THENEXTPRINCE, Chapter 42: The Contest.
The important day in Emmaly’s history had arrived, and Khanin’s injuries weren’t improving from that day onwards. The young royal and his team appeared at the competition field.
The support device for the right arm on the shoulder of the recently resigned leader of the Atsawethanin has caused a flurry of criticism. Some claim that Khanin was showing off, some say it was a stunt, and others think it’s just an excuse for younger competitors to use when they lose, so as not to lose face.
Despite the many opinions being voiced, Khanin doesn’t pay any attention, letting people enjoy speculating on the situation without arguing or explaining anything.
Dhipabawon and leaders of every family gather here, a difficult sight to behold. At the center of the middle row sits the Sovereign King, followed by Waseen, Chana, and Rachata, who have to remain on guard in their dubious positions, and ending with Tarin.
Khanin steps forward to stand next to Ramil and Eva, his eyes scanning the crowd surrounding them from all directions. Tension is inevitable.
The young royal takes a deep breath, looking at the people standing in respect with a feeling of unfamiliarity, yet even so, there is no easy way to communicate.
Because today, he came to pull off the masks of those who hid their true selves, whoever they may be.
“How is your arm, Phii Khanin?” Thawetmetha’s only daughter asks as she approaches the young men before the ceremony begins. In the audience area, there are ordinary people, both local and foreign journalists, high level figures like the Prince Kalavin Li, various ministers, as well as the center seats reserved for the royal family.
“Feels like a brand new arm!” he joked to avoid awkwardness. Then Khanin raised his hand and made gestures for the girl to see, while Ramil followed suit, nervously speaking in his characteristic manner.
“Boasting as usual.”
“I have something to boast about.”
“I’m not giving up, you know.”
“I didn’t even ask you to do anything.” Khanin immediately responded, still curling his lips defiantly.
“Hehe, you’re always clever.” The son of the Puchongpisut family stood tall, exuding a sense of confidence and assurance. However, beneath the surface, there was no hint of arrogance or disrespect. Who knows if it was just an act.
Today’s plan is to make the game as natural as possible. Khanin and Ramil continue to act as rivals, even as they face Eva.
Although Eva and Chana have freed themselves from suspicion, Khanin still can’t trust them. After the meeting with Ramil, they agreed to keep an eye on Eva while searching for the slanderer.
“Don’t argue too much, let’s just enjoy the event together… let’s go.” Eva intervened so that war wouldn’t break out. The young woman turned and walked away, leaving Khanin behind, staring at the slender figure as she prepared to take the stage.
Khanin hesitated, looking after her as she briskly maneuvered herself to be next to someone else with a flick of her hair. He turned back to speak to his old friend Ramil.
“Ramil…”
“What?”
“If you see anything strange, don’t forget to signal.”
“You too… the signal is making a fist with four fingers and pointing your index finger to the ground, used to communicate when something abnormal is noticed.”
Because there needs to be a lottery to choose who plays first, Khanin plans to have someone who has yet to play to monitor for emergencies.
However, if in the lottery draw, the results show that Khanin has to compete against each other in the first round, he has to leave his concerns with Chakri and Vetis to wander around the event, including having Prince Kalavin stay near the area where the royal family is located.
Although Kalavin said he could not bring his own team to help, at least having another party here counted as an added point for them.
“You go ahead, I’ll follow.” Khanin said to his older and younger siblings.
Ramil answered back. Then the tall man strode towards his own location.
Khanin swept his gaze around the surroundings once again, a massive dome where the crowded competition was being held, filled with reporters and dignitaries below, and a big screen above the moon seats in the middle full of people from all over the states.
He tried to calm himself by taking deep breaths, breathing in deep into his lungs and slowly exhaling, trying to act like he wasn’t scared of anything, but deep down Khanin prayed for the success of today’s plan.
“Let’s go then. After the opening ceremony and lottery draw.”
Charan’s whisper brought Khanin back to reality, and he joined the other heirs.
Dhipabawon’s opening speech as the highest authority figure in the country became just a formality. Khanin reminded himself to focus, while his eyes surreptitiously surveyed the situation.
