Nobilis of War novel Chapter 135

"It's up to you, Belle."

Everyone seemed amazed by Diana letting Belle decide.

The tournament would go on if Belle proposed to continue their bet. Diana thought that Belle would end up marrying into one of the three Ancient Families if that was the case. Should Belle want Diana to stop the bet, Diana would rob the magic spring water of the three Ancient Families.

Upon hearing what Diana said, Darren was even more impressed and appreciated Diana for what she had done. Not all the Holy Lords would be brave enough to make the same decision Diana did for the well-being of one disciple. After all, Diana would pay a heavy price or even lose her sect for her decision.

"I..." Belle uttered, hesitant and confused.

Now she had three choices to choose from: to be married to a member of an Ancient Family present; continue the tournament, but the chances of winning the contest were slim; Diana forcibly took the magic spring water from the Ancient Families.

Her sect would pay a heavy price if Belle chose the third option. It would mean that Diana declared war on three Ancient Families. Lotus Holy Land would end up with the same fate as with the Ancient Dragon Holy Land. Even if they could win the war, they would still suffer a tremendous loss.

Hence, she could never choose the last option.

"I will marry into the Yu Family," Belle finally responded.

When they heard her decision, many people present felt relieved. If Lotus Holy Land would oppose the three Ancient Families, the two parties would pay the price.

"Belle, do you trust me on this?"

The masked teenager slowly revealed himself and took off his mask.

When Belle saw his face, she was taken aback. It felt like time stood still.

It felt like there were only her and the lad in the world, and everything seemed to blur.

"Brother..." she muttered, staring at the young man. She felt a lump in her throat and felt a sudden rush.

After a long while, she dashed forward and hugged the teenager. Her cheeks were bathed in tears.

"Darren, I can't believe my eyes. It's you. It is you! I've missed you so much," she gushed, bursting into tears. When she first saw the masked lad, Darren's figure entered her mind. But she shrugged off the thought and convinced herself that the lad couldn't be her brother for she didn't think he could be fit to be an outer disciple of the Lotus Holy Land in such a short period.

After she witnessed the strength and skills of the masked lad, she was certain that he wasn't Darren.

But she was wrong. In front of her was her beloved brother whom she had been dying to see for ages.

"Darren..." Belle was out of words. She had a lot of things to say but didn't know where to start.

"Belle, everything is gonna be alright. As long as I am here now, no one can harm you. Trust me and go on with the tournament," Darren said in a soft tone, lightly patting her back. He felt heartbroken when he saw her crying uncontrollably. His nose itched but there were no tears in his eyes.

"No, Darren, I won't let you take the risk. They're way too strong. They can't be defeated," Belle replied, shaking her head. She had made her decision. 'I can't let the tournament continue. I would rather sacrifice my happiness than see Darren risk his life for me, ' she thought.

"You little fool, can't you give me some credit? Look at me," Darren said tenderly, letting her go. He cupped her cheek and looked her directly in the eyes.

"You're my sister, you're the only family I have. If I can't protect you, I will not be able to forgive myself. My life would be miserable. Trust me on this, okay?"

Belle saw the determination and sincerity in his eyes, which made her even harder to refuse his request.

'I and Darren have been through a lot. Each time we got bullied, he always stood before me and kept me from any harm, ' she recalled.

"Darren." Belle burst into tears. "I believe you, I always have.

I will continue the tournament. But promise me that you will come back alive."

"I promise!" Darren promised with a ferocious beam flickering in his eyes. 'I must win.'

"Darren, turns out you're Belle's brother," Colin said as he approached the two. It finally came to him why Darren insisted on joining the tournament with Elsa's support.

"So, is this your final decision? Let the tournament continue?" Colin asked eagerly as he turned to Belle.

"Yes," she nodded.

Knowing that Belle decided to go on with the contest, Diana vanished into thin air. Meanwhile, she said to Colin and the elder who was in a grey robe secretly, "When the tournament is over, fill me in on the result."

In a blink of an eye, she was gone.

But Landon remained, anticipating for the contest result.

"Attention, everyone. The tournament continues. The next round is hunting. Participants, get ready to enter the transmission array," Colin announced.

The second trial was hunting, and the third was a martial arts competition.

"Hold on."

Clive voiced out and stood up.

"Now that you don't call off the wager, why don't we add some to it?" he suggested.

"What do you mean, Mr. Wei?" Colin asked, his face becoming gloomy in an instant.

"You know what? We are in this tournament because you begged us to do so. But you have been fickle-minded. Last-minute you called off the contest, and now you wanted to continue the game. What do you think we are? Don't try to fool us!" Clive snapped with a cold snort.

"I agree with him. Besides, seems like you have a confident enthusiast. He ignites some trouble. If you don't agree to increase the wager, I don't think there is any need to continue the tournament," Allen, the chief of the Yu Family, said. There were a lot of instances that he thought his clan would acquire the legendary Primitive Feminine Bloodline for Belle agreed to marry his family member. It was Darren who screwed his plan. That was why he was upset with Darren.

"What do you want then?" Lino asked.

"Now that you have your eye at our magic spring water, how about we place a huge bet? We will use our magic spring as a wager, what do you think?" Allen proposed.

His proposal even caught Landon by great surprise. 'Their wager is massive.

Thanks to their magic spring, their families could be influential. But now they are using it as a bet?

What could Lotus Holy Land possibly bet? There is one thing that can match up to their magic spring—the sacred lotus. It never deteriorates, ' he mused.

"You want us to bet our sacred lotus? Are you for real?" Lino scorned.

"Precisely. The winner can marry the Holy Maiden and acquire the sacred lotus at the same time. What do you think?" the chief of the Yu family replied.

'Are you kidding? We will not use our sacred lotus as a wager, ' Lino and Colin pondered.

Although their wager was tempting, Colin and Lino wouldn't bet the precious treasure of their sect.

"Not a chance. It won't happen. Do you think we are out of our minds? We stand no chance to win, why would we do that? That's preposterous!" Lino refused immediately.

"Sir, I think we can give it a try," Darren whispered to Lino and Colin after walking to their side.

"Go away. Who the hell are you? How dare you? What right do you have to say that?" Lino huffed, thinking Darren had lost his mind.

"I don't think my best skill is less powerful than their so-called bloodline," Darren responded calmly. Releasing the blade intent and sword intent, he grabbed Lino by the hand to let him sense his blade and sword intents secretly.

'What the hell?' Lino's heart skipped a beat in astonishment. 'How, how could he master sword intent and blade intent at the same time?'

Shocked as he was, he didn't show it on his face. He filled Diana in on the new bet secretly.

"Tell them we are in."

Diana's voice lingered in Colin's and Lino's heads after a long silence.