Chapter 295 -: 294 Changes.[2]
One week soon passed.
The entire Sun Clan City had entered the busiest period it had seen in decades.
People poured into the city from every corner of the surrounding regions, filling the streets from sunrise until long after nightfall.
Merchants, nobles, wandering spell casters, mercenary groups, and even ordinary civilians had all gathered for the same reason, to witness the battles that would decide the rankings of the four strongest spell casters of the city.
Although challenges between the lower rankings happened every year, the duels involving the first four ranks were an entirely different matter.
Especially those concerning the first and second positions.
It had been so many decades since anyone dared challenge them that many who had witnessed the previous battles in their youth had already become old men and women, while countless others had long since passed away.
To most of the younger generation, those legendary duels existed only in stories passed down by their elders.
Now, after all these years, history was about to repeat itself.
The excitement spreading throughout the city was no different from that of a grand festival.
Every inn, guest house, and rented residence had been fully booked days ago, leaving countless late arrivals with no choice but to sleep inside carriages or temporary camps established outside the city walls.
The streets remained crowded throughout the day, while every restaurant and tavern overflowed with customers discussing nothing but the upcoming battles.
Small businesses benefited the most from the unprecedented number of visitors, their owners barely finding a moment to rest as customers came and went without pause.
Gambling houses were equally packed, with people placing enormous wagers on the outcome of each duel while heated arguments broke out over the strengths and weaknesses of every challenger.
Yet, despite the approaching matches being the greatest spectacle the city had witnessed in generations, the topic dominating today’s conversations was something entirely unexpected.
"I heard our leaders are arranging a conference with the humans. Do you know when it’s supposed to happen?"
An elderly Zlycon spoke while lowering the newspaper in his hands, his wrinkled brows slightly furrowed as he reread the article printed across its front page.
Across from him, another old man leisurely lifted a cup of steaming tea before taking a slow sip.
"Mm... they are," he replied with a small nod.
"From what I’ve heard, it’ll be held two months from now. They’re planning to invite the human representatives during the Grand Tournament itself. Holding the conference while all the major powers are gathered here will supposedly demonstrate our sincerity."
"Haa..."
The old man let out a weary sigh as he stared into the distance.
"I don’t know where this world is heading anymore. We’ve already lived most of our lives... whatever happens now won’t affect us for very long. But the younger generation..."
His voice became noticeably quieter. "The years ahead are going to be chaotic."
The other elder silently folded the newspaper before placing it on the table.
"You’re right," he said after a long pause.
"My grandson only turned sixteen this year. If a large-scale war breaks out, he’ll inevitably be drafted into the army.
Sometimes..."
He lowered his head slightly. "...I find myself wishing he had never awakened as a spell caster."
"...You’re right."
The first old man could only sigh once again.
"...You’re absolutely right."
Similar conversations echoed throughout every corner of the market.
Whether inside teahouses, restaurants, or roadside stalls, countless Zlycons discussed the same matter with uneasy expressions.
According to the news circulating throughout the city, the Zlycon leaders had formally invited humanity’s highest authorities to attend a diplomatic conference during the Grand Tournament.
On the surface, it appeared to be a gesture of goodwill, an attempt to ease the hostility that had existed between the two races for centuries.
However, very few believed such optimism. Rumors had already begun spreading that the conference would involve demands for unreasonable reparations and impossible concessions.
Most people believed the negotiations were destined to fail before they had even begun.
If that happened, then the conference would merely become the final spark needed to ignite another war.
****
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the bustling marketplace, two figures quietly moved through the sea of people.
Their faces remained hidden beneath loose hoods and dark cloth masks, making them no different from countless other travelers wandering through the city.
After rising to the third and fourth ranks before entering seclusion...and now openly challenging the city’s two strongest spell casters....both Kavin and Jasmine had become familiar faces throughout Sun Clan City.
Revealing themselves now would almost certainly attract a massive crowd, something neither of them had any interest in dealing with before the tournament.
"I still can’t believe that old man is dead..."
Kavin muttered beneath his breath as they continued walking through the crowded street. His voice was barely louder than a whisper, but it hardly mattered.
An invisible sound barrier quietly surrounded the two of them, preventing even the faintest word from escaping beyond a few inches.
"Do you think I can?"
Jasmine replied while keeping her gaze fixed ahead.
"I don’t even know what I’m supposed to feel."
Her eyes narrowed slightly beneath the hood.
"That old man wasn’t some ordinary person. I only met him once or twice during my entire life, but every single time..." She paused briefly.
"...I couldn’t even bring myself to look at him for long. Just standing in his presence gave me goosebumps. I honestly wondered whether he was even human."
A faint, complicated smile appeared beneath her mask.
"Who even knew what he really was? That old bastard had been alive for nearly seven hundred years. By the time we were born, he was already a living legend within the Valentina Family."
Her expression gradually became serious once again.
"But for someone to actually kill him..."
Her brows slowly knitted together.
"I still can’t understand it."
Unlike ordinary people, she understood better than anyone how terrifying the Valentina Family truly was.
The family’s standing army alone numbered nearly five hundred thousand trained soldiers.
Beyond them stood countless elders, the hidden Shadow Agents who operated in complete secrecy, the family patriarch, and finally... Immortal Valentina himself...the ancient monster who had protected the family for centuries.
Breaking into the heavily fortified Valentina estate was already close to impossible.
Reaching that old monster without being detected was another matter entirely.
"And then killing him..."
Jasmine quietly shook her head.
"There are barely a handful of people in the entire world capable of something like that."
Her voice became almost inaudible.
"...Whoever did it..."
"...must be unimaginably powerful."