School Transmigration: I, Chosen as the Saint by Dragons at the Start-Chapter 225 --The Coup

The tournament that had been raging for days in the City of Two entered a day of rest, marking the end of the competition for the vast majority of its inhabitants.

This is because the final battle at the magic tower is not open to the public.

The area around the magic tower had been sealed off early by the witch’s forces, leaving only a handful of witnesses to the final challenge besides the eight contestants themselves.

These "handful" precisely amount to five individuals, comprising the city lord and representatives from the four noble families.

Their main purpose is to oversee the tournament proceedings and report back to their masters.

This time, the city lord did not send a participant, as his only son had just turned ten years old.

In contrast, the four noble families were much more invested in the outcome of the tournament.

They had meticulously selected and thoroughly briefed their observers, all hoping to win the tournament, marry the witch, and alter the city’s power dynamics.

Each family, without collusion, had concealed message-relaying artifacts on their observers, intending to transmit the tournament’s details back to the city in real time.

Winning would be ideal for their family, but should another family prevail, they planned to form an alliance with the other two families before the victor’s return, striking first in anticipation.

Under the city lord’s policy of balance, long-standing contradictions among the four noble families were inevitable in their struggle for power and influence.

Hence, at present, Skes, Moxis, Jolna, and Elvan are under strict protection by their families, confined to their own estates for last-minute training before the combat.

Goden entered a period of intense activity.

He and his men hustled around, and through a mix of threats and enticements, they managed to uncover the plans each family had for dealing with the tournament.

He paid particular attention to learning how the four major noble families communicated their messages and began to sow discord among them, fanning the flames of rivalry.

As for preparing for the tournament himself, he did none of that, as his goals lay elsewhere.

The other two who advanced, Laine and Hammer, did almost nothing in particular.

Laine continued his routine of eating, sword dancing, and sleeping, no different from any other day.

Hammer remained his usual wild self, picking fights with anyone he encountered on the streets, always seething with a desire to fight, his mind devoid of anything but aggression and destruction.

Then there was Owen, who started his day with a simple breakfast before spending hours in his room meditating to recover his strength.

Although the previous day’s training in the Doppelganger Technique yielded significant results, it also inflicted considerable damage on him.

For the first time in this competition, he was injured, and not lightly.

Despite refining "Myriad Swords Ascend" and unleashing his newly created technique "Myriad Swords Unity," the impact on himself was substantial.

It was already challenging to survive the duel with Hundred Faces; to make matters worse, he was thoroughly exhausted by Rose’s antics that evening.

The next morning, he sent Rose away and spent two hours recuperating.

By noon, the flow of arcanergy within him smoothed out a bit.

He quickly ate his lunch and then left his room, seeking a quiet place outside where he could continue to restore his strength.

The streets of City of Two were noticeably less crowded.

After the excitement of the tournament, the onlookers naturally returned to where they came from, although this time they were somewhat unsatisfied, unable to witness the final outcome or catch a glimpse of the witch’s legendary beauty.

In reality, the result of the competition had nothing to do with them; they weren’t competitors.

The witch’s beauty could only fuel some unrealistic fantasies.

They could not become the champions of the tournament.

Yet, they still came, contributing significantly to City of Two’s revenue, then returned to their everyday lives, blowing up the excitement of the matches to anyone who would listen, even though they didn’t really understand what they had seen.

Unintentionally, they helped Owen.

There was a park in the eastern part of the city, a vacuum zone between the territories of two noble families.

Both sides refrained from managing the park to avoid direct conflict, making it a boundary of sorts.

This provided an opportunity for the poorer among the idle crowd.

They pitched tents within the park, dealing with all of their daily needs on-site.

The area was left in disarray, reeking of filth.

The two noble families were solely focused on their own interests, indifferent to anything that wasn’t directly their concern.

The local residents, facing these hooligans, were too frightened to speak out.

The city lord, comfortably ensconced in Lord Manor, was only concerned with collecting taxes from the populace, utterly ignoring such issues.

The heads of the merchant guilds were only interested in profiting from the spectators; the more people who came, the happier they were, and they too did not intervene.

In the end, it was Goden who secretly sent people to gradually disperse and relocate these individuals.

By this morning, all the idlers had been cleared from the park.

Goden’s men and the local residents collaborated to clean the park.

The unpleasant smell had dissipated, replaced by the light fragrance of the perfumed powder scattered by the citizens.

