The silence that had blanketed the battlefield shattered in an instant.
BOOM!!
The ground exploded beneath Kieran's feet as he lunged forward once more.
Almost at the same moment—
Ragnar disappeared.
Two streaks of light tore across the valley.
One violet.
One emerald green.
CLAAANG!!
The collision of the Aura blade and the Immortal Blade sent a violent shockwave sweeping across the battlefield. Loose stones were hurled into the air as the surrounding cliffs trembled beneath the overwhelming force. Dust erupted around them, forcing both armies to shield their faces against the raging wind.
The duel had begun once again.
Only...
This time, something had changed.
Kieran no longer challenged Ragnar's Immortal Blade head-on.
The moment the massive greataxe descended, he twisted his body just enough for the emerald blade to skim past his shoulder before the fractured Aura blade shot toward Ragnar's ribs.
CLANG!
Ragnar reacted instantly, turning the greataxe to intercept the strike.
Violet and emerald sparks exploded into the air.
Before Ragnar could retaliate—
Kieran vanished.
Another thrust came from Ragnar's left.
CLANG!
Then another from above.
CLANG!
Then another from behind.
CLANG!
Each attack flowed seamlessly into the next, forcing Ragnar to turn his enormous greataxe again and again without a moment's rest.
Hidden among the wolves, Leo watched in silence.
His crimson eyes followed every exchange with unwavering focus.
*He's changed...*
Kieran wasn't trying to overpower Ragnar anymore.
He wasn't testing the Immortal Blade.
He was avoiding it.
Every strike was aimed at Ragnar himself.
Never the weapon.
Ragnar noticed it almost immediately.
A look of irritation flashed across his face.
"Tch..."
"Stop dancing around."
"Face me properly."
Kieran answered with silence.
His expression never changed.
His movements remained calm and deliberate.
Instead of meeting strength with strength, he flowed around Ragnar's attacks like water slipping through stone, forcing the larger warrior to adjust again and again.
CLANG!!
The fractured Aura blade thrust toward Ragnar's throat.
Ragnar barely knocked it aside.
Before he could counter—
Kieran was already gone.
The violet blade flashed toward his side.
CLANG!!
Again.
Another precise strike.
Another hurried block.
The rhythm of the duel had changed completely.
No longer was it a contest of overwhelming power.
It had become a battle of precision.
Of patience.
Of experience.
Watching from nearby, Sasha couldn't hide the faint smile forming on her face.
"...Brother."
She whispered softly.
"He's adapted."
Leo said nothing.
His crimson eyes never left the battlefield.
Every step Kieran took...
Every angle he attacked from...
Every subtle movement Ragnar made before swinging his greataxe...
He engraved each one into his memory.
The clash of Aura continued to echo throughout the valley.
Ragnar suddenly roared.
Gripping the Immortal Blade with both hands, he unleashed another devastating horizontal swing.
WHOOOOOM!!
The enormous greataxe ripped through the air with enough force to split the earth apart.
Kieran lowered his body.
The blade swept over his head, its pressure alone slicing several trees behind him clean in half.
Without wasting the opening—
He stepped in.
The fractured Aura blade shot toward Ragnar's chest.
CLANG!!
Ragnar barely intercepted it in time.
His boots slid several feet across the broken ground.
The wolves' eyes widened.
"Leader pushed him back!"
Hope slowly returned to their faces.
Even among Ragnar's knights, a few exchanged uneasy glances.
The duel they believed had already been decided...
Was beginning to turn.
Ragnar's expression darkened.
His grip around the greataxe tightened.
His golden eyes burned with frustration as they remained locked on Kieran.
The man standing before him...
Refused to fall.
Ragnar planted one foot firmly into the shattered ground.
The moment Kieran's Aura blade slid away—
He swung.
BOOOOM!!
The Immortal Blade carved a deep scar through the battlefield, sending chunks of rock soaring into the air.
Kieran disappeared before the strike could reach him.
His figure blurred past Ragnar's shoulder.
The fractured Aura blade flashed.
CLANG!
Ragnar twisted just in time, forcing the strike away with the haft of his greataxe.
His eyes narrowed.
"Tch..."
"You've become nothing more than a pest."
Another slash tore through the air.
This time Kieran didn't retreat.
He stepped inside Ragnar's reach.
The Aura blade shot toward Ragnar's throat.
Ragnar instinctively leaned back.
The violet blade narrowly missed, slicing through a few strands of his long hair.
Before Ragnar could recover—
Kieran's foot slammed into the ground.
His body spun.
The Aura blade thrust once more.
CLANG!!
Ragnar caught it.
But the force pushed him back another step.
Dust rose beneath his boots.
The wolves watching from behind could hardly believe what they were seeing.
"Leader's overwhelming him..."
"He's forcing General Ragnar back!"
A spark of hope spread through the camp.
Across the battlefield...
Several of Ragnar's knights exchanged uneasy looks.
None of them had expected the battle to shift like this.
...
Leo remained silent.
His crimson eyes followed Kieran's movements without interruption.
*He's not giving Ragnar time to breathe.*
Every attack came before Ragnar could fully recover from the last.
Every dodge forced Ragnar to turn.
Every thrust slowly disrupted his rhythm.
Kieran wasn't trying to overpower him.
He was slowly cornering him.
Like a hunter driving its prey exactly where it wanted.
...
Ragnar suddenly roared.
