Heirs of Planet Life 3 - The Battle of Gods

IX - Challenge

The first mate of the spaceship opened the communication channel and Mirov appeared again, startled by the speed.

"Have you decided already? I thought you'd be speaking all day with your crew and would only give me the answer tomorrow! Aren't you afraid to face me in a war game?"

"War game?"

"That's it. We'll compete with our best fighters."

"Mirov, we will use the term you have given us. We won't give you any answers before tomorrow, but we need to know more details about these games that you invented. What are the rules you have planned? Let's listen first and decide later."

"They will be war games, as I've already mentioned, divided into stages. We'll have four levels, all of them based on fighting that will give the winning team a score. At the end of the tournament, the team with the most points will be the winner."

Mirov made a strategic pause to let his enemies digest the first information about his games.

"We'll fight with previously chosen teams. Kirubi will be the captain of my team and you, Merko, will be the leader of yours. Do you agree?"

"All is fine up to this point."

"The captain will only choose the other team members and select them for the fights. There will be nine participants in each team, plus a combat robot, totaling eleven fighters including the leader. In the first stage, five individual disputes will occur. Each fight will add a point to the score of the winning team. The second stage will consist of two pairs' matches and each of the matches will be worth two points for the winning team. The third stage will be a fight between the robots of each team: let's put our machines to work! The winning machine will score three points for the champion team. Lastly, the last stage will consist of an individual fight between the last members of each team, the captains. Both will be placed within a virtual maze with deadly enemies, programmed especially for the occasion. Once they entered, the doors and exits will be sealed. The fighters will have to use special virtual reality helmets to recognize the dangers. There's a key in the middle of the maze and whoever picks it up first will be the winner, earning five points for his team. This key will open the maze exit door. Are the rules clear?"

"I think we could understand well."

"That's nice! But there's still a detail I didn't mention. The fighting will be carried out with terrestrial weapons, so that the fighting becomes even more unpredictable and exciting. May the best win!"

"All was understood and clarified, we'll give you the answer tomorrow, as agreed beforehand," Merko said.

The Commander of Star Hunter spaceship looked at everyone on the bridge. Sivoc shook his head and agreed to his participation in the clash. Tibor repeated the act, and Nicholas smiled when Merko looked him in the eye.

He didn't even have to say anything else. He liked games. Everyone in the command room accepted the challenge. Crom also shook his head in affirmation.

"I liked the regulation. The pairs' fights will be exciting and the fight between the robots will be a perfect climax. I would like to take Bob and help him win." Nicholas commented, anxious.

Even with the challenging mood the teammates felt, and the disposition everyone demonstrated, Merko was worried. Many lives depended more than ever on his decision.

"What's behind it? What are Mirov's real intentions?"

Then he looked at Nicholas and said:

"Don't be hasty, my son. We'll all think with caution during this night. We'll analyze every detail of the match and the strategies to beat it. In case Mirov wins or decides not to keep his word at the end of the tournament, we must think of solutions to follow. Tomorrow morning we'll speak again, to make our final decision."