Devouring Dragon Heir-Chapter 66: Ch Conclave of Youth - 2

His words immediately led to a fresh wave of murmurs among the crowd, a mix of surprise, curiosity, and apprehension.

Rule changes in such an important event often signalled deeper political meanings. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Klaus, who had been feeling slightly bored earlier, now found his interest piqued.

He noticed an influx of young people, mostly males, who were earlier not present during the banquet.

They streamed in from a separate entrance, their attire more practical, less overtly ceremonial, hinting at their focus on combat rather than social pleasantries.

He turned to William. "Who are those people?" he asked, his voice low.

William, seeing Klaus’s curiosity, offered a subtle gesture towards the new arrivals.

"Those are all heirs and promising talents from different families, Klaus. Some major, some minor, but all here to participate.

See him over there, in the green suit? He’s from the chromewell family, the nastiest of the bunch.

And that one with the golden eyes is from the Helios family" William subtly pointed out several prominent figures.

"Why didn’t they attend the banquet?" Klaus pressed.

If they were important enough to attend the conclave, why skip the social gathering?

"Hmph," William scoffed softly, a hint of disdain in his tone.

"These brats are very haughty and arrogant. You see, the seven Legacy Families are not in complete peace with each other.

They are also fierce rivals, constantly vying for influence and resources.

The Blackwood family, while powerful, is generally considered the lowest in the hierarchy of the seven families in terms of combat talents and the innate power levels of their awakened individuals.

By not attending the banquet, they wanted to show that it was beneath them to attend the banquet of a young Blackwood girl who is not even a designated heir, merely a recent awakened.

It was a subtle slight, a declaration of superiority."

"Then why are they attending now?" Klaus queried, following the logic. "Shouldn’t they also not attend the conclave organized by the Blackwoods?"

"They are simply here to humiliate the Blackwood youth and show them their place," William explained, his smile fading, replaced by a grim set to his jaw.

"They use these events to assert dominance, to demoralize their rivals. And since there are new rules in place for this year’s conclave, the humiliation can also be taken to the next level."

"What are the new rules?" Klaus asked, his interest now fully engaged. The prospect of an exploitable system, of rules designed for manipulation, always piqued his strategic mind.

William smiled faintly, a predatory glint in his eyes, and did not make him wait before saying,

"In normal conclaves, the duels happened in a traditional tournament-style format. That ensured that every participant got a fair chance, an equal number of battles to fight, and a structured progression. It was about individual skill."

"But this time, the rules are a bit messy and absurd. They’ve been carefully crafted to allow for targeted aggression.

Every participant will be given a special token before the battle begins. Then, every participant will be called onto the stage turn-by-turn, by the host, in a chronological order based on the token number.

The participant who is called has the option to challenge anyone of the other participants. It’s not a ladder, but an open challenge."

"Then a duel takes place, and the winner gets the loser’s token.

After that, the next participant is called, and he can virtually challenge anyone again, including the person who just got off the stage before him, even if they’ve just fought." William paused, allowing the implications to sink in.

Klaus immediately saw the glaring loophole.

"But if the previous person lost his token, then what would they bet on the fight? They have nothing left to lose, or gain, in that scenario."

"Well, that’s where it gets interesting, Klaus," William continued, a dry chuckle escaping him. "The person who calls out a participant with zero tokens, and in case he wins, gets nothing.

Meanwhile, if the one with zero tokens somehow manages to win, he gets to keep all the tokens of the player he defeated. It’s a high-stakes gamble for the token-less."

"But the profound problem with this setup is the systematic targeting by groups, unless the target forfeits" William concluded, his voice grim.

"It’s designed for insulting and bullying a target. I suspect that Rose is going to be one of the people who gets systematically targeted, repeatedly challenged until she has zero tokens, then challenged again just to humiliate her further. It’s a public shaming mechanism."

"Oh," Klaus exclaimed, a flicker of understanding crossing his features.

