[Damn it!]
Fifth Elder Bluewind hadn’t expected to offer so much to the Newblade family. Now that he had lost his bet, the Newblade family would receive an influx of great items and techniques. Though they were a much weaker family, just the fact that his great family had lost to them.
[This is all your fault, you crippled bastard! If your bitch hadn’t made me bet so much!]
His son coughed up some blood and then regained consciousness. “Father?” He looked up at the blurry figure which had come into view.
“Hush now, my son.” Fifth Elder looked down at his son, seeing his terrible form. he was. All those marks, the blood pouring out of his wounds.
[What a terrible thing, to lose our honour.]
He watched as his son accepted a pill in order to heal his wounds, beginning to refine it.
[Regardless of how terrible it is, as long as my son is fine. We will regain our honour another day.]
Fifth Elder stood and then threw a look towards the younger Newblade, who was also heavily injured. “You have fought well, young sir.” Before the Newblade Elder could ask for the items, Fifth Elder Bluewind tossed him the items as promised.
There was no way he could refuse handing out the items, and even if it was a great loss, if he acted out in front of so many people, it would look poorly on his family.
“Many thanks to you, Fifth Elder,” Second Elder Newblade replied, accepting the items on his son’s behalf.
The young Newblade was still in disbelief he managed to beat the Fifth Elder’s son. It was only due to the first attack, as well as the boost in strength he had received recently thanks to a certain cripple.
[I did it…]
Wildroar had a large grin on his face. “Looks like we need to pay up,” he said to the Redwind’s Elder, who bowed his head and stood up to go and meet with the young Newblade who had managed to receive a number of gifts thanks to his abilities.
Redwind hadn’t expected that his distant family would have lost. The Redwind and Bluewind families held similar roots many generations ago, so he had planned on gaining favour with the Fifth Elder, but to see that his son had lost, he would need to throw out a decent, yet not great, technique to the Newblade family.
Emerald beamed up at Ken, resting her head on his shoulder. “We won, master.”
“That we did.” Ken nodded, reaching up to pet her head. This was the most unfortunate result, since Emerald had decided to start a fight with the Bluewind Elder, which then resulted in the Bluewind’s loss. That only added to the enmity that they held for one another.
[Oh dear…]
“You should hand over the items you bet,” Ken said, brushing her head.
“Yes, master.” Emerald noted that Ken looked stressed, so she leaned in to kiss his cheek, and then leapt down to meet with the Newblades.
Ken rubbed his cheek, feeling where she had kissed him. It always felt warm when she kissed him. Then he noticed Nana looking at him, causing him to blush a little. Nana looked away quickly, noting that her master was feeling embarrassed.
“The bet,” Emerald said, handing over the pills over to the Newblade Elder.
The Newblade warrior looked at all the pills, looking up at Emerald with shock. He quickly stood up and placed his hands together in respect. “This one greets you, Alchemist.”
Emerald just nodded her head, and then immediately left to return back to her master.
The Newblade warrior looked up to his father, sweat dripping down his brow. He looked with a question in his eyes, but his father shook his head. This was not the place to speak about such matters, there was far too many eyes and ears.
The stage was cleared out, and the fighters went to heal. The Newblade warrior was mostly fine, but he followed the dueling arena’s guidelines.
Then came out new warriors, and the bets resumed. Ken could feel the glare of the Bluewind Elder beside him, and then Emerald pressing up against him. He was mostly worried about Nana, who was nowhere near strong enough to actually defend herself in this situation. If anything would happen, he would need to defend her, since Emerald was fairly strong.
He felt Emerald reach down to squeeze his hand, and he looked at her. She could see that he was thinking of useless things, something which more than likely wouldn’t happen. He sighed and then smiled at her, squeezing her hand gently.
Wildroar noted them flirting with one another.
[You bastard! Go die!]
He continued to bet with the others, though kept his bets quite conservative. He didn’t want to receive any attention to himself, more than what he had garnered.
Finally, the hour passed, and Ken quickly excused himself.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay another hour? The fights are only going to get better, and I would love to take more of your money.” Wildroar grinned, having taken quite a few gold coins due to their last few bets.
