"I demand an explanation from the Ashford Clan," Michael stood up and made his opinion known. His voice carried far and wide into the entirety of the Colosseum, making Aaron and Claude look at him in contempt. "Explanation? What explanation?" Claude sneered. "We already said that it was a farce. We never said such things!" "Really?" Thirteen asked. "Then, how about you prove your innocence?" "Prove our innocence?" Aaron asked back icily. "What do you mean, child? Do you really think you have the authority to say such things?" "I do," Thirteen replied. "Have you forgotten? I’m one of the judges of this tournament. As such, I want to ensure that everything is fair. Now, let’s tackle the things that are mentioned in that ’farce’ that you are talking about. "First, each Clan will send a team to check the place where the eliminations will take place. According to the recording, you have placed traps there. If you are innocent, then these teams wouldn’t find any traps. "I can’t condone starting this tournament when there’s suspicion that the Ashford Clan had tampered with the terrain of the tournament. This merits an investigation. Of course, you can refuse. But that just proves that you are guilty, don’t you think?" Thirteen clasped his hands together while laughing internally. The video shown to the public was indeed fake. It was something made with the help of Paimon and Kamrusepa, who were part of his Faction in the Order of the Apocalypse. Paimon had the power of creation. She could create almost anything with her flames, so creating two humans wouldn’t pose a problem for her. However, Kamrusepa used her power of illusion and beguilement to transform these flames into the perfect replica of Aaron and Claude. Thirteen had shown them the recording of what the two men looked like, as well as their voices. Paimon and Kamrusepa did the rest, while the teenage boy recorded it. He then uploaded it to Athena’s database, and used the powerful supercomputer to hijack the database of the tournament, leading to the current scandal. "Don’t go overboard, Zion Leventis," Claude, who already had a great dislike toward the teenage boy, almost growled. "Well, it seems that the Ashford Clan is indeed guilty," Thirteen, who wasn’t the least bit intimidated, replied with a smile. "I bet that the moment the Central Government sends their specialists to the testing grounds, they will uncover these ’traps’ that your Clan has set up to eliminate people. "Your Father mentioned earlier that each Wanderer has trained, struggled, and sacrificed to be here, and now is their moment to prove that it was worth it. How can they probably prove their worth when you have sabotaged the venue? I admit I am still young and certainly not as shameless as you guys. "Still, I find this very funny. Are you guys not confident that your own people can succeed with their own strength that you have to resort to such dirty tricks? I guess the Ashford Clan doesn’t amount to their prestige. I’m very disappointed." As the people at the Colosseum silently listened to Thirteen’s words, they were a bit shaken by his statement. In their hearts, Zion Leventis held a very high amount of prestige, especially after he led the Alliance to fight against the Jinns in the Rigel Continent and even won that battle. His popularity was on the rise, so even if he were facing the two highest members of the Ashford Clan, he showed no fear. "Child, be careful of the things that you say," Aaron stated. "There are consequences for such things." "Wow, I’m scared," Thirteen replied. "Imagine a Monarch threatening a Rookie. As for consequences? "While I do not know the consequences you are referring to, I do know the consequences that you will face if any of my family members are hurt with your scheme. Trust me, you won’t like it." Thirteen smiled a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. All the representatives from the Monarch Clans, Prestigious Families, and powerful Factions at the scene couldn’t help but applaud the boy in their hearts. Only Zion had the nerve to talk back to a Monarch without batting an eye. The other Monarchs and Patriarchs of the Prestigious Families, who were watching this scene from their homes, couldn’t help but shake their heads because Zion Leventis was trying to poke the eye of a bear. If Aaron really made a move and crushed him, no one would be able to do anything. Arthur and Lady Callista, who were watching this from the Main Residence of the Leventis Family, couldn’t help but feel anxious because they were too far to protect their grandson. "Zion Leventis, just where is your confidence coming from?" Aaron had finally reached his limit and dispersed a bit of his aura. The power of a Monarch surged like a wave and crushed down on the Rookie, forcing him to bow his head. However, Thirteen remained unfazed, making Aaron frown. The Monarch had been holding back earlier because he didn’t want to cripple the boy and only wanted to teach him a lesson. But seeing that Zion was showing no reactions to his attempt, he increased it, doubling its effect. Truth be told, Thirteen was just holding everything in. He could feel the pressure bearing down on him, and he was simply not showing any reactions on the surface. Soon, a trail of blood flowed down on Thirteen’s nose. Aaron immediately pulled back his presence because he was afraid that the teenage boy would suffer serious internal injuries. His action was merely to threaten and make the young man submit. But who would have thought that Zion would refuse to back down? "What a low class move," Thirteen said before taking out his handkerchief to wipe the bloodstain below his nose. "You tried to make me submit to you by using your aura against me. So, are you happy that you managed to injure me? Does that make you feel good? Did it stroke your ego?" The teenage boy’s words were filled with ridicule and contempt, and Aaron was very tempted to go all the way and finish the job. However, Tristan had already stood up behind Zion and crossed his arms over his chest. "Do it again, I dare you," Tristan’s voice was dripping with killing intent. "You really think that you can bully an officer of the Central Government? Do you dare?" Aaron glared at Tristan, but after remembering who his father was, his glare was short-lived. In the end, an awkward silence descended on the venue. This was supposed to be a glorious event. But the only thing they remember now was a Monarch bullying a Rookie, and it didn’t sit well with the people watching the event being broadcast live to the entire world. Thirteen, purposely taunted Aaron to make him retaliate to him. He knew that Aaron wouldn’t dare to kill him in front of so many people. At most, he would be seriously injured. But he was fine with that. As long as he didn’t die, he would be able to paint the Monarch of the Ashford Clan as a petty man, which he could use to slowly whittle down his influence. While Erasmus planned to fight Aaron in the future, Thirteen planned to fight his own battle against him. Seeing that both sides might really go to the point of no return, the other representatives stepped in to mediate the situation. Michael and Hans hurried to Thirteen’s side, even bringing with them one of their subordinates who specialized in healing. The representative of the Griffin and Elrod Clan received an order from the Head of their Families to make sure that Zion didn’t get hurt more than he already was. The Monarch of the Griffin Clan, Douglas Griffin, was the most anxious of all because he needed Zion to help him handle the Cygni Invasion. He wouldn’t allow the teenage boy to kick the bucket anytime soon because it would be a loss to him! So when his representative of the Elrod Clan asked Aaron and Claude to let their people examine the venue where the elimination round was going to be held, the representative of the Griffin Clan seconded his proposal. However, Aaron and Claude flatly rejected their proposal because there was no way they could agree to it. This made the other Clans suspicious, and now, they were convinced that the Ashford Clan was indeed playing dirty. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺 Seeing their reactions, Claude immediately gave a secret order to his agents to destroy the traps that they had painstakingly built. Now that it had come to this, they had no choice but to remove all the traces of their dirty work, making sure that their reputation would not be tarnished any longer in the eyes of the public. This was the exact outcome Thirteen was aiming for. As long as his brother and sister could compete fairly, he believed that any elites from the Ashford Clan would not be able to stand in their way.