Alex then glanced toward a man who was leaning on the wall of the training grounds and called out, "Hey, Sillas, come here!"
"Huh? Me?"
"Yes, you, come here"
'What does he want from me?' wondered Sillas as he made his way towards Alex.
Sillas would rather avoid Alex because he always thought that Alex was trouble, especially now with his attempts to incite rebellion.
However, it seemed that he had caught his interest anyway.
"What do you want?" asked Sillas, trying to sound polite.
"Here, sit," proposed Alex as he materialized another chair of smoke next to him.
Sillas gazed at Alex, then at the chair. He did something that made Alex chuckle; he used his hand to confirm if the chair was indeed solid before allowing himself to sit on it.
'I guess I have my answer; he is one of those overly cautious people,' chuckled Alex.
The reason he had wanted to hold a discussion with Sillas was that he was intrigued with the latter refusing to spar with Lilia. Seeing Sillas feeling up the chair before sitting, he understood why he isn't participating.
However, he still asked, "Why aren't you participating and trying to become the head by defeating my wife? You participated in the competition and reached the semi-final, showing that you're quite resourceful. So, why aren't you participating?"
Sillas remained for a moment, thinking about his reply, then opened his mouth.
"Firstly, the one who defeated me, Amelia, isn't participating. Unlike others who think it's because she doesn't want your position, I believe it's because she knows something we don't. Secondly, you seemed too confident that you wouldn't lose your position even when you bet it."
'Good analysis; he is smart, or it is the others who are dumb. I can't decide.'
"So, do you think Lilia will win against them, or lose during her first fight?" questioned Alex.
"I don't accurately know your wife's strength, but I think it's stupid to measure one's strength by the amount of mana they possess. If such a measure were correct, then instead of being revered, knights would be at the bottom of the barrel," answered Sillas.
'He definitely is smart, or at the very least has a cool head on his shoulders,' thought Alex in appreciation.
"Curse it, that's bullshit!"
As he was about to speak again, Alex's attention was drawn to the side by the sound of some dissatisfied shouts.
When he asked Violette what was happening, her answer made him chuckle.
Apparently, to determine who would fight first against Lilia, the participants had two choices. The first option was to use the competition ranking, and the second was to draw lots.
People obviously decided to draw lots since the one who would fight first against Lilia would be Jonathan. No one wanted that because it would mean Lilia would be defeated before they even had a chance. So, they drew lots, but ironically, the one who got the chance to fight first against Lilia was Jonathan, again!
"I guess that's what is called fate," chuckled Alex as he observed the others clearing the center of the training grounds with faces that resembled they just ate a pile of shit.
As Lilia and Jonathan faced each other, the latter bowed slightly and said, "Sorry if I hurt you during the fight."
"Don't worry; that won't happen," replied Lilia with a sweet smile.
'I can't determine if she is just arrogant or if there is a reason why she is so confident,' thought Jonathan as he took a fighting stance.
'Anyway, I'm going to go all out,' decided Jonathan.
He wasn't stupid; he had also determined that Alex wouldn't bet his position if he wasn't certain of winning. Still, Jonathan decided to participate because he had faith in his strength and thought that he would win, no matter how strong Lilia truly was.
"The battle starts in 3... 2... 1... Start-"
"Let the show begin!" shouted Alex as he chewed on the snacks that he had brought, unbothered that he had just cut off the referee.
Since he had decided to go all out, the instant the signal was given, Jonathan charged at Lilia with all his might.
In a split second, he was in front of her. He armed his punch, and-
Slap.
The training grounds suddenly resonated with a loud slapping sound. A split second later, Jonathan's body could be seen flying back in the direction it came from with an even greater speed than he had come with.
The spectators didn't even have time to feel shocked when they heard another slap occurring. A split second later, Jonathan's body could be seen flying in the opposite direction.
'W-What the heck is going on?' wondered Jonathan.
The feeling of weightlessness in his body, his body feeling like it was floating, and the wind whistling in his ears made Jonathan realize that his body was currently in the air.
'What happened?' wondered Jonathan as he tried to recall what caused him to be in this situation.
However, due to the pain he was currently feeling, his mind was muddled, and he couldn't think straight. The only thing he knew was that he needed to stop himself before he crashed into anything.
If he could observe what was happening in the third person, he would understand that even if he didn't crash into something, that something would be crashing against him, and that something was Lilia's palm.
Slap Slap Slap
Under the incredulous gaze of the spectators, Jonathan's body was flung from one side to another of the training grounds in succession, from right to left. Lilia was practically playing tennis with Jonathan, with him playing the role of the ball.
This continued until Lilia felt that she might kill him if she continued. So, with one last slap, she sent his body crashing into a wall.
Boom
An explosion sound resonated as Jonathan's body crashed against the wall, raising a cloud of dust.
"Tsk, it's already over" remarked Alex with a disappointed tone.
"….."
"....."
"....."
The ones near him that heard what he said couldn't decide what was more absurd: him feeling disappointed that the beating of the 'strongest' of their branch just a week ago had stopped, or the fact that the one beating such a genius was beaten so soundly by someone everyone thought was normal mere minutes ago.
"I knew that no one among them could defeat Mom, but I didn't think the strongest among them would be defeated this easily," remarked Violette.
"That's because you really don't know how scary your mother is," said Alex.
Even he, with his current stats that were clearly above a normal level 4, doubted that he would fare better than Lilia.
'It isn't just about stats; there is something that sets her apart from us others. Until I find this thing, I doubt I would be able to defeat her,' thought Alex with a bitter smile.
'Forget it; let's enjoy the spectacle instead,' thought Alex.
"Just how?" mumbled a dumbfounded Sillas.
"He wasn't just Lilia's match from the start, plus he made a grave mistake from the beginning of the fight," said Alex.
"What mistake?"
"Rule N°1: Never charge at Lilia," said Alex with a solemn tone.
"Never charge at her?"
"Yes, otherwise, it ends horribly, and I'm speaking from experience," shared Alex.
"Som-"
"Forget it, Instead, tell me, do you think others would fight her now just seeing this display of power?" asked Alex with a smile.
"I doubt they will try to fight her, seeing that she just-"
"False," denied Alex, "you see, us humans are masters at finding excuses. Just now, Lilia defeated Jonathan without the latter even being able to defend himself. But it will not discourage the others; they will justify this win by saying something like Jonathan had been surprised, or maybe he lost because he is simply weak when he isn't using his abilities. Although they know in their hearts that they can't defeat him even if he doesn't use his abilities, each one of them will find an excuse to deny the fact that the strongest among them was defeated so easily. And after they find that excuse, they will get on stage and fight it out with Lilia."
As if to prove his words, Celine started walking towards the center of the training grounds, going to confront Lilia.
"It's usually a bad thing..." continued Alex with a grin, "....but for today, I hope they keep finding excuses until everyone of them passes; it won't be fun otherwise."