On the third day of the competition, Henwell watches the intense battles below. Fighters get injured now and then, carried off the arena.
The matches have grown much fiercer. Everyone knows theyâre just a hairâs breadth away from fortune and glory.
That poor knight from last night is now facing his third opponent.
Heâs already thankful he took Henwellâs advice to heart and stocked up on nutrition at the banquet.
Today, one contestant performs terribly.
The poor knight knows that personâs strength isnât usually so weak.
From the shaky steps and pale face, itâs clear theyâve been sabotaged.
As for who did it? The poor knight has no clue.
Every competitor is a suspect, even some of the organizers might be involved.
Besides, every knight tournament has underground betting.
Those who run the betting rings arenât exactly saints.
Manipulating odds and match outcomes is how they make their money.
Today, the poor knight fights six matches.
He has two more tomorrow morning, after which the entire event wraps up.
By evening, he loses the sixth match.
Counting it all up, he wins three, loses one, and draws two today.
That should earn him at least eleven points, but in reality, he only has seven.
Victory guarantees one point from the referees, but points from the audience and guests arenât assured.
Those depend on popularity and whether the crowd likes the winner.
Across six matches, the poor knight earns four points from the referees, and one each from the audience and guest stands.
He gets those two bonus points partly because his opponents are even less popular.
The final point comes during his sixth loss, awarded by the guest stand.
He sees itâs from Henwell.
When Henwell raises the sign, no other guest objects, and the point is granted.
Duaili, the countâs eldest son sitting among the guests, asks curiously, âWhy did you give him a point? He fought terribly!â
Henwell smiles. âI just like his spirit. And I havenât participated at all these past three days, wouldnât that be a bit unfair?â
Everyone chuckles and lets the matter drop.
That night, thereâs no banquet. All the contestants are resting up, saving their energy for the final matches tomorrow.
The poor knight digs into his last savings and reluctantly buys some food outside.
Even though heâs careful, on the last day of the competition, he still is sabotaged.
By yesterdayâs round-robin, three contestants have been eliminated for various reasons.
He actually only needs to fight two more matches before his schedule ends.
He wins the first match solidly, earning two points.
For the second match, he knows his opponent is strong, and more importantly, wildly popular.
The guyâs armor shines brightly, heâs handsome and charismatic, barely in his early twenties, and has the crowdâs favor.
Even the guests think highly of him.
At the banquet earlier, many people sought him out for conversation.
But the poor knight still believes he can beat him.
Heâs noticed the opponentâs steps are a bit unsteady, thatâs his opening.
The whistle blows, and the fight begins.
Almost immediately, the poor knight senses somethingâs wrong.
His opponentâs strength suddenly surges.
Worse, thereâs a problem with his weapon.
Sure enough, after a few clashes, his longsword in his hand snaps in two.
If he hadnât dodged just in time, he wouldâve been injured.
Without a weapon, he canât hold out long, only clumsily blocking and dodging.
During matches, weapon drops or breakages donât pause the fight.
If someone cared enough, maybe theyâd toss him a replacement.
But compared to this crowd favorite, the poor knight has almost no fansâno one to help.
He glances toward Henwell in the guest stand.
Henwellâs chatting and laughing with others, completely ignoring the match below.
After holding on a bit longer, the poor knight sighs and chooses to surrender.
In the afternoon, the competition results come out.
Only seven remain in the top ten, and the poor knight, Christian, sits in fifth place with nine points.
His last opponentâthe popular knight, holds the highest score.
Though Christian feels bitter, he has no choice but to accept the outcome.
Fortunately, this is the Knight Champion tournament hosted by Livos City, organized by the Dienbos family.
The prizes are decent.
The winner naturally earns the Knight Champion title.
Christianâs fifth place isnât wasted either. He receives a full set of knightâs armor and horse, 800 gold coins, and an extraordinary supply of resources enough to last him a year.
He also gains eligibility to join the Dienbos family, where he can slowly build his reputation.
When heâll truly rise depends on his luck.
He hesitates over his next steps.
Almost thirty now, his time and chances are running thin.
At the final celebration banquet, only a peripheral member of the Dienbos family invites him.
Itâs clear that even if he joins, he wonât be highly regarded.
Feeling trapped, Christian stands alone in a corner, nursing a glass of wine.
He watches other contestants surrounded by admirers, forcing a bitter smile.
Just then, Henwell steps out from behind a pillar and says, âDo you feel itâs a bit unfair?â
Christian says nothing, tacitly agreeing.
Henwell continues, âDo you think these people are fools who canât see your worth? They all have potions to keep their fighting spirit and stamina up for every match. They have better armor and weapons, giving them a huge edge in battle.â
âBut you? You rely solely on yourself, without any outside help, and still make it this far.â
Christian canât hold back and asks, âThen why not make it fairer?â
Henwell laughs coldly. âFair? Whatâs fair? If they have better conditions, why would they give up their advantage to level with you? Is that fair to you? Is it fair to them? Fairness is always relative.â
Then Henwell suddenly asks, âBy the way, whatâs your name, friend?â
âChristian.â
Henwell grins mischievously. âSo, Christian, do you want some compensation for fairness?â