Yordar’s statement was followed by a heavy silence while everyone processed what that meant. In the meantime, Yordar acted as if he hadn’t said anything important and started placing his units around the flag.

By the time he was done, Ravatoris and Mahon realized what that implied for the incoming battle. They’ll have to fight against a Last Blue. The scenario was actually a three-way battle, and although the professor only had half the soldiers of Mahon or Ravatoris’s army, none of them felt confident about engaging the Last Blue.

Their timer started as Yordar announced they had thirty minutes to write their first three moves, and a serious silence fell on the classroom.

Mahon didn’t lose any confidence in his ability to win. Actually, he was even more hyped by the battle now that Yordar was part of it. He had seen Ravatoris fight multiple times now, and if even Taenya wasn’t capable of beating him despite a strong early advantage, there was no way Ravatoris would be able to do it.

To Mahon, the man was just a side character in his duel versus Yordar. He was even starting to think it was a shame the Last Blue didn’t have a regular sized army, and that it would tweak the battle between them too much.

His goal was to win against Ravatoris, but Mahon couldn’t help from thinking his real opponent was the professor. Alas, he couldn’t ignore Ravatoris so blatantly, as per Zac’s advice concerning the noble.

Almost with regret, Mahon forced himself to consider the bigger picture and his battle against the noble. It was a three-way fight. If one side waited for the two other to wear each other down, then it could swipe them both in a single move as soon as they showed weakness. In Mahon’s scenario, it meant whoever made the first move and attacked Yordar’s army would be at the mercy of the other.

There might have been a risk of the flag being grabbed before the other army got a chance to intervene, but with Yordar in the defense, it was a very narrow possibility. Even with half an army, the Last Blue should be more than capable of repelling them long enough. Then what was the best strategy? Ignoring the flag and moving directly for a direct confrontation with Ravatoris?

The idea had merits, but Mahon wasn’t even sure he could take the flag from Yordar’s hands after getting rid of Ravatoris, and he had no idea what would happen in such a scenario.

Waiting it is then. But there is no way Yordar hasn’t seen through this stalemate.

The Last Blue wouldn’t have let such an obvious design flaw for his final match. That meant the man had a way to prevent the two armies from waiting until one made the first move.

How would I go about that? Attack an army directly? That’d be like choosing a side. It’s too advantageous for the other.

Mahon glanced at the professor, trying to picture himself in his shoes. Yordar smiled back at him with a teasing look, a challenging look in his eyes.

“Oh, maybe I forgot to precise this, but if after a hundred rounds none of you reached the flag, you’ll both lose the final. Losing the final means you’ll also lose your right to choose a weapon from the armory.” The old professor announced in a cheerful tone.

Ravatoris threw a threatening look at Yordar, but the professor remained unfazed, as if nothing really concerned him about what he had said. Mahon went back to his thinking process.

Does he plan to just run away shamelessly with the flag if we don’t attack?

Mahon wouldn’t put it above the professor to do such a thing. He winced and went back to his strategy decisions.

Wait or attack?

Both choices appeared to be equally disadvantageous, and so Mahon tried to find a third path that would give him an edge. If he tried to strike immediately and pierce Yordar’s formation as quickly as possible, he knew he wouldn’t do it in time, and by being the last to join the fight, Ravatoris would get the advantage.

As he kept imagining different strategies, Ravatoris grabbed his envelopes, wrote something, and handed them to Yordar. He went back in front of Mahon and scrutinized him with a wicked smile. Mahon ignored him entirely as he used the remaining minutes to outline his strategy.

He had to both impede the noble and aim for the flag. But his army wasn’t that big he could split it in half and handle both Ravatoris and Yordar. He wasn’t that good. Mahon played with the different possibilities in his head until he found something.

Not everything has to be split equally. I just need balance.

His brain caught on to his idea, and diving in further, he made his way. A solution so elegant that he was drawn to it at first sight. It was not his only doing, and he would need to rely on Yordar to complete it, but he knew with certainty the professor would follow through.

He may even have designed this scenario just for that.

