Chapter 148
In the end, Rayne and his party weren't able to learn nearly as much about the Crimson Guard as they would have liked.
Most of what was common information had simply been confirmed.
Atticus used the lightning aspect. He was incredibly fast, far faster than most fighters Rayne had seen in the army. His class was probably focused heavily on agility, and the fact that he fought without a shield despite standing at the front suggested he possessed some sort of defensive skill strong enough to make up for it.
Beyond that, there wasn't much to work with.
As for the other two members of the Crimson Guard, Bran spent a good portion of the next few hours listening to conversations and asking questions around the waiting rooms. Unfortunately, he came back with very little useful information.
Apparently, neither Darius nor Mikel were spellswords. That was about all anyone seemed to know.
Nobody could agree on their exact levels. Nobody seemed certain about their classes either, and since neither of them had needed to do much during the previous battle, there wasn't much to judge them by.
In the end, Rayne wasn't sure it mattered all that much.
Atticus was clearly the nucleus of the party. Everything revolved around him.
The other two hadn't even needed to move an inch during their first match. They looked more like men supporting Atticus than fighters expected to carry their own weight. Maybe they were stronger than they appeared. Maybe they weren't. Either way, it was obvious who the real threat was.
The thought made him remember something Casper had told him several days ago when she first revealed that Atticus was his cousin.
The man wanted to lead the Crown's Hand one day.
He wanted to become the king's right hand and one of the most important people in the kingdom, and Rayne could easily see that ambition in his eyes.
Atticus wasn't participating in the tournament just because he enjoyed fighting.
He was here because victories brought attention. Attention created popularity, and that created opportunities.
With House Arkala supporting him and Prince Melakar clearly favouring him already, every successful performance would only push him further up the ladder. More influence would follow. More responsibilities would follow.
Eventually, the position he desired might follow as well when the prince climbed up the throne.
Breaking Rayne down in front of everyone was probably just an additional benefit.
The thought alone was enough to make Rayne's jaw tighten.
Ever since Atticus had looked directly at him after finishing his battle, the anger sitting inside him had only grown stronger. The smug grin the man had given him kept replaying in his mind no matter how much he tried to focus on something else.
Atticus had looked at him as though their battle had already been decided. As though Rayne was simply another obstacle waiting to be stepped over on his path upward.
Rayne hated that look.
So, even as he sat with Bran and Jason while they watched the remaining matches unfold, discussed strategies, talked about possible openings, and adjusted several of their plans against the Crimson Guard based on what little they had managed to learn, his thoughts kept returning to Atticus.
To that grin, to the cheers that had followed him, and most of all, to how satisfying it would be to wipe that certainty of victory from his face.
He also didn't have to wait much longer for the opportunity.
As another battle came to an end and the victorious party left the arena, the referee stepped into the centre of the sand and raised his hand. A familiar spell matrix formed near his mouth before his amplified voice echoed throughout the arena, announcing the next match.
“The next match in half an hour would be between the Valerian soldiers and the Crimson Guard!”
As soon as the referee announced the match, a huge cheer erupted throughout the arena.
The reaction was immediate and loud enough that Rayne was certain people could probably hear it outside the arena walls. Of course, he knew exactly why everyone was cheering.
Most of them were probably excited because they believed they were finally going to watch the Crimson Guard break the last Frayser apart in front of the entire city. After all, Atticus had already demonstrated exactly how strong he was, while his own battle had ended too fast.
Fortunately, Rayne didn't pay much attention to the crowd.
A hand landed on his shoulder and he turned to find Bran looking at him.
“Let's go to the waiting room,” the old man said. “We should go over everything one last time before the battle.”
Both Rayne and Jason nodded. There wasn't much point standing around here any longer anyway.
Before following Bran, however, Rayne raised his gaze towards the noble stands one final time.
Captain Edran sat there alongside Captain Verella and Casper.
The three of them hadn't been present for the first few matches of the day, but they had arrived roughly two hours ago and stayed ever since.
For a brief moment, Casper's eyes met his. The mage gave him a small nod.
It wasn't much, but Rayne felt a bit calmer immediately.
As he followed Bran towards the waiting rooms, he couldn't help hoping that he would be able to put everything she had taught him to proper use. If there was ever a battle where those lessons mattered, it was going to be this one.
The waiting room itself was empty when they entered.
Most of the other parties were either out using the opportunity to get food or collecting their bets from previous fights, leaving the room entirely to them. Bran closed the door behind them and even locked it before taking a seat.
Then the discussions began once more.
Most of their plans had already been discussed repeatedly throughout the day, but that didn't stop them from going over everything again.
They talked about positioning. They talked about what Bran would do if one of the Crimson Guards broke away from Atticus. They talked about Jason's role and how aggressively he should commit if an opening appeared.
They even discussed several possibilities they knew were unlikely to happen simply because Bran wanted them prepared for everything.
Yet no matter where the conversation started, it always returned to the same point.
If they wanted to win, then Rayne would have to take on Atticus. Everything else was secondary.
Bran and Jason could barely even follow Atticus whenever he used whatever movement skill allowed him to move that quickly.
The battle against the adventurer party had proven that much. If Atticus kept that skill active throughout the fight, neither Bran nor Jason would be able to react to him consistently. Rayne was the only one with a chance of doing so, and that was entirely because of [War Pulse].
There was another thing working in their favour as well.
Atticus hated him.
At this point, that wasn't even a question anymore, and because of that, Bran was convinced that Atticus wouldn't even bother looking at him or Jason before trying to take Rayne out first.
