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Four days passed quickly.
Now, we're on our way to the site where the duels will take place.
The procession is led by Lani, the chief, with four guards marching ahead of her. Behind her walks Dani—the champion and her daughter—followed by warriors from the tribes. Each carries their weapon of choice: massive war axes, hammers, leather shields, spears, and swords.
When we arrive at the appointed space, the enemy is already there.
Standing in the center of the clearing is a woman clad in steel armor from head to toe, the edges of which are lined with black. Behind her sits the enemy commander in an extravagant seat, flanked by eight guards—four on each side.
"Look who's late for the duel. Fitting, for a bunch of barbarians," the commander says with a mocking tone.
"We're right on time. You just happened to arrive earlier," Lani replies calmly.
"Hmph." The enemy commander turns her head away, crossing her arms.
"Rin," she says coldly, "make sure to beat their so-called champion so badly that she'll be ashamed to lift a hand again."
"As you order, my lord," the champion replies—adding the honorific just a second too late.
"Tsk tsk," the commander mutters. "If you lose, you won't be getting any food. Not you, or your sisters."
'Looks like she's in a tough spot,' I think to myself. 'But sorry, nameless warrior. We're here to win.'
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In the makeshift dueling ground, two figures face each other.
On the upstream side stands Dani, wielding a war axe and clad in a fur coat and leather armor made from tough bear hide.
Opposite her is the champion of the Drakunis Kingdom, armed with a longsword, a small round shield, and chainmail covered by light armor.
"In the name of honor, and with the lives of our soldiers on the line, I, the chief, commence this duel and bear witness to its outcome," Lani declares.
"In the name of honor, and with the lives of our soldiers on the line, I, the Duke of the Drakunis Kingdom, commence and witness this duel," the enemy commander echoes.
"The rules are simple," the overseer shouts. "No cheating. No false forfeits. Victory by subjugation, surrender, death, or being forced outside the ring. Understood?"
They both nod.
"Let the duel begin!"
Both women size each other up before Dani makes the first move.
Their size difference is apparent—any onlooker might assume the outcome is already decided.
But I'm caught off guard when Dani is the first to take a hit.
She charges, swinging her axe—but the enemy rolls forward to dodge and slashes Dani's shin.
Thud.
Fortunately, Rin's strike is dulled by the bear hide, but Dani winces in pain.
She quickly adjusts her stance and charges again.
This time, her opponent chooses to face her head-on—a poor decision. The force of Dani's axe shatters the shield.
"Arghhh!"
It seems Rin's arm is broken; she falls sideways but pushes herself up again, her left arm dangling uselessly. She lifts her sword with her right and charges once more.
Dani is surprised—she expected Rin to surrender.
Dani parries quickly and reaches to grab her opponent.
Slash...
Dani jerks her arm back, bleeding profusely. Rin had dropped her sword and pulled a hidden knife.
She swings it toward Dani's neck—
—but Dani knocks it from her hand with a punch, then follows with another to Rin's abdomen.
Thwack... Thud...
Rin crashes to the ground a few feet away, landing face-first near the edge of the ring.
"I guess that concludes the duel," Meliss whispers.
"It's a sh—"
I stop mid-sentence. Rin is standing up again.
Clack... clack... thud...
She removes her helmet with her right arm.
Her face is a mess—her short, bobbed black hair tangled and sticking to blood and snot smeared across her cheeks.
"Ta-Take m-me o-on," she stutters, dragging her feet forward.
Until—Bang!
Dani strikes her across the head with the handle of her axe. Holding her limp opponent in one hand, she approaches the overseer.
"Isn't she defeated?" she asks.
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