Faxul had also turned to the King of Axelor to see what he would say, while the Queen of Eldinor just teleported away after seeing that there were no elves involved in the conflict.
Seeing this, Daneel first resolved to talk to her once about everything that was going on. Of course, he could understand her actions as the elves had indeed been very arrogant stating that they would definitely be the ones to win the mage competition. Instead, they had tied with Axelor.
As for the Queen of Arafell, she did not seem very dejected that her Kingdom was last. Instead, wearing clothes that were as stunning as the ones she had had on during the opening ceremony, she also looked towards King Safiros with that same interest on her face.
Daneel had already given the answer against the insinuation thrown at him, which was that he hadn't broken any rules.
Yet, it had clearly been stated and widely accepted that those participating under the name of a kingdom had to belong to it.
However, the King of Axelor just looked on, as if imprevious to the fact that three rulers were looking at him and waiting for his response.
Meanwhile, a few people had realized that there were a few additional spectators.
Pointing up, they saw that it was the four rulers due to the glow of the fire which was shining on their faces.
This location had clearly been a pub, but it was now destroyed. The only good thing was that there were no dead bodies around, which meant that the person who had caused the conflict had been careful or that someone had taken initiative and evacuated everyone.
The latter turned out to be true, as a familiar figure walked to the middle of the large crowd where over 20 people were tussling against each other and throwing punches and kicks.
Her distinctive red hair making her stand out, she raised a hand as soon as she neared the middle.
As if someone was pulling them from behind, these 20 people separated from each other but tried to charge forward again.
Yet, it seemed as if they had hit some invisible wall as they turned around to see who was responsible.
In response, Cassandra only flew into the air before nearing the king and bowing to him.
Seeing that even the fight had ended, the King of Axelor only grimaced before teleporting away. After he did so, the Queen of Arafell also nodded at Daneel before leaving.
Meanwhile, the silence that had come after the separation of the two groups was once again broken by the shouts and blame that was being leveled against the citizens of each country by the other.
Axelor and Lanthanor had a long history of conflict where a lot of blood had been shed on both sides.
Hence, it only made sense that there were a lot of people who had enough reasons to pick a fight against citizens from the other Kingdom, especially now that both of them felt justified while having insults to throw at each other.
This also made it clear to Daneel that it wasn't just the ministers and the top echelons of each Kingdom who were aware that Axelor had enlisted outside help.
He wondered whether he could use this to take that arrogant king down a notch, but he realized that it was probably not the time to do so as he still did not have any proof.
His original plan for this event was that he might be able to conserve some of his trump cards and not expose his power to the continent while still ensuring his victory.
However, the present situation meant that he couldn't do so.
Teamwork was something that would be crucial in all the competitions, and he had hoped to keep the high level of coordination between his soldiers a secret until the time came to use it at a later stage to push him forward.
It was all the fault of the King of Axelor, and it pissed Daneel off that he couldn't do anything about it.
Hence, telling himself that he would not let them go the moment he had any chance, Daneel sighed and prepared to speak.
CRACK
As thunder roared across the air and silenced the now 200 strong crowd below him, the soldiers who had just been about to use drastic measures to calm everyone down stopped.
Daneel was happy with their performance of rushing to the scene quite quickly and getting the fire under control, but he knew that he was the only one who could resolve this while also making sure that many more fights like these would break out.
"People, I have heard the insinuations that the Kingdom of Axelor is using outsiders to bolster their mage teams so that they can win. As the host of this competition, it was my wish that all five kingdoms compete fairly in order to find out who's the best. This is why I trusted the others to not do something so foolish like this, and I must tell you that my trust has not been broken so far. There is no proof that those 15 soldiers do not belong to Axelor, so it is still a fair competition. The moment any conclusive proof surfaces, I promise you all that Axelor will be eliminated from the competition. So, I urge you all to not take part in fights like these which spoil the entire atmosphere of this glorious event. On that note, I would also like to inform you all that those who are henceforth guilty of causing disturbances like these shall be thrown into jail for the duration of the event and their tickets would be confiscated. Guards, escort everyone to wherever they are lodging. Good night, all."
Saying so in a tone that brooked no argument, the King of Lanthanor vanished from the air and was followed by the Black Raven King who had a small smile on his face.
Meanwhile, the King of Axelor had teleported to a private room in the building assigned to him where three middle-aged men were standing respectfully to the side.
After arriving, he was handed a display trinket by one of the three which expanded to show the scene of the fight from where he had just teleported away.
All four of them looked on as the King of Lanthanor made that speech, after which laugher burst out from the mouth of the King.
Seeing this, the other three also stopped controlling their own laughter.
After 30 seconds, the King stopped himself first and said, "Look at him. He knows he can do nothing, but he's still making grand statements about trust. Good job making sure that that fight happened. Now we know his stance. Maybe I didn't even need to reverse my power, but it was still needed to make sure that we are doing everything we can. Just wait till he is known as the host who lost. Have you spoken to those 15?"
At this, the other three also stopped laughing and one of them replied, saying, "It is just as you say, my King. Even though they gained a surprising victory, there is no chance whatsoever of them winning. And because it is forbidden to release information about the big four, he cannot do anything else but say things like these. There is no proof that he can get. The 15 mages have been given the best rooms, and all of their requests are being addressed. Just like you said, we are being… Discrete. There is only one among them who keeps demanding for three women to accompany him during the night. What should be done about him, if I may ask?"
Hearing this, the King frowned and asked, "Which one of them is it? The dark skinned one with long hair?"
"No, my King. He's fair skinned with a long nose."
"Then get those women! He is the weakest among the 15, but he's also the one with the most terrifying background. Each and every one of his wishes must be fulfilled. As for the one I just mentioned, fulfill his wishes too. He has the most talent. What was the problem with getting three prostitutes, anyway?"
At this, the man stopped speaking for a moment and looked down before saying, "We already sent three prostitutes, but he says he needs "uninitiated" ones. Meaning…"
Raising a hand, the King stopped him and said, "I get it. Either try to find some who are willing, or just abduct a few from somewhere nearby. Whatever you do, don't anger him."
Leaving these words, the king left the middle-aged man, who tightened his fists with anger at having been demoted to someone who had to abduct women for the whims of some kid.
Yet, keeping in his mind the ultimate goal of winning this prestigious event, he sighed and set about his task.