A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor
Chapter 1406 - 1406: Ambitions - Part 3

"Well… Given the number of people, I wasn't going to deny anyone an entry. The easiest method of filtration seems to be hundred men melees," Oliver said.

"And we've already got over a thousand bloomin' men, likely more, set to fight! That's ten different melees already," Greeves said.

"It'll be days of entertainment then," Oliver said. "As I was saying, a few hundred man melees, with the last twenty men going through to the next round. We'll keep running through hundred man melees, until we have only a single group of a hundred men remaining. Then, of the last twenty from that, we'll put them through to a normal knock-out style tournament."

"What of the men of the different Boundaries, my Lord?" Verdant enquired. "It does rather seem like, say, a man of the Third or Fourth Boundary would be at too overwhelming an advantage with the common soldiery. Does that not make for a poor showing?"

"I'd considered how to handle that," Oliver said. "I wonder if the easiest method of distinction would simply be to have the Captains and above compete in a separate tournament. For Captains, Generally, will be of the Third Boundary."

"That certainly sounds like a solution," Verdant said, nodding his approval.

"But it does seem to determine that the soldiery won't be able to defeat the Second Boundary swordsmen that are likely to be mixed in with them," Oliver said.

"Such is the nature of strength, though," Verdant said. "I think a difference of a single Boundary between competitors still makes for a good bit of sport."

"Will I be fighting in that?" Blackthorn asked.

"Already focused on competition?" Oliver asked in amusement. Naturally, he knew the same was true of the rest of the Patrick men. The large majority of their number were set to compete, with some two hundred men wanting to test their metal. He almost felt bad at how many tournament places would be taken up by Patrick troops. "I know Firyr is aiming to win it. He doesn't suppose that he'll lose against other Second Boundary men… But if there is a rogue Sword or two thrown into the mix, then perhaps he'll have trouble."

"Will we be allowing unaffiliated entrants?" Verdant asked.

"Provided they pay the fee, I don't see why not. It should be easy enough to sort out of the day," Oliver said.

"More work for me…" Greeves complained. "Now you're going to need men checking that they've all paid their way, and taking coin from any that haven't."

"I'm sure that won't be too hard. Lord Blackwell has already agreed to lend us some men," Oliver said.

"Yer getting ahead of yourselves, though, I reckon," Greeves said. "Do you really think that something of this scale is going to go off with a hitch? You don't think that there'll be one or two people set on causing trouble?"

"I can't think of a worse place in the whole kingdom for causing trouble," Oliver said. "Everyone fighting will be armed men. There'll be thousands of them roaming around. Already we have, what, five Generals who wish to compete?"

"And we'll have thousands more civilians travelling for the spectacle," Greeves pointed out. "It's the civilians who'll be in danger."

"All we can do in regards to that is keep a lookout," Oliver said. "It's no different from the crowds that run through a city, only we'll have a considerably larger guard to deal with them."

"That's sort of funny," Nila said. "You're making all these poor soldiers pay to fight, and then when some trouble does happen, you're also expecting them to join in the defence. You're a cruel taskmaster, Oliver."

"Well… I'm sure they wouldn't just stand by and watch. I'm not particularly making them… But I doubt they'll want to miss the opportunity for drama. You know what they're like," Oliver said.

"And what about you, my Lord?" Verdant asked. "What are your intentions in all this? We have Blackthorn who wishes to compete in the melee, and Lady Felder who wishes to compete in archery. Will you be competing?"

"Where could I compete?" Oliver asked. "In the Captains and above category, I'd be crushed by Generals. And strategically, I'd have no hope of competing against them, in the mock battles or the Battle board."

"You don't think that you stand a good enough chance in a single duel?" Verdant asked. "Without Command to be utilised, do you not suppose you are amongst the kingdom's strongest?"

"…They'll find Command to be used, but I suppose they'd only have a few hundred men to use with it," Oliver said. "It wouldn't be quite so impossible, then, but still I'm in doubt that I'd be able to do anything significant."

"Why not try?" Nila said.

"You're the one pushing me forward? You, who hates the battlefield?" Oliver said.

"This is different, isn't it?" Nila said. "You're going to be using tournament swords with blunted edges. Isn't this the safest opportunity you have to test yourself against them?

"Perhaps," Oliver said. "Well, as of yet, I am undecided. I'll give it some more thought nearer the time. There might be someone amongst the entrants that I'd like to try clashing blades with."

"In the past, nothing could have stopped you from trying the swords of all the different Generals, my Lord…" Verdant observed.

"And these days, I admit that my head is full of a want to improve my strategy," Oliver said. "I find it more difficult to summon up the enthusiasm that I need to truly enjoy the sword. I hate more than anything practising it half-heartedly. I'm reserving what it does for my heart, for those moments when I truly need it."

"I am certain that this road will see you with the necessary ideas," Verdant said. "There can be no better environment for your strategic growth than this. It would be insanity if something did not break free."

"It already has, hasn't it? I mean, you beat Volguard!" Nila said, looking around the room, wondering why no one seemed quite as excited by that fact as she.