To be fair, pride isn't what made Salvin fall. He would have surely chosen to retreat if he knew he didn't have a chance against Litori. He would have escaped for his life. Then return with a larger amount of phantom weapons. But he didn't know about Litori's trump card. It is ignorance that doomed him. Ignorance is not a thing that Salvini struggles with. It is a tool to bring about her expected end.
He knew that if her domain were larger then he might lose. That misinformation gave him the confidence of victory since he can't control his emotions. Then there's her saying that he should be careful of her taking control of his phantom weapons.
Suggesting that he be careful of such a thing is an affront to him. He had to fight her there and then to prove that it has never been possible for him to lose control of his phantom weapons and it will never be possible. He fought her and died to her. Then Litori died to her. She used one stone to kill two birds and got half of both their feats.
She didn't turn Litori on Salvos because she knows better than that. Salvos will destroy her with one move. Fortunately for her, Salvos doesn't seem to be in this arena. If he were, his presence will be known by now. People will be hit by his stray attacks all over the place. Fire will be everywhere. Salvos ushers in hell wherever he goes to. Since Salvos isn't here, that leaves these people around her as the next obstacles to achieving her aim in this challenge.
A lot of people have accumulated around the 2nd ring. They came to win the challenge or to watch the fight. They were all blocked from gaining access to the 1st ring but they waited. Their patience was rewarded with the sight of two specialists duking it out. Spiritual attacks went against physical attacks and won. The Salvini jumped in after the fight to end Litori. Litori's reign of terror has ended. The Zeroth ring is now available for the next candidate of the last man standing.
They didn't wait for Salvini to start the fight. Everyone started fighting amongst themselves immediately. Chaos descended in the 2nd and 1st rings. It became a free for all. The 1st and 2nd rings became the area for fighting for the kings in this arena. The only time they stopped fighting amongst themselves is to gang up on any intruders.
It is like they have an unspoken agreement among themselves. They are not going to allow some random person to take advantage of their fighting and become the last man standing. If anyone is to become the last man standing, it has to be a King.
It will be a disgrace for a normal person to win no matter how talented they are. Kings fought kings and monopolized access to the second ring. They are very strong so they managed to do it easily. Those that aren't kings had to resort to the use of numbers to fight back.
The various armies that tried to use the strength of numbers to overwhelm these best of the best failed terribly. Kings were not chosen lightly by the first sage. But the thing about having numbers on your side is that you don't give up easily. So the armies converged on the kings in a bid to remove them from the challenge.
Even people that aren't part of any army joined in to fight the kings. After all, the kings are the best contenders for the title of the last man standing. They know that is highly unlikely for untalented people like them to win. But they aren't going to make it easy for the kings either.
The only powerful person exempted from the rat race is Soverick. He continued to search for barrier armor. He is very fast so single-target attacks will be easy for him to dodge. He wants assurance against area-of-effect attacks. He wants to be prepared for the combined might of the other kings in the arena. He took his time in searching for protection. There's no rush anyways. It is the last man standing that wins not the person that kills the highest.
It is only the third day of the challenge. There are four more days to go so there's no reason for him to rush. He would rather prepare for whatever he might meet there. The other kings might think he is not in this arena if he doesn't show up early. They will let down their guard and fight amongst themselves. He can then swoop in on the last day to take the win. So he took his time to prepare.
He reached the 1st ring on the last day of the challenge and found only one person waiting for him. This person managed to survive the grand fight fest that took place for more than 3 days to claim the Zeroth ring. He looked around the place and analyzed the mana stream for the events that occurred recently. He was impressed by what he saw.
He is so impressed that he had to clap. He saw the concoction of violence that took place here for what it truly is. His eyes captured the information in the environment and his mind went to work on it. He managed to put together the strings of events. Scenes flashed in his mind according to the order that they occurred. So he isn't fooled at all. He knows she cooked up this outcome.
His clap rang out in the shrunken arena. The two of them are the last ones alive in the arena. All around them are the broken pieces of weapons, armor, and other tools for battle.
"Well done. Indeed, well done. I am impressed."
She smiled at him. "I'm glad you like it Soverick."
He spread his arms wide gesturing to their surroundings, "Nice going."
She bowed and curtsied. "I might have a hand in it. It is nice of you to notice."
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