Rieren ought to have been wondering whether her former teammate had survived that devastating blow from Ledorne. She also ought to have been figuring out what exactly the implications would be if Kalvia ended up actually losing. That would be a severe blow to the self-proclaimed Empress’s plans.

Yet, all Rieren could actually think about was how riveted she was on the outcome itself and nothing else. She needed to know what was going to come out of that dust cloud—a competitor, or a corpse.

Perhaps this was some sort of integral feeling that her new monstrous form couldn’t damp down. Maybe the anticipation was too great for even her Arisen brain to pacify.

The dust was starting to blow away, but Kalvia didn’t appear. It made the match official step forward. But before he could get close to the dissipating cloud of dirt, Kalvia’s shadow bloomed within it, before she herself finally stepped out.

She had definitely taken a beating. Her arm appeared positively crushed, blood seeping down to coat her entire right-hand side in crimson. That she was still standing was a small miracle. Though, part of it was due to the judicious use of her own Aspect—branches wound around her broken, twisted arm like a makeshift bandage, helping her stay upright.

But even from this distance, Rieren could see the wooziness afflicting Kalvia. She wasn’t going to survive long in that state.

Something Ledorne recognized.

With a fierce yell, she charged at the wounded woman again. Once more, Kalvia tried dodging and retreating, doing her best to keep some distance that would allow her to survive a little longer. It was getting increasingly difficult, however. Ledorne’s blows kept missing Kalvia by a hair. The smash of the rock-encrusted sword into the ground sent rocks flying everywhere.

Rieren frowned. What was Kalvia thinking? She was attempting to perform the same manoeuvre as last time, her steps leaving behind a trail of growing plants that did nothing to stop her opponent. She wasn’t even bothering to use her knife.

Ledorne was clearly yelling insults at Kalvia for continuously running. She didn’t care. Her priority was to survive… and then what?

It turned out Kalvia did in fact have a plan. Her knife flashed out, seeming to glow on its own. She evaded one of Ledorne’s blows, then slammed her blade into her opponent. Of course, with Ledorne’s rocky armour, it barely left a mark. But it did create some space between the two competitors.

Just enough for Kalvia to raise her good arm high and summon her Domain to its full power.

Instead of a single plant, now she was calling upon a small forest. Several five-man-tall trees sprouted around her to cover a wide area. In an instant, it had shrouded Kalvia from her opponent, creating an even bigger gap between them.

The crowd cheered loudly at the display of power. They, like Rieren, were probably starting to wonder if the balance of the fight was shifting.

Only time was going to tell.

Ledorne wasn’t going to be stopped so easily, of course. She used the same skill as last time, sending a powerful coppery arc slamming into the miniature forest. Instead of a vertical blow, she sent it out in a wide horizontal sweep, likely seeking to cull most, if not all, of the little forest in one blow.

The rippling crescent struck the wooden wall with the same sort of impact as her last blow had. It sheared through the trees, crushed branches and leaves to nothing, essentially levelling Kalvia’s summoned woodland with ease.

It didn’t force Kalvia to come out, though. Despite the majority of the trees gone, she was still in there somewhere.

Rieren peered as closely as she could from her distance, but she couldn’t make out any details. Was Kalvia even standing any longer what with the rain of destroyed trees plummeting around her?

Ledorne wasn’t about to wait and find out. She raised her sword and rained more of the same skill. It appeared she wasn’t lacking for any power. Arc after arc blasted out of her sword to strike the little forest, until it was little more than a mass of kindling.

If she’d had a way of setting it aflame like one of her team members, Kalvia would have been in a great deal of trouble.

There seemed to be some sort of confusion down in the battlefield. Everyone was stuck with the same question as Rieren—had that salvo of blows from Ledorne ended Kalvia or not?

Ledorne was exchanging some words with the march official. What were the rules in situations like these where it was hard to confirm deaths? The answer arrived moments later. It appeared that either of the competitors needed to prove that their opponent was down for the count, dead or otherwise.

In other words, if Kalvia was indeed dead, Ledorne was going to have to unearth her opponent’s corpse from beneath that mound of dead and broken trees.

Ledorne had a more time-effective solution. This time, when she used her skill again, she aimed it such that it started blowing apart the debris. Bits and pieces of wood went flying away in every direction.

She had to stop soon enough, though. Of course. Ledorne couldn’t keep using that skill willy-nilly. She had reached her limit.

That wasn’t going to stop her. She went over to the remainder of the pile of wood herself. Having cleared out enough of the debris, it would be easier to find where Kalvia’s body had fallen.

If Kalvia was dead.

Rieren gripped the railing in front of her so tightly, it began to bend. The crowd had gone silent as well. Through the corner of her eye, she noted that quite a few people were leaning forward as well. Everyone was anxious to see if Ledorne had indeed ended Kalvia so easily.

