CHAPTER 185: THE SWORD AGAINST THE SCALES

King Ragnor smiled a bit as he looked at Lucen Thornehart. It was obvious to him that those arquebuses that Lucen made were based on his unique magic.

He was quite interested in those two smaller versions Lucen uses, and how they were able to shoot out elemental spells.

It was clear to King Ragnor that, unlike the straightforward Iron Duke, Lucen was a little bit more scheming.

’I guess in the upcoming turmoil that may or may not happen, someone like Lucen would be able to defend Norvaegard better from any kind of enemy.’

Even the three princes and two princesses who had already seen Lucen use his unique magic were once again stunned by his performance. But they had different thoughts, only known to them.

***

The next match was between Mireya and the daughter of another Marquess, whose name was Lorraine Verto, unlike the battle between Lucen and Marco, in which each attack was meant to bring them victory.

The battle between Mireya and Lorraine was a bombardment of spells. It was quite a spectacle to watch.

Neither of them took a single step from their positions. Spells flared, collided, and unraveled midair, painting the arena with bursts of light and color.

Despite both being only at the second circle, the way they used their limited spell pool to the best of their capabilities was truly amazing.

Each attack was met with an equally precise defense, their timing so refined that a few veteran mages in the audience leaned forward in awe.

In the end, it became a contest of endurance, of who could preserve mana the longest, and who could cast with the greatest efficiency.

The winner was decided the second it became an endurance contest. There were only a few people in Norvaegard who could match an Aeromont in mana proficiency, and the Verto family was not one of those.

It was Lorraine who was depleted of mana first, as she had one knee on the ground. She and Mireya already understood that the match was over.

Lorraine did not yield, nor did Mireya ask her to. The two of them simply stopped attacking each other and waited for the referee to make the announcement. Seeing the looks the two were giving him, the referee understood.

The referee’s hand shot up. "Winner! Mireya Aeromont!"

As the applause washed over the arena, Mireya lowered her hand, her breathing calm and measured. The faint shimmer of mana that had surrounded her dissipated like a sigh.

Lorraine rose to her feet and bowed slightly before stepping back. Mireya returned the gesture, neither smug nor overly formal, just a quiet acknowledgment between equals.

***

The next match was the one every person was waiting to see. It was a match between ducal heirs, a confrontation between two bloodlines whose names alone carried the weight of Norvaegard’s history.

Elyra Runescar, heir of the Runescars, the house that forged the kingdom’s strongest sword, versus Evander Judicar, whose family governed law and justice with unwavering severity, the trustworthy scales of the kingdom.

When the two stepped into the arena, the crowd erupted. Even the royals leaned forward, their expressions bright with anticipation. The air itself felt heavier, charged with mana and expectation.

Elyra’s fiery red hair matched her blazing red aura. On the other hand, the smiling blond-haired Evander was practically glowing due to his blessings as an apprentice holy knight.

Elyra had a longsword at hand, while Evander had a buckler and a mace. The two stood a few paces apart, neither speaking, neither underestimating the other. Their eyes met, and for a moment the arena fell silent.

They did not say a single word to each other. They already knew the only words needed would be between their weapons, as they got into their fighting stances.

The referee raised his hand, his voice carrying clearly across the silent coliseum. "Begin!"

Elyra, who was considered to be the fastest among those who were in the tournament, was the first to make a move.

She charged forward like a blazing fire, with her aura mantle that was fiery red enveloping her body and sword.

Evander did not move and got into a defensive stance. His aura mantle, infused with divine blessing, enveloped his body in golden light.

Elyra’s sword was intercepted by Evander’s buckler. The very second the two made contact, a small shockwave pushed out the dust underneath their feet.

Elyra pressed on, her sword blurring with relentless strikes, each faster, heavier, sharper than the last.

Evander parried and deflected them all with surgical precision. His buckler gleamed as it turned aside the burning blade, his mace occasionally swinging, but Elyra easily evaded those strikes and hit back with a faster, heavier counter.

Clang!Clang!Clang!

