Devouring Dragon Heir-Chapter 67: Ch Conclave of Youth - 3

Her blue-grey eyes, however, held a sharp, challenging glint. With that, the host stepped back, and the fight officially began.

Rose lashed out with her whip, its tip whistling through the air with surprising precision.

She infused the water element into it, causing the whip to shimmer with a faint, blue light, making its strikes faster and more unpredictable.

The man from the Helios family, in turn, showcased some basic earth elemental skills, conjuring small, rocky barriers to defend against her whip’s assaults and launching hardened projectiles of dirt.

The rank of these individuals was kept secret by their families.

Only a vague understanding of their powers was ever leaked to the public, adding to their mystique and preventing rivals from gathering precise intelligence.

However, to Klaus’s enhanced perception, he figured that the man was about A rank meanwhile Rose touched the S rank free𝑤ebnovel.com

The intense battle raged on, a display of elemental manipulation and practiced combat.

Rose’s whip cracked through the air, forcing her opponent to constantly defend.

At last, with a swift, unexpected movement, Rose lashed her whip across the face of the nosy brat from the Helios family.

The whip’s infused water mana struck him directly, disorienting him and leaving him off guard for a critical moment.

The man was clearly overpowered by Rose’s superior technique and precision.

He stumbled, his defences momentarily collapsing. Rose pressed her advantage, and within seconds, the man conceded.

Rose won the match. The crowd applauded, a mix of genuine excitement and appreciation for the display.

The host re-entered the arena, and after the victor was declared, Rose received the token from her defeated opponent.

Her face remained composed, though a subtle triumph shone in her eyes.

But her rest was short-lived.

Another youth, this time from the Cromwell family walked into the arena.

He held a slender, dark rapier, his eyes cold and calculating. He called out, "Rose Blackwood!"

Rose, who had just exited an intense duel and was still catching her breath, was forced to fight another battle immediately.

There was no time for recovery, no break between challenges.

Nonetheless, she was resilient. She faced her second opponent, adapting her strategy, and eventually, after a hard-fought engagement, she won again.

But this relentless targeting carried on.

One after another, a youth from a different Legacy Family would step forward, call out "Rose Blackwood," and force her into another gruelling duel.

This continued until she was called out by her fifth opponent in a row.

The silent murmurs among the onlookers in the stands intensified. They clearly saw the systematic targeting of Rose by the rival families.

It was an undeniable, coordinated act of public humiliation.

The worst part was that none of the true members from the main rival families had ever descended themselves.

They just sent their branch family members to suppress Rose and bully her.

This allowed them to maintain a plausible deniability while still achieving their objective of publicly shaming the Blackwood family.

Rose’s stamina was visibly waning, her movements becoming slower, less precise.

Arthur, watching this from a distance, his usual kind expression now grim, felt his fists clench.

A wave of righteous indignation washed over him.

This was not a fair competition; it was a brutal, orchestrated humiliation. He felt the urge to intervene, to stop the unfairness.

A system window, familiar to him, activated in his mental vision.

[Ding!! Quest activated: Forged in Fire!]

[Description:

Due to the change of the rules of the Youth Conclave, certain groups of participants have chosen specific targets to bully and systematically eliminate from the competition.

Task:

Defeat the chain of participants who target you, refusing to yield to their underhanded tactics.

Quest Reward:

- Favourability from Rose Blackwood +5

- 500 Shop Points

- Lost Treasure Map]

Arthur gritted his teeth, his eyes fixed on Rose’s struggling form in the arena, then at the grinning faces of the youths orchestrating her torment.

He hated the cowardice of these families, using their influence to change rules and then sending proxies to do their dirty work.

He had affiliated himself with the Crimson family, believing in their strength and mission and the legacy of the heroes it carried.

However, he always felt that their methods were too cruel and careless with human lives.

He had at times, found himself conflicted by their ruthlessness.

He had always felt that the ultimate motive of the Crimson family, and indeed most of the Legacy Families, was not truly to protect humanity,

but to gain more power and influence, a stark contrast from his own deeply ingrained expectations of what true heroes should be.

He himself was an orphan, a child with no lineage, when one day, seemingly out of nowhere, he was chosen by a System.

This System, unique to him, had told him that he was the Chosen One, destined for greatness, and that it would assist him in his growth, guiding him towards helping humanity.

From then on, his powers had multiplied at an unprecedented rate, making him a formidable talent.

He had always wanted to help humanity, to be a true hero, to right wrongs.

But fate, in its unpredictable way, had entangled him.

He felt bound by the shackles of love, his deep affection for Elara.

For her, and for the life they were building, he had jumped into the political mess of a Legacy Family, compromising his ideals for her sake.

Now, watching Rose’s systematic humiliation, he wanted to stop this facade of a youth conclave and fair competition.

All he saw was blatant, unfair targeting.

Unfortunately, he did not have the authority to intervene, not directly.

He was merely an invited guest, an outsider, and he knew it. He could only clench his fists, his frustration building.

Klaus, meanwhile, was completely oblivious to Arthur’s internal struggle and the unfolding drama of the Youth Conclave.

He was almost asleep in his seat.

He did not care about the trivial politics of who was being targeted.

His internal thought process was focused on his own unique System’s assessment. He had just realized that the skills showcased by these young Legacy Family heirs,

even though officially S-rank abilities in the eyes of the public, it were still fundamentally mid-tier and generic compared to his own skills he had personally created or the S-rank boss skills he had absorbed.

Their powers, while fancy did not carry the destructive potential similar to Klaus’s arsenal. They were merely high-level versions of common abilities.

"I guess that is why hunters make parties and teams to take on a boss, they are just weak" he thought

Klaus’s internal assessment of their power had led him to conclude that the conclave itself was a waste of his time.

He was not genuinely interested in the performances of weaker individuals. The constant barrage of minor mana signatures and predictable combat patterns was lulling him into a bored stupor.

He was saving his mental energy for more significant fights especially Arthur’s fight since he was heaven’s chosen, he should be strong.

------------------------------

The Conclave of Youth talent proceeded as expected, a staged display of power and manipulation.

The arena, a circular battleground surrounded by tiered seating, buzzed with the anticipation of the audience.

The initial duels, though relatively low-stakes, quickly became monotonous. However, the mood shifted when the systematic targeting began again.

One by one, the participants, mostly young scions from the various Legacy Families allied against the Blackwoods, relentlessly challenged Rose Blackwood.

The rule, allowing any participant to challenge anyone else regardless of previous fights, was exploited thoroughly.

Rose, despite her formidable abilities, was forced into a continuous line of challenges.

each progressive opponent were usually from the same family affiliation, indicating that the token distribution had been tampered with or, at the very least, coordinated to ensure that certain people could be called out repeatedly.

Rose fought fiercely, displaying her S-rank power and advanced whip skills.

She won several duels, her movements becoming increasingly strained.

But the continuous, back-to-back challenges, designed to drain her stamina and mana, eventually took their toll.

She fought until her body screamed in protest, until her mana reserves were completely depleted, and her movements became sluggish.

Finally, with a visible gasp of exhaustion, she raised her hand and uttered the word of surrender.