In the arena, it was unusually solemn and quiet. The four walls were adorned with tassels of interwoven gold and red silk. The old arena had been redecorated, now filled with an air of luxury and opulence.
Nearly four hundred fully armed royal knights and guard knights stood solemnly among them, while dozens of court mages clutched staffs of various colors and surrounded the audience seats, their expressions alert and ready for action.
If not for the howling winter winds and the bloody, murderous aura churning across the sandy ground, people might think this wasn't a deadly battlefield where warriors fought for their lives, but a royal wedding for the kingdom's princess.
But judging by the figures in the arena's VIP seats, today's final match was no different from a royal wedding.
Within several layers of broad, transparent magical shields sat the highest ruler of Re-Estize—King Ramposa III.
To the king's left was the second prince, Zanac Valleon Igana Ryle Vaiself; to his right was the third princess, Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself. Below them, numerous high-ranking dukes, marquises, and ministers sat upright and attentive.
With so many of Re-Estize's heavyweights in attendance, the importance of this final battle went without saying.
The Warrior Captain martial tournament that had swept the entire Re-Estize was reaching its climax today with the last match—the royal martial grand tournament, doubling as the finals.
Two elite warriors from Re-Estize, who had clawed their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, would vie for the supreme honor of the Warrior Captain, along with command over the most elite cavalry unit, the Royal Knights.
To show his approachable side, the king had opened up the remaining seats in the massive arena to commoners—beyond the fixed spots for royals and nobles—allowing even the lowest folk to join in this unmatched grand event.
...
"Hey! Barrett!"
Someone was calling Barrett's name. Barrett turned his head and saw it was his old friend—"Wind Blade" Yaso Abel. Next to Yaso was "Iron Blood Hand" Deus Lefia.
Yaso approached, lowering his voice and asking mysteriously, "Old buddy, got any 'inside info'?"
"What inside info?" Barrett was puzzled.
"The final match is your captain 'Black Disruptor' versus Brain. I'm heading to the casino to place a bet. Just asking, what's your captain's plan?"
Yaso looked expectant, and Deus leaned in to listen.
Barrett understood. Besides the king and nobles, gamblers were also very interested in who would claim the Warrior Captain title. EeDechi and Brain's names must already be up on the casino's betting boards, and these two were going to place a wager.
Although Barrett had bad luck with gambling, this time he really did have "inside info."
Barrett whispered, "Bet on Brain to win. The captain discussed it with us; she doesn't want to be the Warrior Captain at all. She's only participating because Old Tony asked her to. Once the fight starts, she'll throw the match on purpose."
"Is this for real?" Yaso and Deus's excitement was plain to see.
Barrett affirmed. "It's the absolute truth!"
"Thanks, brother!" Yaso patted Barrett on the shoulder. "This fortune's all thanks to you!" With that, he and Deus laughed as they headed out of the arena.
...
The clock tower's bell struck nine times, and the announcer's deep voice echoed through the arena:
"The world-renowned Warrior Captain selection final match begins!"
Brain and EeDechi entered the fighting area from gates on opposite sides, stepping onto the dry, cold sandy ground. They each drew their swords, the gleaming blades pointing at each other from afar.
EeDechi gripped her sword, hesitating in her thoughts about how she should lose.
First, she couldn't use too much strength, or she'd send Brain flying with one swing and it'd be over. Second, her movements couldn't be too fast, so that Brain could actually hit her.
Or just throw down the sword and admit defeat, but that would be too fake. If you're going to put on a show, at least make it believable. EeDechi pondered, her mind in a bit of a whirl.
Clang.
The sound of the metal blade hitting the sandy ground was crisp and clear. EeDechi looked up and saw that Brain had tossed his sword down.
"I surrender," Brain said.
He bowed elegantly to EeDechi, picked up his sword, and turned to leave. In the blink of an eye while EeDechi was stunned, he had already walked out of the fighting area.
The whole arena fell silent. A few seconds later, the announcer's voice rang out, "UNBELIEVABLE! Beyond everyone's expectations! Brain Unglaus throws down his sword and surrenders! The winner is EeDechi..."
"I object! I object! I object!" EeDechi finally snapped back to reality.
She jumped up and down in the arena, shouting, threw her sword aside, and yelled, "I surrender too!"
The entire arena went quiet once more, with only the gusts of northern wind howling through, and the announcer's voice fell silent.
After a few seconds of dead quiet, the audience seats from all directions erupted in chaos!
The highly anticipated royal martial finals ending like this? The two strongest warriors surrendering one after the other?
In the VIP seats, the three most esteemed spectators—King Ramposa III, Second Prince Zanac, and Third Princess Renner—were all whispering to each other. This unprecedented plot twist had dropped everyone's jaws!
Actually, Brain's thoughts were straightforward: he knew he was no match for EeDechi. And he assumed that EeDechi wanted to become the Warrior Captain.
Rather than getting crushed by EeDechi again, it was better to graciously admit defeat. Handing the opportunity to the girl he loved was the gentlemanly thing to do.
EeDechi was jumping three feet high in the center of the arena, angrily protesting, convinced that she should be the one to lose the match.
After some discussion among the king and the nobles, they instructed the announcer to speak:
"EeDechi is dissatisfied with Brain's style of surrendering without a fight, so she's expressing her opposition in her own unique way. The king's holy judgment shows no favoritism!
"Although EeDechi also surrendered, Brain surrendered first, so the winner is still EeDechi!"
EeDechi's eyes darted around, and she immediately thought of a "brilliant" reason:
"No! Even though I surrendered after Brain, I'd already decided in my heart to give up, so you should rule me as the loser of the match!"
"What kind of lame excuse is that!" In the VIP seats, the white-haired old king seemed furious.
EeDechi turned a deaf ear, bouncing around in the center of the arena, boldly shouting at the top of her lungs, "I thought of surrendering first! So I'm the one who loses!"
In the audience seats all around, people were buzzing:
"Tsk tsk, didn't expect our Re-Estize's strongest to act like this..."
"Are adventurers this childish when they play dirty...?"
"Does she think the Warrior Captain is something you can win or lose on a whim?..."
In the first tier of the stands, Stella rested her chin in her hands, a glimmer of admiration in her eyes. "I think the captain's kinda cute."
"Where's the cute in that," Barrett facepalmed and sighed, "Hurry and get her down from there before she makes a bigger fool of herself!"
"BARRETT!!"
Someone shouted his name from behind, the voice laced with raw anger.
Barrett turned around and saw Yaso and Deus heading his way.
OH CRAP! Barrett felt a wave of dread wash over him.
"I lost 100 gold coins." Yaso's eyes were bloodshot as he asked Deus, "How much did you lose?"
"I lost 120 gold coins." Deus gritted his teeth in rage.
The two locked eyes.
"Beat him!"
...
In the center of the arena, EeDechi's mind was in chaos—how had things spiraled like this? Brain was such a coward. She looked up at the audience, toward her teammates' direction, hoping to get some advice from Barrett, but instead saw three men tangled in a brawl.
A few minutes later, a messenger rushed over to her, delivering the king's decree in a long-winded speech that boiled down to this:
What do you take the Warrior Captain for? Something you can grab or ditch whenever you feel like it? This is the highest honor! After the most careful deliberation, the king and his ministers have decided—you will serve as the Warrior Captain!