Not hesitating further, he immediately wrote his first moves and gave his envelopes to Yordar. The professor accepted them and read aloud the first instructions of both Ravatoris and Mahon before going with his own envelope.

“Ravatoris’s units don’t move. Mahon’s units don’t move. My own units don’t move.”

The first round ended just like that, and the three men quickly wrote their own envelope before the second round started.

“Ravatoris’s units don’t move. Mahon’s units don’t move. My own units don’t move.”

Two rounds had passed, and neither of the three had done anything. It didn’t last long, however, and things changed as Yordar tore open the next set of envelopes. Half of Mahon’s army scattered around, in no particular formation. At the same time, Yordar started his own move and all his units moved towards the east, away from both armies. Only Ravatoris hadn’t moved.

The noble flashed a superior smile at Mahon.

Does he really think it’s just a battle of guts, and whoever makes the first move loses?

In the following rounds, a small race started with half of Mahon’s army directly chasing Yordar’s one, and his other half continuing to spread around in an attempt to block Yordar’s army from moving too far. Ravatoris’s own units followed a bit behind, waiting for the right opportunity to strike on.

The game of mouse, cat and watching dog continued for a few rounds until Mahon’s scattered units managed to block Yordar’s path completely, and the Last Blue stopped moving, choosing a defensive position instead. But the way he was encircled prevented him from easily defending the flag, given he had only half an army at his disposal.

Ravatoris smelled the trap and immediately moved forward. If he waited too long, Mahon’s encirclement would break Yordar’s defense, and he’d lose the flag without having done anything. As soon as his army went forward, a strange thing happened on the battlefield.

Mahon’s main half force charged Yordar at the exact speed with which Ravatoris’s army was moving forward. As if it was waiting for him before engaging Yordar. Mahon’s half scattered army gathered together and went forward to block Ravatoris’ progress.

In the meantime, Yordar didn’t stay idle. He perfectly guessed Mahon’s attempt and accepted his underlying proposal. He split his army in two and moved towards the incoming armies, leaving the flag defenseless in the middle. Two thirds of his soldiers went to block Mahon’s path, whereas the other third rushed to Ravatoris’ side.

There was a gasp of surprise from the crowd as everything fell perfectly in place. On one side of the battlefield, half of Mahon’s army was fighting two thirds of Yordar’s one. With Yordar having half an army from the beginning, he had actually a third of an army going on against Mahon’s half army, that is to say a 3 to 2 ratio in Mahon’s favor.

On the other side, Mahon’s other half merged with Yordar’s remaining third to block Ravatoris’ advance. The ratio of Ravatoris’ men against the alliance of Mahon and Yordar’s soldier was also exactly a 3 to 2 ratio in favor of the attacker.

Mahon’s split followed by Yordar’s split and their spontaneous alliance had led to two simultaneous battles, starting at the exact same time with the exact same odds. Both attacking sides benefited from a 3 to 2 ratio, and now it was just a question of which side would win his battle first and grab the flag.

Although the ratio said so, the battles didn’t actually have the same odds. They had the same ratio of attacks versus defense, but an astute observer would notice that on his side, Mahon was facing Yordar, a Last Blue, whereas Ravatoris was mainly facing Mahon, a student supposedly at his level. Although the conditions seemed alike, the reality of the skills of the commanders was tilting the victory towards Ravatoris’ side. And if you add the fact that on Ravatoris’s side the defense was made of an impromptu alliance that could blow up at any given moment, it was clear Ravatoris had a more easy win on his side than Mahon.

But in this given scenario, everything didn’t rely on an easy win. Only the first one to grab the flag would win, and it wasn’t a battle of who had the easiest fights, but who would win first. And in that dimension, Mahon had a neat advantage. The forces combating on his side were half the number on Ravatoris’ side. It meant his battle should end much sooner.

What had started chaotically by Yordar running away, Mahon splitting his army in two and Ravatoris observing from the sideline had turned in an instant into a delicate balance between an easier fight two times larger and a harder fight two times smaller.

