Matt Daniels and the Sword of Diamonds

Chapter IV

Matt stood watching, studying Will's tactics as he battled another man. The other man danced back a bit, then lunged forward as he stabbed at the Will. Will blocked the strike and quickly countered, causing the other man to stumble back.

Not much of a soldier, Matt thought of Will's opponent. A fencer, maybe, but he's not meant for this kind of fighting.

The previous day, Matt and Will had trained their asses off. Matt had taught Will how to attack, block, and counterattack properly. They had practiced on trees for most of the day, but they also had a duel before sundown. Matt had won, but Sam, who had improved greatly, had put up a very good fight. To prove it, Matt had a big, purple bruise on the side of his ribs.

They had also gone to the local blacksmith the day before to get their swords. Both Matt and Will had used almost all of their allowances to buy them. They were nothing fancy, but they were made of very strong steel. Will had gotten a short sword called a katana, with a flat, lightweight but strong blade. Matt had gotten a traditional broadsword, which he now put his hand on, for he was up next.

Will's opponent lunged with an overhead strike. Will swung his sword into his opponent's, blocking it and knocking it out of the man's grasp. He then kicked the other man in the back of his heel, and this time it was him who went to the ground. Will put his foot on his chest and pointed his katana at his opponent's Adam's apple.

The referee blew his whistle and shouted, "Game!" He walked over to Will and raised his hand high in the air. The crowd applauded and cheered as Will walked out of the ring. Matt high-fived him as he was walking to the ring. "Nice job, man!" Matt said. "You're in the semifinals!"

"Thanks!" Will replied. "I wish you luck! You're up now, I think. And you'll never believe who you're fighting."

"Who?" Matt queried as he took a drink of his water.

"Manuel," Will said as he took a drink from his own canteen.

Matt spewed out all of the water in his mouth as he tried to register the fact that Manuel was sword fighting. "That oaf? No way. That's impossible! How the hell did he get this far in the tournament?"

Will shrugged. "Beats me. Did you know that he stole a piece of cake that my aunt gave to me last night?"

"That fat asshole." Matt shook his head in disgust.

"Don't worry, it's all right. I don't think it's helping him today, right?" Will laughed. "Besides, you got this, Matt."

"Thanks. Hey, who knows, maybe we'll be battling each other in the finals!" Matt said.

Will laughed. "If that happens, I think the fight will be over very fast. I'm no match for you, Matt."

"Aw, come on, Will, don't be so hard on yourself. You're a great swordsman, and you don't give yourself enough credit. You improved immensely," Matt said, trying to encourage his best friend. "Now, I have to go kick this guy's butt. Cheer me on!"

"Okay, I will! Thanks, Matt! Good luck!" Will shouted as Matt climbed into the ring. "I wonder what immensely means," he wondered when Matt was gone.

Meanwhile, in the ring, Matt lowered his visor and pulled his sword out of his scabbard. He looked up to face his opponent and saw the great hulking mass that was Manuel. He held a giant broadsword in his meaty hand. He had a nasty sneer on his face as he put on his helmet.

"Manuel," Matt said as they met in the center of the ring to shake hands. "I'm surprised to see you here. How the hell did you get past the first round, much less to the quarterfinals?"

"That's none of you're business, Daniels," Manuel replied. "All you need to know is that I'm going to smash your face into the ground."

"We'll see" was all Matt said as he walked back to the corner of the ring.

"Ready..." the referee called. He blew his whistle and then the match began.

Manuel let out a battle cry and started charging toward Matt, his sword raised high in the air. Matt dodged to the left as Manuel brought his sword down with surprising speed and strength. Manuel growled and rushed Matt again. This time, Matt didn't dodge. He blocked the blow and swung the flat of the blade into Manuel's ankles. Manuel went down onto one knee and raised his sword just in time to block the strike that Matthew would have knocked him out with.

Matt let Manuel get on his feet. He could have beaten Manuel right then, but he wanted to have a little fun with him. Manuel was the one who made fun of Matt every chance he got, and Matt wasn't going to let a chance like this escape. Oh, no. Matt was going to make this humiliation veeery humiliating.

Manuel got up, staggering a bit. He was pissed now, and his eyes burned as he glared at Matt. With a savage yell, he sprinted to Matt and started swinging his sword in wild, uncontrolled strikes. Matt retreated as fast as he could. He didn't want to be anywhere near Manuel's attacks.

An idea sparked in Matt's head. When Manuel attacked with another with his crazy swings, Matt jumped back. When Manuel's sword was taken down by momentum, Matt swung his sword as hard as he could into Manuel's to the side. The sword flew out of Manuel's grasp. Matt then stepped forward and slammed his sword into the back of both of Manuel's ankles.

The blow was so hard it swept Manuel off of his feet and made him to a backflip in the air! Manuel landed on his back with a loud SMACK! Matt wasted no time in pointing his sword at Manuel's throat.

As the referee blew his whistle and raised Matt's hand, Matt heard a great big cheer come from the crowd. It was Will, and he was yelling at the top of his lungs. "WOOOOOOOO! Go, Matt! YEAAAAH!" He then turned and started jeering at Manuel. "Hey, fat ass! Did that piece of cake you stole from me do you any good? No? Well, HA HA! Sucks to be you, huh!?"

The crowd laughed and booed along with Will, and Manuel's face turned cherry red. He glared at Will and slid his sword across his throat. He stomped out if the ring and back to where his clique was hanging out.

Will slapped Matt in a bear hug as he came out of the ring. "Dude, you're in the final! That was awesome! You totally humiliated him!"

Matt laughed. "I humiliated him? Will, you totally roasted him! That was the greatest insult I ever heard! I'm telling you, that was hilarious!"

Will bowed. "It was my pleasure, sir," he said in his most serious and most formal voice.

They both laughed. The two best friends sat down on a bench, feeling like they were on top the world. This was turning out to be the best day ever, the both of them agreed.

Or so they thought...

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~sjd_write