“The Tameryian Suns have won the match!” the referee announced.
“The Tameryians earn their second win of the day, and what an overwhelmingly dominant performance that was! The Tameryian contestant succeeded at defeating all six of her opponents in their preferred field! And to top it all off, she drew out their most powerful abilites and emerged without so much as a scratch! Unbelievable!” The commentator yelled, his voice nearing a hysteric pitch.
The rest of the audience was burning with excitement as I turned around to meet my team.
“Well done, Kiara.” Asten said as I checked to see how my team reacted.
Asty looked dumbfounded, while Nico and Durreg seemed both proud and exacerbated. Aptera seemed satisfied but bored.
“I knew you were really strong, but that was something else entirely… You made that look easy.” Asty said as Asten stepped forward to shake hands with the Tyrian captain.
“I am a dragon, the daughter of the most powerful frost mage in the world, and a mana elemental. This match just happened to suit me ridiculously well.”
“I am just worried you might’ve done a little too well. This might hurt Tamery’s relationship with Tyr, and indirectly the Isles.” Durreg said.
“Don’t worry about that; the Tyrians are going to be upset with their team, not ours. The enemy team wasn’t actually bad either, they just had the misfortune of facing us first. Besides, Tyr’s true allegiance lies with making money first and foremost, and a tournament match isn’t going to make a dent at their relationship with their biggest trade partner – or our allies, either.” Nico said.
Despite expectations, the Tyrian captain shook hands enthusiastically with Asten, demonstrating a spirit of sportsmanship. Asten then returned and hurried us back to the Major.
“Let’s head back quickly; the next match is already starting soon. It’s critical for us to watch it.”
***
Asten wasn’t wrong about that, since the next match involved the other two teams in our group facing each other. It was our chance to look for threats to watch out for and weaknesses to exploit for when we inevitably fought against them. We returned just in time to catch the entrance of both teams.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, while the last match may have been an incendiary one, the coming match is no less exciting! We once again have the primary teams of two nations facing each other!” the commentator said.
“Entering from the red gate is a team of warriors from the unyielding hills and mountains of Iona! Representing the city-states of the Delilan League, this team is ready to show why they have never been conquered! Please welcome the IOOOOOOOOONNIIIAAAAN HOOOOOPPPLLLLIIIITTTTTTEEEEESSSSSS!”
Nisos strode forward, leading his team to the arena. He wore a set of distinctly Ionian gear yet made of monster parts rather than metal. His shield and short spear seemed especially simple, but I noticed a lot of condensed enchantments on them.
“Opposing them is the team from the nation renowned around the world for placing talent and competence above all else! And among that nation, they are the best their country has to offer – the cream of the crop! Entering from the blue gate are the KENGGIIIIIIIIIRRRRR BUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLSSSSSSSSSS!”
A group of people I didn’t recognize from my time in the academy made their way to the arena.
Nisos and the Kengir Captain met at the middle, and the referee tossed a coin.
“The Hoplites get first pick!”
“Yes!” I said with a fist pump.
Nisos spoke to the referee, who then announced his decision.
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“The Hoplites have chosen a team deathmatch as the match type!”
The referee then spoke with the Kengir captain before announcing her choice.
“The Bulls have chosen the second layer of the Unfathomable Abyss as the setting!”
While the crowd cheered as usual, four of the captain’s teammates started yelling at her.
“Infighting…? In public?!” Nico’s jaw dropped.
Completely discarding any semblance of unity or dignity, the Kengir captain started yelling back at her own team. Some of them even started yelling at each other, and it almost looked like they were itching to fight each other instead of the Hoplites, much to the entertainment of the crowd.
I was starting to get the feeling that they didn’t care who fought who so long as blood was spilt.
The referee started yelling at the Kengir team, who surprisingly obeyed, though they made no effort to hide their animosity to each other.
“Ladies and gentlemen, what a surprise! The Kengir Bulls are in complete disarray! Do they truly have what it takes to stand against a united enemy like the Ionian Hoplites?!” the commentator said, voicing the question in my head.
