The next day, Leon and Safina arrived at the arena for the final round of the trials.
Similar to the first round's 1V1 hand-to-hand combat arena, this battle royale had a much grander scale.
In addition to the Divine Stallion Tribe's judges, the stands around the arena were filled with spectators.
These spectators included friends and family of the trial participants, as well as those who had been eliminated in previous rounds.
After all, the Divine Stallion Tribe provided food and lodging for everyone during the trial, so everyone stayed around with the mindset of watching the spectacle.
"Wow, I've never seen such a big setup before..."
Safina stood at the entrance, gazing at the massive crowd, and couldn't help but exclaim,
"It's a pity my brother couldnāt come."
"By the way, since your brother managed to survive under the tyranny of that mad king and came here seeking the Fire Spirit Divine Stallion's blessing, why didn't he come with you?"
Leon asked.
Safinaās pupils shifted slightly, and after a brief pause, she replied,
"Heās on a mission elsewhere and couldnāt get away, so I came alone."
Leon nodded, "I see."
"Mm."
As they were talking, a lively voice came from the stands.
"Go for it, Leon! Knock everyone else down!"
Leon and Safina quickly turned to look.
In the stands, a slender red figure was waving her hand and cheering Leon on.
Safina raised an eyebrow. "Whoās that?"
Leon smiled wryly and scratched his head. "Thatās my mother-in-law."
The purple-eyed girl froze for a moment and curiously asked,
"Most people have either comrades or friends as their companions, but how is it that your companion is your mother-in-law?"
"...It's a long story. Anyway, it has nothing to do with my family setup. My wifeā"
Before he could finish, Leon said seriously,
"My wife, she's not from here."
"Whether your wife is from here or not doesnāt change the fact that your mother-in-law came to fight, and that your mother-in-law is cheering you on from the stands. Thatās a whole different level of abstraction," Safina sharply commented.
"Hahaha~"
Leon laughed out loud, using humor to deflect the topic.
Ten minutes later, the battle royale was about to begin, and the other five trial participants also arrived at the entrance to wait.
But Leon noticed something subtle:
As soon as those five participants arrived, they huddled together, deliberately keeping a distance from Leon and Safina.
Leon blinked and leaned toward Safina, lowering his voice,
"The waiting area is already small, and they're grouping up. I bet once the trial starts, they'll team up to deal with us."
Safina glanced coldly at the five participants, then looked away, placing her hands on her chest and confidently said,
"Let them try. With your strength, even if five of them come at us, itāll be no problem."
"Thatās true, but we can't just crush them from the start."
"Why not?"
"Do you remember the list of banned races that the Divine Stallion Tribe gave us before the trial began?"
Safina nodded, "I remember, what's your point?"
"The races on that list were banned because they had too much of a strength gap and overwhelmed the other races in the trials.
I don't want the Divine Stallion Tribe to add us humans to that list."
Leon said, "Who knows, maybe a hundred years from now, other humans will come here desperately seeking blessings."
After hearing Leonās explanation, Safina paused for a moment and then slowly relaxed her arms.
She thought for a bit before seriously replying,
"Mm, I see what you mean."
After a pause, she added, "I didnāt expect you to think so far ahead, even considering a hundred years into the future."
"Iām not thinking too far ahead, just securing a bit of welfare for my fellow humans."
Safina slowly turned her head to look at Leon.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked,
"If after this trial, the Divine Stallion Tribe stops blessing other races with power, what will you do?"
Leon raised an Ā«N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.tĀ» eyebrow, not understanding why Safina suddenly asked this question.
But he still thought carefully for a moment before replying,
"I donāt think it will make much difference."
"Hm? Why?"
Leon turned his head and looked back at Safina, sharing his thoughts,
"Those who truly seek power, who have wandered for half their lives just to become stronger, wonāt stop just because the Divine Stallion Trial isnāt available."
"Whether it's for protecting themselves or protecting their families and tribes, thatās the true reason they strive to grow stronger."
"The Divine Stallion Trial is just a shortcut for them, and even without it, theyāll continue to move forward."
Safina listened quietly to Leonās words. After a short moment of reflection, she asked,
"Are you really so confident in the various races of Samael... in us Samael's races?"
