This.... wasn't the best outcome for Arthur, although, for the time being, there was still nothing he could do about his current situation.
The idea that other people around him might be able to benefit from the exemption of heavenly laws did cross his mind, but the notion that so many origin essence sea expansion fae would be formed was even outside of Arthur's knowledge.
He could just kill everyone and get rid of the problem completely, but Arthur would at least need the cultivation of a Rank 3 Fae Master in order to do such a thing.
.... Although, he wouldn't be able to figure out what type of Fae would form if he massacred everyone in Parachenko Village.
".... I wouldn't be surprised if a Rank 5 Bone Limit Fae would form.....", he muttered.
Arthur let out a small sigh before leaning back in his chair, gazing up slightly towards his Father on the other side of the stage. He and the other Elders were discussing something before Niklos nodded and stepped forward.
The scene was something that every member of the Kovacs Clan would see twice a year, but for some reason, something was different about the Clan Leader and Elders standing on the platform above them.
Perhaps it was the number of Clan Elders, since quite a few had died in the previous beast tides.
Niklos raised his hand, attracting the attention of every single person below, Fae Master and mortal alike.
Most of them had seen the Clan Leader's strength, and knew that his power commanded respect and awe. They weren't willing to be made an example of, in the face of such absolute strength.
Niklos smiled gently, letting his short, black and gray hair flutter in the wind slightly.
"I'm glad that everyone could come out here today".
The Clan Leader took in a deep breath, before shaking his head slightly.
"In the past couple months, we've all lost so much. So many people have died. So many of our homes and livelihoods have been crushed, and our spirits have been broken, under the weight of the blood, wind and rain".
Niklos showed a bitter expression.
Many of the citizens of Parachenko Village showed equally saddened expressions. Many, if not all had lost a loved one, or a home, or something to the beast tides.
Quite a few people had suppressed their emotions, pushing them down as they tried their best to rebuild, but as they listened to the Clan Leaders words, many hung their heads down, biting their lips and holding back their tears.
"The beast tides and the Beast King that led them took a lot of things from us. Words cannot expression the things that many of you are currently feeling, and normal actions cannot express the sympathies that all of us have for each other!".
"However!".
Niklos' tone suddenly turned strong, and his expression fierce.
Many of the mortals and younger Fae Masters looked up towards the Clan Leader, wondering why his tone changed so suddenly.
Niklos slammed his fist into the wooden railing in front of him, breaking it with a single smack of his fist.
"However! We are all still alive! We can all still feel! We can all still fight! Those whom we have all lost, would they want you all to roll over into the mud and die! Doing such a thing, would disgrace the memory of your Fathers! Your Mothers. Your Brothers, and your Sisters!"
"If you all died, and they all lived, would you want them to die!? Would you all want them to be devoured by grief and sadness and rage!? I can say with absolutely certainty, that none of us would want such a thing!".
All of the Elders behind Niklos stood up, and released their Rank 3 cultivation for the entire Village to see. The presence of such powerful topaz origin essence caused many of the mortals to shiver, while the lower Ranked Fae Masters to tremble in the face of such power.
Many of them knew, or had even already heard the words of the Clan Leader from their friends or family, but feeling the power of a Rank 4, and more than a dozen Rank 3 Fae Masters was completely different!
Their blood boiled, and many of those hot-blooded young men and women raised their arms and shouted out!
"No way in hell!".
"Even if I must die today, I'd rather do it on the battlefield than down in the mud!".
"I'll kill anyone who wants to hurt my children!".
Niklos looked down on the Village members before nodding slightly. He raised a fist and slammed it down on his chest, the boom resounding throughout the platform.
"We are all survivors! We all are warriors! We are all Kovacs! And we are all strong! So long as the blood in our veins continues to flow, we will never back down! We will never give up, and we will never stop living!".
Arthur and Randolf noticed several of their classmates, including Zoya stand up and raise their fists to the sky.
Arthur couldn't help but slightly nod, albeit for different reasons.
'Father is quite the schemer.... Although, perhaps this was one of the other Elders ideas.... Not by any means a bad one though'.
Randolf on the other hand, showed a faintly respectful expression.
'The Clan Leader.... if he was in my previous world he would probably be quite the politician. It is just sophistry, but against this unsuspecting and emotional audience, it has an even greater affect'.
Riling up the crowds was the easiest way to get his message across.
Playing to their emotions and their grief was easy, and using the authorities of the strongest individuals in the entire Village was just a bonus.
In less than a week, the next batch of fifteen year olds would undergo the talent awakening ceremony, so many of the young teens couldn't help but scream out, letting their anger fuel their words.
Niklos glanced down at the raging crowds before nodding opening his arms wide, as if trying to embrace the while Village!
"With this, I finally declare that the second Fae Master Tournament.... has begun!".
The screams only grew louder, as Randolf glanced towards Arthur beside him.
The slightly older young man just continued to sit quietly, his arms crossed with one leg over the other, his hair covering his face. The steady rise and fall of his chest, made it seem as though Arthur was sleeping, but Randolf knew otherwise.
The foreigner narrowed his eyes before turning back to his classmates, or fellow participants while narrowing his eyes.
Even though Arthur was his final obstacle, he still needed to be careful of some of the others.
His eyes were drawn towards Alina, who was sitting peacefully amongst the screaming crowd.
He didn't want to, but if he needed, he might have to use his trump card early, if his luck was bad....