Like a whistle had been blown, the rest of the representatives charged at once. Even the one with the staff. Though he swung it like a monk rather than a mage.

The exchanges were fast and without remorse, each looking to kill without recourse.

All Jonas saw were the sparks they left behind as they disappeared then reappeared in another place. This was a battle of true elites, not the slow choreographed duels the nobles loved to partake in.

Jonas held his breath the entire time, he did not know if Gregor was winning or losing. All that faux facade he drummed up needed the big man to win. If he lost, all credibility he had would be gone.

A firm hand was placed on his shoulder. Jonas jumped in response. Looking back, he found Frezar standing there was a confident smile.

“You will be as strong one day, Young Master. With the meat from the sea monster, your base should be better than even Gravious Ash,” Frezar nodded his head towards the woman with the cape. She nodded back.

“I don’t know how powerful that is, Frezar. I can’t see their exchanges or whether Gregor is winning,” Jonas whispered back.

“You're not meant to see, Young master. Only those that passed the second threshold of power can witness the pure power they battle with. And worry not, Gregor has already won. It's a matter of time only. Look.”

Jonas turned to see only two people from the seven representatives alive. And they both were on their knees and without their weapons. The armors were torn and colored with their blood.

The rest, well, only their broken bodies remained. Some without heads, like they were literally torn off, and others with caved-in chests that made Jonas nauseous.

“You fought admirably, Scimitar Wielder,” Gregor stepped forward towards the two, looking perfectly fine. “But, it was not enough to surmount my title and merit. Swear loyalty, my liege will accept you and bless you with the best weapons and help you with that bottleneck you’ve found yourself in.”

He stood in front of them, raising his massive mace up like he was about to bring it down on them. He waited for their response.

Jalen looked back at the wide-eyed BlackHawk. “My contract has been fulfilled. I’ve battled through thick and thin, winning every encounter I ever set my foot in. Now, I lost, making its hold on me null and void.”

He turned back, this time staring deeply into Jonas’s eyes. “Do you swear, in return to my unquestioning loyalty, that you will not only safeguard my life and my family's life, but you will take it upon you to help me move forward on the Path?”

Jonas gulped. Every pair of eyes stared at him, waiting for his response. He looked behind him at his honor guards, then at Frezar, and lastly at the fuming BlackHawk.

“Yes,” he breathed out. He felt a coldness run down his spine as he looked back at Jalen. The dark-skinned man shook in his spot, such an open-ended oath meant his life was forever tied down to Jonas’s.

For a few seconds, Joans could not breathe, no matter how hard he tried, there was little air entering his lungs. He started to panic and turn red, but then he felt the soothing aura again.

This time there was more detail to it. It came from each of his guards, even Frezar himself helped him get over these seconds.

Then it was gone. He felt normal, no, even better than before.

Gregor made his way back, keeping his body between Jalen and Jonas. Both stood behind their young master, prepared for anything that could possibly occur.

“Jalen!” BlackHawk screamed, spittle flying out of his mouth. “Where do you think you’re going? Do you think you could escape this life? You’ll be back, I swear it!”

Jonas stepped forward, boldened by the soothing aura. He sneered at the motley crew before him. “The battle is over. This victory could not possibly be questioned.”

“That is up to us to decide,” another man stepped forward from the seven, he might cover himself in a cloak, but that could not hide the sheer size he had, almost rivaling Gregor. The man’s hood turned to BlackHawk, who lowered his head with gritted teeth.

“What reason do you have to delay? Only idiots and fools could deny this right of mine. Are you not civilized?” Jonas said.

The two turned away, returning to their group. It didn’t even take two minutes until BlackHawk returned with a smile. He had to have gotten something for him to be so happy.

“We have come to a decision. Your victory was only satisfactory at best, therefore you do not qualify to be our King. Begone or prepare to bleed for every inch you dare to take.”

Having said his piece, BlackHawk left a stunned Jonas. His group turned away deeper into the deck of the ship.

“Satisfactory?” Jonas shook in his spot. “A-are they serious?”

“Young Master, let us go. They are pirates and others of low ilk, what more can you expect of them,” Frezar urged him to leave the ship.

With a huff and a burning need to soothe his pride, Jonas walked past his unmoving soldiers and past the plank onto his flagship. In a blur the two ships made their way towards their sides, all the while he stared at the sleek black ship with balled up fists.

“Do you wish to talk strategy, young master,” Frezar said, he stood behind him the entire time as the rest of the crew busied themselves with the ship's maintenance.

“Strategy?”

“Yes, young master. Gravious Ash and the others await your arrival.”

That somehow slipped his mind entirely. They had to plan their attack, they couldn’t just blast the harbor off the face of the earth, could they? Kind of like how they took down the sea monster. He’d have to ask Hue.

“Let's go then.”