"I thought you were insane before, but now you're taking it to the extreme. You want to let her fight against real experienced fighters and warriors? How is she going to do that without help and training?"
"That's where you come in Aiden, I know you are far better with weapons than you have shown so far. You will train her until the tournament starts."
"Stop, I'm supposed to be taught anything by this pain in the ass? Why don't you just help me?
"You'll get your answer in a minute. Aiden we will fight a duel without any magic or other powers. Man against man, as it will be in the tournament. The villagers have a few wooden swords, those will be our weapons."
Aiden looked Leo in the eye, he was completely serious. No talking back and no excuses. Leo took off his armor and took the sword. Both faced each other and waited for Auri's signal. The winner is the one who hits the other first on the chest.
"Give it your all Aiden, no holding back not that you'll go soft later."
"Provocations don't work on me so you better stop and concentrate."
Auris gave the go signal and both men rushed at each other. Aiden threw his first strike but Leo parried it and attacked himself. By a hair's breadth Leo missed his body, after which Aiden could only parry without attacking himself. It seemed like Leo's stamina was infinite and his strength barely wavered.
"Are you sure you're not using illegal stuff?"
"Don't tell me you've already given up?"
Everything looked like Leo was going to win, Aiden had to keep dodging. It was a matter of time before he would hit Aiden's chest. But suddenly Aiden's gaze changed. It looked like he was clearer and more focused now. He breathed in and out, Leo smiled at the view. He knew that the fight was about to get exciting again. Aiden still dodged Leo's attacks, but right after that he swung his sword directly at Leo's chest. Leo was just able to dodge, but the next moment Aiden stood in front of him and didn't stop attacking. As an spectator, it looked like Leo's attacks had slowed down, but that wasn't the case. It was Aiden whose attacks were now lightning fast and aimed at Leo's weak points that he had noticed. Meanwhile, some of the villagers had gathered to watch the match. Aiden was incredibly confident, giving Leo no more room to move. Leo noticed that he was forgetting his defense and waited for the perfect moment to counter. After dodging a blow, he focused on this weak point, but Leo was caught off guard. Aiden had deliberately faked a weak point to lure Leo out of cover and give him the final strike. The tip of the wooden sword touched his chest just below the heart. Leo declared Aiden the winner and the two paid their respects to each other.
"Did you see Auris, why I can't be your trainer. I may be strong, but without some kind of magic or enhancement, there are even stronger opponents than me. I think everyone here has seen that Aiden is a very dangerous competitor. Most enemies would have dropped dead three times already and he doesn't even look exhausted. If anyone can train to fight, here's the perfect teacher in front of you."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Zaris practiced with me for years and it took me a very long time to understand and learn everything. I am everything but not a good trainer. And the way she always looks at me, she doesn't want to learn anything from me."
But after the fight Auris saw Aiden with different eyes, she realized that behind his weird manner was a dangerous fighter.
"The tournament starts in 20 days, you should prepare yourselves in this time. I will help you elsewhere so you are on your own for now."
"And my training is to make her a ruler, that's your plan? Do you even know how exactly the tournament will happen?"
"Surprisingly, I know exactly what will take place in the tournament. I wouldn't say you're going to become the ruler if there weren't legitimate means to do so. Basically, it's like a gladiator arena with an audience. The fight is not over until one of the fighters is dead on the ground. That's why you have to teach her as much as you can. And it's not like she doesn't know any combat skills. You just have to expand and refine them. A total of 40 fighters compete, made up entirely of beastmen. Neither magic nor the abilities of the individual tribes are allowed. Whoever breaks the rules will be executed on the spot. Each of the fighters needs a seal as an entry, which was sent with as an invitation to the tournament. The first fight is a group fight where 5 people on each side fight each other, the only problem is that only 2 people will advance in the end. So you can't trust anyone but yourself. You have to pay attention to the other group as well as your group, all of them are enemies. The focus is on the fun of the audience. After that there are normal duels, in the first two rounds you have to use certain weapons, after that the fighters have free choice. You have to win 3 normal fights, then we will reach the final stage. The winner of the tournament will have a duel against the current ruler of the kingdom, the victorious one will rule the kingdom. It is absurd how high your pride and combativeness is, but it suits us just fine. For more than 10 years the same ruler Sezur, half human half lion, has been ruling the kingdom. Although he always fought against very strong opponents, he eventually won each of his battles. The odd thing is that he is far older than the young fighters, yet he always wins in the end. I have a strong suspicion that not everything is done by the fair means. Auris, you should already know most of this, right?"
"My father always used to take me there, it was a spectacle but also a cruel game of death. You want me to kill the king after the 4 battles and then rule myself? Never will they accept a normal beastman woman as their ruler, all the fighters come from noble and glorious families and I come from a small unknown village."
"Don't worry, I will take care of that. We'll have to change your name for the time and replace your background too. Let all that be my problem, you just concentrate on training. Oh and if their pride should replace their tradition and they don't accept you, then we will force them to do so whether with fear or respect. I will be back here shortly before we leave, you should have said your goodbyes by then as well. And Auris...if you don't keep our deal...you can imagine what will happen.
With his terrifying aura, he stared directly into Auris' eyes and left the village. Everyone was shocked and nervous at the same time, Aiden and Auris were forced to cooperate with each other. Soon their lives will hang by a thread.
Leo traveled through several counties and towns until he located a target after three days. In one of the town's taverns sat lizardmen with fine armor and red marks on their chests. The tallest of them was worshipped by his followers and bragged about his talent. He proudly held up a golden seal with a lion's head and shouted throughout the tavern that he would win the tournament. He bragged about the victories he had won in his tribe. Leo knew that these were not empty words and took him very seriously. The leader also noticed Leo's aura and looked at him with an evil eye.
