The next day at noon, Edward headed to the blacksmith shop and collected his blade. As there were no issues with the blade, he paid and returned to the castle.
Edward summoned a glove and inserted both the monster cores into his blade and glove.
Slotting the three aether gems into the blade sphere's sub sockets, he practiced with the blade.
After that, he took a rapier from the weapons rack and started going through a series of moves.
He alternated his practice between his heavy blade and the rapier for the next day and half.
—
A breeze whistled through the empty stands as five figures could be seen in the training grounds arena.
"Tarin, any ideas why his highness would want to duel Edward?" Johan was lounging at the training ground stands after ensuring the premise is clear of spectators.
"Nothing beats getting the measure of a man quicker than by crossing blades with him," Tarin replied.
"Tarin, how do you judge the duel?"
"It is obvious that while Edward is trained in the blade from where he is from, there is a significant gap in skill between his highness and him. After all, his highness is a three leaves graded swordsman."
"His highness will have no information on his opponent but his opponent would have already studied the empire swordsmanship to a certain degree. Moreover, his highness has reduced this duel to basic combat mode. He is looking to narrow the gap by putting himself at a disadvantage." Tarin further mused on the conditions of the duel.
"From your observations, what grade of swordsman would you put Edward on?" Johan asked further.
"One leaf graded swordsman."
"What is your assessment, Johan? Possible for a one leaf swordsman to beat a three leaves swordsman under the current conditions?" Tarin asked Johan.
"Definitely, only his highness is no mere three leaves swordsman. Had he not been on the battlefield for the past decade, I believe his highness would possess the qualifications to rank amongst the divine blades now." Johan was enthusiastic as he replied.
"I am looking forward to this duel. If my expectations are correct, Edward has prepared a stratagem to turn the tables on his highness. I would like to see just exactly what kind of machinations he has prepared that can overturn an absolute difference in strength. I believe his highness is expecting something similar." Tarin then looked at the two combatants readying themselves on the grounds.
"So, his highness will win?" Johan asked
"Without a doubt. Being a potential divine blade is nothing short of amazing. Without that special spark of something, one will never even touch the boundary of that realm in their entire lifetime," Tarin replied without even thinking. "The pertinent question would be how hard he can force his highness."
"Agreed," Johan then went on, "I believe he can at least force his highness to show half his abilities."
"You are looking down on Edward too much. I saw him practicing and while I cannot figure out his entire trick yet, I believe he can force his highness to around 70-80%." Tarin was smiling as he analyzed the odds.
"Ho? That much? Must be some kind of elaborate ploy then." Johan's manner grew animated as he replied.
"It is the opposite. If what I suspect is true, the nature of the trick will be simple."
"Look it is beginning."
—
"That is a heavy-looking sword," Aureus noted as they were facing each other.
"Nice scabbard," Edward replied and looking at the three leaves insignia.
"The strongest swordsman I know of does not have an insignia adorning their scabbard though."
"It will be a best of three bouts. The mage will cast a magic-body barrier before the start of every round. As long as one can break the barrier, it will be considered being one's win."
Aureus and Edward bowed to each other and took up their respective positions.
Light shimmered and a glove appeared on each combatant.
The mage at the arena's edge then gave a short blast of green light.
Edward powered up his cores and led with a charge straight to Aureus and slashed towards Aureus's neck before turning it suddenly and slicing towards Aureus's arm.
Aureus parried the blow. (This power!! Full strength augmentation then) Aureus thought after parrying."
Edward stepped in and started launching overhead attacks onto Aureus like a butcher cutting a prime cut of meat.
Aureus's arms tingled with a numb sensation as he received Edward's blows.
Meanwhile Aureus's senses were firing. (His main objective seems to be neutralizing my attack power before going for the kill. Is it truly so simple though? Yet, he is forcing me to make a move, there is no way I can keep taking these heavy blows of his without losing the round. Worse scenario, I will aim for a counter-kill)
Aureus side-stepped and swung his sword in a metallic arc towards Edward.
Edward's gems in his blade glowed.
(Mass? A super heavy blow? Bloodline ability, divine strength? Is that possible?)
Aureus twisted his blade to fend off an overhead.
To his surprise, Edward thrust his sword forward like a rapier with incredible speed at his chest instead of swinging overhead.