Each clash rang like a hammer on an anvil. Elyra’s aura flared brighter, the air distorting around her sword as the temperature rose. Sparks danced at their feet. Every time her blade met Evander’s shield, tongues of flame scattered like petals on the wind.

Evander’s aura, in contrast, grew heavier, denser, the divine light surrounding him pulsing with every breath. This was one of the basic divine blessings that enhanced one’s aura.

After a few more strikes, Elyra backed away from Evander, who did not charge forward, instead continuing to stay in his spot, ready to block any attack.

Elyra glanced at the longsword in her hand. There were a few nicks here and there. It was something you would expect from a normal longsword.

Still, even after enveloping the weapon with her aura mantle, it couldn’t withstand that continued attack, hitting the buckler covered with aura enhanced with divine blessing.

Even though Elyra was faster than Evander and was able to get past the other party’s shield every now and then, even when she hit him directly with her sword, she was not able to bypass his aura mantle with divine blessing.

Her speed was far greater, but her attacking power was not able to get past his defensive strength.

’Then I need to do a more powerful move.’ Once she made her decision, Elyra’s breathing changed.

Her breathing grew sharper, deeper, controlled. The fiery aura around her sword condensed, no longer spilling like a wild flame. It tightened, focused, and burned hotter. The audience leaned forward, recognizing what she was doing.

"Aura compression..." A knight in the stands murmured.

This was a high-level aura technique, which one could technically do at any level of aura mantle, but the skill it takes to do it was something most aura users could not do.

"Hahaha! That’s my girl! There’s nothing a Runescar cannot cut!" Kaelvar, who was watching alongside the other judges, could not help but get excited when he saw what his daughter was doing.

Seeing what Elyra was doing, Evander got serious as well. Most of his divine blessings granted by his Goddess were meant to judge sinners, so he did not have many options when fighting an upright person, but that didn’t mean he did not have any at all.

"May Justice Guide my path!"

The second he said those words, Evander’s aura mantle shone brighter as his divine blessing grew stronger. He knew that this next move was not something he could withstand with his body alone; he needed to block it no matter what.

Elyra exhaled once, slow, deliberate; it was like she breathed out mist. It was at that moment she vanished.

[Runescar swordsmanship first form: Blazing flame!]

Elyra’s sword flared, the flame around her blade sharpening into a focused edge rather than bursting outward.

When she moved, it wasn’t explosive; it was clean. A precise step, a single swing, like the breath before a forge strikes true.

Evander’s instincts screamed. He raised his buckler just in time.

Clang!

A burst of sparks scattered between them, bright enough to make the front row flinch. The pressure that followed wasn’t a shockwave; it was a ripple, a dense compression of aura that cracked the thin layer of dust beneath their feet.

Evander slid half a step back. The flame that had been condensed on Elyra’s blade burst apart, scattering like embers in the wind.

Evander thought that was it, and was about to counter-attack, but then Elyra disappeared from his sight.

Elyra had ducked below Evander’s eyesight as she did a sweeping kick, which caught Evander off guard. The other party was about to stumble, but he quickly got his bearings back.

Elyra was not yet done and hit Evander’s abdomen with the pommel of her sword. Evander, who had exhausted most of his aura mantle from defending against Elyra’s Blazing Flame attack, had finally received real damage for the first time since the start of this tournament.

Evander grunted as the blow landed, the breath leaving his lungs for a moment. He staggered back half a step, his shield arm trembling slightly from the earlier exchange.

He recovered quickly, however. His expression shifted from calm to focused resolve.

"This is not enough to make a Judicar fall," Evander spoke with determination.

"You really are sturdy. I was planning to cut your shield in half with that move." Elyra responded as she took a few steps back.

Evander steadied his breath, raising his shield and mace once more. "I’m guessing the next move will be our last exchange."

"It will be... I will show you that as a Runescar, there’s nothing I cannot cut."

Elyra responded as she got into a different stance, the hilt of her sword held by her two hands, was now near her face as the blade pointed at Evander.

"Then I will show you the resolve of a Judicar."

Evander tightened his stance as he spoke. The two were now ready for their final exchange. The audience held their breath as they watched intently. No one knew what the outcome of this match would be.