“When one has the advantage, press on for all it was worth, unless there were specific plans that demanded otherwise.” - Liang Shi-zu, famed strategist from the Huan Confederation,

“See what I mean when I said there was no point in worrying about her?” asked Reinhardt to Ze’phane just after Erycea sent the head of the last knight rolling. She seemed uncertain if that was enough to declare themselves the winner, so she went to the flagpole, which was made of solid timber, and nonchalantly climbed up like a cat before she tore off the enemy team’s flag and raised it high above her head.

Councilor Estelle declared the end of the duel right after that, shortly after the soundproof barriers were taken down, and declared the Free Lances as the winner. Not that there was any doubt to that, given that they had eliminated eleven of their twelve opponents and snatched the enemy team’s flag without losing a single member, and did so with ease, to boot.

Reinhardt noticed that the reaction of most of the militiamen who watched the fight were more of shock and utter surprise. Some younger ones had looked nauseous at the gory display since Erycea’s team had not held back, but most of the older ones nodded appreciatively. Most importantly to Reinhardt, they also looked suitably impressed, which was a good thing. Making a good impression on the people they would train was a good start to the task at hand.

He could also see a red-faced councilor de Kars exhorting himself and seemingly protesting about the match, probably making accusations about things like “cowardly tactics” and the likes. Reinhardt ignored the rambling former noble for the time being, as he would deal with him soon enough, and instead made polite conversation with other impressed officers from the militia who came to congratulate him.

After a while, though, Reinhardt noticed that the councilors had not disbanded and seemed to be waiting for him on the sixth wall, so he made his way there leisurely, with a smile on his face. He had considered two main possibilities, namely whether de Kars took his loss like a man or if he instead whined like a little brat throwing a tantrum because things had not gone his way.

Reinhardt could work with either outcome, but the latter one would allow him to drag the former noble’s name deeper in the mud, which came with a bonus payment, so it was an outcome he definitely preferred. Lo and behold, the former noble seemed to have done just that, since the councilors would have likely dispersed were it not the case.

He liked it when his enemies were predictable.

“Congratulations on the victory, Captain Edelstein,” said councilor Estelle as he approached. Reinhardt took the offered congratulations with a no, before he tilted his head and quirked an eyebrow playfully as he looked towards where the fuming councilor de Kars and his cronies stood at the side. “Though it might not be the best timing, however, a few… members of the council have questions about the duel we witnessed.”

“Oh? Go ahead and ask, then, and I shall answer to the best of my knowledge, Lady Councilor,” replied Reinhardt with a toothy grin.

“Some of them voiced concerns over the… feasibility of the displayed tactics in large scale combat. The area around Levain is mostly composed of open fields, so we deemed it a valid enough concern to ask about,” explained the young woman somewhat sheepishly. From the way she acted Reinhardt could tell that the ‘concern’ was mostly from de Kars’ group, though the complaint was a pretty valid one overall. “Councilor de Kars wondered if you would be amenable to a second trial, done in open fields.”

While Estelle phrased it like a polite request, Reinhardt could tell from the way she looked annoyed and how she glared at the former nobleman from the corner of her eyes that de Kars must have put it in a far less polite way. Either way, it was well within his expectations, and since one of his own targets had so kindly offered his head on a platter, who was he to refuse?

“A valid concern, milady. We would be amenable to proving our training also applicable to field battles, as requested,” replied Reinhardt without missing a beat, his eyes roaming over councilor de Kars like he was a fat piece of meat on the roasting spit. “Since we are the challenged party this time, I believe we have the right to set some conditions of our own?”

“That is so, Captain.”

“Since we’re talking open field tactics, too small a number would not work to display it properly, but too many and we risk too much needless loss of life. How about fifty to a side? No more than four officers in total in that number,” suggested Reinhardt. “Of course, I do not know if councilor de Kars has enough men to meet that number or not.”

“I have enough brave men in my entourage, mercenary,” spat out the former nobleman. “I would like to request the lifting of the age limit. If we are to prove which of us had the better strategies to impart to our people, we should judge by having them fight at their best.”

“I second the councilor’s suggestion,” replied Reinhardt without missing a beat. “As for the venue, the open ground to the south and west of the city seemed like a good enough spot for me. What say you?”

“Acceptable. Like today, they shall not hold back,” replied the former nobleman haughtily.

“Accepted, and like today, I would request the esteemed councilors and commanders of the militia to be our witnesses. Does tomorrow at noon sound good? Or would you need more time to prepare?”

“Tomorrow at noon it is!”

With those words, a second duel between the mercenaries and the former nobleman was set in stone, to the exasperated looks of most of the councilors. None of them noticed the faint smiles that graced the faces of some of their fellows, however, and the way a couple of them hid looks of worry, or tried to hold their laughter from exploding.