“I have other business to attend to, but I will wish you the best of luck.” Ken bowed his head lightly and then quickly fled away, noting that the Bluewind and Redwind Elders were remaining behind. They couldn’t just leave after a single hour, they still needed to flaunt their wealth and knowledge.
Ken was constantly on edge on the entire way back to the inn. When they were in their room, he let out a sigh of relief. He looked to Emerald and then stood up.
“Ken?” she asked, waiting for her punishment.
Ken hugged her tight. “You’re going to get me killed one of these days. How could you start a fight with the Bluewind Elder like that?” He reached into her hair to brush it gently.
She frowned slightly. “I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s alright, it’s alright.” The Elder wouldn’t have done anything brazen out in public, but they should be worried about his revenge. Someone like him would no doubt have had his pride wounded.
Ken just embraced Emerald for a long while, before noting how hot she had become, and then quickly let her go. She was already drunk on his scent, and was ready to kiss him for more, but Ken turned to Nana.
“Are you okay?” he asked, slipping his thumb into Emerald’s mouth so she could calm down.
“I’m fine, master.”
“You were under their intense gaze because of us. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Nana bowed her head. “I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me.” She smiled though, enjoying the fact that she was in his thoughts. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” He rubbed his forehead. “We should prepare for the worst case scenario.”
[[Yes, yes. I understand.]]
Meanwhile, the Newblade Elder excused himself under the pretext of wanting to check on his son, when in reality he wanted to return back the Newblade estate.
The pair of them returned home, with a few of the warrior’s guards joining them, though they weren’t as powerful as the Elder.
“You’re back,” Patriarch Newblade said.
“I have returned, Patriarch.”
Patriarch Newblade noted the look in the Second Elder’s eyes, motioned with a hand. “Shall we drink some tea and speak of your son’s bout?”
They went to a pavilion, and a maid poured them some tea.
“So he lost?” Patriarch Newblade asked.
“No,” the Second Elder replied, shaking his head. “He managed to defeat the young Bluewind.
Patriarch Newblade spat out his tea, but they pretended as though he didn’t do something so rude.
“Then what is bothering you so much?”
Second Elder closed his eyes, thinking about what had happened over the course of the day. He reached up to rub his eyes. “Your sight is much further than my own.”
Patriarch Newblade raised his eyebrows in surprise.
[Is he planning on a coup right now?]
He looked around to find that they were all alone, other than their guards who were standing at attention.
“I don’t deserve such high praise,” the Patriarch said.
“No, you do. The only reason my son had managed to defeat the young Bluewind was due to your decision as Patriarch. I can’t help but think I was too short sighted.”
The Patriarch was still unsure of where the blade would come from. There’s no way that the Second Elder would say such things without wanting to drop his guard.
“A bet was made with the Alchemist beside the Arrayist.”
“A bet?”
Second Elder placed down all the pills which had been offered. “Alchemist Emerald had bet on our family.”
“She bet on our family over the Bluewind?”
The Second Elder nodded his head.
Patriarch Newblade rubbed his chin, feeling his beard. “You’re not lying, are you?”
“Would I dare lie to you?”
“…”
“About this matter?”
“So, you’re saying that she…”
“That’s right.”
Patriarch Newblade rubbed his beard again. Did she really have so much faith in their family.
[No! It’s not that!]
His eyes went wide and he looked at the Second Elder. The pair of them shared a look, and nodded to one another.
“I will leave for a year and go into isolated training,” the Second Elder said. He motioned to the items which had been bet on his son. “These items belong to my son, I hope you will allow him to use them.”
“They were earned by him. What kind of Patriarch would I be if I coveted a promising young man’s fruits of labour?”
Second Elder placed his hands together in respect and then excused himself, leaving for some isolated training.
Patriarch Newblade leaned back, going deep into thought.
[With the Second Elder in my camp, the First Elder will have to relent. To think that I would receive such fortune.]
He thought about Ken and Emerald. “To think you would assist my family so much…” He needed to find a way to grow their bonds together. He wondered which daughter of the Newblade family the cripple would fancy.
