Chapter 539 - Side : Julia

The announcer was a beautiful maiden in her early twenties. She was Julia the champion of the tournament several years ago, she was eighteen years old at the time. On that day, she used a whip as a weapon which was a first in the tournament. At that time people thought she wouldn't make it far in the tournament, but in the end, she had won every battle with overwhelming skill. This was the first time in the history of the tournament that a single participant had won every battle without getting hit, in fact, throughout all her matches she didn't even move from her spot. 

Like all the other champions of the tournament Julia had the privilege of fighting the Legendary Emperor, Ren. This was the third year of the tournament and the television and recording devices weren't popular yet so this was one of the few finals that John didn't know of. 

...

Everyone at that time was excited to see what kind of fight Julia would show against the mighty Emperor. Yet what happened on that day, no one expected it, as Julia basically proposed to Ren. The things she said and did on that day were never forgotten by any of the citizens who had watched that tournament. 

"Emperor Ren, I have heard of your story numerous times. All of those legendary tales of you and your comrades seem to be too mythical and I always wondered if they were true or just exaggerated tales." 

"Then why don't you come and see if those tales are exaggerated or not." Ren smiled that vicious smile of his as he faced the opponent of his who was brimming with confidence.

"Well, I guess that's true... Hmm, before we start how about a wager?" 

"Hmm, that's interesting, very well what's the wager?" 

"If I win then you will hand me your empire and I will become the Empress." 

When the people heard what Julia said they were all shocked. They had seen many confident geniuses but this was something else altogether. Some of them were angered by how brazen the girl was. Others were wanted to see the Emperor get enraged and show the arrogant girl her place.

On the other hand, everyone who knew Ren started smiling and chuckling. The little girl had no idea what kind of monster Ren was, and her confidence was truly amusing. 

"Alright, fine, if you are somehow able to win then I will give you the entire Empire and crown you as its Empress. Then how about if you lose, what would happen then?" 

"If I lose then I will offer you my everything. I'm willing to become your woman if you want I'm glad to become wife number eight."

Julia smiled a very enchanting smile which made the hearts of the younger audience tremble. It was also at that moment that several overpowering presences flared up. The Emperor's seven wives appeared before Julia. 

"Kukuku, how brave of you to dare speak such nonsense in front of us. Do you think we don't exist?" Tsukiyomi spoke as she smiled sweetly at Julia, but hidden within that smile of hers was terrifying killing intent.

"Tsukiyomi is right, it's already crowded as is and I don't want anyone else to join," Lara spoke in an almost freezing tone. 

"I can agree to your proposal, provided that I get to take some of your blood and that of your future children." Henrietta chimed in while assessing Julia from head to toe.  Ashley, Hilda, Tsukiko, and Silika had no comment as they stood there glaring at Julia. 

"Wait a minute, the way you talk, it's like you don't think I have a chance of winning."

When the seven of them heard what Julia said they all looked at her and started laughing. Their beautiful laughs sounded like the chimes of heavenly bells. Julia felt like she was being looked down upon and that infuriated her. As she was getting angry, Tsukiyomi spoke to her.

"Kukuku, you really are a funny little girl. There's no chance of you winning against Ren. The only way you could possibly win is if Ren was already severely injured wasn't using any spiritual energy, was bound by dragon scale chains, and was blindfolded. Even then there's like a slim chance of you winning." 

Hearing Tsukiyomi's mocking words made Julia grit her teeth. 

"Do you all truly believe I stand no chance?" 

"Well to tell you the truth, it wouldn't be fair to make such a bet with Ren. You stand a better chance of winning if you fought us his wives instead. Mind you that the chances are also slim, but it's better than fighting Ren." 

This time it was Silika who spoke, unlike the others who had a rather mocking tone, hers was serious, there was also a hint of pity in her tone. This just infuriated Julia even more. 

"Enough you guys, no need to bully the little girl like this. Still, now that they mentioned it, this kind of bet doesn't really seem fair at all. I don't really like the feeling that you have no chance at all of winning so how about we change the rules a bit. I will stand here and won't dodge nor move. If you're able to somehow push me back or make me even bleed a bit then it's your win." 

"You really dare look down on me this much. Fine, I'll show you what I'm made of. YOU BETTER GET READY TO CROWN ME EMPRESS!"

Julia's mana spiked as her anger grew. Seeing that two were about to fight Ren's wives left the stage. Ren stabbed Snertal on the ground and crossed his arms waiting for Julia to attack. Seeing him do that just made Julia's rage grow as she glared at Ren. 

She coated her whip with a dense amount of mana and started attacking Ren. This was the strongest attack they have seen her use in the entire tournament.

She thought that even if Ren wouldn't be pushed back he would at least bleed. Yet the moment her whip made contact with Ren's body it was like she was hitting something other than a human's skin. She then saw that Ren did not evade and he was not injured in the slightest, not even a tiny scratch. 

Julia was not disheartened by seeing this and continued to attack. The sound of Julia's whip hitting Ren sounded like thunder. The audience could already guess how strong those attacks were as even though Ren didn't move nor get hurt the ground below him was the one getting damaged. 

Julia continued her attack. her movements had become faster than before, and her attacks were also sharper. Yet no matter at what angle she would attack Ren was never damaged. She attacked and attacked for almost half a day, some of the audience members already went out of the arena and came back, but to their surprise, Julia was still continuing her attack, while Ren stood there doing nothing. 

It was already painfully obvious that she was no match for Ren, even after giving her a handicap. It was like a single ant trying to push a gigantic dragon, even with that knowledge, she didn't want to give up. Yet even though her spirit was willing, her body and mind could no longer keep up. She had lost a lot of mana and was already running dry, as was her stamina. After a few more attacks she finally fainted. 

...

After that battle, Julia woke up and wanted to fulfill her promise seeing that she lost. Yet Ren's wives wouldn't allow her to become wife number eight. She was then made to fight the weakest of Ren's wives, Hilda. Upon losing again she finally understood that in her current state she wasn't worthy to become Ren's wife.. So instead of becoming a wife she was hired as a knight in the castle, were she decided to train until she can at least win against Hilda, and show that she could be worthy.