Silence.
No that wasn't entirely correct. There was indeed one sound remaining in the now quiet arena. On first inspection, it was a bit like breathing that hitched every so often. However, after a moment, it became clear that it was light snoring. Someone was actually sleeping. In fact, all of the people in the arena couldn't help but look between this sleeping young man and his recently decimated opponent.
??
On the ground, laying right beside Roaring Black Lion, Thunderous Clap lay weakly, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood. As for the culprit who put him in this state? He was sleeping like a baby without a scratch on him, having collapsed under his own fatigue.
The scenes of what just happened continuously replayed in Thunderous Clap's head.
That man told him to hurry up and get onto the arena. As he had his own pride, he obviously obliged, believing that, even after watching the fashion in which Roaring Black Lion lost, he could still win.
However, all he saw was a flash of gold. Then, he felt a sharp pain on his chest. And, before he realized what happened, he was lying on his back, nursing several shattered ribs.
In the overseer's box, Violet Rain's expression was solemn. One would expect her to be enraged, but this wasn't the emotion she had at this moment now at all. All she felt was astonishment.
But, her astonishment couldn't match up to Hutch's at all. This was because while everyone was shocked that Leonel managed to defeat Roaring Black Lion and Thunderous Clap — both in a single blow — he was shocked due to that radiant energy that was coming from him.
There was something about that energy that was extremely similar to his Blade Force, but it wasn't exactly like that either. It was somehow different but the same at once.
He didn't need to think more about it understand. Leonel had comprehended a Force Strengthening Deviation. But, it wasn't Spear Force. It was something else entirely, something that even seemed somewhat more formidable.
In the stands, Damian, the lady he called vixen, and the others were also shocked. They had been here from the very beginning, but they had remained silent the whole time.
They were among the few who knew that Indomitable was Leonel. But, did they dare to step out and defend him? Not to mention the fact the commentary of the crowd had been fairly benign, if they really did step up to defend Leonel, they'd probably get beaten black and blue.
Damian had been aware of how great Leonel's strength was. Those youths up there would give even him a hard battle, and he was a lieutenant. But, didn't Leonel defeat him just the same?
The reason he was shocked wasn't because Leonel defeated them… It was because he had done so with just a single strike. Didn't that mean that Leonel could defeat him with a single strike too?!
So many eyes had landed upon Leonel, yet he continued to sleep without a care in the world. It was as though the hard arena ground had become the softest of beds.
"What a brat…"
Hutch sighed and made his way down to the arena. Before the eyes of everyone, he reached down, grabbed Leonel, and swung him over his shoulder as though he was carrying a sack of potatoes.
If Leonel was awake, he might have had the presence of mind to get angry about this, but he was clearly in a state where he could sleep in just about any condition.
Thunderous Clap's gaze of shame and anger landed on Leonel. But, even if the latter was awake and willing to fight him again, he could hardly move an inch. Just breathing wracked his body with pain far more severe than anything he had ever experienced before.
Thinking back to those words he spoke to Leonel, a deep sense of humiliation welled up in his heart.
It honestly wasn't his fault that things reached this point. Anyone who saw Leonel's actions without understanding the backstory behind them would think him to be an arrogant bastard. Thunderous Clap had always been a straight forward and by the books kind of person, so he wanted to teach Leonel a lesson. He just never imagined that this would actually backfire.
The truth was that Leonel had already been reaching his limit after so many battles. He didn't tell Thunderous Clap to hurry up and get on the stage because he was arrogant, but rather because he only had the strength left for one more strike.
Leonel couldn't be said to be a confrontational person, but Thunderous Clap's previous words had touched his bottomline. He refused to settle down until he could return the latter's words back to him.
After the deed was done, Leonel directly fell asleep.
Due to this, everyone knew that Chasing Wind would be named first among the Promising Youths, but there was no one who congratulated her. They were all aware that the young man who had truly earned the first place was the one they were all watching snore right this very moment.
Her expression couldn't help but flicker several times as she watched Hutch haul Leonel away.
Just what was that attack he used? Was that related to his ability? How could he be faster than her?
These were all the thoughts that swirled around in her mind and it left her stifled to the point she wanted to shout into the skies.
In the minds of the rebels who didn't know Leonel's true character, the villain had won today. Indomitable had stamped down on their pride, all while yawning the whole way. Then, when he saw they really couldn't relieve his boredom, he directly fell asleep.
He completely disregarded them. He didn't care for their emotions, their rage, their heartache. Like an evil mastermind, he played with their emotions and left them in a puddle of their own tears.
When Leonel had disappeared off into the distance, Thunderous Clap could no longer hold on and directly passed out beside Roaring Black Lion.
This legend was bound to spread throughout the Slayer Legion, maybe even to the point it would reach the ears of the Empire…