Quid voiced the question lingering inside everyone’s mind. Not only were many shocked by the tyrannical display of power, the fear of the unknown gripped their hearts. They had not seen how the Forest Spawn’s tower had exploded. While most of their attention had been on the deaths, many still had eyes on both towers. Sven and Svetlana had appeared bored, chit-chatting with each other as if oblivious of their opponents’ fate. Hex wasn’t fooled, though. They weren’t ignorant. They were indifferent. On the other side, nothing seemed amiss. The Spawn’s leader sat at her window, looking worried in the direction of her team. The explosion had occurred out of nowhere. Naive as they were, the crowd didn’t think it had been an accident. No question about that. But how? Now that...was the question. "Spatial Implosion." Hex spoke softly, unwilling to disclose to those not in his team. None of them understood him completely but they heard spatial. They knew Space was veiled in mystery, difficult to detect and almost impossible to guard against. Hex had sensed the distortion in space layers. And he had noticed one of Sven’s wives fusing with space. It was not hard to derive the rest from those two observations. ’She is half-step into the Transformation Stage. They all are.’ They had concealed their power to some extent. But during the brief moment they attacked, he sensed their true power. Sven and Svetlana hadn’t taken action, so it was hard to tell. Yet, Hex was certain those two were stronger than the rest. And that...implied something very serious. Sven might be already inside the Transformation Stage. Not at the beginning phase either. He looked at the crown prince with narrowed eyes. He had underestimated the guy. Tyrannical Trident (4) vs Wings of Tomorrow (13) The next match turned out to be a major snooze fest, especially when compared to the first three matches. Two defensive teams, both waiting to attack. Their match passed the half hour mark before the referee stepped in and forced them to make a move. They obliged. But from afar. One side sent wind blades from one end of the arena that ended up clashing against a wall of water on the other side of the arena. After another half hour of meaningless wind gales and splashes of water, the referee had enough. So he forced both teams to attack the tower. At the same time. The team with the most damage done to the empty structure would win. It took two bouts of five attacks before the referee announced the winner. "The Tyrannical Trident’s damage is 0.1mm larger than their opponents. They win." The team rushed to each other, hugging and crying, beyond happy with passing this round. The arena, however, remained silent. This was another type of silence. It was awkward. And uncertain. Should they cheer? Jeer, perhaps? They didn’t know. They settled for a lunch break. Vineyard Faeries (5) vs Divine Servants (16) Right after the intermezzo, the next match began. Hex and his team sat at the front, eager to observe. After all, the Divine Servant served Orosol Asterella or better known as the Divine Lord. Plus, Hestia participated too. Hex was happy to see her in action. It reminded him of simpler times when he was a Squire on his first mission under her lead. To everyone’s glee this match was neither one-sided or boring. It reflected in their loud cheers. Louder than the match warranted, if Hex was being honest. Both teams fielded people with abilities manipulating nature and vines. Seeing this, Hex’s eyes lit up. They wished to use vines against Hestia? Perhaps he was biased but he believed no one could outdo her with vines. Vines were her speciality. Voila. She proved it. She danced in the middle of the field, bending the attacking vines to her will. The talented opponent made one mistake. They choose vines too. To their horror not only was the emerald-haired beauty evading their attacks, she was also forcing the vines they had conjured to rebel. They watched in panic and pain as their own attacks came to life and started to attack them. Under Hestia’s wonderful control the vines danced like serpents. The Vineyard Faeries realized too late they were against the Vine Witch. Only when they all dangled on the end of their own summoned vines, did they accept their loss. Hestia waved at the cheering crowd and sent a flying kiss toward Hex. Hex laughed. At his side Sterling was cursing. Neither Ella or the others displayed their proper power. Hex didn’t mind. This time he chose to enjoy his old friend’s happiness. She was still the same old....sorry, the same young woman as she had been when he had met her. With little time left, the referee rushed the other matches. The Wrixian Heroes received the loudest cheers for the day. They were locals. And when they won, the noise thundered through the leaves above. Hex enjoyed their match too. The team consisted of Druids and the team fielded was akin to a pack of wolves. They fought with valor and put a good show. It was perhaps the first proper match of the day. Touch of Life was another group trained in Wrixia. A group of Dryads or as Hex coined them in his head, a group of undying. They weren’t weak or strong but no injury stuck long enough to do significant harm. They healed each other and infected their opponents. At one point the leader inside the tower rushed out, trying to hide his behind. But he was wearing white. And that showed the brown stains as clear as...well as clear as shit could be seen...or smelled. People sniggered, coughed, and puked. Everyone enjoyed it, except, perhaps, the leader in white...and brown. The last match was a close one but the desert people won. By a small margin. Their abilities were nothing spectacular, they just happened to counter their opponents in a way. It was dusk when the last match concluded, dropping the curtains on a day filled with interesting matches. With the matches completed, banners unfurled around the arena. The winner of each match was displayed in bold while the losers appeared faded. Alliance of Cursed Ones (1) vs Green Tigers (12) Heaven’s Army (2) vs Mountain Sons (9) Eye of the Sky (3) vs Forest Spawns (10) Tyrannical Trident (4) vs Wings of Tomorrow (13) Vineyard Faeries (5) vs Divine Servants (16) Wrixian Heroes (6) vs Copper Crowns (11) Touch of Life (7) vs Sea Swords (15) Shifting Sands (8) vs Marsh Marauders (14)