Knights Apocalyptica
Chapter 241: Spirit Of Cooperation

Getting a bunch of people to cooperate when they wanted to do nothing was a frustrating affair. It didn't help that Erec personally didn't feel very good working with Soren, and so as much as he felt like he tried to smooth the way between Colin and the prince, he equally kept running into friction points with Soren. The man seemed to think they could let everything that had happened go and cooperate and work together. At the same time, though, he did it with his self-importance, acting as if he were the one with every good idea.

Every time someone came up with a plan, Soren countered it, saying, “Tomorrow, I will determine the best route for our victory. Trust in my judgment, as we will be led to a win.” Any attempt to add nuance or work on others' skills was ignored. He just expected them to listen while not listening to anything they suggested.

The reality was that they had yet to see what the battle would bring, much less make a decisive plan. So, the three of them bickered, not getting very far. Jack kept trying to intercede, telling them they had to cooperate and that he was willing to bridge the gap wherever necessary.

The two others on the team just watched in awe. The Magi, Bree, kept getting them drinks, which only made problems worse, and Tav, the wild-like girl, watched silently.

Perhaps, as they sat in one of those taverns arguing, they realized they had stumbled upon a mess of Knightly ego and fighting and decided to enjoy the show.

By the end of the day, they all separated in the tournament village, and Erec didn’t feel good about their chances of teamwork. As strong as he was, and as strong as he knew Colin was, they still had to find a way to work with their overall team.

With that said, as they walked home, Erec pulled Colin aside. "We need to find a way to make this work," Erec told his friend. The sun had gone down, and the night had a nice chill that brought a sense of peace. "I don't like Soren any more than you do. But let’s set it aside tomorrow. We can win, we just need to work with one another.”

"He's very spoiled," Colin agreed. "To think that such a young Prince would get such airs about his station, and treat others the way he does. If you ask me, it's pathetic. He's resting on his laurels while we have been going out into the field and conducting feats for this kingdom already. I do not see a future in which we work together.”

Erec gestured to all the people in the village behind them, “Do you think all these people get along? Of course not. There are far too many viewpoints for people to cooperate. But when it matters against the giant monster, let's say another cataclysm threat, these are the people we would want backing us, joining our army to take down a monster that threatens humankind. Sometimes, to achieve the desired results, we need to work with people we don't want to work with. He was right, we will be representing not just ourselves, but the Knighthood and the Kingdom.”

He’d already felt the weight of that mantle before during the wrestling match. And that had many fewer eyes on them than now. As much as Soren had gotten under his skin, he did have a compelling argument with that.

Erec said that, but a part of him also disagreed with himself. He still felt that fiery flare whenever he looked Soren's way, making it hard to want to listen to a single word the prince said. He still remembered his vow to take the man down, and he wanted nothing more than just to fight him in the first round rather than this whole mess of working together.

Still, he pressed forward, knowing Colin was having a harder time with this than he was. When it came time for the battle, he could phase out the mental aspects that were bothering him now. He'd have no choice because he would be short-sighted and focused on his enemies once he started diving into fury.

The whole plan for going for the flag and taking care of that would have to be the people he surrounded himself with, the ones who could think logically and devise tactics once he let loose. That was the issue with his talent, as once he pulled the trigger, he was just a tool, an instrument of war. He needed the right person to point him in the correct direction and then handle the rest of the background, especially with more complex objectives like capturing a flag.

"I'm going to need to rely on you, Colin. You have a good head on your shoulders. I trust you more than I trust Soren. I know that you'll lead us to victory. The magic you wield now makes you a rightful force in your own," he shrugged, "and I think as long as you can use all the people at your disposal, then we have victory assured.”

"Me? Make use of the people at my disposal? Aren't you supposed to be the leader?"

Erec shook his head and laughed. "Do you think I can lead in the middle of a battle while on fury? You've seen me, Colin."

Colin snorted. "Well, of course, you lose it, but to think that you would concede the leadership position. Aren't you Boldwick's prize student?"

"We all are," Erec said, "but we all have our strengths and weaknesses, and I know my weakness is that I will not be able to go after a flag. I will be way more interested in fighting the other people."

At this, Colin thought, pausing. He rubbed at his chin and sighed. "If it must be that way, then it must be this way. Fine. Let us retire for the night. And tomorrow, I will look at this team and the people I am forced to work with in a new light."

Erec patted his friend on the shoulder and then pulled back. The two of them went for the rest of their nighttime stroll, enjoying the stars above as they went from the village to the Academy. Tomorrow would bring with it a fight Erec sorely looked forward to.

