[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 83
Zeke and his companions returned to the mansion in Atlas after the first round of the finals.
When Zeke told Farel that Reina had informed them about the second round being tightrope wrestling, Farel's expression turned serious.
"Tightrope wrestling..."
Seeing his reaction, Zeke asked Farel,
"Sir Farel, is there a problem with the tightrope wrestling event?"
Farel shook his head.
"No, Sir Zeke. There's no problem with the event itself. It's just that I'm concerned that Siemens is the one who chose this event."
Tightrope wrestling wasn't a particularly complex event.
It was a match where two people fought on a rope hung between two points, and the one who remained standing on the rope won.
In a way, it was an event that could fully showcase one's skills as a warrior.
Just then, Catherine entered the drawing-room.
"It seems everyone is gathered here."
Catherine sat down with an excited expression.
She said to Zeke,
"I found out about the second round event."
Felix, who was next to him, said to Catherine,
"Lady Catherine, we already learned about the second round event from Reina Draker. It's tightrope wrestling, right?"
Catherine nodded, as if she had expected it.
"Yes, it's tightrope wrestling. But it's not just simple tightrope wrestling."
Zeke was surprised.
"Not simple tightrope wrestling? What do you mean?"
"They said they're holding the match as a group tightrope wrestling event."
"Group tightrope wrestling?"
Even Farel, who had watched the Draker martial arts tournament many times, had never heard of such an event.
Catherine took out a piece of paper.
There was a picture drawn on the paper.
It depicted a scene where ropes were hung in all directions between walls, and people were fighting each other with swords on top of the ropes.
Farel's expression hardened as he looked at the picture.
"This... is clearly an event where having more allies is advantageous."
Zeke also nodded in agreement with Farel's words.
Tightrope wrestling was a duel between two people on a rope, but if it was held as a group event like this, the side with fewer numbers would have one person facing multiple opponents.
Moreover, if someone decided to cut the rope with the intention of taking everyone down together, it would be difficult to move to another rope due to the structure.
It meant that if the Siemens allies rushed at Zeke all at once and cut all the surrounding ropes, it would be difficult for him to hold on.
Grasping the situation, Farel gritted his teeth.
"They must have changed the event in a hurry. Because they wouldn't be able to defeat Sir Zeke in a one-on-one match."
If the Siemens side had made preparations, there would surely be many other rules that were disadvantageous to Zeke and his companions, in addition to this.
But then Catherine unfolded her fan with a smile.
"Don't worry too much, Sir Zeke."
Zeke looked at Catherine with a puzzled expression.
"Lady Catherine, is there another way?"
Catherine said, waving her fan,
"What's the point of having a patron clan if we don't use them at times like this? Ho ho."
With a relaxed smile, Catherine whispered something to Zeke and his companions.
They were surprised to hear her words.
Seeing their expressions, Catherine gave a brilliant smile.
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow's match."
***
From the second round of the finals onwards, external spectators were allowed to watch.
This meant that the involvement of patron clans would become more active than before.
The arena where the group tightrope wrestling was scheduled to take place was already packed.
On one side of the spectator seats, the blood alliance clans associated with Siemens were boisterously cheering, displaying the Siemens family crest.
Fanfare!
The band played trumpets, beat drums, and sang about Siemens' victory.
On the other side, the Agamemnon clan and the central nobles occupied the seats.
They didn't make loud noises, but they wielded dozens of flags, creating pressure with their overwhelming numbers.
Their numbers were twice that of the blood alliance clans participating in the match on the Siemens side.
It was a scene that clearly showed the prestige of the Agamemnon clan, the dominant force in the central region.
Just before the match began, the participants emerged from both sides of the arena.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The sound of drums echoed loudly as the participants stood before the group tightrope wrestling arena, where ropes were intricately tied between pillars.
The distance between the ropes was quite far, making it seem difficult to move to another rope if one were to be cut.
Gareth stepped forward and briefly explained the rules of the match.
The rules were simpler than expected.
Falling off the rope meant elimination, and those who remained on the rope until the designated time would advance to the third round of the finals.
Felix gaped at the massive tightrope wrestling arena.
He whispered to Zeke,
"M-Master, I think I'll just forfeit here..."
"Liam, Felix. Anyone who gets eliminated here will be in closed-door training for a year."
At Zeke's threat, Felix whimpered and headed towards the wrestling arena.
The examiner announced the start of the match.
Thud!
The participants each got on a rope.
The ropes weren't taut but rather quite elastic, making it difficult to maintain balance and move on them.
However, Edward Siemens stood on the rope with his arms crossed, in a very relaxed posture.
He smirked at Zeke and his companions.
'This is a Siemens clan training tool. I've been playing on this since I was five.'
Indeed, this rope was one of the many training tools developed by the Siemens clan for Aura control.
It was a pity to reveal the clan's secret training tool, but if it meant he could eliminate Zeke and Reina here for sure, it was a worthwhile sacrifice.
Zeke, Felix, Liam, and Reina crossed the ropes and moved closer to each other.
However, almost everyone else besides them was from the clans associated with Siemens.
Standing on the rope, Edward shouted at them, "
Go and knock them off!"
Zeke and his companions drew their swords and watched the approaching participants cautiously.
As expected, it seemed they were planning to use the tactic of rushing at them from all directions and taking them down together.
Noticing this, boos erupted from the Agamemnon side of the audience.
"You're not acting like knights!"
"Siemens, you treacherous and dirty bastards!"
The central nobles were hurling insults without any regard for decorum.
Despite this, Edward and the Siemens faction didn't bat an eye.
If they were affected by such insults, the current Siemens clan wouldn't exist.
The participants from the Siemens' allied clans, unfazed by the boos, drew their weapons and charged towards Zeke and his companions.
