Somehow, the Ersatz were able to ally with the Crimsonaire Tribe and infiltrate their forces, gaining their trust enough for them to be able to participate in the Archery Tournament.
Michael frowned as he realized this.
"But why?"
He didn’t know their end goal. To win the tournament?
Is it the promotion? They want a legitimate company in the upper echelons?
That was the only worthwhile prize from this Archery tournament. But that could only happen if they won multiple times more tournaments in the Lunar Celebrations.
And at that point, he was sure that Katarina and the Consortium would find out what they were planning.
It didn’t make sense.
"What’s the point of participating in the tournament?" he asked the converted soldier.
They looked at him, embarrassment showing on their faces. They were regretting something.
"It’s because they want to show off the power of the Artifice," the soldier revealed.
Michael’s eyes widened as he came to a realization.
It’s an advertisement.
With such a public event, it was inevitable that the Consortium and some of the high levelled companies find out about their participation in the tournament.
But that didn’t matter.
If they won, they would prove that the Artifice was a genuine replacement for GodForge pieces.
Once that information was disseminated throughout the entire New Sparta, there would be plenty of people tempted to become a Maugnetic.
It was only a matter of time until they approached Ersatz all on their own.
They would willingly enlist themselves in Ersatz just for a chance to become as powerful as that warrior in the tournament.
Even if the Consortium waged war on them because of this, it would have already been too late.
They’d have gathered more cannon fodder, turning the tides of battle in their direction.
This... I have to stop this.
A dangerous rhetoric such as this would completely cause chaos and destruction in the lives of everyone here in New Sparta.
But thankfully, it wasn’t over yet.
They still had Sheina.
...
...
...
Michael immediately teleported himself back to the Colosseum. He immediately sat back on his chair.
"Keo, my friend. Where’d you go?! You completely missed this upheaval!" said Jot’un.
Michael turned towards him and pushed something on his chest. "Here, don’t lose it again."
Confused, Jot’un looked at the item now in his hands.
And as soon as he saw the ornate and ancient design on the metal Key, his heart stopped.
"THE... THE..."
It took all of Jot’un’s self restraint to simply not scream out that he had THE KEY back in his hands.
This heirloom was so important that his father never even let him touch it!
And now, it’s back in his hands!
Keo casually returned it back to him like it was nothing. Jot’un couldn’t believe it!
"HOW DID YOU—"
But before he could even ask any more questions, Michael turned away from him.
This stunned Jot’un. What could be more important than this?!
...
...
...
Michael turned to Yuna.
She gazed at him, noticing the slight differences in his countenance. "What’s wrong?"
He pointed back at the Colosseum arena where the dark horse Archer was making his triumphant return to his camp.
"Him."
Then, he leaned into Yuna and whispered to her about what he found out.
He didn’t tell her the whole thing, only the bits that were important to what she was going to do.
For example: their tactics in the upcoming Sanctum Duel.
"And you know this how?" she asked him.
He stayed silent. "Trust me on this," he said.
Yuna pursed her lips, disappointed. "Fine. But you better be ready with my vanilla ice cream this time. I’ve been waiting for far too long!"
Michael smiled with relief as Yuna jumped down into the arena.
He felt really guilty that he hadn’t given her that ice cream yet. But this time, he won’t delay it any longer.
...
...
...
Once the semi-finals was finished, it didn’t take long before the last battle of the tournament started their preparations.
Claudia Montgomery beckoned the Arbiter for both camps to step forward and discuss the Sanctum.
Yuna greeted her aunt, whose attention wasn’t available. Claudia stared at the Arbiter opposite Yuna.
"You said you were a half-brother to one of our family lines?" Claudia asked.
The male Arbiter nodded, but offered no other explanation.
Claudia’s eyebrows raised, but didn’t ask any more question.
"Discuss your Sanctum," she announced.
Immediately, Yuna’s opponent started with a simple request.
"We want a desert seed with no obstacles..."
Yuna furtively glanced up at the viewing deck, her eyes meeting with Michael from afar.
It was exactly what he said. Her opponent was going to request a Sanctum that was very open, a place that was easy for the audience see.
Not only that, but there were a few hidden mechanics within the Sanctum that wasn’t exactly an advantage or disadvantage for the Archer.
The Arbiter requested for the possibility of a voice amplifier with the Sanctum.
This meant that the conversation with the two Archers would be clearly heard by the audience watching from above.
These were very strange requests, especially for a game in the finals.
Thankfully, Michael already warned her about this beforehand.
She skillfully navigated through the Arbiter’s request. After all, if she vetoed one thing from their proposed Sanctum, then this meant that they would be able to veto one of hers.
Eventually, Yuna showed off her skills with perfect precision.
Her opponent had no other choice but to concede to a compromise.
The Sanctum was still going to be a desert, but their voices weren’t going to be projected during the fight.
Only after. The winner had the chance to give their final remarks.
She could have easily removed this aspect of the Sanctum Duel, but Michael asked her not to. He had something planned about that.
And so, with the Sanctum decided, both Archers stood against each other as Claudia created the Sanctum.
"GAME START!" she announced.
Sheina’s opponent dove right in.
Meanwhile, she gave a little curtsy towards Michael before diving down as well.