两男一女的双龙挺进

The overwhelming strength he had displayed was still very much vivid in their minds. A moment later, a thunderous roar exploded from the Cromwell seats as they began to clap enthusiastically while giving a standing ovation for the Cromwell team.

Nathan\'s eyes were filled with pride, and his laughter alone dwarfed the voices of all the others present there.

At first, the others were silent, simply watching, but slowly they began to clap and stand up on their feet. Though they were not on good terms, they had to admit the youngsters of Cromwell were very powerful and talented.

It was not only Nox; Wendy, Nyx, and Rab had held their own against the Cromwell siblings, who were students of the prestigious Vermilion Royal Academy, rumored to house the kingdom\'s finest youngsters... yet even they had nearly lost against them.

Klein walked confidently to the front of the platform, a smile on his face. "This, folks, is one of the most exciting tournaments I have witnessed in the whole of my life!"

In response to Klein\'s words, the audience roared in excitement, their collective voices reaching far and wide. Klein had to raise a hand to quiet them before continuing. He glanced at the judges and asked,

"Miss Bridget and Sir Zarek Silver, what do you think about this tournament? Do they deserve to be the winners?"

The hearts of the Cromwell citizens began to pound in their chests when they heard Klein ask this question, and their eyes flashed with anxiety. The reason for their worries was that one negative word from the judges could change the outcome of this tournament.

Bridget opened her beautifully purple-glossed lips; she hesitated, something that made a wave of whispers spread through the crowd. A moment later, her beautiful voice echoed through the arena. "Yes, they deserve to be the winners! This is indeed one of the most exciting tournaments I have seen in recent years!"

A sigh of relief escaped the lips of the others. One judge down; now they just needed the judgment of the mysterious blindfolded man.

When this man\'s name was called, Nathan\'s heart sped up a bit, and a silver flash even passed over Nyx\'s usually indifferent features. They had gotten into a little scuffle with the Silver household back in the capital, and from what they had seen, this man seemed to be a member of the Silver household—a very important one at that, as he often stayed close to Lucas Silver.

It wouldn\'t even be a shock to them if the blindfolded man judged them harshly.

However, a moment later, to the surprise of both Nyx and Nathan, Zarek announced, "I also agree with Bridget over here."

A complicated look appeared in Nathan\'s eyes. These nobles were known for being very petty; it came as quite the surprise that Zarek didn\'t hold a grudge or try to turn the situation against them.

\'Is this another plan of theirs? Something is definitely fishy... I refuse to believe the Silver household would send him here to give an honest judgment.\' Nathan stroked his chin as his gaze lingered a little on Zarek before moving on to Klein, who was about to make another announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Klein\'s voice boomed, rising above the crowd\'s murmurs and filling the vast arena. A silence fell over the audience, anticipation thick in the air. "Not only are they the top rankers in the elimination rankings, they are also the sole survivors of this tournament. Folks, the winners of the western region fight summit are—"

Klein wasn\'t able to finish his speech as a blaring horn echoed through the air.

"That sound!" The eyes of the barons widened as they jumped to their feet. "It can\'t be!"

The lords simultaneously pulled out their communication crystals and began to issue a series of orders to the people in the other towns.

"Assemble all able Awakened! Don\'t let anything breach the walls!"

"Secure the western gate!"

"Protect my family!"

Orders like these flew in all directions, making some citizens restless and confused. Why was everyone suddenly acting as if it were the end of the world? Even Nox and the others wore bewildered expressions on their faces and couldn\'t help but turn to Klein, who was cursing under his breath and murmuring incomprehensible gibberish.

"Damn it, why am I so unlucky? I should\'ve never accepted this deal. I\'m not even Awakened; how am I supposed to survive this... Damn! Damn! Damn!"

"Mister." Nox walked up to the man and asked, his voice laced with curiosity, "Could you tell us what\'s wrong?"

Hearing this, Klein was first shocked, then a look of understanding shone in his eyes. "You guys are just kids, so I won\'t blame you if you don\'t know about this."

"Know about what?" Nyx asked. She had read a lot about the Vermilion Kingdom and knew a fair share of things, but she hadn\'t read anything about a coded horn that could throw everyone into disarray.

"It\'s very rare for this signal to sound," Klein explained in a grim voice. "The last time this horn sounded in the southern region, a monster horde invaded the entire south, bringing it into complete ruin!"

Gasp! Wendy, Cole, and Rab gasped in horror as they heard Klein\'s words, which carried more weight than they sounded. In the same grim voice, he continued, "Two-thirds of the southern region was destroyed because of the monster stampede, and to this day they\'re still struggling to stand back on their feet. It\'s the reason they are the least successful region."

"It\'s the first time I\'m hearing this story," Wendy frowned. "As a student of the Vermilion Royal Academy, they should have taught us this."

Klein gave a bitter smile. "That\'s because they don\'t want you guys to know about it... thousands of lives were lost, you know... the kingdom wouldn\'t want young ones to know about such a gloomy history."

"T-thousands of lives were... lost?" Nox\'s voice echoed, his eyes widening. "The barony, shit!"

Meanwhile, on the walls of the Armstrong Duchy, the soldiers there all wore pale expressions.

In the far distance, they could see thousands of beasts with glowing, ravenous red eyes surging forward like a wave of black tide, causing the ground to tremble as if ancient titans were approaching.

"Damn it! T-this is bad," one of the soldiers on the walls exclaimed with a horrified pale, ashen expression.