Aureus dodged to the side while lashing out at Edward catching him squarely in the gut with the stroke and reducing Edward's barrier light by half.
Aureus avoided a fatal blow by dodging quickly to the side but he still took critical damage.
(If this was without the magic body barrier, I would have lost my non-dominant arm. As it is, I am down to 25 percent barrier strength. What a first blood)
(With this, I gained a good grasp on my opponent's capabilities and strategic acumen)
(I may not have forced out all his abilities. I should use my remaining energy to assess his battle strength to prepare for the next two bouts)
Dust lifted as Aureus made for Edward, his sword casting flickering shadows across the grounds as he pressed the assault.
Beads of sweat formed on Edward's brows as he swung his blade from left to right in an attempt to block Aureus's blows.
As Aureus's blade reached the nadir of it's tempo, Edward's blade would dart forth like the tongue of a snake and chip away at Aureus's barrier.
Aureus's barrier had only one-tenth of its original brightness compared to the beginning of the duel.
Parrying Aureus's blade thrice in succession, Edward's blade would yet increase in speed as it sped forth with a whistling sound at Aureus's barrier.
As Edward's blow approached, Aureus thrust forth at the same time with a similar level of speed at Edward's barrier.
Their blows connected at the same time and with a popping sound, Aureus's barrier broke. Facing Aureus, Edward's barrier was lit but guttering like a flame without spirit.
"First bout victor, Edward Williams!" Announced the mage from the side.
—
"Ai, Edward took the first bout." Johan exclaimed in a loud voice.
"It was an impressive series of moves to gain the first strike," Tarin seemed appreciative as he assessed the bout.
"Yeah, he completely made use of his unknown capabilities to launch a surprise attack with great strength and momentum towards his opponent's critical spot," Johan agreed. "On most other opponents, the bout would have gone to Edward then and there."
"His highness seems to be quite cautious of his adversary. He forwent his chance of victory this bout in return for more detailed information on his opponent's strength."
"Still, his highness was close to winning the bout."
"It was Edward's decision to go for the killing move at that timing that won him the bout."
"Had he tried to drag out the bout further than move for the kill, this bout would have been a draw."
"It appears that his highness is taking this duel seriously, it has been a long time since I have seen him go full-throttle even in basic combat mode."
"It would be impressive if Edward could make his highness go all out again."
"The chances of him doing so again is low. After all, most of his capabilities have been seen through."
"Agreed."
—
As the second bout began, the three aether gems in Edward's blade immediately glowed.
Lighten.
Edward advanced and a flurry of blows flew towards Aureus.
Every blow of Edward's blade was caught squarely by Aureus's sword while at the same time the distance between the two never varied.
Aureus landed blow after blow as he parried and blocked Edward's blade. Edward's barrier began dimming. In contrast, Aureus's barrier appeared as bright as it ever was.
(Based on his current available moves, my opponent's best set of moves would be to vary his usage of the heavy blade with his light blade creating an usual rhythm to disrupt my balance. As long as I keep my distance, victory is assured.In the event he exceeds my expectations I will have to enact my contingency) Aureus's mind rapid fired thoughts as he continued meeting Edward's blade with his sword.
As Edward's barrier dimmed further, his face hardened and he dispelled Lighten. Soon, overhead chops mixed with rapid thrusts assaulted Aureus with bizarre timing. As Aureus's blade showed less deftness, Edward's blade became more aggressive. Yet, the light of the barrier of both combatants dimmed at the same rate.
As Aureus's blade was knocked aside by one of Edward's overhead, Edward grasped the blade with both hands and thrusted towards Aureus. At the same time, the glow in his blade disappeared.
Aureus's expression did not waver in the slightest at this bizarre set of moves. He grasped his sword with both hands and parried. Edward's blade was knocked to the side with no chance of recovering to a guarded stance. Aureus took a step forward and landed a blow on Edward's barrier which broke it.
—
"Not bad, his highness was close to going all out," Tarin said as the duel ended. "This Edward is a true fighter."
"The last blow wasn't bad. Going for the opening then was the right move. Unfortunately, his highness is a level above. He read that move." Johan said in a tone as if he expected nothing else.
"Tarin, if it was you, would you have been able to deflect that last blow?"
Tarin just smiled and declined to answer.