Everything was still fine, and all the family heads were present after the Sovereign King spoke about the important agenda, finishing with the announcement of the rules.
“According to the laws of Emmaly, in the first round, we will find the winning team to compete in the elimination round. From the remaining number of people, each team can plan their own match, but there is a rule that one fencer can handle no more than three matches on the opposite side, and they must change.”
This information was something that all members of the teams knew beforehand. Khanin allowed the sound of the surrounding rounds to enter while he kept an eye on the situation.
“If the scores are tied, the fencers will not have the right to compete with anyone else later on, and in the final elimination round, the remaining people will have one of the next Sovereign King’s heirs as one of them. Otherwise, the competition will be deemed as invalid.”
The flash from the various news agencies’ cameras was aimed at the three heirs, the bright light overwhelming and giving them a hard time to breathe. Khanin carefully watched his older and younger siblings, Evaa and Ramil, handling it better than he is, looking more used to facing the media.
He didn’t grow up here, and no matter how much he tried to dress up and wear a coat with the crown, in the end, Khanin couldn’t change the fact that he was born… and grew up like an ordinary person.
The calm and serene facial expressions of both of them were appropriate for how they had grown up, high class. Khanin bit his lower lip, feeling a little better as he tried to deal with the mental problem himself.
Amidst the crowd, the feeling of being lost he had been facing disappeared in a blink of an eye as he looked at a certain individual.
The bad feeling of being lost that he was experiencing right now vanished in the blink of an eye.
It was Charan who was looking at him before, even though they didn’t have any conversation, seeing Charan still being here gave him the comfort he needed.
Khanin admitted that he didn’t feel good about knowing his birth country since the first day he had to face the reality of losing everything, but meeting Charan made his mind change.
Family, freedom, time, and life, nothing is good in this situation, but meeting Charan changed his thoughts.
In at least bad luck… there is Charan who is considered as the only good luck that Khanin has encountered.
“The following will be a random drawing of a family name that will advance to the next round without having to compete in the first round…”
The loud sound of drums came with the announcer’s call for Khanin to wake up to the upcoming event.
“The family that will advance to the semi finals is…”
The tense atmosphere in the heart, young royal wished that His Royal
Highness would be kind to everyone this time. Khanin hoped that Atsawathewathin would be the chosen family name. Because he wanted to personally observe the mannerisms of Uncle Waseen with his own eyes.
“Puchongpisut!!”
As if a celestial being intentionally teased, Khanin took a deep breath. When that statement did not materialize, the person holding the tail of the snake clan cheered.
The loud sounds of drums echoed once again, signaling the start of the actual competition…
“Are the positions for the competition fixed, or can we play according to our plan that we prepared from the beginning?” When he donned his armor and stepped onto the field, Khanin immediately approached his team, with everyone hugging their metal masks in respect for their team leader, before allowing Young Prince to interject.
“…”
“The rules are, kill and fight until only one remains, lose and be eliminated, not a single person left. But a tie is not allowed. If it’s a tie, then it’s eliminated… The competition is six hours long. Whoever scores five first wins, or if they score more, they win.” Khanin explained the rules to his team, which were special for this competition, “but the next round will not be the same, no matter what, they will have to determine the successor to the Sovereign King on their own, can you remember the rules?”
Everyone on the team nodded in unison, including Charan.
The first round was about demonstrating potential, the team’s strength if it was a normal time. In this round, it was just a matter of grasping victory, different from the semi finals, where the team leader had to manage their team member’s moves, so as to determine the potential successor to the next Sovereign King, to showcase the strength of the dynasty.
“If that’s the case, let’s cheer. For extra excitement” Khanin clenched his unscathed hand in the middle, with everyone joining in on top of each other, before cheering each other on and booming out, a picture that gave encouragement and confidence to those who cheered.
Journalists from all agencies looked at both team members, with live camera shots panning to the Atsawathewathin side, which looked harmonious and powerful, before cutting to Thawetmetha, where Young Princess Evaa was the only one preparing on the competition field.
