"Claws!"

Sigil of the Tiger spell.

Claws - Using qi energy, the caster creates a rupture in the space in front of him. The rupture delivers a stabbing blow and causes the target to bleed out.

After shouting this, he waved his left hand from bottom to top. His fingers were clenched as if imitating a tiger's paw.

The spiritual energy around Aydor came into motion, and a moment later exploded with a terrifying crack, leaving three wide wounds on the guy's body.

"Noooo!!!" Velin rushed forward, leaping over the heads of the people sitting in front of him.

"The fight is over!" The judge finally stopped the fight.

Immediately, Hog and Mizra rushed into the arena. They were followed by the doctor Renol.

From the other side of the tribune, members of the Kinov family also rushed into the arena.

"Aydor, Aydor! Son. Can you hear me?" Velin dropped to his knees upon reaching his son. Taking a quick look at his wounds he exhaled. The wounds were not deep. But still because of their size Aydor was losing a lot of blood.

"You'll pay for what you did."At this time, Hog ran out into the arena. Running out into the arena Hog headed towards Krinnel.

"Wind slash!"

Without hesitation he used a spell to finish the guy off on the spot.

"Shield!" But suddenly the young woman got in the way of the spell, blocking it with the Shield Sigil.

"Stop, now!" The judge stood up from his seat and shouted across the arena. "One more spell and I'll send you to the gallows, Dovor!"

"I'm sorry judge. I had a bit of a temper when I saw what happened to my nephew. Didn't the bishop forbid intentionally mutilating an opponent? The outcome of the fight was already a foregone conclusion when he used the sigil! I demand that the bastard be punished!" Shouted Hog in response to the judge's threat.

"Calm down already. I'm not blind and saw perfectly well what happened. On the other hand your boy is still alive, so there's no reason to punish him yet. But if he dies, rest assured that I will personally chop off young Krinnel's head," the judge replied.

Hearing this made Krinnel uncomfortable. Knowing that his life hung in the balance because of his own stupidity he felt weak in his legs. The authority of the senior deacon of the Martial Emperor Temple was unshakable. And even the Kinov family wouldn't dare to stand in his way.

At this moment, Dr. Renol was already examining Aydor's wounds.

"The injuries are too serious. Right now I can only stop the blood, but to stitch up the wounds you'll need to take him to my office." He said.

"Hibernation!"

Amplification of the Sigil of Ice.

Hibernation - the wearer goes into hibernation, slowly expending his qi, he can go without food and water for a long time. Blood circulation and respiration slow down.

Renol used the sigil on Aydor to stop the blood loss, which would buy them some time.

Mizra all this while standing behind the doctor's back with tears in his eyes and not saying a word took off his wool cloak.

"Rant, Velin lay him on the cloak. If we all take it together, there'll be less shaking. Berin, bring the wagon to the entrance, now!" The old man turned to one of his servants standing behind him.

From the moment Aydor fell to the ground, Cenn stood motionless in his spot. A mixture of shock and anxiety gripped his body. While his family members tried to save Aydor's life. And the spectators crowded around the edge of the arena idly discussing what had happened. Cenn tried to comprehend what he had seen. This was not the first time he had seen someone close to him on the brink of death. But it was the first time he had seen death in battle, and the emotions he experienced were quite strange.

Fear of death mixed with a thirst for revenge. Now he could no longer think of the next fight as part of the tournament. No, now he would fight Krinnel until one of them died, no matter what it cost him.

"Your attention please, gentlemen!" An unfamiliar voice came from the main tribune. The man sitting next to the judge stood up and walked over to the railing so he could be seen better.

Cenn immediately recognized the skinny man as one of the men who had accompanied Elder Zanord to the Temple.

"I represent the Iron Fist Sect in this tournament."

Hearing this, a commotion rose among the spectators, people were surprised that this unremarkable man was a member of the sect.

"I see that the contestants who made it to the finals are in good shape and have not suffered any serious injuries in battle, which I am extremely happy about. In obedience to Elder Zanord's order, I am forced to postpone the final battle of the tournament. We will hold it today, in one hour from now."

