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05.03.297 — a melee in honor of Deus Mariarnelia's birthday
Round 7
At the start of the round, Ferlyuts, instead of continuing to pursue me, returned to his comrades and, together with Avesom, ended up under Tarantos's protective aura, ready to take all hits upon himself. The Knight of Impeccability unsuccessfully threw a nail at Bastion, and the Knight of Virtuosity struck Mordred with a spear.
Realizing that I was currently in a less advantageous position, I decided not to rush into action and to weigh everything carefully. On one hand, I could attack Lorican; on the other, shoot at Jason. And on the third hand, I could chase after Ferlyuts, from whom I had initially kept my distance, and try to break through Tarantos's defense.
The first two options seemed like a waste of arrows at the moment. The third raised a number of doubts. First, the defense of the Knight of Valor looked even more impenetrable. Second, it would mean letting Ferlyuts get too close to me and my precious Zephyr.
Recalling all the past rounds, I noticed an interesting detail. All this time, he had only aimed at animals. And only when he rushed after me did he throw a nail directly at me, while simultaneously covering himself with a shield. What was that? Why did his behavior pattern change so drastically with just one opponent, and why, sensing the distance gap, did he return to his standard behavior? It was as if he was deliberately provoking me to shoot, in order to somehow use it against me.
Sensing something was wrong, I decided not to let him get close to me for now, and also to expand the maneuvering space for myself and the other friendly riders. For this reason, despite the fact that my comrades could not understand this decision at the moment, I flew as close as possible to the fire-hazard zone (but far enough away not to get burned) and shot at the pumpkin left by Chonchonlia.
Nelia, however, was not at all fazed by Tarantos's protective aura, under which his comrades were hiding. Creating a terrifying atmosphere around herself, the girl struck the Knight of Valor. And although the axe literally did not penetrate the armor in any way, Tarantos looked extremely frightened, as if his entire life had flashed before his eyes from the shock. Nevertheless, he remained standing in his spot, doing nothing.
Orvald aimed his hammer at Gingkink's torso. Nothing foreshadowed failure, but the Knight of the Crushing Blow managed to dodge at the very last moment. Watching the miss of the Knight of the Golden Tower, Ambrose struck the northerner with all his might with his spear, after which he rushed off to a safe distance along with the slightly wounded Mordred. Following him, Alaria also wounded Gingkink with her sword. In the end, the Knight of the Crushing Blow had no choice but to spend the time allotted before the gong strike trying to restore his health.
Vaitkalm tried to shoot at Bastion but missed. Following his usual tactics, Lorican continued to hold a defensive position, while Axel unsuccessfully aimed at him. The Knight of Deus was unable to hit him, and the judge called a break.
