"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the League of Dragons and Phoenixes!" Thirteen said with a smile, holding a microphone in his hand. Everyone didn’t expect that on the next day after the incident in the Colosseum, Zion Leventis would appear as one of its hosts. Standing beside him was a stiff-smiling Claude, who would be his co-host during the live broadcast of the Elimination Rounds of the tournament. After the negotiations ended, Aaron no longer wanted to be anywhere near Zion, so he stuffed the role of hosting the event to Claude. Now that the Ashford Clan and the Central Government were working together to make the tournament a success, Claude was forced to smile beside the young man, whom he currently hated the most in the world. "Everyone gathered here today are the Dragons and Phoenixes of the current generation," Thirteen stated. "While there may be some chicks and chickens among you, all of you will eventually soar into greater heights, like a carp jumping off the Dragon Gate to become a true dragon!" The Wanderers cheered at the same time after Thirteen held a cue card with the words "All Wanderers, Start Cheering Now!" Claude was very tempted to walk out, ashamed of his Co-Host’s antics. Erica, on the other hand, was holding her stomach as she laughed out loud. As for Rianna, Shana, and Sherry, they only shook their heads helplessly because secondhand embarrassment was real. Mikhail and Shasha simply lowered their heads, not wanting the other Wanderers to see how embarrassed they were on behalf of their little brother, who pulled quite a stunt man. "Now, my good friend, Claude Ashford, will explain the rules of the elimination rounds, so please, listen to him carefully!" Thirteen said as he presented Claude in front of the audience. Claude felt his ear ring when he heard Zion’s words, feeling very tempted to kick the teenage boy off the stage and shout out loud, "Who the flying f*ck is your friend?!" Of course, he let it happen, but only inside his mind. The current Patriarch of the Ashford Clan raised the microphone to his lips and explained the details of the first stage of the tournament. "There are nearly two thousand Wanderers who registered for this event, and due to their numbers, we decided to divide them into four teams. "Each team will have five hundred members, with the exception of the Fourth Team, which didn’t reach the maximum quota. However, that didn’t matter. This will be a Battle Royale style elimination round, and only the last ten survivors of each group will proceed to the next round. "Since the land of Solterra is very unpredictable, and danger lurks everywhere, we have set many traps within the venue of the battle. If ever you fall into one of these traps and feel like you can no longer continue, just activate the voice feature of your bracelet and say, I concede or I surrender. "Immediately after you say that, the Elite Soldiers of the Central Government will come pick you up and take you to safety, where you will receive treatment. Know that these traps aren’t meant to kill anyone, so rest assured that your lives will not be in any danger. "Killing is strictly prohibited, and those who will commit this crime will be charged as a Murderer and disqualified from the tournament. Of course, you will also have to go to prison, and depending on the severity of your crime, you can even be sentenced to death. "Wounding and cutting your opponent’s limbs are fine since we have specialists who can reattach them perfectly. Just a friendly reminder—don’t be stubborn and activate your bracelets to call for help when you feel like you can no longer battle. "On the same note, destroying the bracelets of your opponents will automatically eliminate them from the tournament, so you can do that as well!" After saying those words, four areas appeared on the LCD Screen, where the battle would take place. The Forest Area. The Valley Area. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦 The Marshland. And last but not the least was the Deathly Canyon. "To make sure that these battles are conducted fairly, every one of you will draw ballots. The venue of your elimination round will depend on the ballot you pick!" Thirteen explained. "All Wanderers, you may draw your ballots now!" Fifty ladies, holding a Ballot Box each, stood in a straight line and remained still as the Wanderers drew one ballot from the boxes that they were holding. Mikhail and Shasha drew at the same time and found themselves in two different locations. "I’ll be in the Deathly Canyon," Mikhail said. "I’m in the Forest Area," Shasha replied "Good luck to you, Shasha." "Good luck to you as well, Brother." After the Wanderers had drawn their ballots, all of them headed to the exit where the transport helicopters of the Central Government were waiting for them. One by one, these Helicopters flew up in the sky, heading to the venue where the candidates would conduct their Battle Royale. "And now, time for the commercial break!" Thirteen said. As soon as he mentioned that, several commercials appeared on the giant LCD Screens, which were also shown to everyone watching the tournament from the comfort of their homes. Thirteen and Claude walked toward the resting areas of the hosts, smiling and waving at the audience. But as soon as the two entered their resting quarters, certain that they were out of the public eye, the smiles on their faces immediately disappeared, and the two of them clicked their tongue at each other. Clearly, the two of them didn’t get along and had no intention of getting along! The teenage boy sat down on the couch and drank a bottle of water he had prepared beforehand. Claude, on the other hand, accepted the glass of fruit juice given to him by a serving girl who was working for their family. No words were spoken between the two of them, and they simply did whatever they wanted to do. However, an hour later, as they once again walked toward the stage, smiles were plastered on their faces, looking as genuine as if the two of them were the bestest of best friends. "And now, the time that all of you have been waiting for has arrived!" Thirteen said as the LCD Screen behind him showed the venue. The Wanderers had also entered their respective zones and were given a few minutes each to go wherever they wanted to go. Those who were confident in their abilities stood in place as if telling their competitors to attack them whenever they were ready. The cunning ones decided to wait things out and use the opportunity to eliminate other people. Last but not least were the cowardly types, who preferred to hide and bide their time while everyone else was busy eliminating each other. They believed that as long as they survived until the end, they would get a free pass to the next round of the tournament. Claude, who once again had the opportunity to speak, raised his hand and shouted loud and clear. "The League of Dragons and Phoenixes will now begin!" As soon as those words were spoken, a siren rang within the different venues, telling the Wanderers that the tournament had officially started. In less than a minute, many Wanderers had fallen prey to the other competitors and were eliminated from the battle. Of course, none of them had died since all of them took Claude’s warning seriously. Ten minutes later, the bracelets of the survivors activated as it automatically scanned its surroundings. It showed their owners the locations of the other Wanderers, preventing them from hiding. A few minutes later, Mikhail, who was eliminating the closest contestants to him, suddenly found himself surrounded by six people. Thirteen had already warned him that the Ashford Clan had hired and bribed several groups to target him and Shasha, so the two of them could be eliminated from the tournament. Mikhail took his little brother’s warning seriously. Although he had no plans to actively seek them, his little brother told him that it was possible that his bracelet was rigged, allowing these people to pinpoint his location on the map, wherever he was. ’I just hope that Shasha is okay,’ Mikhail thought. Even in this situation, he was more worried about his sister than himself.