Isekai'd Into The Wrong World-Chapter 70: Ch - The Melee

Prince Arlan and the mages left the arena. The gate groaned shut behind him.

The twelve knights arrived in the center of the arena, facing each other across the stone.

Six in crimson red, their armor glinting under the afternoon sun. Six in light green, shields raised, maces held ready.

The crowd waited, anticipation thick in the air.

Movement caught Ryan’s eye to the left.

Prince Arlan appeared on the outstretched, lavish platform directly above the gate he’d exited through. The wind mages took positions on either side of him as he remained standing. A woman in an elegant dress and a few other select nobles sat on the cushioned seats behind him, watching.

The prince raised his fist. The sound of the crowd dimmed partially but most had not noticed him.

The wind mages began their quiet chanting, and the familiar gusts swirled around them.

"Begin the melee, great Knights!" Prince Arlan’s voice carried throughout the arena.

The red knights slammed their longswords against their chests in unison, the sound was a sharp and metallic clang which echoed across the arena. It was a salute of respect, but it wasn’t to the Prince, it was for the Knights infront of them.

The green knights responded in kind, bashing their shields against their own chests, the hollow thud echoing.

Then the reds flourished their swords, and charged.

Ryan was stunned to the point he nearly stood up in protest.

These knights who were covered from head to toe in plate mail, were moving incredibly quick, way faster than Ryan could run even without armour on.

The red knights closed the distance in seconds, longswords raised high. The green knights braced, shields forward, maces ready.

The first clash was deafening.

Sword met shield with tremendous force. A red knight’s longsword crashed into a green’s wood and metal shield, the impact sending a powerful thunk across the arena. The green knight absorbed the blow, his footing solid, and swung his chained mace in a heavy arc.

The red knight pulled back, the mace passing just in front of his helmet.

Around them, the other knights engaged.

Two reds moved on a single green, their footwork coordinated, circling opposite sides. The green knight kept his shield raised, pivoting constantly to track both threats. When one red lunged, the green blocked with his shield and immediately swung his mace at the second, forcing him back.

Across the arena, a green knight drove forward aggressively, his shield slamming into a red’s chest. The impact staggered the red backwards, and another green was already there, his mace crashing down onto the red’s shoulder plate with a heavy crunch of metal.

A booming cheer erupted from the audience.

The red knight went down hard, rolling across the stone to avoid a follow up strike. He scrambled to his feet, armour dented, breathing hard.

"These knights must be, at the very least, tier three," Eleanor said, her eyes furrowed in thought.

Ryan couldn’t look away.

The red knights were skilled, swordwork precise and movements fluid despite the weight of their armor. But the green knights had an advantage. Every mace strike bent metal, dented breastplates and forced the reds to give ground.

The longswords, by contrast, struggled against the heavy armor. They glanced off shields, scraped across chest plates. The reds had to target gaps in the armour where the weak chainmail was, the joints, the backs of knees, exposed sections between armor pieces. Those openings were small and fleeting.

A red knight saw his chance. He feinted high, then drove his sword low, his blade angling toward a green’s exposed hip joint.

The green twisted, the sword missing by an inch, and brought his mace down hard on the red’s pauldron.

The impact was brutal. Metal crumpled under the blow.

The red knight staggered, dropped to one knee, and the green didn’t hesitate. Another, weaker, strike to the helmet, the green had held back their blow, but it wasn’t any less devastating.

The red collapsed, groaning, his sword slipping from his grip.

The red knight feebly lifted his hand into a fist, and shouted, "I Yield!"

One down.

The crowd roared.

"Making the longsword look bad... these red idiots." Jared muttered, his words tinged with dissatisfaction.

The remaining red knights adjusted immediately. They abandoned their measured approach and went on the offensive.

Two reds flanked a green, attacking simultaneously from both sides. The green raised his shield to block the first strike, but the second red’s longsword found its mark. The sword stabbed into a gap at the green’s side, between the breastplate and hip armor.

The green knight yelped and stumbled sideways, his mace dropping low.

A third red knight momentarily abandoned the duel they were in, and rushed at the green, sword raised for a finishing blow.

