Several moments of that kind of tense silence followed, in which the heat of controversy increased with each utterance between the two princes. Ralph's arrogance had crossed the limit. And Edward could no longer hold back his anger.
Edward's anger boils over. "You think my sister is a burden? No. She might be a toy to you, but she is no burden to me. And as to marriage, I could hardly imagine any person who would consider of marrying a blind and mute girl. My sister is beautiful, and that's why your filthy eyes are on her!" Prince Edward says angrily while looking at Prince Ralph.
"And you better stick to your word. If you cheat, your tribe's name will be ruined," Edward says firmly, trying to make sure that Ralph plays by the rules.
"Is that so? You know your sister cannot talk or see. Can you imagine how difficult it was to persuade my family concerning this marriage? and it was immensely hard. Going back empty handed will be a total disgrace. I have announced to everybody that the new princess arrives to-day. And I am not going away with nothing. Whether you win or lose doesn't matter to me. Your sister is coming with me today," Ralph says in a heartless voice.
He is intentionally shaking Edward's confidence, and yes, his plan works as well. What Prince Edward is thinking in his mind is the fact that, even if he wins the fight, he will never benefit. He cannot save his sister from this executioners hands.
The fight begins, and Zyric watches intently without blinking. Zyric also doesn't want Prince Ralph to take Princess Elysia. She is an innocent and good girl, and he does not want her falling into the hands of a butcher like Ralph.
"Why am I afraid? If I want, I can easily kill this Prince with the help of Fat Insect," Zyric says with a slight smile on his face.
The next moment, Fat Insect crawls out of Zyric's shirt and looks at the scene carefully. Because Zyric was thinking about him, he came out. "You were thinking about me?" Fat Insect asks curiously.
"The time hasn't come yet. For now, don't do anything," Zyric says with a faint smile, and Fat Insect understands immediately. From inside the Fuzan Vault, Zyric's beasts were also hearing the talks of the people outside. And as they are connected to each other through the Fuzan Vault, the beasts can also sense Zyric's anger clearly.
For a while, the fight between Edward and Ralph goes on equally, with neither gaining a clear advantage. Then, Edward seems to be winning. He kicks Ralph, throws him off balance and runs up to deliver a finishing strike. Everybody believes that Ralph will lose, and they display small expressions of triumph.
But in the very next instant, Ralph's hands suddenly turn into steel-like claws.
"What... is he using his beast's genes?" Zyric says in surprise. Zyric does not know how to do this yet; he has just become a Monster Tamer and has not researched it. It was not taught to him properly, and it was not available on the internet. His teacher, Miss Grace, had only mentioned it once in passing.
Prince Ralph slashes at Edward's chest with his steel-like claws. Blood sprays out violently, and Prince Edward falls far away onto the ground.
"You... you're cheating!" Edward says, standing up while clutching his bleeding chest.
"Oh, come on. Cheating? Look, if you win, it's still my win. But if I win, I'll feel better. So cheating... everything is fair in war, my friend. Didn't your parents teach you that?" Ralph says with a mocking smile as he charges at Edward again.
Edward sees him coming closer. He quickly ducks, steps forward, and lands a massive punch on Ralph's back with full force. Ralph falls face-first into the dirt. The crowd breaks into laughter. Ralph rises at once, angry and humiliated, and is about to strike a second blow. But Edward has lost too much blood. He suddenly falls backwards, blood streaming out of his mouth, and then he faints altogether.
"Damn it... I couldn't even get my revenge. He disgraced me before losing," Ralph says angrily, clenching his fists.
"So, I've won! Is there anyone else who wants to fight me? If the princes are like this, I wonder how weak the commoners are!"
Ralph laughs loudly at the tribespeople who were laughing at him earlier. Everyone goes silent immediately; no one present is strong enough to fight him.
"The scoundrel is just putting on an act. Had he not been of the Wolf Tribe, we would have beaten him collectively together.... the tribespeople murmur amongst themselves.
"Alright, alright. You think that in case you fight and win, you will get nothing, right? Fine. Let's do this properly. I've already won your Princess Elysia, so whoever beats me gets her!" Ralph announces loudly. Everyone is furious. Everyone loves Elysia but he is objectifying her.
Then, all of a sudden, one can hear distinct footsteps. A lad of fourteen or fifteen, is strolling slowly up to the middle of the ground. He pauses here, giving Prince Ralph an up-down glance of strong and stern determination.
The tribespeople watched in shock as the young boy stepped forward.
Against a prince who had just defeated Edward, this looked like suicide.
Yet the boy's expression didn't change at all.