They couldnāt believe what they had just seen.
"This..." Lanol gasped before turning to his bodyguard. "Did you see that? Could you explain it to me?"
"Yes, sir." The Tier 8 old guard nodded with a serious expression. "At the last moment, Iskandar Anatas failed to produce his bursts. If General Halcom didnāt stop that attack, Iskandar might lose both of his arms.
"I donāt know exactly what kind of method stops him, as his condition is still good enough to release that power, but I can guess. At the last exchange, Clovis Hacfield divided his killing intent in two. The first was flowing to his sword, but the other was flowing to his eyes.
"Iād heard Mara Leverstrike mentored him before. If Iām not mistaken, Mara has this kind of power. People who have fought her will say the same thing.
"They will believe the saying, āIf you stare into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back at you.ā Iām afraid that is the same technique.
"He might not have mastered that power yet, so he used it to catch his opponents off guard at the last moment.
"At the same time, Iskandar Anatas could be said to be a talented young man as well. He was able to grow even in this situation."
"Is that so?" Lanol thought for a moment. "Itās such a shame that the Anatas family is manipulating him right now. Rather than worrying about him, we have to monitor the Hacfield family.
"In the end, the Anatas family used this sparring match as an excuse to smear their reputation. While the Hacfield family is already infamous, they will definitely not take this matter lightly."
"Understood. I will keep an eye on the Hacfield family. It will be troublesome if the two countries are at war. In the end, the Anatas family is not powerful enough to resist Michael Hacfield."
"Yes. The only matter is..." Lanol fell silent. The only thing that worried him the most was Clovisā connection to the Ghost.
The Hacfield family was strong. If they combined their strength with Ghost, they could definitely become the top three strongest families in the world.
Hence, Lanol added, "Also, I want you to look into this matter as carefully as possible. Check any connection between Clovis Hacfield and the Ghost. Golden World Agency as well."
"Understood."
...
In the arena, Rose was shouting, "Itās over! The battle is over. Clovis Hacfield won!"
Thanks to her declaration, the audience cheered. If they forgot the first few minutes of the battle, it was definitely an entertaining battle. A lot of people gained some understanding.
At the same time, they could finally gauge Clovisā strength. It was surprising for Clovis to have reached this far in just a short period.
Clovis simply sheathed his blade and walked away gracefully, not planning to prolong the conflict.
On the other hand, Iskandar was having a hard time holding himself back. Not only did he lose the battle, but he also lost the peopleās trust.
"Go away. You are an embarrassment."
"You are harassing people and doing such a dishonorable thing."
The people were booing him because of what had happened as a way to avoid the embarrassment they had caused themselves.
Iskandar gritted his teeth, wanting to just punch all these people. But General Halcom was in the way. There were also other military officers who were ready to make their move if necessary.
In the end, all that embarrassment and shame could only be contained within himself, albeit the blood pressure might have been too high as he suddenly spurted blood.
"Gah!" Iskandar coughed up blood while clutching his head before passing out.
"..." General Halcom was speechless for a moment before sighing helplessly. This kind of shame was indeed too much for someone like him. Still, he had to do his job. "Medic."
While General Halcom was taking care of Iskandar, Rose rushed to Clovis. "Mr. Clovis. You have won this sparring match. Do you have anything youād like to say?"
Clovis halted his steps for a moment before glancing around as if he were trying to find someone. In the end, he said, "It was fun. In the end, we could agree on one thing. Competing against each other could push you to the limit and make you grow stronger faster.
"Having a sparring match is fine, but itās sad that it has to be sullied by slander. Even without that, I believe that everyone can see what kind of genius Iskandar is.
"While itās true that everything is fair in a war, we are not in a war. As long as he is able to become independent, Iām sure that this country will have a very scary fighter.
"Iād love to fight him again, but in a much fairer situation. I believe it will be hard for me to beat him."
Rose dropped her jaw. Even though Iskandar had slandered him using a very dirty tactic, Clovis didnāt say much about it. Even if he insulted him, people wouldnāt really say anything.
Yet, Clovis actually praised Iskandarās talent and ability as an honorable warrior.
Rose politely bowed. "Thank you very much. Weād like to apologize to you for all the things that happened before the match."
Clovis waved his hand while smiling before walking back.
Rose immediately turned around and said, "With this, the match has reached a conclusion. Thank you to everyone who is willing to spare their time to watch this sparring match. Rose out."
Still, no matter how Rose maneuvered it, the citizens were completely furious.
"Did you see that?"
"Whatās the use of having a Tier 9 if the country couldnāt keep its face?"
"Clovis>Iskandar."
"The Anatas family is manipulating Iskandar?"
"Is that true?"
The comments varied, but there were two things that became a trendy discussion. It was Clovisā attitude and the matter of the Anatasā family manipulation.
From the recording, it was clear that Iskandarās father was the one manipulating the contract.
They were looking for the Anatas family in the stadium, but in their VIP box, the Anatas family had gone. However, they left behind a cracked glass as if showing their anger.
The Anatas family had completely lost face in this sparring match.