The Decisive Battle in the Wilderness
“Oh, sweet moons! Abel! You are here! You came for me! Oh, thank the moons, Abel you’re here to save me!”
Abel didn’t match Mia’s excited shouts of joy. He never took his eyes off of his enemy. Every hair on his body stood up. He was so nervous that sweat ran down his palms. He was afraid of the man in front of him. Everything about him looked dangerous, from the way he stood to the way his sword was held.
Abel tightened his grip on his sword because he knew he was about to fight someone as strong as Remno’s champion, Bernardo Virgil the Adamantine Spear, or the Empire’s Finest, Dion Alaia.
This man…knows how to kill very well. This much is for sure.
Abel looked around while being careful not to let the man out of his sight.
The wolves make things hard.
I need to do something, but what?
Kuolan appeared out of nowhere behind them. He walked slowly to Mia’s side and then glared at the wolves and huffed angrily. Abel’s horse, Kayou, joined him and stood in front of Mia as if to protect her.
We appreciate the thought, but horses against wolves? I’m not sure…
He quickly had to change his mind when, to his surprise, the wolves glared at the horses but stopped moving.
Huh. Son of a sword merchant. I understand what’s happening.
It didn’t take him long to figure out what was going on. Horses were assets. Valuable ones. A fast warsteed was worth a thousand pieces of gold.
Most likely, the enemy’s wolves had been taught not to hurt horses.
“It looks like we won’t have to worry about the wolves for the time being. Mia, stay close to those horses!”
“Got it! I’ll be right here next to you. My, Kuolan, your nose is twitching like — Gaaah!”
There was a loud hack-a-pchoo, then slime flew everywhere, and then Mia hit the ground with a dull thud.
But Abel didn’t dwell too much about this slapstick sketch. He turned back quickly to look at the man in front of him.
“Thanks for doing such a good job training those wolves. Now all I have to do is knock you out.”
“Abel… the Second Prince of Remno?” the man in the mask said to himself.
“Oh? You know who I am, right? I’m honoured,” said Abel. There was no humor in his voice. Nor his glare.
He raised his sword in an overhead stance.
In a strict sense, things hadn’t changed much for the better. He still had to deal with an assassin who was as skilled as Dion Alaia. Even though the man hadn’t attacked, it looked like his wolf friends were ready to pounce at any moment.
Abel could try to attack with rage. If he didn’t care about staying alive, he could trade blows and buy time by being very aggressive. It wasn’t enough, though, to buy time.
The only way for them to get out of this dangerous situation was for him to beat this strong enemy or at least make him run away.
Can I do that?
He was suddenly hit by a wave of worry. He let it in, feeling it move up through his chest and into his throat. Then…
“Phew…”
He took a long breath and let it out. He was no longer distracted, so he was able to get his mind back on track.
“Here I come!”
His job was easy. Critical and important, but also easy. So, all that was left for him to do was act. He took a big step forward, and the sound of his foot hitting the ground almost made a hole.
He swung at the same time. He had practised this move over and over again until he could do it without thinking. A move he knew and believed in.
From high on his head, his blade came crashing down in a deadly blur, leaving moonlit afterimages in its wake.
It was a mesmerising hit, and the trail looked like the moon had come down to earth because it was such a perfect crescent. It was also a fierce attack, so fast and accurate that even Sion Sol Sunkland, a genius, might not have been able to stop it in time.
Ker-chaaang!
A loud clang rang through the night.
Two fighters stood under the pale celestial beacon with their swords locked.
Damn it. He hardly moved at all.
Abel clicked his tongue. He’d put everything he had into that one strike, but it was blocked so easily that it was frustrating.
The man in the mask looked at him through the blades that were crossed and spoke in a cold voice.
“A fine strike. Not enough to kill me, though.”
He slashed back with a cut of his own.
Abel was almost cut in half, but the flat side of his sword saved him.
Then the next slash arrived. And another after that. A constant attack that forced him to stay on the defensive.
Ugh, this guy is a monster. Not a big surprise, but damn.
Since his opponent was stronger and faster, he was unable to completely stop the furious attack. The masked man’s blade cut through many flesh, but it never made a fatal cut. There were spots of fresh red on the moonlit grassland.
Abel said with clenched teeth, “I won’t let you win!”
Even though he was hurt, he didn’t give in. He knew how important what he was protecting. She was behind him. Just thinking about that kept his sword up and his knees strong. He couldn’t lose her in this place. He couldn’t afford to give up! He was as strong and true as steel in his decision. But—
Ka-chiing!
A sharp sound came into his ears. It sounds like something snapping. He quickly moved back a few steps and put his sword up to defend himself, but what he saw made him grimace.
The metal of the blade was not as strong as his mind.
“What a fool you are to fight me with that toy of a sword,” the man in the mask said in a low, rumbling voice.
Abel had brought a training sword with him. It was not sharp, and it wasn’t even strong enough to be used in real combat. On the island of Saint-Noel, there were strict rules about having weapons, and you had to get permission to have one.
This kind of acceptance took time, which he didn’t have. He couldn’t wait even a second longer.
Liora told him that Mia was acting strangely, so he ran with his training sword to the stable, where he jumped on Kayou, the only horse that could catch up to Kuolan, and set off on his rescue mission right away.
He and Liora only made it in time because they moved quickly, but in their hurry, they forgot to get the tools they needed to beat the wolfmaster.
Even though they tried hard, the heavy doors of fate would not open. The balance of luck didn’t change. The thread of fate turned out to be an inch too short for them to get to the future they wanted.
Until a determined girl grabbed the loose end of the thread and pulled it tight. The thin thread was pulled very tight, but it didn’t break. It kept going until it was just long enough to touch the other end. She put two silver pieces worth of loyalty on the scale of fortune.
And with that, the tides turned. Calling their strongest ally, Saint-Noel, to this crucial battleground. This ally’s voice could be heard through the night.
“Catch, Abel!”
At the same time, the man in the mask hit him in the side. Abel jumped into the air and folded his legs towards his chest to avoid the blow. He then raised his arm to the sky.
As if he had called it there, a sword fell right into his hand.
“I owe you one, Sion!”
He drew it while midair. Its black shine showed that it was made of well-wrought steel. It wasn’t a toy. It was a proper too to kill a lot of people on the battlefield. He put both hands on the hilt of the military-grade longsword and brought the blade down on his opponent.
After the loud clang of metal, the masked man gave a quiet, laboured grunt. The huge force of Abel’s blow caused him to fall backward.
“My condolences for your arms, sir. I’m sure they feel pretty numb right now,” joked Sion. “That boy swings like a lumberjack. And hits even harder.”
He walked into the scene with a smile on his face and an easy pace. Sion Sol Sunkland, a sword prodigy, calmly and gracefully pulled out his weapon.
He looked briefly at Kuolan, then at Mia, who stood in the shadow of the horse.
She was a mess. Her clothes were soaked through and through, and dark mud spots covered her face and hair.
“You’ve done our friend a great discourtesy. I hope you’re ready for our retaliation,” he said, but his angry eyes gave away his cool tone.
… Just for the record, Mia’s messiness was mostly caused by her horse sneezing on her, which caused her to trip and fall into a mud puddle. She was knocked off her horse, then that said horse sneezed at her again.
Sion didn’t know these things, of course.
