A few moments before the signal...
"Are you sure about this?" Liliana asked doubtfully, unconvinced by Max's proposed strategy.
"Positive."
Liliana sighed. "Aren't you taking this too lightly? Our opponents have us beat in power and experience. What you're suggesting isn't really out of the box... In almost every battle, the mage is always the first to be targeted."
"True, but it's not like I've forgotten about the knight. Besides, sometimes keeping things simple is the way to go."
"What do you mean?"
Max grinned and gave Evangeline and August a momentary glance. "Take a look at that guy."
"What about him? Looks to me like he's taking us seriously."
"Really?" Max couldn't help but laugh. "I beg to differ. That's just someone looking for a good fight, someone assured of victory, but looking forward to some entertainment." Max's assessment stemmed from his own experiences while occasionally rampaging on Earth. "And this is what we're going to exploit."
Liliana gave Max a weird look to which Max responded by asking, "What?"
"Nothing. You just sound like you've done this before."
Max awkwardly cleared his throat and turned away. Having lived with Robert for most of his life, he had suffered through several grueling days of combat training. Combined with his own experience in battle, he had some faith in his ability to read people.
During this time, the stands were abuzz with chatter.
"Wow! A two on two, this should be interesting."
"What do you mean interesting? Can't you see the pairing? Those freshmen are doomed!"
"Maybe. I don't know about August, but there's a chance Evangeline might go easy on them."
"Are you kidding? There's no way that freak even knows the meaning of going easy. I sparred with him a while ago. I was pretty confident too, but he just..." The young knight's words were left unsaid as he silently winced from recollecting the painful experience.
August and Evangeline were among the top of their respective classes. Paired together, they were a force to be reckoned with. Even among the freshmen, perhaps only a handful placed a little hope on their fellow classmates.
Not long after Julius had announced the match up, a few nobles had gathered to secretly place bets, gambling on the duration of the battle, trying to guess when this one-sided fight would end.
News of the betting spread through the crowd.
"Ten gold coins on Max and Liliana winning the battle." Amy slammed her coins on the betting table, fuming and stomping her way back to her seat amid snickers. It wasn't often that these blue bloods could legitimately look down upon a proud daughter of a Duke.
The start of the match brought with it an unexpected wave of silence. Student, professor, mage or knight, everyone intently focused on one ring and one ring alone.
On stage, Max rushed towards Evangeline, but was quickly intercepted by August. Brandishing his sword, August looked like a hungry wolf. His sheathed blade made a full arc towards Max's head as he growled, "Your opponent is me!"
The tip of the blade brushed past Max's hair as he dodged and pushed ahead. August, strangely satisfied with Max's reaction, smiled as he slammed his foot down in an almost practiced manner to break his own momentum. He instinctively pirouetted and launched a swift thrust at Max's back.
YOU ARE READING
The Envoy of Darkness
Fantasy"Everyone loves a good fantasy, but my life was turned upside down by one." What would you do if you had the ability to control the air? How about if you were suddenly brought to a world where, despite your powers, you're at the bottom of the food c...
