Zayyad

16. Two wins each.

The moment General Arafat shouted start, the two men, Anas from Amatra and Basheer from Al Jabisha, started fighting. It was a forceful fight as flesh met flesh and sand was roiled up. Basheer was tall and strong while Anas was short and took great advantage of his body size. Before they knew it, they kept hitting the ground until Basheer pinned Anas down. Anas growled but still couldn't stand up.

"Three. Two. One. Al Jabisha wins." General Arafat counted and announced the winner. Basheer released Anas and the camp of Al Jabisha broke into cheers.

"Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Jameel!"

Meanwhile, Anas breathed hard as he returned to their group. Wisaam held his shoulder and said, "Don't worry. A defeat is not a bad thing. We are all learning." But Anas shrugged his hands off and stumped to the back with indignation.

Next, Al Jabisha was to challenge Ridiyya. If they don't win, Al Jabisha will have two wins and Amatra will be the next challenger.

Someone spoke to Uthman quickly, "That man is strong. It's better if we send someone who can defeat him. He must be tired now."

Uthman shook his head and said, "He might look tired but his energy is at its peak now. Also, I rather we save our strength for now and send someone who will tire him out. Basheer won't be able to fight again and we have lost a strong competitor. "

The man nodded at the conviction and the others behind agreed.

"Of course, we wouldn't send someone weak." Uthman smiled and sent someone.

Zayyad was observing them and was amazed by Uthman's judgment. He calculated his tactic very well and his followers believed in him. That was a good quality of a leader.

The next fight took some minutes before the man from Ridiyya was defeated but Basheer was so tired. He went back to his camp but they were still happy. That was two wins.

"Next challenger. Amatra!" General Arafat announced.

"Who will fight now?" Wisaam asked.

"It's better if we can win from both sides. So let me," a man suggested.

"Okay. " Wisaam nodded. "Choose wisely and if you win, make sure to assess your strength before you keep on with the challenge. "

"Na'am!" The man, Ismad nodded and walked out. He looked at the two camps before picking Ridiyya. The two men fought and Ismad from Amatra won. He was tired though and moved his gaze to Al Jabisha.

Zayyad narrowed his eyes. Uthman sent someone strong and even though he didn't win, he didn't lose badly either. Al Jabisha was waiting for an opportunity and from Amjad's cool expression, he was going to send another powerful man. If their challenger picks Al Jabisha, they will lose and the ball will be back to Al Jabisha's camp, giving them more chance to challenge again, while Amatra lost two fighters.

Ismad gazed hotly at Al Jabisha's camp. Everyone wanted to see the choice he would make.

Husein quickly consulted Zayyad in a low voice. "Ismad looks tired. If he chooses a strong opponent from Al Jabisha, we will lose." Ismad shared the same tent with them, being among the young soldiers.

Zayyad calmly returned, "It's not about how tired a man is, but the will in his heart. A soldier might lose a lot of blood on the battlefield, but he will kill tens if he has the will."

Hussein nodded. He added, "The choice depends on Ismad."

"Someone come out!" Ismad shouted fearlessly. He still chose to fight. Amjad nodded and sent someone out.

Ismad knew this man was strong but he showed no fear. The fight started. Ismad didn't fight directly and was mostly dodging or blocking while his opponent used force. Ismad flipped backward and seeing his opponent's fist, he quickly bent his knee going under the man. The man growled and grabbed Ismad's leg and threw him at the other side. Ismad looked unfazed and shifted from there immediately.

Bilal, who was also observing, whispered to Amjad.

"That guy might be strong but he is stupid. Can't he see that his opponent is buying time?"

"He might still win." Amjad returned. Bilal snorted and folded his arms.

"What is Ismad doing?" Adnan wondered.

"If you watch carefully, you will notice that Ismad is calm throughout the fight. '' Zayyad answered. "He knows that he is tired, so he isn't directly using force. While he regains his energy, his opponent is wasting his energy using force. And Ismad's tactic is making his opponent tired. Even if he won, he won't be able to fight another fight."

"Wow. Ismad just impressed me more." Hassan chuckled.

At the Ridiyya camp, Uthman calmly said, "Al Jabisha will lose." The moment he said that Ismad's eyes became fiercer. He dodged another forceful punch and before the man took his hand back, Ismad swept a kick making the man fall on his face. He quickly took the opportunity before the man stood up and jumped on his back, pinning him down with his elbow.

The already tired man tries moving but to no avail. Ismad wasn't going to let the chance go. His silky sweaty hair fell on his face, as he breathed heavily, while his hands twitched from the force.

Al Jabisha was still expecting a turnout but the countdown went down and Ismad won. He quickly stood up and staggered, before smiling at his camp who broke into cheers immediately.

The opponent knew why was fooled and gave Ismad a thumbs-up before walking back to his camp.

"Such a loser." Bilal hissed. The man glared at him but he scoffed.

"Can you still fight?" General Arafat asked. Ismad shook his head and walked back to his camp. Wisaam shook his shoulder with a grin and the others slapped his back in praise.

"That's a nice improvement. Next is Ridiyya." General Arafat called the next challengers. The other two camps knew Ridiyya had strong fighters because even the soldiers that lost from the camp were strong and didn't let their opponents win easily. Now that the others have two wins, Ridiyya wouldn't let this go down.

"Mu'az," Uthman called a soldier immediately. The man nodded and walked out. From seeing his appearance, the others knew Ridiyya wasn't joking. According to the rumors, this was the first man to finish the task of moving the box. Mu'az was quiet but respected.

He didn't challenge Amatra first but Al Jabisha. Amjad knew this was a tough opponent, so he sent someone who won't lose so badly. To his surprise, the worst happened. The man didn't last a minute.

Mu'az didn't even spare them another glance and turned to Amatra.

Wisaam slightly frowned. This man was strong and he wasn't even the leader. He wondered who amongst them, Uthman or Mu'az was stronger.

"This is a tough opponent. Who wants to fight him? " he asked. There wasn't a thought of winning here. They can only train.

Assalamu alaikum everyone💞. I just want to say Jazakumullahu Khair for choosing ZAYYAD.💞