The large screen displayed personal histories of Young Lady from
Thawetmetha, shortly followed by the contestant’s history from
Atsawathewathin, each of whom was an unfamiliar face in the industry, but managed to capture the attention of netizens well.
‘They say the person who competes first on the Young Prince Khanin team is Itti. Ittikorn, Mahoranap, the heir to the prominent arms merchant in Emmaly,’ was a consensus view.
‘Someone said he owned a nightclub,’ but many opinions came in and argued almost simultaneously.
‘He owns a nightclub and can’t work anywhere else… Young Prince Khanin chose him to serve, who knows who else he chose to join the team, go find out for yourself. Itti Korn has been on a foreign team before but withdrew and lives in Bangkok. Then, there is the rumor that he is at
Nonoanon.’
‘In that case, this game is interesting, I’m on Itti’s side.’
‘I’m still on Young Lady Evaa’s side, even though Itti was once on a foreign team… fighting against Evaa is not possible.’
‘Hey, gambling right here is illegal… police officer, a gambler is right here.’
The messages on social media are constantly flowing like a waterfall. As soon as everyone began to search for Itti’s identity, other team members were also mentioned.
‘JaeJirat, an acting underdog and a former member of the youth team.’
Or.
‘Yes, of course, Mira, the underground bartender who never loses, gambling with her guarantees wealth.’
Even he himself was talked about, and old clips that Plum once filmed and shared on social media were brought up.
‘Young PrinceKhanin, too. The stern figure of that society.’
‘There’s only KhunCharan… I don’t know why they brought an artist into the team.’
Khanin glanced at the latest message, then smiled lightly until Charan had to walk over to peer. The older guy’s questioning expression, Khanin then decided to send a message from his mobile phone to let the other person see it and changed his puzzled expression to a grin.
“They said you shouldn’t have joined my team.”
“We don’t seem to get along.”
“Whether it’s good or not, we’ll find out.” Khanin shrugged, and Charan burst out laughing softly in his throat before the two of them spoke for a couple more sentences before Chakri walked in.
The young butler continued to do his job well, reporting on the readiness of both teams before inviting Khanin to leave the private room for the competition area.
His two layered eyes hid straight to the two people on the field. Now both Evaa and Itti have assistants who wear electronic score counting equipment.
Not long after, both of them faced each other in a prepared stance.
When the signal sounded, the person who opened the game without letting the other person position himself was Evaa, turning Itti into someone who had to retreat until he was almost at the brink of defeat, before he managed to turn back and defend himself because Young Lady of the Thawetmetha family changed from attacking to defending.
The time criteria were six minutes, and Evaa scored. Until the point where she started to get tired. Itti then managed to score. Finally, the game ended with a tie.
The score was something that Khanin had predicted from the beginning. He intentionally let Itti open first to see how well Evaa was prepared. If lucky, he could have eliminated Evaa using only Itti. But it seems that Evaa’s skills are much better than his team member’s. Itti, who walked back, looked more tired than usual.
“Jae, you are next.” Khanin turned to tell the person who had been prepared for a long time, and the young actor stared at him before getting up to look at some people on the moon. When he saw who Jirat was looking at, a slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Jae looked at Kalavin…
Their relationship had something more than what could be seen. He was confident because it wasn’t just one side that was looking, but both looked at each other.
So there was no need to worry that Kalavin wouldn’t provide full support…
The lingering question of whether they would receive support from neighboring countries, or whether they would be released, Kalavin had to play both sides. Khanin still couldn’t fully trust the situation ahead.
But seeing this, he felt that he had become more focused. His dark brown eyes looked at the situation ahead to analyze it, and he remained quiet before turning to whisper to the person next to him.
“Ung-Ang, are you wondering how the other team is doing?” Khanin whispered to Charan as they both saw Evaa walking back into the girls’ field with a slightly flustered demeanor. Then she chose someone to go up against
Jirat.
“If it’s not that she doesn’t trust others, it could also mean she doesn’t trust their own team.”
