Chapter 32 — The Clash
For a moment, no one moved.
The battlefield had already fallen into an uneasy silence. The bodies of Ragnar's knights lay scattered across the ground, weapons abandoned beside them, while the remaining wolves stood at a distance, watching the three figures in the center of the battlefield.
Rowan stood with his sword lowered at his side.
Across from him stood Kieran and Sasha.
Leo remained behind them.
Neither Kieran nor Sasha needed to say anything. They both knew what was standing before them.
Rowan Radiance.
The Loyal Sword of Velora.
A man who had arrived alone and, within moments, turned the entire battlefield upside down.
Kieran tightened his grip around his purple spear.
Sasha lowered her stance, frost slowly spreading across her fingers.
Rowan's gaze remained fixed on them.
"Alright, I won't go easy on you then."
The moment the words left his mouth, Kieran moved.
His feet slammed against the earth as he surged forward, purple energy gathering around the spear in his hands. He swung the weapon from the side with enough force to tear through the air.
Rowan didn't move.
At the very last moment, he raised his sword.
CLANG!
The impact shook the ground beneath them.
Kieran's eyes widened.
Rowan had stopped the strike with one hand.
The spear trembled violently from the force behind it, but Rowan's arm remained completely steady.
Kieran gritted his teeth and pushed harder.
Purple energy erupted around the spear, twisting like flames.
Rowan's cloak fluttered behind him.
Then he moved.
With a simple motion of his sword, Rowan knocked the spear aside.
Kieran's balance shifted for half a second.
That was enough.
Rowan stepped forward and drove his shoulder into Kieran's chest.
THUD!
Kieran was thrown backward.
His feet scraped across the ground before he managed to stop himself. The spear remained in his hands, but the impact had forced the air from his lungs.
Sasha immediately appeared at Rowan's side.
Ice covered her leg as she spun and launched a kick toward his head.
Rowan turned.
The frozen heel stopped inches from his face.
His hand caught Sasha's ankle.
Sasha's eyes widened.
Before she could react, Rowan twisted his body and threw her.
She flew several meters through the air before landing on her feet, sliding backward across the dirt.
She immediately steadied herself.
Kieran was already charging again.
He swung his spear downward.
Rowan stepped to the side.
The spear smashed into the ground, sending cracks through the earth.
Kieran pulled it free and thrust forward.
Rowan deflected the tip with his sword.
Another thrust.
Another block.
Kieran attacked again and again, each strike faster than the last.
The spear moved like lightning in his hands.
But Rowan continued to evade them.
Not barely.
Not desperately.
Calmly.
Every movement was precise.
Every step was calculated.
Kieran's frustration began to show.
He spun the spear around his body and unleashed a wide horizontal strike.
Rowan ducked beneath it.
Kieran immediately reversed the weapon and struck from the opposite direction.
Rowan raised his sword.
CLANG!
The force pushed Kieran backward.
Rowan didn't even stagger.
Kieran's expression hardened.
He rushed forward again.
This time Sasha joined him.
She moved across the battlefield in a blur, frost forming beneath her feet with every step.
"Kieran!"
Kieran understood immediately.
He charged from the front while Sasha circled around Rowan's side.
For the first time, Rowan's eyes shifted between them.
Kieran attacked.
Sasha attacked at the same time.
The spear came from above.
The frozen blade formed along Sasha's arm came from the side.
There was nowhere to escape.
At least, that was what they thought.
Rowan lowered his body.
The spear passed over his head.
He stepped inside Kieran's attack and struck the shaft of the spear with his sword.
At the same time, he turned toward Sasha.
Her frozen strike was already inches away.
Rowan caught her wrist.
Sasha's eyes widened.
He pulled her forward.
She lost her balance.
Kieran's spear came down.
Rowan moved Sasha directly into Kieran's path.
Kieran immediately stopped the strike.
That hesitation was all Rowan needed.
His sword flashed.
Kieran barely managed to block it with the shaft of his spear.
The impact sent him stumbling backward.
Sasha was thrown aside.
She landed hard on one knee.
Kieran looked at her.
She looked back.
Neither said anything.
They had both understood it.
They were not fighting someone who was simply stronger than them.
They were fighting someone who was controlling the battle.
Rowan had been reading every movement they made.
Every attack.
Every hesitation.
Every attempt to work together.
Kieran's breathing became heavier.
He tightened his grip on his spear.
