nagpurpolice Chapter 1062: Chapter 1061: Double Or Nothing (2)
Chapter 1062: Chapter 1061: Double Or Nothing (2)
Chapter 1062: Chapter 1061: Double Or Nothing (2)
"So what's special about this trio that somehow manages to hold such importance in their hands? I mean, I can't imagine these merchants would be keen to lose money, so obviously these three warriors are going to be special, but how special are they?"
"About as special as hand picked, well bred warriors can be when given an inexhaustible amount of money, which means all of the best weapons, armor, enchantments, potions, salves, trainers and more that money can buy. So... think about how we've been able to have a stress free life of just training with the occasional battle that tests us. That's exactly what they've been doing, just for longer and with worse teachers."
Cyra entered the room again, her tray bereft of any wealth thanks to our decision, and she paused for a moment before nodding in agreement with Anput's assessment, saying "Begum, you would be correct; the trio was raised from birth to do nothing besides battle at the whims of the merchants inside of the arena before taking their place as guards for high profile members of the families and guests. The guards outside of this suite are some of those very guards."
"And I guess they would easily put that earlier guard that we watched down? People like merchants tend to value efficiency and talent above all else, so... I can only imagine just how excellent these guards must be."
"That would be correct, Lady Jahi, but only because they have been trained to fight in tandem with one another. It wouldn't be wrong to say that most of them are 'joined at the hip', so to say. Some people wonder if it's inhumane to train these guards from birth, but they are given ample opportunity to do whatever they want, whenever they want. They are paid handsomely for their expertise, and everyone needs a break every now and then."
Sharing a smile with one another, we all remained quiet about needing a break as we turned back towards the arena, where Batu was kneeling on one side, his head hung slightly as he looked over his lance, which was resting across his knees; everyone was being given time before this next match, and we spent it snacking on the feast that Anput's relative had prepared for us.
I was happy that she hadn't shown up just yet to try and suck up to her more influential and 'important' niece, but I wasn't going to hold my breath about her showing up eventually to do just that; it was an opportunity for her to try and get any sort of promise from Anput, who might be able to put in a good word or two to her Mom and or Mother, which could do quite a bit for any merchant.
Minutes passed by in relaxed silence as we ate and drank during this break, until eventually three lithe, masked Caninekin stalked into the arena, their feet barely brushing over the sand as they made their way over to the kneeling Batu, each of them unsheathing their blades and staring down at the man as they waited for him to rise.
With a shout the match began, and like before the Wekalian man's opponents shot forwards instantly, not giving him a moment to consider any other actions that he might be able to take and instead applying pressure as soon as they could, leaving little up to chance in this battle.
Batu however was thinking the same thing, but instead of moving to a new position he just stomped down and erected a wave of stones around himself, each one stabbing outwards in an attempt to pierce any overenthusiastic attackers.
None of the guards fell for that though, the two scimitar wielding guards leaping into the air and landing on the spikes themselves, using the rocks that Batu had summoned as springboards as they launched themselves forwards once again, whilst the shamshir guard slid to a stop and crouched, slamming their fist into the sand and letting out a wave of their own Earth Magic as they countered Batu's spell.
The stones cracked and crumbled beneath the pressure of that guard's magical prowess, but by that point the other two were already flying through the air aiming their blades at Batu, mimicking the gladiator's attacks somewhat as they sent waves of fire at the man, trying to
burn him into a crisp.
They were in the air though, and Batu stomped his foot one more time before swinging his lance even before the pillars of rock were fully created, turning them both into shrapnel that buffeted the guards whilst his shield protected him from the worst of the flames, his armor doing the rest with a little enchanted goodness.
As they fell to the ground and rolled away from Batu, he lowered his shoulder and began to charge forwards, his lance aimed straight at the shamshir guard's chest as he moved in for a
knockout blow.
Sending another wave of mana rippling through the sand, the guard trying to buy the other two guards a second to get back up and come give their aid, but as soon as the guard realized that wasn't going to happen, they stood up and rushed to meet Batu, their shamshir glittering in arcs as they began their attack, not giving Batu the time to anticipate where the attack might be coming from.