Behind the Fortress.
Once a training ground for the fortress soldiers, numerous Nord warriors had gathered there.
Amidst the giant bonfire made from the ruins of broken fortress buildings.
– Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong!
“Whirolo-rololo-!!”
“Hoo-huh! Hoo-huh!!”
With drums that looked like they were made of animal hides, the Nord warriors danced around the bonfire wearing bizarre masks.
Meanwhile, off to one side, a Nord warrior was capturing a wild boar that looked like livestock and using its blood to paint grotesque emblems on the bodies of his comrades.
“What in the world are they doing…?”
“It’s a battle ritual, offering the blood that flows during the duel to the Mother Land.”
Leje, looking on in disbelief, said that, and Kurt responded.
The culture of the Nord tribe was usually deeply tied to blood, hunting, and dueling.
So, it wasn’t exactly surprising that they had such rituals.
“Guess it’s not for me…”
Leje shuddered lightly and then looked at Dagruul, who was preparing for the duel, and asked,
“By the way, is that chieftain strong?”
“He’s strong, but probably weaker than you.”
Kurt answered her question decisively.
Leje’s strength was on another level.
Among humans, only Kurt and Iandel, now her enemy, could match her.
If you widened the scope beyond humans, you’d have to bring forth a Charybdis or a Dragon, or some legendary monstrous beast from mythology.
“Well… I see.”
Leje squinted her eyes at his response…
“Well then, I’m off.”
“Rudell! Knock him out in one hit! Show your strength!”
As Rudell finished preparing and stepped into the duel arena, Leje cheered him on with enthusiasm.
“I’ll do my best.”
With a faint smile towards her, Rudell stepped into the duel arena…
“Maksa mani manua…”
“Un lama…”
On his opposite side stood the elderly shamans and Dagruul, ready for battle.
The old men burned some mysterious incense, inscribing symbol patterns made of blood on Dagruul’s body.
Dagruul, who had been sitting still, got up and grabbed the massive greatsword that was beside him as the shamans withdrew.
From the moment he first saw him, one thing was clear: his physique was undeniably massive.
He felt it, but his build was truly massive.
Kahlan also boasted a towering frame close to 2 meters, but Dagruul was at least half a meter taller.
At this point, one could really start to question if he was human.
“Are you sure you don’t need armor?”
“It’s fine. It’s cumbersome.”
“I like that.”
It seemed Dagruul appreciated Rudell’s answer, as he nodded with a faint smile and stepped into the dueling arena.
At the same time, the sound of drums that had been ringing out around the area grew louder, and the Nord warriors began to shout even more boisterously.
As the atmosphere intensified, Rudell and Dagruul simultaneously gathered their magic power.
The aura of magic rose from both of their bodies, visible even to the ordinary eye…
“I’ll let you take the first strike. I suppose a shaman should have some time to cast their spells.”
“No need.”
It was in that moment, amidst the tense standoff between them.
Deng!!
The gong outside the duel arena rang out loudly…
With that as the signal, Dagruul charged straight at Rudell.
*
“Hmph!!”
As soon as the duel began, Dagruul let out a battle cry and charged at Rudell.
His speed was so incredible that a lingering red aura remained in the air where he passed.
“Woooool!!”
In an instant, Dagruul closed the distance and swung his massive sword, creating an overwhelming pressure as his blade descended upon Rudell.
The Nord warriors, anticipating the spectacle that was about to unfold, cheered loudly.
In the next moment…
Clang!!
With a burst of flames, a metallic noise echoed around them.
A dark veil that had sprung from Rudell’s shadow deflected Dagruul’s sword.
Voices of disbelief erupted among the Nord warriors, and Rudell, observing the scene, gave a faint smile and waggled his finger in the air.
Swish!!
Rudell’s shadow elongated and, with a sharp sound, countless spikes began to rise from his shadow, targeting Dagruul.
At the sight of that overwhelming visual, screams burst forth from the Nord warriors, and in that moment, the spikes struck Dagruul.
“Hooom!!”
-Chain Clash!!
However, with a battle cry, Dagruul raised his magic power and swung his sword at the rising spikes.
The spikes of shadow collided with his sword, making sharp noises as they scattered like sand, and Rudell, watching the spectacle, let out a brief exclamation.
“You’re incredible, as expected. It seems the title of chief isn’t just for show.”
It was a pure expression of admiration.
After all, even if they were broken fragments, a holy sword is still a holy sword.
Once it absorbed the fragments of power left by the gods, there was no one at the normal human level who could stand against him.
Unless you were an outlier like Leje, a real fight couldn’t even be established.
In this situation, Dagruul was managing to hold his own against him.
“I’ve never seen such a spell before; it’s different from what the empire uses.”
“It’s not a spell, it’s magic…”
Spells and magic are distinctly different techniques.
However, it wasn’t easy to make the Nord tribe understand this as they valued physical combat above all else.
Of course, he had no intention of explaining it anyway.
“But if you just suppress me, this will end.”
“Go on, give it a try, if you can.”
At his words, Rudell provocatively responded with ease.
At the same time, as if stimulated, an overwhelming amount of magic power surged from Dagruul’s body, propelling him forward as he charged straight at Rudell.
“WooOOOOO-!!”
With a battle cry, Dagruul swung his sword, glowing with reddish magic power.
The massive sword, bigger than an adult male, came crashing down in a swirl of thick red light, yet none of the attacks ever touched him.
It was because the curtain of shadow rising from the ground was deflecting each attack one by one.
“Why is he fighting so inefficiently?”
Meanwhile, Leje, who was watching the scene, voiced her confusion.
In truth, if Rudell put his mind to it, overwhelming Dagruul wouldn’t be that hard.
Yet, even so, Rudell seemed to be dragging out the time as if playing with him.
As if trying to engrave the difference in power into his opponent’s mind.
“It’s about showing the difference in strength.”
Just then, it was Kurt who resolved Leje’s question.
It was Kurt.
“The difference in power?”
“The more overwhelming the difference in strength, the easier it is to talk with the Nord tribe.”
“I see… that makes sense.”
“It’s definitely a simple yet clear approach.”
Rudell tilted his head at Kurt’s words, and Silphier and Eleor nodded as if they understood his explanation.
Respecting the strong is both the rule and the law of the Nord tribe.
Rudell was deliberately showing Dagruul the difference in strength to turn the negotiations in his favor.
“Woooaahhh-!!”
Perhaps Rudell’s provocation had hit the mark.
Dagruul gritted his teeth and swung his sword at Rudell with every ounce of strength he could muster.
However, Rudell was still blocking his sword with a face full of confidence.
The speed of Dagruul’s sword, which had been swinging at an incredible pace, began to slow down, and seeing his stamina fading, Rudell drew his hand towards the空.
“Iron Maiden.”
At the same moment, countless thorns erupted from the shadows extending from Rudell, surrounding Dagruul.
“If you move even a little, you’ll end up as a pincushion.”
“…!!”
Realizing there was no chance of victory left, the fighting spirit disappeared from Dagruul’s eyes.
Seeing this, Rudell pulled the thorns back into the shadows.
“I admit defeat…”
Amidst the silence outside the duel arena, Dagruul knelt before Rudell and acknowledged his loss…
“Woooaahhh-!!”
“Buna! Kanacha!!”
“Kanu!! Knuda!!”
At the same time, the area around the duel arena was thrown into absolute chaos.
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