[Damn it!]
Fifth Elder Bluewind hadn’t expected to offer so much to the Newblade family. Now that he had lost his bet, the Newblade family would receive an influx of great items and techniques. Though they were a much weaker family, just the fact that his great family had lost to them.
[This is all your fault, you crippled bastard! If your bitch hadn’t made me bet so much!]
His son coughed up some blood and then regained consciousness. “Father?” He looked up at the blurry figure which had come into view.
“Hush now, my son.” Fifth Elder looked down at his son, seeing his terrible form. he was. All those marks, the blood pouring out of his wounds.
[What a terrible thing, to lose our honour.]
He watched as his son accepted a pill in order to heal his wounds, beginning to refine it.
[Regardless of how terrible it is, as long as my son is fine. We will regain our honour another day.]
Fifth Elder stood and then threw a look towards the younger Newblade, who was also heavily injured. “You have fought well, young sir.” Before the Newblade Elder could ask for the items, Fifth Elder Bluewind tossed him the items as promised.
There was no way he could refuse handing out the items, and even if it was a great loss, if he acted out in front of so many people, it would look poorly on his family.
“Many thanks to you, Fifth Elder,” Second Elder Newblade replied, accepting the items on his son’s behalf.
The young Newblade was still in disbelief he managed to beat the Fifth Elder’s son. It was only due to the first attack, as well as the boost in strength he had received recently thanks to a certain cripple.
[I did it…]
Wildroar had a large grin on his face. “Looks like we need to pay up,” he said to the Redwind’s Elder, who bowed his head and stood up to go and meet with the young Newblade who had managed to receive a number of gifts thanks to his abilities.
Redwind hadn’t expected that his distant family would have lost. The Redwind and Bluewind families held similar roots many generations ago, so he had planned on gaining favour with the Fifth Elder, but to see that his son had lost, he would need to throw out a decent, yet not great, technique to the Newblade family.
Emerald beamed up at Ken, resting her head on his shoulder. “We won, master.”
“That we did.” Ken nodded, reaching up to pet her head. This was the most unfortunate result, since Emerald had decided to start a fight with the Bluewind Elder, which then resulted in the Bluewind’s loss. That only added to the enmity that they held for one another.
[Oh dear…]
“You should hand over the items you bet,” Ken said, brushing her head.
“Yes, master.” Emerald noted that Ken looked stressed, so she leaned in to kiss his cheek, and then leapt down to meet with the Newblades.
Ken rubbed his cheek, feeling where she had kissed him. It always felt warm when she kissed him. Then he noticed Nana looking at him, causing him to blush a little. Nana looked away quickly, noting that her master was feeling embarrassed.
“The bet,” Emerald said, handing over the pills over to the Newblade Elder.
The Newblade warrior looked at all the pills, looking up at Emerald with shock. He quickly stood up and placed his hands together in respect. “This one greets you, Alchemist.”
Emerald just nodded her head, and then immediately left to return back to her master.
The Newblade warrior looked up to his father, sweat dripping down his brow. He looked with a question in his eyes, but his father shook his head. This was not the place to speak about such matters, there was far too many eyes and ears.
The stage was cleared out, and the fighters went to heal. The Newblade warrior was mostly fine, but he followed the dueling arena’s guidelines.
Then came out new warriors, and the bets resumed. Ken could feel the glare of the Bluewind Elder beside him, and then Emerald pressing up against him. He was mostly worried about Nana, who was nowhere near strong enough to actually defend herself in this situation. If anything would happen, he would need to defend her, since Emerald was fairly strong.
He felt Emerald reach down to squeeze his hand, and he looked at her. She could see that he was thinking of useless things, something which more than likely wouldn’t happen. He sighed and then smiled at her, squeezing her hand gently.
Wildroar noted them flirting with one another.
[You bastard! Go die!]
He continued to bet with the others, though kept his bets quite conservative. He didn’t want to receive any attention to himself, more than what he had garnered.
Finally, the hour passed, and Ken quickly excused himself.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay another hour? The fights are only going to get better, and I would love to take more of your money.” Wildroar grinned, having taken quite a few gold coins due to their last few bets.
