"You are not going to use a weapon?" Azu asked since Draven seemed ready to fight without taking out his weapon.
Draven smirked while subtly glancing at the Frozenblood princess, "Heh, I don't wish to ruin my blade for no reason, not that I expect you to understand," Draven wanted to impress the princess by showing that this dumb challenge was just a blind man's job and that the man she fancies was just a weak, pitiful dog.
Azu earnestly replied to his provocation, "Then I shall also not use any weapons. I believe in a fair battle."
Hmph, who are you trying to impress? I will soon show you your place…Draven inwardly mocked.
Draven could have openly let out his thoughts, but he didn't want to appear as crass before the others, especially since the other party was just dirt under his shoes.
Eli was nervously playing with her fingers as one of the guards struck the huge metal bell, signaling the two to start.
Draven decided to make it quick and short to shock everyone instead of playing around. He wanted to end this before anyone even batted their eyes. Only by doing this would everyone feel impressed with his fine abilities.
And so he charged forward at an inhumane speed to grab Azu's neck and bash him to the ground in such a way that his spine would surely shatter and then finish him off.
But right before his hand was about to reach his neck, Azu's eyes turned crimson. Draven didn't know why but all the blood in his body suddenly came to an abrupt stop, causing a whiplash within his own body.
"Urgh!"
The whiplash was so strong it shook his internal organs as blood rushed to his mouth.
But before he could even recover, his eyes widened when he saw Azu's fist speeding towards his chin.
Unfortunately, his entire body was still in shock, and he could only watch helplessly as Azu's fist struck the underside of his chin, rattling his brain.
*Bham!*
"Aarghh!"
Draven's body flew like a kite for dozens of meters till his back crashed onto the iron wall directly below the platform the royal family was sitting on.
*Thud!*
A loud, muffled sound of flesh crashing on the ground echoed as a stunned Draven fell on his face with a bloody mouth.
At impact, he didn't feel the pain, but now he felt as if his spine might have sustained some fractures here and there. And because of the sheer strength of Azu's punch, he couldn't even open his jaws properly.
"Uhh…" Weak groans of pain escaped from his throat while the entire arena descended into pin-drop silence.
Nobody could believe what they saw, and all of them had stupefied expressions except for the Frost King and Eli. The Frost King had an inscrutable expression, while Eli had a relieved and happy expression.
She was feeling so happy since she realized that her guess about Azu's bloodline being very powerful was true.
But she became worried when she saw the expressions of others, especially the royal elders, since they recognized what just happened…Bloodline Suppression!
Not only them but most seniors and experts here recognized it even though it only happened in a split second.
Lauden was the one who felt as if somebody smacked his face when he saw his son's blood being suppressed like it was nothing before being sent flying like a fool. He had never felt his face burn in humiliation so much, even if it was his son who experienced it.
He didn't know what to say since his mind was still searching for answers about how an exiled half-blood was able to do something like that. It was not like he didn't know about the existence of this half-blood before. But all he knew was that this half-blood was weak and fragile to the point he wouldn't even live for long.
He had never seen Azu personally since someone like him didn't deserve a glance from him. But based on the rumors, the appearance of this half-blood was nothing like what he was told.
Even if his mother was coming from royalty, there was no way his bloodline could be this strong. This is something only somebody of the Frost King's level could achieve with his bloodline!
"He…He cheated!" Draven's hoarse shout broke the silence as everyone came back to their senses. He somehow put together his odic force and endured the shame of having his bloodline suppressed by a half-blood dog as he got up with a dark expression.
He had never been humiliated in such a pathetic way, especially before so many important people and even his fiance. This was supposed to be his moment, his day, but instead, it became a scar on his name.
He thought he was finished for good when he suddenly got an idea for a way out of this. All he had to do was discredit what Azu just did, no matter what it took.
And so, right now, he focused on healing his internal injuries while calling out that Azu cheated.
"Cheated? How exactly did I cheat? All I used was my fist. I am sure everybody saw that," Azu said as a matter of fact, which made Draven's eyes twitch as he cleaned the blood off his lips. He realized his claim of his cheating was just dumb since he couldn't answer his question.
"My son is right. This exile claimed he wanted a fair match, yet he took part in the battle using unfair means by using the power of our sacred bloodline! As an exile and the son of a traitor among us, it is forbidden for him to use our bloodline as he wishes, especially for a challenge like this," Lauden said aloud, making the others feel a bit surprised but then nodded slowly, agreeing with his statement, especially most of the royal elders.
My father is indeed a genius!....Draven let out a sigh of relief and had to give to his father for coming to his rescue with the right explanation.