Leon nodded firmly,
"Of course. Although there are still many conflicts and wars on this continent,
I still believe that many people are working hard for a better future."
"Isn't it because of their own reasons that they should have confidence?"
This time, Safina was silent for even longer.
After a good ten seconds, she lowered her pale purple eyes, looking at her tightly clenched right hand, and quietly replied,
"Yes, we're all working hard for our own beautiful future."
...
"Sorry for the wait, everyone! The final round of this year's Fire Spirit Divine Stallion Trial, the grand battle royale, is about to begin!
Please, the seven trial participants, enter the arena!
They will engage in a free-for-all battle within the arena, no limits on magic, techniques, or weapons.
The last three standing will receive the blessings of the Fire Spirit Divine Stallion.
It seems that the number of participants this year is fewer than in previous years, looks like many here arenāt participating in the trial for the first time.
Now, let's begin the battle!"
At the judgeās command, the massive doors at the entrance of the arena slammed shut.
The seven trial participants quickly split into two groups.
One group was the human team, consisting of Safina and Leon, and the other was the temporary team of five.
The leader of the five participants, standing at the center, slowly said,
"Weāve heard from many eliminated participants that two extraordinarily strong humans have arrived this year.
It seems that you two are those people.
Initially, we didnāt make a move because we wanted to give you space. Please, donāt mind that. All five of us are working together, after all, we all came for the blessings of the Divine Stallion, and none of us wants to fall in this final round.
Compared to the other unknown trial participants weāve faced, these guys actually have some self-awareness.
Of course, we wonāt hold back."
Leon slowly spoke, then took his combat stance,
"Since this is an unregulated battle, please, give it your all, no regrets."
The opponents made a gesture Leon didnāt quite understand, but it was likely a sign of respect.
"I canāt do it anymore, remember to save me."
Safina waved her hand as she spoke.
The two stood back to back, feeling like old comrades.
Leon smiled, "Including making it into the top three."
Once both sides were ready, the five participants made the first move.
Their strategy was immediately clear:
Three of them would deal with Leon, while the other two focused on Safina.
Clearly, the rumors about the human with "the black-haired man" being impressive had spread, so they allocated more people to deal with Leon.
Leon didnāt plan to let his human heritage drag the Divine Stallion Trialās ban list down, so he initially chose to avoid the conflict.
When the first wave of attacks came, Leon jumped back to avoid, and as soon as his feet touched the ground, two opponents came at him from the sides.
Leon didnāt hesitate, using his right footās power to jump into the air, then raised his hand, gathering lightning to strike with the momentum of his fall.
Boom! ā
The explosive flames erupted like a fountain, sweeping across the entire fighting arena.
"Such a swift attack!"
"His reaction speed is insane, being able to think of using the falling momentum to increase the impact in such a short time... looks like the rumors were true, heās definitely strong."
"Stop gawking, bring it on!"
The three quickly adjusted their tactics and continued to focus on Leon.
However, the gap in strength couldnāt be bridged simply by cooperation.
In this type of fish tank situation, Leon could only be described as a "swimming dragon."
Even while dealing with the three attackers, Leon still had time to glance at Safina.
He saw that she had been forced into the air by two of her attackers.
Just as Leon wondered how she would handle the situation, a sharp explosive sound made him widen his eyes.
Safina raised her hands in the air, purple light gathering in her palms, and like Leon, she released a sharp high-pitched sound.
Then, as she dove downward, just like Leon, she used the momentum of her fall to enhance her attack's impact.
Boom! ā
The purple light flickered, then extinguished, raising a thick cloud of dust.
When the dust cleared, Safina stood in a cracked shallow pit, shaking off the remaining purple energy in her hands, turning to look at Leon.
She smiled proudly, raising her attractive chin,
"How was that? Did I do it just like you?"
"This isnāt a place where we care about whether itās a copy, big sis."
"If this were a literature class, itād be enough for the teacher to break out the color palette to check for plagiarism!"
Leon blinked, temporarily shaking off the attackers, then walked over to Safina,
"I thought you could only copy peopleās martial arts moves, didnāt expect you could replicate magic too."
"Of course, these days, who dares to fight without knowing any magic?"
With that, Safina rushed out again.
Still using the Chidori she had "borrowed" from Leon earlier.