Two nights later,

  in the Royal City of the Golden Lion Tribe, the Federal Council held a celebration banquet.

  It was held not only to celebrate the defeat of the Great Demon Mercenary Corps, but also to thank those who’d stepped up during the war—and lift the gloomy mood as much as possible.

  At the banquet, all Rank A and Rank B Powerhouses who had participated in the battle were invited. Naturally, the quarterfinalists were also on the core invitation list—or rather, the "seventh-finalists" for now.

  After all, one of them had disappeared permanently......

  "Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the entire Indam Federation, I, Leonagnus, extend my sincere gratitude to all of you!"

  At the feast, Leonagnus—representing the organizers—raised his wine glass and addressed everyone.

  All key figures of the incident were seated at the center of the banquet.

  "In particular, Lord Snoke and Lord Monroe. Without their help, this disaster would not have been resolved so easily."

  In an instant, Monroe and Snoke became the focus of the banquet.

  Eyes turned to them from all around.

  "It was merely a matter of duty. You need not be so polite, friends of the Federation."

  Snoke replied politely.

  "Hmm? Ah...... Me too—no need for thanks!"

  Monroe seemed distracted, replying half a beat late, mimicking Snoke’s words.

  "Let us thank them again!"

  The Kings of the Federation raised their wine glasses.

  Leonagnus then turned his gaze to the other side—where the quarterfinalists sat.

  "Next, I want to thank the quarterfinalists of this year’s festival! Faced with an enormous power gap, they still stepped forward. Thanks to them, countless people in the Grand Arena were rescued!"

  "All core members of the Federation’s tribes were also spared Gulos’ clutches, keeping the situation from spiraling into the worst-case scenario!"

  "Let us thank our heroes!"

  "You’re too kind, Lord Leonagnus. In truth, we did not do much. It was all thanks to the secret potion Hulim provided that we had the chance to save more people."

  "Oh~? Is that so?"

  Leonagnus looked surprised.

  In an instant, Hulim became the center of attention again.

  "Everyone, this is not my credit."

  Hulim spoke up to explain,

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  "This secret potion was developed by Mr. Bals’ people. I was just lucky enough to have it with me."

  "I see, haha......"

  Leonagnus laughed heartily.

  "Who would have thought that after all this, the real hero is Bals!"

  Bals quickly stood up, smiling and denying it:

  "It was just a coincidence—I can’t take credit for it. Ultimately, their hard-fought efforts are what mattered most!"

  "Right! Bals is correct! This outcome is ultimately the result of your battles! You all deserve great credit!"

  "Therefore, after discussions, the Council has decided to significantly increase the prize money for the festival’s quarterfinalists!

  In addition, each of you will be awarded the Federal Hero Medal and granted an honorary title. From now on, you will receive preferential treatment wherever you go in the Federation!"

  Leonagnus’ words excited most of the quarterfinalists.

  If true, their participation in the festival had brought them far more fame and fortune than they’d anticipated.

  As the banquet drew to a close,

  Hulim temporarily left her seat and wandered around with Miko.

  Opportunities to visit the Royal City of the Council’s First Seat were rare.

  "Hmm...... Miko, have you never been here either? I thought as a fellow royal, you would have visited."

  "I’ve been to Haelinx many times, but there’s nothing interesting about other tribes’ royal cities. They’re all more or less the same, so there’s no need to come."

  "That’s true......"

  Even though they hadn’t been there long, it was plain to see that this royal city didn’t look much different from the White Cat Tribe’s. Even as the First Seat’s royal city, located in the Federation’s capital......

  It was clear that orcs didn’t care much for their dwellings. Perhaps all these royal cities were built by the same construction team—something that would never happen in an empire.

  Every high-ranking noble would go to great lengths to design their mansions—the more unique the style, the more admired they’d be......

  As they walked, Hulim and Miko encountered someone.

  "Father?"

  "Mr. Bals, what are you doing here?"

  "Oh, it’s the two of you......"

  Bals sat in a pavilion, his expression seemingly unpleasant.

  "? Mr. Bals, did something happen? Why do you look so uninterested?"

  "Well......"

  Bals hesitated.

  After thinking for a moment,

  "Sigh——"

  He sighed and decided to tell them.

  "It’s okay to share with you."

  "Abak Lali is dead."

  "Abak Lali?"

  Hulim didn’t know who that was.

  "He was the King of the Black Wolf Tribe. He took his own life."

  "The Black Wolf Tribe...... So it’s that tribe!" Hulim looked surprised. "Why?"

  She knew this tribe had been targeting the White Cat royal family—from the three insiders earlier to the mansion poisoning incident. But there was no reason for him to suddenly take his own life......

  "That’s because Abak colluded with the Great Demon Mercenary Corps!"

  "What?!"

  Both Hulim and Miko were shocked.

  "That’s why he chose to end his life. Before doing so, he abdicated his throne and personally expelled himself from the tribe......"

  At this point, Bals’ expression turned quite conflicted.

  "Sigh...... Originally, I planned to settle old scores with him. But now, before I could, the debtor is gone. To be honest, I hated the guy, but the way he chose to end things made me reconsider my opinion of him."

  "......So that’s why Mr. Bals is so conflicted?"

  "Yes, exactly. By the way, about Boguna—you told me earlier that his identity was suspicious. The Council investigated and found that his background was indeed forged. He’s definitely a spy secretly trained by Gulos. Who knows how many such people they’ve cultivated around the world......

  It’s a good thing he was exposed this time. If he had infiltrated the upper echelons of the Golden Lion Tribe in the future, it would have caused great trouble!"

  "So how does the Council plan to handle his identity? After all, he’s officially one of the quarterfinalists."

  "Regarding that, we plan to handle it quietly. Going public with it would serve no purpose—it would only dishearten the public and stoke deeper fear of Gulos."

  That made sense......

  "But now there’s one less quarterfinalist, right? Will you find a replacement from the round of sixteen?"

  "No——"

  Bals shook his head.

  "We won’t do that. It’s too troublesome, and it would inadvertently amplify Boguna’s influence. So we plan to let the seven of you compete directly."

  "Huh? Seven people? But......"

  "It’s not a problem. We’ll just have you draw lots. The person who draws the winning lot gets a bye and advances directly to the semifinals."

  "Huh, that’s it?"

  "Yes, that’s it!"

  "......"

  That was truly a typically orcish straightforward approach......