569. Preliminaries XI

569. Preliminaries XI

The young knight and the young Iyrman circled around the arena, allowing the people to make time for their bets. Adam had bet the typical amount again, though he thought about betting more. Simultaneousness, he found out that Jaygak was fighting too, and so was Timojin.

Once the pair were ready, they faced against one another, greatsword against axe and shield. The young knight was first to spur into action, and though Jurot managed to deflect a blow with his shield, another blow managed to draw blood out of his side. The knight stepped forward, walking into the jaws of the Iyrman, managing another blow against the Iyrman, managing to wound the Iyrman greater than any of his previous foes.

Adam noted the lack of thunder.

Jurot’s entire body flashed red hot, and Phantom blurred. The knight tried to block the blow, and though his blade had managed to do so, he skid back and almost dropped to a knee, before Jurot brought the axe down towards his helmet, and crushed it, dropping the knight.

“Woo!” Adam shouted, clapping wildly as Jurot raised his axe into the air.

The priests approached quickly and checked on the young knight, healing him with their magics. The knight gasped for air, glancing around as the light blurred his vision. He looked towards the Iyrman and pointed with his blade.

“You wicked savage!” The knight managed to stand with his own strength, still pointing his blade to the Iyrman. “You must have used some sort of sorcery to defeat me.”

Jurot turned to face the young knight as the crowd fell silent. The priests glanced between one another, and the nearby guards clutched their spears tighter. The Iyrman remained glaring at the young knight, who had groomed to become one of the Great Five Knight’s successor.

“Heal,” Jurot said, cracking his neck from side to side, flexing his muscles. “I will show you no mercy.”

The knight glared at the Iyrman, but seeing that Jurot was unmoving, even as his blood trickled out of his side, he felt a chill run through his back. He sheathed his blade and turned.

Jurot raised his axe once more, and the crowd fell into another thunderous applause.

“You’d never catch me calling an Iyrman a cheater,” Adam said. “Even I’m not that stupid.”

Vonda sipped her water. “It was quite the shame he marred his defeat. Being gracious in defeat is greater than being gracious in victory.”

“Something like that.”

Adam found out that Jaygak had done well too, having fought quite the difficult match. ‘Should I have created a Greater weapon for her too?’

Adam’s thoughts then fell to his winnings. He had made so much money that he didn’t need to place in order to earn coin. However, he still had a bet on himself, and losing free money on the table didn’t sit right with him. ‘Am I becoming too enamoured by gold?’

The names of those who were beginning to sweep was becoming more evident. By this time, everyone understood who would place in the top ten in each segment, as long as nothing too crazy threw the rankings off track. It was a wonder to most of the tournament goers that the most of the names belonging to those sweeping in certain segments were all sponsored by the same figure, a young noble whose name would have faded into irrelevance within a decade, and yet was beginning to become the talk of the largest city in East Aldland, and one of the greatest four in all of Aldland.

Omen: 4, 9

Adam’s opponent this time was a Priest of the Golden Sea, an order of Eastern Aswadasad. He had pale skin, bright blue eyes, and golden hair.

‘Noskan?’ Adam thought. He wondered how a Noskan had managed to become a member of an order of Eastern Aswadasad, before recalling that Noska was roughly north east, across the sea. ‘Right, I guess that does make sense actually.’

Adam glanced to the others. “What about you all?”

“Yes,” Rick said.

“Aye,” Jeremy said, nodding his head.

Adam looked to Nobby and the others, before remembering he hadn’t given them any money to spend. ‘Oh, crap.’ “I was planning on splitting some of the winning with everyone anyhow. The party fund has grown, and my own pockets have gotten fat too, but I can’t just let you all do the work while I’m raking in the gold.”

Rick remained silent, though his mind was abuzz with more thoughts about how queer Adam was. Jeremy and the others looked to Jurot, as if to have him sort the Half Elf out.

“You do not need to share your winnings with us,” Nirot said. “We bet using money from the Iyr.”

“Alright, then all your shares can go to Nobby then,” Adam replied, before looking to Brittany. “Did I give you money to bet?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll give you some of the winnings too.”

“Me?” Brittany asked. “Why?”

“You’re one of ours too. You didn’t join the tournament for one reason or another, but as an Expert, wouldn’t you have placed quite high?”

“Against the Iyrmen and Nobby?” Brittany replied. “I’m best with a bow.”

“You’re not too bad with a rapier or shortswords, right?”

Brittany wasn’t sure about Adam’s statement. She preferred the bow, since it felt more comfortable to wield. “I don’t know.”

“You’re not really here for the money, but for the freedom, right? Don’t worry. Give it a few years and you’ll be strong enough to explore the land without us. Though, you’ll probably need some coin to hire some guards with you.” Adam thought about what he could do with Brittany. “Or we could send you to other lands for the business?”

Brittany thought back to Shama, who had completely defeated Adam, the craziest person she knew, with about as much effort as it took to sneeze. “I’ll work hard at the business.”

Adam returned a smile towards her. “I’m glad to hear it! Don’t worry, we’ll treat you right. I’ll be sure to let you explore different lands, as long as it’s relatively safe.”

“Yes,” Brittany replied. She had already given up her freedom to join the business. ‘As long as I’m alive, then I can still have the chance to be free.’

Ah man it's so good to see Adam and the group completely dominate in a tournament.

I should mention that gold rank patrons are seeing some really fun stuff too!