The analysis of the tall person made Khanin nod in agreement. The two layered eyes hid behind the cigarette when thinking, and he agreed with Charan in every aspect.
“I think that Evaa doesn’t trust her own team.” During the first competition against Itti, it wasn’t clear because Evaa didn’t show much expression. But during the second competition, Khanin was confident that what he thought was true.
In the period before the competition, Evaa hardly walked into her own team, unlike him, who was surrounded by his own team members until the very last minute before sending Itti out.
It was because of the metal mask that covered his face, he couldn’t read Evaa’s mind. But from the arrangement of the swordsmen in the competition, he could guess that there might be some problems within Evaa’s team.
“The competition has begun.” The sound of the signal increased, and Khanin realized he was lost in thought while Charan nudged him to pay attention to the screen.
No matter how good Jirat’s fighting stance was, Evaa’s team could always withstand it. She countered back with a fierce pose, causing excitement and leading to gaining the lead in points.
The main match looked evenly matched in the first minute, but in the end, Evaa’s representative slowed down and Jirat managed to score five points before ultimately winning this competition.
The competition atmosphere became more intense. When in the third round,
Evaa’s team decided to change the competitor, one side was a person from Atsawathewathin, who was selected to join Evaa’s team, while the other competitor was a representative of the Phitakthewa family.
“This person looks very familiar. Is he the one that Chakri showed me the picture of?” Khanin turned to whisper to the plump butler who stood next to him. When he saw who the opponents were, he had already seen the other side’s face from the Evaa team’s information, but there seemed to be something stuck in his mouth that he couldn’t remember.
“Yes, Your Highness. He was one of the choices the Sovereign King sent to you. This person is very talented, Your Highness, and he was also a friend from the same university as Khun Charan.”
While Khanin was chatting with his close butler next to the field, Charan brought his gaze back to the person in front of him.
Former university classmates who became opponents today looked at each other incredulously. His narrow eyes glimmered with a hint of laughter when he realized that he was competing against him. However, despite everything, the attitude he showed still had courtesy.
“I never thought I’d meet you here… competing with each other.” The person in front of him is his former university classmate. Charan remembered well that the other side didn’t like his face very much.
Perhaps it was because of the position as the leader of the Phitakthewa family that he brought with him, the person who would come up to this position must be fully equipped with the art of self defense and the art of swordsmanship, the symbol of the nation. Everything combined should not be inferior to anyone, but it turns out that the current leader, him, shows that he lacks everything.
Someone as talented as him would always compare himself with others. Because this person was one of the top ranked students in swordsmanship during their university days.
“Nice to see you again.” Charan said it that way. Even though he didn’t feel pleased, when the other side showed courtesy, he had to maintain it back. “Although we were university friends, I won’t go easy on you.” The other side joined in with confidence. Although they talked as if they understood each other, their eyes looked at each other with ridicule.
“So?”
“I’m sorry if I have to make you feel ashamed, but I probably won’t let you lose because we’re on opposite sides today.” The smile on the faces of the combatants did not make Charan tremble even a little, giving the other side the opportunity to win without wasting any effort.
“If so… I have to apologize too.” The leader of the Phitakthewa family spoke only briefly and prepared, while the other side still moved slowly like an actor walking on a red carpet.
Let pride go first… Because no matter how much people think about it, he doesn’t care.
Charan chuckled. His sapphire eyes stared confidently at the opponent, and at the sound of the announcement, Charan’s sword rushed out, scoring by using the Right of Way, a beautiful attacking technique of an athlete.
The other side was still puzzled by what was happening. When he returned to his area, he still moved slowly as before. This time, the contestant was chased by Charan until he was pushed out of the competition area, allowing Atsawathewathin to score another point until finally achieving a beautiful victory of five points.
What happened caused a wave on social media and the names of Charan and Phitakthewa rose to the top of the search rankings in less than an hour.
Almost every post about the favorite artist of Sovereign King ignited.
Everyone was interested in sharing their opinions about the hidden talent that was never revealed before. Only the members of the Atsawathewathin team were standing with a smile of satisfaction. Because they were the first group to discover that secret.
