Chapter 3

While the two teams (Driz and Cobra) were waiting in separate halls for the others on the field to finish, the members took time to acquaint themselves. Team Cobra's captain only said his name and retreated to a corner. 

"Hey, captain." the chubby Stephen from earlier was in this team. He and many others had witnessed Phoenix's might back at the registration site. Knowing he's their captain made him feel reassured.

"Don't call me that. I'm pretty sure there's someone who wants this armband." he was about to take it off but another member stopped him.

"Captain, you can't do that. You are already recognized as Team Cobra's captain."

"But I don't want this thing. Forget it." Phoenix sighed.

"Hey you, can you not be so childish? You were lucky to get the armband. You shouldn't shirk your responsibilities."

"Shirk?" Phoenix asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"No one here wants your armband." the annoyed warrior sat back in his seat.

"You guys shouldn't worry. I will do my best not to make us lose miserably." Phoenix said.

"Lose? Captain..." Stephen was shocked at his words. They hadn't even dreamed of playing yet, but this captain of theirs wished them a defeat!

"The armband is yours, Stephen. Come, take it." Phoenix took off the armband and threw it at the chubby youth. When out on missions as a sorcerer, he was often alone unless he decided to be lax for a while. He really didn't fancy being a captain in a sport he didn't know how to play well. 

 Stephen picked up the armband and walked over to Phoenix. "Please...."

"Kelvin Frost, it's yours then." Phoenix threw it at the named guy who had silver hair.

"I don't want it." Kelvin gave it to Stephen. Phoenix sighed. 

"Isn't there anyone who wants this armband?"

The rest looked away from him. Rules were rules. Since the armband was found with his kit, then he has to wear it and perform the duties of captain, not try to hand it over to someone else.

Sighing again, Pheonix wore the armband and rose.

"Alright, since you all agree that I should be captain..."

"Even though you're weak." Kelvin chipped in, cutting Phoenix's speech.

The latter rolled his eyes in disdain and continued his speech, after which they all watched the playing teams' match through the screen.

*****

At the competition grounds, the packs whose warriors had formed team Vine were screaming with excitement. There were other ranked packs whose members took part in a bet. The ones who betted on Team Vine's win shouted joyfully along with the other winning Alphaless packs. In the first half of the game, Team Arle indeed was in the lead with scores of 16-7. In the second half, Vine's captain, Tyrion Westley, proved to be the hidden dark horse and led the team to victory when everyone thought they were finished.

The eventual results after the match were 19-43, with Tyrion scoring 30 of these goals while showing his extraordinary talent at dribbling. The 17th-ranked Alpha rose and also clapped. Then he unexpectedly awarded them five points, causing a thunderous cheer. Yes, it's the third match that's supposed to give them the points they sought but the mystery Alphas had the right to award points when they feel someone or a team has impressed them so much that they feel it is a necessity to award them 5 points.

The flattened platform came up again and Mr Rex ascended all smiles. "That was a wonderful performance, you guys. Please give Team Vine a thunderous applause." 

The audience responded with mighty applause and cheer. At Mr Rex's signal, they stopped.

"Alright. The first match is over. Team Vine has unexpectedly earned 5 points from one of the mystery point awarders. Amazing work, you guys." he gave a thumbs up at the members of Vine and a wink at Tyrion, who looked away with a harrumph. Seems these two have an unspeakable history. Nevertheless, Mr Rex's smile remained on and he continued his speech while both teams were led away to another building.

"And now the second match is upon us. Let's welcome Teams Driz and Cobra!" Mr Rex left the platform, which automatically flattened and assumed the look of grass again.

Members of Driz and Cobra walked to the field in an orderly fashion amidst cheers from the audience and took their positions on the field after the captains talked in hushed voices to their fellows. For this match, there was another referee.

The two captains walked to each other with meaningful smiles and shook hands before proceeding with the coin toss ritual. Driz got the head and Cobra's captain returned to his team with a thumbs up.

3 minutes later, the referee blew the whistle and so the Driz player standing in the middle kicked the ball towards his teammates. Team Cobra ran towards them, wanting the get the ball to their side. Kelvin was able to get the ball and passed it on to Stephen, who immediately started dribbling for a while until he could pass it to Sergeant Housten, another Cobra player.

But before Sergeant could pass it on to the next Cobra player, a Driz player tripped him, causing him to fall. Now Driz had the ball in their possession again.

...

The first half of the match ended with Team Driz in the lead with a score of 12-9. During the break, Phoenix met with his mate from behind. The other Blood Star warriors sighed when they saw him.

"Phoenix, what are you doing out there? There were many chances for a goal to be scored but you even passed the ball to a Driz player?" Rolandro scolded.

"That was an accident." Phoenix rubbed his neck sheepishly. "And besides, I'm just a warm-up, right? There are still 11 activities left, so don't be too worried. And besides, even if I lose, my dear mate has promised me a kiss."

"If you decide to laze in the game despite being Captain, when you lose, don't even expect anything, Sullivan." his mate said to him with arms folded. Her mate wasn't putting his all into the match. She could clearly tell.

"Okay. I can't miss the French kiss and the wish. I'll do my best. The five-minute break is almost over." Phoenix took a bottle of water beside his mate's leg and gulped it all in one go. Lavana wished him good luck, then he ran back to the field to join the others as the two teams reassembled. 3 players had been substituted in Team Driz. However, only Stephen from Cobra was replaced due to his injury. 

The game began and the Captain of Driz, Aiden Hudson, scored a goal within 3 minutes.

Team Cobra only scored a goal in the 10th minute. Things weren't looking good for them. Many had betted on Team Driz's win. Only a few stubbornly chose Cobra's side. At the 20th minute, the tides turned. Cobra's appointed vice-captain, Johnson Blade, became the scoring machine.

They were originally behind by 10 goals but he closed the gap and the captain scored the last goal before the match ended. The final results were 30-31. Those packs that made up Team Cobra along with those who'd been on their side cheered as the Team Cobra carried Phoenix in jubilation. Everyone thought the match would end up in a draw and after resting for ten minutes they would have another match to determine the final winner of the two but Cobra's captain who'd invited curses from many in the audience due to his seeming unseriousness in playing surprised them all with that last goal. He scored the goal from an impossible angle!

Phoenix winked at his mate as they were led away to rest in the designated building. There would be a 15-minute break before the last match, which would be a showdown between the two winning teams begins.