Ledorne had paused just inside the circle of broken trees. She had noticed something. Her sword was close to her body, ready to act at a moment’s notice.

Movement exploded into being. Something shifted in the remainder of the debris. Ledorne wasted no time to flash at the motion. Her sword swung in with a powerful blow that mashed apart the whole area. Except, there was little to nothing there.

Kalvia was behind her.

Somehow, Kalvia had hidden herself in one of the broken trunks that Ledorne hadn’t managed to clear from the area. It gave her the perfect opportunity to strike, and strike hard.

Ledorne was fast on her own right. She twisted, sword following her motion as fast as always. But Kalvia had already ducked under her swing. She struck upwards with her curved knife like the blow had been fired from an arrow.

It wouldn’t have pierced Ledorne’s armour. Rieren wasn’t aware of every skill or technique Kalvia possessed, but she was mostly certain that she had nothing powerful enough to get through the rocky shell Ledorne liked carving over herself. Kalvia, it seemed, was well aware of that. Instead of trying to hit her opponent’s body, she aimed her strike for Ledorne’s face.

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Specifically, for Ledorne’s eye.

The blow landed. Ledorne’s scream was vicious and blood-curdling. It pierced into Rieren’s ears despite the distance between them.

Ledorne had slashed her sword back in. Kalvia was already gone, however. The contact had been brief. Still enough, though. More than enough, considering the sheer amount of blood pouring down Ledorne’s face and the forcefulness that Ledorne needed to shut off her pained screams.

But she wasn’t down and out yet. Ledorne remained standing, her lone eye glaring at Kalvia, the burgeoning hatred palpable over the entire arena.

She took one step closer to Kalvia, sword raised to deal a blow that probably would have contained all her remaining strength, but she faltered. Something was wrong. Instead of hate, a note of horror escaped her form. Shock and terror in equal measure combined with the blood loss to make her whole face go pale as the ivory masks of the Avatars.

Ledorne screamed again. Her sword dropped out of her hand as she fell to her knees.

Rieren and the rest of the crowd looked on. Hushed murmurs were breaking out of the audience. Whatever was going on with Ledorne, it was even worse than when her eye had been poked out with the knife.

And then Rieren saw it. A plant.

There was a plant wriggling to life out of Ledorne’s eye socket.

Rieren’s eyes widened. So that’s what Kalvia’s goal had been. She had always been intent on getting underneath the hard, near-impenetrable armour that Ledorne wore. Of course, Kalvia was never getting past it via normal means. So, she had opted for a strategy that involved getting past Ledorne’s defence from the inside.

Unbelievable. Rieren recalled the fight with the creature who had caused her current condition. That Aetherian with the ashen body and the golden strings, the one she had actually met before their battle. The one she had fought alongside Oromin.

Where she had determined the best way to get past its seemingly impassable defence could be broken through at one specific point.

Just like with Ledorne.

There was more talking going on down in the battlefield. Ledorne was struggling to get up, despite clearly intending to continue the battle. What was one little plant trying to chew out the inside of her head.

But with another scream, she fell face first to the ground. Even then, she continued to attempt to get to her feet. If nothing else, Ledorne’s fighting spirit had to be commended.

The match official had seen enough, though. He raised his arm high, a shrill whistle rolling over the entire arena and the stands.

“This match is now officially over,” the commentator said, inviting uproarious cheers from the crowd. “The winner—Kalvia Zhouven.”

Rieren finally let go of the railing. It was already bent and twisted enough. She turned to the Darkstalker as the crowd began cheering for the victor.

“It would seem my prediction was correct,” she said.

The Abyssal’s eyes were fixed on the battlefield. “Well, you can’t blame me for not believing you, Destroyer. That certainly came out of nowhere.”

No argument there. Rieren hadn’t expected Kalvia to pull out that sort of victory.

Two main takeaways. Those were what Rieren got out of the first bout of the second round of the Trials of Ascendance.

One, strategy was going to play an important role in victories. Counting on pure power was a surefire way to defeat. That would only work if one was far, far more powerful than one’s opponent, which wasn’t the case for anyone still in contention to win the tournament.

Two, a lack of knowledge about the opponent could end up proving fatal. It was obvious that Ledorne had never expected Kalvia to pull out a technique that could literally embed a seedling inside her body. For all that she had a rocky armour that could protect herself from nearly anything attacking her body, she had no defence against Kalvia’s technique.

To any critical observer, it was quite evident that Kalvia was the one who had performed the better preparation. Thus, she had come out the victor.

Rieren had known both points, of course. They were true for all battles when it came to other cultivators, not just a manufactured tournament. Nevertheless, it was an excellent display of what an integral part both could play.

