"Forest and a bunch of chimps; I have to kill you, don't I?"
Nora was making a speech completely opposite to the ruffles found on the loose lower part of her skirt ending above her knee; as for the crowded group of creatures surrounding her with murderous looks, their mouths were watering.
"If that's the case, come on then!"
As soon as Nora made the come gesture with her hand, she was attacked from four sides. More than fifty enemies had blocked her entire view, but this situation lasted only a few seconds.
All of the creatures, whose body parts were flying to different places, were split at least in two. Others still standing on tree branches and seeing this situation started screaming.
"Sorry kids, this equipment is the work of my master's father, bound to me by blood too. Just like my internal energy, soul, or whatever shit it is, they will always be at my command!"
Throwing a shrill laugh, Nora leaped towards the crowd looking at her; this time roles had changed, creatures had started to flee.
The only person possessing the title of count among the participants had already started facing his enemies too; there was no changing situation, the venue of the test's first circle was the Planet of the Apes.
Count Jashua pulled and tore off the arm of a creature he took in his hand; the blood of the animal screaming in pain was flowing like a waterfall.
"I can't dally with you, die now!"
Together with Count Jashua's words, the flowing blood started to separate drop by drop; every drop changed shape and turned into a long thin needle.
Following this event, needles raining down on the creatures like a heavy downpour fulfilled the young boy's wish. Ten seconds had passed and all sounds were cut off; the only living being in the environment was the Count of Bloody Moon Fiefdom, Jashua.
With the separation of branches inside the dense vegetation, a path opened; the young boy would proceed towards here without waiting at all. The path was extending like a tunnel; Count Jashua was proceeding on one hand and was on alert for dangers that could appear at any moment on the other.
Fortunately, he passed here without entering any struggle; when he set foot in the new venue, everything had changed. He was at the bottom of the waterfall pouring from the end of the valley remaining between two mountains; the stream hadn't formed a small pond, it continued flowing with the same speed.
The vicinity was green but mostly rocky; Count Jashua felt many heartbeats hiding behind these.
"Come out!"
Hearing the voice, huge shadows revealed themselves slowly; with their heights reaching three meters and thick arms, gorillas were taking their places one by one. A short time later, the inside of the valley was jam-packed; earth and sky were invaded by furry creatures beating their chests with their arms.
Count Jashua sent sharp looks to all of them from where he was; he was waiting for his opponents possessing numerical superiority to take action.
While disciple candidates were inside the test, spectators were watching them with all their attention just like the young boy watched his enemy.
"Look, that one started sweating!"
"I saw, I saw. What do you say to the one next to him, there are traces of blood on the corners of his mouth!"
Some of the participants forced to fight with bare hands in the first circle were having hard times; most of those trying to stand had already fallen to the ground.
"Look, he woke up; I told you he wouldn't endure. Hand over the money!"
The Second Elder jumped from his place when he heard these words, but a second later he gave a small pouch he took out of his pocket to the man sitting in the Sheikh's seat right next to him. The one making him this angry was none other than Atractivo; as if being forced to bet on a participant wasn't enough, he had lost too.
"Don't get angry immediately, lucky at cards, unlucky in love!"
While shaking the pouch in his hand, he was cutting off the woman sitting right across him with his eyes; there was a masculine charm in his looks.
"Yes, bets gentlemen, more than half of the participants pass the first circle pays 1 to 2, won't pass pays 1 to 3!"
If the Sheikh farted, the congregation couldn't stop without doing the known act; people were extending the money in their hands to those collecting bets with excitement.
Of course, only one person could do this job too. The woman named Ekaterina had taken the right of the betting business from Sheikh Atractivo on behalf of her organization.
Clan stands were excited too; apart from being interested in the fate of their own participants, bets were being placed on others too.
"Bets opened for the first person to pass from the first circle to the second!"
When one of them shouted with excitement, everyone started looking at the giant board appearing next to the stand where the beautiful woman was. There were white writings on the board measuring ten by ten meters with a black background.
These writings, looking as if written with chalk, indicated bets and odds. The Merchant Organization of Mercenaries had announced all bet types.
"Look at that, the odds for more than one Bloody Moon disciple being in the first three of the disciple acceptance trials is 1:2, all three being Bloody Moon is 1:4!"
Someone from the area where the people of fiefdoms stood shouted. Although the clans above them hated them, these people found Count Jashua and others closer to themselves.
"This woman has lost her marbles; there is only a 2-point difference between us and those wretches but they almost ignored us while determining the odds!"
When the Bloody Star Representative spoke with an arrogant attitude, his answer would come immediately.
"Since you are this sure, why don't you place a bet on your own participants? Look, as you said, we kept your odds quite high too!"
The man, not expecting Ekaterina to answer, flinched first. Despite all that distance in between, the beautiful woman had been able to hear the man speaking with a tone of voice only the one next to him could hear.
"Of course I will play; I bet a thousand blood crystals that my clan will be in the first place of the ranking!"
Hearing this, the public looked at the man with eyes full of horror; he had put forward a thousand of something they barely earned a hundred of throughout the entire year in a single word.
"Are you really serious?"
Another reaction came from Ekaterina; not even a single mimic moved on the beautiful woman's face.
"I didn't know the Bloody Star Clan was in such a difficult situation; I apologize for forcing you to place such a low bet!"
The public, whose head was spinning from the number thousand, would feel like they were slapped serially in the face of the words of the woman belittling the same figure. As if this wasn't enough, a third party was intervening in the event.
"I also bet fifty thousand blood crystals that the boy in white will be within the first three!"
The Sheikh seemed to be obsessed with Alis; he had praised him a few times before but right now he was risking a hefty amount of blood crystals on his bet.
Atractivo's words created a wave of indignation in the clan stands. The leader of the sect unable to issue allowance to themselves was betting fifty thousand blood crystals on a wet-behind-the-ears kid. Although they were very angry, they couldn't show it, but no one could hold them back from betting.
"Five thousand gold that the white one won't enter the first three!"
"Three thousand gold from me too!"
"Eight thousand from me!"
The Sheikh, making Alis the star of the bet with a single word, sprawled in his seat as if nothing happened; everyone knew he was in weakness when the subject was women and gambling.
While half an hour passed, close to twenty people were taken out of the formation; the disciple acceptance exam was ending for these people who couldn't collect enough points.
Another thing ending was the bets; in this activity scorching everyone regardless of noble or commoner, ammunition was taken, sides had withdrawn to their corners.
Now the floor belonged to the participants inside the circle; although the fastest time for the first circle was recorded as one hour in records, right now one person was opening his eyes.