Thinking it was someone's plot to prank him, he touched his red-colored hair but the color remained intact and there was no color on his palms! Hurrying into the cave, he ran towards the pond and washed his hair. The water was clear along with its unchanged color!
What the F***k!!!!!
"How and why is my hair red?!" He wondered aloud.
He could hear the murmuring of the villagers and understanding that they had gathered again for the second day of the sparring, he tied his injured arm firmly and dried his hair, he walked out majestically where everyone gathered. Alex decided to look for the reasons for his hair color change.
Marjun stood aside as he chatted with his friends without noticing Alex's arrival.
The Referee, The King's right-hand man, came up standing on the cleared path where they had set four sticks on the ground, signifying its a sparring area.
"Greetings, My Brethren. Tonight we will be resuming the duel between Marjun, Son of Neron, and Alexander! Marjun had appealed that for the sake of Alex's injured arm, we skip the archery. Does Alex concede to it?" the referee presented Marjun's request on the table before asking Alex's opinion.
Marjun felt as a man, he should fight fairly. After all, this was a man-to-man fight to display their strengths. Going ahead with the Archery means he was bullying the injured. He doesn't want anyone to point fingers at him with more reasons which could be avoided.
This was also the reason, why he didn't go with his father's advice to postpone the competition.
A smug smile crept on Alex's face, as he heard the Referee's words.
Did Marjun understand what he thought or did he did it not create troubles for him in the future?
Whatever it might be, in some way they were on the same page.
"I am going to ask for the same thing, My Lord. It is a good thing to hear Marjun is concerned about my well-being and made preparations for me." Alex said softly.
The villagers felt sympathy for him. After all, he was the one who woke the dragon yet he was challenged and injured. Despite that, he was not hostile toward Marjun.
"Good! Since, The dragon mediator, the one with no last name, Alexander, conceded to Marjun's request, Now we can begin the next part!
"This is hand combat. As the name implied, it's a combat involving the use of hands. No punches, no severe hits. Whoever evades his opponent's attack and manages to knock his opponent out-"
"Pardon me for interrupting but don't you think we should involve punches?" Alex asked. "I don't think there is a way we can knock each other out until and unless we involve punches."
"Is this fine by you, Marjun?" The referee asked.
Marjun nodded his head slightly. The man turned to the king who also gave a slight nod.
"Then, you must not leave the square which has been marked by these short poles. Anyone who leaves this marked area will be disqualified and..." Turning to Marjun, he added, "... if you push your opponent to cross the line in a bid to disqualify him, you will be disqualified."
Marjun's face turned dark. He was annoyed. How could he prove to everyone that Alex was the cunning one, not him?
He was not that low to do that to a lowly peasant like that!
What if he played well, and perhaps he can beat Alex at his own game?
"Let the battle begin." The referee announced.
Alex walked to the center of the arena. Marjun came up to meet Alex there. Alex stared at Marjun with all smugness.
"I will go easy on you since you are injured. At least, make it a fair fight rather than using cheap tricks like yesterday." Marjun said.
"Such a generous offer, I wish I could return it." Alex sneered. "However, I don't need your pity. You can go hard on me because I can and I will take whatever you give. Also, remember I can perfectly return whatever you gave to me." Alex finished with a raised brow, vexing Marjun. Marjun was trying to help Alex but Alex wasn't appreciating his efforts.
They both got into the position. Alex stood very carefreely, although his arm was tied. Even though it was tied, he had tied it in a way that he could still be able to move it flexibly.
Alex still could not understand why his injury was healing so quickly. Whatever the reason for it, he is going to use it to his advantage.
Marjun threw the first punch getting into the attacking role and Alex dodged it as he got defensive. Marjun threw another punch and Alex dodged again. Marjun continuously threw blows at Alex which he only dodged the agilely. Alex's defensive mode made Marjun think that Alex was not very strong in the battle. The thought made him drop his guard, his punches turned relaxed. Alex, who was busy studying and learning his moves, noticed the change in his punching style.
