Chapter 38: One-on-One Duel
I approached the enemy general, Durba. Then, Alektem walked up beside me, and we walked side by side.
"You don't have to participate in the one-on-one duel, Alektem. It's enough if I do it alone," I said in a low voice, and Alektem grinned.
"Milimos-sama is sure to win. Besides, do you know the rules of a one-on-one duel?"
It was true that I was unfamiliar with the rules, and I appreciated that he trusted me, but...
"Even if I were to win, I'd still have to escape from that huge army."
"In a one-on-one duel, once the winner is determined, they can negotiate a single promise that the other side must abide by, within military limits."
"For example, to let them retreat or to stop further advances?"
"To demand a complete halt to their advance would be going too far. At most, it's asking them to remain in this area for two or three days. Another option is to take one person hostage."
"I see. It seems like a custom that considers weaker armies."
Perhaps winning in a one-on-one duel would prevent the opponent from making excuses like "we lost because we were outnumbered by their massive army" and completely suppress their spirit of resistance.
Having understood the concept of a duel agreement, I stood in front of the enemy general, Durba. By the time we approached each other, he had put on a full-body iron armor and a helmet, so I couldn't clearly see his build or appearance.
I smiled confidently at Durba and extended the invitation to the one-on-one duel.
"Thank you for the invitation to a one-on-one duel. So, what would you want from us if you win?"
In a princely tone, I asked, and a loud gong-like sound echoed back.
"Prince Milimos, thank you for accepting the one-on-one duel! I desire that the Roche nation's army refrain from attacking us until we reach the royal castle of Nornette."
Hearing that request, I glanced at Alektem. He nodded, indicating that it was acceptable.
Though it was already part of the planned strategy to lead the army to the royal castle, losing the duel posed no risk except for my own life.
Without the need to be too honest about it, I should now present our demands.
"Then, in the event that we win the one-on-one duel, our request from you would be..." I paused, quickly considering what to ask for. I knew that demanding their retreat would not be accepted. Asking them to halt their march for a few days lacked appeal. I didn't see anyone in the enemy forces who had more value as a hostage than Durba. Receiving weapons wouldn't be meaningful either.
While pondering my options, I had an idea.
"Regarding my elder brother, Huttero, I heard that he acted rudely toward your country. I would like you to confirm the truth of this matter and state it honestly here."
Now, let's see if my request will be accepted. Durba's voice came back with a hint of bitterness, as if he had tasted something unpleasant.
"Only I, within the military, can speak the truth. If you want your request granted, Prince Milimos, you must not take my life in this one-on-one duel."
I didn't know that, but I decided to pretend that I did.
"Revealing the truth should not pose much difficulty. Now, we've made our demands. Shall we proceed with the one-on-one duel?"
"No, we start now."
As Durba moved his head, making a slight chin gesture, a loud 'thud' resounded from the Roche nation's army.
It seemed like they hit large shields together to signify the start, as a substitute for a starting gong.
At the same time, Durba swung his halberd with great force, attempting to decide the battle with a single blow before I could react.
His aim was good. But it was too naive.
"Attacking right at the start is something I've been trained against countless times," I said as I jumped back, dodging the trajectory of the halberd's blade.
With a resounding 'buon,' the halberd passed by after I dodged. I used divine magic to enhance my body while kicking the ground to leap forward, entering Durba's attack range on my own.
"Take this!"
My high-pitched boyish voice echoed through the forest as I swung the magic sword.
Durba's iron armor took the blow, and a loud clang resounded.
Due to the nature of holy magic, which repels magical energy, I couldn't infuse the sword with magic during the slash. Still, the imperial magic sword was made of steel. If it was ordinary armor, it should have been easily cut through with just the blade's sharpness.
However, Durba's armor only showed a single line of damage.
I now understood the difficulty of facing the Roche nation's armor without using magical weapons.
"It's tough!"
Complaining, I jumped back again to escape. I could see the halberd's swing coming my way.
With some distance between us again, Dūrba and I readied our weapons.
