Chapter 27: Cocky in Some Other Way?
"What are the chances of me getting the honor to carry the Blue Team's flag?" Azore asked as he and Troy were running in the forest, with a few other troops with them, a few seconds later in the game.
"I dunno, but you are sure lucky!" Troy exclaimed.
"Well, I gotta find some place to hide the flag." Azore muttered as he stopped for a breath and then looked around. There were a few tall trees everywhere, but there was also one tree that had a lot of leaves clumped together on its branches.
"Maybe over there?" Troy asked, pointing towards the tree with the clumps of leaves on its branches.
"Hey, Good idea!" Azore replied back. "The clumps of leaves should cover up the flag's top, and only that truck of the flag is visible."
Azore ran over to the tree and Troy helped with moving over the leaves to make room for the tree to be planted there. A few other troops saw that and knew that everything was gonna go fine, at least for now, that is.
"Do you want me to head out with the rest of the team in search of the red team's flag?" Troy asked Azore.
"Yeah, I'll do fine guarding the flag," Azore replied. "I'll just pretend I'm finding the flag too."
"Yeah, and you would be running around in circles." Troy joked as he laughed and then ran away in search of the flag.
"Haha, very funny." Azore muttered.
(6 MINUTES LATER)
Troy was already on top of a tree looking down at a giant forest clearing. He could see two barbarians, but they seemed to be fighting with each other. They were of course, on the opposite team.
"Now's my chance to double-team!" Troy smirked as he jumped down, tackling the red barbarian down. The Blue Barbarian was taking by surprised, but let Troy take down the Red Barbarian. After Troy knocked out the Red Barbarian, he then went the opposite way of the flag in search of the red team's flag. The Blue Barbarian went on his own way.
Troy searched every boulder he could find, but still found nothing so far. He could see some red team players, but he wasn't ready to taking the risk in knocking them out though, because they were of course, obviously in groups of more than three at minimum.
"Come on, where's the red flag?!" Troy kept on saying to himself. It was pretty obvious to him that this game in Kentar's forest was going to be longer than Konah's forest!
Troy then decided to just keep on finding someone that is alone on the opposite team. The least he could do is help, and the way he can do that is knock out other people to make it easier for the blue team!
(NEAR THE BLUE FLAG)
"You guys are like tree trunks stuck in the ground!" Azore exclaimed as he punched down two barbarians with one hook punch to the face. There was another barbarian there that was about to yank the flag up from the ground when Azore quickly threw his shield straight at him. The Barbarian stumbled backwards and fell down on his back. He was knocked out cold by the impact.
"That was close." Azore muttered as he quickly regained his posture.
A few seconds later, Azore saw a balloon pick up the three barbarians he knocked out and then the balloon carried them away.
"Good thing those balloons carry the knocked out players away," Azore smirked. "That will leave no evidence of flag behind."
All of a sudden, he heard a musket reload behind him. He gulped quietly and then got his shield ready. A few silent seconds later, he whipped around and blocked the cannonball with his shield. He was right. One of the red team's musketeers was aiming straight at Azore to knock him out.
"Fire all you want!" Azore taunted the musketeer. The musketeer showed an annoyed look, and Azore threw his sword up on a nearby tree branch above the musketeer. A pile of leaves then fell down from the tree branch, and covered the musketeer.
"Gah!" the musketeer shrieked.
Azore then ran forward and as the musketeer shook out the leaves from her, Azore spun around once to the right and then side kicked her. The musketeer then jumped back from the impact and fired another cannonball, hitting Azore in the face.
"Hmph!" Azore muttered but smiled. This game was actually really fun. Azore then jumped high in the air, and the musketeer quickly dived forward and then turned around while still on the grass and shot another cannonball at Azore. Azore turned around very quickly and blocked it with his shield and then threw it like a boomerang at the musketeer. It hit the musketeer straight near her helmet, and she fell back down still.
"Yes!" Azore smirked.
Azore ran over and snatched the shield away, and as he was walking away, he heard the sound of another balloon arriving.
Meanwhile, Troy was still out in the barren forest, with not even a person in sight. Troy was a bit panicky, but not too much.
"Am I lost?" he asked himself.
Troy's heart started beating faster, because what if he accidentally wondered outside of the playable zones of Royal Forest Flags? Then he might get lost in the forest, with no way out!
"Okay, take it easy Troy," Troy said to himself as he took a deep breath. "You can deal with this yourself!"
Troy then looked up at the trees. He couldn't see sunlight getting through from there, but he had an idea. He decided to climb the trees up again and see if he could find any sight of fighting from there. He then looked behind him and saw a big and wide enough tree with a giant trunk. He also saw a branch that was moderately high up, but it looked barely reachable.