— - ☢ - — - ☼ - — - ☢ - —

Erec stood in the middle of the arena; they stood on a big platform made of stone. No longer was this place a wide-open grassy field… It had changed. The field was split in half, into two distinct sides. One gained a false river, with thick vegetation and forest dominating it. The other, a more craggy, rocky, wasteland-like area that reminded him of the outside of the wall, only with more canyons and tunnels. They sat in the middle. Suspended so they could see both sides.

At the very least, it was early morning. He, among the youngest bracket, was the one to go first.

And even now, he watched with his team, toward one side, staring down at the forest and river and seeing a stark and desperate fight over the water as three mages played tag with their spells and glyphs.

Above, the Magi broadcast an illusion that displayed the teams currently battling. Four teams could fight at once, split among the battlefields. Cheering in the stadium beyond as an army of people watched the fights.

It was interesting to see the different types of tactics people had employed so far. Some just went for a full-out fight at the start, with the winner going to claim the other prize. Others used a trickier method, hiding in the surrounding area, blending in, and trying to distract while someone ran in and stole the enemy’s flag. Once you stole the flag, you still had to bring it back to your area to capture it, which was another game.

Were Enide competing, he imagined she'd have an insane advantage—being able to teleport to the enemy's flag, steal it, and then portal her way across the battlefield back to their capture area.

Luckily, she had no interest in joining the tournament and was somewhere up there, waiting for him to have his turn.

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Thankfully, that wait wasn’t much longer. Only after one more battle, his team was called. Loud cheers rang out from the crowd as they stepped onto a stone platform, then floated out towards the rocky crags and wasteland-like half of the field.

Another platform floated its way, and Erec’s jaw dropped as he took in the second team.

There were two Magi. Neither of them was the one that was supposed to be amongst his biggest competition, Forest. They were just simple, blue cloak-wearing folk, but he was sure their magic would be annoying. But it was Garin who had made his jaw drop. His friend arrived with the rest, rubbing the back of his head, helmet in his other arm. Munchy was on his shoulder, and Fido was nowhere to be seen.

“Garin,” Colin whispered, shaking his head. “Bad luck for him.”

Erec didn’t comment, running over the other three teammates with Garin. There was the woman with steely skin he’d faced in the wrestling match, and a man with a mask, red clothes, and chains who appeared to be staring him down. The last of them was a fellow Knight from the Azure Tower. Not someone Erec knew, but he gave a Knight’s salute out of respect.

Garin walked right up as the platform hit the ground.

“Wow, I didn’t think I’d be paired against you guys so early. I can’t say I’m happy to see it,” he laughed and shook his head.

Colin snorted. "To think you would be eliminated at the first stage of the competition. How very fitting, considering you didn't want to join."

"Hey," Garin said, "don't think I'm going to let you win. I'm going to beat you. " His eyes flashed between Erec and Colin. "If you recall, this isn't just a contest of strength. You have to go and capture our flag, and we have to go and capture your flag."

Colin nodded. "And what will you do when I blast you with lightning and go over and steal your flag?"

Garin just gave him a broad grin and tapped the side of his nose. "I guess we'll see."

Erec extended a hand and shook Garin's, giving him a pleasant smile. Seeing his friend display such confidence, completely at odds with the Garin he’d seen before, felt good. Even if privately, Erec agreed with Colin. His team didn’t look all that threatening. "We'll try our best as long as you try yours."

"I would expect nothing less," Garin said, looking past Erec at the Prince. "You guys got stuck with him?"

"Yeah," Erec said, tracing Garin’s attention to Soren, who was despondently staring out at the battlefield as if he were too good to meet with his enemies. Granted, half of Garin’s team were too awkward to come over; it was just as well. "And it's going about just as well as you think."

Garin shook his head. "Well, I could only wish you the best of luck. Well, maybe actually not. I hope it's going bad," he said, and then strode away with a laugh.

Erec could only smile under his helmet as he watched his friend walk away. The match referee called for them to return to their stone platforms, levitating them to the starting positions for their flags. The entire time, as Erec’s eyes ran over the crowd and the battlefield, the fire in him continued to brighten.

How long had it been since he’d had a serious bout with Garin? They’d only ever lightly sparred or trained since joining the Academy. Just how far had his friend come? As much as Garin liked to say that he wasn't strong and wasn't keeping up, his friend had put in quite a lot of work with his swordsmanship skills, and just like Erec, he'd been through some harsh battles. Those led to explosive growth, and compared to most Knights their age, Garin had inevitably come quite far.

But…

He was competing against a magical powerhouse in Colin and a physical powerhouse in Erec, so Erec was eager to see how his friend would fare.

