The morning of the first day of the event passed as the representatives that participated came out of the castle with pretty much a satisfied look glued on their faces. It seems that the meeting regarding the products did well as they all were seemingly happy about it. As for the details, Marvin was then tasked to report it to Feihren later this day.

The tedious nature of such affairs would "bore" out the rather active nature of their king as the Senate of the Wolfenstein Kingdom decided to just assign Prime Minister Marvin into all this. Although he was technically an ex-general, he's actually someone that is fond of these kinds of things and would gladly be of assistance when it comes to the matters regarding the kingdom's growth.

It was then logical to 'assign' Feihren to something he would at least be enjoying. He was to overseer the military exchange during the afternoon event, alongside with the other leading representatives.

During the past grand meetings, the king of the host kingdom would not join this "trifling" matter and would instead go for the things that would help the kingdom in terms of economy. A high-ranking military officer would then do the task of overseeing the military exchange. But it seems that the situation had been reversed for this one.

The first afternoon is dedicated to testing troop quality, which is then divided into two parts;

The stage of the Elite, wherein the best soldier among the different kingdoms would duke it out in a one on one battle, winner takes it all and would be rewarded handsomely. It was a crude way of testing someone's ability and prowess in battle, but it was enough to encourage new talents to arise.

Next would be the Team Battle; One of the reasons why the representatives from the different kingdoms would not come in few numbers. It is a 20 versus 20 all-out battle, that would be held in an open field near the host kingdom. Unlike the first part of the event, this one is highly restricted, as a blunt weapon would be provided to at least avoid lethal attacks from one another.

It had not been this way back when there were still 12 kingdoms participating in these grand meetings. It had then been changed when a traitorous kingdom within the Blaz Continent plotted against the host kingdom, killing the 20 elites during the event without hesitation, as they perpetrated said kingdom.

Ever since then, it was prohibited to kill anyone within the opposing team. It was then added that each individual within the group that is then pushed backed past the point of the restricted area would then be considered defeated.

The point of this part was to test the endurance, strength, and coordination within the group. Showing how much each was trained. Last team standing within the area would win.

The area in which the event was held was then determined; The field outside the 'First Towers' sector, the very area that the Garudia and Wolfenstein kingdom clashed back then. A makeshift stage was already there when they arrived, spanning over an area similar in size to a football field.

The elite soldiers then gathered at each end of the arena. The format of the fight was simple, the 8 kingdoms would pit against each other, the winner of the eight would then challenge the elite soldier of the host kingdom.

It was an unpolished manner of format, yet this was what the Senate of the Wolfenstein Kingdom agreed upon, especially when they knew that the elite fighter that their king was planning to pit against the others were none other than Lucy... It was the safest bet possible to make sure that anyone that would go up against her would at least have a fighting chance.

***

The Elite stage began, It was then agreed upon that the first four kingdoms that have arrived would be pitted against the last four. The first battle was with the Ghiharki Kingdom against one of the western kingdoms. It was the worst match-up possible, the second strongest kingdom against the weakest one among the eight... It was evident as the battle began.

The elite soldier that the kingdom of Ghiharki pitted against was not anyone inferior to their chief Meju, in fact, they were similar in height and built, only that this one was younger looking.

"I have heard that this is actually one of the sons of their Chief Meju"

One of the generals besides Feihren commented about the elite soldier, it was then obvious why they look so much alike. On the other side was a medium built knight, he wasn't adorned with the most precious looking equipment, yet he does not look any weaker than the soldier that the Wolfenstein kingdom has.

"Although his enemy does not look too shabby himself. It would not be shocking if he could put up a pretty good fight even though the odds weren't in favor for him." the general added.

"Did I not prove last night that size does not matter?" Feihren smiled as he replied.

"It would highly be a different story if it were you, your Majesty, you are an exemption."

.

.

The battles commenced as the Ghiharki, Vulieton, and the Freya's elite soldiers wiped the floor easily against the other three kingdoms, although the elite soldier of the Sestril Kingdom was easily dealt with by an underdog kingdom from the east, Chaneian Kingdom.

"Oh? That boy doesn't look too bad eh?" Feihren commented as he inspected the figure of the young soldier that was the representative of the Chaneian Kingdom. "... Grandmaster class? Isn't he too young for that?" Feihren's curiosity piqued as he observed the remaining battles...

...It was indeed shocking. One by one, the elite soldiers of the three remaining kingdoms fell easily, in mere minutes! The battles of the first eight concluded shockingly, nobody expected that even the barbaric son of the chief from Ghiharki kingdom could be knocked out easily by some young 'rookie'.

The people from the different kingdom grew silent from the surprise that the seemingly weak Chaneian kingdom brought. It was something that none of them expected. Although, the people from the Chaneian cheered heartily as they screamed the name of the young soldier.

"...Xavier huh? Well, kid, you're certainly interesting. Don't get my hopes up deary." an elegant female voice cheekily expressed her excitement for the upcoming battle.

"Just don't do anything rash, Lucy," Feihren replied as he scratched his head.

"Of course your Majesty, it seems that we could use him as one of our assets in the future, this young man has too much potential to be wasted on a stagnant kingdom after all."