Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 423: UPSET!!!

As Hathal’s strange attack was thrown at Slazza, the quadrant representative didn’t even blink.

Narja clutched Hathal’s forearm to stay the attack, never touching the neon green essence. She telepathically exclaimed, ‘Young Master, get ahold of yourself!’

Immediately, Hathal pulled back his hand and swallowed his rage. He silently turned his head to see Vant’s unconscious, blood-dripping grin. Fuming, Hathal’s face was red with frustration and his knuckles were white with fury as he clenched his fists, not allowed to do or say anything more.

“Ha... Ha, ha! HA, HA, HA!” robust laughter rang out from Toseko. He tried pressing into his belly to better contain his amusement, but Toseko couldn’t help it while looking at Isaac’s and Peimar’s well-deserved frustrations. “Treeda, I can’t believe you were right!!”

But Treeda was also speechless. Apart from showing her own look of absolute shock, she was letting loose one sigh of relief after another.

‘I told you to trust me...’ a mysterious voice chuckled through Treeda’s mind.

“HOW DID YOU KNOW!?” Peimar roared as his grip tore through the cement balcony out of impulse.

.....

Shrugging, Treeda sighed, “Truly... I merely took a bet. I was betting on the private candidate’s overconfidence. But, had I known Hathal’s true identity first, I never would’ve bet in the first place, so I understand your anger, Peimar.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about...”

“Oh? Can the ancient and wise Noxious God not recognize the toxic essence that Hathal just used?” Treeda questioned sarcastically, getting every prefecture lord to nod along. “Perhaps if that private candidate, Hathal Toseko, wasn’t given restrictions by his father, then he wouldn’t have lost. But then how would a father teach his cocky son a lesson? And how would that give you a good show to watch, right, God Toseko?”

Sighing but not hiding his smile, Toseko chuckled, “Either way, Hathal has lost, and was even killed. It seems I’ll be giving the finalists an extra large boon for out-ranking Hathal. So, will I be offering a large boon to both Toxic-shadow and Razor, or will Toxic-shadow dominate this exhibition?”

Warak was sweating profusely but was also one of the most relieved prefecture lords. Glad to have trusted Treeda’s confidence, Warak was more than happy to have not participated in the bet. He telepathically called out, ‘Well done, Treeda. It seems you’ll be joining the elite prefectures this time around.’

‘Nothing is guaranteed just yet. We’ll see what happens after the prefecture finals,’ replied Treeda, still shaken from her own victory.

Warak took out a bottle of luxurious wine and held it high. “To Toxic-shadow! Congratulations on having a quadrant finalist!”

“To Toxic-shadow!” Inka mimicked Warak with her own bottle and added, “Already, you’ve stolen one of the thirty-two spots, and the tournament hasn’t even begun!”

“To Toxic-shadow!” Isla joined in, heaving a huge sigh of relief after backing out of the bet. “To your new perfect candidate, and to your new quadrant finalist!”

All smiles, God Toseko stood up and retrieved his own, even larger bottle. “To Toxic-shadow, and to Treeda! For upending all expectations and for putting on the greatest display of all! Until the end of the Prefecture Finals, you may address me as Kartzal with no need for formalities!”

“To Treeda!” Peimar grumbled but followed along. “Congratulations...”

“To Toxic-shadow...” Isaac stated, speaking through gritted teeth. “I wasn’t wrong trusting the strength of your candidates. I merely bet on the wrong one...”

Retrieving a bottle, Treeda accepted the toast. “Thank you, my fellow prefecture lords! And thank you, God- Kartzal!”

Without delay, all seven of them uncorked the fresh bottles and chugged them through and through, including Toseko’s doubly large bottle. Then, one by one, they threw the empty bottles at Treeda’s feet. Before Treeda threw the second to last bottle, Toseko stopped her and threw his first, letting her have the final throw.

“Treeda, as you’ve earned the right to call me by name, I hope you prove that worth at the Global Exhibition.”

“I will, Kartzal.”

On the arena floor, the rest of the crowd was watching as Hathal’s corpse was given life again and Vant was saved from the cusp of death.

In a few minutes, Slazza was done with both of the young men and drank an essence-restoring potion. But it wasn’t the same potion given to the contestants. Its bottle was cast in silver and its cork was a precious gemstone.

Feeling better now that he wasn’t fighting essence fatigue, Slazza helped Hathal up and motioned toward the contestant area. Slazza nodded to Zelsh and walked back to the center of the arena, letting Hathal walk back on his own while Zelsh carried the sleeping Vant.

“EVERYONE! The impossible has happened! Not only was Hathal injured, not only was Hathal defeated, Hathal, the private candidate of the quadrant was slain! Vant was indeed located by Hathal, but his illusion held strong, allowing his true blade to attack from the opposite side, slashing through Hathal’s weak wind defenses in exchange for receiving a critical blow to his chest!”

Slazza’s declaration rocked the hearts of everyone, including the prefecture lords and Kartzal himself. “Though it left Vant in critical condition, Vant successfully killed the private candidate before giving in to his exhaustion and injury, proving his victory! We have our first finalist! Vant, the vanishing blade of Toxic-shadow!”

The crowd exploded in applause. At the same time, the prefecture lords were quieter than ever.

Toseko was busy handing Treeda her winnings one by one, starting with Isaac’s war golok and Peimar’s high-king battle art. Everyone was silent as the transaction was handled, either out of respect for Treeda’s victory or because they could only laugh if they were to open their mouths.

“Now, it’s time for the next semifinal match, another match that is sure to leave us in suspense!” continued Slazza. “We have the forceful and domineering Razor-hide Dragon, who boasts one of the greatest defenses known among divine beasts, Belma! And, as the granddaughter of the Razor Prefecture Lord, she’s been trained and taught personally by one of the strongest cultivators in West Quadrant’s history!

“Standing against such an insurmountable opponent, there is a humble yet deceiving Vanishing-night Fox from Toxic-shadow, originating from this very territory, Netra! Netra’s talent was only recently discovered by the prefectures and the quadrant, yet she’s already defeated one of Belma’s fellow Razor-hide Dragons in combat!”