Nortrom’s demand started a ripple of murmurs as every eye in the stadium was fixated on him.
Before, the crowd was merely jeering and mocking without expecting anybody, least of all Nortrom, to be that outspoken in his disdain toward the Erudians.
Nortrom gazed at the Erudian competitors and gave a laugh of derision. “I can kill all of you without even breaking a sweat. If you can’t send anybody worthy, just do yourselves a favor and withdraw from the competition. Why make things difficult for everybody?”
The others chimed in, emboldened by Nortrom’s remark. “Don’t embarrass yourselves further by sending in subpar competitors like them. They are not fit to compete against us.”
“That’s right. We urge Erudia to withdraw from the Elites Conference! They are not worthy!”
“That’s right! Keerea requests that they withdraw from the competition!”
“He has a point!!”
The competitors of the other nations expressed their unanimous desire one after another to the shock of all of the Erudians at the stadium.
They had initially thought that they would be humiliated by having their representatives thrashed when the competition began, not expecting to endure the greater shame of not even being allowed the chance to compete at all.
These foreigners are adamant about forcing us out of the competition completely.
The Erudians were not expecting that.
“What does the Cardinal Hall of Erudia feel about it? Look at the candidates you’ve offered. They’re all pathetic! If they were allowed to compete, they would just be beaten and mocked!”
“Rather than putting them through the suffering, why not spare them altogether? At least Erudia won’t be remembered as the nation who got beaten soundly.”
“That’s right. Don’t you Erudians have any shame? You might as well not compete!”
The jeering from the crowd began again as laughter erupted from all sides to the fury of the Erudians.
The fury was felt more so by the ones who had been elected to compete at the very last minute. “We are not afraid of anybody!” they shouted, clenching their fists as their faces grew red with indignation. “We will not allow you to insult us!”
“That’s right! Nobody is allowed to insult us!”
Nortrom gazed at them with disgust. “You bunch? Come at me at once. Since the competition has not begun, I’ll use you as a warm-up.”
“You are asking for it!”
Nortrom’s bold claim greatly angered the Erudian competitors. They made a dash toward the arrogant challenger.
One by one, they unleashed everything they knew. Fueled by their rage, their martial abilities were greatly enhanced.
Unfortunately, the gap between their skill and Nortrom’s was vast.
True to his claim, Nortrom was more than a match against all the Erudian competitors combined.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
One by one, the Erudians were sent flying.
In the span of several minutes, the sixty-seven Erudian competitors were left strewn all over the ground writhing in pain.
Though their faces were contorted in pain and anger, they were unable to do anything about it as their skill was indeed vastly inferior to Nortrom’s.
We can’t beat him.
Jeering laughter erupted throughout the crowd, who did not even bother hiding their disdain this time.
The Erudians in the crowd were flabbergasted. The competition had not even begun and the carefully selected Erudian competitors were beaten soundly by Nortrom.
It is all over. There is nobody left to compete for Erudia in the Elites Conference. It is even worse to be wiped out by a single cocky foreigner. What a shameful moment it is for all Erudians.
The Erudians kept their heads down, being aware that what their fighters had suffered was even more disgraceful than to have been beaten in competition.
We will not be able to look a foreigner in the eye ever again.
The Erudians were so furious at the mockery made at their expense that they were about to pass out.
Nortrom stood above them with his arms raised as he swept a glance over the arena. “I was right, wasn’t I?” he shouted. “They are all pathetic. I have single-handedly flattened all of them.”
“How is a bunch of losers worthy to be our competition?” The other contestants chimed in.
“Erudia has nobody left to offer!” Nortrom shouted triumphantly.
“Says who?” answered a voice suddenly.
The crowd spun around and saw Levi appearing at a distance, leading a large group behind him.
Amongst them were the top three of Erudia’s Stone List and the other martial artists, all back to full health and ready to fight.
