A Troublesome Opponent

Josh didn’t dare claim he would definitely take the championship.

Everyone could see just how terrifying Josh’s opponent was. He didn’t think he could truly defeat her without using four elements or Void Magic.

Still, Josh would certainly fight for it. Having come this far, he felt he should at least give it his all.

At the very least, he had to hold out for over ten minutes and not lose too miserably, right? This woman named Avila had defeated every previous opponent within five minutes.

"If I could use four elements, this would be much easier. I could trick her first, then combine different elements to deal with her. That would catch her off guard and greatly increase my chances of winning."

"If you use four elements, wouldn’t everything you’ve hidden for so long be exposed? Then you’d probably have no choice but to return to the Imperial Capital and stay by Father’s side. And don’t say things like that in a place like this, idiot."

Kane naturally heard Josh muttering to himself. He looked around, and only relaxed after confirming that no one was paying attention to them. Then he gave Josh an unceremonious scolding.

Indeed, if anyone else learned that Josh possessed four magic elements, he would never know peace again.

Four magic elements had never appeared in Muya Continent’s history. Now that someone like Josh had emerged, Kane had no idea whether it was a blessing or a curse. All they could do was let Josh grow as much as possible, then see how far he could go in the future.

Josh knew Kane meant well and did not argue. After obediently nodding, he focused on watching the matches.

There was still some time before his own match, so with nothing else to do, Josh naturally watched the current battles.

But as he watched, he grew sleepy and fell asleep. It couldn’t be helped; these matches were indeed rather boring and bloody to Josh.

Besides, Josh himself was not interested in them. That bastard Akathosh had angered him last night and kept him from sleeping properly, so Josh simply fell asleep right then and there.

When he finally woke up, he awkwardly discovered that it was already afternoon, and even the match for third and fourth place in the individual competition was nearly over!

That made Josh blush with embarrassment. Even he had not expected to sleep for so long!

"You’re finally awake? I thought you were going to sleep until the final began and become the first contestant to miss the final because he was asleep!"

Seeing that Josh had finally awakened, Kane let out a sigh of relief while grumbling at him irritably.

Honestly, he had never expected Josh to sleep so soundly. Black had come over earlier to ask about Josh, and Kane had assured him there was no problem and that he would wake Josh when the time came.

But afterward, he discovered that he seemed completely unable to wake the bastard. Even Natasha, the girl who was supposedly his lover, could not wake him. That truly panicked Kane. He had genuinely feared that Josh would miss the final because he was sleeping!

Just as Kane was hesitating over whether to ask Black to come take a look, Josh finally woke up. That made Kane breathe a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, nothing had gone wrong. But in Josh’s current state, could he really participate in the final?

"Just how wildly did you two play last night? I heard your room was very lively last night!"

Watching Josh shove food into his mouth and gulp down water, Kane asked impatiently.

He had asked around before. Josh’s room had apparently been extremely noisy last night. As someone with experience, Kane naturally assumed that Josh and the girl named Natasha had gone a little too wild.

"Don’t talk nonsense. I didn’t do anything last night. No, I wanted to do something last night, but some bastard interrupted me," Josh said vaguely. He was not the kind of person who refused to admit it. If he had not done it, then he had not done it—there was nothing embarrassing about saying so.

"Heh, looks like Kars City’s public order really isn’t that great, huh?" Kane clearly did not believe Josh and immediately mocked him.

Josh took another gulp of water, feeling much better. Only after rolling his eyes did he say leisurely, "It really isn’t great. It can’t compare to my territory. Mm, so in order to cut expenses, I think it’s better to hire fewer outsiders."

"Why don’t you try it?" Kane glared at Josh. Looking him over, he asked worriedly, "Is your body really alright? Can you still compete?"

"Basically, there’s no problem. To be honest, I thought I had simply fallen asleep earlier. Later, I realized I had actually entered a state of deep meditation, which was why you couldn’t wake me. But I’m completely fine now."

Josh stretched and looked toward the arena. The match was still underway, with the princes of the Dwarf Empire and Orc Empire facing each other.

Vison should have been competing, but he declined the match on the grounds that his injuries were too severe, leaving the organizers with no choice but to replace him.

But even with a replacement, the competitor had still been selected from the Four Great Empires. In truth, whether it was the team competition or the individual competition, by the final stages, they had basically become internal battles between the Four Great Empires.