"Okay, let's do this!" Troy said to himself as he backed off a bit from the tree, and then sprinted towards the trunk as fast as he could. Just as he was a few inches away from running into the tree, Troy raised his right foot and made it impact against the trunk of the tree. With that momentum force, he also raised his left foot and made it slam up against the tree, giving him even more jump boost. He saw the branch getting closer and closer to him, but Troy felt himself get back down from gravity.
"Come on!" Troy exclaimed as he reached out and just barely, by four fingers except his right thumb, managed to grab hold of the branch. Troy breathed out a sigh of relief, and then reached out with his left hand and grabbed more of the branch, both of his hands except his right thumb looking like they are squeezing the branch to nothing. After Troy was over the branch, he saw another, heavier branch, so he got on that.
"Whew!" Troy muttered to himself.
All of a sudden, as he was about to get up on an even heavier branch, he lost his left footing, and he slipped and toppled over towards back down to the ground.
"AH!" Troy shouted in surprise, but to his shock, as he thought his was going to face-plant straight into the ground, his left foot managed to wedge up on a branch.
Troy's heart was pounding so hard that he thought he was going to die of fear. Troy gulped as he closed his eyes and then used all of his strength to fling himself upwards towards the tree, mostly using all of his upper-body strength. Troy got his hands and arms ready as he saw the heavier branch getting closer. Troy grabbed hold of the branch, and then pulled himself up, which reminded him of all those pull-up contests he had in school.
"Brace yourself Troy." Troy said to himself as he clenched his teeth once he was on top of the branch. He crouched, looking at the sky, and then jumped up, and raised both of his fists in front of him, punching any of the leaves in the way. Finally, he closed his eyes and reached out, hoping something could get in his hands. He felt a bit lighter branch, and he opened his eyes. He could now see sunlight through the trees.
"Yes, finally!" Troy breathed out another sigh of relief as he pulled himself up one more time, and then pushed and thrashed away any leaves with his aching fists and hands. He then was now on top of the tree, and could see a really good view. Troy scanned his sightings, but couldn't find any kind of sign of a Royal Forest Flags game going on.
"I can't just effort this all for nothing!" Troy exclaimed exasperatedly as he squinted and looked even more far away from his view. All of a sudden, a few hundred yards from him, he could see a Balloon hovering over a clump of trees, and then the Balloon lowered down.
"Hey!" Troy said. "There's the fight!"
Sure enough, the balloon later got in the sky, carrying a knocked out wizard.
Troy jumped down, using any of the branches he saw as platforms which he could swing on, and as soon as he landed down on the ground nice and smoothly, and bolted towards the direction where the balloon once hovered and flew away. He could see three knights fighting five barbarians, and a Valkyrie fighting a nearby Prince without his pony.
The Knights and the Valkyrie had blue jerseys, and the Barbarians and the Prince had red jerseys. They were fighting over the red flag that was planted on the very top of a sharp pointed boulder.
"Gee, that's smart." Troy smiled to himself. "Using the environment where the flag is in as a natural defense.
The Prince smashed a knight down to the ground with his lance, spun around and whacked another Knight in the face, when the knight was trying to hit him from behind. The Valkyrie was getting double teamed by the Barbarians, so Troy quickly ran into the scene.
The Valkyrie swung her axe around at two barbarians, who ducked in the process, when all of a sudden, a foot whacked into one of the two barbarian's face, knocking him out. The other barbarian turned to face Troy and slashed towards Troy's chest plate which he picked up on the way before he started the game.
"Wha!" Troy exclaimed in surprise as he leaned his whole upper-body to the left, grabbed the Barbarian's hand with the sword and with his other hand, and launched a punch to the barbarian's face.
"Oomph!" The barbarian grunted in pain.
The barbarian stumbled backwards slightly, and while the other Valkyrie finished knocking out the other barbarian, she turned to face the barbarian Troy was fighting. The barbarian hook slashed at Troy, and Troy jumped backwards, and then when the barbarian hook slashed again at Troy the other direction, Troy ducked, and then laid his hands on the ground and kicked upwards with both of his feet in the air.
"OAH!" The barbarian shouted in surprise, and then nearly topples over. The Valkyrie rushed over to the Knight's aid, while Troy ran towards the barbarian and jumped high in the air. He side kicked the barbarian again in the face, and then jumped back into his fighting stance.
Troy then spun once and left side kicked the barbarian in the chest, and then jumped high in the air and tornado kicked him in the forehead.
"Umph!" The barbarian staggered backwards, barely able to get back up.
"I'll give you time to get up!" Troy exclaimed, taunting the barbarian. The barbarian finally got back up, and was just about to wield his sword again when Troy spun two times this time, before on the third time, jumped so high in the air, that he could land a cyclone kick. He used that chance to do just that.
"WAUUGGHH!" The barbarian exclaimed with surprised as he was sent flying over a few feet over the ground, twisting his whole body so many times in the process.
Soon, the Prince was cornered next to the boulder with Troy, two Knights, and the Valkyrie already for the attack.
"So. I guess I've lost with the strategies advantage huh?" The prince chuckled nervously.
