This was the final day of the Divine Order Tournament.
Out of the 240 knights competing yesterday, only 40 remained while the rest had been stomped away.
40 knights from all seven kingdoms were going to compete for the silver title.
Unfortunately, among the 12 young Lioness knights, only Emery and Abe managed to reach this far. However, considering how only a total of 8 young squires managed to retain their spot in the tournament, this was quite the achievement for the Lioness Kingdom, the kingdom known for its weakness and lack of knights.
Now, the silver title was only two fights away. For Abe, it would be no exaggeration to call these two days a fight for his life. This was his chance to prove his worth to the kingdom and to his master. To prove that his hellish training was not in vain.
Now that there were only two people left in the Lioness corner, things of course became a little bit awkward.
Anyone could see Abe hated the person standing next to him.
"Abe Fantumar."
His name was called and from the other name, it seemed he was scheduled to fight a strong Logress veteran. It was clear his chances to win were really slim and he'd really hate to disappoint his father or worse, disappoint the princess, who he really wanted to impress.
While he was struggling with his own doubts, the guy standing next to him looked calm and full of confidence. The thought that Lanzo was not taking this fight seriously filled him with fury.
"Lanzo, if I fail here today, make sure you make the kingdom proud."
Emery looked at Abe and raised his eyebrows. He didn't think the son of such a disgusting pig noble, who had shown himself to be so full of spite before, was capable of saying such a thing. It seemed there was no such thing as an entirely bad person. Maybe there was still hope for Abe, he thought.
Abe said it with his face turned away from Emery before walking out of the tent with such pressure on his mind.
Emery could see Abe was trying really hard to win this fight, he wanted to win so badly, and apparently, he succeeded. Emery could see Abe smiling widely raising his sword proudly
The announcer called for Emery's name for the next fight. Once again, it was a quick and easy fight and when he came back, the atmosphere between him and Abe turned awkward again.
An hour passed in silence and the second match started, where they would compete for a spot in the silver knight title.
Abe was confident the moment his name was called, but right afterward, it was as if fate decided to play a joke on them.
The next name he heard was Lanzelot's; a shiver went down his spine. For the Silver Knight title, they had to compete against each other.
This announcement made Abe feel as if thunder had struck him. The last few days, he had witnessed Lanzo's skills first hand, there was no hope to win against this squire.
Emery simply sighed and smiled. "May the best knight win."
Abe's luck had run out and it seemed he was fated to fail here. Failing was truly not an option, for it would spell ruin on his entire life.
"Lanzo," Abe whispered, while they stood in the arena encircling each other, looking for an opening to strike. "I really need this title. Please, name your price and I am sure my father will pay, no matter how much."
Hearing this made Emery very disappointed and he merely shook his head.
Desperation had driven one of the kingdom's best squires to resort to bribery. Such a dishonorable act had no place in the knights' order.
"No, Abe. Never." Emery gave a stern answer.
Abe's visage twisted with rage and he charged towards Emery with all his might. His once graceful movements turned erratic and desperate. Driven by his emotions, he reduced his own chances to win.
Emery parried the blow and spun around, before using his shield as a hook and hit Abe's hand until he drops the sword. Only left with a shield, he tried to defend himself while looking for a chance to retrieve his sword.
Before Abe managed to do so, his shield shattered under Emery's downward sword swing.
Emery had won.
Before returning to his tent, Emery sighed and said. "Abe, you will never be able to win if you doubt yourself."
Abe walked out of the arena, with a lot weighing his mind. Meanwhile, the audience kept on cheering.
"Lanzelot! Lanzelot!"
With this victory, Emery entered the top 10, it was now time to determine the champion.
In the first fight, Emery was called to fight against a mace user. Oddly, his opponent ditched his shield right after the trumpet resounded, giving him the chance to swing his mace with both hands and increased his attack power.
The moment the mace contacted the ground, it left a small crater.
Emery danced all around the strikes. While they were powerful, they were also relatively slow, ensuring he would always be able to dodge. He kept on dodging, while leading his opponent towards the edge of the arena.
Right when Emery was cornered, he quickly dodged, using footwork he quickly landed behind his opponent. This made the mace wielder bewilder with confusion, it ended right away with Emery's sword touching his throat.
Another victory for Emery,
Though Emery knew every single one of the 10 chosen knights already had the power befitting of a silver knight, they were unlucky, because today, they would have to fight him for the title of champion.
"Lanzelot! Lanzelot!"
He won his next two battles and the cheers became even louder. Some nobles shouted an offer for him, while some girls expressed their love.
After defeating his last opponent beautifully, he was finally announced as the champion.
"We finally have this year's champion!! Lanzelot!!"
For the first time in the last 50 years, finally, a silver knight champion was born from the Lioness Kingdom,
Being the last man standing in the arena, the winner of the tournament made Emery wonder if this was really a dream come true for him.
If his father was still alive would he be proud of him?
But during such an occasion seeing thousands of people staring at him, what filled his mind was the thought about Morgana. He wonders if the girl was sitting there among one of those people watching the tournament.
Little did he know that there was actually one among the crowd who saw him with a rather unique expression.