Absolute Beast Dominion

He looked towards Sylrael, who was looking back at them with no expression, so he decided to ask about things later.

As for the dragons, they didn't seem particularly interested in Thalvyr's introduction because apparently, Lizardmen were considered slaves from the get-go to them. So it was of no concern to that someone from draconic lineage had been turned into a slave.

Just like that, the other academies were introduced. And at the end, there were 7 Human Academies, 7 Elven Academies, and 7 Dragon Academies, with all of them having 25 students each.

Apparently, this time, only the top 7 academies from the 3 Empires were chosen to participate, so as not to stretch the competition unnecessarily.

Another reason was that if other academies were brought in, it would only reveal their weaknesses, given how weak the students there were. And it was true even for the Dragon Empire. Because many students in such dragon academies didn't even have their horns grown.

As a matter of fact, there were many present in the competition itself who couldn't even transform into dragons.

For elves and humans, there was nothing else to say other than that the students in those academies would be nothing more than slightly enhanced individuals.

Thus, the collective decision was to bring only the top 7 academies. And even in that, most high officials already knew half of them would be eliminated in the first round itself.

And now, the 1st phase of the competition would finally begin.

"Let's give a collective cheer to the strongest of our new generation!" the Host shouted as cheers rang throughout the stadium.

"Show them the might of the mightiest race of dragons!"

"Humans are the best! Show these pesky elves that their pride has no grounds!"

"Boo! Even the top students of humans don't match the looks of the lowest elves!"

"Everyone, calm down," a dragon sitting in the audience said with a consoling expression.

"Dragons are the natural winners. Let that sink in and enjoy the turn of events that will lead to it."

Nobody listened to him.

"Ohhh! Look at that person! He looks so strong! I'm betting my everything on him!"

People had already started picking their favourite individuals and teams when a bubble suddenly appeared across the stadium field.

At first, it was a transparent bubble, but it soon turned completely opaque. It blocked the audience's view of the various teams as three enormous boards started listing the academies and their students for those who had trouble remembering things.

One board was for Human Academies, one for Elven Academies, and one for Dragon Academies.

Surprisingly, the bubble was transparent from within, allowing the students to see their rivals, especially for those who had arrived late.

The Host personally announced inside the bubble, where his voice couldn't be heard by the audience, that they could use this interval to prepare. They would be teleported directly to the location where the competition would begin after a small briefing on what the 1st phase was.

But, of course, this place wasn't really meant for getting prepared when everybody was already prepared.

Meaning, the students would surely approach other groups to instigate things.

But before any of that began, the Host started to announce the structure of the 1st phase.

"For the 1st activity, what we have is still the same as what the Human Empires have been doing for the last couple of centuries. And that is Stronghold Establishment!"

According to the rules of Stronghold Establishment, all 21 teams would be sent into a vast artificial secret realm with a wide range of terrain, environments, resources, and dangers.

As the Host continued his speech, some people came and handed a meter-by-meter-large mystical cube to the leaders of the academies.

The cube looked weird, with every angle glowing in multiple colours. Matter of fact, even making out the edges of the cube was difficult unless one touched them by themselves

Leo also received one.

Another large screen popped up in the centre, above the bubble, displaying the leaders holding and checking the cube for audience to get a look at them.

"That, people, is a stronghold beacon!"

A stronghold beacon was the heart of any stronghold, whose destruction would lead to immediate disqualification from the competition.

The students would be given 7 days to find a desired place and establish their stronghold, where their beacon would be defended.

Once placed, the beacon couldn't be displaced to another location.

And it wasn't that people could play smart, hide the beacon somewhere obscure, and have the whole stronghold act as a decoy.

No, the beacons would release a ray of spiritual light that bypassed any physical barrier and shot straight into the sky, revealing its location.

Meaning, active defence was a part of the game.

Naturally, no teaming was allowed.

Meaning, not all elves could band together to take down humans first, or two elves could momentarily band together to take down another elven group. Doing so would result in disqualification.

In other words, even if they were the same race, the other team was an enemy.

And somehow, the first 7 days, when the stronghold beacons were to be established, would be the safest period of the entire competition, even when attacking other teams was allowed.

Because once the beacon revealed the location, all hell would break loose.

Until the next phase started, there was no revival system. Meaning, if an individual from a team was defeated and teleported away, that team would permanently lose its member until the next phase.

And for a twist, the Host even added one sentence.

"There's a slim chance that defeated individuals might actually not participate through the entire duration of the competition. Don't tell me I didn't warn you, hahaha."

And this phase was a free-for-all.

Meaning, all sorts of underhanded means were allowed except anything that caused permanent psychological terror.

Then, after the beacon placement, the defence would go on for another 2 weeks, after which only the surviving academies would move on.

There was even a chance that only dragons, elves, or human academies would move on. And even in those times, the competition would continue because it was, at the end... a competition.

Only the best team would win, though if something like one race moving onto the next stage really occurred, the pride and arrogance of that race would be through the roof for the next 5 years.

Back inside the bubble, something else was going on.

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A/N: I am really sorry for the delays, but I got myself in some unwanted scenarios. Might be back on track within 2 days.