As the hosting kingdom, Drake was made the unofficial head of the eting. This post wasn't bestowed upon him—it happened naturally.
Nox remained seated, one eye fixed on the tir glimring beside him. There were still over 104 hours left, which was roughly four and a half days.
Maybe I should stop looking at it and ti will run faster, he thought absentmindedly, unaware that several gazes were scrutinizing him at that mont.
He was the so-called champion who had defeated Valkor—the strongest of their generation. Naturally, everyone was curious about him. A few, like Nyxirith, hadn't even watched his fight as she had left after being eliminated.
"How strong is he?"
"Is he really the strongest dragon of our generation?"
"I need to play my cards well. Being close to soone like him will certainly open a lot of doors in the future."
And, of course, a small number—mostly the females present in the chamber—wanted to get on Nox's good side.
Now what do they want to discuss? Nox couldn't help but wonder. By now, even he had noticed the peering gazes. They weren't even trying to hide it anymore.
However, that was none of his current concerns. If anything, Nox enjoyed the attention. But his true priority now was to know why this eting had been called.
He knew it was related to the expedition into the Ancient Forest, but the exact reason remained unclear.
At that precise mont, Drake rose to his feet. All eyes were imdiately drawn to him. Even though most of those present believed he wasn't as strong as the Big Four, Drake was well respected.
In a clear and firm voice, he said, "Before we leave for the marked zone, we need to settle one important matter."
Drake paused, and everyone listened, serious expressions crossing their features.
"We must choose the leader for this expedition," he added.
Whispers broke out imdiately.
"Leader? Didn't the monarch assign roles?" Galen, the Wind Prince, frowned.
"It seems so," soone from the wind team muttered.
"What are the criteria to beco a leader?" Valkor narrowed his eyes as a flicker of interest passed through them.
Elise didn't say anything, simply narrowing her eyes as she observed quietly.
"Lady Lumi, being the leader could be beneficial to our Light Kingdom in a way," soone whispered to Lumi, whose expression remained serious.
"I'm not interested in that," she replied. "That's a lot of hassle. It should be handled by the older people."
Drake raised a hand, and the murmuring slowly died down. When silence finally returned, he continued.
"The Monarchs consider this journey a dangerous one. Survival isn't guaranteed. If we're not careful, there's a high possibility many of us will die," he said solemnly. "That's why they agreed to let us—the participants—elect a leader among ourselves."
"What's the thod of this election?" soone asked.
"We will vote. Once chosen, the words of the leader will carry weight—even above royal status—until the expedition ends."
"And who decides these rules?" sneered the Wind-Earth Dragon Prince. "What if the chosen leader is incompetent?"
"They'll be judged by results," Drake replied coldly. "You're free to object—if you're willing to forfeit your place in the journey."
That shut him up. No one else spoke.
Drake then pulled out an item from his inventory—a sphere made of interlocking rings of ice and fla. The room quieted again as it hovered above the center of the table.
"This is the Vote Sphere," he explained. "Each of us will place a fragnt of our mana inside it. The sphere will resonate with your intent and light up in the color of the candidate you support. The brighter the glow, the stronger your conviction."
"Magic voting?" Valkor muttered. He wasn't the only one to recognize the magical item, which was widely used in the dragon realm.
Drake turned to the group. "Candidates, step forward."
Only four people did: Valkor, Raziel, Galen… and after a short pause, Nox.
The candidates took positions around the glowing orb. One by one, the rest of the room began to cast their votes.
Surprisingly, Lumi was the first.
She stepped up quietly, pressed her palm against the ice-fla sphere, and closed her eyes. A mont later, a cool blue light pulsed around the orb—Nox's assigned color.
Next was Nyxirith. She didn't say a word, simply extended her slender, black-gloved fingers toward the orb. A deep violet spark lit up, blending with the blue. Another vote for Nox.
Elise slowly approached, biting her lip and glancing at Nox from the corner of her eye. She hesitated, fighting an inner battle, before finally pressing her hand onto the sphere. The resulting glow was warm orange—her vote went to Valkor, her childhood friend.
"Tch." Raziel folded his arms, watching as more colors danced inside the sphere—but all were being overwheld by Nox's hues. The females, one after another—whether out of admiration, curiosity, or fascination—voted for him.
It was safe to say this sight angered most of the males, especially Galen, who received only four votes from his teammates.
Even Celestis, the Water Princess, shrugged nonchalantly, walked up to the orb, and placed her vote. It glead with a gentle silver—yet still leaned toward Nox's color range.
The males looked on in disbelief as the Vote Sphere began to shift. What started as a multicolored orb was now a swirling sea of blue, violet, and amber—growing stronger with each vote.
When the final candidate, Valkor, placed his vote for himself, it barely made a dent in the overwhelming majority.
By the ti the final aura faded into the sphere, it was glowing steadily with a radiant ice-blue—almost the exact color of Nox's eyes.
Drake stepped forward again.
"The choice is clear."
He turned toward Nox and lowered his head respectfully.
"From this mont onward, Kawl will serve as our expedition leader."
After the election process was done, the group—comprising a total of forty people—began their journey toward the marked zone, unaware of the danger that awaited them there.
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