"So, they exploit this loophole to humiliate a person? To strip them of their dignity and status in front of everyone?"

"Precisely," William affirmed, his expression hardening. "It’s a brutal, psychological game, designed to break their spirit."

"Why the hell did you even approve this change, then?" Klaus demanded, a rare note of genuine frustration in his voice.

He usually disliked such underhanded tactics, although he would not need to worry he could beat every youth together a hundred times.

"Well, it was a majority voting, Klaus" William explained, leaning back slightly.

"Six paragons from the other six families approved it. Blackwood, being the lowest in their ’hierarchy’ in terms of inherent power and political sway, could do nothing but comply.

Mine and Magnus’s vote carried much weight, but we chose to be neutral, after all the blackwoods have never cooperated with us when we needed them"

William voiced earning a nod from Klaus.

"But why are they pushing Blackwoods to such an extent?" Klaus asked, sensing a deeper political current at play. This wasn’t just about a simple rivalry when a family was being targeted collectively.

"Well, that is the internal politics of the seven families that I am not entirely aware of the full details, Klaus," William admitted, a hint of weariness in his voice.

"But what I do know is that the other six have been pushing the Blackwoods quite a lot in recent years.

Demanding more resources, placing more burdens on them, limiting their expansion. This conclave is just another facet of that pressure campaign."

Klaus nodded in understanding, absorbing the intricate web of power dynamics.

He looked at the arena, where the host had started announcing the new, brutal rules, making some people gasp in shock and disbelief,

while others, particularly those from the six aggressive families, smirked and smiled, their eyes gleaming with malicious anticipation. The stage was set for a spectacle of public humiliation.

"Well," Klaus muttered under his breath, a faint, predatory glint in his own red eyes, "I’ll just watch the drama unfold."

--------------------- START OF THE Chapter ---------------------

The Conclave of Youth was about to begin.

All the participants, the young talents groomed by the Legacy Families and exceptional individuals like Arthur who was sponsored by crimson family or new entries like Klaus and Julie were registered.

For the Legacy Family youth and for Klaus, participation was non-negotiable; they had virtually no choice, compelled by family expectations or, in Klaus’s case, by his new status as William’s heir.

The final count of participants almost reached 100, which was the highest number in years. The arena was a true gathering of the young elite.

Arthur, Elara, Julie, James Ravenstein, Leo, and various other youths from powerful families including Cromwell, Helios, Hawkins, and Ashford, were present.

Each participant was given a small, personalized token, numbering from 1 to 100. This token served as their entry into the competition and their stake in the duels.

Klaus received the 99th token.

Given his late draw, he decided he would simply sit back and enjoy the show.

His turn would be quite late, providing ample time to observe the other participants and their combat styles.

The competition officially started. The host of the conclave, the same Blackwood official who had announced the new rules, stepped into the arena’s centre.

He called out the first participant.

A young man, carrying the number one token, walked gracefully into the arena. He belonged to the Helios family.

He held a gleaming, silver spear, its tip subtly charged with mana.

His gaze, as he stepped onto the polished floor, was one of overt disdain, as if he ruled the entire place.

He scanned the crowd of participants, his eyes lingering on specific targets, before finally calling out a name.

"Rose Blackwood!" his voice, clear and resonant, echoed through the arena.

On his call, Rose Blackwood rose gracefully from her seat beside her father, Lord Blackwood.

She descended the stairs, her black gown flowing elegantly, and stepped into the arena.

In her hand, she held a long, flexible whip, its leather intricately woven, a subtle mana signature flowing through its length.

They both came to stand in front of each other, separated by a respectful distance.

The young man from the Helios family, his face twisted into a sneer, spoke again.

"I hope those delicate hands of yours can put up a good fight, Miss Blackwood. Don’t disappoint the audience."

His words were meant to be dismissive, to undermine her before the fight even began.

"We will see" Rose replied, her voice ice-cold, devoid of any emotional reaction.