The First Showdown

Upon hearing the answer of the emperor, the middle-aged man's lips curved upward into a cunning smile as he said." Thank you for listening to this lowly one's idea. You won't be disappointed."

"I know." The emperor coldly answered with a mysterious smile on his face as if he could see through the middle-aged man's plot.

"Then I shall set up the stage."

Swoosh!

In the next second, the Emperor who was sitting on his throne got up and instantly teleported to the center of the hall. By this time, everyone had already cleared out the center of the hall.

Without wasting any time, the Emperor took out a small red cubic object and place it on the ground.

'An Artifact.' A trace of surprise appeared in the eyes of everyone present upon seeing the red cubic object placed on the ground.

They weren't surprised because the emperor had an artifact but because it was the 6th Artifact that he has shown to the world.

'Just how many Artifacts does the emperor have?' Many thought.

Unlike objects and weapons made by human hands, it is said that Artifacts were made and left behind by the gods. Some also said that they were made by the concentration of the magic power of the world itself.

Though no one knew for sure the origin of the Artifacts, each one of them was extremely powerful and had its own special abilities. They were also extremely rare.

They were divided into four classes, general, rare, legendary, and transcendental class. Among them, the transcendental class was the most powerful and also the rarest.

Buzz!

As soon as the emperor placed the Red Cubic Artifact on the ground, it suddenly shone brightly as a bright red fiery light burst out from it and created a transparent red cubic fiery room.

It was extremely big and had a diameter of one hundred meters. At the same time, the Red Cubic Artifact seemed to have melted and become one with the ground.

Being one of the most vital great halls of the entire Imperial Palace, every tile and pane present were extremely difficult to destroy. Unless one was Legendary Rank Aura Knight or an Archmage, it was impossible to leave a mark on them.

This was also why the emperor has chosen this place for the battle between the younger generations.

"The Competition will take place within this space. You guys can fight to your heart content and don't have to worry about the people outside as none of your attacks will be able to pass through the fiery wall."

"All the participants must now stand around the fighting ring." Following the words of the emperor, all the young masters of the high-ranking noble families rallied around the fighting ring, male and female alike.

Even the Demi-Humans, High Elves, and the Dark Elves' envoy sent some people to represent them as well let alone the other human foreign envoys.

This was an opportunity for the high-ranking noble families to showcase their power. The strength of the younger generations determined the future strength of the families and influences for the next few years or so.

"During the battle, if one side surrenders, falls for more than ten breaths of time, or gets killed, it would be counted as their loss!" Said the emperor with a cold and emotionless tone before he teleported back to his throne.

'It seems like that little bastard has gotten stronger and even has a new Rare defensive Artifact. I should inform Archbishop Gerald about this as soon as I get back.' Inwardly thought the middle-aged man.

"As I was the one who proposed the idea to his Highness the Emperor, I thought I should do the honor of starting the competition."Said the middle-aged man as he stepped forward.

"As many of you already know, I am Bishop Linmel of the Church of Light. As for my first contestant, I choose the Holy Aura Knight Ramiel to represent the Luminas Empire." Declared Bishop Linmel with a prideful look on his face.

As soon as Bishop Gerald's voice faded, a young man clad in a white knight outfit with the red cross insignia on his chest lazily walked into the fighting ring.

The young man had long silver hair and was extremely handsome. He had a pure and innocent look on his face.

Meanwhile, as soon as Bishop spoke the name of "Holy Aura Knight Ramiel.", the expression of many of the young people gathered around the ring changed.

Holy Aura Knight Ramiel, a young aura knight genius from the Luminas Empire, but this wasn't his most notable title.

His other identity was that of one of the Twelve Holy Sons of the Church Light. While the other empires and kingdoms had princes and princesses, the Luminas Empire had Holy Sons and Saintness.

Though they were similar in terms of ranks, the Holy Sons and Saintness weren't the offsprings of the Pope, the ruler of the Luminas Empire but the most talented and powerful younger generations of the Church of Light.

Unlike the other empires and kingdoms, they weren't chosen because of their bloodline but because of their insane talent and power.

Furthermore, though Holy Aura Knight Ramiel wasn't the most powerful of the Holy Sons, he was still rank 7th which wasn't a joke.

"Who among the Imperial Princes of the Helios Empire will come forward to face me. I don't know any of your names, so I don't know who to call." Said Holy Aura Knight Ramiel with a lazy and nonchalant expression on his face.

It was clear that he was looking down upon the Imperial Princes of the Helios Empire and most of the guests didn't look surprised.

It was a well-known fact that the Luminas Empire and the Helios Empire didn't like each other. If it wasn't for the threat of the Ether Beasts in the Ether Domain, they would have long go to war against each other.

As the saying goes, one mountain cannot contain two tigers. As the two of the most powerful humans empires, they were constantly fighting each other to become the leader of the human race in the fight against the Ether Beasts.

"Then I'll go first!" The 7th Imperial Prince coldly said.

As his voice fell, his entire person had already jumped high in the air, then landed in the center of the arena.

In the instant the tips of his feet landed, a powerful aura enveloped his entire body as violent wind swept toward his surroundings. With a wave of his arm, a thirty inches long Ice sword appeared in his hand.

"Helios Empire's 7th Imperial Prince, Johann." It was only a short six words, but it was incredibly imposing.

Meanwhile, Ramiel held his arms around his chest and gave Johann a sideways glance. His eyes were filled with disdain, even a fool could see it clearly… It was obvious that he didn't even take the competition in front of him seriously.

He even somewhat looked upset at Bishop Gerald for making him take part in a competition that was filled with weaklings. As for why he considered them weaklings, It was simply because he didn't know any of their names.

"Oh, so you are the 7th Imperial Prince of the Helios Empire." Said Ramiel in a feeble tone as he glanced at Johann with a lazy look on his face.

As he said that, he unsheathed his sword. With its sword tip pointing at the ground, he put his other hand behind his back, then lazily said."Um… oh, what was your name again, I forgot. Well, it doesn't matter, let's hurry up and start this. Oh, you can go first, attack however you like."

Even though Johann's expression didn't change, he was fuming with rage. Even the spectators could feel the boiling anger in his eyes. He had never endured such contempt before!

His eyes showed disdain, his expression showed disdain, even what he said was filled with mockery and loathing.

'I'll make sure to riddle your body with holes!' Johann Inwardly thought.

It was as if a volcano exploded within Johann's heart. He roared deeply as he swung his Ice Sword, and created countless ice shards that could pierce through one's bone.

They flew towards Ramiel like a swarm of locusts in the sky with incredible speed. It was like a freezing ice storm was headed straight towards Ramiel, who hadn't even entered his fighting stance.

The Ice Sword in Johann's hand wasn't a regular sword but a Magical Sword. Unlike Artifact, Magical Swords and other Magical weapons were created by humans. Though they weren't as powerful and durable as the Artifacts, they still had their own abilities.