After having a quick teasing session of Eve, tag teaming the poor woman with Danica and earning a few extra insults and curses flung his way, Rex went to have a quick chat with Light's Oak's girls, answering any questions they might have developed during their training session. Then, after another quick chat with the temporarily shut in vampires, he retired to his room where Danica was already waiting, mischievous look on her face. A few less hours of sleep no doubt, but the result of two, pleased and relaxed A rankers in the morning was a fair price for said few lost hours of sleep.

  As Rex sat on the rather comfortable sofa, overlooking the arena, he could only applaud on the success of the event. Each and every day of the contest, as short as it had been, the stands had been filled to the brim, with not a seat in sight empty. So much so that he could have sworn he saw a few seats where large bodied men had their women on their laps. They did not take up more seats, that was true, though he supposed that they paid for two regardless, allowing for some extra coins to come in. And that was another thing. He doubted that those entry prices, especially for the final way were any cheap, making the sight before his eyes more impressive.

  As expected, a pleased and content Danica was by his side, leaning against him, a certain glint in her eyes as she watched the arena below. She cared little for the rather one sided beatdown that was happening, much like the previous fight- both had the champion of either sect as one of the participants. Only the first fight was somewhat closer, lasting for almost ten minutes, sword clashing with sword as their owners tried to overwhelm their opponent. It was not the lack of skill that eventually decided the victor of the first match though. It was the slight difference in stamina and conditioning, one of the two running out of steam first. And if that was not depressing enough, the understanding that the victor of that gruelling fight would be pitted against Frozen Moon's champion who crushed his own opposition quickly and efficiently, surely dampened said victors heart, unless of course he naively believed to have encountered the toughest of the opponents in his quarterfinal round. No, the glint in Danica's eyes was for a different reason. The next fight would be Rex's against the champion of Naramika, the ones behind her tribes members kidnaping and enslavement.

  The duo had already talked it all over and planned everything accordingly. Eve would remain behind, resolving Rex's request for a personal property where he could house the Zosh family and the servants who would be employed in the mansion while donating their blood at appropriate intervals, ensuring their health not only does not get endangered, but actually improves, providing a better 'vine' as a result.

  "Make em feel despair!" Danica sneered almost predatorial like, slapping Rex on the ass as he stood to depart, causing him to raise an eyebrow at the act, though he simply nodded his head, a ferocious grin on his own face forming.

  "You can count on me!" and with that said, he departed, leaving Eve alone with Danica, something the wolfkin immediately exploited, using Eve as a convenient hug pillow now that her favourite one had left and neither Wari nor Sidsel could properly land on these viewing balconies. With the physical strength between the duo still quite large, as well as Eve's half assed couple attempts to free herself failed, the result was as expected- a humming and grinning Danica with a new hug pillow.

  Rex was walking through the tunnel towards the arena once again soon enough, an announcer singing praises for both combatants as they approached the sandy arena. As each stepped inside the arena, Rex could barely keep himself together, almost falling over laughing once he saw his opponent. Oh, sure, the man was large, larger than Rex even, with muscles to boot, but that was not a reason anyone would find funny. Of course not, but the mismatched armour, talismans and other, clearly holy element enchanted paraphernalia, made the man more in tune with some circus carnival. A party goer that had gotten carried away at the very start of the event and already was halfway across the rainbow bridge in his own booze tale, no doubt chasing pretty maidens with lascivious smiles and overly exposed bodies.

  And while it looked funny as all hell, even the spectators had heard by now that what Rex used was blood magic, hence he was, no doubt, a vampire. Far too few commoners were interested enough in the stuff coachmen guild whispered about, balking it up as some mumbo jumbo talk. Thus, given the chance to see a fabled monster executed within the arena caused many to spit out even more coin than they would otherwise be willing at the rare chance to witness that. As such, eyes were taped to the arena, each and every spectator almost holding their breaths, too scared to either breath or blink, lest they miss the start of the match.

  The referee, being one of the king's men, was aware of the actual truth, about Rex being actual human that is, thus he was not the least scared of the man approaching within the usual distance. His opponent, slightly embarrassed at his getup, though otherwise super focused was not so confident, keeping a few extra steps away. One never knew what the damn bloodsuckers had up their sleeve. And, once the referee realised that neither was going to advance further, he quickly asked for words for the opponents while distancing himself from the center himself. Oh, he was sure he was safe from Rex's attacks, it the champion of Naramika that he was worried about.

  "Should have stayed in whatever cave you were cooped up till now, bloodsucker. You pissed off too many powerful men with your interferences. This is just them all coming back to bite you in the ass."

  As relaxed as he had seemed so far, Rex head turned towards the referee for a moment, asking the important question he had to know to execute his plan entirely. "How does one yield?"

  Confused, the referee furrowed his brow, though moment later answered, shouting the response. "One has to state 'I YIELD! or 'I SURRENDER!'."

