The time of the beginning for quarterfinals came near and only one day left. And as per the tradition of the Emperor's Chosen competition, the remaining matches from here on would be broadcasted throughout the empire in all cities and towns; the setup, as well as management, will be handled by the government.

Compared to the time when the Pureblood faction displayed the execution of traitors in all the major cities of the empire this event was on a completely different scale. Hence, the number of people exposed to this news were mostly in the billions.

Out of the 4 billion citizens of the Rakos Empire, at least 3 and half billion people would have access to these projection screens and would be able to watch the matches from their respective places as well.

And to add fuel to the fire, the government also made legal betting booths over these settlements so even the normal people could also get a final chance to change their fates since the ticket prices for a single person were already in tens of thousands of gold coins for the last three rounds.

As per the information gathered by Ronin, there would be a total of 8 matches between 16 candidates. Some of whom were Kahn, Niklaus and Elijah.

Sadly, Elaine and Cattleya had lost their matches in their respective battles because their opponents turned out to be peak grandmasters as well.

For the quarterfinals, the sixteen candidates were chosen for their respective matches using a lottery system. And each of these matches will be done on separate days and in different battle arenas.

So that the combatants would get enough time to rest and recuperate after their respective battles.

And luckily, Kahn's battle was to happen on the very first day and from the official announcement done by the government, his opponent was a female swordswoman named Veronica Mikealson.

From the information gathered by his people, Kahn learned that his next opponent was a peak grandmaster individual and also considered as one of the top three best sword users of the younger generation in the whole capital.

Her ranking being only second to Celine Armitage who was also the clan heiress of her clan and nicknamed as the Dual Sword Saintess because she was a semi-saint individual.

On the other side, Veronica herself was well renowned since she was considered to be a very skilled woman whose speed and lethality was well known.

She was the daughter of the commander of Mikealson clan who happened to be the younger brother of the clan leader. Many even debated that if not for her rank lacking, she'd be evenly matched with the dual sword saintess.

So Kahn had been expecting a good match ever since the announcement. Because he too wanted to raise his combat techniques and weapon mastery by fighting with the truly gifted opponents; which was also one of his main goals to participate in this competition in the first place.

Inside the Mikealson Clan's main castle, a meeting between 3 young people was taking place in one of the gardens.

A group of 2 women and a blonde man were sitting across a round white table while having brunch.

One of these enchanting young women was a raven-haired beauty with deep blue eyes while the other was a redhead woman with a sword who was dressed in white and black attire, looking like she was part of the military of the empire.

"So how are you preparing for the next match, Veronica?" asked Kassandra to the woman in front of her.

"I have done enough preparations, lady Kassandra. Although there isn't much information available on my opponent for tomorrow's match, I'm certain that it will be my victory.

Because my opponent is a self-taught swordsman after all. No matter how talented he is, at the end of the day, true combat techniques and skills are what counts the most." replied Veronica in a stern tone.

"Ah, that guy who beat Namor in a hand-to-hand fight like a street wrestler, right?" asked Isaac, the young blonde knight.

"Yes. It was only because he is a peak grandmaster and Namor was an intermediate rank individual.

Even his sword skills seemed average at best. Even if he's the same rank as me.. I don't think it will be a problem defeating him." replied Veronica.

Just then, Kassandra interjected and spoke in a curious tone..

"Still.. It's the first time I'm hearing a peak grandmaster under the age of 30 who doesn't come from some big clan or a faction.

He may be weak but you should not underestimate him. After all, he beat his opponent without revealing his most powerful skills.

So being ignorant can turn out bad for us." she said, her curious eyes being easy to notice.

"So will you attend my match tomorrow, lady Kassandra? I know you have your own match on the 4th day. " asked Veronica with expectant eyes.

"Of course! How can I miss our little phoenix's fight? You have to make us and commander Zoran proud." said Kassandra in a merry tone and pat on Veronica's head as if she was her little sister.

"Ahm" spoke Isaac.

"What?" asked Kassandra curiously.

Isaac scooched towards her and slightly bowed his head.

"Me too!" he exclaimed.

"Get lost, you twat!" shouted Kassandra and hit his head with her fist.

As the night came, in the southern part of the central regions of the capital Rathna, a ginormous red fort that sized 5 kilometers in radius alone was surrounded by thousands of people.

This was the main headquarters of the Demi-Human Faction and currently, a meeting was being held with all the elders and the most influential figures of this faction including many saints and clan leaders.

On the main throne of this 1 kilometer long meeting hall that had a similar structure like the one from Neutral Faction, thousands of important figures were gathered.

And at the main throne, was an elderly white-haired Elven mage who had a hunched back. This was a seventh stage saint, one of the three strongest individuals of the entire empire.

At this moment, he looked at the young man in front of him who knelt in front of him.

This young man who seemed a year older than Kahn had a red horn protruding out of the right side of his forehead and had yellow eyes was kneeling in respect towards their faction leader.

"Victor.. You know how many expectations we have from you, right?" asked the elf.

"Yes, lord faction leader. I will win this competition and show the might of our faction to the whole empire." said the halfbreed demonkin in a vehement voice.

"Good. I like this attitude of yours. I hope you carry on the legacy of your family. After all.." spoke the seventh stage elven mage in a prideful tone as he continued

"You're the son of the previous Emperor's Chosen."