On the stands, there were certainly foreign guests: allies of the Nix Tribe — the Great Chief Alistacas of the Alde Tribe, elder Cleobrotas, Ambrosius, Budocaribas, Xisaites, Karsipengpas, and several pirate chiefs including Agatakus, who were specially permitted to participate in the festival; friendly leaders of the Noric Iron Core Tribe, including Sphili and Druid Podamochi, as well as several leaders from the Yabode Tribe.

Additionally, there were some special guests — several Pannonian leaders from Lake Gonami, including Adatis, the son of Iberus.

Although these guests all stood up and greeted politely, whether it was out of friendship, pressure, or just perfunctorily... that was hard to say.

However, Maximus always wore a smile and patiently returned each greeting, occasionally exchanging a few words, thus his progress was slow.

Since Nexia was temporarily absent, the two children, being led by Geniandafra, followed Maximus and without any restrictions, impatiently urged, "Dad, can you go faster!"

Acronis quickly stepped forward, bent down, and with a serious expression, gestured for the two children to be silent.

Indeed, the two children immediately quieted down because, besides Nexia, only Acronis could keep them disciplined in the main house.

"Let me take care of the children," Acronis said somewhat displeased to Geniandafra.

But this was exactly what Geniandafra wanted, and she hastily agreed.

Maximus finally arrived at the small platform at the top of the stands, sat down in the main wooden chair, and immediately called to the Ritual Officer Kefisofon who was waiting there, "Don't keep the tribesmen waiting, let's start quickly."

"Yes." Kefisofon quickly notified the band in front of the stands.

The ten horn players in the band blew the copper horns with great effort.

"Wooo!!!..." The high and long sound of the horns echoed throughout the stadium.

The west gate of Ophelia Western Fortress not far away suddenly opened wide, and one carriage after another rushed out, traveling along the avenue to a specially reserved pedestrian path outside the stadium.

Next, players from the two teams participating in this rugby final from Snowdonia and Todleduo, as well as their coaches, supporting staff, the referee, medical staff... more than 150 people in total gathered after getting off the carriages, which was one of the increasing results of the development of rugby matches at the Summer Festival.

The sea of people surged again, and most of the spectators outside the stadium stood up, craning their necks to look towards the pedestrian path, waving their arms, shouting loudly, expressing their support for a certain team or player, and the entire area outside the stadium gradually began to boil.

However, although the spectators were excited, they all remained in their places because this was one of the important decrees formulated by the tribe for the Summer Festival. If someone violated it, they could be accused of blasphemy, would be banned from watching the games in the future, and would not be able to worship at the temple, and would be looked down upon by other tribesmen, which was more unbearable than being killed, so even the most excited spectators dared not break this ban.

Ignoring the cheers of the spectators, the players walked with heads held high under the lead of their respective coaches to their designated zones on the field.

"I'll give you some time to prepare." The chief referee spoke to both teams and then went with several assistants to inspect the field.

The head coach of the Snowdonia team was Torrelugo. Although he loved to play rugby, his gladiator background made him too large, not fast enough, and not agile enough, making him unqualified to become a player for Snowdonia or participate in such major games. However, Snowdonia was the source of soldiers for the Second Legion, and the players were all soldiers from the legion. As the Legion Commander, he could easily overpower these strong players and make them obedient, so it was only natural for him to become the head coach.

At that moment, he gathered all the players, and with a serious expression, gave a speech: "Guys, since the rugby games of the Summer Festival began, our Snowdonia team has won the championship for three consecutive years. The people of Snowdonia hope you can achieve another glory and bring the Danu Goddess statue back to Snowdonia to bring more luck to our village! I believe you can do it because you are the strongest, right?!"

"Right!! Right!! Right!!!..." The players shouted excitedly in unison.

Torrelugo's gaze swept around the players, finally resting on one person: "Gowes, you're the captain, do you have anything to say to your teammates?"

"Yes!" Gowes responded in a deep voice.

