Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Indeed, after the event where most of the members of their branch guild were wiped out, the Sea God's Trident retaliated against the Seven Swords Guild, the main perpetrator of the tragedy by sending their main members there.

However, for some reason before the members of the main guild arrived and even before Godwin got there, most of the high ranking members of that guild had escaped with just the ordinary members remaining.

Although their guild building was destroyed and their guild dissolved, for those that were directly related to the event, it couldn't be seen as a closure.

"My daughter, you know I can't see you heartbroken like this. I have already discussed this with Duke Redcrest, he is doing his best to monitor the territory and find any clue related to the escaped members of the Seven Swords Guild" the old man said consolingly.

After his daughter left the room, his doting eyes suddenly became sharp.

"It is too much of a coincidence, I can only think of someone tipping them about the movements of the Sea god's guild before they arrived in Morgress… possibly an insider".

SIGH… he sighed once more and massaged his temple, there were too many things on his plate right now.

                                                                    -----

The morning of the next day Simon got out early from the inn and roamed the marketplace. Today was the day when the coliseum would finally open and the excitement of the people was over the top.

Other than the stalls outside the arena, most other shops and establishment was closed, nobody wanted to miss the tournament. Lines of crowds could be seen near the coliseum that was located on the north side of the city.

The security around here was extremely tight with soldiers patrolling everywhere and the queue of people trying to get inside was so big that it was mindboggling.

Adalinda was yet to come back from her mission of capturing her disciple thus Simon was extremely free. Since there was nothing for him to do, he decided to attend the 'Battle of the Finest' tournament and see what the hype was all about.

Plus it would be a lie if he said that he was not interested in the first price reward. The coliseum was extremely big, comprising of more than ten percent of the entire north district. Hoards of people could be seen everywhere trying to get in.

There were numerous gates and soldiers standing in front checking the identity of the people and maintaining order. With the tournament about to start, the craziness and excitement of the people were on a different level.

Simon casually strolled towards one of the empty gates and passed the VIP token of the Serene palace merchant guild to the soldier. Cynthia had once told him that this VIP token would also work similarly like an identity card thus there was no problem for Simon to get in.

The soldier after checking the VIP token, respectfully invited him inside and requested him to go to the highest rows of seats reserved only for the most important guests.

On his way up, Simon felt many strong presences possibly from the participants of the tournament. After climbing up a flight of stairs and coming out of a dark hallway, he was greeted by the magnificent scenery of the coliseum.

The gallery where the audience sat, was so big that it could easily fit more than a hundred thousand people. The coliseum had one main stage at the centre and thirty-six smaller stages all around. Each stage was around sixty meters while the main stage was more than three hundred meters long.

Currently, the audience seats down below were already packed with most of the population of the city present to watch the show. On the top row which was reserved for important guests and participants, were plaques in front of each seat indicating the group that was allotted to sit there.

Among the numerous plaques, Simon found the one that belonged to the royal family of Ellesmere. Currently, the seats were empty with most of the participants yet to show up.

As time flowed by and it was high noon, powerful presences were starting to arrive and fill up those seats. Among them were some of the faces he had seen yesterday at the auction. Duke Montford along with Lucas who was currently donned in his battle garb from head to toe, were also seated in their seats.

At this moment when the hubbub of the audience reached its peak, a group of people as if prearranged, decided to walk in together. The moment they came in, all the people in the audience erupted in wild joy, their roar like thunder echoing across the entire coliseum.

The group of people who had received a warm welcome, were all renowned people in their kingdom and most of the individuals living knew their names and their valour.

The Top Five guild of the Kingdom of Ellesmere had finally shown up.

"Hoho, so they are finally here. What a grand entrance" A chubby man with a protruding belly and who seemed to be a well off merchant, said. The man was seated with his other companions who seemed to be merchants too.

Since they were conversing not far from Simon, he could clearly hear them.

"Look at that, the guild masters of the top five guilds are walking side by side altogether. What a rare display"

"Isn't that Benny Beckerman, the guild master of the Sea God's Trident? He has become even more ripped"

"Woah, Miss Karina Lowell is as hot as the rumour says. If I was a mage, I would have definitely joined her Magician's Guild" 

"Heh, the Beast Savannah Guild led by Sir Brutus Sarge is a haven for all the warriors seeking to make a name for themselves. I heard his son is also participating this time… Oh, speak of the devil, he is walking right behind his father".

From the hubbub of the people around him, Simon was able to know the identity of the people walking in.

The guild leader of the Sea God's trident was a bald man with an extremely ripped body whereas, the guild master of the Magician's guild was a charming woman with a well-defined figure.

The Savannah Beast Guild master, had a ferocious face and a built like a lion. Out of the two other people walking beside them, one of them was a short-statured man donned in a gaudy crimson robe and carried a staff much taller than him, the other was an ordinary man with nothing remarkable about him.

However, out of the five of them, he was the one with the most ability to control their presence. With all the five most renowned guild leaders of the kingdom walking in together, it was sure to attract all the eyes of the audience.

"Hehe, what a display, to think that the renowned guild leader of all the top five guilds of this kingdom would make their appearance together, what a feast for the eye" a voice rang out followed by a group of people entering from a different entrance.

The people who just entered in, all had an emblem of a Black tree sewn in their garbs, from their attire; it could easily be attributed to them being from a different nation.

"So the Kingdom of Blackthorn are here too. It seems that you have brought over quite promising individuals for the tournament" the guild master of the Magician's Guild Karina Lowell said.

They exchanged a few pleasantries with many hidden meanings behind them before each taking their allotted seats. Each guild had brought a minimum of five participants with them who would be competing in this tournament.

Soon after, the Kingdom of Ingolf also arrived and took their seats in front of the plaque reserved for them. With almost all of the participants and seats full, the crowd was waiting for that moment which soon arrived.

With the whistling sound of something piercing the air, a sword could be seen hanging high up in the sky. It levitated in the air and released a sharp piercing aura that stunned the audience into silence.

As the sword descended down, a silhouette could be seen standing on the sword. After a moment, the figure of the person finally came into everyone's view. He was donned in a mythril armour that gave off a sturdy sheen and carried a sword that was hailed as the treasure of the kingdom.

"Sir Cyrus is here" the audience cried.

Cyrus slowly landed on the main stage and beheld the crowd, he then nodded his head and addressed all of them.

"I am the Royal Knight Captain tasked with the duty of protecting the king and the royal family, Cyrus Skyler. I am extremely pleased to meet all the heroes of the realm and the outstanding youths gathered here in one place today".

"On behalf of the royal family, I along with a few subordinates of mine shall be the moderator of this tournament. However, before we start this magnificent tournament, let us all welcome the special guest sent by the headquarters of the adventurers association, the royal family of Ellesmere and the Royal Court Magician of the sanguine empire".

As his words fell down on the audience which took their time to absorb it, a gathering of people riding a fierce Warhawk, descended from the sky and landed on the seats of honour.

"Ohh, look at that, that Warhawk is the guardian beast of the royal family. The rumours say that it is extremely powerful and can even go toe to toe against Cyrus".

Simon's ears picked up a few details from the audience seated around him. He looked at the magnificent warhawk who stood fifteen meters in height and whose body radiated a powerful aura.