The host awkwardly coughed and stuttered, "Well, t-the mighty Vajra has concluded the fight, and the v-victory goes to.....Princess Ranya!"

The crowd was rather silent at first, but they soon regained their enthusiasm and cheered for the princess.

Meanwhile, she indifferently stepped outside of the stadium, uncaring for any of the praise.

A few state medics then entered the stadium and carried the injured prince to care for his countless wounds.

Aadityapal was biting his lips very hard, and he was suddenly less confident on his own chances to win.

*Bam*

However, in the midst of his self-wallowing, Alex had jabbed his arm on the prince's shoulder, and he whispered, "Look, she's very strong, but I still think you can win."

'Honestly, I'm not too sure...' Alex simply encouraged him to increase his confidence, since lack thereof was never a good thing.

Aadityapal gulped, and he gave him a thumbs up, "I'll....win!"

"That's the spirit!"

Alex returned to his seat, and he perceived that Ashoka had a hand on his head.

"She's a troublesome child....." Ashoka was speaking of Princess Ranya.

It seemed he didn't want Alex to react, as he continued his words, "She's extremely strong, unnaturally so for a mortal, but I don't think her personality would fare well with the position of a ruler."

Then, he halted his words and stared at Alex.

Alex nodded and said, "I think she'd be very fit to be a military leader since it seems she doesn't know the intricacies of diplomacy, and her straightforwardness will not fare well with foreign rulers."

Ashoka nodded and added, "And then, there's Aarush, and he has the opposite problem, he is simply too good at scheming and diplomacy, and he doesn't inspire trustworthiness."

'Imperial life is troublesome.' Alex clicked his tongue.

"What about Aadit?" Alex wished to know the ex-emperor's opinion on his dear disciple.

Ashoka sighed and replied honestly, "I wouldn't know of today's Aadityapal, but in the past, he always suffered from a lack or excess of confidence, and I wouldn't honestly trust a person with a fickle psyche to be a ruler."

Fortunately, the prince in question was quite far away from them, and he didn't hear their discourse.

Alex nodded and thanked Ashoka for sharing his feedback.

In the meanwhile, a few uninteresting battles had taken place, but the crowds were still quite enthusiastic nonetheless.

Then, as the two continued speaking on mundane matters, Alex heard the name of a prince that also intrigued him.

"Disciple of Lord Chandra, Aarush against Princess Prisha!"

The crowds cheered at the mention of 'Lord Chandra', and Alex's attention once again fixated on the venue.

Two people had entered the stadium.

The cunning Aarush had a thick rope in his hand, and he grimaced menacingly at the princess who also came into the venue.

The host shouted, "Start!"

Alex perceived that the princess's lips moved, and from that motion, she was mouthing the sentence 'I give up.'

However, Aarush didn't give her any time for that, as he charged by extremely quickly, and unexpectedly, he wielded the rope and wrapped it around her neck, before swiftly tightening a knot.

This gesture shocked the crowd, and the princess was having difficulty breathing and could not even speak.

In the meanwhile, like a ferocious beast pouncing upon weak prey, Aarush pummeled the vulnerable princess, and various bruises appeared around her body.

Ashoka sighed, "This is why I don't want Aarush to become Emperor..."

Alex glared at the prince and noticed that the princess's face had turned a blue color.

He perceived a sharp and deadly glint pass through Aarush's eyes, but the latter restrained himself and loosened the knot.

The princess fell down, and the shocked host said, "I-i-it is a v-victory for Prince A-Arush!"

The crowd cheered loudly, but there was a sense of unease in the air at the methods the prince achieved victory with.

Alex was actually going to intervene since the princess was about to die from asphyxiation as he tightened the knot even further, but fortunately, Aarush exerted some self-control.

'I think that he would have killed her if there wasn't any crowd...' Alex was disgusted.

The medics swiftly carried the collapsed princess, and a red-purple bruise enveloped her neck.

After that 'interesting' battle, a few pointless fights took place.

Then, the host announced, "Prince Aadityapal against Prince Priyansh!"

Aadityapal stood up and went down the seats.

His opponent didn't seem too strong, so he didn't bother to reveal Prometheus to the world yet.

Alex cheered on the prince, who reached the stadium and faced his adversary.

"Start!"

Aadityapal bolted at the other prince, fully exhibiting the movement techniques that Hermes and Alex taught him.

The other prince was but a punching bag, and Aadityapal simply performed a three-attack regimen, consisting of a fist to the abdomen, a kick to the head, and a tackle to destabilize the opponent's balance.

The prince named Priyansh was on the floor, and even though he didn't seem to have any bad injuries, he held his hand up and exclaimed, "I forfeit!"

With that, Aadityapal smoothly won his first battle.

The crowd didn't know this prince and were amazed by his clean and effective martial techniques.

Their cheers reflected their admiration, and Aadityapal was extremely joyful that an entire crowd had validated his strength.

"You did very well, Aadit!" Alex praised the prince, who had quickly climbed back up the stairs.

The victorious prince had the widest smile Alex had ever seen, and his confidence was restored.

Even Ashoka simply nodded and commented, "A very fair fight, you did well."

Suddenly, the host announced the next fight.

"Ever-Charismatic Prince Ayush, against Princess Ritvi!"

Aadityapal glared at the prince who just entered the stadium.

Ayush waved at the crowds, who were cheering unusually loud for this prince.

Then, he glanced in the direction of Ashoka.

It seemed like he wanted to insinuate a message through his expressions, but distance didn't do him any favors.

The opposing princess entered the stadium, and she was immediately met with booing from the crowd.