Observing my opponent, I attempted to flow magic power into my magic sword while using sacred arts. However, whenever I tried to flow magic power, the sacred arts disappeared, and when I focused on maintaining the sacred arts, I couldn't flow magic power. I managed to deactivate the sacred arts only on the part of my arm holding the sword, but whenever I tried to manipulate the magic power within that arm, the sacred arts still vanished. I didn't expect the combination of sacred arts and magic to be this difficult.
"It's troublesome..."
Those words unintentionally slipped out, but Dūrba seemed to misunderstand their meaning.
"The armor of the Rocha Kingdom is unparalleled in sturdiness. There's no way to lose if the opponent doesn't have a magical weapon!"
Dūrba must have thought he had the advantage and started running towards me.
I wished I had trained a bit more in combining sacred arts and magic.
"Can't keep saying that, can you!"
Strengthening my body with sacred arts, I charged towards him.
Then, Dūrba thrust his halberd to intercept me.
"Eeeeeiiii!"
With a loud yell, Dūrba swung the halberd towards my face.
Given my movement forward, the power and speed of the approaching halberd would have been impossible to dodge in my normal state. However, with my body enhanced by sacred arts, I could manage the impossible.
"Take this!"
I aimed my sword to strongly strike the axe part of the halberd, diverting its course.
At that moment, Dūrba's posture crumbled.
He probably underestimated my strength, thinking of me as a child. But when my magic sword clashed with his weapon, the leverage created an unexpectedly strong force that disrupted his balance.
Taking advantage of his exposed vulnerability, I closed in even more. My target was Dūrba's inner thigh—the area not protected by metal, where I could see the undershirt. Here, I could cut him even with a non-magical magic sword that couldn't activate magic.
"Take this!"
As intended, I slid the blade of my sword against Dūrba's inner thigh.
However, the sensation that reached my hand was not that of cutting through fabric and flesh.
It felt more like hitting a hard tendon, akin to cutting through wire mesh. Perhaps, his undershirt had metal threads woven into it.
Realizing that I couldn't deal significant damage with this strike, I pressed on and tackled Dūrba, enhancing my strength with sacred arts, pushing him to the ground. The price was the pain from colliding with a metal plate.
Ouch. Ramming into an iron armor is not a good idea.
With tears in my eyes from the pain, I approached Dūrba, stopping the sacred arts, and started channeling magic power into my hand's magic sword. As the blade began to emit a glow, Dūrba reacted in panic.
"It's not bronze but an iron sword that's shining—is it an imperial sword!?"
Dūrba ceased to rise and swung his halberd again.
However, swinging a weapon while sitting on the ground was something even a twelve-year-old like me could handle. I didn't need to enhance my body with sacred arts. With the magical brilliance of my magic sword's blade, I sliced through the halberd from the middle to its tip.
As the weapon broke, Dūrba's movement halted. The situation was beyond his expectations, and for a moment, his brain froze.
Seizing this opportunity to settle the battle, I swung my sword toward Dūrba's arm. However, midway, I changed the trajectory, cutting through the space beside me.
This allowed me to counter a spear thrown by one of the Rocha Kingdom soldiers, which would have hit me otherwise.
While dealing with this literal sidelining, Dūrba got back up and lunged at me with his armored fist. Simultaneously, another spear came at me.
"Aren't we supposed to be having a one-on-one fight here?"
As I complained and distanced myself from Dūrba, jeers came from the Rocha Kingdom soldiers.
"If your weapon gets destroyed, you can ask your allies to throw another one at you!"
"You dared to break the General's weapon without a second thought! Prepare to be resented!"
I raised an eyebrow at these remarks, but Dūrba picked up one of the thrown spears and readied himself again.
"It's battlefield tradition not to spell out every detail, including how to exchange weapons."
"I thought a one-on-one duel would be more dignified."
Considering our lives were on the line, it was natural for some underhanded moves to surface. That's why I thought of retaliating in kind and remembered the dagger Princess Parvera gave me, along with the appearance of the knight Familis after negotiations with the Empire.
And that's why, in this situation, my intuition told me that returning the underhanded move would be "not right."
"Well, I guess I can't win without resorting to cowardly tricks."
Feeling determined, I decided to think about my strategy.
