The Gods Decree - Chapter 258 Gold And Silver

Within moments an announcement reverberated throughout the arena which stated that both half-step lords had forfeited their previous position. To say this was disappointing would clearly be an understatement. Yet suspicions began to emerge that this was the aftermath of what unfolded within the forest, somehow it reshaped the two’s perception.

Now it appears the prizes were not as alluring as previous years with them feeling unworthy. Obviously Taf and May were two who were far younger, blessed with extreme talent, and more deserving. Still, the tournament must proceed thus two new faces were added to complete the ten quotas requirement. These were two disciples who had finished just outside of the top ten during the preliminaries, Aaron and Caan.

By the look on their faces it could be seen they were quite ecstatic, uncaring that their inclusion was all due to others forfeiting. If it were up to them they wouldn’t have minded if all the other eight did the same.

A hush suddenly hung over the arena and the beautiful elder Mary made her way on a circular platform made of marble, spanning approximately 120 meters. It was quite large but with the plethora of techniques available to each competitor some may say it actually was small. Sensing the excitement in the air, Elder Mary waited until it reached its boiling point before her voice reverberated throughout the arena stating each name individually.

Mary: She is beautiful but don’t you dare make the mistake of calling her weak. Welcome, Athea of Squad Jason!

As the tall Althea made her way onto the stage, In the stands her passionate hundreds of supporters shouted, “Wooa, We love you Athea! girl power baby!” It could be seen that this was treated similarly to that of any sporting event with the supporters divided into factions. Wearing or carrying something representative of those they supported.

Mary continued: He barely finished outside of the top ten last year but now has made it his mission to topple all before him. Let your voices be heard for Zenki of Squad Arosa!

Not to be left out Zenki too had his supporters chanting loudly, “Arosa! Arosa!”

Mary once more continued: He is built like a giant and his muscular towering physique is unmatched throughout the sect. His official name is Davos of Squad Jason. But what do you call him?!

The crowd wildly shouted when hearing Davos’s introduction: The juggernaut!Booom!

Mary: The Zaro clan is blessed with so many talents but this young lady claims to be the best of the best. In only three years she has jumped from being ranked 112th to 15th and is the selfed proclaimed princess of Zaro. Is this princess worthy of the crown? Welcome, Aria of squad Aria!

Aria’s adoring fans enthusiastically called out:Princess! Princess!

Mary:On paper, he is the strongest of all competitors. In the previous years, he has only been defeated by Jason, Shinoda, and Bartholemu. Is this his year to be the undisputed number one? If you believe this to be true let your voices be heard for Talle ofSquad Talle!

Talle’s Supporters: This is your year Talle. You bring it home!

Mary: Now to complete the dynamic duo of female power within the strongest known squad. Welcome the lady with the best hairdo, lovely decorated in chopsticks, Cedra of Squad Jason!

Cedra’s adoring fans shouted:”Fasionesta, Chop, Chop them up!” As Cedra styled her hair with chopsticks playing for her audience who shouted even louder.

…..

Mary: If you see her outside she always has a book in hand. Yet let this not fool you as she is one tough lady. She was the last year’s dark horse who trampled all who stood before her excepting one individual, Jason. Now there is no Jason, so can she possibly be stopped? Raise your voices for Rita of Squad Marr!

Rita’s growing fanbase deafeningly screams: No one stands in your wake!

Mary:Now the last to the stage is a young lady who talks with her sword. She is a one-woman army who you all have come to love with her dominance of the board in the preliminaries. Now her strength will be there for all to see. Show you love for Niesha of squad Malgrey!

The audience exploded when hearing Niesha’s name as they remembered that she truly was the talk of the town before May and Taf had made an appearance. Her surge on the board prior to the monsters of her squad was simply phenomenal.

This was a first for Niesha who became a bit overwhelmed by the shouts. Her heart raced as she curiously looked at the sea of purple and black in the stands screaming at the top of their lungs. There were simply far too many faces, until finally, a smile graced her cheeks seeing her most adamant supporters. These were the members of Squad Malgrey.

From Lovren, Malgrey, Malnor, Luke, Cameron, Ava, and Selena they shouted at the top of their lungs proudly while waving yellow flags with broad swords as her logo.

