Legacy of the Dark Sage

"Major General Kairo, what about you?" The female announcer asked, looking at the Royal Army's corner.

Kairo remained silent. He was looking at Osman, who returned his gaze.

Intially, Kairo wanted to refuse. Even if the crowd accused them of being scared of a Master mage, he did not care. They would not be swayed by the public's opinion. Apart from this, Kairo did not want Osman to fight Tyr in anger. Anger would only muddle one's judgment and would likely make a mistake, which inadvertedly result to letting his opponent win.

However, seeing the look of determination, not to mention clarity in Osman's gaze, Kairo realized that the latter did not challenge Tyr out of anger. The latter had stepped on their pride as officers of the Royal Army with his words and that was something Osman would never tolerate.

All of them had been in the army for several years. Because of their work, many viewed them as cruel, loyal dogs. However, that was not all there was to it. Few understood that the army was a den full of lions. If they did not do their best, they would be devoured alive, not only by its corrupt system but also those officers who had bigger ambitions. For this reason, they worked hard to improve their mage level and move up the ladder.  It was their only option to avoid becoming prey to the whims of those above them.

That was why, none of them were weak. Kairo believed this, and so does Osman. Vanadin might be the 'weakest' member but that was only in comparison to the five of them. The same went with Ganza.  Honestly, Tyr just happened to utilize a battle tactic they were not familiar with; the  utilization of Array Creation during combat.

So far, Tyr had only utilized Array Creation in all of his matches. He might have applied his magic but it was only secondary. Kairo and the others knew this but thought it was a small matter. They did not expect that it would be very effective in dealing with them.

After a few seconds, Kairo took a deep breath and finally looked at the female announcer.

"Major General Osman may do whatever he pleases," he replied.

Kyran smiled inwardly. He did not expect the chance to get rid of Osman would appear so soon. If they had followed the flow of the competition, he would have to wait two more matches before getting matched with him.

"Very well," the female announcer acknowledged their responses and looked at Kyran. Since Osman initiated the challenge, there was no need to ask what he want to do. That left Kyran's response. Would he agree to face Osman?

"Disciple Tyr, what do you have to say."

"I'll fight," Kyran replied at once.

His decisive answer was received by the audience positively.

The female announcer sighed inwardly. As much as she hoped to have a fair competition, in the end, if the participants were an unruly bunch, and the people-in-charge loved to cater to their whims, she could only reign in her dissatisfaction and follow.

"Alright," she nodded before addressing the audience. "Since both sides agreed to have their match ahead, the eight match will be between Tyr of the Conclave against Major General Osman of the Royal Army!"

The audience cheered at once.  So far, the fight between the two was something they would want to witness. After all, both had two wins under their name.

"You two are allowed to take an energy replenishing potion and—."

"No need."

"I don't need it."

Kyran and Osman interrupted the announcer, respectively.

The announcer frowned slightly. In the end, she did not try to argue and instead, continue the match.

"Very well, the next match will begin in thirty seconds!"

The timer above restarted after her announcement.

The audience cheered once more. At the moment, everyone had their focus on the Solo Competition. No one was paying much attention to the Alchemy Competition! Not even the VIPs in the executive booths.

Nevertheless, the participants in the Alchemy Competition continued as if none of them were aware of the ruckus happening in the Solo Competition.  Their attitude proved how much control they had over their mental concentration.

In the thirty seconds break, two army officers took the unconscious Ganza out the arena. Seeing that he did not seem to suffer much damage, he was placed on a stretcher. If he failed to wake up before his next match, then there was nothing they could do.

In a way, Kyran and Osman's match was good for them. At least, Ganza would be given more time to regain his consciousness.

"Eight match, start!"

Contrary to the audience's expectation, Kyran and Osman did not make a move after the announcer declared the start of the match.

Instead, the two stood thirty meters apart and stared at each other.

Osman had been observing Kyran in silence, from the moment he had entered the arena. The latter still had the huge hammer resting on his shoulders, and seeing his indifferent expression, it did not seem like he was having any problem carrying such a huge weapon.

Logically speaking, with Kyran's stature, it would be impossible for him to carry such a huge-ass weapon. Judging from the hammer's material and size, Osman roughly guessed it weighed at least a ton.

How could such a small stature be able to carry a huge hammer and even explode with such power?

This brought Osman to observe Kyran's weapon.  Initially, he thought the wooden staff serving as that hammer's shaft would not be able to support it. But recalling how it did not break after unleashing such a powerful hit on Ganza, Osman guessed the 'wooden' staff might be a made from a special material and was not really a 'wood.'

There was a huge possibility that it had been enchanted or 'strengthened' using magic.  It would also explain how Vanadin ended up with several broken bones after getting hit by that wooden staff.

Base on these clues, Osman decided that the best way to handle Tyr was to destroy his staff first. His decision also stemmed by the fact that the materials the latter used in Array Creation was kept inside the staff.

'No matter what kind of material that staff is made off, I doubt it will be able to withstand the heat of a high-level flame!'

Osman was the first one who broke the status quo. He summoned a red magic array and his whole body instantly erupted in flames.

Gasps filled the gallery, not because of Osman's sudden movement, but because, the color of his flames looked different. Earlier, it was the normal orange-red color. Now, it actually had a tint of violet.

This showed that Osman's flames were no ordinary flames!

It should be noted that the deeper the color of the flames are, the hotter it would be.

A smile tugged at the corner of Kyran's lips. He decided to wait for Osman to make his first move, and it seemed he made the right choice. Honestly, he found Osman's flames interesting. For the latter to successfully 'burn' Deo, and destroy the enchantment on Tilda's coat in less than a minute, meant his flames were of a higher quality.

It might not be as high as Matias, or Ignus' flames but it was close.

But that was not the reason Kyran paid attention to him. It was because a mage with such powerful flames with an ordinary background was considered a 'genius.' If this was the case, then someone with a high-rank in the Royal Army was definitely keeping an eye on him.

A high-rank officer that might have access to confidential records.

'Interesting,' Kyran thought as his eyes glinted in amusement.

If Tritus had been there to see him, he would have already guessed what would happen next. After all, the look on Kyran's face was exactly the same one he had before the former ended up becoming his Sigil!

While it was true that Kyran could easily ask Azaloth's essence to provide him information, his position made it hard for them to meet. There would definitely be many eyes watching the latter's move.

If this was the case, Kyran had to find a way to contact him without drawing too much attention. And the best way to do that was find someone who was already inside the army. It would be good if he also found someone who was a direct subordinate of the other two deputy marshals. Azaloth might already planted some of his people to spy on them but it would not hurt to plant more.

In any case, Kyran wanted to take revenge on what Osman had done to Deo and Tilda first.

With this in mind, Kyran raised his arm holding the hammer's shaft and let fall to the ground.  Cracks appeared on the floor as the hammer's head fell.

The arena shook from the hammer's weight, causing most of the audience' minds to reel.

Just how heavy was that hammer?

Kyran raised his left hand toward Osman, his palm facing upward, before gesturing him to 'come,' while wearing a very smug smile.

Osman's brow furrowed at Kyran's lofty attitude.

'Let's see how long you can act that way!'

BAM!

Osman finally made a move. He made a mad dash toward Kyran. Each step he took left a trail of angry fire prints on the ground.

Cheers erupted from the gallery. The match would only last five minutes but that did not matter. All that mattered was for them to  witness something good!