"Combatants, take your respective sides!"
Weimar,Syras , and the rest of the Chtulus took their sides in the arena as soon as the judge finished his announcement. Across from them were the Serpents . They were mainly big, bruiser-type teen boys save for one beefy, curly-haired girl. Weimar glanced at his own teammates and noticed mixed expressions. Syras and Sangrid looked ready to kick butt, but Seline and Adel looked a bit on the nervous side. The cheering of the crowd drowned out most of the other noise.
"Don't worry, we'll get through this," he assured his anxious teammates.
The two newbies nod at him. Syras paced impatiently as Sangrid swung her wooden broadsword in the air in boredom.
"Let the match begin!" the judge shouted.
Weimar stood, holding his wooden sword at ready, glancing at their opponents warily. Letting out hoots and hollers, the South Serpents charged at the Chtulus. Letting out their own war cries, Sangrid and Syras led them to meet the enemy head on. Meanwhile, Weimar squared off against one of the bigger Serpents.
"Give it up," his opponent, a burly boy with curly dark hair growled. " That way you can spare yourself a beating."
"To the likes of you-I think not!"Weimar smirked, parrying a blow and delivering his own.
"What is that supposed to mean?"the bruiser raised a brow in confusion.
"You see, that is why I refuse to lose to you." Weimar slammed the wooden sword behind the startled boy's knee and downed him. "Gee, I wonder how thick your skull really is." He completed his statement by slamming his weapon on the Serpent's head. Once the opposition was out cold, Weimar brought his weapon to his face and raised a brow once he saw a small dent along the edges. "It's true, you are thickheaded."
His eyes swept the grassy arena and they landed on his teammates. The first impression was that that things were going in the Chtulu's favor. Syras had wore out his opponent and gave him the final blow behind the head to bring him down. Sangrid had dealt out a massive beating to a Serpent twice her size. Finally, Weimar spotted a fourth Serpent on the grassy floor. Judging by how he was laying prone, it was safe to assume that he was out of action. Then the boy's eyes landed on the remaining opponent, the beefy russet-haired girl who was facing off against a struggling Seline and Adel.
"Shall we help them?" Weimar asked Sangrid and Syras.
"Ah say we do!" Sangrid shouted, raising her weapon.
"Way ahead of you both!" Syras twirled his wooden weapon like a boomerang and let it rip. It connected behind the neck of the final Serpent. With a grunt, she fell on her knees and to the floor. The crowd went wild as Seline and Adel looked grateful.
"Pigs can never fly so they are bound to the ground." Syras quipped , chuckling.
" She was mahn!" Sangrid pouted. " Ah wanted to get'er so ye wouldn't make a stupid pun!"
"Just because you were too slow doesn't give you the right to bash my puns," Syras retorted.
"Lads, what is important is that we won the first round," Weimar cut in. "We must rest up before the next round."
As they exited the grassy arena, they were elated that they have advanced into the semi-finals. If they could only be victorious in the next match, then they would advance into the finals for a chance at winning a lot of coins. Boy, would that help Weimar's family.
"Let's watch the next round," Syras suggested. "The Soaring Eagles are facing off against the Screaming Banshees."
"Great idea for once." Weimar smiled at his friend.
--
The crowd cheered as the final member of the defeated Griffins fell to his knees. This signaled the end of the qualifying rounds and the start of the semi-finals. Weimar could barely contain his excitement as he stood up from his spot on the grass and went over to the roster to see who they would face next. His brown eyes grew wide as they landed on who their team would face. He felt his knees turn into jam as he tried to register who they are facing.
"Are we actually facing the Undaunting Dragons?"
Beside him, Adel had appeared by his side, glancing at the roster as well. His expression did not seem reassuring either. After all, the Undaunting Dragons were unbeaten each year. This was not a good omen for their team.
"Don't worry, this will be the first time they will lose," Syras stated moments after arriving along with Sangrid and Seline.
Sangriad nodded. "Ah agree with the blockhead." Syras glared at her for calling him that name.
"I suppose there is one way to find out." Weimar stood up and headed to the edge of the stands to train with his team. Unlike Seline and Adel, who sported worried expressions, Syras and Sangrid seemed ready to kick butt. Weimar was not really confident, but knew they had to give it their best if they ever hoped to make it in this competition
"Alright, let's start ."
He drew his wooden sword to begin training.
---
"I'm scared," Adel whined as they took their position across from their opponents.
"You've been telling us that for the upteenth time!" Syras rolled his eyes, fed up with their teammate's constant whining. " Just shut up and get ready.'58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhsVy66JsA
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Weimar just shook his head and kept his eyes on the ground. Despite the fact that their opponents looked intimidating, Weimar knew they had to swallow their uncertainty and face their fears. After all, that is how knights and successful soldiers got through it.
" Let the game begin!" the referee shouted.
