Dawn Of The Dark Dynasty & The New Inhabitant

Chapter Twenty-six

And The Winner is...

"Wonderful! Just wonderful! This is why you are dragons amongst men!" Brendon clapped cheerily and then turned to the old judge. "Exalted Grand Elder, hope this is to your satisfaction and have your approval?"

The Grand Elder eyed Brendon for a moment longer then nodded with a grunt, "Very well."

"Wait a moment please." From out of the blue, Graciela interjected and surprised all.

Brendon regarded her with a faint frown while the Grand Elder asked with a gentle smile, "Is there anything more you wish to add, young one?"

"Yes." Graciela nodded and turned to question Brendon, "Since this is a Final Round, what will happen if you lose to us? We surely cannot marry the Royal Princess, now can we?"

"If I lose to you?" Brendon's response carried a deep contempt. It was so obvious he never saw any chance of them emerging victorious. Even with their combined might.

"Why, does young master Saki look down on us? You think we don't possess the slightest chance of defeating you?" Graciela tilted her veiled head to the side.

"No, not at all. My dear fairy sister misunderstands me." Brendon was quick to refuse and clarified, "I never underestimate any of my opponents. To achieve victory one must have self-confidence, is it not true? But since we are talking about ifs... I shall oblige you. If I lose, obviously I shall have forfeited my title as Champion and settle for third in the ranking. You and brother Baron will be the rightful champions and henceforth, choose the next course of action as you deem fit."

Graciela let out a bored sigh and said, "If that's the prize... then I don't want it. Why bother fight to become the Champion when it's implausible to marry the Royal Princess? Why struggle needlessly when I'm already qualified to be a General? From where I'm standing, I'm more than satisfied with being ranked third. Now tell me. Why would I waste sweat fighting an unrewarding battle?"

Now that everyone thought about it, they started understanding the girl's insight. A dark gleam fleetingly flashed across Brendon's eyes.

"Oh yes, what you speak is reason. This will surely be an unrewarding battle for you." Brendon agreed then proposed, "How about this. If I lose, I shall give you half of the treasures acquired from the Chambers of Fate. And if I win, you shall repay me in kind."

Gasps of shock sounded at the stakes being proposed. Just a pinch of those treasures acquired from the Chambers of Fate can uplift even the poorest families to a noble position. Even the opulent noble families would never think of exchanging such treasures. And here was Brendon willing to stake away half of what he might acquire!

However, to everybody's surprise, Graciela shook her head and refused, "I still don't want it. Does young master Saki perceive us as fools? You're a mage in the Swordsmaster Level challenging two Spiritual Level mages and still want to swindle them? Do you have no shame? How can the prizes of the battle be quantified the same? Is that how your family does things? So intent in harrying your fellow peers? If we were on the same level, then that would be understandable. Alas, we are not."

To say the crowd was amazed would be an understatement. Never in their wildest dreams did they think the seemingly silent fairy was so outspoken. Even her sisters were stunned. Was this their introverted little sister?

Brendon laughed but it was forced. The stubborn veiled girl was really getting on his nerves.

"Fine. I shall not ask for anything in return if I win. This is, after all, an exchange of pointers. You winning shall be a great accomplishment," he said through gritted teeth.