Charan was said to be the lucky charm of Young Prince Khanin. When the young man entered the arena, there was no chance of giving anything to the opponent even once. It was a lead of the Knight of the Round Table with the score trailing incomparably to the side of Thawetmetha until it became impossible to score anymore in a minute, trying to make a score. In the end, he could not follow up.
This fierce competition made some people start moving, and many people walked out of their homes even though the competition had not yet ended, but everything was in the sight of the chubby butler.
Even though Chakri was not good at fencing, his eyesight was excellent. Just sweeping his eyes to look at the young butler, he could get a feel for which zones were empty. Sometimes it might be a special opportunity for someone who was actually born as a butler like him.
His round eyes swept around, so when he saw the abnormality, he quickly sent a signal to Vetis who was observing the situation not too far away, along with sending a message to Vetis’s people to go check out the dodgy area, to prevent the possibility of something his boss feared.
The competition continued as Nin played on. When Charan walked out of the competition area with a win, Mira stood ready to replace the young man immediately. However, when she walked, there was only one woman left in the group who was stopped by Young Prince Khanin. Her team leader standing with a smile on his face gave her an order not to compete in this round.
Instead, the Young Prince would compete himself.
“Why not let Mira do it?” Charan walked in and blocked their path, his tall figure just
“I want to prove something. Phii Ran, you keep an eye on this race. Let’s talk later.’ Khanin just spoke, then put on a mask and walked over, replacing the girl who was in a white suit and stood ready. However, the hand that held the sword didn’t seem steady. There was something that Khanin wanted to prove. He had noticed something abnormal during the competition, which had happened three times.
Khanin believed that some of the members of the Thawetmetha team from Meenakarin were trying to do something strange, like trying to knock out the boxer…
Don’t let it be what you’re thinking.
The young royal was lost in thought, until the sound of the signal was raised, and the curtain moved as he approached his opponent using the arm which was still sore. It was clear that his movements were not complete, and he deliberately wanted everyone to see that. But it seemed that the other side was hesitant in scoring, even though Khanin deliberately revealed all the flaws, but it turned into a fierce competition.
However, the competitors know well in their hearts. In the first minute, no one scored, but the young royal gritted his teeth, knowing that they intended to weaken their opponents until they could not score.
On the other hand, the other side had the rhythm but refused to score, perhaps because the other side was not a professional, just trying to delay time.
Khanin was confident that something was wrong and his thoughts were racing in his mind while he fought against his opponent. He knew that the people on Evaa’s team were doing what they thought, so the young royal pretended to be weak and missed the opportunity to protect and let Evaa’s side score.
This caused a massive shit storm and netizens talked about his arm, which was still hurting, on social media.
The sound of counting points increased. Khanin secretly looked at Evaa’s team and saw the sad face of someone from Meenakarin, while the other side did not look happy with the score they received.
It seemed as if they didn’t want Evaa to move on to the next round…
Khanin’s thoughts were so overwhelming that he almost didn’t hear the starting signal for the second time. Although he was ready to compete, he was caught off guard when his opponent rushed in.
At that moment, Khanin only shielded half heartedly and only followed his instincts, while the other side stopped and gave him a chance to score.
The actions of the competitors answered the assumptions in his heart. It was clear that Evaa was now just a victim of this situation, and everything went back to yesterday’s assumptions. If Chana and Evaa were not villains…
So now the bad guy is probably trying to eliminate Evaa by letting her own team member lose.
To make sure that no one wins…
Khanin’s heart was pounding, and the truth he found made him unable to wait. He quickly responded to the weakness that his opponent opened up, and quickly attacked until he was confident that he could score and then stepped back to switch places with Mira, who was waiting beside the field with a victorious face.
“Evaa’s team member are trying to lose…” Charan quickly asked when Khanin walked back, without thinking twice.
Even Charan himself could see this obvious mistake. How could Evaa not see it?
“Yes…I’ve tried to balance it, opened the opportunity, but still he did not try to score. What does that mean? It was the same with Jae. At first, it seemed like an attempt to surpass Jae, but when his score started to be higher than
Mr. Jae’s, he backed down and let him win.”