  "Verbal yielding only?" Rex confirmed, earning a nod from the referee once again, who had gazed upwards towards the highest platforms, receiving nods of approval as well. "Good." Rex smiled at the confirmation, returning his haze towards the other champion.

  "Already scared? Ha ha ha. You are not leaving this field alive. And once im done with you, I will piss on the ashes you leave behind. Young master even promised to let me have some fun with that pet of yours once he is through! Ha ha ha ha." laughed the foolish man, almost impatient to charge ahead, though he was stupefied for just a second by Rex following words, right after the referee had declared the start of the fight.

  "Those are some weak last words." Rex said, a cold smile on his face as he lifted his right hand in front of him, palm open, almost like a talon reaching for the man's throat in the distance. With a quick flex, the hand closed, as if crushing something within it, though nothing followed. The naramika champion ket on charging, the shield in his hand, adorned with golden wings, glowed brighter as he collided with Rex, who had once again opened his palm, stopping the charge right in its tracks, not a single whisp of smoke radiating from his body, leaving not only the audience all around in stunned silence, but the opposing fighter, and his backers on their own balcony even more so.

  And yet, years of constant battles did their own due diligence, causing the champion himself to quickly recover, darting back in several quick hops, trying his damn best to establish distance once again. Maybee a foolish choice, but he would still have much easier time dodging all those damn chains at a distance where he could see them coming well in advance. Still, his pride had been hurt and so had his confidence, causing him to cry out in anger, only to realize at that moment what Rex ment with his previous sentence. The mercenary- Raja of the endless sands, demon of thousand faces, was without his voice. No matter how hard he tried, how much mana he tried to infuse in his throat, it was all silent. Not a single syllable escaped.

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  "Noticed now, did you." Rex smiled as he slowly approached, not a single of his blood chains anywhere in sight. "Not that it matters. You are now stuck here with me, until I say otherwise. And, as much as I would like to pretend I did not hear what you say, I cannot do that. That 'pet' as you called her, is a damn fine woman, and I would be repulsed with myself if I allowed any useless piece of shit to act as I just saw you did. The fact that you work for the dumb cunts that attacked her tribe and family only makes what I am going to do all the sweeter. Let's enjoy this, shall we. It is the last dance you will ever have in this life after all."

  Then, like a predator, he dashed forward, startling Raja with his speed. A moment later, Rex was upon the man, his fist, once again in the form of a claw, colliding with the shining shield, red mana exploding from the collision, accompanied by the cries of metal and man. The mana explosion was bright, causing the spectators to avert their gazes momentarily, and when their gazes returned towards the stage, they saw Raja a few meters away, soundlessly wailing as he clutched his arm, large visible dent in the shield- a nasty way to break ones bone. Those that could see the back side of the shield knew better. It was not just dented beyond reason. The inner layer was exploded upon that contact, all fragments aimed towards the center. And that, unfortunately was the man's arm. Dozens, if not hundred of near molten metal shards had eaten through his flesh, clawing away at his bone, creating incredible, mind numbing pain. Raja himself was far too occupied with the pain to notice how the very sand itself had risen behind him to stop and soften the force he was propelled away with after the explosion happened, the secondary, hidden force doing its designated job.

  Said sand pillars had already dunken back in the floor, only the two sect members noticing the action, causing both sides to reevaluate their own little petty conflict. Both direct were already formulating the reports they would give in, explaining in deep detail everything that should never be done in the man's presence. Hell, things to consider when dealing with places he visits. There was one of the four who was outright salivating, or if used the modern terminology- weebing out at what she saw. That was, without a doubt in her mind, as Bansha's eyes were glued to Rex, the next true monster, as always borne by the outlands. And she, she got to actually witness him in the early days of his journey. She would no doubt have many busy months to come, but right now, she was burning every single detail she could of the battle before her eyes, no, the execution, for a battle implies that both sides are fighting. This, this was as one sided as possible and Rex, well, he was not playing nice at all.

  What everyone saw was akin to a masterpiece. Every movement, every strike, every silent scream that left Rajas mouth, it was terrifying, yet captivating at the same time. Strikes to hurt, to make someone despair, yet also to remind that there is more to come, more painful the next time. Again. Again. Again and again. For five, slow and excruciating minutes the execution lasted, until finally, Rex stood in front of the broken, crippled man, his eyes as empty and indifferent as if he was looking at a patch of empty earth. "Well? Was it worth the promise to get to have a taste of my 'pet'?" his voice cold, almost as indifferent as his gaze, yet there, deep down it could be sensed- anger that anyone would even have the mere thought to denigrate Danica, let alone speak such words out loud.

