'Swish!'
The whistle of the saber pierces through the air and aims toward the heart. In response, an unseeded student like Joshua could only watch with his saber, refusing to move any further toward his opponent. Paralyzed by the precise attack put forward by Arnis, he couldn't help but curse his luck.
"The third round has ended. 5 points to Arnis."
The final student to make it into the top four was decided.
The house leaders stood from their seats inside the overseer's room. The meeting had concluded, and a decision regarding the fate of this year's knight expedition had been made.
Right now, however, their minds were preoccupied with the results of the ongoing trials.
"I won't forget this. By the name of Thanatos, I will not allow that boy to live peacefully as long as I lead my house."
As soon as the overseer made his exit, Theresa spewed out a hateful promise toward Joan.
"Like I said-"
"I don't care. Your student cheated. Without the trick, he couldn't have defeated Aldrich."
Theresa had been blinded by the ugly view of defeat.
"He didn't cheat."
Henry commented. Theresa turned towards him and said,
"You are taking her side?"
"I have to take her side. Your argument is baseless. Does anyone disagree with me?"
She looked around, only to find the other two masters silent.
"Are you kidding me? You all saw what he did!"
She was done with this. Arthur had to step in and say,
"It was a simple bait-and-switch. He didn't break any rules, and his opponent wasn't injured solely by his intent and actions."
"And along with that, it was an error on your student's part to fall for the trap in the first place. Using the same trick over and over makes it easier to be exploited."
William added salt to her wounds, addressing the true reason behind her failure.
Theresa turned back towards Joan.
"Just because you are a third-tier-"
"Don't overstep your bounds, junior."
Joan's expression delivered a cool but strong intent to harm.
"Know your limits, and stay within them. If you have the guts to say that the decision was wrong, then take your complaint to the overseer. Don't act like a child in front of your peers."
Theresa shut her mouth. Challenging the decision made by the overseer was similar to heresy.
"And if you can't do that, then keep your mouth closed."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"I would like to thank all of our attendees for being present to witness the first day of the trials."
Siegfried addressed his gratitude to all the attendees.
"Tomorrow, we will continue with the final two rounds of the trials. First, I would like to announce the two duels that are planned for the semifinals."
Everyone was eager to know the answer to the ultimate question.
"Who will face whom?"
It was all in the hands of the overseer.
"For the two duels, we will have,"
He looked at the Yoshinaka Clan elder.
"Tomoe Yoshinaka vs. Gawain Rolfe."
The odds were heavily in Tomoe's favor. No one was expecting Gawain to put up a fight, except for Godwin and Regina.
"Hugh Fitton vs. Arnis Gasper."
Two Ares. One Perseus. One Ulysses. The final four.
"With this, the first day of Poseidon's Trials has ended. I look forward to hosting all of you again for the next three days."
He took out both of his sabers from their sheaths. The Golden Lion on his chest was very intimidating to the nobles.
"Glory to Astarte!"
Everyone brought their fist to their heart.
"And Glory To Euphemia."
"Glory to Euphemia."