As they arrived at their starting area—a hollowed-out nook in a canyon, they got a look at their flag. A yellow waving piece of fabric, suspended on a metal bar.

“You have three minutes before the round begins,” an announcer said, giving them time to plan.

“We will all be guarding the flag.” Prince Soren asserted, pacing back and forth as he examined the ways into their area. “If the goal is for them to capture our flag, then it is a simple victory by preventing them from winning. They will strain their resources, and we will win.”

“You suggest we let them come to us, gang up on them, and take them out of the match. Hardly a compelling fight. I don’t want to sit guarding a flag.” Erec said that the fuel in him was already starting to burn. He felt Fury brighten with the eventuality of facing off against their foes. No. Sitting here waiting wasn’t an option for him.

At the very least, the girl with the steel skin was someone he wanted to go against in the middle of the battle. This was his only opportunity to. If one team was going to be eliminated after this, he assumed it would be Garin's team because he couldn't foresee their victory against him as much as he assured his friend they had a chance. Perhaps it was overconfidence, but it felt a little too stacked in their favor.

Soren shook his head. "The ones who claim the flag at the end are victorious, so we can work together, defeat the enemies, and then go over and claim their flag."

Colin snorted. "You're just saying that because you would rather wait around and can’t abide by others acting on the battlefield you can’t control.. You've seen Erec, you've seen me. We can send two of us, and then four of you can guard our flag, and then we can meet those attacking in the middle. I don't think anyone will beat the two of us, and then we can go and claim victory for our team. Better this than waiting for them to set up some trap, spring it on us, and try to trick our flag away."

"You think they're going to set a trap?" Erec said.

Colin looked over the field. Their enemy was obscured through the rocky crags, making it impossible to see the other flag area from where they sat. Those in the stands can see fairly well, but with the way the rocks stood up and all the hills, crags, and canyons that made up this side of the tourney grounds, too much of their view was obscured. The best they could do was recall from memory. But staring up there watching people fight was different from being in the thick of it.

“They will. Think about who we're against. Garin. Garin has an impressive aptitude for social niceties that will de facto convince the others to follow his lead. That, and he has information on half our team. Since they've had a whole day together, they're going to listen to him. Garin is well aware of our strengths and will figure that the best way for him to best us is to find some sort of trick to take the flag, because he won't think he can win a direct confrontation."

He’s right.

It was exactly the sort of thing Garin would do.

How many animals are there here?

Garin had Munchy, but they were still out in the open. There were incredible numbers of birds and others in the Kingdom—if Garin had put in preparation, he might have had enough eyes to know everywhere they were. If they all sat here and defended and waited, no one would attack, because Garin would keep his team from attacking. It would be an utter waste of time, if not detrimental to their victory.

Soren shook his head. "A defensive formation is the most responsible one."

"A defensive formation won't lead to us gaining any ground, and it won't lead to our enemies ceding any ground. We have the advantage in strength. It benefits us most to implement that advantage in strength," Erec said.

It was… Aamess. Like the night before and the day before, they still couldn’t agree on anything. Jack, Tev, and Bree got involved and tried to insert their opinion, and Soren plodded over them, insisting that they just defend.

And… He started to get irritated. His nostrils flared, and he eventually plopped his helmet on to avoid showing anything. It was the first bit of emotion he'd ever seen from the prince.

“Fine. We will do it your way and have an offensive assault. But I will be with the two of you.” Soren said, his only concession.

"You're a lamentable control freak," Colin commented, calling him out.

Soren didn’t take the bait and instead responded curtly. "You have my concession to your plan. Take it, and we'll run with it, and if we lose, the blame can fall squarely on your shoulders."

"We will not lose," Colin assured him.

The Prince gestured to the wasteland as their time ticked to zero. "Well, then, if you're so convinced, let's prove it."

“The match has now begun,” the announcer’s voice called out. Marking the start.

Erec slammed a fist into his gauntlet, grabbing the axe off of his back. It wasn't his normal silver axe. They’d been asked to trade out their weapons for duller blades, making it harder to deal serious damage. As the goal wasn’t to kill, it was prudent.

Any lethal wounds or deaths resulted in an instant disqualification for the participant, with pending trials, depending on the intentionality. It was still a dangerous game to play this, so an accidental death could occur. That much had been warned to all the participants, but still, they had taken measures to reduce it.

Erec shook his head. "Let's just get on with it. I'm glad that we're not sitting back defending, and now I'm eager for a fight," he said, the fire in him having roiled seeing Colin and Soren argue for the last three minutes. More than ever, he felt eager to punch someone's face in.