"Call me when you are done," Ivor informed the group of teens and went into yet another backroom, leaving Mane asking himself how big this place truly was.
The information in the Record Stone had images of the fights from the previous round – the Quarter Finals. And they were currently about to watch the first fight.
"Blue Team versus Orange Team," Lam was very excited to see the first match. He rubbed his hands in anticipation, looking like a puppy eager for some treats.
"How do you know the names of the teams?" Mane asked the strangely acting Lam. He had learnt from Lam, even before they got here that the tournament started with 32 teams. And it was strange to him that Lam had been able to easily identify the teams facing off even after 24 had been knocked out. Did that mean that his friend had studied the names of all the teams? He was much more involved in this than Mane thought.
"Well, I found out about all the teams before the tournament started: their strengths, capabilities as a unit, and their individual abilities. The Blue and Orange Teams were seeded teams from last year, having reached the Semi- Finals of the completion then. So they were favorites to get past the qualifying round. However, I didn't expect them to meet at only the Quarter Finals!" Lam explained with a lot of eagerness.
Mane nodded understandingly after hearing Lam's explanation. Although he boycotted all the fight related activities in the Wielders Academy, he was aware of how these tournaments worked. There were always teams that were given slots without having to qualify from amazing performances put up in the previous tournament. These teams were Seeded Teams. Apparently this world did the same.
"So I'm guessing that you know of all the teams that made it to the Quarter Finals?" Since Lam followed this sport so intently, he must have surely watched the Round of 16 stage which featured the 16 teams to have qualified from the group stages. So Mane was confident that he knew about the teams that made it through to the Quarter Finals. And he wanted to know more about these teams, so who better to ask than Lam?
"Well, I do. Apart from the 4 Seeded Teams that made it through, four other teams qualified," Lam paused the video feed begrudgingly, something Mane found amusing and began to explain what he knew.
"The four Seeded Teams were given colors of the rainbow. There is the Blue Team from Asher City, the Orange Team, the Indigo Team, and the Green Team. They are the favorites to win the tournament. But apart from them, there are teams that are also given Rainbow colors due to their performance in the group stages. Once they qualified for the knockout phase they were given the remaining colors of the Rainbow. These teams are the Red Team, the Yellow Team, and the Violet Team. But since there were no more colors to give, the last team was given the title Black Team. However, they are by no means the weakest. They are actually the only other team apart from the Blue Team representing Asher City. The others have been knocked out. In the previous phase of the knockout round – the Round of 16 – they knocked out their opponents without using all their team members!"
"Oh? That's impressive," Mane acknowledged that it wasn't an easy feat to fight a handicapped match and win.
"It's not just impressive, it's amazing. They fought a handicapped match and won overwhelmingly. Although the other Teams also won brilliantly, their wins failed to match up to the Black Team's. Currently, they are most fancied to win the tournament" Lam stated with sparkling eyes.
"I bet they are," Mane smiled seeing Lam's enthusiastic reaction to this sport. He turned to face Lily who was seated next to them with a bored expression and just in time too to see the younger twin adorably roll her eyes discretely at her brother. Mane smirked at her when he saw this, and she blushed slightly from having her secret eye roll seen.
"Now no more questions. Let's watch the first match." Lam warned Mane who raised his hands in surrender and resumed the video.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have reached the Quarter Final Stage of the Grand Tourney! Allow me to welcome you all as the City Lord of Asher City!"
The announcement was followed by the raucous cheering of the large crowd.
Displayed in the video was a handsome middle aged man who was dressed charmingly. His good looks were further accentuated by the brilliantly colored robes he wore, and a charismatic smile was etched across his lips. His long hair was combed neatly and tied into a ponytail, yet the normally sheepish style looked grand on him.
To his right was a beautiful woman who carried an air of haughtiness around her. She wore a stunning attire stitched expertly and meticulously, and her beauty was further heightened by the beautiful ornaments of gold she wore around her neck and on her ears. Her hand was lovingly held in the hand of the middle aged man, showing that they were a couple.
Finally, on the other side of the handsome man was another lady. This lady was as charming as she was beautiful. She looked like a younger version of the older woman, only two times prettier. She wore expensive looking necklaces and a ruby hairpin that held her lustrous red locks in place. She had a look of nonchalance on her face, and a hint of concern. She was the daughter of the handsome man.
There were 7 warriors around the family of three: three handsome men and four beautiful women. The men stood directly behind the City Lord, their expressions stoic and their auras heroic. The women were no less impressive. The large blades on their backs didn't diminish their looks in any way, rather raising their appeal. They stood behind the wife and daughter of the City Lord, two for each.
"They aren't weak," Mane murmured. Although it was only a video, now that he had access to Edict and could access his abilities as a Scholar, he could sense the large amount of power hidden within the muscles of the guards. They were so strong that he didn't know if he could take them on. But the one who gave him a feeling of helplessness was the City Lord. The man tried to hide his strength, but Mane could still make out the powerful presence hidden within those gorgeous clothes. There was power so strong that Mane was certain that this man was stronger than a Predator. But he was still below Dan. For although he felt strong, Dan still felt two or three times stronger at least! But still the City Lord was no slouch. Dan was an anomaly, so it was unfair really to compare the City Lord to him. He was so strong that Mane was certain that he would have no chance to deal with him!
"Ladies and Gentlemen; esteemed citizens of Asher City and visitors from beyond our walls; allow me to welcome you once again. We started this year's Grand Tourney with 32 talented teams. Each team was one blessed by the heavens and filled with individuals who could shake the very foundations of any city on their own. So much so that we all thought it would be impossible to get to this stage – a stage where only a few remain – yet we have!"
The man was charismatic, his speech and mannerisms drawing the attention of the crowd and pulling them into a sense of endless wonder. Mane was unmoved by the speech. How many times did he have to listen to such boring, practiced speeches from leaders when he was on Zandor? As for Lily, she couldn't care less about what was going on in the video. She got up from her seat and started looking at the things in Ivor's shop. Hildegarde wasn't even a bit impressed either. She was a member of the fairy race, and didn't care about these kind of sports where fighting was all they did. She took off from Mane's shoulder and started to explore the place. But Lam's slightly dazed eyes and excited expression showed that the boy didn't have Mane's level of exposure. He was already drawn in by the beautiful speech of the City Lord.
"Eight Teams remain, and I am proud to announce that two of these teams are from our very own Asher City!"
"YAY!" The crowd burst into joyous shouting hearing their City Lord's words. Although they already knew this, it was still exciting to hear it from the mouth of the most important person in the city.
"Let's all prepare ourselves for some amazing fights today. Mind you, do not take your eyes of the matches, or even recline in your seats a little bit. For that may cause you to miss some mind blowing action!"
At the City Lord's words some people literally sat on the edges of their seat, unwilling to miss a single thing. Seeing the reaction of the crowd, the handsome City Lord nodded with a look of approval and clapped his hand elegantly as he announced with pride:
"Let the Tournament Begin!"
"OHHHHHH!"