Finally, the day of the tournament had come. The Colosseum of the Ashford Clan was filled to the brim with spectators, as tens of thousands of people came to watch one of the greatest tournaments to ever grace the world of Pangea. Standing at the center of the arena were thousands of hopeful Wanderers, all of whom wished to make a name for themselves in the world. Aaron Ashford and Claude Ashford stood at the elevated platform to show their faces to the people. This was their way of telling everyone that despite the fact that their main city had suffered from the Monster Outbreak, their Clan remained strong and shouldn’t be looked down upon by anyone. The representatives of the Monarch Clans and the Prestigious Families, as well as the other powerful Factions all over the world, were also in attendance, watching everything from the VIP Seats. Arthur wasn’t able to come, but Michael, alongside his trusted subordinates, had come to represent the Leventis Family. Hans was also present, coming to show his support to Zion, who was currently seated at the judges panel, much to the surprise of everyone. There were six judges presiding over this tournament. One of them was Claude, the representative of the Ashford Clan. The representative of the Central Government was none other than the Field Marshal, Tristan Summers, who was also Rianna’s and Shana’s father. The other Monarch Clans had also sent a representative to be the judges of the tournament. Originally, there should only be five judges. However, Thirteen wormed himself into the judge panel using his status as the Supreme Commander of the Alliance. Claude decided to humor him and approved of his request. Once sure that everyone’s attention was on the stage, Aaron raised his hand to calm everyone so that he could speak. "Welcome, everyone, to the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament!" Aaron declared. "Today is not just another day—today, these young men and ladies would challenge themselves to test their strength, their skill, and their spirit. "Each of them has trained, struggled, and sacrificed to be here, and now is their moment to prove that it was worth it. "Remember, victory is not just about defeating your opponent—it’s about conquering your own doubts, pushing past your limits, and showing the world what you’re made of. Fight with honor, fight with heart, and let’s make this a tournament to remember!" The audience cheered as they wholeheartedly agreed to Aaron’s speech. The Wanderers, who would be participating in the elimination match, were also very hyped by his words. "And now, let me pass the baton to my son, Claude Ashford," Aaron said with a smile. "I’m sure he also has something to share with everyone." Claude accepted the microphone from his father, and he was about to start his own speech when Thirteen pushed the button of the remote control he had been holding in his hand. Naturally, his hand was hidden under his table, so no one saw what he just did. After spying on the two highest leaders of the Ashford Clan, he came to know a few of their secrets. This included their meticulous plans on how to eliminate strong competitors that might threaten the seeded candidates in the tournament, including their own people. After giving it careful consideration, Thirteen decided that he would make them understand that all bad deeds had consequences. The moment he pressed the button on his remote, the LCD Screen, which was at least 600 feet wide and 200 feet tall, showed two people sitting at an office and talking to each other. Naturally, these two people were none other than Aaron and Claude, who were both surprised at the sudden turn of events. Claude, who was holding the Microphone, glanced at the staff, and gave him the "what the hell is going on?" gaze. Clearly, the video playing on the projector was not part of the speech. But before the staff could even give the answer, Aaron’s arrogant and aloof tone reached everyone’s ears. "Claude, remember this—I will only accept our people from becoming the Champion of this tournament," Aaron said. "Make sure to eliminate the troublesome candidates, especially Mikhail Leventis, Shasha Leventis, and that playboy from the Osborn Family, Vincent. "Although you can’t take their lives, crippling them is also good. I believe that you have already prepared everything, right?" The moment those words sounded from the projection, Aaron’s and Claude’s face darkened. While they did talk about these things in private, the scene playing on the LCD Screen was not real. Even the clothes they wore were different! Claude immediately ordered the staff to turn off the LCD Screen. Of course, the staff knew what to do even if his employer didn’t tell him. However, no matter what he did, the screen wouldn’t turn off! Just as the operator was panicking, Claude’s mischievous voice reached everyone’s ears. "Father, I have taken everything into consideration," Claude stated. "The traps have already been placed at the Forest and Valley where the elimination matches will take place. Our agents have also been told what to do. "They would target the people on our hit list, and make sure that they don’t manage to proceed to the next round of the tournament. As a precaution, I even drugged the water bottles that were distributed to the participants. "The effects of the medicine placed there would take effect two hours after they are ingested. Even if the Wanderers find something wrong with their bodies, it will already be too late to do anything. We already have this competition in the bag." The faces of Aaron and Claude, who were standing on the stage, were already cold and filled with killing intent. Clearly, this scene was fake and someone had probably hired actors, who used skin masks to act like them. "Ladies.and gentlemen, please do not believe this farce!" Claude shouted. "I don’t know who is trying to frame me and my father, but we didn’t plan such a thing!" Of course, even if they did, there was no way in hell that Aaron and Claude would admit to it. However, now that something like this happened, they would need to make changes to their plans. If something were to really happen to Mikhail, Shasha, and Vincent, then the ones taking the blame would be them. They had already formed teams to personally target these three individuals and eliminate them early in the competition. They had even placed homing beacons into the bracelets that were handed to each Wanderer who would participate in the elimination matches, so they could pinpoint the location of the teenagers in their hit list. However, Michael, who had watched everything from start to finish, didn’t like what they heard. Although his brother, Gerald, refused to be reinstated as part of the Main Branch of the Leventis Family, his son and daughter, Mikhail and Shasha, were already considered as the future pillars of the Leventis Family. It went without saying that Zion was also one of these pillars. However, Gerald was adamant that he didn’t want to return. Instead, he said that he would start a new branch and make it the Main Branch of the Leventis Family, which caused Arthur to flare up and smack his no-good son silly until the latter cried out for mercy. Even so, Gerald refused to budge, so this caused another rift between father and son. But now that his nephew and niece were being subjected to such treatment, he would not take things lightly.