The Dwarf Empire legion, which had ultimately won the earlier team competition, fought a bloody battle against the Orc Empire legion amid the cheers of the entire audience. In the end, they defeated the Orc Empire’s forces. Most crucially, those brutes had not left a single survivor behind, even though fewer than twenty of their own men remained alive.

It had been extraordinarily brutal, and the morning’s atmosphere had carried over into the afternoon matches. The two men in the arena were covered in injuries, yet neither side chose to surrender. Who knew whether one of the princes would ultimately fall in the arena?

Such things had happened before. The last time, however, it had been an accident. A prince of the Dwarf Empire had died at the hands of an Elf Empire royal. That match had been one of the dwarves’ greatest humiliations and had even sparked diplomatic tensions.

Fortunately, Ilka and Borot worked together to resolve the crisis in the end. Still, it had been humiliating enough.

It was neither the first nor the last time that a royal child of the Four Great Empires died during the Four Nations Invitation.

"Who do you think will win?" Josh suddenly asked Kane curiously as he watched the match. Kane had attended the Four Nations Invitation many times, so he should have known these people better.

"I don’t know either. At this point, it all depends on their willpower. Neither of them is holding back."

Kane shook his head. He could not say for certain either, so Josh could only let the matter go.

By the time Josh finished the last of his food, the match was finally nearing its end. In the end, the Dwarf Empire’s prince made a mistake, and Boomred seized the opportunity.

Both of them were already at the end of their strength, and any mistake was fatal! Unfortunately, Boomred caught that mistake and defeated the Dwarf Empire’s prince. Just when everyone thought another royal of the Four Great Empires would die in the match, Boomred actually stopped at the last moment.

That was completely beyond Josh’s expectations. Given how these two nations had fought in the morning, it would not have been wrong to call them mortal enemies. Yet Boomred resisted the temptation to kill the prince of an enemy nation. In the end, he silently helped the dwarf prince to his feet. Josh suddenly viewed him in a different light.

Shaking his head, Josh stopped thinking about such miscellaneous matters. Now that this match had ended, his own match would begin soon!

For once, Josh experienced what it felt like not to be the first to take the field. Over the past half month, he had always been the first competitor.

Not only had he been first in terms of time, but he had also been first in the order of participation.

Yet Josh had somehow reached the final under such circumstances. No one had expected it, including Josh himself. Even with his abilities restricted to such an extreme degree, he had still made it this far.

"Are you ready, Josh? Your match is next. It’s also the final match of this entire Four Nations Invitation. How do you feel?"

"If you’re just asking whether I’m ready, then I guess so. But if you’re asking how I feel, I can only say it feels like nothing special. Besides, no one thinks highly of me anyway, right?"

Kane’s question made Josh shrug helplessly. He truly had no particular feelings about it. It was just what it was.

Whether it was his first match against an idiotic prince or now, when he had to face a mysterious elf princess, Josh felt it was all the same.

Nervous? A little. It was only natural for Josh to be nervous when facing such a powerful opponent for the first time.

Pressure? None. Ten thousand gold coins made Josh incredibly envious, and Akathosh’s "relic" was extremely valuable, but Josh had no reason to risk his life for them.

Besides, Josh was not guaranteed to lose. His opponent was a ranger, and it was true that she naturally countered mages like him.

But Josh was no ordinary mage. From the start of the competition until the semifinals, he had only revealed that he possessed two attributes and Elemental Light Wings. He had yet to use his greatest trump card, Seraph.

As an elf ranger, she was indeed fast, and indeed stronger than him.

But his Seraph could withstand attacks around the Seventh Tier, and it also possessed considerable offensive power. Josh felt that as long as he was not instantly killed, he still had a chance.

I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeve. If I don’t test their effects, then all the effort I put into creating them will have been wasted.

Muttering to himself, Josh smiled and headed straight for the arena entrance. At that moment, the cheers within the arena, guided by the commentators, had reached their peak.

The deafening cheers and cries of encouragement were something Josh had never seen or heard before. Even someone as composed as him felt his blood begin to boil.

"Is this… the charm of competition?"

Tilting his head slightly, Josh saw the mysterious elf princess standing at the entrance on the opposite side of the arena. She was still dressed like a typical ranger—

Simple, fitted leather clothing, a cloak bearing the Elf Empire’s emblem draped behind her, and a hood covering her head. She looked mysterious and elegant, yet Josh could feel her unapproachable aura even from across the arena.

"What a troublesome opponent."