FIGHT AT THE BANQUET
The people at the banquet were shocked by the king's poor humor. They were more stunned when they found the subjects of the jokes were taking the jokes quite well.
"I will need to get some hair tonic that works", Prince Fotis told the king as he scratched his bald head.
"Me too. I am too busy with work normally. I must get an old witch to rub out the flesh on my cheeks", Prince Antonias told the king.
"You need to rub flesh off from more than your face, Antonias", the king replied to the chubby regent and laughed.
The regents of the Demetriodes and Hermaios family were taking the jokes about their bald head and fat face lightly.
"The princes are unexpectedly cool today", Prince Raslee said to me about the prince's reactions to the degrading jokes about them.
"That is because the King is the one making the jokes", I replied to him.
"Your majesty, you cannot allow this kind of defamation to continue with this newspaper of the Earl, the Herald Times", Minister Kimon advised the king again.
"Kimon, you are a mood spoiler. Tonight is my party and you come to spoil it with your usual solemn", the king chided the minister.
"Father, I've read the Earl's newspaper too on many occasions", Prince Samlee, the king's second son and Prince Raslee's half-brother said to the king suddenly as he rose up from his seat.
"Are you going to spoil the fun too, Samlee?" King Lavrentios asked his son.
"On the contrary, I wish to bring more excitement to the party", Prince Samlee told the king.
"Really, what excitement?" The King asked the prince.
"Inside the newspaper, The Herald Times, we have seen on many occasions, the Bully of Starri, beating his opponents ever so vividly, but nothing compares to the real thing. And so fortunately, we have the real Bully of Starri with us today. It will be a waste not to see him in real action", Prince Samlee told the king.
"That is a fantastic idea, what do you think, Raslee?" the king asked his Crown Prince.
"I don't know if this banquet is the right place for a duel", Prince Raslee replied to the king.
"You are a mood spoiler", the king told Raslee before he addressed me, "Young Earl, what do you think about Samlee's proposal?"
"Your majesty, I am afraid that the young masters in the banquet tonight will not be able to perform to my vivid standards and disappoint your majesty in a pale and boring fight", I told the King to his surprise and the shock and anger of the entire banquet.
"Peasant, who do you think you are that you can look down on us. We are nobles of the kingdom and competent Templar Knights", one of the young nobles said to me and scolded.
"You, I'll cripple you in one move", I replied to him to the shock of everyone.
"That is so shockingly violent, young Earl", the king said to me as I bowed to him in return.
Then the king added, "But I like it that way".
-----
As the festivities of the king's banquet spilled into the courtyard, the atmosphere buzzed with anticipation. Gathered nobles gravitated towards the central arena in the courtyard of the palace, where friendly bouts often unfolded for the king's pleasure.
Beneath our feet, the arena gleamed with polished marble, adorned with intricate carvings depicting the kingdom's storied battles against formidable adversaries.
Encircling the arena stood imposing stone pillars, not merely ornamental but imbued with potent magic. These pillars formed a protective barrier, ensuring that the volatile energies of the duels remained contained within the arena's confines.
This magical array shielded spectators from harm while also thwarting any attempt to prematurely exit the arena, ensuring that victory could only be achieved through the duel's conclusion.
-----
"You must declare your magic before the duel as in the tradition of the Ten-Kingdoms", the referee of the duel said to me.
"Fine, test me", I told the referee of the duel.
My opponent was the guy who shouted at me randomly because I looked down on him and the nobles.
He was a few years older than Oriese and was probably a talented Templar Knight, a profession in the Ten-Kingdoms where the templar focuses and dedicated their training to magical combat.
"Yorgos, Templar Knight – Saturn tier level 3"
"Wow, Yorgos is already Saturn tiered. He will definitely demolish that bragging Bully", someone in the audience said to the others.
Before someone else replied to the gossiper, I replied to him.
"I've demolished Legendary beings like they are turds beneath my sandals. Saturn tier, is beneath my feet", I replied to him before I spit to the ground mocking my opponent.
"I will kill you", Yorgos shouted at me, but the referee stopped him for charging toward me before the duel started.
"It is your turn", a referee told me as he handed me a crystal to test my magic.
"Oriese, Conjurer – Earth Tier Level 10"
The audience were shocked by the level of my magic.
"This bragging bastard dares act so proud toward us. He is merely an Earth tier garbage", someone gave his opinion about my magic level again.
But I didn't give him chance to circulate the gossip and comments when I told him, "Today, this garbage will show everyone of you here, are the Poo that my garbage steps on".
"Stop the verbal rattling. Just start the battle", Minister Kimon shouted to the referees.
"Duel commences"
Yorgos prepared a formation of powerful shields around him at the start of the fight. This was the way the Templar Knights went into battle, by first setting up their formation. With an indestructible formation, they would proceed to demolish the enemy.
"Do you think your turtle shell can save you?" I shouted to Yargos.
"Try your best, Earth Tier. You will never be able to breach my shield formation", Yargos replied to me.
In front of the spectators, I gulped down a magic potion before I quickly moved toward Yargos just as he prepared another magic, probably a spell that launches an attack against me.
-----