Chapter 165: The Tiebreaker Battle

The fourth place in this evaluation goes to—Benjamin, from the Light Alliance, with 21 votes! Thomas's deep, resonant voice echoed across the arena.

However, for a full five seconds after the announcement, the entire venue fell into an eerie silence. That Benjamin secured fourth place was not entirely unexpected, but what shocked everyone was his vote count. He had tied with Gavin for fifth place, both receiving 21 votes. Yet why was Benjamin ranked fourth while Gavin was placed fifth? Though it was a difference of only a single rank, according to the rules of the Alchemy Tournament, the top four advanced to the finals, while anyone from fifth place onward was eliminated!

After a brief silence, the arena erupted into a buzz of excited chatter. People began discussing it animatedly, with members of the Dark Alliance feeling particularly outraged.

"Why is this happening? They both got 21 votes, so why is Gavin from our alliance ranked fifth?"

"The Light Alliance's Alchemists' Guild is going too far! Even though the Alchemy Tournament is being held here, they can't just cheat our Dark Alliance's alchemist out of his spot like this!"

"This is unacceptable, it's completely unfair! Why eliminate Gavin? We demand an explanation!"

"That's right, we must have an explanation! With just a single word from our Guild Master, I'll be the first to respond!"

...

In the stands, apart from the Dark Alliance, the spectators from the Aragon Empire also had quite a few complaints about Benjamin being pushed into the top four despite sharing the exact same number of votes.

Aside from these two factions, the members of the Light Alliance, who held an absolute numerical advantage in the venue, outwardly supported Benjamin advancing to the top four, but deep down, most of them felt somewhat uneasy. After all, under such circumstances, their own alliance's Benjamin had won rather unworthily.

Upon hearing this result, Rowling, Anthony, Yolanda, and the others in the venue—including Benjamin himself—were equally filled with confusion.

Gavin, whose heart had already turned to ash, suddenly saw a glimmer of light in his eyes. Listening to the indignant voices of the crowd and hearing the members of the Dark Alliance championing his cause, Gavin felt that there might still be a turning point for him. He slowly raised his head, looking toward the rostrum to see how the three grandmasters would handle the situation. He knew that his master, Cassinio, the head of the Dark Alliance's Alchemists' Guild, would definitely speak up for him.

Just then, a slightly hoarse voice rang out from the rostrum: "Everyone, please be quiet!"

"It's Lord Cassinio!"

"Keep your voices down and listen to what our Guild Master has to say!"

"That's right, stop arguing. Lord Cassinio is stepping up to back us!"

"With just a word from the Master—even though there are fewer of us from the Dark Alliance, our alliance has never feared the Light Alliance. If they push things too far, we'll fight them to the bitter end!"

In the stands, the vast majority of those who had just been filled with righteous indignation belonged to the Dark Alliance. As their noisy uproar ceased, the entire arena instantly grew quiet. Everyone fixed their eyes on the rostrum, waiting to hear what the Guild Master had to say.

Hope reignited in Gavin's heart. He believed his master would surely seek justice for him; perhaps he still had a chance to enter the top four!

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Cassinio's voice sounded once more: "Benjamin entering the top four and Gavin ranking fifth—there is no problem whatsoever with this result. I hope my friends in the Dark Alliance will raise no objections!"

No sooner had his voice fallen than Helen, the Guild Master of the Aragon Empire's Alchemists' Guild, gave a light cough. Then, a gentle voice reached the ears of everyone present: "The Aragon Empire's Alchemists' Guild supports this result!"

A gasp rippled through the crowd, and the entire venue immediately exploded into commotion. Everyone had originally expected Guild Master Cassinio to back his disciple Gavin and overturn the ranking. To their utter surprise, however, not only did he fail to stand up for his disciple, but he actually accepted the outcome.

At the same time, Guild Master Helen had also issued a statement of support, leaving everyone completely baffled. They could not fathom why this seemingly backgroundless Benjamin had earned the strong backing of both guild masters!

Sensing that the crowd still harbored doubts, Thomas delivered the final verdict: "Everyone, the reason Benjamin was chosen to advance to the top four despite the tied vote is because he has made outstanding contributions to all three of our Alchemists' Guilds. Reason and logic dictate that choosing him is entirely unproblematic. Very well, let this matter rest here!"

Hearing this explanation, the crowd suddenly understood. No wonder all the guild masters supported Benjamin; it turned out he had made major contributions to the three alchemists' guilds! That settled the matter completely. However, another question quickly arose in everyone's minds: Benjamin looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old—what kind of outstanding contributions could he possibly have made to the three alchemists' guilds?

The gazes of the crowd inevitably fell upon Benjamin in the center of the arena. Feeling the weight of so many eyes upon him, a blush crept over Benjamin's young face. Right now, he was just as bewildered: "Me? What contribution have I made?"

On the rostrum, Cassinio shook his head with a bitter smile. He had seen the voting results in Thomas's hands long before they were announced. When he realized that his disciple and Benjamin had tied and landed right on the dividing line of the fourth and fifth positions, a headache had seized him. Had the person competing with his disciple been Rowling, or even the personal disciples of the other two guild masters, he would have fought tooth and nail for Gavin without a moment's hesitation.

Benjamin was different, however. The person who had tutored him was none other than Master Constro, a legendary figure in the alchemical world of the Aragon Continent. Although Constro was a man of the Aragon Empire, he harbored no narrow-minded sectarianism and had offered pointers and guidance to both Cassinio and Thomas back in the day. Moreover, even if Cassinio opposed the decision now, Thomas and Helen would undoubtedly stand united against him, leaving him with zero leverage to gain any advantage. After pondering it from all angles, he ultimately agreed with the other two guild masters' proposal to place Benjamin in fourth place!

As for Thomas's earlier claim that Benjamin had made outstanding contributions to the three alchemists' guilds, it was purely an excuse fabricated to quell the crowd's suspicions. The real reason behind the decision was Benjamin's teacher, Master Constro!

At this moment, although a small fraction of people still harbored doubts, no one dared to show the slightest defiance against a decision made jointly by the three guild masters.

Down in the arena, the trace of hope that had just welled up within Gavin was shattered once more. He could only sigh inwardly at how tragic his fate turned out to be.

"Very well, let us continue announcing the rankings. The third place in this evaluation goes to—'Yolanda' from the Aragon Empire, with — votes!" Thomas announced once more as the arena quieted down.

Regarding this outcome, the people present felt no great surprise. After all, given Yolanda's alchemical skill, taking third place was entirely within reason.

Thomas continued his announcement: "The second place goes to—"

At this point, the crowd strained their ears to listen once more. Although Rowling had refined a high-grade five-star potion, judging by the judges' previous reactions, his potion was immensely popular. Meanwhile, Anthony, who had been the first to successfully refine a six-star potion, possessed overwhelming strength. The top two spots would very likely belong to these two!