Outside, near the palatial gates,
"Why are we even talking to this half-blood dog? Gilbert, kick him out and cripple him," One of the royal vampire guards said with a look of disgust.
"Of course, sire," Gilbert said as he stepped forward and placed his palm on Azu's chest as he pushed him back.
Azu stumbled back by a few steps before fixing his feet firmly to the ground and saying in a polite yet firm tone, "Please don't do this. I am here as per the orders of your king."
Gilbert sneered, "Orders? You little dog, do you think you are worthy enough to deserve our king's attention? It seems like I should teach you your place," Gilbert said as he placed his palm on Azu's chest again to push him to the ground and beat him up.
Azu's human eyes suddenly turned crimson, and Gilbert, who had placed his hand on Azu's chest to push him, suddenly found his strength faltering while Azu was still standing in the same spot. Gilbert slowly looked at Azu's face, only to feel those crimson eyes piercing into him, making his entire body paralyze. He couldn't even gather the strength to step back or say anything.
"Gilbert, stop fooling around, or did you forget what our chief just told you to do? I will get rid of him," Another vampire guard stepped forward and grabbed Azu's arm, only to have his eyes widen in shock.
"What are you two even doing? How hard is it to kick a dog out?" This time the chief of the patrol guards stepped forward, seeing that two of his men were acting weird by staying frozen.
The chief was about to choke Azu when his crimson eyes suddenly looked at him and said, "Don't touch me."
"I…" The chief froze in his spot as an unknown terror shook the blood in his body, making him swallow his saliva. He couldn't understand why he was suddenly feeling so terrified by someone like him.
"Oh, it looks like our friend is already here? Let him in, guards. He is the star of the day," A sarcastic voice sounded from behind as Azu's eyes returned to normal, and the guards found themselves regaining back control of their bodies.
They quickly moved to the side as if they were terrified to stand in front of Azu again, and the order they got from behind was only a relief.
"So you are General Draven?" Azu asked, making a guess.
Draven smirked as he said, "Who else could I be?" His eyes narrowed as he continued, "But I must say you do not look anything at all like what the rumors said. I wonder what changed you so much in such a short time."
Azu stepped into the palace grounds as he said with a subtle smile, "All that changed was I realized I no longer want to hide just because people don't accept my existence. Today, I will prove myself."
Draven chuckled as he shook his head, "You think the people will accept you just because they see you battling me?"
"Who said anything about proving myself to the people? All I care about is Eli and how she sees me. Nothing else matters," Azu said with a firm gaze, making Draven frown subtly as he clenched his fists behind his back, finding it extremely irritating to hear Azu mention his woman so casually.
You uncouth savage, you reek of weakness. I can't believe I am even entertaining your existence. If it was not for her, I would have cut you up in your own home along with your family. Ugh, what a time waste….Draven almost blurted his thoughts out, but he calmed himself down as he smiled and said, "Then I suppose we want the same thing. But I am sure today your life won't be the same after the battle," Draven inwardly snickered as he walked away, while Azu simply took a look at the large palace before walking towards the arena.
In the large arena, there were already hundreds of people seated. Most of them were officials, nobles, and a few royal elders of this kingdom who were here to witness the foolish boy who dared to challenge their strongest general, Draven.
Everyone knew how capable Draven was and how much he had achieved despite being young. So when they heard a half-blood son of a traitorous couple wanted to challenge him, the first thought they had was to purge this half-blood.
But the Frost King suggested that if they do that, then it might seem as if they were worried about this half-blood being strong enough to even pose a threat to their general.
It would just make them look bad, and as descendants of their proud royal bloodline, he said to let this be a stage to let Draven show his daughter how much he cared about proving his worth to her.
The Frost King was sitting on the grand platform with his wife and daughter beside him. The five royal elders were also seated on a special platform to show their seniority, and each of them had an expressionless face while one could feel that all of them had strived through various adversities and the vicissitudes of life.
Lauden and the group of officials who had accompanied him were also sitting on a separate platform. He still had a frustrated look on his face, considering it an insult that his son had to battle a dog just to prove his worth to the princess. How absurd!
Draven was sitting in a place near the arena so that he could walk over when it was time. And the next moment, most of them looked to the side as they saw a strikingly handsome young man dressed in simple white robes stepping into the arena with a certain glimmer in his eyes.
A faint smile crossed his lips as his gaze landed on the silver-haired beauty sitting beside the Frost King.