The first plan was to intentionally have my sword knocked away by Durba's attack and then ask Alektem to throw me a spear. The spear was an enchanted weapon that absorbed the user's magic power. By deactivating the divine art only on the part of my arm, the tip of the spear would be infused with magic, allowing me to pierce through Durba.
However, intentionally getting my sword knocked away felt dishonorable, so I put this plan on hold.
The second plan was to continue using the divine art and wield the enchanted sword as a regular steel sword to win the battle. There were various tactics, but due to the restriction of not being able to kill the opponent, the target areas were quite limited. Thrusting into the slit of the helmet was the easiest way to attack, but that would be lethal.
If I excluded the inner thigh where I had failed earlier and considered a place where I didn't have to worry about killing Durba, there was only one viable option.
However, it wasn't a foolproof plan.
The third plan was based on the second plan, where I would continue the fight while creating a fatal opening for Durba. At that moment, I would deactivate the divine art and unleash the magic of the enchanted sword to attack.
This seemed to be the most realistic plan.
Although I felt a bit uneasy, I decided to execute the third plan. Even if I failed, I could fall back to the first plan and maintain a sense of composure.
"Phew... Let's do this!"
After taking a deep breath and psyching myself up, Durba silently moved and thrust his long spear at me. It was a surprise attack aimed at the end of my breath.
However, I had already finished casting the divine art, and just like before, I had experienced countless merciless attacks in training. I could evade this surprise attack.
Moreover, if Durba extended the spear towards me, it would make my intended strategy easier.
"On your mark!"
Calculating the timing, just before the tip of the spear touched me, I sidestepped. Now, Durba's hand holding the spear was within my sword's reach.
With the intention of hitting him before he let go of the spear, I made a compact and swift downward swing of my sword.
Durba seemed to understand my intent and tried to let go of the spear and pull his hand back, but he was a beat too slow.
My sword struck Durba's hand—specifically, the base of his thumb—with a strong impact from above. Of course, his armor covered the metal. However, the force of my swing transferred through and struck the inside.
"Guah!"
A groan escaped Durba as he suffered from the pain of having his hand cut off. Reacting to the pain, he pulled his hand back as much as he could.
Now, Durba had one hand holding the long spear and the other pressed against his chest.
In other words, he had left himself wide open.
I demonstrated this by raising my enchanted sword high.
Seeing that the blade of the enchanted sword wasn't shining with magic, Durba was convinced that his armor could stop the attack. He abandoned the spear and lunged at me with the intent to grab me.
However, that was a mistake. In the eyes of the soldiers from the Kingdom of Rocha, my smaller figure was obscured behind Durba's imposing form, making it impossible for me to throw weapons at him like I did before. Many of the skilled soldiers who had trained with me had attacked in the same way.
So, the countermeasure was already prepared.
"Ha!"
Letting out a short breath, I swiftly swung down the sword that I had already released the divine art from. At the same time, I started channeling magic into the enchanted sword.
As the blade of the enchanted sword started to emit a glow during the downward swing, it struck the arm that Durba was reaching out to grab me. The blade cut through the armor and pierced inside, all according to my plan.
"Guaaaaaaaaah!"
Even as Durba screamed in pain from having one hand severed, he still tried to grab me with his remaining hand.
I deliberately allowed him to grab hold of my body, fixing the position of his arm. Then, I swung the sword from bottom to top, slicing through him.
"Guhhhhhhh!"
Enduring the agony of losing both arms, Durba continued to groan and struggle, but gradually, his fighting spirit weakened.
Eventually, a few meters away from me, he dropped to his knees, bowed his head as if surrendering.
"Guu... I... I admit... defeat..."
With a voice full of anguish, Durba conceded. Upon hearing his words, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Rocha started to move.
I thought they might come to thank me, but instead, they began to tend to Durba's wounded arms.
"I'm sorry. I'm so useless."
"General, you fought splendidly. Every soldier recognizes that!"
"If it weren't for that prince's magic sword, the general would have won!"
I felt like I was being portrayed as the villain, but in any case, the battle was over, and I felt relieved.
As I regained my composure, I noticed something. Durba's hand, which had grabbed me, was still attached to me, despite being severed.