While Clay was laughing in elation, those two ocean demon elders' expressions were ashen, and they felt cold sweat on their back when they thought about just dodging a bullet.
Because they know someone with a half sword intent can easily chop them into half because they had no prior experience of battle and their battle sense could not even compare with someone who had comprehended a weapon intent.
If they had gone through with their impulse and Head Elder agreed to Ace's challenge, they would've become his high-grade punching bags and shamed the council, which will cause an even worse backlash.
Furthermore, they were also feeling dread for their tribe because the appearance of a half sword intent genius means the rise of the Demon Sword Tribe and which spelled nothing but trouble for the ocean demon tribe.