  The sands rose all around him, forming a sea of featureless snakes that then promptly devoured whatever was left of the body, leaving only Rex in the arena. Unbeknownst to others, each and every accessory the poor bastard had worn with holy enchantments had been moved to the same place underground near the entrance through which Rex came in. There, in a small, formed by Rex of course, cavern of sorts, Sneck was busy showing it all down his gullet. Dead men need no treasures. Rex could put them to a much better use after all.

  The duo from Naramika had been far too scared out of their minds to even speak during the battle, only coming to some semblance of sense once Rex was gone from the arena.

  "WHAT IN THE LORD'S NAME WAS THAT?? EXPLAIN YOURSELVES?" frantically screamed Visnuss, only to be shut up mere moments later by a crystal clear voice of a young man, coming from the balcony of the Frozen moon.

  "Pipe it down peasant, will you." Juan scoffed, picking his ear with a hand as he looked at the clearly panicked fool. "Any man with ear to the ground would know that there had appeared a human blood mage in this nation just a short while ago. And what better field to play with than one soaked in blood of centuries long and constant combat. And even a fool knows not to pull on a dragon's whisker."

  "My my Juan. Do you have the time to worry about trash? Though you are correct this time!" haughtily laughed Pyra, earning a snarky reply from the young man.

  "Look who's talking. Your champion is facing Rex before us. Ha ha ha ha ha!" earning a sharp glare from the elven lady.

  "A perfect opportunity for a lesson of humility for my fellow disciple, no doubt. Hope your's take their defeat with at least as much grace as ours." Pyra replied, having already sent Anmared to dress one of her personal guards in the champions armour, replacing the one who was supposed to fight. She understood better than anyone how stupid her own contemporary disciples were and since the fight was a guaranteed loss, she would take it with grace- a lesson in quick thinking and strategy Juan would learn the hard way, for Bansha was far too lost at the moment to do what true masters of espionage and intelligence gathering would do- something that came much easier for women. There is always a balance in things, for what men have in strength and determination, they often lack in subterfuge and wisdom, lessons thought to fair few powerful men far too late.

  As expected, the fight of Juan's champion against the last semi- finalist was quick, the man still barely rested could not put up much of a fight, resulting in an early knockout. Rex was not winded at all, so his fight, much like the fights he had before was quite relaxed, with him using his blood chains to restrain his opponent, thought he did spice it up just a bit, ending the fight with a well timed blow, disarming the man without injuring him greatly and placing the sword he had just acquired against his throat, earning a yield, followed by a tired, yet thankful bow for going easy on him and the valuable experience he had earned, receiving a slight nod of approval from Rex in return.

  The finals then came in short order, with Rex as relaxed as before and Juan's champion pumped up to high heavens. Just like any proper young champion from the inner continent, who paid little attention to their history classes, he too was too full of himself, yet since Juan was a direct disciple of one of the elders, he had to grit his teeth in silence and just nod as Juan babbled over his head. He would show the mall. He was the next hero. He would rise above them all and rule as the next sect master. Juan was only barely stronger than him, and that was with all the resources available to the disciple of an elder for fuck's sake. So, once in the ring, much to Pyra's joy and Juan's mistake, Frozen Moon's champion went for broke, Deploying his families heirloom and boosting himself as much as possible, before trying to overwhelm Rex with sheer mana amount that was now radiating from him.

  If only Juan's champion would have silently done everything he was doing, it would still be fine, but he just had to announce that he would throunce over Rex, proving his superiority. A bad decision indeed. Even through the sounds of weapons clashing, Rex drawing a blood red sword for the first time that sent chills through the spines of the four members of the sects, Juan could hear and see Pyra laughing hysterically, rolling all around her large and cushy sofa, almost falling of a couple times, saved by a well placed staff from the champion armour wearing 'guard?' by her side. And then, the mana explosion clashes stopped, followed by one ragged breathing. And then, it happened.

  SLAP!

  "Show some dignity man. You are older than me. Is it not embarrassing?" Rex clear voice resounded, followed by another solid slap.

  SLAP!

  And then, almost like in some old school cartoons, Rex lifted the man a bit in the air, and proceeded to slap the fool with front and back hand slaps a few dozen times. Painful- yes. Humiliating- Hell yes! permanent damage causing- not at all, unless one considered the psychological trauma. Once the punishment was dolled out, his opponent was rolled out on the sandy floor, nice and out cold. With that, Rex was pronounced the victor of the tournament, given some sort of bangle and some solid amount of coin and some sort of banket was thrown. Not that Rex was there to see it. He and Danica had things to do, what with Naramika representatives leaving the capital with haste, not even waiting for the usual after tournament pie splitting and stuff- something Eve had to attend to remind that kingdom of Sol had Rex behind them, her being the direct reminder of the fact. Their little nation would have quite a few pleasant years ahead of them. So much so that there might even be special concessions in their favour should Rex not participate in the following tournaments. Something they would be more than willing to go along with, if the price offered was juicy enough, and after his display today, the entire royal family believed it would be.