But then, something completely unexpected happened.
"Whoa!"
One of the participants from the Siemens side accidentally tripped and fell, dragging others down with him.
Thud!
Four people fell simultaneously and were eliminated.
Edward, watching from behind, frowned.
'Those incompetent fools.'
The problem wasn't over yet.
Thud! Thud!
Before they could even reach Zeke and his companions, more people started falling from the ropes.
In no time, almost half of the Siemens side had been eliminated.
Seeing this, Zeke grinned and looked at Catherine, who was sitting in the audience.
'As expected, the power of money is formidable.'
Graham Dukedom had a firm grip on the central continent's financial sector.
This meant that among the clans participating in this competition, there were those who had borrowed money from the Graham Dukedom.
Catherine had compiled a list of those clans who had loans from the Graham clan and made them an offer they couldn't refuse.
If they were to simply be eliminated from the match, she would extend their loan terms and introduce them to new loan products with lower interest rates. As soon as she cast the bait, they took it.
The clans who accepted the Graham clan's offer pretended to fall from the ropes by accident and delayed their elimination from the match.
Moreover, if they grabbed another participant and fell together, they could receive benefits such as interest-free loans or exemption from fees, so there were many who grabbed their allies and fell together.
Edward, seeing his forces suddenly reduced by more than half, frowned and shouted,
"What the hell are you all doing! Grab them and fall right now!"
The tactic he was planning to use had been completely snatched away by Catherine.
Although they were close allies of Siemens, the loan maturity dates and high-interest rates were a stark reality.
The clans with financial difficulties were more eager to accept the Graham clan's offer.
It was a counterattack befitting the Draker martial arts tournament.
Zeke grinned as he looked at the Siemens knights falling like dominoes.
"This seems manageable now."
With Liam and Reina nodding in agreement, they charged forward first.
Thud!
Reina used the elasticity of the rope, bouncing back and forth to jump high into the air.
Then, she unleashed a powerful downward strike.
Turunn Style Dragon Slayer Art
Charge Skill
Bull Skull Crusher
Crash!
The bold sword strike, typical of the Turin family, overwhelmed the other participants.
Liam approached in a completely different way.
Hanging upside down from the rope, Liam used his characteristically long arms to swing his sword from below.
Slash!
"Ugh!"
The participants standing on the ropes were startled and lost their balance as a sword suddenly popped out from below.
Liam swung his sword, moving from place to place on the ropes like a gibbon.
The participants couldn't regain their composure against his unorthodox attacks.
The unexpected one was Felix.
At first, he had trouble adapting to the tightrope, but after gradually calming his breathing and finding his balance, he stood on the rope with his sword, motionless like a giant rock.
The pressure emanating from Felix, standing still with his sword, was so overwhelming that the other knights backed away.
Zeke grinned as he watched Felix.
'His potential is truly enormous.'
After assessing the surrounding situation, Zeke began to take action in earnest.
Holding Bahamut, he dashed across the ropes as if they were flat ground.
Swish!
For Zeke, who had mastered Gale Force, there was little difference between a tightrope and the ground.
What he had been worried about was them cutting all the ropes and self-destructing, but fortunately, thanks to Catherine's help, he had gained an opportunity to counterattack.
Zeke charged towards the knights standing on the ropes.
Whoosh!
Bang!
The knight struck by Zeke's attack lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"Ugh!"
It was difficult to maintain balance on the tightrope, and with a heavy sword strike coming at them, they couldn't withstand it.
Soon, several knights rushed towards Zeke at once.
They tried to grab Zeke's ankles while hanging from the ropes and cut the ropes with their swords.
It was a mudslinging fight with no trace of knightly honor.
However, Zeke could escape with even the slightest opening.
Whoosh!
Before his ankles could be grabbed, Zeke jumped up and moved to another rope.
Edward shouted,
"You fools! Get out of the way! I'll cut the rope!"
Edward swung his spear from behind and started cutting the ropes.
But it was too late.
With many participants eliminated, space had opened up for Zeke to move. He freely moved between the ropes, attacking the Siemens knights and eliminating them one by one.
"Uwaaaa!"
Thud!
Realizing they couldn't withstand Zeke's attacks, the knights switched to a defensive stance.
They cut all the surrounding ropes except for the ones they were standing on, isolating themselves.
Zeke spoke to Edward, who was standing behind the knights.
"Edward Siemens. How about a one-on-one duel, like a knight?"
Provoked by Zeke, Edward gritted his teeth and glared at him.
"What do you take me for?"
Although he was a scoundrel, he was a direct descendant of Siemens, so he wouldn't fall for such a simple provocation.
"If you won't come, I'll go to you myself."
Zeke stepped on the rope and tried to jump to where Edward was.
However, Edward, who had trained with tightrope walking since childhood, dodged Zeke by moving between the few remaining ropes.
At the same time, other knights on Siemens' side stood in front of Edward, blocking Zeke.
'These Siemens underlings are annoying.'
Just then, something flew towards Zeke, who was in mid-air.
Pachin!
A heavy sword strike collided with Bahamut.
Bang!
Zeke, deflecting the impact, landed on the highest rope.
Then, someone else stood opposite him.
A female knight with short hair, wielding a sword.
It was Helen Draker.
Zeke pointed his sword at Helen Draker.
"Elin Sabrina. I didn't expect you to be on Siemens' side."
He knew it wasn't true, but he was testing her.
Helen, unfazed by Zeke's words, raised her sword.
Woooong!
A clear sword cry resonated.
Then, she charged towards Zeke.
"Haaa!"
Helen unleashed a powerful strike towards Zeke.
Bahamut and Helen's sword clashed, creating a powerful shockwave.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]