Clang!
The collision of their swords rang across the camp.
Ulrich and Valdris resumed their fight beside the stream, their boots cutting through the wet grass as they circled one another. Crimson light flashed whenever Ulrich's blade met Valdris's black sword. The red spell coating Ulrich's weapon shattered at every contact, scattering sparks across the ground, yet the exchange no longer looked like the one-sided battle it had been at the beginning.
Earlier, Ulrich had been forced to defend.
Valdris had driven him backward with the force of his swings. Every attempt Ulrich made to reinforce his blade had ended the same way: black steel struck crimson mana, the spell broke, and the impact numbed his hands.
Now the ground between them had become equal.
Valdris's expression no longer held amusement.
His smile had disappeared completely.
He swung from the right.
Ulrich's sword rose to meet it.
The black blade struck the crimson reinforcement spell.