However, the park remained closed because the wooden pathways had suffered considerable damage, and the pavilion’s pillars were dangerously unstable, posing a potential threat to the general populace. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The only part of the park unscathed was the central, sizable rockery, thanks to its hard stone construction.

Following the scent, Owen discovered this park and, seeing its condition, felt it was an ideal spot for cultivation.

He swiftly leapt onto the rockery, finding a secluded, indented platform to sit down and continue his practice.

Owen could feel the arcanergy flowing inside him was exceptionally pure, providing him with a refreshing and exhilarating sensation.

As night deepened, Owen stood up, preparing to leave, when he suddenly noticed the soft footsteps of many people within the park.

Vanishing from sight, he observed these individuals from the shadows.

"Be careful where you step, don’t break it. Gunpowder on the ground is hard to deal with."

"Understood."

"Have all the weights been confirmed?"

"Yes, they’ve all been weighed; there’s hardly any discrepancy."

"Good, we can’t have any accidental harm to the general populace."

"Don’t worry, when has there ever been a time we haven’t put our hearts into the boss’s orders?"

"Remember," the leader’s tone became more severe, "we’re not doing this for anyone else. We’re doing it for ourselves. It’s our shared hatred that has brought us together."

"Yes, we understand. To witness their downfall, this is all within our duties."

"Good. Now, according to the plan, bury the explosives where they’re supposed to go."

"As you command."

This group began burying explosives at various locations in the park, and Owen was convinced these individuals were Goden’s subordinates.

From their conversation, it was evident they harbored enmity towards the current city lord and the noble families.

Owen felt a pang of sentimentality, realizing the city lord and his cronies had committed numerous misdeeds, accumulating a host of enemies.

Even without Goden’s intervention, it seemed inevitable that someone would eventually overthrow their rule.

Goden merely expedited the process.

After burying the explosives at the designated spots, Goden’s team quietly withdrew.

Owen stood at the summit of the rockery, surveying the locations where the explosives had been planted, imagining the instant of detonation.

He noticed the positioning and angles of the explosives were arranged in such a way that the blasts would counteract each other’s force.

Furthermore, flammable materials around the park had been meticulously cleared, minimizing the chance of igniting a fire.

This explosion wasn’t aimed at causing destruction but rather to impact the psyche of the noble powers within the city, likely a crucial part of Goden’s plan.

After some thought, Owen set up a weaker ward on the outskirts of the explosive array, calibrated to the magnitude of the projected blast force.

Then, he glided down from the rockery and made his way back to the tavern.

The lights in the room were still on; Rose probably hadn’t gone to bed yet.

Owen ascended the stairs at a leisurely pace and gently pushed open the door to enter the room.

Rose, facing the door, saw Owen and asked, "Haven’t eaten yet?"

"Yeah, just got my strength back," Owen replied, settling at the table where the meal had obviously been reheated several times.

The two quietly finished their meal, and Owen noticed a different taste to the food than before, speculating that perhaps his maid had personally prepared it.

"The taste is great!"

Owen set down his chopsticks, looking into Rose’s eyes, sensing a touch of desolation in them.

"Master..." Rose started to speak, then hesitated.

"What is it?"

"Don’t leave me behind, okay?" Tears streamed from Rose’s eyes.

Owen was taken aback.

He enveloped Rose in his arms, saying, "I won’t, not at any time."

The next day, the eight challengers left the city heading north, straight for the magic tower.

Accompanying them were only the five spies sent by the city lord and the noble families.

This group encountered no obstacles along the way.

Witch’s minions guarded the roadsides, and her armies were stationed a bit farther away.

No outsiders were allowed near the area between City of Two and the magic tower, lest they pay a price.

Walking at the back of the group, Owen reflected on Rose’s tears from the night before, surmising she feared being abandoned by him should he marry the witch.

Owen pondered over the initial reasons he sought the witch, realizing they were not entirely clear to him.

Perhaps it was out of curiosity, a desire to excel, or even the urge to possess the most beautiful woman in the world.

Now, however, his perspective had shifted significantly.

Regarding the witch, only a bit of curiosity remained, along with the desire to bring this whole affair to a perfect conclusion.

Even if he succeeded in the challenge, he would only lift the veil of mystery surrounding the witch for a glimpse before returning to Rose’s side.

"The girl worries too much," Owen couldn’t help but mutter to himself.