The Ashen Dominion

A few days had passed, Kaiser, Viktor, and Edmar trained like crazy.

Their bodies were always beat and they're all exhausted every time they go back to their room.

They didn't miss a day of training!

Well, except today... after all—

It's the day where the first ever [Organization VS Organization] will take place!

Kaiser, Viktor, Edmar, Leo, Niko, Yuwa, Brock, Khan, and Jin are in the [Silver] spectating room, watching the big arena below.

A lot of other gladiators are also with them, the area was packed.

The air was buzzing.

Excited murmurs echoed around the room.

Some were already standing because there are only few benches.

Others were leaning forward on the stone railing, their eyes locked on the battlefield below.

Everyone was restless.

You could feel it in the way they moved, the way they breathed—even the way they whispered.

Viktor leaned against the wall with a bottle of water in hand, eyes squinting slightly.

Yuwa and Niko were seated just beside the railing, eyes wide with anticipation.

Leo sat behind them with his elbows resting on his knees, tapping his fingers impatiently.

Khan stood with his arms crossed, unmoving.

Jin's eyes calmly watching the arena without saying a word.

Edmar let out a breath and stretched his shoulders a little.

Brock yawned exaggeratedly.

"Tch. So noisy..."

He muttered under his breath, though his eyes were just as focused as everyone else.

Kaiser?

He was seated with one leg crossed over the other, leaning back, his chin resting lightly on his knuckles.

He's focused too, but he wants to be comfortable at the same time.

He looked more like he was studying the battlefield... rather than just spectating.

Anyway—

"..."

"..."

"..."

No one in the group said much.

They were all waiting.

Waiting for the event to finally start.

Whispers erupted beside them.

A few gladiators started pointing at the arena.

"It's starting."

"Finally..."

"Who do you think's gonna win?"

"My bets on [The Red Sun]. No way those mutts from [The Pack] can take them."

"You sure? [The Pack] has some talents too."

"They're both good in some way."

The people around whispered and argued.

Kaiser and the others just listened.

Letting the noise of the crowd around them become background. But their attention—was all on the arena.

Viktor leaned against the railing, arms crossed, his eyes scanning the arena.

Edmar sat on the edge of his seat, eyes narrowed, focused.

Kaiser stood up and went calmly in the back, silent as usual, observing.

On the big arena, there were a lot of things that seems to be obstacles. Like big stones that were intentionally put there and whatnots.

Usually it's empty for 1v1 events—but now, there's a wooden wall about 5 meters tall opposite to each other.

One on the left.

One on the right.

And beside each wall were five figures, half-hidden in the shadows, waiting.

"That's them, huh..."

Edmar muttered.

"[The Pack] on the left. [The Red Sun] on the right."

Viktor said.

Kaiser nodded.

Each organization had sent five members to participate. They agreed on the head count beforehand, apparently.

All ten stood in their respective corners, hidden behind the tall wooden walls that looked more like oversized crates than actual defenses.

THEN—

A loud voice echoed from the center of the arena—a man, standing on a platform!

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WELCOME TO THE FIRST [ORGANIZATION VS ORGANIZATION] MATCH!"

The announcer exclaimed, and the crowd erupted after hearing his words!

"WHOAAAAAAA!!!"

"LET IT START ALREADY!!!"

"I WONDER IF THIS NEW EVENT WILL BE GOOD?!!"

Cheers. Shouts. Screams.

The ground almost vibrated.

The announcer smiled and raised one hand.

"TODAY! WE WILL WITNESS A BATTLE BETWEEN TWO RISING ORGANIZATIONS! [THE PACK] VERSUS [THE RED SUN]!!"

More cheers.

Even Kaiser raised an eyebrow at the noise.

Then—

T I N G—!

A giant bell rang from above! It echoed throughout the whole place.

That was the signal. And without beating around the bush—

"WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S START THE PARTY!!!"

The match had started.

And right after it did—everyone in the arena moved!

[The Red Sun] was the first to attack.

BAM—

One of their members, a tall man with a red mohawk and dual axes, dashed forward like a beast.

Behind him, two others flanked left and right, while one stayed at the back, in his hands were bow and arrows—a support.

The fifth member was gone from sight.

"They're spreading out fast."

Viktor commented.

Edmar nodded his head.

"Looks like they've done this before. They have good coordination."

On the other side, [The Pack] didn't panic.

Instead, they held their ground.

Two shield users stood in front of their wall, blocking the front.

