As the last day of the finals arrived, the royal capital city of the Frostpire Kingdom was bustling with thousands of Dragongfolk, each of them heading toward the coliseum. For the netizens of the Dragon Realm, it still felt like a dream; never in their lives did they think they'd witness a day when the Ice Kingdom would beat the Big Four and advance to the finals in the Kingdom Competition. There were so many rumors about this particular topic in the rest of the kingdom, and of course, most of the netizens attributed Frostpire's success to the mysterious and powerful Kawl. The other kingdoms were still trying to dig up more information about him, but so far, it had been fruitless. King Dracos Frostpire had made sure to hide any information about Nox and had even fabricated history and items—old baby portraits he had purposely left behind as evidence. King Dracos had read his enemies like a book. He was several steps ahead of them, and when they stumbled upon this fake evidence, all doubts were cleared. Yet, despite this, there was still someone who was rather persistent. The Light Monarch, Thomas Celestis. If there was anyone who knew Dracos very well, it would be him. After all, the latter was just as cunning, and one could even say they thought alike most times. Therefore, the Light Monarch doubted even the evidence presented. Of course, King Dracos Frostpire didn't know that the reason for this was the information Thomas had gotten from his daughter. According to Lumi, Kawl had used strange powers, but her description of these powers was vague, as her opponent had purposely prevented her from seeing clearly. However, of all the information, the one that caught Thomas's attention the most was the fact that Lumi had snatched the amulet but found nothing unusual about it, which left Thomas baffled. He had thought that Nox's sudden appearance and immense strength were somehow connected. Just then, she had said: "When I held the amulet, he did something strange again. I suddenly sensed him behind me, but when I turned around, he was gone—along with the amulet. It... it felt as if he was right there, but also not there at the same time. I don't know—the whole experience was very confusing." At present, from the royal balcony, King Thomas watched as the crowd slowly filled the stands of the arena, his gaze sweeping around for a particular person. But so far, this person seemed absent—or was hell-bent on not letting anyone see him. He then glanced to his side, where the Ice Monarch was lounging in his seat with a nonchalant expression on his face. Sensing his gaze, King Dracos smirked and said: "I guess I should be expecting the 200,000 monster cores anytime soon, then?" Thomas clenched his fist and redirected his gaze back to the arena, a trace of anger flashing through his eyes. "You'll get your cores when the competition is over." "Good," Dracos said. But before he could continue, the Light Dragon Monarch spoke again. "Dracos..." "Hmm?" The Ice Dragon paused as he spared a glance at the Light Monarch, whose gaze was fixed below on the arena. "Whatever you're hiding, just know that no secret lasts forever." To this, Dracos didn't bother answering. Of course, he knew this—but by the time the secret was out, it would be too late. --- "Hey, should we send someone to fetch him?" "Any moment now, and the match will start." Inside the Frostpire team's waiting room, the air was thick with tension, clearly visible on the pale, anxious faces of everyone. "I thought you said he was just going to hunt for some hours," Drake said, his tone sharp. "Yes, that's what he told me," Zara replied, playing with her fingers nervously. "To be honest, I thought he might return yesterday. Or... did he venture toward that area?" While they were all speaking at once, the doors of the waiting room suddenly swung open. Everyone's eyes swiftly darted toward the entrance with hopeful gazes. However, it wasn't the person they expected. Instead, it was just the match officiator. "It's just five minutes left. If you guys can't provide a replacement for your team, you'll be disqualified. If I were you, I'd find a replacement as quickly as I can," the stern officiator said and exited once more. Everyone let out a collective sigh. Then Toren, the scarred, muscular youth, spoke with a glint in his eyes. "What about this—maybe I can head toward the forest and get him quickly." "Tsk, muscle-brain. Do you even understand how large the Ancient Forest is?" Kisay clicked her tongue. "It would take you hours—if not days—to find him." "Kisay is right," Fenix sighed. "What if... what if something terrible happened to him?" Mira, who had been quiet all this while, spoke. Right after she said that, Zara slapped her on the shoulder and said with a surprising level of confidence, "Nothing bad could happen to Nox. He's unkillable." The others felt that Zara's choice of words was absurd and thought it was humorous—an attempt to alleviate the mood. But she knew what she was talking about. After all, she had literally witnessed Nox come back from death to smite his enemies. --- In the Inferno Kingdom's waiting chambers... "You look shaken. Are you alright?" Elise asked her childhood friend, who was gripping his chest area—which, despite being healed by expert dragon healers, still emitted a great deal of pain. What weapon did that disgusting abomination use on me? he thought, his teeth grinding. His pained expression made Elise furrow her brows in concern, and she was about to speak. However, Valkor spoke even before she could. "It's nothing. Just prepare for the match," he said, getting up from his seat. "And this time, we're not following the same tactic again." Elise narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?" The other six team members also looked at their captain's broad back with confusion. The tactics had been working just fine—why change it now? At that moment, they got their answer. A grin—hidden from all those present—split across Valkor's face, and he spoke with a dark expression, his eyes blazing with purple flames. "Because I want that Kawl all to myself... It's only right I vent my frustration on someone after the humiliation I faced last night."