“I have other business to attend to, but I will wish you the best of luck.” Ken bowed his head lightly and then quickly fled away, noting that the Bluewind and Redwind Elders were remaining behind. They couldn’t just leave after a single hour, they still needed to flaunt their wealth and knowledge.
Ken was constantly on edge on the entire way back to the inn. When they were in their room, he let out a sigh of relief. He looked to Emerald and then stood up.
“Ken?” she asked, waiting for her punishment.
Ken hugged her tight. “You’re going to get me killed one of these days. How could you start a fight with the Bluewind Elder like that?” He reached into her hair to brush it gently.
She frowned slightly. “I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s alright, it’s alright.” The Elder wouldn’t have done anything brazen out in public, but they should be worried about his revenge. Someone like him would no doubt have had his pride wounded.
Ken just embraced Emerald for a long while, before noting how hot she had become, and then quickly let her go. She was already drunk on his scent, and was ready to kiss him for more, but Ken turned to Nana.
“Are you okay?” he asked, slipping his thumb into Emerald’s mouth so she could calm down.
“I’m fine, master.”
“You were under their intense gaze because of us. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Nana bowed her head. “I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me.” She smiled though, enjoying the fact that she was in his thoughts. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” He rubbed his forehead. “We should prepare for the worst case scenario.”
[[Yes, yes. I understand.]]
Meanwhile, the Newblade Elder excused himself under the pretext of wanting to check on his son, when in reality he wanted to return back the Newblade estate.
The pair of them returned home, with a few of the warrior’s guards joining them, though they weren’t as powerful as the Elder.
“You’re back,” Patriarch Newblade said.
“I have returned, Patriarch.”
Patriarch Newblade noted the look in the Second Elder’s eyes, motioned with a hand. “Shall we drink some tea and speak of your son’s bout?”
They went to a pavilion, and a maid poured them some tea.
“So he lost?” Patriarch Newblade asked.
“No,” the Second Elder replied, shaking his head. “He managed to defeat the young Bluewind.
Patriarch Newblade spat out his tea, but they pretended as though he didn’t do something so rude.
“Then what is bothering you so much?”
Second Elder closed his eyes, thinking about what had happened over the course of the day. He reached up to rub his eyes. “Your sight is much further than my own.”
Patriarch Newblade raised his eyebrows in surprise.
[Is he planning on a coup right now?]
He looked around to find that they were all alone, other than their guards who were standing at attention.
“I don’t deserve such high praise,” the Patriarch said.
“No, you do. The only reason my son had managed to defeat the young Bluewind was due to your decision as Patriarch. I can’t help but think I was too short sighted.”
The Patriarch was still unsure of where the blade would come from. There’s no way that the Second Elder would say such things without wanting to drop his guard.
“A bet was made with the Alchemist beside the Arrayist.”
“A bet?”
Second Elder placed down all the pills which had been offered. “Alchemist Emerald had bet on our family.”
“She bet on our family over the Bluewind?”
The Second Elder nodded his head.
Patriarch Newblade rubbed his chin, feeling his beard. “You’re not lying, are you?”
“Would I dare lie to you?”
“…”
“About this matter?”
“So, you’re saying that she…”
“That’s right.”
Patriarch Newblade rubbed his beard again. Did she really have so much faith in their family.
[No! It’s not that!]
His eyes went wide and he looked at the Second Elder. The pair of them shared a look, and nodded to one another.
“I will leave for a year and go into isolated training,” the Second Elder said. He motioned to the items which had been bet on his son. “These items belong to my son, I hope you will allow him to use them.”
“They were earned by him. What kind of Patriarch would I be if I coveted a promising young man’s fruits of labour?”
Second Elder placed his hands together in respect and then excused himself, leaving for some isolated training.
Patriarch Newblade leaned back, going deep into thought.
[With the Second Elder in my camp, the First Elder will have to relent. To think that I would receive such fortune.]
He thought about Ken and Emerald. “To think you would assist my family so much…” He needed to find a way to grow their bonds together. He wondered which daughter of the Newblade family the cripple would fancy.
