Despite the despair of the other princes, they were joyful. They all offered their greetings to the king, then to the heir, and everyone in the stands bowed to him in respect—except for a few individuals.
Then the king stepped forward and presented the copy of the concrete and the skull to the first prince.
After that, the king said, "Pour some of your blood on this skull and the concrete. These are procedures that every king must perform before ascending to the throne."
The procedures were completed quickly, then the envoys from the other kingdoms presented their gifts to the heir.
The prince placed the box in front of him, and when one of his followers took it, he set it aside, then sat down.
At that moment, Dorana stepped forward and stood before the king. She gave a salute and said, "Your Majesty, I've heard that one of your knights is very strong. So, what do you think of him engaging in a real battle with one of my followers?"
The king began to contemplate, then said, "Which one?"
Dorana pointed with her hands toward Amis and said, "That person."
The king said, "Very well."
He gestured to one of the individuals, then spoke to him in a low voice in his ear. That person descended into the arena and spoke with the announcer.
The announcer looked toward the stands, then said, "Today, we were supposed to present a show in celebration of this beautiful day. But suddenly, something has happened, and we will have to delay it for a while, because we now have a battle taking place between one of the kingdom's knights and a foreigner from a distant land.
The one stepping forward from among the knights, as everyone knows, is Amis, the known Reaper of Souls. And the second person is one of the followers of the noble lady Dorana."
The people in the stands were extremely excited, because they had never seen Amis fight before.
As for Amis, his face was void of any emotion.
In the stands and on the royal platform, there was a man sitting and looking at Amis with a cold face. This man was the one who had been behind the curtains on the day Amis killed the two men. His name was Loren, and beside him was the person Felix had met — this was Lebran, and he too was directing his gaze toward Amis.
Lebran looked toward Loren and said, "What do you think of a bet?"
Loren replied without asking what the bet was, "I'll choose the Reaper of Souls."
Then Lebran began to laugh, "Alright, and I'll choose the foreigner."
Then Loren asked, "What will we bet on?"
Lebran replied, "A service the loser will offer to the winner. What do you think?"
Loren answered without hesitation, "Agreed."
In the stands, Blue Run and Reno were present among the people, watching and talking, and the same was true for Raiven and his followers; they were speaking among themselves.
Briley said, "When will we move?"
Raiven replied, "It's still early; we won't rush things. If we move now, we will fall into a predicament. Let us watch this fight first, then decide what to do."
In the wide arena, Amis and the other person stepped forward, the latter with a visible smile on his face.
The man in the center said, "You may start the fight, but remember well, this fight is just a show, so there is no need to launch deadly attacks."
The foreign man looked at Amis and said, "Let's see if your strength supports your previous actions."
Amis replied, "What do you care about my actions? I am free to act as I please."
The man muttered, "Your disrespect toward someone of higher rank than you undermines the order of this world. Do you know who that girl is, the one who refused to bow to her?"
Amis replied, "I don't care who she is, nor do I care about the order of this world. If you want bowing or even worshiping, what's it to me?"
The man spoke with an annoyed face, "You're a long-tongued scoundrel. Let's see what you've got."
He rushed toward Amis holding a sharp sword in his right hand.
Amis drew the long sickle from behind his back and headed toward the man as well. They collided in the middle of the arena; a disturbing buzzing sound was heard from the clashing of their weapons. They exchanged several blows before each retreated.
Amis stood holding his long black sickle striped with dark blue colors, looking at the man while smiling.
Another man was also smiling and then said, "If this fight weren't just a show, I would have torn your head off."
Amis replied, still smiling, "You have some skill, I do not deny that, but to kill me, you are not qualified."
Amis surged forward and launched consecutive attacks on the man so as not to let him breathe. He attacked with his sickle as if he were playing with it, and his mastery in handling the sickle was precise, as if the sickle was made for him. He attacked, while the other defended with his broad sword, constantly retreating backward.
The people in the stands watched enthusiastically, and their voices rose in the arena.
At that moment, the two men on the royal platform were whispering; the first was Loren, and the second was Lebran.
Loren smiled and said to Lebran, "It seems I am on the way to winning this bet."
Lebran replied, "The duel is still ongoing; when it ends, you can say that."
Then Loren began to laugh and said, "The duel is getting closer to ending, Lebran. Don't you see it with your own eyes?"
His excitement was evident on his face, as if Amis were one of his own followers.
In the arena, Amis was still attacking, and the other man was defending. Suddenly, Amis launched an attack toward the other's leg, but the other smiled and stepped back slightly.
However, Amis tilted his sickle downward, pressing it against the ground taking advantage of the uneven surface, then raised both his legs into the air and delivered a quick kick toward the man's face. It struck his face, and he fell to the ground.
The man quickly stood up, blood dripping from his nose, but it was not over yet, as he saw Amis heading toward him. The man roared and charged at Amis.
The fight between them intensified. The man deliberately attacked Amis's hand holding the sickle, but Amis tilted his body to the side and launched an attack toward the man's head, yet the other slightly tilted his head, avoiding the attack.
Then, with a swift movement, Amis reversed the sickle's handle and pulled it back toward himself while retreating.
The man felt a deadly danger and extreme cold behind his head, and without awareness, he quickly bent downward.
His unconscious action only cut some hair from his head. He retreated backward, panting, sweat pouring from him, shock evident on his face.
Had he not reacted quickly, he would have lost his head.
The man's anger flared and ignited, and he said, "You bastard, do you want to kill me?"
Amis smiled and said, "Didn't you just say you wanted to tear my head off? So why shouldn't I dare to do the same to you?"