"A draw…" Lorenzo furrowed his eyebrows and soon turned to the shadow. "I see… I accept the result. Although my reaction was a bit too late, my sword would still end up in his throat. And the reason my reaction was because you failed to realize which one was his clone.
"So, our attacks should kill both of us at the same time, resulting in a draw." Lorenzo closed his eyes and added inwardly, 'Well, I would have lost if Theo had more Magic Power. However, a draw is also good."
Theo also accepted the result because he remembered the shadow that turned out to be Davi used the screen to protect his clone's throat. If Lorenzo slit his throat, he would have realized it was just a clone and utilized his momentum to launch that last attack that would hit him at the same time his bullets pierced his body.
Unfortunately, Theo couldn't move anymore as he was too tired after exhausting his Magic Power. Even his stamina was almost dried up because of the constant fighting in this competition.
Lorenzo approached Theo without hesitation and said, "I am glad I can meet you today. I feel like the fire in my heart has started blazing again."
He extended his hand to Theo.
Theo struggled to raise his hand, resulting in Lorenzo bending his knees and shaking his hand by himself before pulling Theo up while putting Theo's hand on his shoulder, carrying him.
They came to the open area as he raised Theo's hand together with his, showing that they both won this match.
…
Meanwhile, those who watched the competition couldn't help but feel astonished by Theo's performance.
Even Sheira slammed the table and shouted excitedly, "It's a draw! This is Theodore Griffith's first competition after three months of joining the War God Family. Just three months! And Theo is only 18 years old.
"Despite his young age, he could contend with people like Mara and Luka. He even got a draw with Lorenzo, the current strongest of their generation. I… I couldn't believe this! I have no words to say…
"He had shocked me to no end in the Grand Gaia Competition. Then, he came stronger and even more surprising in this competition. Argh, I'm frustrated. I want to interview him as soon as possible."
Sheira clutched her head while gritting her teeth, expressing her feelings. After a while, she turned to Leonardo and asked, "I apologize for my response, but I would like to ask for a review from Sir Leonardo. Will that be alright?"
"Hoho." Leonardo chuckled. "What I see here is not a draw, but a win-win situation. Lorenzo seems to have acknowledged Theo's strength and knows what he needs to do to improve. Do you know what is a must-have thing to advance yourself?"
Sheira thought for a moment and couldn't find the answer. "I don't know. Level, skills, or tricks?"
"Not at all. If you want to get stronger fast, you need to have a rival or an arch enemy. There are many examples of this, but if you think about it, the West and the East keep having trading wars, which is due to this.
"They fear their enemy has a more advanced technology than them, so they bring out a bigger technology and vice versa. This rivalry makes you improve crazily in a short amount of time.
"Of course, you need to find that rival yourself because it's useless if you just make a random person or me your rival. I don't think I will have a big growth anymore with this age of mine and you won't know your rival's true strength and growth if you pick randomly."
"Rivalry!" Sheira nodded in agreement, listening to Leonardo's words of wisdom. "Thank you for sharing your knowledge."
"It's fine, it's fine. I am just enjoying the competition." Leonardo shrugged. "Moving on to Theo, he has proved himself to the entire country. Well, I believe people from other countries are watching him right now or in the near future… Well, he will get busy soon."
"That is something I can foresee." Sheira could see many offers coming to Theo after this performance, especially since Leonardo had told them about their relationship.
They would surely approach Theo to poach him and the latter would leave after he finished his special training from Leonardo himself.
"I am blessed to have so many talented grandchildren and those who bear the same name." Leonardo smiled. "I am proud because I know that even if I enjoy the rest of my life away from the family, the War God Family will continue to progress toward a better future."
"Ehm… Many people wish you a long life, Sir Leonardo. Please don't say something depressing." She scratched the back of her head while making an awkward expression.
"Indeed." Leonardo chuckled. "Sorry, sorry. I couldn't help it."
"Well," She looked away and thought about another topic. "That's right. Since the assessment has finished, what do you think about their performances? I surely can't ask you to rank them since it's not the purpose of this competition, but can I know whether they have done better than their previous assessment?"
"Hmm… Surely, the last five have proven themselves. All I can say is that I am slightly disappointed in Felice and Velio. Unlike Ignazio, they were eliminated in the first two rounds. Well, I need to credit Theo and Ignazio for this one, but yeah, I wish they could last a bit longer since they are Lorenzo and Luka's assistants.
"If they were there in the last fight, Luka and Lorenzo would be able to last longer and overpowered Mara and Theo. There are many who have improved in this competition, but some are subpar. However, I am satisfied with the overall result since it's better than my expectation. That's all."
"I see. Thank you for this great competition since we can learn so many things from the War God Family. I believe many will benefit from the War God Family since the video will also be uploaded on Skynet." Sheira paused for a moment. "For that, do you have any last words to the viewers?"
Leonardo smiled playfully and raised his hand as if he was reminding a kid. "Many trees were harmed in the process.. Although Theo's traps were partially at fault here, please don't destroy many trees on the other side. To put it simply, don't destroy nature too much when you're hunting monsters on the other side unless your life is threatened, okay?"