Whatever the case was, the twelve combatants stepped on the arena, which began activating.
“One thing’s for sure, dear friends! This is not a match to be missed!”
***
“The match has ended in a draw!” the referee announced.
The audience jeered, seeing that the fight ended without a single fighter falling throughout the whole match. The Major clapped her hands, drawing our attention away from the coliseum grounds.
“Commoners, you know the drill. Stand up and face the wall.”
Nuhem’s team did as she commanded, then the Major covered their ears with condensed air.
“Durreg, as the defensive specialist of the team, why do you think both teams failed to not only secure a win, but to even take down a single opponent?” she asked.
Durreg rubbed his chin a little then answered.
“Both teams were polar opposites in practically every aspect. The Hoplites are a single coherent unit, fighting as if they all shared the same brain and limbs. Their teamwork is the best I’ve seen from any team so far in the tournament, us included. The Bulls, meanwhile, we’re not a team in any but the loosest definitions of the term. It is more accurate to describe them as six individuals with a common enemy than a team.”
“The Bulls employed hit and run tactics, relying entirely on themselves as they tried to deal damage to the Hoplites by whatever means they could, including using their own teammates as bait or cover, before running away to avoid being overwhelmed by the Hoplites. As individuals, the only one that even comes close to the abilities and talent of the Bulls was the Captain of the Hoplites, so they couldn’t afford to split up and chase after their opponents. Likewise, the divided attacks of the Bulls couldn’t pierce the united defenses of the Hoplites or break their formation, so a draw was the inevitable conclusion.”
The Major looked pleased with Durreg’s answer.
“Good answer, Durreg. Both teams’ tactics and abilities neutralized the other’s attacks. Peculiar results like these aren’t rare even in a real battle. Nicotris, if you found yourself in either team’s place, what would you do differently?”
Nico answered without hesitating.
“If my team was at each other’s throat before the match even started, then we’ve all failed before we’ve even started. If I could do something about it before the time of the match came, then I would focus on that. But if the match was already upon us, then I’d just try to cut my losses and aim for a draw by covering for my teammates errors as best I could – there was no beating a tight-knit team like the Hoplites with that ragtag group of misfits.”
“If I was in the Hoplites, however, my first step would be to remedy the crippling inability for the team members to function independently. Kiara and I were teammates with the Hoplites’ Captain during our time in the academy, and we know how effective his coordination skills and traits are and how easy it is to just rely on them. But interdependency is a weakness and shouldn’t be confused with teamwork.”
The Major nodded.
“Another good answer. There’s nothing more for me to add. Astekhu, why did the Bulls choose the second layer?”
Asty looked flustered, but the Major’s expectant eyes wouldn’t let her look to us for help.
“Umm, sorry if I get this wrong, since combat tactics isn’t my specialty, but I think that the Captain of the Bulls chose that setting simply because it fit her personally?”
The Major smiled at her.
“Don’t put yourself down, Astekhu. Your answer is perfectly correct – that captain’s decision put over half of her own team at a disadvantage all for a personal advantage. There isn’t always a complicated reason behind every decision someone makes, and they needn’t be logical or reasonable either. Now, Asten,” the Major said, “tell me how you would fight each team.”
Asten nodded and answered her.
“The Kengir Bulls do poorly in competitions relying on teamwork, such as the team deathmatch or the dungeon relay. If we had to compete against them individually, I suspect it would be a tough fight, but I still believe we would come out on top. Only Aptera and Astekhu would struggle against them, simply because their strengths do not lie in direct combat.” He said, taking his glinting eyes off the bickering Bulls and on the exiting Hoplites instead.
“On the other hand, the Hoplites are simpler to deal with. While it is unlikely that we can break through them even with Kiara’s or Nicotris’s firepower, my abilities are perfect against opponents like them. Even I faced all six of them at once on my own, I would still come out victorious.”