NOVPUB
Chapter 226: Ren’s Subordinates Arrive at the Border
’Accept it.’
Queen Althea nodded slightly.
"Very well. We accept your challenge," Commander Raiden responded,
"You finally act like a warrior." Commander Charles was pleased by the answer. "We will create the arena now."
A female mage stepped forward and used her stone magic to create an arena for the duel. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
The arena was huge and built above the river, with a bridge on either side for them to walk across.
There was not a single chair around the arena because they didn’t need any.
Once the female mage returned to her position, a blue-haired warrior leaped into the arena and drove his spear into the ground, leaving it standing tall beside him.
He crossed his arms over his chest and said arrogantly, "I’m Dan. Who among you thinks they are worthy of challenging me?"
Chatter instantly erupted on the Veneian Kingdom’s side.
"How dare he act arrogantly like that? Does he think he is cool?"
"Fuck! He is looking down on us!"
"Commander Raiden, please let me face him. I will make him pay for his arrogant behavior!"
"Commander Raiden, I also want to fight him!"
"This fucker! Does he think we are weak?"
They failed to control their emotions because Dan’s arrogance and the way he looked down on them fueled their resentment.
"You are free to jump into the arena if you want to fight him," Commander Raiden said calmly. "I won’t be choosing who goes. Just make sure to make him pay for his arrogance."
"Great! Then, I will face him!" a brown-haired man named Mike jumped into the arena.
Dan still had his arms crossed over his chest. "Are you ready to get beaten up by me?"
Mike retrieved his hammer from his space ring and responded, "You are the one who is about to get wrecked."
Dan grabbed his spear and rushed toward Mike, "Then, let’s fight."
"You are going to wish you stayed down after this." Mike tightened his grip on the hammer and dashed toward Dan.
*Cling...
A flicker of flame sparked when their weapons clashed.
The duo didn’t hold back and used all their skills. It was related to the reputation of their kingdoms, so they did their best to win the fight.
"Our fighter is going to lose." Ren said in a low voice so the soldiers around him would not hear him clearly.
"What makes you think like that?" Althea threw a question at him while keeping her gaze on the fight.
Actually, she also thought the same, but she didn’t say it because she wanted to hear his opinion.
Ren began explaining his reasons. "First, our fighter often made useless movements. Second, he is slowly failing to keep up with the speed of his opponent. Lastly and most importantly, he is starting to lose control of himself."
Althea’s lips curled up into a smile, but no one could see her beautiful smile because she was wearing a black veil.
’No wonder they speak so highly of him.’
His reasons were the same as hers, so she could not help but admire his sharp insight.
"In your opinion, how much longer can our fighter last before he loses?" Althea threw another question at him.
"In less than three moves." Ren replied confidently.
And what he had guessed was correct because shortly after his voice faded, Mike was slammed onto the ring, his hammer shattered into pieces, and blood stained the arena.
He could not stand up anymore because Dan’s attack had heavily injured him.
"Haha! Well done, Dan!"
"I knew Dan would win the fight!"
"Hey, Veneian Kingdom, look at your fighter! He is so pitiful! Haha."
"So weak! Don’t you have someone stronger? Haha."
"Damn right, brother! He is so weak like a kid! Haha."
Cheers erupted from the soldiers of Tuiziya Kingdom because Dan had won the fight.
"Grr..." The people of the Veneian Kingdom gritted their teeth in anger.
They were furious, but they remained silent because their fighter had just been crushed in defeat.
"Veneian Kingdom, send your fighter to the arena again," Dan said arrogantly. "But I suggest you send someone strong this time. Otherwise, it will be another quick win for me."
"Haha." Soldiers of the Tuiziya Kingdom laughed loudly.
Commander Raiden turned toward one of his strongest subordinates and said, "Nathan, go and beat him."
"Understood, Commander." Nathan, a brown-haired man, responded.
As soon as Nathan stepped onto the battle ring, Dan’s lips curled into a grin. "I hope you last longer than the last fighter."
"I will put an end to your arrogance." Nathan retrieved his spear from his space ring and rushed toward Dan.
*Clink...Clang...Clink...
The sharp sound of weapons clashing filled the air once again.
Unlike before, Dan didn’t have the upper hand in the fight this time.
Nathan was a powerful warrior and he could keep his mind calm, so he adapted to Dan’s fighting style and found a way to counter it.