An archer positioned himself at the top of the wall—taking aim.

Then two of them rushed out the sides, trying to intercept the incoming enemies!

The mohawk guy clashed first.

TANG!

His axes collided with one of the shield users.

Sparks flew.

He was strong—but the shield user didn't budge.

"GRRRGH...!"

Then— SWISH!

An arrow flew from the archer on top [The Pack]'s wall!

It headed straight for the support at the back of [The Red Sun]!

But right before it could hit—

CLANG!

The arrow was deflected.

A flash of light.

Someone appeared in front of the support—a swordsman from [The Red Sun]. The fifth member that was out of sight earlier.

He was fast.

Precise.

He knocked the arrow away and vanished again!

"That guy's their all rounder, huh..."

Edmar muttered, looking at the swordsman in [The Red Sun].

"He's fast."

Kaiser added.

Then the battle continued...

...

Just a few minutes later—

[The Red Sun] started overwhelming the fight.

The archer from [The Pack] got taken out first. He was dead.

He didn't even see it coming.

That same all rounder guy before sliced through his position after a single blink.

He fell down the wall, unmoving.

Then one of their shield users collapsed after taking a full strength swing from the mohawk guy. His shield shook and hit him in the chin, making him black out a few seconds.

And before he could even recover, he was beheaded.

"They have good synergy."

Viktor said, pertaining about [The Red Sun].

"Yeah... [The Pack] is being pushed rather easily, they're down to three members already."

Edmar agreed.

Another shield user fell later on.

Then one of the intercepting ones tried to fight the mohawk guy!

But got slammed in the gut.

He was sent flying.

CRACK!

Right into the wall.

Unmoving.

Then the two from [The Red Sun] that flanked earlier and served as a distraction finished him off, they both stabbed him in the stomach.

Four of [The Pack] were already down, and it's only been about 10 minutes or so.

Only one remained.

And he looked injured as well.

He was cornered...

The all-rounder, the mohawk, and one other surrounded him.

But he didn't surrender still.

"HAAAAAAAAAH—!!!"

He shouted something as his body surged with energy.

"Adrenaline, huh..."

Edmar muttered.

BAM!

Then the man dashed forward.

TING—

His sword collided with the mohawk's axes.

Then he spun.

Dodged a sword.

Leaped over a strike.

BOOM!

He landed a heavy punch on the fast all-rounder guy.

The all rounder tumbled back.

"Oh, I guess he survived last for a reason."

Kaiser said, quietly.

But it wasn't enough.

SWISH—

The support archer from [The Red Sun] fired off an arrow.

"...?!"

The remaining guy from the other team wasn't hit... But his movement dulled for second.

And in that moment—

THUD!!

"KEUK...?!"

He grunted and fell to his knees!

The assassin suddenly appeared behind him and slammed the back of his neck!

And the mohawk guy in front of him—

S L A S H—!

Didn't waste any moment and sliced off his head once he got on his knees!

Thud-

The last guy's head from [The Pack] fell on the ground with a soft thud.

The big circular arena was covered with blood.

And just like that—

It was over.

Silence.

Then the bell rang again.

T I N G—!

The match ended.

[The Red Sun] had won.

"WE ALREADY HAVE A WINNER!!! IT WAS AN OVERWHELMING WIN FROM [THE RED SUN]!!!"

The announcer exclaimed, breaking the silence.

"WAAAAAAAAAAH—!!"

"THAT WAS INTENSE HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"I LIKE THIS KIND OF EVENT, MORE BLOODSHED!!!"

"KAHAHAHAHA!! I'M COMING BACK FOR MORE!!!"

Then cheers erupted from the crowd. You can see young nobles laughing, and merchants counting gold coins as they just won a bet.

Some people booed, but not at the event— but at [The Pack] for losing one-sidedly.

Kaiser stared down at the arena. [The Red Sun] didn't lose a single member, but one of their guys lost their left arm.

It was the doing of the last fighter from the opposite group earlier.

"So this is the new event, huh..."

Viktor mumbled as he cracked his knuckles.

"Interesting... Tactics and coordination of the members is needed as well to win."

Edmar looked thoughtful.

Kaiser didn't say anything for a while...

But then, opening his mouth—

"It's a small-scale war."

He stated that.

"..."

"..."

Brock, Khan, Jin, Viktor, Edmar, and the others didn't say anything after hearing his words.

Them as well... They noticed that this new event is actually just a small war, made to entertain those in power.