The sound of a heavy metal crash rang out. Punching, preventing, hitting, preventing, hitting, preventing, hitting.......
　They take turns hitting each other as if it were a rule. Gradually, their speed increased, and eventually they began to return the blows in rapid succession.

'Yaaaahhhh!
'Haaaaaaaahhhh!

　Gahhhhhh! And with a grand sound, they unleashed each other's full-length straight right, their fists colliding with each other.
　Both of them remained still for a moment in that state and grinned at each other. So that's the flirting and mingling.
　With a bang, the two jumped back and rushed forward again, this time unleashing an upper-level kick at each other. The metallic sound of the gleave is heard, followed by the sound of the gauntlet striking each other again.

''Yaah!

　Sonia-san blocks Else's spinning kick, which was released with the spirit of a cleaver, with her gauntlet, but she is unable to kill the momentum and retreats slightly. There, Else takes a step forward to follow up, but Sonia-san quickly rotates her body and releases her heavy tail like a whip.
　Unable to duck the blow of that thick tail that attacked her from the side, Else had to retreat in the opposite direction while catching the heavy impact.
　This time, Sonia-san saw it and chased after it and gave it a flying kick, but it was blocked by Else, who crossed her arms. Sonia quickly kicked her arms away and spun backwards to separate herself from Else.
　Back and forth, the heated battle continued, and the audience heated up.

''Morobane, how do you see this match?''
'Come on. If it's about swords, but when it comes to 'fists'. Well, looking at the way they've been fighting up to now, it's like Else in speed and Sonia in strength, but there's not that much difference. However, Sonia has a hidden gem in her hand.

　That "jujin", huh? It seems like it takes a beat or so to use it, so I'll just have to make sure I don't give them an opening.
　If only Else could use 'Boost' as well. Like Yae, Else has been watching martial arts videos on my phone and incorporating various things into her technique, but that's not enough.
　On stage, the two of them seemed to be getting drained of energy, and their movements became a bit sluggish. Still, they didn't stop each other's hands, and the fist exchanges continued.
　Else's foot sweeping decided and it looked like Sonia-san was going to fall backwards, but to my surprise, she prevented it with her thick tail and regained her position. Amazing, that tail. I wonder if it's balancing itself like a dinosaur.
　The attack of that tail struck Else this time. Without dodging the swung at it, Else took it firmly, prepared to take damage. And then, as if he wasn't going to let it go, he grabbed it with both hands, put it on his shoulder and threw it with force like a back throw.

''Daaah!
Ggh...!

　Sonia is slammed onto the stage and Else swings down with a follow-up fist. However, Sonia-san, who avoided it as she rolled to the side, stood up as if she were bouncing, and released a palm bottom from her midsection stance. Oh no!

Haha!

　Boom! And Else is blown away. He managed to roll on the stage with a rumble and managed to stay in place before falling off the stage.
　Oh man, that was close! It almost went the same way as Lou's.
　It's a tricky one. You can't even see it, and it's a long-range attack. I've never been hit, but from the way it blew up, I think I've taken quite a bit of damage.
　In fact, Else is on her knees and looks pretty painful. Sonia doesn't miss that opportunity, and Sonia's attack begins. Else stands up and welcomes it, but the damage he just did is taking its toll, and he's defending himself. If she drops back, she's out of the field, and if she doesn't, she'll be pushed out of the way.

'Haaaaah!

　Sonia-san's right fist that was released, Else, with a gusto, catches it with her left hand. The right hand that was grabbed was kept intact, and now the left hand was brought out, but it too was grabbed by Else's right hand. It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for when you're in the market.
　As it is, she placed her own foot against Sonia-san's belly and jumped up as hard as she could.
　It's quite anomalous, but is that a Tomoe Throw?
　The tip of Else's neck as she fell down has popped out of the stage, but according to the rules, if she doesn't fall down, she's safe, as she doesn't lose.

''Ku........!