Of course, Taf and May were not amongst them, having been expelled by the sect they no longer held the disciple status privilege. The two now sat in a large section that housed the visitors of the sect. Mainly comprising of those with a close relation to the sect and the participant’s family members. This quite suited the couple who after exiting their crammed cultivation session was nearly mauled by fanatics wherever they went.

In this section of the eager audience, they were simply two young faces in a sea of people. When seeing the two going out of their way to offer support, Neisha could not help but have a warm feeling overwhelm her inside. She knew that part of the reason they held back their departure was to see how well she would perform.

Still, her eyes continued to scan until she saw four middle-aged individuals who looked expectantly on the stage. They were quite peculiar with their swords and sabers neatly bounded to their bodies. These were the elders of her Oregi Clan who came all this way to see what their prodigy could provide. Though she tried to ignore them, the budding teen from the past rose within her, it was time to put this all to an end.

This was her life, there was no way her future would be decided by four individuals who never once took her thoughts into their decision making. It was now time for her to become truly serious, this was the first real step where her mark would be made on the world. Niesha’s attention then shifted to her competition noting they all would be challenging foes.

Of the lot, the known strongest were the #4th ranked Talle and all the three remaining members of squad Jason ( Cedra, Davos, and Athea). She quickly tallied her odds of defeating any of the four but was unsure as many factors were at play. Having not seen them in action over the past year, who knew what growth they had undergone?

Yet, even so, Niesha was still not flustered. Once the individual had not arrived at a Half Step Lord, she was confident in her ability to compete. Oddly it was when she glanced on another individual which made her heart skip a beat- Rita.

When sensing her gaze Rita smirked while adjusting the glasses which pinched her small nose before looking away. Unlike Niesha, she didn’t even look at her competitors. Her eyes only lingered one place and that was in the visitors stand where two teens in casual attire apparently joked around. For some reason, she seemed quite irritated by the two, especially Taf who had easily disarmed her previously.

After taking a deep breath Niesha no longer paid any attention to Rita. It seems her previous defeat still lingered in her mind and if she were to continue it would hamper her performance. Were they to meet she would definitely find a means to rectify the past mistakes. What she now needed to do was focus on her next opponent in battle.

With all the contestants now announced a sealed box was carried to the center of the large platform. Once more elder Mary’s voice reverberated throughout the arena,

“These are the rules. The final rounds will be purely knock out based, once a contestant loses a battle they are out of the tournament. It is also based on luck, meaning in the first round one contestant will have to face two opponents, This is in order to arrive at an even number of contenders for the following rounds. Therefore after its conclusion, there will be only four contestants remaining.”

Elder May’s attention then shifted to the sealed box in the center of the arena,

“In the box, there are two components. The first contains nine rectangular pieces of metal with silver coating and one with gold. All those fortunate enough to pick a silver piece will face one opponent in the rounds, while the person who picks the gold has to face two.If this person however were to lose the first of their matches then the gold piece is carried over to the second rounds. The second component has the list of names that one must select as their opponent.”

Her word caused a hush around the arena as the gravity of the situation was made quite clear. Whoever was unfortunate to select the gold metal piece would have to fight twice. If they were fortunate enough to win their first match, they would then be left in a precarious position exhausted for the second round.

It was a different case for the second disciple who they faced, this was basically a free pass to the next round with their opponent being spent and if their opponent was to lose the initial match the semi-finals would have been reached without them facing an opponent.Was it fair? Perhaps not, but life itself was no different. You have to play the hand you are dealt.

This brought some nervousness to the ten contestants who knew it was a certainty whoever selected that gold piece was definitely eliminated. It was not just the first round that needed to be worried about but the following as well. Of the ten there were hardly any significant gaps in strengths. Which meant each battle would be exhausting until a victor was found.

The first to approach the box was Zenki. He cautiously placed his hand in the box and gripped onto one of the metal pieces at the bottom to a nervously awaiting audience. Swiftly his hand was raised and when he opened it there was a sigh of relief that escaped his lips. Silver, this was indeed his lucky day as a smile blossomed on his face.

Next was for him to select a name and with haste, he grabbed onto a piece of parchment which combusted into a harmless blue mist spelling out a name for all to see-

******[1]

Unedited Version

To be continued…..

[1] Dick move I know lol

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