All four of them nodded.
"I got just a trick up on my sleeve." The prince laughed as he quickly started climbing up the boulder.
"Hey! Get him!" The Valkyrie commanded.
The two Knights started climbing after him, when soon; the Prince was in a very small ledge, a little bit of feet below where the flag was pointed, on the tip of the boulder.
"Take some of this!" The Prince said as he sat on the ledge and jabbed his lance down at the two Knight's face, making them slide back down into the grass.
"My turn!" Troy said excitedly as he started climbing the boulder.
"Yep, your turn to wipeout!" The Prince laughed as he saw Troy getting closer.
Now, the prince could have just thrown his lance at Troy for more power, but he decided not to risk and miss. As soon as Troy was in range, the prince snickered and thrusted his lance towards Troy's helmet he picked up. Troy wedged both of his feet in the boulder, and then grabbed the lance.
"WHAT?" The Prince said in surprise.
Troy smiled and then yanked the lance over him as hard as he could.
"AAUUGH!" The Prince shouted as he was sent flying over Troy and rolled down on the grass a dozen or so times before crashing onto a tree.
"OOooohhhaag!" The Prince shook out the pain, when the Valkyrie's axe smashed him in the helmet, sending him backwards and making him smash back onto the tree trunk.
"Yes!" Troy said as he yanked the flag's pole from the top and then went for a slide back down the boulder.
"I know where the blue team's flag is, follow me!" The Valkyrie said to Troy.
"Okay!" Troy said as the Valkyrie ran off. Troy and the two Knights followed her.
(2 MINUTES LATER)
Troy could see the blue flag, but there were two Dark Princes without their ponies guarding him.
"Where's Azore?" Troy asked them.
"Who's Azore?" One of the Dark Prince's asked between his very heavy looking bucket-like helmet.
"Maybe you guys didn't see him, and maybe he went off to find the flag." Troy said. Soon, he put the flag on top of the blue team's flag, and a few seconds later, the balloon soon arrived, signaling their victory.
"Wow, I've never knew what happens when you win!" Troy said excitedly.
A few more balloons arrived picking up Troy, and all the other blue team troops, as well as both of the flags. Then as soon as Troy saw the castle in the horizon, he saw something different with it. It had green and purple arches instead of Kentar's blue and red arches, and Troy thought it was just the light from the sunset.
"Huh, that's weird." Troy said to himself.
"What's weird?" said a nearby Ice Wizard who was riding in the same balloon with him.
"The green and purple arches." Troy said.
"It has always been there." The Ice Wizard replied, which made Troy confused.
"Huh?" Troy said.
A few minutes later, the balloons touched the ground, and just as Troy was about to deposit his armor, he felt a finger tap on him.
"Yeah?" Troy said as he turned around.
"You look new around here. What's your name?" said a messenger.
"Uh… my name is Troy, and I arrived here just recently. You know, very recently?" Troy said, even more confused. What the heck was going on right now?
"Well you must see the King." The messenger said.
"Okay?" Troy replied back.
When Troy walked inside the castle, he saw that everything was more different. There was a chandelier with white ponies all decorated around it, and the ponies were miniature of course. He also saw that the healing center was nowhere to be found downstairs. As soon as Troy and the messenger went inside the throne room, there was a King there carving a goblin sculpture out of wood.
"King Jekazar, someone new arrived." The messenger said before leaving.
"Jekazar?!" Troy said, stuttering. "What's going on?"
Jekazar turned around and noticed Troy.
"You're new to my castle eh?" he said.
"Wait, this is a misunderstanding. I must have been playing on the wrong Royal Forest Flags game." Troy said, very confused.
"Wrong game… ah wrong game!" Jekazar seemed to understand. "Do you know which castle you are from?" he asked.
"Yeah, do you know anyone named Kentar?" Troy asked.
"Certainly!" Jekazar nodded. "We trade troops and reinforcements to each other, which helps us benefit from arena battles!"
"Wow! Do you know where he is, and can you take me there?" Troy asked.
"Uh, I'm afraid not now." Jekazar said, with a concerned tone in his voice. "All of my balloons are undergoing serious repairing, and they won't be able to fly until the next day."
"Oh, okay." Troy said kind of foolish of himself.
"But you are welcome to spend the night in my castle if you want." Jekazar offered.
"Really? Thanks!" Troy smiled as he breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Dinner is almost ready, you can check out the dining room. Also, my castle is very big, but luckily, near the grand staircase, there is a giant map there of the whole castle. You can check it out!" Jekazar added.
"Got it! Thanks King Jekazar!" Troy exclaimed before walking off towards the grand staircase.
DMCsupergamer: I finally took a lot of time and effort into catching up into making frequent chapters. Let's just hope I continue making chapters at a steady pace though! Thanks again for the encouragement of my chapters Goku-Kun and everyone else, and as I say, enjoy the upcoming chapters!