The group from Sisiya went directly to Kiru. They said a few words in whispers and then they looked for a place to seat among the commoners and audience, ignoring the VIP room.

The guests in the VIP room, such as Asifu, didn't acknowledge them and just continue having their conversation. Asifu discussed pol with a man who accompanied King Deniz.

Near the ring, Nusi also stood next to Armad, explaining to him how the Alkadar worked. Mikironomada was never concerned about sending a senior official to this competition, so when Nusi said she would lead the convoy, nobody opposed her. Especially since she was now officially a member of the parliament in Khan.

This was the main reason why the Denizens didn't pay attention to them earlier. As a great, old country, they should have sent an elder or at least a commander to represent them. The Denizens saw it as contempt to the underground empire and jinzidal in general.

In the VIP room, the King had provided them with food and drink, and after a while, he returned to Uznu Ururu, whose eyes were still closed. "How do you feel about the competition? Are the children impressive enough for your eyes? I will give fifty fifth-grade ayrid and a battleship to any who reaches the semi-finals. The runner-up will have one hundred fifth-grade ayrids and a battleship as well. As for the one who comes first, his prize is ten battleships and a 10th-grade ayrid. That's of course in addition to the price already provided by the jinzidal.

"We hope that the added benefits included for the winners will encourage every country to play a role in jinzidal. I also want to extend my sincere appreciation to the first world for choosing my country to hold the jinzidal. Seerish would like to help the first world in any way it can."

The King sipped the white lemon juice in his cup, glancing at Uznu.

However, Uznu remained silent and ignored him. It was only when Armad, Niyashi, and Kiru climbed the ring again for the Alkadar competition that he replied.

"Important things have arisen," he told the King. "First, the appearance of a new Heir of Wilberforce, which is not an issue that we take lightly. Second, we have been told that there are still people who want to revolt against the jinzidal. Third, the Djinn are still making attempts to return to Shadeníza and spread the word about what happened that year. They want people to know and we can't let that happen. People will complain about it since it involves Triple Factor, and then violence will be difficult to avoid."

Uznu went on to explain in a casual tone that seemed to indicate he was in control. "Also, there is something I have been wanting to find for over nine hundred years. The seven stars above the first world told me that this thing I'm looking for would appear in the form of a child who would play in the tournament. That's why I'm here today. Hopefully, Denizens will work with us to avoid unnecessary loss of lives."

He didn't wait for an answer from King Deniz and just turned his head away and continued to face the ring. That was simply saying that it wasn't a request. Ururu had the right to do whatever they wanted, and whenever they wanted.

King Deniz had heard about these whispers. People said that one of the seven great powers of the world wanted to go against the jinzidal. They also said that another Heir of Wilberforce had appeared. But the issue of the Djinn was new. He didn't know about it until now. However, his main concern was the last thing Uznu said about his reason for being there. No matter how he thought about it, it just couldn't be good. What could bring the commander there?

The light on the King's face disappeared, and he didn't say anything anymore. He looked at the ring, but his mind was in another world. He knew how powerful Uznu was. Even among the Ururu, he was considered to be a very valuable person. He was the only person to have returned from the battle of Book-sword that took place centuries ago, and he commanded thousands of soldiers. He could have easily sent other members of the army to represent him. But why did he come by himself?

Seeing that the representatives from Sisiya had stopped near Kiru, and refused to leave, Nusi returned to Armad's side. The other representatives from the four remaining countries gradually left the VIP room and accompanied their men. That was to say the representatives from Mikironomada stayed with Armad, the people from Sisiya stayed with Kiru, the people of Infiria stayed with Niyashi, the people of Hán from the third world stayed with Hán-Amuru, and the Denizens who were the most numerous stayed with Deniz Bizaya.

One unaccompanied contestant was Ikenga. He wasn't bothered by it at all if the casual look on his face was any indication. He lifted his head and looked at the sky in silence as if he were reading the passing stars.

The representatives all tried to tell their candidates what to do and further emphasizing the importance of success. Someone from Infiria was showing a long list of names to prince Niyashi. They were the slaves they would have to sacrifice if he failed to win.

The commentator gave a few extra minutes before announcing the added prizes as King Deniz told Uznu Ururu.

Hearing about the gifts shocked the whole audience, not only them but even the representatives who were now with the six remaining contestants.

Even Asifu, who was still in the VIP room discussing pol with Deniz Kalhari, turned to look at King Deniz in amazement. The whole arena went silent for a few seconds, mulling over the rewards. The audience watching the competition in other cities kept talking about it.

Ayrid was a small nut-like seed. Some were big and some small. Each had a different color and could be dry or raw. They all came from the same tree though. If it was dry, it would be processed into money. But if it was raw, it would be used for Bending. Raw ayrids had different energy content and could be used for many things.

The one Nusi used to produce the chariot was a one-time storage unit. There were many others like it. They could be used to store food items for travelers or weapons or even wagons. There was another type that was suitable for medicinal pills. Others were used to strengthen pol and many other things. The higher the grade of the ayrid, the more energy it could contain, and the more valuable it would be. A whole branch of Bending known as ayrid Bending was dedicated to ayrids.

Ninety-nine percent of the population wouldn't be able to get anything beyond third-grade ayrid in their entire lives, which would allow them to send messages, no matter how far away, and receive them, and they could store their belongings while traveling.

King Deniz was offering several fifth-grade ayrids which could do more than just store items or send messages. Such ayrid could be used to project live video events to the entire seven worlds. No wonder everyone was amazed.

After about fifteen minutes, the commentator asked Kiru, Niyashi, and Armad to climb the ring and face the Alkadar.

The Alkadar was a stone statue of red stone. It looked human physically, but where a face should be, it was a piece of glass. Inside the glass was a scale calibrated up to a hundred.

As Nusi explained to Armad, he needed to hit the statue with everything he'd got. His strength would be displayed on the scale and whoever had the highest number among them would pass to the next round.

Niyashi was asked to go first, then Kiru, and then lastly Armad.

Niyashi approached the statue. He raised his hand and punched it in the chest. The numbers on the scale went up to fifty... sixty... seventy... where it slowed down and finally stopped at eighty-nine.

Up in the VIP room and among the audience, the Rafiyans were already being congratulated, which surprised Armad. But what he didn't know was that the highest ever scored in the jinzidal was 91, so getting eighty-nine was certainly commendable.

Kiru arrived in front of the Alkadar, where he raised his sword intending to slash the Alkadar in half, but, strangely, a familiar voice spoke in his ear, which only he could hear. His hand stopped midair, causing the spectators to open their mouths in confusion.

"Don't use more than eighty percent of your pol," the voice said. Kiru frowned as he recognized the voice. It was one of the representatives from Sisiya. But why? They needed that competition to save their people from slavery. Were they going to make a move right in the middle of the tournament? "And don't turn around."

Kiru cursed internally. He knew something was amiss ever since they came late. It couldn't be a coincidence.

His sword continued to hit the Alkadar in the chest. It made a loud bang and the numbers went up to sixty and stopped.

The arena fell silent. People stared at him as he turned around.

Even the commentator couldn't comment until Armad got up and arrived in front of the Alkadar. No one would have thought that a son of Bihanzin would stop at sixty.

Armad ignored all the murmurings around him and reached out and untied his sword. Then holding it with both hands, he slashed the Alkadar with a pol blade. The numbers moved faster than they did with Kiru and didn't slow down until they reached sixty-five, where they slowed to a crawl at seventy-four and finally stopped at eighty-eight.

Armad stood there staring at the numbers, unable to believe what he was seeing.

He was a digit shot of Niyashi, which meant he'd lost to the prince.