Curse of the Crystals

Chapter 18: Start of the Tournament - part 4

Millicent had lunged at Karan as soon as the round started, with enough force to make him unable to counter the spear and fast enough to make him unable to dodge it. Eden's plea had been wasted, as Millicent clearly hadn't ignored Karan's earlier remark. He paid a humiliating price for it.

Luna faced off against Eden, and for a short moment, it seemed like they were equally matched. However, the moment Luna threw in a feint and followed it up by a move outside of the regular ones that were part of the fighting style, she was able to get the upper hand.

With that, the first part of the tournament concluded. The next day of tournaments would see all four of the upcoming battles. The two Dwarves would fight against Itzal and the Alchemist, Ezer and Edward would fight against the Segreti brothers, Maiara and Qadir would fight against Shun and Min, while Njord and Valerius would fight against Luna and Millicent. All in all, they had a friendly team in each of the four matches, which meant that things were looking pretty good for their overall advancement in the tournament.

After two days of rest, the next day of tournament battles arrived. This time around, the list of nobles and high ranking guard and army personnel that were attending the matches had grown so long that the announcer had almost lost his voice by the time he finally finished announcing all the names. Both princes had come to attend, but their presence was overshadowed by the presence of Sendoa Ortiz, the Great General. He was the second-highest ranking army officer, with only the General of Army standing above him. The latter was a rank that was given on a temporary basis by whomever the Emperor decided upon. Prince Adelmar currently carried the rank to work on bolstering their defences along the Dwarven borders, but the rank regularly remained vacant. As a result, Sendoa Ortiz was the acting leader of the army more often than not.

The man's appearance matched his rank. He looked like an incarnation of strength and vitality, despite showing a few scars and more than a few grey hairs. The latter gave him an air of experience and authority that could only come through years of being on active duty. From what Ambrose had gathered, this man had been working alongside Prince Adelmar to work on the defences along the Dwarven borders, but their relation had deteriorated after Sendoa Ortiz and Lieutenant General Blue had gotten into an argument, where Prince Adelmar had sided with Blue. The Great General's presence was likely part of an attempt to show some goodwill. The public clearly loved it, as an audible gasp went through the audience upon the man's arrival. It soon turned into a thunderous applause that easily overshadowed the reaction the crowd had shown towards the two princes. If this was a popularity contest, Sendoa Ortiz had easily won it.

The announcer went on to announce the first match. "The first team consists of our honoured guests, Steinar, son of Aarden, and Torsten, son of Mason. They were able to easily beat the horrible teamwork of their previous opponents, so we've yet to see them at their strongest."

Both Dwarves walked in wielding the same weapons as in their last match. The older one, Steinar, a large two-sided wooden battle-axe. The younger one, Torsten, a sword and shield.

After the applause stopped, the announcer went on to introduce the other team. "They will be up against Itzal Fusun, who single-handedly defeated the previous team, and the Alchemist, who's abilities are still as unknown as his actual name."

There was another round of applause arose, but it felt more hesitant overall. Some people loved the display of magic-infused strength, but others seemed to be weary of Itzal. Ambrose wasn't sure what Itzal would do this time around, but he feared it'd be a repeat of the previous match. Olve, who had joined him today, spoke up. "You know that guy better than I do, but he doesn't seem all that like-able. I'm surprised he's gotten some applause at all."

Ambrose sighed. "I'm not sure what's going through him, but he used to be easier to deal with. If he keeps this up, I think I'll have to try talking to him."