After fifteen minutes of fierce fight, Nathan emerged as the winner.
The people of the Veneian Kingdom cheered happily because they finally got to make up for the humiliation they had felt in the previous fight.
The duel continued.
The next fighters stood in the ring with burning eyes full of determination to win.
This time, the winner was the Tuiziya Kingdom.
However, the Veneian Kingdom claimed victory in the next match.
The duels continued one after another and only came to a halt when the sun began to set.
Out of the twenty matches, Tuiziya Kingdom secured eleven victories, while Veneian Kingdom won nine times.
This was the reason why the Tuiziya Kingdom mocked the Veneian Kingdom before entering their fort because they had won the duel.
----
Tuiziya Kingdom, Communication Room.
"How was the duel?" King Aldric inquired.
King Aldric was currently talking with Commander Charles through a communication tool. He contacted King Aldric right after the duel because he needed to report on his mission.
"We won, Your Majesty." Commander Charles responded,
"Great!" King Aldric was thrilled with the outcome. "The traps are almost set, so keep challenging them to ensure their full attention stays on you."
"Understood, Your Majesty." Commander Charles answered.
Shortly after that, King Aldric disconnected the communication tool.
"Veneian people, your end is near." Commander Charles’ lips curled into an evil smile.
At the same time, Ren was talking with his women in his chamber.
Scarlett said his subordinates had departed last week, so they should arrive at the border by tomorrow morning.
After talking with Lexie and Scarlett for around two hours, he ended the communication.
’When will Queen Althea come to my chamber?’
He believed Althea would sleep with him again because she had never skipped sharing a bed with him during their journey to the border.
’I will lie down on the bed first.’
He rose from his chair and lay on the bed.
One hour.
Two hours.
Three hours.
It was already 11:45 pm, yet she still had not come to his room.
’Is she not coming to sleep with me tonight?’
Normally, he would have arrived by this time, so he started to think she might not come to his chamber.
’Well, then I will sleep.’
He was already sleepy, so he decided to stop waiting.
----
The following morning, Ren made his way to the fort wall after waking up.
Scarlett had said his underlings would arrive by morning, so he waited for them because he didn’t want the people of the Veneian Kingdom to mistake them for enemies.
"You are here?" Althea’s voice rang out.
"I’m waiting for my underlings." Ren’s face broke into a smile as he saw her approaching him.
"Your underlings will arrive today?" she knew his underlings would come to the border, so she was not surprised.
"Scarlett said they would arrive by morning." He responded,
"I see." She stood next to him and stared at the enemy’s fort.
He moved closer to her and whispered in her right ear. "Why didn’t you come to my chamber last night?"
Instead of answering his question, she asked, "I worked last night. Did you wait for me?"
"Work?" he finally knew why she didn’t come to his chamber. "You should not work until late night. It’s bad for your health. Don’t you feel sorry for your body?"
A teasing smile formed on her pretty face.
She leaned closer to him and whispered, "Why? Did you feel like something was missing when I didn’t sleep with you?"
The corner of his lips twitched.
’She is teasing me, huh?’
Since no one was nearby, he decided to tease her back.
"I just feel sor-" Before he had finished his words, his underlings called him.
"Leader..."
"Leader..."
His underlings could see him because he was on the wall.
"Hmm?" Ren was startled when he saw them riding massive birds.
’Since when did we have massive birds like that?’
A question popped up in his mind.
"Are they your underlings?" Althea inquired.
"Yes." he answered. "I will ask the guards to open the gate."
As soon as the gate opened, Ren approached them.
"Leader, we finally meet you again." Dan and the others wore happy faces.
"Where did you get those birds from?" Ren inquired.
"On the way here." Elian responded.
"Leader, when will the fight against the Tuiziya Kingdom start?" Kairos asked. "My hands are itching to beat them!"
Black lines formed on Ren’s forehead.
’He just arrived and he’s already thinking about fighting?’
He began to think that his underlings were battle maniacs.
"Fufu..." Althea giggled as she approached them. "It seems like your underlings are just like you, Ren."
Adrian and the others turned to her.
’Who is this lady?’
Even though she was wearing a veil, they could still tell that she was an attractive lady.
"Everyone, she is..." Ren could not finish his words because he was supposed to keep her identity a secret.
"Nice to meet you, everyone. I’m Ash, your leader’s new woman." Althea uttered.