Neron, who was watching the duel, has the same thoughts as his son. He also deduced that Alex's propaganda was to tire Marjun.
Guido, one of the nobles, Fraco's father, was watching everything, including Neron's facial expressions that served as reflections of Marjun or Alex's actions along with Alex's evergreen confident smirk, and Marjun's incompetence. He sighed and turned to his son who stood beside him.
"Fraco, Marjun is such a weakling." He said. His voice was low but loud enough for people, who stood around. Neron glared at him but he ignored.
Fraco nodded, he didn't see through his father's act. "True. I can tell that Alex is only studying his moves while tiring him."
"When Marjun began to attack based on emotions, Alex has won the match already," Guido explained to which Fraco agreed.
"Watch that mousetrap you call a mouth, Guido," Neron warned. "No one is beyond dueling."
"It must be a family heirloom," Guido said.
Neron was further enraged, not being able to argue with Guido, he turned and glared at his son, who coincidentally looked at his father. Marjun felt discouraged to see his father's displeased gaze, which made him lose his concentration for a second, which Alex used to his advantage as he landed a sharp blow on his jaw.
Marjun staggered back at the sudden punch. Before he could pull himself together, he found Alex was ready to land another punch on him. Alex didn't let him defend himself for a long time with his continuous blow of punches. Finally, Marjun fell backward when Alex punched him in the eye. When he blanched himself, he got up and glared at Alex.
"I want to add more rules." Marjun said aloud aggresively. "Legs inclusive. Let's make it a full body combat instead of Hand combat alone."
The referee turned to stare at Alex.
Alex has a neutral expression on his face as he shifted his expression from Marjun to the Referee.
"My Lord, Can rules be added in the middle? I mean… can the combat style be changed in the middle because Marjun couldn't defend himself? For his advantage, Isn't he asking for this sudden combat-type change? Even if he wants to change the combat type, shouldn't there be a prior notice?" Alex questioned with a wronged expression on his face.
Hearing his words, whispers rose among the crowd. Even King Philips felt displeased at Marjun's actions. This kind of sudden and random request… looked very disgraceful.
Being a noble, Marjun did such a disgraceful thing with a peasant, and all these peasants and the attended nobles were not singing praises for his actions.
Alex smirked at the dig on Marjun's name. For some reason these days his hearing ability has become good. He heard the whispers and talked about Marjun's sudden request.
"Are you scared, Alex?" Marjun's voice rang in the arena silencing the crowd with his sudden words.
"I am not scared, Marjun. These kinds of random things shall not be entertained further." Alex said.
"My Lord, I agree with Marjun's request. But I hope after this, these things shall not be entertained without any prior notice. After all, we should respect everyone present here apart from the participants," Alex said throwing more shades on Marjun.
All the spectators supported Alex's words. After all, he was being reasonable, unlike that spoiled noble, Marjun.
The referee looked at King Philips for his opinion, seeing King's nod, he agreed to Alex's words.
"Since, both the challengers agreed to the combat type change, The Hand Combat will be now upgraded into Full Body Combat!" The Referee announced.
"Let the battle begin!" The Referee announced again.
"The game just got sweeter," Alex muttered, hearing the Referee's announcement, making Marjun get mad. Marjun turned around and kicked Alex in the guts.
Alex staggered a few feet backward as he groaned when he felt the sharp pain in his stomach. He wasn't ashamed to admit his pain. But he would be ashamed if he didn't strike back.
Marjun didn't give him a break, he other way and kicked Alex on his side. Alex fell to the ground as his whole body attached to the ground. Marjun smirked at his condition.
"Get up and fight with me, you lowly scum." He mocked. Alex slowly got up, clutching his stomach, and grunted silently. He was in pain. He exhaled sharply.
Marjun was unaware that his every action earned negativity and displeasure from the crowd which was a mix of nobles, commoners, and all types of people.