Unedited chapter. It will be edited soon.

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Hardrial Forwal.

One of the most powerful men in the empire, who has a somewhat peculiar reputation among them all.

An Armamentalist is often despised for many reasons, generally by conservative extremists who refuse to accept change. There are so many of them that even in their families, who are a little more open-minded, there are several who believe that Armamentalists should not really exist.

They are magicians, but made for murder. They are not magicians made for what magicians were made for.

All magicians were made to study magic, to understand magic, and to reach the depths of it. They do not seek murder, even though their powers can achieve it en masse; they simply want to delve into the magical knowledge that the world offers us.

Those who think this way are at least more logical than the former, which is why seeing this man here could sit badly with some of them.

Although they still had to greet him respectfully, because he is also a first-rate wizard.

"Mr. Hardrial, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Greetings, Professor Hardrial."

Several of them stood up to greet him.

"No need for greetings, I only came because Mr. Priestley personally invited me and because I understand the problems the academy may face shortly," he said and looked toward the arena. "To see my students too, of course."

"Haha, come in, Mr. Hardrial. Please sit down," Robert Priestley said, giving him a good place to sit.

The next to arrive was someone else who worked for the Lockwards.

Adelbert R-Lockward, the Master of Wines.

"Mr. Adelbert, come in," greeted Miss Evergreen, who was in charge of inviting him.

He was the one who felt most out of place. He was not someone worthy of sitting among so many people, but his status as a subordinate of the most prestigious family earned him great status.

"Greetings to all of you, distinguished gentlemen. Don't feel any less important just because I'm here," he said, smiling slightly. "I only have a certain amount of influence among high-end wines and restaurants, and I brought you a little something," he said, taking out some fine wine to serve.

"Haha, Mr. Adelbert, as a subordinate of the Lockwards, you don't need to feel embarrassed. You are worthy of our hospitality, so we hope you enjoy your time here."

"Thank you, thank you."

Although there were still a few higher-status guests yet to arrive, Robert Priestley looked at Adelbert.

"Mr. Adelbert, have you had any recent contact with the Lockward Clan?" he asked, causing everyone to turn to look at him to hear his answer.

Adelbert nodded slightly. "A few letters and missions they gave me, but nothing out of the ordinary. I went to the family home recently and everyone seems to be busy, so I went back to work after delivering the good wine to them," he replied.

Robert nodded. "He doesn't seem to have a clue either," he thought.

He had gone to ask the Duke of Velharthe earlier, but getting information out of that stubborn old man was harder than getting Aster Mane these days.

Even though he recognized the difficulties the city would face from now on with these troublemakers at its gates, he still remained tight-lipped and seemed to have nothing to say.

Hardrial was perhaps the only one who mentioned having had direct contact with Lord Dan recently, and that was over a month ago.

So the minutes passed as the empire's entire power elite gathered in their respective halls.

The lower-ranking nobles felt their necks ache as they looked up at the two main VIP rooms. Not only because they had to raise their heads, but also because they had to count a lot of historical figures, especially on the side where the emperor was.

And they all began to fear that something very bad might happen soon.

"Emperor, do you think those guys have any idea about our plans? They've gathered quite a few people," said one of the leaders of one of the Northern Castles.

The emperor was also pensive about it. "Hmph, no matter how many of them gather, that power does not scare me," he replied.

"Hahaha, certainly their power is quite small. What scares me are those two there in the center, as allied as they were in those days. Do you think they can replicate what they did before?" asked the same leader again, this time referring to Robert Priestley and Miss Evergreen.

"They wouldn't dare." Suddenly, a tender and hypnotic voice silenced everyone who was planning to speak, even the emperor.

He looked at the woman beside him. "Lady Loren, may we know your thoughts on this matter?" he asked.

She glanced at him sideways before turning her gaze back to the sand, practically uninterested in the guys on the other side.

"We all know that February was special. They had too much power, and there was no organization willing to help you. But the losses you suffered then are something that, despite the passage of time, you have not been able to recover from. Thanks to what you did, even though you destroyed their plans and cornered them, they ended up losing a good percentage of their power."

"It's no longer sustainable for them to do it again, and if they do, they won't be able to maintain it for a month. They could even lose 50% of their current power, which will benefit us because we won't lose as much."

"Besides, this time the power has been divided, and that other man won't do something as foolish as that, so even if he makes them lose a lot of resources, it won't be as much as before."

She smiled. "The most important thing. They don't have a foreign organization willing to help them. You do. I don't think the Priestleys have any more money in reserve than we do." She concluded.

Her words practically opened their allies' eyes. She was absolutely right.

This time the circumstances were different. And that difference even included a variable: Neville.

They all considered the Nevilles to be just another castle, one with power over many lands. But even if Neville and Priestley joined forces and decided to do something crazy like this, they still wouldn't have the same power as before.

And the Nevilles couldn't match their wealth either, so they were still winning.

"If they did, it would be even better," thought Lady Loren, glancing sideways at Robert Priestley and his people. "Too bad I can't cast a spell on you to make you do it. If my goddess were here, you would be doomed." She relaxed.

She wasn't worried at all, unlike the local castles.

They understood why she spoke so calmly: the church hadn't experienced that back then; it arrived in this nation some time later, precisely because of how weakened the nation was after that event.

They had experienced it firsthand... well, their ancestors had.

It was no joke to say that it was a genuinely difficult situation to deal with. But they had to find meaning in the words of such a distinguished woman.

The academic side spoke again, announcing the start of the last day of the tournament for the promoted players and then arranging the arenas where the last day would be played.

The largest was reserved for the final. The round of 16 would be played in eight different arenas, the most prominent ones, but they would not be played at the same time as before.

One match at a time, and they still had to draw a piece of paper from a bowl, as he was the last one to have that format.

Louis didn't get to draw this time, and among the numbers, he got to the end.

Of the eight fights, he would fight seventh, right after Laura's fight.

Luckily for both of them, they didn't have to fight each other. They would meet in the final if they made it, as they were in different brackets.

Two of the three stars, the two youngest, were in Louis' bracket. Mark was in Laura's bracket.

"If we make it to the semifinals, I think we'll be fine. Even if we lose there, we'll be guaranteed a spot in the top three," said Laura after coming over to him, still not revealing her emotions, after learning that she would be fighting until almost the end.

But she had already removed her armor and was now wearing black leather clothing that covered her almost entirely and provided protection. Her hands were also covered with leather gloves, and her hair was completely tucked inside a hat that perfectly hid the rest of her face.

Louis laughed a little at seeing her dressed like that, but he didn't say anything.

"I'm pretty sure we can both make it into the top three, as long as you decide to show your true ability," he said.

"Haha, I certainly will," she replied and looked at the fight that had just begun. "It's Mark," she said.

"That guy's pretty good," said Louis.

"No wonder he's the current number one and has been for quite some time. Although he doesn't seem to be playing seriously."

"Does he have any tricks up his sleeve that you know of?"

"Yes. His magic is impressive. He has managed to understand the logic behind all the spells he knows very well, which allows him to attack with astonishing versatility. In addition, his speed is his strong point. In this regard, not even Miss Evergreen or Miss Rebecca could match him," she replied.

Louis was genuinely surprised. "That good?"

"You'll see when he gets serious."

"Do you think you can beat him?" Louis asked, curious about her answer, and she laughed.

"It's difficult, but I have to try," she replied.

"If even she says it's difficult, this guy must be impressive," Louis thought, and he devoted himself to watching the fight.

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