“The Ionian Hoplites have won the match!” the referee announced.

The mood in the observation room was a stark contrast when compared to the one of the cheering crowds. They had just watched their team beat the Kengir Unbroken, and, immediately after that, they got to watch a vicious, bitter battle between the Ionian Hoplites and the Tameryian Gale. It was no wonder they were having the time of their lives.

As for us, things were not so bright. Ultimately, it was the Gale’s lacking offensive power and the coordinating abilities Nisos possessed that sealed the commoner team’s fate in this tournament. Battles with prudent teams like the Legionnaires and the Hoplites were ultimately a stroke of misfortune.

A loud knock on our door swiveled our heads its way.

“Honorable guests, it is time for the Tameryian Suns’ match!” the voice beyond the door said.

“Stand up.” The Major said.

“Don’t waste your time and energy feeling sorry for the commoner team – it won’t reverse their defeat, and it’ll only deepen their anguish. What you have to do hasn’t changed; it’s the only thing that will console them. Go and bring victory to Tamery! Do I make myself clear?!”

“Yes, Ma’am!” We said.

“Good. Now go and even the score between us and the Ionians!”

The team silently followed Asten’s lead as we headed out to fight. Our opponent was one of the fiercest fighters of this tournament – the Ionian Warforged. Had they been on the opposite side of the tournament bracket, it wouldn’t have been strange to see them in the finals.

And yet, no one on our team held any doubt in our victory.

As we entered the coliseum grounds to the cheers of the audience and the excitement of the commentator, the Ionian Warforged made their way out of their own gate to the arena, with Spartacus at their head.

Asten and Spartacus met with the referee, who tossed the coin as he always did.

“The Suns get first choice!” he said.

Asten proceeded to make his decision right then and there.

“The Suns have chosen a team deathmatch as the battle type!”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, what a shocking turn of events!” the commentator announced.

“The Warforged are at their best when fighting team battles, and they consistently chose that match type on every chance they got! Who would have expected that the Suns would make that choice for them, giving them the choice of a field on a silver platter and openly challenging them to do their worst! What boldness, what audacity!”

The crowd’s cheers grew even louder, enjoying the unfolding drama.

And yet, neither Spartacus nor his Warforged were cowed by Asten’s challenge.

“The Warforged have chosen the open desert at noon as the setting!” the referee announced.

If the crowd was cheering wildly before, it was now truly on fire.

The commentator was just as impassioned as the crowd was, but I tuned them out to focus on our opponents. They were calm, confident, and ready to face us – this team, if nothing else, was not going to be broken by psychological warfare.

“Well, the Warforged certainly live up to their reputation. Do you still think the plan’s going to work when the preliminary attack failed so spectacularly?” Aptera chuckled.

“It doesn’t matter; we’re still going to beat them. Just do your job and we’ll get our win.” Nico said.

“I know what we have to do, and I don’t see how it could fail, but it’s not helping the butterflies in my stomach anyway.” Asty said nervously.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Don’t worry about the whole plan, Astekhu. Just focus on your part and trust us to do ours. Kiara, our job is going to be the most dangerous. Stay on your toes.” Durreg said.

“Who do you think you’re talking to? I am the world expert at not-dying, and no attack of theirs can pierce your thick skull.” I snickered.

“Why you-?!”

“Cease your theatrics.” Asten interjected, interrupting my banter with Durreg.

“The battle is about to start.” He said.

As he spoke, the now familiar black lightning began crackling above the pillars of the arena, and we were transported to the same field we thrashed the Bulls and the Hoplites on.

As soon as both teams landed, the casters on the Warforged side cast a spell on Spartacus.

“[Greater Strength]!”

“[Eminent Haste]!”

“[Steadfast Aegis]!”

“[Unyielding Endurance]!”

“[Enhanced Ward]!”

Immediately, a titanic amount of mana sunk into Spartacus’s body, and his muscles throbbed with raw power. However, the Warforged weren’t the only ones capable of casting effects on Spartacus.