At this moment, he was no longer the naive newcomer who first joined the tribe and watched from the sidelines. Last year's summer games saw him as the top scorer, and during this year's semi-finals, he was the one who stopped the Sirinos player from scoring, securing the victory. He was the mainstay of the Snowdonia team and the embodiment of confidence in victory.

His tall, strong body exuded strong self-confidence, his sharp and compelling eyes firm and calm. His gaze, which swept over familiar Skodisqi compatriots and once-hated Pannonian enemies, now bore the same emotion for them all because they were all his reliable allies in the game.

"Brothers, our final opponent today is not Westeni but Todleduo. We must not be deceived by their poor records in past years. Remember the performance of the Sirinos team in the semi-finals, and never underestimate Todleduo today. We must give it our all!

If we encounter difficulties during the match, don't panic; consistently adhere to the tactics we've always trained with, and we will eventually win because our Snowdonia team is unbeatable!" Gowes swung his arm forcefully, shouting the last sentence intensely, once again inciting a chorus of cheers from his teammates.

On the Todleduo side, Head Coach Oluus was also motivating his players: "...That's right, the Snowdonia team has won the championship for three consecutive years and hasn't been defeated in the rugby games of the Summer Festival. But that isn't frightening because no army is invincible forever, and no team will never suffer a defeat.

Since Snowdonia will fail one day, why can't we, Todleduo, be the first victors? Think about it, at the start of this year's games, no one thought we would stand on Iyenos Stadium, and many people thought we would be eliminated in the first round, but now you are standing here!

This stems from your spirit of never giving in and consistently fighting with all your might, earning victory after victory! Although we don't have players as exceptionally skilled as Gowes or Teressa from the Snowdonia team, if you fight fiercely, vie with all your strength, and persistently disrupt them, you can exhaust our adversaries and win!..."

As a Legion Commander with rich wartime experience, and given his older age, Oluus always acted steadily, but today he rarely showed his passionate side to boost his players' morale.

In fact, to win this final, he even humbly sought advice from his former deputy, now the Fifth Legion Commander and Head Coach of the Sirinos team, Pequot. The fierce fighting and disruption tactics were taught by this cunning man, who nearly won against the Snowdonia team in the semi-finals.

"Come on, brothers!" Oluus extended his right hand, and with a spirited tone, said: "Our team is a whole, and everyone is indispensable. If you all give your utmost, you will win and bring the Danu Goddess back home!"

The players eagerly placed their hands over Oluus's right hand, roaring in unison, their hearts blazing with fervor.

The Todleduo team was a bit different from other teams; a third of the Pannonian players mainly came from other Pannonian Tribes and were captured in the last war. At this moment, they were no different from other teammates, fervently shouting their intent to bring victory back to Todleduo.

The chief referee summoned the captains of the two teams for the coin toss to choose sides.

The coin used by the chief referee was specially made, with the image of the Danu Goddess on one side and Leader Maximus on the other.

The Nix Tribe didn't plan to issue currency yet. However, the hot-pressing technique to make coins was not complex and had long been prevalent in the City States around the Mediterranean. Guided by Sistos, the blacksmiths thoroughly studied it and soon applied the technology within the tribe, such as the circular dragon emblem symbolizing ranks.

Truth be told, there was no need for the Nix Tribe to specially make such a coin for a rugby match or even to include a coin toss.

Yet, Maximus was insistent on this, with deep, thoughtful considerations:

Firstly, the more complex and ceremonial the rugby game process is, the more formal it becomes, attracting more tribesmen participation and making it a unique culture of the Nix Tribe;

Secondly, it highlights the sanctity of the game, using such subtle methods to deepen the tribesmen's faith in the Danu Goddess and awe for Leader Maximus as the offspring of the Goddess;

Further, with the Nix Tribe's continuous growth and the increasing popularity of rugby games, they could also generate profit for the tribe by selling coins like this and other related products.

Of course, the players from both sides wouldn't know how deeply Maximus contemplated about even a game coin as they stood in the center of the field, exchanging glances that sparked sparks.

With the sharp whistle, the game officially began …

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