big as Countess Frostine's, she made up for it with her long legs. She was Countess Kaminari.
""This is good; this means we don't have to deal with the after-effects of her mental breakdown. This time Count Scarlett got lucky,"" Countess Telluris joined in.
She was just as beautiful as the other countesses, with her short light brown hair and red eyes glowing slightly, making it hard for anyone to get close to her.
""Speaking of Count Scarlett, what's up with him making a sudden marriage announcement of his second daughter to that Hailstorm kid? Did her daughter fall in love or some bullshit?"" Countess Frostine's voice was heard.
""Oh, falling in love is clearly made-up bullshit. I think it's either a mutual alliance between the Hailstorm Clan and Scarlett Clan or that kid is so special that Count Scarlett was convinced to marry her daughter to him. Personally, I would put my bet on the latter,"" Countess Telluris commented.
""I agree,"" Countess Kaminari replied.
""Something about this Hailstorm kid feels strange. I think Count Scarlett knows what it is.""
""Overanalyzing won't help; let's keep it straightforward. We will see what he is capable of when he fights against our daughters and other younger generation brats,"" Countess Telluris said.
""You are right; actions speak louder,"" both the countesses agreed with Countess Telluris before cutting off the channel.
"Now, let's get down to business, shall we?" Kate smiled excitedly.
"As you already know, this event was supposed to be a battle between the heir of the Hailstorm Clan and Count Wichura's only son, witnessed only by the leaders of the clans to keep private matters private."
"Since some continent leaders felt that this is a great opportunity for all the younger generation to display their skills in front of the mighty figures of the continent, we changed the nature of the battle."
"Now, all the princes and princesses and those with special status within the major clans can participate."
"However, before that, Tomas Wichura and Sam Hailstorm will duke it out, and the winner will claim the right to marry Count Scarlett's second daughter, Amelia Scarlett," Kate said, looking at opposite ends of the arena where two men stood alone ready for their battle.
"I hope nobody here will have any objections because even if you do, I don't care, so better keep it to yourselves," Kate Dracula said with a bored expression.
"This woman seriously needs to get her brain checked," Adriana quietly muttered to herself.
"Without further ado, let's welcome our fighters," Kate's voice reverberated like waves of the ocean.
The wind became erratic as it concentrated on one side of the arena. A tornado soon manifested, sweeping spiraling wind burst forth, revealing a young man standing with one hand holding a staff with a sharp end.
"Tomas Wichura."
"He has no chance. Why does he even bother to battle my darling? Because of him, I lost my precious time with my darling," Amelia snorted with annoyance.
Hearing her words, Nicholas and Zoey could only sigh helplessly.
Right then, the temperature inside the arena plummeted rapidly as the air grew denser.
Small shards of ice danced in the air, and suddenly, the temperature started to rise as the atmosphere became unstable, toing and froing.
Visibility decreased due to steam and snow in the air.
A figure began to appear in the clouds—a handsome man surrounded by a mysterious aura that made his charm go uncontrollably.
Every step he took was like a protector of heaven, both imposing and charming at the same time.
His white hair swayed following his movements, and his ocean-like blue eyes revealed gentleness.
Together with his heavenly charm, he became a captivating presence that could make any stone-hearted woman move with love.
"Such a show off, but I love it," Lenora sighed to herself while sitting in the Hailstorm Clan's area, holding the medallion Sam had gifted her.
Beside Lenora sat Ophelia.
"How can anyone be that good-looking? Why does it feel like he is particularly more handsome today?" She could feel her heartbeat getting faster, knowing she got to sleep with him.
"My darling is too handsome for his own good, but who complains? I get to taste that man," Amelia drooled at the thought, clearly not caring about the fight about to happen in a few minutes.
Little did they know that Sam was constantly controlling his divine power, The Divine Charm to let his looks top class.
Now that he intentionally let loose, his charm had increased to an unprecedented level.
It wasn't just them—every woman in the arena secretly couldn't help but imagine or desire him for themselves.
On the other side, it brought out a peerless inferiority among the men. They felt like dog shit in his presence, making him an enemy number-1 among the men.
The reason Sam did this was to show the world that he wasn't outstanding only in cultivation or talent in comprehension; he also possessed peerless looks.
He wanted to show that there is no one else like him, or even om close to compare themselves to him.
'God, is he a god of beauty or something? How can anyone be that charming? I want a taste of him,' Kate's eyes glowed in red.
'I should kidnap him after the battle is over and keep him for a week or maybe a month.'
Even the three countesses, who were known to be cold, and dangerous wanted to play with him in bed for a week, at the very least.
"It's been quite a while since anything not boring happened around here. I hope today won't be the same," Kate looked at the two men with a scrutinizing look.
"And please, do go all out. I came here expecting a good fight. Do you guys understand?" Kate asked with a serious expression.
"Let's go through the rules once more," Kate looked at the leaders.
"There are only three rules:
The first rule is no killing. If you kill your opponent, the punishment will be severe, starting with destroying your cultivation and crippling your body.
The second rule actually overlaps with the first rule—no crippling. The punishment is the same as the first one.
The third rule: external help is allowed limitedly, like the use of pills or borrowing weapons, but asking for help from an outside person is prohibited.
These rules also apply to the Battle Royal, which will start after this fight. Everybody understands?" Kate scanned the area, seeing no objections raised; she continued.
"Lastly, anybody breaking rules or secretly helping the fighters from the outside will have their cultivation destroyed, no questions asked," Kate said in a threatening tone.
"Now, let the battle begin."
...
[A/N: If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider supporting it with a few Power Stones. And if you absolutely loved it, you can even contribute a Golden Ticket. Your support means a lot to me! Thank you very much! - Arigato! 🙏]