Deflecting Illumia's axe to the left, I bring my sword down, intending to cut her from the shoulder diagonally, but once again, she somehow maneuvered around my attack and used her axe to chop at one of my openings. Knowing I won't be able to dodge the attack in time, I decided to do something crazy, and instead of trying to block Illumia, I would take the hit and attack her simultaneously.
When the axe's blade landed on my side, the pain I felt was immense, but throughout the several different spars me and Illumia fought, I've got used to the pain enough that I'm capable of ignoring it, although it's still excruciating painful, luckily the axe's blade is dull; otherwise I think I would've been cut in half.
Grabbing hold of the axe with my left hand to keep it in place, I slashed at Illumia while holding my sword with my right hand, and with her right in front of me, I didn't believe I would miss her.
'Ha, I've got you!' Thought Elif, imagining himself finally being able to touch Illumia after a couple of hours of constantly getting beaten up.
Right, when the blade of my sword was about to touch her neck, I suddenly saw a blur, then the next thing I knew, I felt pain in my chest before shooting off the arena again.
'W-What happened!?' Pondered Elif as he coughed from the pain.
"You've improved once again, your highness, you lasted six seconds longer than last time, but I do not suggest going for a suicidal attack like that unless you have no other options left." Announced Illumia as she admonished Elif's recklessness at doing something so dangerous.
"Can we finally stop now? I'm tired, exhausted, hungry, dirty, and covered in cuts and bruises!" Said Elif as he slowly stood back up, covered in sweat, minor injuries, and dirt, while his previously luxurious clothes had several holes and tears on them, showing off his bruised and battered skin underneath.
It wasn't the first time I had asked for a break, but whenever I did, she would continue beating me while responding with this.
"Do you think your enemies will give you a break just because you asked for one?"
I was angry at first as this was the first time someone other than my family told me I couldn't do something, but I could do nothing to her, even when I stopped fighting and just stood there, hoping she wouldn't attack me, she still did, and I'm pretty sure she used more strength as I can still feel the pain from those attacks.
"Hmm, I suppose that's enough sparring for now; it's almost time for lunch anyways." Said Illumia as she put her wooden battle axe in her storage ring while walking towards Elif, who instantly laid on the ground when he heard her.
___
___
When I arrived at his highness, who was lying on the ground, he was already sound asleep while still holding onto his sword tightly; kneeling, I carefully picked him up, and while doing so, I touched his storage ring, bringing out the sheath and sheathing his highness's sword before putting it back into the storage ring. Once done, I carried his highness in a comfortable position and headed to the entrance while reviewing the fight with his highness.
'His highness is truly as immensely talented as the majesties informed me of; it has only been three and a half hours since his highness had his first-ever battle, yet he has improved to the point where he's capable of lasting almost an entire minute against me, granted I haven't been fighting him seriously, but to last that long against someone like me who has lived for eons and experienced hundreds of thousands of battles in merely under four hours is outstanding, that's something I wouldn't have been capable of doing in my younger days even if I was given a time limit of several days.' Thought Illumia with a slight smile as she looked at the sleeping Elif in a princess carry, or prince carry, within her arms as she walked down the same training grounds, they passed before.
"G-General Illumia!?"
Stopping in place as I recognize that voice, I turn around to see a short female, light-skinned Elf wearing light armor running towards me, covered in sweat while holding a giant sword that looks more like a lump of metal.
"General Illumia, it really is you! I hope this isn't presumptuous, but why are you here, General Illumia." Asked the small elven woman as she gave a light bow to Illumia.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Mandy. To satisfy your curiosity, I've retired from my position as General of the North and have been assigned by the Majesties as the Crown Prince's personal maid and teacher." Answered Illumia, eliciting a surprised reaction from the elf named Mandy.
"C-Crown Prince! Wait, does that mean the child you're carrying is the Prince!?" Asked Mandy in shock while eyeing the child, though when she saw the symbol of the Royal family on Elif's head, she instantly took a step back and bowed in nervousness.
"His highness is currently asleep, as we had just finished his first sparring session, so he is currently exhausted and requires rest." Replied Illumia, causing Mandy to stand back up while releasing a breath of relief.
