...

To Be King (12)

All he wanted to do was convict Queen Meredith and Consort Ceanna of their crimes. Then, he would take away the noble titles of Duke Ross and Earl Leanen, having them and the other members of the family live as commoners. To them, death might be better, but he wanted them to live to know that they allowed their children to take the lives of innocent women. As for Prince Lawrence and Prince Tobias, having them exiled would be the best course of action.

Grey couldn't help but internally sigh. This fight was getting nowhere. The two sides were in a deadlock. No one wanted to give in. They all knew that he had his army surrounding the castle.

It was like he had planned this all from the start. Have his most trusted men move into his mansion, which was close to the central castle. Then when the time was right, have them quickly surround the central castle.

Grey said with a serious look, "I will give you one last chance. Hand over Queen Meredith and Consort Ceanna, or none of you are making it out of this alive. Neither will your families and relatives."

Prince Lawrence couldn't take it anymore. "I refuse!" He shouted, his face contorted with anger, "Why should you be the King when I am the oldest?! I cannot accept this decision! That's why, I challenge you to a duel. A fight to the death. The person who comes out alive will become the new King."

He felt that he couldn't be worse than Ameer when it came to sword fighting. Not only was he older, but he had been handling swords since he was 5 years old. All of his teachers had praised him for being a genius. He also went out hunting as a hobby, always coming back alive after killing beasts and monsters. He felt that he was much superior than someone who was only fighting barbarians all day.

Noah thought Prince Lawrence was joking, so he laughed hysterically for half a minute. Seeing his oldest brother with his sword in his hand, serious as day and night, he had to stop laughing. "What a joke. A pampered prince like you who only knows the castle walls thinks he could battle against Ameer, a General on the battlefield? Are you trying to hand over your head on a silver plate?"

"Prince Lawrence, stand down! Who gave you the courage to challenge that monster?!" Earl Leanen couldn't help but exclaim. Where did his grandson think he could fight against a man who has lived on the battlefield for almost 10 years? Where did his intelligent genes go!?

"Grandfather! Hearing him talk all high and mighty like this, it's better if he's dead! What better way to kill him than with a legal duel? If he dies, then that's all on him. He isn't strong enough to be the King if he backs down from this duel."

Even Duke Ross wanted to slap this Prince in the head for his stupidity.

Consort Ceanna, who didn't have Grey in her eyes at all, thought it was a good idea. "Prince Ameer, I think a duel with Prince Lawrence is a good idea."

She also thought about poisoning Prince Lawrence's blade to ensure his victory! She knew only dirty means like this were able to take Grey down, who was like a roach. Escaping death time and time again.

Grey felt this was amusing, so why shouldn't he agree? "Alright. Then let's duel, right here and now. If I win, Consort Ceanna and Queen Meredith must be convicted of their crimes, and the Ross and Leanen family must give up their noble titles and live as commoners. If I lose, Prince Lawrence will be the next King. Prime Minister Dean, as our witness here today, please be sure to uphold all matters that have been said today."

Grey then asked, "How does that sound?"

Duke Ross and Earl Leanen gritted their teeth, but could only glance at Prince Lawrence, Consort Ceanna, and Queen Meredith. They knew that even if they said anything, those three were too stubborn to listen to them.

"We agree." Consort Ceanna said.

Queen Meredith followed after, "I second this."

"Enough talk, let's get this started!" Prince Lawrence said as he walked past his family members to the center of the throne room.

Dead, the overseer as the match, vows on ceremony, "I swear as Prime Minister of the Euluxos Kingdom that I will uphold the conditions of this duel. If one side violates their side of the contract, I will personally take matters into my own hands."

"Good, let's get started." Grey stepped away from the throne and walked toward the center where Prince Lawrence was.

With Prime Minister Dean as the overseer, the duel between Grey and Prince Lawrence soon started.

"I will show you the difference between a genius and the average." Prince Lawrence glared at Grey before dashing over to make the first move.

Grey didn't move. He wanted to gauge Prince Lawrence's speed and strength before finishing the battle.

Prince Lawrence came at Grey with an overhead sword swing. He wanted to use the force of gravity to increase his strength.

From what Grey could see, Prince Lawrence did have strength, speed, and skill, but he found that Prince Lawrence was too rigid. Not only that, he was not like him or Ameer who specialized in battling and killing humans.

Grey easily parried the other's attack, knocking Prince Lawrence back a few feet. He hardly put strength into that parry, but it immediately showed the difference between him and Prince Lawrence.

There was one good thing about that pseudo-curse that was given to Ameer. If the person could tolerate the pain, it would give them immense strength afterward.

In the eyes of others, Ameer, who lived more than 20 years with the curse... was a monster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grandpa Marky: Yeah so to talk about the spine MRI, they found a tumor/cyst-looking thing near my spine but it's closer to my esophagus... Also, they said it was behind my left lung kinda. Weird location. Anyway, it's not cancerous but they have to take it out because if it grows too big, it could press up against my esophagus and lungs causing breathing and eating issues and press on my spine. Yeah, I still haven't gotten that out LOL.