The six of us ended up meeting with an official who recorded our requests for Vulcan. Apparently, the identity of the famed smith was a matter of national security, so they didn’t allow us to meet with them directly. The official went deeper into the building, presumably where she communicated with the smith before she returned to get some more details on our requests.
Ultimately, the smith accepted all the requests without issue, and we headed back to the coliseum to participate in the remaining rounds of the individuals’ tournament. In the quarterfinals, I faced Nisos, Durreg faced Spartacus, Nico faced Sir Lanselot, and Asten faced a talented swordsman who went by the name of Sigurd and shared the ethnic features of the Germanic Titans.
Unfortunately for Nisos, his ability to siphon health, mana, and stamina from the opponent was of no use against an elemental with absolute control over her mana like me. Something similar went for Sir Lanselot, who, as a spell-blade, was countered by Nico’s vast mana reserves. Outlasting the knight should not have been a difficult task for her, yet she took the brute force approach and buried him in magic attacks.
The fight between Durreg and Spartacus was intense and exciting, but without an entire team of support mages behind him, Spartacus failed to pierce Durreg’s defenses and lost the match. Not surprising, considering even I had a difficult time drawing blood from him.
The real upset, however, was that Asten just barely achieved victory against the Germanic warrior. The two fought a long, vicious, and excruciating battle beneath Asten’s sun, and the match looked like it could’ve gone either way many times over. The Germanic contestant’s gear was of very sub-par quality, and that was putting it lightly. That difference in gear quality was ultimately gave Asten the win, leaving all four seats on the semi-finals to members of the Tameryian Suns.
“Who knew such a talented fighter enlisted on the tournament…?” I asked.
“Well, it would be strange if no one at all in all the Republic had enough skill and ability to compete with us.” Nico responded.
“What puzzles me is this: why didn’t participate in the Germanic Titans or represent his province? And why did he compete with such shoddy gear? A talented fighter like him could definitely have been afforded a place on the team and equipment to match.”
As Nico pondered over that mystery, it was finally time for the semi-finals. My match with Durreg was here, and only one of us was moving on to the next stage.
“Don’t worry about Auntie’s teasing, cousin. There is no shame in losing to a clearly superior opponent.” I said smugly.
“Don’t be so eager to allow your mouth to cash in cheques that your ribs can’t pay!” Durreg grinned in return.
“Good luck, you two.” Nico said as the two of us split apart to enter from different gates.
***
“Hmm…?”
As I made my way to my gate, I noticed that the staff of the coliseum were moving around much more frantically than before. They barely even spared the usual looks of fear or respect in their rush to do whatever they were after.
“Huh. Weird.”
Eventually, I reached the gate, and the commentator’s voice rang out to announce my entry. I stepped into the coliseum grounds, where Durreg was already heading to meet me at the center of the arena.
Right as I was about to say something snarky to Durreg, the commentator’s words were suddenly cut and replaced by another’s voice – Senator Alypius’s, in fact.
“Fellow citizens, loyal provinciales, and honored guests, on behalf of the Senate of the Latium Republic, I have a grim announcement to make.” He said ominously.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
A light shone on the glass wall of a particular private viewing gallery, revealing the Patriarch of House Alypius behind it. The whole coliseum turned to the nobleman, some with interest, but most with trepidation.
“The Senate has received word of treason right in the heart of the Republic. The Legion has discovered that the provincial authorities of Frankia, Gaul, Brittania, and Castile have secretly conspired together to rebel against the rightful rule of the Romellus!”
‘…What?!’
My jaw dropped in response to the announcement. Durreg was caught off-guard as well, judging by his wide eyes. And yet, our response paled to the locals’.
The entire coliseum erupted in shock and outrage at the senator’s words, with some denying the senator’s claims, while others begin screaming profanities towards the accused provinces. However, Senator Alypius wasn’t done speaking yet.
“These traitors wish to start a bloody civil war the likes of which has never been seen in our history! They are burning with a hateful desire to butcher our men, violate our women, and enslave our children!” he screamed.
“After all the Republic has done for them, after all the favor, mercy, and generosity we showed them after the Celestial War, these traitors sought to repay our kindness with blood!”
If the coliseum was filled with outrage before, the people were now actively baying for blood. Brawls began between members of the audience, with racial slurs and mob violence descending on the few members of the audience who looked like they belonged to the provinces the senator mentioned. The man himself, however, still had more to say to the public.
“But do not despair, my fellow countrymen! Fortune blesses us this day, since the brave men and women of the Legion have heard word of their treachery in time to put an end to it. As I speak to you right here in the heart of the coliseum, the legion is already moving to put these traitors and their dastardly plot to the sword! Every clump of dirt and grain of sand in the Republic’s borders belong to this nation, and they will have all the time they need to learn this in their bones – but from the grave!”
The people cheered loudly and began chanting patriotic and imperialist slogans.
“As a result of these extraordinary circumstances, all remaining matches in the Iron Fist Tournament are hereby suspended. Until this crisis is dealt with, for security reasons, a rotating curfew will be established throughout the city of Romellus, with each part of the city receiving three hours at different times of the day. All competitors of the tournament, whether local or foreign, are kindly requested to remain in their accommodations in the meantime. You will receive further communication from Romellus authorities soon. In the meantime, your accommodations will be paid for and provided by the Republic.”
Durreg and I looked to each other uncertainly.
“Soooo… I guess our fight is canceled?” I asked.
“Suspended, not canceled. Whatever’s going on, we should head back and hear about it from the Major.” He replied.
***
“We will return to the inn and await further orders from Thebos.” The Major said.
Everyone from the Tameryian delegation, from both teams to the Major’s aides and the diplomats, were present. The Major took the lead, heading out of the door and waiting for the rest of us to follow. No one was about to disobey the Major or argue with her under the current circumstances.
“What’s going on in the Republic? I didn’t know what to expect coming here, but a civil war erupting definitely wasn’t it.” Asty said.
“Neither did I.” Asten said, a rare look of chagrin on his face.
“I was taken completely off-guard as well.”
As we walked out of the coliseum and into the street, the bloodthirsty atmosphere of the coliseum was clearly not confined to it. Some people turned their heads my way and glared, but Nico and Durreg stood near me and covered me with their gear.
“Best to keep you out of sight for now, before some idiot drunk on nationalistic fervor decides to pick a fight with a dragon.” Nico said.
“I know this is something Nico would do, but I am surprised to see you do the same thing, cousin.” I said.
His eyes never left the street as he responded.
“I am not protecting you from what they could do to you. You don’t need my protection. I am protecting them from what I’ll do to them if they get any fun ideas.”
***
Before we even made it back to the inn, a group of Legionnaires headed by Legate Ventor rendezvoused with us. They were never impolite or aggressive with us, but they insisted on escorting us to the inn ‘for our safety.’
By the time we arrived at the inn, the Legionnaires took up positions around the building perimeter. Most of them were busy looking out for any threats, but a few never let the inside of the building out of their sight for some reason.
“Wait here in the lobby. I will contact the Pharaoh’s office to report and receive our next instructions.” The Major said nonchalantly, as if nothing of concern was going on.
Despite that, it seemed to have put the non-combatants of the delegation at ease. The calm, collected, and confident leadership of Major Amset was paying dividends in maintaining confidence in our safety. That said, Tamery wasn’t the only nation receiving a report from Romellus – not if I had anything to say about that.
As the Major left, I turned to Nico.
“Give me a second; I need to grab something from our room and come back.” I said.