Green Aura exploded around his body.
With brute force alone, he forced Kieran backwards before swinging the Immortal Blade in a relentless barrage.
BOOM!
CLANG!
BOOM!!
CLANG!!
The battlefield trembled beneath every swing.
Kieran's feet barely touched the ground.
He slipped beneath one strike.
Twisted around another.
Deflected a third by the narrowest margin.
The fractured Aura blade continued dancing around the Immortal Blade without meeting it directly.
Each movement was clean.
Efficient.
Almost beautiful.
"Tch!"
Ragnar's irritation became impossible to hide.
"Fight me!"
"Stop running!"
Kieran's answer was another thrust.
The violet blade shot toward Ragnar's shoulder.
Ragnar instinctively raised the greataxe.
The strike changed direction halfway through.
A feint.
The Aura blade pierced across Ragnar's chest instead.
Rip!
The edge tore through the leather covering his shoulder, leaving behind a thin line of blood.
Silence.
For the first time since the duel began...
Kieran had drawn blood.
Ragnar slowly looked down at the cut.
A single drop rolled down his chest before falling onto the broken earth.
His expression darkened.
The battlefield fell completely silent.
Even the wolves stopped cheering.
Everyone stared at the small wound.
It wasn't deep.
It wasn't serious.
But...
It proved one thing.
Kieran was no longer on the defensive.
The tide of the duel...
Was beginning to turn.
Silence.
Neither warrior moved.
A single drop of blood slid from Ragnar's shoulder before disappearing into the shattered earth beneath his feet.
His golden eyes remained fixed on the shallow cut.
For a brief moment...
The battlefield stood frozen.
Then—
A cold smile slowly spread across Ragnar's face.
"Heh..."
"So..."
"You finally managed to draw blood."
He slowly raised a hand and wiped the blood from his shoulder.
His gaze shifted to the crimson stain on his fingertips.
Without a word...
He clenched his fist.
When he looked back at Kieran, every trace of amusement had vanished.
Only cold fury remained.
"You always did have a talent..."
"...for getting under my skin."
BOOM!!
The ground exploded beneath Ragnar's feet.
His enormous frame shot forward like a charging beast.
The Immortal Blade descended with terrifying force.
Kieran stepped aside.
The greataxe slammed into the ground, splitting the earth apart.
Before Ragnar could recover—
The fractured Aura blade flashed.
CLANG!!
The strike slid across the haft of the greataxe before aiming straight for Ragnar's neck.
Ragnar barely twisted away.
Another cut appeared across his armour.
Another step.
Another thrust.
Another dodge.
The duel became even fiercer than before.
Neither warrior allowed the other a single moment to breathe.
Every clash shook the battlefield.
Every exchange forced both armies to retreat another step from the overwhelming pressure.
The wolves watched with hope burning in their eyes.
Ragnar's knights slowly tightened their grip on their weapons.
The battle was no longer unfolding as they had expected.
...
Far behind the front line...
A lone knight quietly knelt behind a broken boulder.
Unlike everyone else...
His attention wasn't on Ragnar.
Or the duel itself.
His eyes remained fixed on Kieran.
Slowly...
He reached behind his back.
Without making a sound, he drew a bow.
The string was pulled back little by little.
An arrow rested upon it.
Its sharpened tip aimed directly at Kieran's back.
No one noticed.
Everyone's attention remained locked on the duel.
Everyone...
Except one person.
Leo.
His crimson eyes slowly drifted away from the battle.
They settled upon the distant knight.
His expression didn't change.
For a brief second...
He simply watched.
The knight drew the bowstring even farther.
Waiting.
Searching for the perfect opening.
Leo's gaze quietly shifted toward a nearby bow resting against one of the wolves' supply crates.
Without a word...
He walked toward it.
His movements were so natural that no one paid him any attention.
The battlefield continued to roar.
Steel collided.
Aura exploded.
Neither Kieran nor Ragnar noticed anything beyond each other.
Leo calmly picked up the bow.
His fingers brushed across the string.
His crimson eyes lifted once more.
The distant knight was still waiting.
Still aiming.
Still hidden.
Leo slowly reached for an arrow.
His fingers closed around the shaft.
The battlefield continued to roar around him.
CLANG!
Kieran's Aura blade collided with Ragnar's Immortal Blade once again.
Neither of them noticed.
Leo calmly placed the arrow against the bowstring.
He drew.
The string tightened.
His crimson eyes remained fixed on the distant knight hidden behind the boulder.
The man was still aiming at Kieran.
He hadn't noticed Leo.
He hadn't noticed the bow.
He hadn't even realized that someone had already seen him.
Leo's lips curled into a faint smirk.
Then—
TWANG!
The arrow flew.
It crossed the battlefield in an instant.
The hidden knight's eyes widened.
He barely had time to turn his head.
THUD!
The arrow struck him directly in the chest.
His bow slipped from his fingers.
His body collapsed behind the boulder.
For one brief moment...
Everything stopped.
Kieran and Ragnar froze mid-clash.
The wolves stared toward the fallen knight.
Even Ragnar's soldiers looked around in confusion.
Sasha slowly turned her head.
Her eyes found Leo standing several metres away, the bow still lowered in his hand.
She stared at him in disbelief.
"...Leo?"
Leo calmly lowered the bow.
His expression remained completely relaxed.
The battlefield had just changed.