Kalvia was finally about to leave the arena after a wounded Ledorne had been helped away by some healers and members of her own team. Just before she left, however, she looked up. Her eyes roved the entire stands. She took in the cheering audience, pausing briefly when her gaze found the area where the Forborne Emperor was situated, before finally settling on the monster’s location.

Despite the distance, Rieren could tell that Kalvia was staring straight up at her. She would have tried to decipher what, if anything, Kalvia might be trying to say through that look of hers, but an interruption materialized behind her. A very unforeseen one.

Her opponent had arrived.

The rumble of disturbance from the surrounding monsters grew loud enough that Rieren was forced to tear her eyes away from Kalvia to see what was going on. She froze. Zhalen was making his way through the crowd of Abyssals, Aetherian, and Arisen like the fin of a shark cutting through the waves.

“Greetings, Rieren Vallorne,” he said, his voice buttery smooth yet sharp as a heated knife. “I trust you’re doing well in your new… condition.”

“As well as one might.” Rieren stepped forward. Several of the nearby monsters looked like they were going to attack, but her action stopped them. “What is it that you want here?”

“Nothing. Other than to tell you to surrender.”

That enraged all the monsters, even the ones who had retreated at first. They looked like they wanted to tear apart Zhalen right where he stood.

“What makes you think your entreaty would ever succeed?” Rieren asked.

He smirked. “Mostly a test.”

Rieren was liking the fellow before her less and less. “A test?”

“Yes. I wanted to see how much you’ve changed since becoming…” He turned his head to survey everything around them, emphasizing everything he left unsaid with just the look.

“No,” Rieren said. It was time to bring this little chat to a close. “I will not be surrendering.”

“Really? Are you that selfish?”

“Selfish?”

“Yes. Why else would you disregard the intentions of others and care only about your own success? Why else would you disregard all that Kalvia intends to accomplish and ruin her plans just so that you can believe that you accomplished something of note. Selfish and pathetic to boot.”

“Pathetic… says the one who came begging me to quit before the battle has even begun.”

Zhalen wasn’t dismayed by the counterpoint, going on like Rieren had never spoken to begin with. “If you ever cared a whit about what Kalvia wants, then you would do everyone a tremendous favour and quit.” He looked around again, letting a disgusted scowl take over his face. “You and the rest of your monstrous party.”

Another rumble of threatening growls came from the targets of his derision. If nothing else, Rieren had to hand it to her opponent. He certainly didn’t lack for bravery. The monsters didn’t faze Zhalen in the slightest.

“They are not mutually exclusive,” Rieren said. “My success does not preclude Kalvia’s own. In fact, we are both ultimately fighting towards the same goal, even if our apparent sides have shifted.”

He turned a withering look upon Rieren. “The way you cavort around with these creatures shows that you’re no better than them. Naïve intentions aren’t enough. Impressions count for a great deal. There isn’t a soul in the world who could ever approve of a monster working with our glorious imperial clan.”

“That is in the past—”

“Kalvia wishes to embellish order. To enforce peace. There can be no peace when wild beasts roam our borders, when monsters threaten to upend everything in short notice. You aren’t just abetting a problem, Rieren Vallorne. You are the problem in this situation. That’s why you need to do the right thing and surrender.”

“Are you done with your little tirade?” Rieren asked. This time, it was she who went on before he could reply. “You accuse me of selfishness when you are so single-minded about your own side’s success. You say I’m cavorting with monsters when your very leader is the one who caused all this. What hypocrites.”

“What leader—”

Rieren pointed across the arena to the highest level of the distant stands where all the most important attendants were situated.

Where the Forborne Emperor was waiting.

“I know the face beneath the veil has changed.” Rieren’s actions and statement had made the monsters pause. Everyone in the vicinity was hanging on her words. “The Emperor I used to know is no longer the one ruling the Elderlands. That honour lies now upon his supposed brother, the one who has been grooming Kalvia all this while.”

Zhalen tutted. “You haven’t the faintest clue of the inner workings of the imperial court, monster.” He shook his head like he was almost disappointed. “You actually intend to shift blame instead of having the tiniest shred of decency and taking responsibility. What she saw in someone like you, I’ll never understand.”

Rieren considered her next reply, but it turned out that she didn’t need to bother. The monsters came to her rescue.

“Enough,” the Darkstalker said. Its antlered head with the dark pits for eyes glowered at Zhalen. “You’ve said enough, little human. Leave, lest you wish to end your tournament before your bout.”

Zhalen wasn’t daunted by the threat. “You can’t touch me, beast. Your continued existence relies on observing goodwill.”

“Perhaps. But there are limits to everything. What matters our destruction if you are too dead to enjoy it?”

Zhalen leered. He spared one more scornful glance for Rieren before shaking his head a final time and turning away. “I will crush you in the arena, traitor. Your precious Destroyer will be destroyed.”