“If so, we have to find a way to tell Young Lady Evaa…”
“Wait for me to find a way to tell her myself.” Khanin agreed with Charan while looking at the only girl in the team who was bowing to the referee, then he got ready and drew his sword as he heard the signal.
At this point, almost no one had a chance anymore when the team of Atsawathenin defeated everyone. Mira’s victory lift was almost non-existent even though she was strong because her opponent seemed to be a scarecrow.
Wherever the swords went, he just stayed there without trying to deflect, not chasing back, until almost everyone said with one voice that Evaa’s team did not come to win as the team leader had said.
Finally, Mira won with a score higher than the other team, but the young woman did not feel even a little bit happy. She walked back to the team leader with a stiff and tense face and said something that made Khanin feel unable to help.
“On that side, they chose to lose.”
Khanin was uneasy, his gaze never leaving Evaa who tried to keep her face composed despite her inner turmoil. He knew she was a fair game player and it was not surprising that she could not accept defeat. Therefore, under the neutral mask that the other side was wearing, it must be filled with unresolved emotions.
Quickly as thought. When the competition was announced that the winning team would advance to the next round, Khanin took advantage of the moment when everyone was about to walk away and ran to walk alongside Evaa as she was heading back to her seat on the moon. There was no point staying here.
“Can we talk for a bit, Evaa?”
“Yes, Khanin? What do you want to talk about?” The young lady turned back with a questioning look on her sweet face when she saw the older man reaching out to take her hand and lead her away.
“There’s something we need to discuss… It’s important to talk about it here.”
“We can’t talk about it here…?” Evaa frowned in confusion.
“Yes… about the competition.”
“…”
“The incident that happened to your team…”
…
“Atsawathewathin team has advanced to the finals, Your Highness.”
The announcement made by the small speaker made Ramil raise his eyebrows in surprise. Thawetmetha lost by that much, huh?
“How did Evaa lose? By a close margin or a landslide?” Ramil didn’t dare to ask.
“By a landslide, Your Highness.”
How did that happen…
Puchongpisut was escorted to the reception room, so he didn’t know how Nin coped outside, but the winning news from the royal family was surprising enough.
Even though he knew that Khanin was smart, from what he saw during the meeting with the team, he couldn’t see anyone who could beat Evaa.
Ramil trusted the skills and toughness of his teammates. Therefore, Atsawathewathin wouldn’t have a chance to win anymore.
“Let’s go then. Prepare yourself.” Despite having doubts, Ramil didn’t hesitate and encouraged his teammates. He got up and picked up his sword equipment to prepare.
Ramil reminded himself that ending the competition as quickly as possible was important, whether it was Thawetmetha or Atsawathewathin. This victory would have to belong to Puchongpisut.
Even though his father was still accused of being involved in harming Khanin, it was just an accusation that had not been able to catch anyone. At least now his father still had the right to be on the moon where the royal family’s blood was imprinted.
He wanted his father to see and acknowledge with his own eyes how much he had tried.
At least, even if his father could not become a Sovereign King… his father would know that this child could stand on his own feet without relying on the dirty tricks that his father used.
“Why do you look worried?” asked the close friend who noticed the amount of stress from the person next to them. It’s something that occurs at least occasionally. Petai was in his white sports uniform that was no different from his appearance. His handsome face clearly showed signs of anxiety.
“…”
“Are you afraid of losing?”
“You want to win, don’t you?”
Ramil smiled slightly at the response he received, knowing Petai well… The son of the Minister of Defense did not enjoy running or competing against anyone, without any desire for victory craving in him.
But everything they did was for him… That was the duty of being by his side. Petai had to do it.
“Yes, I want to win.” replied Ramil.
“…”
“But that doesn’t mean I won’t lose.” he clarified, making the white person beside him understand. Ramil seized the opportunity while about to enter the field to take advantage of the split second when no one could see, took the slender arm of his close friend, passed on some warm whispers to ease the tension of Petai.
“…”
“We just have to do our best together.”
