Science/Magic

Bloed, Regina, Eve, the lionkin general, and Aya's father were wearing serious expressions while hearing the assassin and the mysterious man's conversation.     

When the conversation ended and the mysterious man left, the three beastmen looked at each other with dark expressions.     

"… These bastards of the Church of the Sun God." The lionkin general snorted. "As always, they are playing their tricks."     

"As expected, it was them." Aya's father said with a dark expression.     

Only Eve was silent, as though she was considering something. However, the ice-cold pressure coming from her body made it obvious she was not in a good mood.     

"… Should we chase after the man that received the assassin?" Aya's father asked.     

Eve shook her head. "He is probably a demigod. If he wants to escape, we will be unable to stop him."     

"… Are we going to do nothing then?" The lionkin general asked darkly.     

Eve fell silent. She then shook her head and sighed.     

"For now, there is nothing we can do. I'm sure the Sun Kingdom will deny our accusations as we actually don't have proof. Even until the end, neither the assassin nor the man that received him mentioned what church they belonged to. They were very careful until the end. Plus, all our captives committed suicide and refused to talk."     

Aya's father and the lionkin general looked at each other wiht pensive expressions.     

"Now is not the time to think about this," Eve said and looked at Bloed. "Mr. Bloed, are you alright? You have been using that technique the entire night, and the competition will start in around four hours."     

Bloed replied with a wry smile.     

"Don't worry, one or two hours of sleep will be enough for me to get back in top condition. Just this is not enough to affect my performance."     

"Good. Go and rest then. We need to confirm if Miss Greta will take part in the competition."     

…     

With only four hours before the start of the competition, Bloed decided to take a nap first.     

Two hours later, he woke up again, ate breakfast, and got ready for the competition.     

When there was only one hour before the meeting time with the humans and elves, Bloed and the others gathered inside the training grounds.     

"You are here." The lionkin general said when he saw them. The group, however, noticed that the lionkin did not seem in a good mood.     

"What about Greta?" Aya asked concerned when she did not see the deerkin girl.     

The lionkin general shook his head.     

"Unfortunately, Miss Greta will be unable to participate in the competition."     

Bloed and the others wrinkled their brows. In other words, Greta's situation was that grave.     

Aware of the group's concerns, the lionkin general shook his head and reassured them.     

"Don't worry, Miss Greta's life is not in danger. It's just that the poison she was inflicted with is very strong. It eroded Miss Greta's mana core greatly and weakened her body. Moreover, Miss Greta used a secret technique to force her body to move in that condition, and as a consequence, her cultivation regressed."     

"Her cultivation regressed?" Rana turned pale.     

There was nothing more despairing for a cultivator that losing what they worked hard to get.     

If Greta lost her cultivation due to this, Rana would live her entire life feeling guilty of this.     

Fortunately, the situation was not so grave.     

"… Certainly, her cultivation fell to the C-Rank, but you don't need to worry. We will supply her with the necessary resources to recover her cultivation completely, and besides that, we will compensate her for what happened."     

"That is good…" Rana patted her chest and sighed in relief.     

Fortunately, it was nothing grave. Otherwise, she did not know what she would do.     

"What is going to happen then?" Bloed asked with a frown. "We are not going to participate with a person less, right?"     

"Don't worry, we were already ready for something like this." The lionkin general said calmly. "We told the beastmen who showed outstanding results during the selection but failed to be selected to remain in standby just in case of an unexpected incident like this, so one of them will replace Greta. We never thought our opponents would be as despicable as to attack you, though."     

"Who will replace her then?" Rhone asked.     

"Because of the lack of time, we decided for someone who was already a bit familiar with some of you. Miss Aya, come inside please."     

When the lionkin general finished speaking, a catkin girl entered the training grounds.     

Bloed was slightly surprised, but he already expected it a little bit. Certainly, Aya had cooperated with him for a while, plus she also familiar with Liu Ying, Rana, and Atai.     

In other words, she was the most suitable person to replace Greta.     

"Aya showed outstanding results during the selection, but unfortunately, she lost against Miss Greta and was eliminated one step away from becoming one of the six representatives." The lionkin general explained. "Thus, in terms of strength, we are sure she is suitable. Unfortunately, due to lack of time, you will be unable to train your teamwork with her before the competition, but there is nothing we can do about it. You can only do your best."     

"""Understood.""" Bloed, Liu Ying, and the others nodded.     

"As for you, Miss Aya, don't disappoint us."     

"I will not," Aya said with a firm and determined expression.     

"That is good. Now let's go. The humans and the elves should arrive soon."     

With these words, the group went towards the meeting point.     

...     

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