"Haa, anyways, I don't wish to take any more of your time, General Illumia; I would just like to show my thanks for recommending me to the Royal guards." Stated Mandy sincerely as she bowed once more.
"All I did was show you the path; passing the test to become a Royal guard was all you; I did not help you." Replied Illumia shaking her head with a slight smile.
"B-But still-"
"No buts, you accomplished ninety-nine percent of the work to get where you are right now, and that's something to be proud of, so stop selling yourself short. It was great seeing you again, but I must return, as it's almost lunchtime for his highness; also, stop calling me 'General'; I'm no longer one. Call me Illumia the next time we meet." Stated Illumia as she continued on the path toward the castle, leaving Mandy behind.
"Yes, Gen- Ms.Illumia!" Yelled Mandy as she watched her respected General leave.
When I arrived inside the palace, I didn't head toward the dining room or his highness's room; instead, my destination was the royal doctor. After a few minutes of walking through the hallway, I arrived at the Royal doctor's office; opening the door and stepping inside, I was met with a dense smell of pills and herbs along a few beds meant to house injured patients.
"Ahh, I was wondering who would just open my door, Madam Illumia; what brings you to my office?" Said an older elven woman as she made her presence known.
"Ms. Lynda, I've come here to have his highness checked upon." Answered Illumia while holding out her arms, allowing Lynda to grab Elif.
"This is the first time I've seen the Prince, and it's to get checked upon; well, I am the royal doctor, so I guess it's not too surprising; give me a moment." Replied Lynda as she set Elif down on one of the beds before checking his body with her hand that glowed a beautiful dark green light.
As I watched Ms. Lynda examine his highness, both of the majesties busted through the door while quickly rushing towards the prince, though I expected that as I had contacted them a few moments before arriving at Ms. Lynda's office.
"Oh my goodness, look at my baby boy! He's got bruises and cuts everywhere!" Said Maria in shock, as she ripped open the top halves of Elif's clothes.
"Dear, calm down, you knew this was going to happen eventually; as the Prince of the Empire, he must go through training; you and I both went through the same thing when we were younger, did we not?" Stated Marcus calmly, though his face still showed slight pain when looking at Elif's state.
"Even so, that doesn't mean I like seeing my baby boy this injured, especially at such a young age." Said Maria quietly, not bothering to rebuke Marcus as what he said was all correct.
"Neither do I, but I'd much prefer seeing my son like this then somewhere dead on the battlefield because he didn't train properly." Replied Marcus while patting Maria's shoulder.
"Your majesties, there is no need to get so worked up; his highness is merely exhausted; those injuries are minor and will heal within a day, all he needs is some rest, and he will be back to his usual self." Said Lynda as she finished examining Elif.
"I know; thank you for your work, but if you don't mind, could you excuse yourself? We want to discuss some important stuff with Illumia." Said Maria as she moved away from Elif and sat down on one of the seats across from Illumia.
"Of course, Empress Maria, just call me if you need anything." Replied Lynda with a bow before leaving the office, heading off to who knows where.
With Ms. Lynda leaving, it is now just the three of us in the room, excluding prince Elif of course.
"So, how did Elif perform Illumia?" Asked Marcus, who had sat next to Maria.
"His Highness performed exceptionally. Over the course of almost four hours, he went from knowing nothing about fighting to being able to hold his own against a common soldier, and that is merely the improvement regarding just his skill. His understanding of the sword seems to have vastly improved as his sword intent has shown an obvious increase in size and density as well as an improvement in control. Though, in my opinion, the most astonishing thing about Prince Elif is his raw strength and power; when we sparred, I had told him I would limit my cultivation to the early stage of the Foundation Establishment realm, but in actuality, I had to increase my cultivation to the late stage of Foundation Establishment." Explained Illumia in one breath.
Though her words might've sounded lackluster, as any talented individual should be able to fight a few realms above them, however, what wasn't mentioned was Illumia herself is extremely talented, so talented that during her younger days, she was capable of fighting a cultivator an entire major realm above her to a draw. This means Elif's raw physical strength is comparable to someone in the late stage of the Core Formation realm, and that alone is astonishing as Elves are known for having one of the weaker physiques compared to most races, and only Genius' of the beast race would be capable of defeating Elif. Yet, he hasn't even started using Qi in his attacks, which will further enhance his combat capability.