With that whispered sentence, they both stepped inside the field. Ramil released his hand back to its original place, while the magnificent young royal revealed his sturdy face, being the only son of the Puchongpisut family that intimidated anyone who saw him.
The competition to determine the winner of the clan was held with no fanfare. Ramil did not go to wait at the designated resting place of his clan’s heir, instead choosing to stand and watch the first game’s players with Khanin on the opposite side.
Khanin looked calm and serene, having possibly reduced his agitation after passing one round. Ramil judged Jirat, who was sent to compete by the Atsawathewathin side against his team’s least skilled player, with a nonchalant expression.
Although it was true that the Puchongpisut team only had front line players who were the top of the country, the issue that every team had to face and could not avoid was that the skill level of each person was unbalanced.
But even so, Ramil was still confident that his team’s people would win the first game. The starting signal became louder, and the Puchongpisut team chose to play offensively. While the Atsawathewathin side received it, five minutes passed quickly, and the score in the first round made the young royal frown.
Jirat did not have many outstanding skills, but the way Atsawathewathin received it looked interesting, like intentionally playing the Puchongpisut and pairing to make a tie score more than deliberately scoring to win.
The result was a tie for both sides. Khanin did not seem to be furious, apparently planning for it to be like this from the start.
“I’ll take it on this myself.” whispered the close friend.
Ramil knew what Petai was thinking. If the opposing side planned to float the boat, Puchongpisut would have to play offensively, score quickly, and close the game to get ahead.
And, of course, sending the son of the Minister of Defense to the field was the smartest move, the name of Petai Ranwin was infamous.
The other side had an impressive level of skill that was hard to catch. A tall, slender figure held a sword in preparation, and the competition began with lightning speed. Atsawathewathin’s members turned out to be losing, with two team members gone.
The center score was displayed on the screen. Itti and Mira didn’t even have a chance to score. This round, they were competing against Petai.
Both sides lost in a way that didn’t have any objections or disputes. The son of the Ranwin family turned the situation around, making it easy for
Puchongpisut to win. Atsawathewathin lost all three team members, while Ramil lost only one.
“Don’t be afraid.” The sound of conversation was loud around them, but they couldn’t ignore the whispers of those around. Charan leaned towards Khanin and whispered something, while the host smiled in response.
“I trust you.” Khanin didn’t lie, he was never afraid of losing. In part because he trusted Charan, an apathetic person who wasn’t worried about anything, risking the team’s chance, making the public and various media agencies criticize them.
“That’s all.” said Charan before the tall man lifted his mask to wear it and stepped forward. He stood in front of the young boy, with the Minister of Agriculture, raising his saber in a prepared stance.
For Petai, competing against Itti and Mira for a moment was just warming up the body. But the reality was very different.
Finally, he competed against Charan, once again…
The hidden nails were pulled tightly. Even though they were close to each other, they would never see it. Today, they will find out how sharp they really are.
The sound of the competition signal rang loud again. This time,
Atsawathewathin’s side didn’t receive the shuttlecock, and Charan opened the offensive, while Petai tried to score half a point.
The saber waved and sparks flew as they exchanged blows and scored, with Puchongpisut receiving the next point. Atsawathewathin was knocked down, losing one more member.
Petai had always been suspicious of this person’s skills, but now he can see that it is true. Charan Phitakthewa is not just an ordinary skilled person, but has extraordinary skills beyond expectations.
Six minutes is not too long or too short for the competition. Petai intended to score all five in the last minute, but his eagerness caused him to miss a crucial opportunity. Charan defended before taking the offensive and scoring the game winning point in a blink of an eye.
The crowd cheered loudly as Atsawathewathin announced the defeat of Puchongpisut. Although four to five is not a score to be ashamed of, Petai did not feel that way.
For the spectators outside the field, this game seemed like a fierce fight, but for the players… Petai felt it was an act of restraint from Charan’s side, like he did not go all out.
The other party seemed to be standing on a higher ground, and their skill was like that of a master dealing with a novice. At this point, his assumption that Charan was saving his skills had been proven true.