　If she didn't, she would be dropped off the stage. Sonia-san twisted her body in the air and swung her tail wide as she shook off Else's hand and tilted her center of gravity towards the top of the stage.
　Sonia-san managed to land on the edge of the stage just in time, but before she knew it, Else had come around to the front.

''Yaaaaaahhhh!

　Else walks into a straight right hand with a lot of energy on his side. Perhaps it was a reflex, but Sonia-san blocked it with her gauntlet. Well, it would have been difficult to avoid it in that stance.
　As a result, Sonia-san was thrown into the air and landed on the ground. There is a winner.

''The winner, Else Silesca!

　The crowd erupts as the referee's voice rings out in high spirits. Cheers and thunderous applause are sent to the two men.

'We've won! Else wins!

　Suh throws his arms up in the air, but honestly, that was like a painful split. So they couldn't K.O. each other. Well, I'm not bound by the rules, and I believe that Else won the actual fight.
　Sonia and Else shake hands as they return to the stage, and we applaud them as well.
　That's one win and one loss. Now if we can get two of Yae, Hilda, and Pam to win, we'll advance to the finals.
　I thought it would be Pam if we lost, but that was a false alarm. Pam, who played in the third game, had decided the match in just three minutes. With tremendous energy and vigor, she attacked her opponent with a gale and fury, knocking him out of the ring.
　In the next match, Yae came out and the match was easily won again. The Lauri tribe, who had won three matches early, beat the Lursh tribe and advanced to the final.

'How did it work out?'

　If anything, the Lursh tribe was more difficult to deal with this time than the two tribes that would hit in the finals, so I was relieved to hear that.
　I said words of exertion to everyone who came out of the Sacred Tree Area, and I cast a recovery spell and 'refresh' on them just in case. Especially Else and Lou, be very careful.
　Also, I didn't forget to have Rengetsuki cast a 'slip' and have her fall down in a grand manner. Rengetsu-san, who was talking to the Luresh tribe on the other side of the room, fell down grandly and hit the back of his head on the ground. He stood up as if he didn't understand why and checked the sole of his foot. Since it's on the ground, it wouldn't have been so damaged.

''What are you doing...?
Because when I saw Lou get beat up, it just made me so angry.
I got beat up pretty good myself too.
I didn't find yours so upsetting. We had a lot of youthful drama.

　Else puffs and puffs. No, if girls were laughing at each other and hitting each other, I'd usually pull away. Well, if the other guy was a guy with that, I would definitely beat him up.

Anyway, one more win and you're done. Good luck. And this.

　I give Else and the others a pill in a small bottle that looks like a rummage. It's an antidote that Flora made before. Even if the poison enters the body, it immediately cleanses it out.

You have to use a mask to protect yourself from the poison being sprayed on stage until you're on, and then put this in your mouth when your match starts. As long as you lick this thing, the poison won't go around when you get attacked by those claws. The scattered ones will be fine too. They'll last for about ten minutes while you lick them, so you should have about three tablets each.

　Else and the others received the tablets and returned to the Sacred Tree Area.
　Just as we were about to return to the audience, we heard a loud throbbing noise from the hall.
　When we returned to the Lauri tribe, we found that the Rivets had already won three battles and were already defeated. Hey, hey, how much too soon is too soon? What happened?

As soon as the game started, my opponent, the Lemna tribe, started to play. After that, he suddenly fell down. It seemed that they used some kind of blowgun. It was a very thin needle that was difficult to catch with the naked eye. It seems that he was wearing a mask to protect himself from the poison that was being scattered, but there was nothing he could do about the poison that was directly entering his body. And the poison used is a fast-acting poison. It may not be life-threatening, but if there is a delay in treatment.......

　As I looked down at the hall while listening to the commentary of the Morobane sister who was watching the match, I saw Else approaching the people of the Remna tribe and handing them a few antidotes from earlier. Yeah, those would be fine. There's a lot of pills in there, and it doesn't matter if we split them up a bit.

''But a blowtorch, huh? It's true that with such a thinness, it can't be used as a weapon unless the poison can be used, right, that one?

