The competitors themselves don't know the true effect of the first Sage's speech. After all, they are but ignorant pups. The competitors are held by their hands and guided to greatness. They have footsteps that have been highlighted for them to follow. So the guardians are the ones in control.
If the first Sage wants the competitors to be compelled to try their best, then all he has to do is convince the bloodlines who are the guardians. The bloodlines will do what he wants. Some of those bloodlines remember the experience of following him to battle. They remember the pain and the comradery. They remember what it means to be battle sage monkeys.
The competitors are ignorant of how the title of battle sage monkey was earned. But today, they will prove that they are worthy of the title. They cannot cower or fall. They have to do what they do best. They will do battle and die to win, for they are battle sage monkeys. The ultimate glory for them is to die for their race. Their bloodlines will not have it any other way.
Only Soverick was irreverent. He didn't listen to the speech, so he sure won't be manipulated by it. His bloodline has no sway over him. He is his bloodline. And he wants more than anything else to suck the first Sage dry of his false law of order. Unfortunately, he can't get his way. He doesn't have the time. So he will do something that might give him the time. He will try to win this competition and get his two requests.
The competitors were still chanting excitedly even after the eye disappeared. They only became silent when they felt the full aura of the current child of the plane. He released the full pressure of his power on them to draw their attention to himself.
"Form up." He yelled at them.
They scrambled as they all fell into position. They stood straight in a formation. Each one of them is one meter away from the person beside them, in front of them, and behind them. A single shout from him and they transformed into an army. They listened to him because he was worthy of leading them. Apart from his title as the child of the plane, he is also the strongest.
He rose to the air a little bit so that he could overlook all of them. He had his arm folded on his chest as he looked down at them imperiously. His golden fur reflected light and made him look regal. The nine golden orbs floating and rotating behind him reinforced that image. He inspected them and found their arrangement passable. Then he gave them an indication of his approval with the slightest nod.
"We are at war." He said to them. "You're soldiers. You must listen to orders. It doesn't matter if it makes sense. You will listen to it either way. The first Sage led our ancestors to fight the Vipers. Most of them were not strong. They barely had anything to eat. They were tired and hungry. They were not strong, but they answered his call, and they obeyed when he asked them to die. That makes them soldiers." I think you should take a look at
"Most of them died that day just to hold back the paragons of the vipers. We did not have enough sages to match their paragons, so our ancestors died in droves to hold them back. Our ancestors were weak and desperate. But they were more than that. They were soldiers. They came together under a single flag, and they died for a single cause."
His voice grew colder and colder as he spoke.
"We might have been enemies before. But right now, you're soldiers. Act like one. Honor your ancestors. Defend your title. We will go into battle soon. Know that your every act and deed is being witnessed by the entire plane. Do not shame your plane. Do not give the entire plane a reason to reject you. Act like soldiers worthy of being called a battle sage."
He paused to let his words sink into them. It is necessary to express the severity of the situation to them. There's nothing worse than insubordination, betrayal, and internal sabotage during a war. It will undermine their efforts and affect their chances of victory.
He has to dissuade whoever wants to do it because it is something that is likely to happen. After all, they were at each other's throats not long ago. Some people might just do it to make him look bad. A defeat will make him look very bad and will also make him lose his two requests from the first Sage.
He can't have internal conflict right now. So he threatened them with the repercussions of the act. It is better to do it than to rely on the Sage's speech. He threatened them subtly, but they know now that if they betray him, he will turn the entire plane against them. The people of the plane will get behind him too, because they are watching. No one will side with a traitor.
In fact, he doesn't need to do anything to the traitor himself for them to be killed. The racial council is sure to strike a heavy blow. The might of a world god can not be taken lightly. Origin gods will swarm wherever that person is until they are ground to dust. The people of the plane will join in hunting the traitor without being asked. The entire plane will become hostile to them.
He told them of what would happen so that the stupid ones among them that don't think things through will know what to expect if they go through with their traitorous deeds. He doesn't mind. He is the leader, so it is his job to do the thinking for them. Now they won't have ignorance on their side when they betray the plane. It will be a well informed decision that is to be rewarded with full punishment.