But it didn’t take long before another green intervened, his shield slamming into the red’s torso with enough force to throw him off balance. The mace followed immediately, crashing into the red’s ribs with a deep, metallic thud.

The red crumpled to the ground, clutching his side.

"Finish him!" Someone shouted out from his left. The origin of the voice was an old man.

The green knight did not touch the downed red, it was clear he wouldn’t be getting up for a while.

Already just four reds left... versus six... Ryan looked at the green that was bent over and visibly struggling, ...well, more like five greens.

The fight grew more chaotic. Not a single Knight stayed locked with their opponents. A red would engage one green, then pivot suddenly to strike at another who’d exposed his flank.

But the greens had a number advantage. One red was forced to fight versus two bloodthirsty mace users at once, and he wasn’t facing well.

A shudder crept up Ryan’s spine.

This looks... so fun.

A red knight feinted left, drawing a green’s shield in that direction, then reversed and drove his blade toward the green’s neck.

The green ducked, the sword passing overhead, and his teammate’s mace swung hard into the red’s lower back.

The red went down face-first, his sword clattering across the stone floor.

Three reds left. Five... and a half, greens.

Another person to Ryan’s right began booing. Ryan turned expecting to see another random old commoner, but no, Jared was the one booing.

Even with the melee’s result seemingly settled already, the reds didn’t yield.

They fought harder. One red managed to close the distance on a green who’d overextended, his longsword stabbing deep into the gap at the green’s thigh. The green shouted and dropped to one knee, blood seeping through the joint.

But before the red could press his advantage, another green was there. His mace came down on the red’s helmet with the sound of a hammer striking an anvil.

The red collapsed.

Two reds. Five and a half greens.

The last two reds moved back-to-back, surrounded. Their armor was dented and scored, their breathing heavy and visible through their visors. But neither lowered their weapons.

A chant started from the audience, the crowd had picked their favourite, "Jailis! Jailis! Jailis!" Each word caused tremors in the ground.

The greens closed in slowly and confidently, shields raised.

One red lunged desperately, his sword driving toward a green’s leg. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The green easily caught the strike on his shield, angling it aside, and stepped in close. His mace slammed into the red’s side with crushing force.

The red staggered and tried to recover, but another green was already swinging.

The mace struck his shoulder.

The red dropped his sword, raised his hand, and fell to one knee in surrender.

The last red stood alone.

He looked around at the five greens surrounding him, then down at his fallen comrades scattered across the arena floor.

He dropped his sword slowly and fell to one knee.

The fight was over.

The crowd erupted into deafening cheers.

The green knights stepped back, lowering their weapons. One extended a hand to the kneeling red, pulling him to his feet.

The reds, battered and bruised, formed a line despite their injuries. They placed their fists over their hearts and saluted the greens.

The greens returned the gesture.

Ryan exhaled slowly, realising he’d been holding his breath.

"That was..." Eleanor trailed off, shaking her head.

James finished. "That was brilliant."

"Not the worst I guess... the green ones didn’t fight too badly," Jared said, obviously disappointed with the red knights performances.

Ryan glanced down at the lower tiers.

Navius was leaning forward, his fists clenched and his expression dark with barely contained anger.

Navius’ father sat beside him, outwardly composed but clearly disappointed. His arms were crossed, his gaze fixed on the arena floor where the red knights, stood defeated.

Ryan frowned slightly.

Did they bet money on the fight... Or maybe do those knights work for Navius’ dad?

Below, mages and squires alike rushed onto the field, kneeling beside the knights. The mages’ hands glowed faintly with magic as they worked, checking injuries, mending what they could.

Prince Arlan stood in the royal box, raising his hand once more. His amplified voice filled the arena.

"House Jailis claims victory despite house Rellick’s determination! Let us honor both houses for their courage and skill in battle!"

The crowd roared its approval.

Ryan sat back slowly. Rellick, Navius’ surname that he mentioned in the bathhouse. So they are his family’s knights.

His family’s knights just lost a battle infront of hundreds of thousands.

Ryan couldn’t help the small smirk that crossed his face.