Then he looked toward Rowan.
The difference in strength was becoming impossible to ignore.
Still, Kieran stepped forward.
He wasn't going to retreat.
Sasha rose beside him.
Frost crawled up her arms.
They attacked again.
Kieran came first.
His spear struck with overwhelming force.
Rowan blocked.
Sasha followed immediately.
Rowan twisted away.
Kieran spun the spear and struck again.
Rowan parried.
Sasha tried to attack from behind.
Rowan turned before she could reach him.
The battle became a storm of steel, ice and purple energy.
The ground beneath their feet was torn apart.
Kieran's spear carved deep lines into the earth.
Sasha's ice shattered across the battlefield.
But Rowan remained untouched.
He moved through their attacks as though he had already seen them coming.
Then Rowan finally stopped holding back.
His sword struck Kieran's spear.
The sound echoed across the battlefield.
Kieran's hands went numb.
Before he could recover, Rowan struck again.
The second blow knocked the spear from Kieran's hands.
It spun through the air before landing several meters away.
Kieran stared at it for half a second.
That was enough.
Rowan stepped forward.
Kieran raised his arms to defend himself.
The impact sent him crashing into the ground.
"Kieran!"
Sasha rushed toward him.
Rowan turned.
Sasha stopped.
For the first time, fear flickered across her face.
Not fear of death.
Fear of understanding.
She finally realized that if Rowan truly wanted to kill them, the fight would already be over.
He had been giving them chances.
He had been holding back.
And they had still failed.
Sasha clenched her fists.
Ice gathered around her arms.
She forced herself forward.
She attacked Rowan with everything she had left.
Rowan met her head-on.
Their weapons collided.
Sasha pushed.
Rowan didn't move.
She pushed harder.
Her frost spread across the ground beneath them.
Rowan's sword remained steady.
Then, with one clean motion, he broke through her guard.
Sasha was struck across the side and thrown away.
She hit the ground and rolled several times before coming to a stop.
The ice around her body cracked.
She tried to rise.
Her arms trembled.
Kieran was already on one knee several meters away.
His spear lay out of reach.
He looked toward Sasha.
Then toward Rowan.
The realization settled heavily in his mind.
They had lost.
Not because they had been careless.
Not because they had made some foolish mistake.
They simply weren't strong enough.
Kieran slowly pushed himself upright.
His body ached with every movement.
He looked at Rowan, his expression hardening.
The man standing before him had barely changed.
His breathing was calm.
His sword was still in his hand.
Not a single sign of exhaustion showed on his face.
Kieran's fingers curled into fists.
For the first time in a long while, he had no answer.
Sasha lowered her head slightly, breathing heavily.
She knew it too.
There was nothing either of them could do.
Rowan turned his attention away from them.
His eyes moved toward Leo.
Leo had remained standing behind them throughout the battle.
Watching.
Waiting.
His expression was calm, but his eyes followed Rowan carefully.
Kieran noticed.
"Sasha..."
His voice was low.
She looked toward him.
"Leave him."
Sasha's eyes moved back toward Leo.
Leo stood alone now.
Kieran and Sasha were down.
Adrian was still recovering from the blow Rowan had dealt him.
And Rowan was walking toward Leo.
Slowly.
Each step seemed to make the silence around them heavier.
Leo didn't move.
Rowan's hand tightened around his sword.
His gaze never left his son.
Leo watched him approach.
The distance between them disappeared one step at a time.
Ten meters.
Eight.
Six.
Rowan stopped.
For a brief moment, neither of them moved.
Leo stood completely alone.
Then Rowan rushed forward.
The earth cracked beneath his first step.
His sword came down.
Leo's eyes widened.
He moved back instinctively.
But Rowan was already there.
The blade descended.
And just before it could reach Leo—
"STOP!"
A small figure suddenly rushed between them.
Alya.
The young girl threw herself directly in front of Leo.
She stood there trembling, her small body blocking the path between Rowan and Leo.
Rowan's sword stopped.
Only inches away from her.
The battlefield went completely silent.
Leo stared at Alya.
His expression changed.
"Alya..."
She didn't move.
She stood between the two of them, staring up at Rowan.
Her body trembled.
But she refused to step aside.
Rowan's sword remained suspended in the air.
For the first time since his arrival, his expression changed.
He looked down at the child standing between himself and his son.
And no one on the battlefield dared to breathe.