That was exactly what most of their strategies revolved around.
If Atticus charged straight at Rayne the moment the battle started, then he would be doing exactly what they expected him to do. An unpredictable enemy was dangerous. A predictable one was something they could prepare for.
The discussion continued for nearly half an hour as they went over every possibility they could think of. The more Rayne listened and contributed, the more the reality of the situation settled inside his chest.
He was going to fight Atticus.
The humiliation from the Magister's office was still fresh in his mind. The memory of being dragged there, the way Atticus had looked down on him, and the smugness the man carried every time they met hadn't faded at all.
Yet anger wasn't enough to win this battle.
Atticus was almost certainly level fifty. As the heir of House Arkala, his base attributes were probably inflated as well since wealthy noble families could afford artifacts that permanently increased stats and he should have a bigger mana pool too. His class was also at least Rare grade from what Rayne had seen, and his skills were probably just as impressive.
Not to mention the armour and sword he would use, both of them would be artifacts for sure.
Everything about him made him a difficult opponent.
Even so, Rayne believed he could win.
His own stats were absurd for his level, and he possessed enough unique skills to bridge the gap between them. More importantly, unlike the adventurers Atticus had just fought, Rayne wasn't going into this battle blind.
The problem was that he didn't simply want to win.
He wanted to crush him.
That thought remained in his mind even after the discussions finally came to an end and Bran stood up from his chair.
Soon afterward, the three of them made their way back toward the arena.
By the time they stepped onto the sand, the Crimson Guard was already waiting on the opposite side. A massive cheer immediately swept through the crowd, rolling across the arena like a wave.
Rayne knew the reaction wasn't really for them.
The audience had simply been waiting for this battle. He ignored all of it. His eyes remained fixed on Atticus.
The noble was also already looking at him.
For several seconds neither of them looked away. Then Atticus took a slow step forward while the two crimson guards standing behind him, Darius and Mikel, exchanged amused looks and quietly snickered to themselves.
A faint smile appeared on Atticus's face. “You know,” he said, loud enough for all of them to hear, “you can still back out right now. Save yourself the humiliation of getting beaten bloody ”
His smile widened slightly as he folded his arms.
“Of course, not before kneeling down and begging properly, but I don't think that would be difficult for you. You're a bastard of traitors after all,” he continued. “Begging is how you've managed to stay alive this long, isn't it?”
More than a few people in the stands snickered at Atticus's words.
Rayne ignored all of them and kept his eyes straight. He knew exactly what Atticus was trying to do.
The noble was turning this into a spectacle.
The crowd already disliked Rayne. Most of them had made up their minds about him the moment Albert introduced him as the last Frayser. By openly mocking him in front of everyone, Atticus wasn't just insulting him. He was making himself look better in the eyes of the crowd.
It was a political move as much as a personal one. Rayne was sure genuine hatred existed there as well, but the main goal was obvious.
Atticus wanted support, and Rayne only had two choices.
He could stay silent and allow the man to control the conversation, or he could answer back.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could feel Bran watching him.
The old man didn't say anything. He didn't need to. Rayne already knew what he wanted to do.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“It's funny hearing you talk about traitors,” he said loudly enough for half of the arena to hear. “Especially when House Arkala betrayed its own benefactors.”
Whispers spread through the nearby stands at his words. Several commoners frowned while others leaned forward with interest.
Across from him, Atticus's expression hardened.
“What we did was to protect the Crown.”
“I'm all for protecting the Crown. Every citizen of the kingdom should be.” Rayne's smile widened slightly. “But can you honestly swear that everything House Arkala did was for the Crown?”
The murmurs grew louder, but he didn't stop.
“Or was it because taking half the Frayser wealth made it easier for your house to rise higher in standing?”
For the first time since the conversation started, Atticus's confidence cracked slightly. Rayne saw it immediately and pushed further.
“Remember, the gods don't look kindly upon liars and cowards.”
The lightning appeared almost instantly. Golden arcs crackled across Atticus's body as mana surged through him, and his face twisted with fury.
“Don't speak of the gods!” he snapped. “Not when your bloodline is filthy.”
Those were exactly the words Rayne had been waiting for.
“I think you've forgotten something,” he said. “We share part of that filthy blood, cousin.”
The arena went noticeably quieter at each word.
“Or do you not want everyone here to know exactly who you're related to?”
The murmurs exploded.
People immediately began whispering amongst themselves. Some pointed between the two of them while others exchanged confused looks.
Atticus looked ready to say something else.
Fortunately, he never got the chance.
The referee suddenly stepped between both parties and raised a hand. A spell matrix formed near his mouth before his amplified voice echoed throughout the arena.
“Everyone, the Valerian Soldiers and the Crimson Guard are finally here for their second-round match.”
The crowd immediately settled.
“The rules remain the same as before. There will be no killing, no forbidden techniques, and if one party surrenders, the battle will stop immediately.” His gaze swept across both groups. “Do you understand?”
Both parties nodded even as Rayne and Atticus never took their eyes off each other. The latter’s hand was already on the hilt of his sword.
The referee looked between them one final time.
“Then begin!”
The word had barely left his mouth before mana erupted. Lightning exploded from Atticus's body. The sand beneath his feet blackened instantly as electricity surged across the arena floor.
Then he moved.
The distance separating them vanished almost immediately. A blade covered in crackling lightning shot toward Rayne's chest.
And the battle finally began.