Release the beast

In the next round, his mana capacity and power will be tested. All this time, the mana power of Amulius were just alloted to strength and agility. He did not know any magic skills or abilities at all. This is where his cultivation gain will be tested.

"First match, orc Gaguka of Gehlgica tribe versus orc Mashimo of Karakirei tribe. Fight!"

The first match quickly ended, and Gaguka's head rolled in the ring. Mashimo was the orc who wields a long sword who did not move earlier in the rumble. It turns out that he is a tough contender, Gaguka did not even last a minute.

"For the second match, Jack the dwarf versus Keif the elf. Ready, fight!"

Jack the dwarf made the first move, he threw three firebombs to Keif the elf's direction. However, Keif managed to dash to the other side and he throw a dagger to the dwarf's arm, blood started gushing out of Jack's hand. Finally, Jack took out his secret weapon to finally end the battle. He took out an arm-length cannon-like rifle and aimed it to Keif. As soon as he fired a shot, the head of Keif the elf exploded. The match ended with Jack's victory.

'So this world is not all about magic, cultivation and stuff. Real abilities and skills matters too.' Amulius came to realized that cultivation and magic does not dictate your superiority in this world. The first two winners proved it earlier, Mashimo who was an orc so it is very impossible for him to have a mana core because orc does not develop a mana core inside them, and Jack the dwarf who was also not a non-magic user. These two winners rely purely on skill perfection and innovation.

"For the third match, Aktioru the Nescarian knight versus Jungaol the troll. Ready, fight!"

Jungaol was the first to make a move. He throw his javelin imbued with magic to Aktioru's direction. If Aktioru managed to get hit by this incoming javelin, his armour won't be able to protect him and death will be certain. Aktioru dashed to evade the javelin, but he still managed to get a scratch in his left body where his armour was melted. Aktioru rushed to Jungaol before he throw another javelin to him. Jungaol rushed to throw another javelin to Aktioru, he knows that he will have lower chance of winning if he make this battle a close-contact. Unfortunately for Jungaol, Aktioru used magic to boost his speed. Aktioru closes his distance to Jungaol, and before the troll could react, he sliced of the neck of Jungaol.

"For the fourth match, Pruce Kree the human martial artist versus goblin Chukoy the poison master. Ready, fight!"

Pruce Kree motioned his favorite mantis style stance before launching his attack, but before he could attack the goblin, Chukoy was able to shoot a poisonous needle from his flute. Pruce Kree was enraged, he sent his most powerful fire magic-imbued kick against Chukoy. The goblin was sent flying outside the ring until it landed. Chukoy was later pronounced dead because he was burned by the fire magic-imbued kick of Pruce Kree.

"The final match of our second round, Amulius Emperor of Romavena versus Barf the self-proclaimed Lion king of the beastmen race. Ready, fight!"

The cheer of crowd became louder as they find this match to be interesting. A battle between a bumpkin Emperor versus a self-proclaimed king of the beastmen. Nothing is more entertaining than to see two rulers fight each other head-on than an army sent by the rulers to fight. Cheers from either of the contenders are even, the shouts are louder that it can be slightly hear in Romavena.

"Amul! Amul! Amul!"

"Barf! Barf! Barf!"

Amulius couldn't help but to break into laughter as he hear the cheers of the crowd. The cheer for his opponent sounded like a bark of a dog. Upon seeing that Amulius was laughing, most of the crowd started laughing too. This scene caused his opponent to be furious. Barf was enraged and he started charging to Amulius.

"Release the beast!" Barf summoned his familiars, there are four wolves, a wild bear, two wild boars and three vultures. Barf himself also turned into a huge lion while charging to Amulius.

"Ohh, be good boy. Sit! Sit! Sit!" Amulius panic a bit. He boosted his whole armour, shield and his weapons with his mana. The boosting of his equipments caused a noticeable fraction in his mana capacity. He did not know any skills aside from enhancing his physical attributes and boosting his equipements. He placed his shield to his center where Barf is charging, his pilum is also prepared in his side in case that any of these beast get nearer to him.

Barf didn't changed his direction as he keep charging directly to Amulius' shield. The moment Barf reached the range of Amulius, he allowed the force of Barf to push to his shield then he pushed his shield upwards making Barf suspended in the air. As soon as Barf became suspended in the air within a few seconds, Amulius pierced him using his Pilum. The moment Amulius pulled his Pilum out of Barf's body, the beastman was already lying to the ground. His familiars also disappeared out of the blue. Barf is not yet dead, but he is severely injured.

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Blood! Blood! Blood!"

The orc crowd wants Amulius to finish off barf. But Amulius himself is feeling regretful if he end this person's life. The beastman did not beg for mercy, nor did it asked to end his life.

"You have big dreams, I have bigger dreams. Why not serve me and I will help you to achieve your big dreams as you help me achieve my bigger dreams?" Amulius lend a helping hand to barf. The beastman did not agreed nor did it disagree.

"It was not mentioned earlier that an opponent should be killed in the second round, different from the first round. I therefore invoke my right to keep my defeated opponent as my prize for this battle." Amulius said as he stared in the direction of the orc chief Langyako and his daughter. The orc elders who was seated to the left and right side of orc chief Langyako agreed to Amulius' invocation of his right. Orc chief Langyako has no other choice but to grant him his request even though the orc crowd demands death to the defeated opponent.

Amulius then instructed his diplomatic agents to carry barf to the diplomatic tent to be treated. His internal organs was damaged due to the magic-imbued pilum that Amulius thrusted to him. Amulius checked Barf for a while, then he left him to go back to the competition.

"Now for the final round! Who shall be the winner of this competition! Who shall marry this beautiful orc princess of Gehlgica tribe!" The host paused for a while because someone came to whispered to him. "The final round will be...who can kill more harpies? To the northeast direction from here, a harpy nest awaits the contenders. The person who brings more harpy heads back here before sundown, will be marrying the orc princess tonight!"

In the final round, there are only 5 contenders left. Obviously they know that the Orc chief wanted to use this moment to wipe out their Harpy nest problem nearby. This is after careful consideration of the Orc Gehlgica Council and orc chief Langyako himself. They want to maximize their benefit in this competition. The harpy nest may not be wiped out but at least they will be greatly reduced.

The 5 remaining contenders are all formidable. The orc Council regretted that they did not consider this in the first round where there are more fighters. But its not too late since the 5 remaining contenders are the strong ones.

"Orc Mashimo, Jack the dwarf, Aktioru the Nescarian Knight, Pruce Kree the human martial artist and Emperor Amulius of Romavena. These five great fighters will compete in harvest! Who can bring the most harpy head back here? or maybe, who can return back here ALIVE? Let's see about that. Fighters, on your mark... Let the harpy hunting begin! "