　If it was as big as a throwing knife or a dart, it would be different. And it's a fast-acting poison. A one-hit kill. Well, it didn't kill him. What kind of poison is it?
　If it's paralyzing, it's probably a neurotoxin, but if I recall, it's probably tetrodotoxin from the blowfish. That one wasn't that fast-acting, was it? It must have been the kind that started with numbness in the limbs, and then the poison gradually went around.
　Well, I've never seen a blowfish in this world, and I'm sure there are many original poisons in this world. When you think about it, you can understand how amazing Flora is for being able to make a potion that can detoxify them....
　It's not a bad idea, but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get away with it. Anyway, we can't let our guard down.
　In the meantime, the final stage is rising in the Sacred Tree Area.
　The five representatives of the Lauri tribe and the five representatives of the Rivet tribe were confronted with each other in silence on the stage, which was a little wider than the previous stage.
　Yae and the others have already covered their mouths with gas masks. Incidentally, the referees were also wearing masks. At a glance, it's a bizarre sight to see them all wearing masks.
　The game started.
　The spearhead is Yae. His opponent was a hunchbacked nail man. There was a short toothpick-like object attached to the mask around his mouth. That is probably the mouth of a blowtorch.
　It's just my imagination, but I should be able to breathe even if I'm wearing a mask, so it should be possible to send the breath to the blowgun even if it's not in my mouth. As long as it's fixed to the mask, that should be enough.
　Yae takes off the mask and includes the pill in her mouth. The poison won't work on her with this. Staring quizzically at her actions, the hunchback readies his metal claws and Yae slowly pulls the sword from its sheath.

'Begin!'

　As soon as the match begins, Yae runs into the cat-back man at full speed. I could see the cat-back man, who was flustered by the sudden action, shoot a blowtorch from his mouth. However, Yae shielded her eyes with her left hand and, without regard to the sting of the arrow, jumped into the bosom of the cat-back man in one fell swoop and delivered an all-out blow to the empty body.

''Ouguuhaha!''

　A hunchback who was blown up in a cone-rubbing state while spouting incomprehensible words, shucks! and fall onto the stage.

'Winner, Kokonoe, Yae!

　Instantly. The hall went quiet for a moment due to the fact that it was so quick, but it was soon followed by an explosion of cheers.
　Now you were expecting a blowtorch to come. I see, you asked the people of the Remna tribe just now?

''Ridiculous.......why isn't the poison working!

　While letting out such a voice, Hilda confronts the second spearhead's frog-like face and the hand-chosen man. He still can't believe the scene he just saw and seems upset, but it's none of his business.
　As soon as the match began, Hilda, like Yae, closed the distance at once and, without dodging the poisonous needles released, she blasted her opponent's frogman.

''Gwala-ba!''

　The poison doesn't work at all. It seemed to come as a hopeless shock to them. As for the third man, he just stood in front of Pam, who was rattling and trembling and holding her axe.
　Naturally, he couldn't be an opponent. After all, he just confirmed that the poisonous needles were ineffective, and he was going to be hit head on by Pam's axe.

''..................!

　There was no longer a voice to raise, and the riveted man slowly collapsed, completely unconscious.

'Winner, Pam! Therefore, it has been decided that the Lauri tribe will be the 'Tree King's Tribe' this time!

　In straight games, three men were eliminated. It was too tasteless a final, but generous applause and cheers rained down like rain on the tribe that won the "pruning ceremony".
　Pam yells (hymns?) on stage. and the Lauri tribe followed suit and shouted in victory.
　It's over. At any rate, all is well that ends well.
　Just when I was thinking this, I felt a strange sensation in the air.

"What is it?

　 What the hell is this!

"Kuhn........the power of the spirit, we shall have.....

　My magic monitor caught one of the rivets muttering that to me firmly.
　A shock from the ground that suddenly echoed with a thud. Not one, but several cataclysmic shakes shook the earth, and countless dead leaves danced down from the dead trees.

''Wha, what the hell was that?

　I turned my gaze to the depths of the forest at the sound of someone shouting and saw a number of huge tree giants coming towards us. Apparently, it's not over yet.