Hearing shrill war cries, the young boy looked up to see their opponents charge at them. Fighting the urge to run, Weimar let out his own holler as he ran to meet the throng, consisting of three guys and two gals. After all, Sir Globar never gave in to fear when he helped put down the Upsala uprising, destroyed the Ogre-Orc alliance, or even slew the Karakha that was threatening Aislundia.
Weimar and a tall, dark-haired boy crossed wooden swords. Weimar aimed for the boy's soft spots, but his opponent was just as quick, if not quicker than him. Weimar flinched as he felt his wooden shield take the powerful blow from the Dragon's sword . He struck back, only to get parried by the older boy. He winced a she took a beating to the upper body while trying to get a strike in on his opponent.
"Feeling tired yet?"the boy smirked as he struck at Weimar.
"Not me,but I was wondering about if you were worn out yet?" Weimar ducked, spun around and smacked the boy behind the knee.
Letting out a gargled cry, the Dragon fell on his knee. Seeing an opening, Weimar used it to his advantage. After smacking the older boy around, Weimar finished the job by connecting his weapon to the boy's side with a loud clack. The Dragon gasped and fell to his side. Satisfied, Weimar turned to see how his teammates were faring. Syras had downed a Dragon boy while Sangrid unleashed a flurry of her wooden saber on a Dragon girl's face.
"Agh!"
Weimar turned on his heels to view Seline fall to the ground. Before her opponent, a fit Dragon girl with white-blonde hair and icy blue eyes in addition to an eternal sneer, could bring her wooden axe down, Seline raised her arms in surrender.
"Zooterkins!"Syras cursed beside him.
Weimar turned to see Adel holding his arm and crying. As a Dragon raised his weapon for a second strike, Adel surrendered much to Syras and Weimar's chagrin.
"C'mon, mate!"Syras cursed. "We could have bailed your sorry arse out if you just manned up for a few more seconds."
"It doesn't matter now!" Weimar snapped. "What is more important is-"
He never got to finish as he felt a painful blow to the back of the neck from a wooden sword. Stars flashed in his vision as he fell on his knees. The nape of his neck throbbed in pain as he glanced back to see Syras fall to the floor as well. Behind him stood the remaining two Dragons smirking at them. He knew the match was lost once he spotted Sangrid laying prone on the grass behind their opponents.
"That's game!" the ref shouted.
The crowd cheered as the two Dragons waved at the jubilant group of people. Weimar clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. They were so close!
"Thought you could defeat us?" the blonde Dragon smirked. "Well, many have thought that in the past and they ended up like you!"
Syras was about to make a snarky comment, but Weimar cut him off. They went to check on their fallen teammates who were awaiting them at the side.
"It hurts so bad!" Adel sobbed.
"Quit yer whinin' or Ah'll give ya something to whine about!"a bruised and beat Sangrid snapped.
"Who's idea was it to have this whiner on our team?" Syras glared at Weimar accusingly.
"Lads, we put up a good fight, but we were unable to prevail against more experienced opponents, now leave Adel alone," Weimar responded. He tried to play it cool, but he was tired and irate."Anyway, let's see who wins."
Seeing no point in arguing or having nothing better to do at that moment, they sullenly followed him to the stands.
----
Weimar watched half-heartedly as the Soaring Eagles and the Undaunted Dragons fought. He was still upset about losing the battle. They had come so close only to fall right before they made it to the finals. Weimar did not lay the blame on his teammates though. They all gave it their all and this is what it came out to.
"Blimey, is that legal?"
Weimar snapped back into reality at Syras's remark. His eyes traveled to the field to see a dark-haired Dragon standing over a limp form of an Eagle. The crowd was cheering as the referee held up the hands of the winners: the Undaunted Dragons.
"What happened?" Weimar asked.
" That lad done a cheap shot!"Sangrid groaned. "Yet he wins the tournament fo' the Dragons! Ah can't believe it!
Weimar shrugged. "Well, there are no rules against cheap shots so I guess it makes it fair. "
"Hold it right there, mate."Syras turned to face him. "You saying-"
A shrill scream cut him off. It was then followed by a smell of smoke. The attendants to the melee turned to see the tents and pavilions on fire. Arrows then shot across the air and fell over the crowd.
"What's going on?" Seline whimpered, frightened by the incident.
" There is one way to find out," Syras replied.
He, Weimar, and Sangrid leapt off the stands and turned to see some rough-looking people in sheep-skin cloaks ride into the event and strike anyone on sight with various weapons.
Outlaws, huh? Weimar drew his wooden sword. I should have expected this. After all, they have no honor.
"We should find some cover," Adel called out to them.
"Nah, ya and Seline get yer weak arses outta here while we take on these cake sniffers!" Sangrid drew her bow and arrow.
Weimar and Syras stood their ground as the first ruffian charged at them, raising a mace.
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Hello again! I apologize for the delay in releasing this due to a busy life, but here we are, witnessing a drastic end to an intense tournament. Will the young ones survive their encounter with the bandits?
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