Netori SSS-Emperor: All Queens Shall Be Mine!-Chapter 36: Cutting To The Chase

Time was ticking until it was not. Nothing and nobody could convince Waallian, a stubborn slave set free from his binds; he had no desire but one. Killing everyone and everything he possibly could that had made his life hell. Still struggling in his chair as Astoria came to the window to make the end announcement, he finally stopped to look up at her.

A smirk rode on his lips, for he thought it was better to have everyone else eliminated than to agree to be eliminated himself.

"The time is over, and as absolute compliance hasn't been achieved, you're all eliminated!" And with that, the event was over. Or at least, it should've been. Soaking in the sombre air, Astoria looked around at the participants as they were being unchained by the royal guards. Feeling defeated, the group stood next to their chairs, their head low to the ground and curses flooding out of their lips.

That is when the queen declared.

"When compliance or rather alliances fail," stomping her sceptre, she forced their heads to look up at her. Shining her radiant light down at them, she wore a weak smile. "Then war cannot and should not be avoided. Tis best to fight until your dying breath than to submit in defeat and die like a dog begging on his knees."

Looking at the angelic statue of the lips, Astoria bowed her head as the goddess wished to speak by herself. Taking a step away from the window, she allowed the idol to take centre stage.

"You've reached near agreement, you've shown your calibre for policy, but since it has failed..." Hearing the divine voice of a goddess, everyone's head bowed on their own, and their hearts calmed to her melodic voice. "Now prove your worth with a sword as you have with a scribe!"

As the lips settled, everyone's eyes once again turned to the queen. Moving forward, she raised her sceptre and commenced what should've been the last event.

"Starting with Waallian, you are to fight each other to death or submission!" Directing her spectre to the basement's wide entrance, Astoria urged the participants to get one final rest. "I shall call the name of his first opponent in a few minutes, until then, you're free to make your preparations."

Still struck with disbelief at what had happened, the participants stood frozen in the arena. Recovering from the feeling of loss, they exchanged glances with each other. Thanks to the stubbornness of the beastman, they had all been eliminated, but just as the rules stated, they had a choice between walking away or fighting the rest of the participants. And since everyone had lost, instead of a one-against-many, Astoria had decided to make it a one-on-one to keep things fair and less chaotic.

"We did lose, huh..." Wolf muttered to Sola and Kukei, both of whom had gathered by him.

"On the first major event, no less," clicking her tongue, the reptilian began marching towards the basement entrance.

Giving Sola a quick glance, Wolf motioned for them to follow her as well. Greeted by Renee as they walked down the steps, the party made their way to Wolf's room. Once inside, it was time for the prince to don his equipment. The first was the violet jacket that he had already been wearing and then came turn for the minor accessories like boots and fingerless gloves.

Grabbing the axe last, he checked his stats, which had now been further boosted by the equipment. Closing his eyes, he first checked the stats on the Crimson Carnage axe.

『 Crimson Carnage

Grade: A

Durability: A

Str: 550+

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Def: 100+

Dex: 120+

Mana: 1200+

M.Atk: Grade A Multiplier Applied instead of The Caster's Rank Multiplier

M.Def: 120+

Spells:

Aris Gaia

Aris Magna

Gargouille Gaia

Ifrit Magna

Passive:

Resistance to Fire: 50%

Resistance to Earth: 50% 』

Although he already possessed half of the spells the equipment granted him, the stats alone made the axe worth it. Not to mention the fire resistance and that of the earth, ensuring that he would only incur fifty percent of total fire or mud damage done to him. Ideally, Wolf would've preferred if his attacks were boosted more than his defense was, but since the weapon was only A grade, hoping for perfection was far too much.

"That makes my total stats..." Looking past the equipment, he brought forth his tallied list of stats. Skimming through it, he was surprised at how much of a difference the axe had made, especially his magic attack multiplier, which had gone up an entire rank thanks to the weapon.

'That takes my multiplier from eight times the spell's base damage to sixteen times the spell's base damage.' His magic power nearly doubled, and his mana pool boosted as well, Wolf felt much more confident facing William. However, there was one problem that he only noticed after the initial excitement settled. 'Tck...my base spells cost twice as much mana, thanks to my M.Atk growing twice as much.'

Opening his eyes, he was met with curious gazes by both Sola and Renee. Trying to hide his frustration from the faunan who'd gifted him the weapon, Wolf gave her a smile and placed the axe hooked diagonally across his shoulder belt.

"Is everything okay? You looked a little worried a second ago," Sola asked, having noticed the sour expression on Wolf's face before it had disappeared.

Fanning his hand with a chuckle, Wolf tried to brush the matter off, but with Renee glaring at him from a corner with her hands folded shut, he knew that both of them were already aware of the unrest the weapon had caused.

"The weapon's great, but it makes my spells cost twice as much, so I'll have to conserve mana," as he explained, a slight look of relief took over the two. They'd expected it to be something far worse, but thankfully, it was a minor inconvenience since Wolf was mostly a physical fighter. "Anyways, we should probably think of strategies to fight against–"

Cutting him mid-sentence was the voice of the queen thundering down into the basement.

"Waallian Gurthei and Runner Hista! Gather now in the arena; it is time for you to prove yourself better than the other!" The moment those words settled in everyone's heads, their eyes widened, for nobody expected the youngster to be pitted against the beast.

"Jeez, I hope he forfeits..." Sola muttered to herself, and both Wolf and Renee couldn't help but agree.

"We should go watch how it goes," Renee suggested, and with a nod from the other two, the trio were off to witness just what would soon unfold in the arena.