"Since you've been here, alcohol suddenly tastes bad. Speak, who are you and what are you doing here? You don't seem so inexperienced with that aura you're giving off. You're really polluting the air of my men. So out with it, what kind of filthy person are you?"
"It's a funny coincidence, ever since I smelled you, hardly anything here is enjoyable. If you want to know who I am, I guess you'll have to find out for yourself. You're the strongest one here, so let's see your skills!"
"Oho, a real savage! If I were you, I would have rather left while I was still in a good mood, but now it's much too late for that. This place gets the best booze, so get out of here and take your weapon with you, you'll need it in a minute."
The lizardmen then forced Leo to accompany them out. In an unoccupied area, they lined each other up, the other lizardmen forming a circle so that Leo couldn't run away.
"So you want to test my strength, I guess no one has ever told you that the Lizardmen are one of the strongest tribes. And of all people you challenged their strongest fighter, what bad luck you have. But don't worry, in a few seconds your bad luck will be finally destroyed. You can take your weapon, I'll take my axe, man against man. We fight to the death, it's normal for us lizards. Draw your sword and die."
As Leo drew his sword he was suddenly surrounded and attacked by other lizard soldiers.
"We never decided that no tricks were allowed. I know you're not completely stupid in battle so I'll just give myself a little advantage. Come on men show him why the lizardmen are so strong."
They spat a green liquid at Leo, it was the strongest poison in the entire kingdom. It could break down almost any material and caused a slow agonizing death when it touched the skin. Also, they could alter their skin to be covered by the poison. Thus, they were almost untouchable and could incapacitate their opponents without any problems.
When the poison hit Leo's armor, the leader burst out laughing.
"Kuhaha, another victim has fallen prey to our strength-
"You talk too much."
In the next moment, Leo's sword glowed green and he decapitated one of the soldiers. The poison made the runes glow green and green flames formed on the weapon. The poison simply dripped off his armor as if it were water. When it hit his skin, his veins turned black.
"(I feel no pain...seems like the poison is a natural fuel)."
The soldiers could not believe what was happening before their eyes. Before they could attack Leo again it was too late. Leo started smiling and unleashed a massacre that almost froze even the leader. One body after another fell to the ground until finally only the leader was left standing.
"So these are your tricks, amazing. Don't think I'm giving up yet. Look closely.
His axe began to glow red and grew larger. Flames formed on the weapon while the lizardman laughed loudly.
"See, you're not the only one who- urgh."
Leo was bored by his show, before the leader could attack he severed his head.
His body sank in and fell into the puddle of black blood that had formed.
"I don't have time for these childish games. If you can't master it, don't use it in the first place...amateur."
Leo took the seal from his armor and cleaned his sword before some of the tavern's visitors found the bodies and ran away from Leo filled with fear and dread. With a light sigh, he left the city in search of answers.
For the next few days, he asked as many beastmen as he could about the tournament and their experiences. Any information was helpful to him, so he could get a better picture. He learned that spectators from other races are allowed, but they are strictly controlled at the entrance. He had to think of something how he could move freely in there without any problems. Furthermore, he learned some things about Sezur. He was half human half lion, his tribe was the strongest in the whole kingdom. Every year one of his followers takes part in the tournament, but never one of them made it to the finals. For Leo, this was extremely strange. Of course, it would be best if the current king were replaced by one of his people, but it was not even remotely close. Leo was even more sure that something was fishy. He suspected that his followers knew exactly what he was fighting with. So he could cancel out this advantage and it would be a normal duel. This is exactly what Sezur wanted to prevent and manipulated the tournament so that the lionman fighter could not compete against him. It was tradition for one of the ruler's people to participate in the tournament. Sezur also knew this and did everything he could not to lose his throne. But how exactly did he manipulate the tournament to his will and which abilities helped him to win? Was it magic or was it just because his opponent was exhausted and often injured from the other fights against him? Or was it something completely different? Leo was sure that the fighters could have beaten him no matter what condition they were in. In the sagas of the animal people it is said that the lion people were, are and always will be by far the strongest. They are described as possessing incredible strength and perseverance, and even with injuries they could continue to fight without any problems. Their talent for fighting was immeasurable and their pride always led them to victory. However, every saga eventually comes to an end. These thoughts buzzed around in Leo's head every day, he had a hard time finding a method to win. He tried to find out the weaknesses and strengths of each fighter and each tribe, but he had too little information. Leo was getting more and more restless with each passing minute and could hardly concentrate, but his determination was pushing him forward. By now 15 days had passed and Leo was still working on his idea, although he was not completely satisfied with the result he had no choice. Soon, not only Auri's fate was at stake, but also, in some part, Leo's aswell.
-At the same time, tavern Hardirf-
"Hey, who's the boss here?"
The innkeeper voluntarily raised his arm as he looked into the bloodthirsty eyes of the unknown person.
"Was there a man with brown and black hair and black armor in town?"
"Oh yes, and he made quite a mess. Wiped out the whole lizard group. The sight of those severed heads still gives me nightmares today."
"Sounds just like him. How long has it been since he was here?"
"About a fourteen days, I don't know exactly."
"Where did he go?"
"I don't know exactly either, nobody wanted to have any word with him. It's a good thing he went right out of town. There's another small town further north of here, maybe that's where he went."
The innkeeper was nervous when he saw the large bow that the person was carrying.
The person looked annoyed and displeased. Nevertheless, it gave the innkeeper one silver coin as a thank you for his answers.
As the person left, a bird sound was heard, which disappeared into the darkness of the night