The World Dragon's Heir - Chapter 659: Final Round

Chapter 659: Final Round

The continuation of the match between Prince Damien and Sir Niall lasted all of one lance.

Prince Damien went high on the chest plate, and the impact knocked Sir Niall far enough out of position that his lance glanced harmlessly off the Prince’s shield, ending the match and sending the crowd into a frenzy as the knight lay limp on his horse.

Two unhorsing in the final round would be an incredible feat that would be talked about for ages, but after a moment, Sir Niall was up again, frustrated but intact.

“And now that brings us to our final match of the elimination rounds, Sir Charles Whitbury against Sir Morton of Bostoveria.” The announcer declared.

The two took their places with grim determination, a far cry from the usually flamboyant air that Sir Charles put on. Dominic suspected that this was also part of the act, as Sir Morton had done well, but not so well that it would be enough to put Sir Charles on the back foot.

The final contestants took their places, and began their charge forwards, with Sir Charles deliberately keeping his lance high, signalling to everyone that he was going for the head, the usual prelude to an attempt to unhorse the opponent.

It was a risky tactic, as it was harder to break the lance against the head, and the rules allowed the opponent time to recover from a rattling blow to the skull.

But as Sir Morton shifted to avoid the lance, aiming his own squarely at Sir Charles’ shield for the nearly guaranteed points, Charles brought the lance down squarely into the middle of the other man’s chest.

Both lances exploded in a cacophony of broken wood, and both men returned slowly to their spots, mentally calculating the move that their opponent would make next.

The mind games were as much a part of the match as the lance handling, and Sir Charles appeared to be the King of mind games as they began their second pass, and he began the charge the same way, aiming high, then lowering his lance late to aim for the chest.

This time, Sir Morton was ready for it, and had time to brace himself, but was still knocked flat to his horse as the lance collided with him and his own broke against Sir Charles’ shield.

An even two lances each.

The third pass, Sir Charles openly went for the chest leaving the match tied up, but Dominic could see the slight dent in the other Knight’s armour from the repeated blows to the same spot.

That was going to leave a nasty bruise.

Plus, even with healing, it would still be tender for some time, and would ache more from moving the arms.

If that was what Sir Charles was going for, it was working wonderfully.

The fourth pass looked like it was going to end the same way, until Sir Morton tried for Sir Charles’ false hesitation trick, causing his steed to slow slightly. Unfortunately for him, it did not work as well against the man who had created it, and Sir Charles extended his arm, making up the distance and shattering his lance to keep the match even.

The fifth and final pass of the match began with every voice in the crowd screaming, and everyone on their feet, save for the Royal booth, where they were somewhat more reserved, and still seated.

They were cheering, though.

Instead of slowing his horse this time, Sir Charles leaned back and twisted right, shattering his lance, while Sir Morton’s attack passed harmlessly by, barely scratching his shield as the Knight pulled his attempt towards Sir Charles’ new location.

If the Knight had reacted a hair faster, the vibrating wood might have shattered. A fraction slower and it would have missed Sir Charles entirely.

“Victory! Five Lances to four, Sir Charles Whitbury has secured the final spot in the top three.

Please wait while we tabulate points to determine the final match.”

Dominic knew that they should already have a very good idea of what the points were going to be, they had recorded them for the six contestants before today’s matches. So, it wasn’t long before the referee came back out to make the announcement.

“The final two contestants, based on the total points accumulated during this contest, are Sir Charles Whitbury and Sir Nallon of Shersdonia,” he announced.

Prince Damien sighed. It was as he thought. Those two had won by larger margins than he had in most of their matches. While his final joust had been brilliant, it wasn’t quite enough to put him into the final match.

If the calculation was correct, it was most likely the unhorsing by Sir Nallon in the final round that had put him over the top and into the final match.

Counting as a win by forfeit, with ten points in the first round, was quite the margin.

Prince Damien dismounted, and Prince Claudius called him up to the Royal booth to sit and watch the final joust. That way, he could be presented with the consolation prize quietly, without making a spectacle of his unfortunate loss.

It wasn’t a huge prize anyhow, third place rarely was.

Plus, they had only held the joust here. No melee scrum, no sword duels. So, the final award ceremony would be right after the final pass, and the two finalists would already be on the field. Bringing him back out for it would just be a kick in the pride.

The two Knights, one Cygnian, one Shersdonian, lined up at opposite sides of the arena, and the crowd quickly began swapping flags around to cheer for their favourite.

To them, it was more important that they had the most entertaining match than that a certain person won.

None of the remaining Knights were from Wistover, and the majority of Wistover’s population was not born in Cygnia. That was an unusual situation, to say the least. But it did make for great matching during the tournament.