CHAPTER 15 Civilized Members of the Dark Army
CHAPTER 15
Civilized Members of the Dark Army
Rufus
Ever since I’d first crushed Knolith in the Winter Tourney at eighteen and claimed the title of Commander General, the lizardkin had used every excuse to challenge me.
It was usually a chore, but this time , I was glad for the excuse.
“Alright.” I retained my calm and collected appearance as inside, I warred with the desire to punch Knolith in the face .
The lizardkin gave me a side-eye. “Just like that?”
I stood up. “You’ve been rude to my … friend, and we can settle this like civilized members of the Dark Horde.”
So what if I usually found a way out of battling every Tom, Rick, and Knolith who challenged me?
Usually , I was busy or not in the mood. The fact that everywhere I went, someone challenged me, especially since duels had become popular, meant I’d grown tired of it very quickly. I was the right hand to the king, and people wanted to know: Could they hold their own against the commander of the Dark Horde? The most powerful warrior in all the land?
It was exhausting.
And Knolith always challenged me. Even before that. From the time I was sent to Keith as a playmate, the lizardkin had taken every opportunity to compete with me. It was hard enough being handed over like some toy, but then, I’d had to protect the future king with my life and put up with a very hostile young Knolith.
I thought about this as we made our way to the Thistlecrick training grounds … And the more I thought about it, the more I really wanted to punch Knolith in the face.
“This is just like how Henrietta and Keith started.” Bronwynn chuckled. “Though with less bimbleberry scones. Perhaps spring has come for you and Knolith.”
She was standing with me as we emerged onto the training plateau. Her flaming red hair caught the last rays of the sun.
“This is not our first duel.” I ignored the not-so-subtle romantic subtext and stated the facts simply. “Knolith has always challenged me like this, even before duels became normal. You could say that he did it before it was fashionable.”
North Sumbria, the most trendsetting and magically advanced domain on the continent, had started a passion for dueling recently. Though Queen Henrietta had mentioned that some of those trends had been actually started by someone else, and they were using North Sumbria as a scapegoat for their creative liberties. She’d heard it from the ruler herself, Grand Duchess Calisto.
But I digressed.
Knolith walked into the ring and took his stance, waiting, while I prepared. I didn’t want him destroying my good vest, and a lot of my skills required preparation.
[Passive Skill: Mediator has been activated by your Patient Knolith Stardancer. Primary emotion: Anger, Resentment. Subject may act violently. Threat Level: 4]
[You have attempted to use the Skill: Examine . You have succeeded. Six targets may be observed. Knolith Stardancer selected. Target is under observation. Predictive analysis: 68%. Available predictions: attack trajectory, perk activation, and team-based movements.]
Luckily, there was ample time to activate my abilities on the walk here and while talking to Bronwynn. Even as I stopped to take a sip of water and set aside my vest, the number rose to sixty-nine percent.
“Are you ready, Commander General?” Knolith asked politely, though he bit at the title. He got into position, and my skill took it all in, bringing it up to seventy-two percent.
I nodded; it should be enough. I entered the circle.
The plateau and the stands remained empty; no one had been invited to the bout, and the regular trainees cleared the area for us very quickly. I felt their keen eyes from many observation windows cut into the tunnels of the mount.
Something I was also used to. Sigh. I missed my dungeon.
“Ready when you are.” I flexed my claws and used my natural born Beastfolk title to shift my nails further toward my full beast form. I cracked my neck .
[Title: Beastfolk. A natural born shifter between folk and fair. Able to transition between forms, with three natural states: folk, beastfolk, and beast. Mana cost to shift: 12x transition percentage.]
I spent the twenty-four mana without fear; my mana pool had started to refill from my earlier ability activation.
“Then I shall have the honor of dealing the first blow.” Knolith started with a step toward me. Lines of blue-and-red light that only I could see predicted his movements. “See if you can dodge this .”
A blade of ice formed in his hand, and he executed a sharp strike at my face. I caught the blade, swinging it away, not bothering to use [Redirect Blow].
Skills and perks were useful, but sometimes, regular skill was enough.
The lizardkin completed a fluid motion that repositioned his blade, aiming for my throat. The red lines showed me where the strike would land, while the blue lines flared, warning me of his intent to activate a skill or perk.
His powers had leveled up significantly during his closed-door cultivation. Knolith let out a blast of ice with the swing of his sword that shot eight jagged shards my way. Each was easily dodged, though one nicked the fabric of my tunic. As I expected, the garment was compromised and took [Frost] damage. As quickly as I could, I whipped off my shirt and tossed it aside before I was encased in ice.
I glanced at Bronwynn, who looked like she was at a show. She’d pulled out snacks from somewhere and was munching away, staring at us.
My [Examine] of Knolith was at seventy-eight percent, but I didn’t bother remaining on the defensive.
It was time to end this.
As the lizardkin raised his sword for another attack, activating another perk, I stepped forward and executed a palm strike.
[You have attempted to use the Perk: Force Palm . You have succeeded. Knock back 6 paces, dealing 6 x 26 points of physical damage.]
Knolith tried to reposition his blade to block, but my palm struck his chest. I regretted the need to remain stalwart in my position that had me drop my hand down from his face at the last second. Sigh.
I took a cut to the arm as he was flung backward. The martial expert landed with grace, gently, as if he were not subject to the laws of gravity. It did not matter, though, because he landed with his heel outside the ring.
There was a moment of collective silence before a roar of activity took place inside the tunnels. Bronwynn joined in with exuberance as she stood and cheered. Watching her made my heart race. I knew she’d just enjoyed the show, but her cheering me on in the stands left me with a sense of accomplishment unlike any battle I’d won in the past.
Winning was just a necessity to my security; it wasn’t something to celebrate.
I turned back to my opponent to politely offer my hand … and Knolith was glaring at me with a deeper rage than I’d ever seen. His nostrils flared, and the slits of his lizardlike eyes cast daggers in my direction. But he wasn’t staring into my eyes.
He was staring at my wagging tail.