As King Safiros walked onto the ground on the final day, he finally experienced the feeling of excitement that came from being witnessed by millions of people.
He was disguised as a new addition to the Axelorian Team, and his goal was to snatch victory no matter what even if it meant that Axelor would come under even more scrutiny for using outside force.
He actually didn't know whether he would be doing this if he weren't being pushed by that man from the Big 4 to ensure Axelor's victory to further his plans.
He hadn't asked himself this yet, because he knew that he might not like the answer, and that asking the question wouldn't even do any good.
Hence, he just focused on getting it done, while trying to grab each and every speck of enjoyment that he could from what he was doing so that he wouldn't be driven insane from the thought that he was dancing on the whims of some old man.
The only consolation right now was that this was the last day.
With everything he had prepared, victory was definitely his, so his back was straight when he saw the team of the Black Raven Kingdom on the other side.
Looking up, he saw the dark clouds and wondered if it would rain.
As the feeling that the heavens were mirroring the events that were about to happen passed through his head, he chuckled.
Blood. Rivers of it. Oceans of it. A world filled with it.
He didn't know how or when, but this had become something that gave him so much joy that he found himself licking his lips while smiling wide in a manner that unsettled even the hardened soldiers around him.
They all wondered who he was, but they just dismissed it after thinking that he might be another 'trump card' of the King.
From the reports that he had received from the spies he had placed, many had emptied their pockets in the betting stations. Most of the bets were on Lanthanor, but Axelor was close behind.
This had made him bet a large amount of 10 million Gold Lans worth on Axelor, just to balance the odds.
Also, just to obtain some satisfaction by taking advantage of the King of Lanthanor's betting house, he had made the bet with Olympic bets.
When the results became clear, the losses would mostly be so catastrophic that it would definitely have to shut down or run away.
The latter was, of course, impossible as it belonged to the King himself.
Hence, he would have no choice but to even resort to pawning off important strategic assets just so that he could pay back the people of the continent.
As this image appeared in his mind, the King felt like laughing with glee, but he controlled himself.
He HATED that smug look on the King of Lanthanor's face, and it was going to be such a delight to wipe it off once and for all.
DING
"LET THE FINAL DAY OF THE OOOOLLLYYMMMMPPIIICCSSSS, BEEEEGGGIIIIINNNNNN!!!!!!"
ROOOOOAAAARRRRRR
Awakened from his thoughts by the loud announcement from Sylvesto who had gone on and on till now about how incredible and momentous this event had been so far, the King of Axelor looked up to see the sea of people all shouting as one.
The waves of sound battered him almost physically, and some of the soldiers beside him even stumbled slightly.
The excitement and energy in the crowd had reached a whole new level on this final day, as if everyone knew that this was their last chance to make their voice heard.
The first bell was for the players to get into position, and the King placed himself right in front of the ball.
As another bell sounded across the stadium, he dove faster than any other player in the tournament so far and got control of the ball before shooting off in the direction of the goal.
…..
[Bodily movements analyzed. Target is : King Safiros.]
Hearing this notification from the system after he asked it to analyze who this newcomer into the team of Axelor was, Daneel shook his head and was just about to say "Despicable" before remembering that he was about to do the exact same thing.
Hence, he swallowed it down and looked at his friend whose fists were clenched tight while seeing his soldiers blown out of the way one by one as that man from Axelor smoothly made his way to the near the other end.
The only one who put up a resistance was the Exalted Human realm Black Raven Commander, but that man passed at that moment and scored the fastest goal in the tournament yet, even surpassing Lanthanor.
Banging his hands on the table, he got up and said, "Damn this Axelor! More outside help! Daneel, can't we do anything about this?! IT'S SO FRUSTRATING!"
He screamed out the last words, making Daneel sigh walk to his friend's side before saying, "I don't know. But you can be damn sure that I'm trying."
With a nod, the Black Raven King only watched on in silence as his Kingdom lost point after point, finally losing in the end and being eliminated from the tournament altogether.
A little bit after the match, the commander appeared in his booth.
Daneel had already left, as he didn't want others to know that he was still close friends with Faxul.
However, if he had been there, he would have been shocked seeing an Exalted Human, one of the strongest individuals in the Central Continent, fall on his knees in defeat with his head hung low just after entering the booth.
He had fought hard on the ground, but he was no match against the two Exalted Humans on the other side.
His blood dripped to the ground, mixed with his tears that he was shedding after decades.
Without saying a word, Faxul only walked to the man and raised him by his shoulders.
Yet, when he spoke into his ears, the man's whole body regained his energy, and he bowed to the King immediately.
"Get ready. Its time to implement our plan in the Mage Handball Tournament."
…..
Meanwhile, Daneel, who had reappeared in his room, watched as his team made their way onto the ground.
Next was the match between Arafell and Lanthanor, and this was something that everyone had been clamoring to see for a long time.
On one side were the giants who made short work of the ball after any one of them obtained it.
On the other was the impeccable teamwork that made many wonder whether the Lanthanorians could read each other's minds, from how they were always at the perfect position they were needed to either take or make a pass.
It was Giants vs Teamwork, and even the analysts were split.
Each second of this match was electrifying, and no one could have guessed that the two teams would be so well-matched.
If Lanthanor got the ball, they would score without fail.
If Arafell got the ball to a giant, they would obtain a point.
It went on like this, neck and neck, until Lanthanor eked out a victory in the last minute.
The final victory was 35-34, and Daneel applauded his soldiers.
Frankly, though, the victor of this match didn't matter as he hadn't even deployed the Domination Corps yet.
Just like Axelor, he was biding his time for that final stretch.
Yet, the fact that he had made it through to the finals without showing everything he had really had to be attributed to the hard work to the soldiers, and of course, to his elder brother whose disabling fists had already terrorized Arafell's human soldiers.
Arafell moved to the loser's bracket due to this, and they were up against Axelor who would proceed to the finals to once again face off against Lanthanor if they won.
Daneel was expecting Axelor to win this match, but when the final bell sounded, he, along with many, many in the stadium, stood up with horror while staring at the scoreboard as if they couldn't believe their eyes.
40-5.
Axelor had won 40-5.
After checking the scoreboard again, he looked down at the stadium to see motionless bodies of Arafellian soldiers and Giants covered in blood.
Axelor had revealed a trump card, and for once, even Daneel was baffled as to how he was going to counter it.