The crowd went into a frenzy. The fight was to be held tomorrow and the fighters clearly wouldn't have enough time to fully recover qi before the fight if it was held today.

[Shit, I can't recover qi in an hour. Not unless Velin has another bright dandelion left.]

"That's not fair, you can't reschedule the fight!" Hog's voice rang out. From the crowd came voices supporting his opinion.

"Silence! Show respect for Mr. Parive," shouted the judge.

"Thank you, senior deacon. I can understand your indignation. But I am only following Elder Zanord's order. If anyone is not happy with the postponement of the match, you can simply not participate in it. Our sect won't force anyone to participate," Parive said the last words with a smug smile.

"At the same time, Elder has anticipated your reaction. So don't think we're making unreasonable demands." Parive's hand reached into his pocket and pulled out two paper wrappings from there. Which he displayed to all present in the arena.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Each of the fighters will receive recovery pills. So both of them will be able to show what they can do in battle."

Cheers of approval rippled through the tribunes. No one expected the sect to be so generous and spend two precious pills on two youngsters.

"It's already been decided. Cenn, Krinnel, if you agree, take the pills," the judge addressed the finalists.

Krinnel was still standing in the arena and never disappeared from sight. But where was Cenn? People began to look around for the young man. Until finally, they saw him frozen in his spot in the lodge of the Bael family.

Goosebumps ran through Cenn's body as he realized that the attention of hundreds of people was focused on him.

"Go get the pill!"

"You pathetic chicken, you better stand still or you'll get flogged too!"

"Yeah he really chickened out. Ahah."

"Why are you standing up! Come on! Go!"

Voices from the crowd rang out.

Under the pressure of the crowd, Cenn was hesitant to take a step forward. But then he saw Krinnel walking leisurely towards the lodge where Mr. Parive was standing.

The fire of vengeance burned again in his heart as he saw his enemy confidently going for the pill while Aydor lay dying.

Grabbing his spear from the bench, Cenn rushed toward the judge's lodge. He wanted to get ahead of Krinnel. It didn't make much sense, but that was what his inner voice told him.

After skipping a couple sections of the tribunes, he found himself on the stairs leading up to the judge's lodge. In two strides he sprinted all the way up the stairs and in a matter of seconds found himself in front of the judge. Bowing low to him, Cenn walked up to the sect representative.

"Mr. Parive, I greet you. I'm ready to fight."

"Good!" Parive held out a paper roll to Cenn. "Take it right now, please."

Cenn took the wrapping and upon unfolding the paper he saw a small red ball. Without thinking, he popped it into his mouth and swallowed it.

"Very good. I am glad to see your determination, young man. Keep it up."

Cenn didn't say anything in response to the praise, only looked at him sullenly. As if puzzled by the boy's strange behavior, Parive hurriedly asked him to remove himself.

"Alright go already, I'm sure your family is waiting for you."

Cenn bowed silently in farewell and walked towards the stairs he came by. But suddenly he changed direction and went to the second staircase leading to the judge's lodge. Which Krinnel was now following.

Cenn advanced to meet his opponent, and when there was just under three feet between them, he extended forward his right hand, in which he held his spear, so that it blocked Krinnel's path.

"So what do you want?" Asked Krinnel stopping. His hand reached for the hilt of the saber that hung from his belt.

All he got in response was a vicious look. Cenn tried to find the right words. But nothing came to his mind.

The people present in the arena started shouting insults at both guys. Provoking to start a fight right now.

"Cenn Bael, you are making Mr. Parive wait. You'll soon have a chance to settle the score. For now, disperse." The judge's irritated voice rang out.

Cenn put his spear away and walked down the stairs, toward Aydor and the others. Krinnel took his turn to reach Parive and got his pill and ate it immediately.

"The fight will take place in an hour. Until then, everyone is free to go," said the judge.

...

The judge rose from his seat and headed for the door behind him that led to a hidden passage to the space under the tribunes.