So much had happened in such a short time that the students were still processing all the implications of the current position, but time waited for no one, and Yordar asked for the next envelopes.

The two battles started, and no one knew where to look as everything happened at the same time. On Ravatoris side, the battle was a theater of impressive tactical plays and twists of strategy. In the course of a few rounds, Mahon had to adapt multiple times to feints while he laid traps for his opponent at the same time.

The battle was at the level of Ravatoris’s strategy skill, and the students were able to understand most of what was happening. To their novice eyes, it was the pinnacle of strategy battle. Each move had a hidden motive they could identify in the next rounds. Much was implied with every unit’s movement, but they could know when a brilliant feint happened. It was a show they could enjoy.

On the other hand, Mahon versus Yordar’s battle appeared blank. The two men had clear motives, and yet they made a mistake once every few rounds. There was no grandiloquent move, and neither of the two took a clear advantage somewhere on the battlefield. On Ravatoris’ side, the skirmishes between units had distinct winners, and some units got completely crushed after a brilliant move from the opponent.

Whereas, on Mahon’s side, there was no grand show or impressive turn of events. The units were getting drained of their men at a similar rate. Each single fight seemed to end in a stalemate, with equivalent losses on both sides. Some even started to wonder if Yordar was going easy on Mahon.

Only the two commanders knew what was really happening on the field. Ravatoris’ side appeared grandiose because the man didn’t know how to be efficient. It was the show of a man who had learned a lot and used everything he knew as he had learned it. He knew what to avoid, and what to aim for in each situation. He had a wide list of tools at his disposal, but they weren’t his own. He knew how to use them, but he hadn’t yet mastered them.

Someone who didn’t know anything about handy work might use a screwdriver to bang nails. A knowledgeable person knew he should use a hammer instead. Ravatoris had hundreds of tools in his toolbox, and he knew them all.

But a very experienced person might know that, sometimes, one had to bang that nail with a screwdriver. If the hammer was a bit too far, the screwdriver’s handle was hard enough to push the nail in, and the worker’s hand was steady enough not to be afraid of this, a very experienced person would use the screwdriver.

Because not only Mahon knew of all the tools in his toolbox, he also could bend them to his needs. A knowledgeable person would adapt his needs to the tools he had. An experienced one would adapt the tools to his needs. Such was the difference between Mahon and Ravatoris.

And from a knowledgeable person’s perspective, someone seen banging a nail with a screwdriver would appear to be a beginner. Only the truly experienced people would know. Mahon and Yordar’s battle was full of deliberate mistakes in order to lure the others in. They knew perfectly how to handle the situations at hand, and that’s why the battle always ended so close.

They aimed for the other’s throat ten times faster than on Ravatoris’ side, but each move was blocked masterfully by the other. Dozens of fatal invisible strikes were exchanged for each single one on Ravatoris’ side. Alas, the public wasn’t aware of it. Both Yordar and Mahon were actually holding back in their battle against the noble. And any other students would have already lost against Yordar were he in Mahon’s place, even given the 3 to 2 ratio.

Slowly, the outcome became clearer and clearer for everyone. Although the battle was supposed to be easier on Ravatoris’ side, he didn’t manage to be faster than the battle with fewer units. At a 3 to 2 ratio, Yordar couldn’t do any miracle against a Last Red, especially given the absolute lack of relief and slopes on the battlefield.

What should have happened, finally happened, and one of Mahon’s units pierced the Last Blue’s defense and grabbed the flag.

“Mahon has won the final. Congratulations!” The Last Blue spoke loudly with a smile.

“Wait!” Ravatoris ranted. “How is this fair?! You went easy on him for the whole fight! It’s like you chose the winner yourself. Is this your idea of a fair final? Are you senile?”

A heavy silence followed Ravatoris’ statement. The noble was red from anger, and he clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. He threw a hateful look at Mahon and turned to Yordar.

“Is it because he’s a commoner? You think I need this lesson? Learn humility?”

Yordar snorted. “Maybe you do. But you’re overthinking this, boy. I didn’t go easy on him. I went easy on you.”