And the Ranwin family’s son became even more convinced after Puchongpisut sent two professional athletes to compete, but Charan eliminated them in less than six minutes, leaving Ramil speechless with the score.
Six to zero… Charan lost his right to compete according to the rule that allows one competitor to eliminate no more than three opponents. However, in the current competition, Puchongpisut and Asawin Thevada both have equal scores.
They had to determine the winning family from the final match between the two heirs.
Tarin appeared tense while Rachata was no different. They stared intently at the situation on the field, while the Sovereign King’s lips were closed, but his eyes glared like a hawk targeting its prey.
On the other side was Waseen, whose gaze was directed downward before the sound of cheering became louder than before. At this point, Khanin did something that changed everything.
“Wait a minute… is that Young Prince Khanin holding a sword in his left hand?”
“Is Young Prince good at left handed moves?”
“How is it possible?”
Dhipabawon smiled upon seeing the victory, the old man left his gaze on the hope of the ruling family for a moment before turning away feeling dizzy.
In the midst of the arena, Khanin secretly signaled to Ramil after paying respects to the opponent. They had discussed this beforehand and stood in a ready stance, causing onlookers to pause for a moment before receiving the signal back.
The signal indicates that each person must hurry to finish the game as quickly as possible.
Khanin knew the culprit and once this competition was over, he would expose the misconduct and interference of Waseen’s other dynasties. He would reveal the true face behind the double faced mask, as long as nothing else happens.
“Engarde (On Guard), Pret (Ready), Allez (Start).”
The loud signal from the committee rang out and Khanin did not hesitate, striding forward with his sword raised gracefully, revealing the secret he had never disclosed to anyone.
Yes, Khanin was skilled with both left and right hands.
A loud noise erupted from all directions, surprising Ramil, but he still managed to keep his composure and control the situation. At that moment, the young royal turned back and became interested in the game on the field.
Ramil managed to dodge and avoid scoring for the Atsawathewathin side, making the long legged son of the Puchongpisut family take a step back to avoid the speed of the sword.
However, when it came time to respond, Khanin dodged again and used his speed to intercept Ramil’s arm, causing the scoreboard to ring loud.
Atsawathewathin scored one point ahead…
The split second speed was captured by live cam, the slow motion image was projected onto the big screen, showing that the use of the left handed sword by the young prince of Atsawathewathin did not hinder the competition in the slightest.
Khanin and Ramil resumed their usual positions. In the second round after the announcement, it was now Puchongpisut’s turn to open the game. Ramil used his speed to attack first, but Khanin again dodged and was ready to receive it.
In the next instant, both sides used their swords to tap each other’s bodies, resulting in a signal… The scoreboard and the display screen on both sides flickered simultaneously.
This meant that the score for the round was tied for both sides.
Atsawathewathin, two points, followed by Puchongpisut.
Next, Ramil used speed to attack before Puchongpisut’s side used an open sword. Khanin then dodged and, due to Asawatheawathin’s advantage of endurance, the scoreboard on the snake dynasty side increased in numbers.
The situation where both members of the royal families alternated fiercely welcomed the audience and created a thrilling experience for them, especially for those sitting on the Puchongpisut side.
There was very little time left. Khanin was in a ready position. Ramil was the same, with his small, tight fist holding the saber tightly until his breath was sucked in and he concentrated, ready to end the game in the next second.
“Engarde (On Guard), Pret (Ready), Allez (Start).”
After the command was given, Atsawathewathin and Puchongpisut immediately stepped forward to meet each other, sword against sword. Khanin intended to end the competition, but in the split second that he was about to touch Ramil’s shoulder with his sword… the sound of something suddenly became louder.
Khanin realized that… sometimes he may have underestimated the human capability for horror.
Bang!
The sound of gunfire stopped all movement, and both Khanin and Ramil stood frozen at the sound of the increasing gunshot sounds. The crowd, including those in the field, erupted in chaos amidst confusion and fear. The loudspeaker announcement of Tarin declared that the great disaster of the country of Emmaly had arrived.
“Protect the Sovereign King!”
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