Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1700

'And your Thyania referee also ignored the rules and didn't stop the fight! So which is it? Did you Thyanias just decide not to care about the rules, or did you and the Koryonian fighters conspire together to bully us Zhinora fighters?!' The Zhinoran fighters in the audience finally had someone speaking for them, and they roared in agreement, 'Yeah! That's right! That's right!' The Koryonian, Nipponoran, and Thyanian fighters' faces were dark. They wanted to argue back, but with the video evidence playing for all to see, they were at a loss for words.

Shekao stood frozen, his face darkening as the weight of the evidence silenced him. Elliot’s face remained solemn as he continued, “As our Zhinoran ancestors said, 'To the victor go the spoils.' But our ancestors also said, 'Winning and losing are a part of life!' We Zhinorians, since ancient times, have never been sore losers! Our ancestors knew hardship. We endured invasions, we faced atrocities, we survived wars that were meant to break us. And even though we eventually triumphed, we lost on the battlefield time and time again. We've lost so many times, we are never afraid of losing! A loss is a loss. If we lose this time, there's always a next time. We'll just work harder and win it back! As long as we don't give up, there's always a chance to win! Zhinorians participate in all kinds of international competitions, and we don't win every time. We're not afraid to lose. But we demand to lose on a level playing field, under fair and just conditions! Otherwise, we will not back down! We Zhinorians value peace and reason. But that doesn't mean we only use our words to argue. You play by the rules, and we'll reason with you. You break the rules, and we'll beat you while we reason with you! We’ll reason with you until you listen, and we’ll fight you until you submit. Whatever it takes!' Elliot's speech brought several Zhinora fighters to tears. That's right. We're good-natured and we like to be reasonable, but that doesn't mean people can just bully us! Our ancestors fought back even when the whole world was against them! And now that our nation is strong, we certainly won't let anyone push us around! A young martial artist cried out, “The Thyania Martial Arts Association has to give us an explanation, or we’ll report this to the highest authorities! We’ll have our elders go to your king and demand an answer!” “Yeah! Let's have our parents ask their king why they're bullying us like this!” Other Zhinorians who were just there to watch also spoke up. 'On the one hand, you talk online about how friendly Zhinora-Thyania relations are, warmly welcoming Zhinorians to travel to Thyania, doing everything you can to get us to come and spend our money! And then on the other hand, you treat Zhinorians like this! I really don't know who the real joke is here. Who's the one that should be embarrassed?!' 'I demand that this video be posted online, so the whole world can see how undisciplined the Thyanian and Koryonian fighters are!' 'A true martial artist should have integrity and honor. Look at them. It's a disgrace!' Even fighters from other countries started to speak up. 'I'm with the Zhinoran fighters on this one. It's a competition. You have to follow the rules. Otherwise, what's the point of having rules?' 'Exactly! The Koryonian fighter was in the wrong, and so was the Thyania referee!' The tide of public opinion was turning, and Shekao's face grew darker and darker. With fighters from so many countries speaking out, and with Elliot escalating a martial arts tournament to the level of international politics, they didn't dare make a rash move...