"So, Olaf is the bigshot of this tournament?"

Akash asked for confirmation.

"No, My Liege. The bigshots have yet to appear."

Haji Tea corrected him, after which, Akash hummed and asked again.

"Where are they?"

"These elementary rounds are child's play for them. Thus, they'll only appear in the last round's preliminaries when only the top 8 are left."

The Smoking Spear explained.

"Did Olaf and his city surrender in the preliminaries or the quarter-finals?

"The former, My Liege. They were ranked 8th in our province's 3rd tier cities."

Haji Tea answered.

"Does the winner of the tournament immediately become a 2nd tier city or are there additional procedures they have to go through afterwards?"

Akash inquired again.

"The winning city will be given two choices: either they directly challenge a 2nd tier city from their province and replace them if they win or they can fight the other winners of the 3rd tier city tournaments from the other 9 provinces. That fight would then be called the grand finals, where, by winning, they become recognized by a 1st tier city from their province. This means, they become associated with a 1st tier city while remaining a 3rd tier city themselves."

"What are the benefits of becoming an associated city of another? Don't they just become pawns then?"

Akash said indifferently.

"My Liege, an associated 3rd tier city is no less than any normal 2nd tier city. No one would look down on them, nor try to conspire against them. Additionally, they would also share the reputation and name of that 1st tier city. On top of that, they can continue to build their strength with their new status for the next tournament to officially become a 2nd tier city."

"I see, it not only benefits them but their patron city as well. This way, they can have numerous 2nd and 3rd tier cities in the palm of their hands."

Akash replied as he raised his brows.

"There is a limit, My Liege. A 1st tier city can only affiliate themselves with 10 3rd tier cities and 2 2nd tier ones. They cannot have more than that and on top of that, there exists a disadvantage for those beneficiary cities, they can never become a 1st tier city. Essentially, they will always remain a subordinate to that patron, unless the 1st tier city's mayor decides to back out themselves."

"Then we're definitely not choosing that option."

Akash confidently said while looking at Haji before continuing.

"What was the winner of our province's previous tournament?"

"Its name is Machur City and they fought in the grand finals but got defeated in the very 1st round, showing how powerful the other provinces' cities are."

Haji Tea sighed afterwards.

"Don't worry, the outcome will be different this time."

Akash tapped Haji's soldiers and encouraged him, the Smoking Spear smiled and nodded in turn. As soon as they were done, the fight in front of them had ended as the referee came forward and announced the next contestants.

"Ladies and gentlemen, one of your most anticipated matches will now begin. Please give a warm welcome to the 8th ranked city of the previous tournament, Ancholi City!"

Olaf Adcon took the lead and entered the octagon while the rest followed him close by, all at the 3rd Moon of the 5th Star realm. As the entire audience clapped and cheered for them, the referee turned his head to the other side and continued announcing.

"Please extend a similar welcome to their opponent, Sajola City, as well!"

Three people came from the other side, led by a middle-aged man at the 9th Star realm. Akash squinted his eyes and questioned Haji.

"Is a 9th Star tamer even allowed?"

Haji laughed before answering.

"Haha, just keep looking, My Liege. You will know."

Akash smiled and looked at the octagon, the middle-aged man was the mayor of Sajola City. He went directly towards the referee and whispered something. In return, the referee smiled and nodded his head before raising his hand and announcing.

"The Sajola City has surrendered. As such, the winner of this round is Ancholi city!"

The audience was disappointed as some booed at them while others clapped. They knew the mayor did the right thing. Instead of pointlessly fighting to the death, it was wise to surrender and save the lives of the talented tamers of your city. The three tamers of Sajola City clenched their fists and gritted their teeth. Akash checked their profiles but found their aptitudes lacking for joining his Ancestor Law Enforcement.

"A wise decision."

Akash commented.

With this, four rounds had been concluded and 5 remained. There were many deaths in the latter rounds in all 4 octagons. Just like the fight of Ancholi vs Sajola, those who were pitted against the other top 7 cities of the previous tournament surrendered as well. However, unlike Ancholi City, the other 7 cities didn't even bother appearing, already confident in their opponent's forfeits. The 1st round of the competition ended and out of 512 cities, half were eliminated. The remaining 256 cities would move onto the 2nd round.

Finally, Abran's rank grew for the first time since their fall. They were ranked as the lowest 3rd tier city, at 740, but now with just one win, they jumped to the 256th spot. Every news channel was talking about them and the celebrations in Abran City were still ongoing. Gradually, the people of the nearby 3rd tier cities started visiting Abran again. The current mayor, Baghi Tea, was elated to no end while greeting them personally and showing them Abran's good side to convince them to move to Abran City permanently.

"Are you seeing this, Zaheer?"

The Moustache and Spear told Zaheer Seth in a joyful tone.

"Unfortunately, no, I'm blind... Stop acting like a senile geezer, old fool."

The Glaive and Beard replied in annoyance.

"Haha, with just one match we're already getting so much attention. Just imagine what our city will be once we win this tournament."

Baghi Tea said with a laugh.

"I don't need to imagine it for I will see it with my own eyes as I believe in His Majesty."

Zaheer Seth replied. After which, Baghi continued.

"Sigh, I'd never thought there would be such day in my life."

"Neither had I… All hail His Majesty!"

Zaheer replied before he left, leaving Baghi Tea in a jolly mood, who closed his eyes and uttered.

"Indeed, all hail King Akash!"