A silver rapier appeared by his side, and he used it to deflect Cermin's sword.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Their swords continued to clash with each other, one gold and one silver, but it was obvious that Volken was the better swordsman between the two.
Cermin buckled from the weight of Volken putting pressure on him and his sword, and he was only using one hand with this, still holding the ball with the other!
Ronin watched this quietly. But deep down, he was very annoyed, wanting to scold Min Cheng again for his stupidity like he always did back when he was a system.
It went up to the point where he was about to be pushed all the way to the ground by Volken, and Cermin felt like both his cramped arms and legs would snap like a twig if this kept going....
But then, he felt that urge again.
It was almost like some buzzing in his ear, telling him what he needed to do. It was annoying, as it was so demanding, not letting him do his thing on his own....
But he knew this buzzing was right. He had to listen to it.
[Min Cheng, stop dilly-dallying and use your brain when you fight!]
He chuckled. He missed his System-chan a bit because of this.
Kai was alright, just a bit boring, and he had always wondered where System-chan went. She always had something good to say during fights like this.
Yes, until now, he still thinks his former system was a girl.
It was a good thing Ronin could not listen to his thoughts right now, or he would have exploded.
Gaining sudden motivation from the idea of his System-chan, Cermin managed to plant his feet on the ground, and with every ounce of energy he had left---
"Ahhhhhh!!!!!"
He pushed Volken and his rapier away, then wasted no time knocking the rapier off and sending it flying in the air!
It fell 15 meters away from them, and the team captain's gray eyes widened.
The crowd erupted in 'oohs' and ahhs'. Volken had his sword knocked away by a 2nd-year student!
But that was not the end of it.
Cermin used this moment of shock to kick him down, slamming his foot to his chest!
The team captain was on the ground as Cermin aimed the tip of his blade at his neck.
"This has been a good game, Volk. You did really well." He said. "Now, toss me the ball so I can kick it to the goal."
Volken's eyes were full of fury, and yet...
His lips quirked up to a smile.
"I should be the one saying that. You did very well, Cermin Drychspiel."
Volken then swung his feet to knock Cermin down!
It was not against the rules after all, as long as his feet did not touch the ball. Cermin fell, and he quickly stood up and ran----
Placing the ball at Cermin's X mark!
The referee announced loudly. "We have a winner!!!!!"
But even when Volken had won, his victory did not feel like one at all. After all, he used a very petty trick and just ran in the end.....
His fellow players cheered for him, and Cermin approached him, holding his silver rapier.
"Haha, I did not expect that, Volk! You really are worthy of being the captain of this team!" Cermin said, handing the sword back to him. He was unexpectedly a good sport and accepted his defeat easily.
This made Volken's blood boil even more. He stared at his weapon laying on this little rascal's dirty little hands with as much intensity as rolling tidal waves.
There was a small wound on his neck from Cermin's sword, possibly from back when he swung his feet to knock him even when the sword was too close to it.
Rabuka, Pavone, and Zeriav rushed to his side. It was the girl who pointed out, "Volken, you're bleeding. You should get that patched up by the medic, come along."
But he didn't go immediately.
He took his rapier from this boy and gave him a fake smile.
"I also did not expect this much potential from you, little Goldie." He said with gritted teeth. "With enough practice, you too may be worthy of being the captain of the Gridiron team."
"Really?"
"Yes... really." Volken went to pat his head again.
But his eyes looked like he wanted to crush this boy's skull with his bare hands instead.
The other three friends looked nervously. Pavone defused the situation, intercepting between them and placing a hand on Volken shoulder.
"You two really did great, both of you. Now let us go to that medic before that wound start to fester."
Cermin genuinely scratched the back of his head and apologized. "I'm really sorry about that. I didn't mean to get you injured. I was hoping to not get either of us injured."
"Well, it's Gridiron after all. Such things are nothing to us Main players."
"Us?" Zeriav asked.
"Yes."
Volken turned and announced to everyone:
"You have all done your best, and showed great promise for the future of the Academy's Capere Astra Gridiron team. But I have made a decision now."
"Cermin Drychspiel will be temporarily replacing Rainer for his position in the Main Six in the upcoming game with Ursa East."
The audience mumbled at this, and their appreciation for this up-and-coming star player had even increased.
"He lost yet still got the position?"
"He deserved it after all. Volken must have gained respect from him after giving him such a great performance like that."
"He knocked out his sword, for gods' sake! Even I would gain respect!"
"I think they were very good friends. Just look at how fond Volken was of him despite getting injured by him."
Ronin chuckled, pointing at this scene. "See? He's now a major threat."
"But he still lost," Kai said.
"In the eyes of many, he didn't." Ronin said, smiling proudly. "Especially in the eyes of Volken himself. Why do you think he gave him the position?"
"It's not out of respect, admiration, or even friendship. It was out of spite. He is testing how far Cermin's capabilities can go by getting him into the actual battlefield as teammates... and how ambitious he can get." Ronin shrugged.
Kai agreed. "And he'll try to stop that ambition."
Ronin made an 'mmm' sound. "I won't even be surprised if some form of sabotage happens during the game with Ursa East. Something that will make Cermin regret ever thinking he could beat the master at his won game."
"This is exactly the kind of development that I need to strike the match and burn this fake friendship down."