“[Destined Collision]!” I yelled, and both Spartacus and Durreg were immediately launched towards each other.

“GO!” Nico yelled, and everyone jumped into action.

Asten flew into the sky and activated his most powerful skill.

“[Ruthless Sun: Dawn]!”

Meanwhile, Nico and I split apart between Durreg’s flight path to strike at the five casters from two sides.

Predictably, the five scattered, using mobility spells to fly and dash around to waste our time and to keep their buffs up for as long as possible.

Durreg collided with Spartacus in mid-air, and the two began a ferocious battle of emerging rocks and glowing swords. Their fighting was so deadly that anyone who strayed within fifteen feet of the two risked being crushed, stabbed, or torn to shreds as collateral damage. Despite most of the attacks coming from Spartacus, Durreg just wouldn’t go down, and instead kept on pinning his opponent down with the earth beneath their feet.

“Out of my way! [Tip of the Spear]!” Spartacus yelled.

His whole body glowing as his attack resembled Sir Lanselot’s charge. And yet, Durreg wasn’t about to let him waltz away to his comrades’ rescue.

“[Entomb]! [Reinforce Earth]! [Guide Attack]!”

The two of them both sank deep within the sands, which quickly turned into solid rock. Despite that, both the rock and the sand were blown away to kingdom come, and Spartacus’s sword pierced Durreg’s chest.

“Hurkh!” Durreg puked blood.

Seeing Durreg with one foot in the grave, Spartacus pulled his sword out to finish the job.

Or at least, he tried to.

Durreg stepped into the blade and held his opponent in a bear hug, lifting him off the ground.

“Wha-?!” he gasped in shock.

Durreg’s hold over the man was tight, but it was not nearly enough to restrain him for more than a second – and that was with the element of surprise in his favor. Fortunately for Durreg, that was all he needed.

A thrown glass bottle slammed into Spartacus’s head, releasing a light pink gas directly into both of their faces. Durreg let go as both of them staggered backwards; dizzy, struggling to stay on their feet, and coughing up a storm.

As Spartacus was busy coughing up his lungs, a pair of hands grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him closer. A mere inch from his face was Aptera, who looked him directly in the eye.

“[Absolute Command].” He said, his eyes glowing with mana.

Spartacus’s body shuddered, then his own eyes matched Aptera’s.

***

While Durreg and company were keeping Spartacus busy, Nico and I were hard at work chasing down the slippery five of the Warforged. While we’d take them down if a chance presented itself, our goal was to keep them from seeing the trap we laid for Spartacus.

“[Ionian Fire]!” a mage yelled.

With a flick of her wrist, Nico vanished the attack heading my way from a third mage we were fighting. The mage ground her teeth as she retreated when I threw devouring orbs her way.

“Hahaha, having an elemental on your side is disgustingly unfair. Good thing we’ve got two!” I laughed, using mana commandeering to break most of the spells they targeted us with before they started.

“Don’t celebrate too soon. The battle is still on-going.” Asten said in the open, much to the frustration of the Warforged.

He stood above us and wasn’t moving from his position; he was daring the five to try and break past Nico and I to reinforce Spartacus. While he was at it, he was also saying he didn’t need to fight them with our full force to win.

To their credit, the mages didn’t take the bait and kept trying to use their numbers advantage against me and Nico. Either they still had some more tricks up their sleeve, or they believed in Spartacus enough to shake off or kill the opponent and come to their aid.

Still, it was time to put an end to this charade.

“[Magmaball]!” I said, summoning a sphere of magma in front of me.

The five mages saw me and scattered again. A ball of a dense material like magma was not going to fly very quickly, so creating distance was the right call. The magmaball flew from my hand, and sure enough, was flying through the air as sluggishly as a hand-thrown rock.

Unfortunately for them, this was not an attack that could be dodged.

“[Destined Collision]!” I said, targeting the magmaball and the same mage that launched a fire attack at me.

Yanked from the ground like a stringed puppet, the mage flew directly towards the magmaball. However, to my surprise and the Warforged’s shock, her death came at the end of her ally’s blade instead.