What had happened today had already made him nervous. The bishop had instructed him not to allow vendettas between honored families. But the situation was getting worse by the minute.

"We can't let the boy die. Go to the Temple and get something from Nevud to help him." As he descended the stairs he turned to one of the deacons following him.

"What medecine should I take, elder deacon?" An uncertain voice sounded.

"How the hell should I know! Tell Nevud to give something effective. And if the lad dies, I'll personally throw him down the well. And he'll spend there until the cycle of the sun! Now get outta here!"

The old man was incredibly angry. In recent years he'd had to take on all the duties of Bishop Ardul and babysit a bunch of idiots who'd been made deacons by some ridiculous mistake.

He went downstairs to a small room with nothing but a small bed.

Letting out a painful wheeze he slowly laid down on the bed and closed his eyes.

…

"What the fuck do you think you've set up in there?" Hog grabbed Cenn by the shoulder and pulled him harshly to himself.

"Hey what are you doing, Uncle Hog!" Cenn was taken aback by the fat man's unexpected attack.

After he joined his family. Everyone who was related to the Bael and Orist families followed to Dr. Renol's house, escorting the injured Aydor.... No one said a word on the way.

It wasn't until they were behind the closed doors of Renol's house that Hog decided to chastise Cenn.

"Stop playing dumb. Why the fuck did you decide to pick a fight in front of the senior deacon? We almost lost Aydor and you decide to willingly put your head on the scaffold?"

"I'm sorry, I..." The words stuck in Cenn's throat.

"Don't do anything stupid again. Do you understand me?"

Cenn only nodded in response.

As Hog dismissed him, Cenn decided to look around. Fabir Renol's office was located in his house, in the central part of the city. Like many wealthy houses it had a small courtyard garden hidden from the public eye.

Along with Cenn, Hog and a few members of the Orist family and trusted servants were here. Everyone waited patiently for news of Aydor's condition.

A few minutes later, the door to the doctor's office opened and Velin and Mizra emerged from there.

"How is he?" Asked Hog.

"'Quite badly, but he'll survive. Fabir did his best. The rest is up to Aydor." Velin replied, not trying to sugarcoat the situation.

"I'm sure he'll pull through. He's a tough kid." Hog tried to support his friend.

Velin only smiled bitterly in response and walked over to Cenn.

"Are you sure you're ready to fight?"

"Yes, my qi has already fully recovered."

"That's not what I mean. You saw what happened to Aydor. I couldn't protect him, I can't protect you either. Are you sure you're ready to take this fight?"

Cenn was confused by that question. As if Uncle doubted his abilities and didn't believe he had a chance of winning.

"I.. I don't know what confidence you're talking about, Uncle Velin. But I want with all my heart to tear that bastard apart for what he did."

Velin shook his head disappointedly.

"You shouldn't go into battle with such thoughts. Revenge won't help Aydor, it will only cloud your mind in battle. You must refuse to fight."

"You can't forbid me, I already agreed in front of half the city!" Cenn protested.

"Velin, you can't keep him safe from the outside world forever. If he wants to fight, he has the right to do so." Hog stepped in for Cenn.

Velin sat down on one of the benches standing in the garden.

"Alright, do whatever you want. Just be careful, though. Sigil Tiger's spell is deadly, but it's hard to control. So as long as you move, he can't hit you. Just wanted you to know that."

"I'll keep that in mind, Uncle Velin."

"How long until the fight?" asked Velin.

"About twenty-five minutes." Answered Cenn.

"Then it's time for you to return to the arena. Try to get your thoughts in order before the fight. And don't think about revenge, please."

Cenn nodded silently in response.

"Hog, see to it that everything is in order."

"Don't worry, Velin. I'll keep an eye on the brat," Hog replied.

On his way out, Cenn felt someone grab his wrist.

"Wait!" Mizra approached him. "I know you don't like me. But please, take revenge on that scumbag for what he did to Aydor." With each word the old man squeezed the lad's wrist tighter and tighter.

Unwilling to have a conversation with the old man, Cenn broke free of Mizra's tight grip and silently walked outside.