Chapter 69: Fight with courage! Brave warrior! (1/2)
Chapter 69: Fight with courage! Brave warrior!
Early morning. The sky lit up only moment ago, and there was still an hour left before the main qualifiers, when Carter led Ayrin, Moss, Chris, and the other members of team Holy Dawn to the square outside Dragon-Battling Arena.
Dragon-Battling Arena was a huge, open-air, oval-shaped venue piled up from pure-dark volcanic stones. Many weeds and trees even grew in the interstices between the volcanic rocks. A majestic aura and a barren atmosphere strangely coexisted together, causing the entire giant arena to be shrouded inside a white haze, like a giant monster resting on its stomach.
The square outside the arena was formed by giant square stones joined together, the gaps between the stones creating natural water ditches around two fingers wide, many weeds and wild flowers growing there as well. There was an air of ancient ruins.
Team Holy Dawn didn’t attract too much attention when they entered the square outside the arena, but when they approached closer and closer to the tunnel reserved for the participants, more and more people noticed their arrival.
“It’s team Holy Dawn!”
“Look, it’s Chris!”
“Why are there so many people in team Holy Dawn?”
“Don’t tell me they’re getting ideas about Divine Shield Academy?”
“Chris! Chris!”
Very quickly, many people rushed toward this tunnel.
“Why are there so many people here already?”
Ayrin looked at the dense crowd rushing their way and became excited, feeling surprised at the same time.
“This little people can’t be called many. There will be more of them inside once the match begins.” Carter smiled faintly as he watched Ayrin experiencing such a scene for the first time. Listening to the voices all around them, it seemed that letting a few more people come along this time, even letting Rogrid and Moss tag along, really created a pretty good confusion, making people unable to tell what was what.
“It’s the main elimination stage, and our confrontation with Divine Shield Academy happens to be the first match in this round, so people from all the other schools will come watch.”
Carter’s expression became serious when they walked inside the tunnel. “I have to be honest though… The vast majority of spectators should be coming for Divine Shield Academy. In their minds, Divine Shield Academy will definitely beat us and advance to the next round, so a great part of the crowd came to watch Divine Shield Academy’s performance.”
The entire Holy Dawn Academy’s team quieted down, because everyone knew that Carter spoke the truth.
“As long as we beat Divine Shield Academy, most spectators will be shocked, then cheer for us, their eyes will be on us in the next rounds, right?” They heard Ayrin’s spirited and excited voice just at this time. “Just thinking that we’re going to fight with an opponent like that, it’s really exciting.”
“Does this guy even know the meaning of the word fear?” Gerrin couldn’t help but turn his head around and look at Ayrin. He had an ominous premonition, a feeling that Ayrin might be one of the team members going on stage. But what made him even more startled was, he couldn’t see any feeling of rejection coming from Ender, when the latter was clearly the one most opposed to Ayrin. Instead, expectation and desire for war burned inside his eyes.
The team lounge was only a few meters away from the tournament field, but when Ayrin sat down inside the lounge, he clearly heard the clamor become louder and louder in the arena outside, like an erupting volcano, erupting ever more violently.
…
“Liszt!”
In a corner of the square, Liszt lazily walked toward the arena when he suddenly halted his steps and turned around. He saw a young man slowly walk out from the mist, wearing golden clothes and sporting short white hair. His skin also sickly white.
“What brings the great Lannister arcane master Roose here?” Liszt suddenly smiled. “Don’t tell me there’s nothing to do lately in the western territories?”
“Not really.” The arcane master with short white hair, whom Liszt called Roose, calmly shook his head, an exceptional aura coming from him. “I received the kingdom’s summon and transferred to an arcane team involved in dealing with Evil Dragon followers. The Evil Dragon followers have been showing their faces more and more frequently of late. Added to the fact we have some clues about the area where their camp is, I heard they’re exceptionally adding at least five teams. I’m merely one of the team members they added. However, that means we might have more opportunities to meet in the future.”
Liszt shrugged. “It’s still better to stay as far away as possible from your love rivals.”
Roose smiled despite himself. “Back then, my interest for Donna was actually real, but that might not have been the case for you. So if you’re going to talk about love rivals, you should be talking about me and Berryn.”
“Your guts used to be so small you didn’t even have the courage to say anything in front of the girls you liked, now you’re actually pretty forthright.” Liszt looked at him and said, “Anyway, why did you come here this time? Don’t tell me you came to find me to reminisce the spring of your youth gone by?”
“In fact, I want to convince Chris to join our Lannister arcane teams.” Roose looked at him and said in all seriousness, “We think that she’ll become the captain of a team of elite arcane masters in the future, at least.”
“You’re actually thinking of poaching our people. Too bad though, you’re bound to be disappointed.” Liszt smiled lazily. “She’s indeed pretty good, but she actually has other plans. Even if I thought you guys constitute a good choice and helped you put in a good word, I probably still wouldn’t be able to sway her.”
“What plans does she have?” Roose frowned.
“That concerns private matters of hers, it’s not appropriate for me to tell you.” Liszt smiled. “Why don’t we properly enjoy the match first?”
…
Inside the team lobby, Carter looked at an Ayrin who couldn’t sit still, some sweat even emerging on his forehead. He asked, “How is it, can’t sit still?”
“Yes.”
Ayrin replied, a little distressed, “I haven’t been able to sleep ever since last night, because of the excitement.”
“Excitement?” Gerryn and the others looked at Ayrin with a strange expression of incomprehension. With the ever rising clamor outside, even experienced team members like them had some trouble breathing, but they really couldn’t see any anxiety or fear from Ayrin’s pure eyes, only an inexplicable excitement.
“It’s normal to have a little trouble sleeping the first time.” Chris patted Ayrin’s shoulder and comforted him. “It’ll be better in the future.”
“We can go out in around half an hour, you can get a feel for the atmosphere and get used to it first.” Carter looked at Ayrin and everyone else, nodded, then immediately said, “Everything ready?”
“Going out so early?” Gerrin and company were taken aback.
“If you don’t even have the courage to face the audience, how would you face formidable opponents?” The usually always gentle and amiable-looking Carter suddenly became a little unruly and stubborn. “I’m asking you right now. Are you ready? Do you have the courage to fight a battle to the death with your opponent?”
“Ready…”
“I can’t hear you. I want you to answer me, to roar at the top of your lungs. Do you have the courage to fight a battle to the death with your opponent?”
“We do!”
“What are you?”
“Brave warriors of Holy Dawn Academy!”
“What did you come here for?”
“Victory!”