Like a broken man, Hugh slowly raised himself from the ground.
'Blood.'
A noble heir belonging to a family that has a tradition of training black knights. Ever since he was a kid, he had a legacy that kept pushing him to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors. The most important thing to a Knight, according to his observations, was
"Pride."
'Life can be sacrificed, but our name must not be blackened.'
He picked up his sword from the floor and went back to his position.
"Ready?"
Unlike before, he held the hilt with both of his hands.
"Begin."
'I will break through it.'
For the first three steps, he was walking.
'I will breakthrough you.'
He dashed forward with the next step. The long sword was raised to be over his head.
'I won't be able to get him in time.'
Gawain calculated the risk of pursuing the wide-open guard. Unfortunately, his strike wouldn't be fast enough due to the injury.
He used the remaining time to focus on his stance. Solidifying his foot positioning, he raised the shield over his head.
"YOU ARE FINISHED!"
Bringing the sword down with all of his strength, he screamed at the top of his voice.
When metal met metal, the screeching sound resonated all over the arena. The shield had to be lowered, and Gawain was forced to place one of his knees on the ground. The bandage around his arm was flexed outwards, stretching to the verge of being ripped apart.
Recoiling his hand backward, he went for another overhead strike. The longsword descended onto the shield like a giant hammer one more time.
'Bang!'
The next impact was somehow even stronger than the previous one. His knee dug into the ground.
The next hit was being prepared.
'I can't hold on any longer.'
He gritted his teeth.
'My arm...'
The veins were being pressurized by the bandage. The blood flow had decreased significantly.
'Swoosh!'
All of his endless range was being infused into his attacks. Hugh was not going to stop until he broke through that shield.
'Thud.'
The hand holding the shield dropped. Ahead of the descending blade, now was the head of his opponent. The short-sword came in to intercept, but the attack was too fast.
A slight jerk. Almost all the nobles in the audience gasped.
'Ha...ha...ha..'
The longsword touched his hair, but it didn't go further. Hugh was panting like crazy, while Gawain knelt on the ground on both of his knees.
'5 points! Winner of this round, Hugh!'
Hugh had given a direct answer to his humiliation. He turned around to go back to his position.
Laurent came closer to Gawain. He could only express pity for his current condition.
"At the end of the day, he is still a failure from a weak house."
William prematurely declared and smiled. Joan turned towards him and said,
"Keep your mouth shut."
All the other knights turned towards her. Her voice had slightly cracked, and there were tears in her eyes. Arthur, who was seated right beside her, placed his hand on her shoulder plate. She used her hand to move it away, not willing to accept his consolation.
"Do you want to forfeit?"
The officiator asked with a heavy heart. Gawain was still kneeling with his head hung downwards, and his sword raised in the air.
"You will automatically forfeit if you aren't prepared in 10..."
Drakos closed his eyes.
"9..."
Elizabeth turned her head away.
"8..."
Cedric brought his fist to his heart in respect.
"7..."
Celia started to openly weep.
"6..."
The short sword was lodged in the ground.
"5..."
He raised his head and gritted his teeth.
"4..."
Hugh turned around.
"3..."
Gawain opened his mouth, and said,
"I.."
Once again, a glance towards William.
"..am fine."
After about 10 more seconds, he was back on his feet with the help of his sword. A drop of sweat trickled down his arms.
'I will have to cut it off.'
He brought his short-sword closer to his arm and slashed through the bandages. A cut formed on his arm, through which a small stream of blood started to flow out. The bandages dropped to the ground, revealing the reddish-purple-colored skin.
'Hngh!'
He winced in pain.
"Take your position."
While hobbling towards his spot, he continued to stare at William.
'I won't go down so easily.'
"Ready?"
The numbness in his right arm was slowly fading away. He loosened the strap of his shield.
"Yes."
Hugh took his stance.
Gawain turned towards him and said,
"Ready."
Both the affirmations had arrived. It was time to-
"Begin!"
Just like before, Hugh rushed back in. Gawain took his stance.
'There is only one way I am winning this.'
He loosened his grip on the shield.
'What is he doing?'
Joan and Drakos both questioned his decision in their minds.
Hugh didn't realize this. To him, the commoner was still going to defend his attack, just like before.
'Overhead strike it is.'
He committed to his previous strategy. Tearing through the air, the sword went for the shield.
Gawain slightly bent his legs.
'Now.'
A quick sidestep, just to dodge. His legs were still awkwardly bent. The stream of blood was broken and the droplets flew in different directions.
Hugh quickly moved his hands and went in with a horizontal slash in his direction. He wasn't going to let him off easily.
'He has no other options. He has to block.'
'Euphemia, protect me.'
Involuntarily, a name popped into his mind. Springing his body upwards, he jumped as high as his feet would allow.
'Swoosh!'
The slash was dodged, and Gawain was still in the air. Extending his sword sideways, he landed close to Hugh and slashed at his neck. Hugh was paralyzed with shock, and couldn't evade his attack.
'I am going to die.'
Right before it could cut into his flesh, the sword came to a halt.
"5 Points! Winner of this round, Gawain!"
Laurent made his announcement.
'Thud.'
And Hugh fell to the ground, unconscious.
Gawain fell, but he lodged the sword once again on the ground to hold himself upon his knees. Laurent approached Hugh, to check for any serious cuts or injuries. After a thorough checkup, he looked towards the crowd and said,
"Hugh Fitton has passed out due to excessive mental trauma! He is no longer able to continue!'
Pointing his hand towards Gawain, he said,
"Winner of this competition, Gawain Rolfe!"
Drakos was the first person to stand up. Everyone else in the audience followed suit, except for one person.
"Will I have to send you a written invitation?"
Drakos looked at him and asked.
William stood up. Not following the council member's lead could bring ruin to his future.
Confirming that everyone was on the same page after looking around for a bit, Drakos shouted,
"Applaud!"
A deafening roar of claps resounded in the arena. As the sun started to retreat into the horizon, a new champion was crowned under the watchful gaze of Poseidon.
"Blessed By The Undefeated Waves of the Sea."
He had earned this title.