The clearing in front of the fort was strewn with bodies, weapon fragments, and armor pieces. However, the casualties were not as numerous as expected; our allies had tried to incapacitate the soldiers, and many simply lay unconscious on the ground. Healthy mercenaries were dragging their comrades to the side and providing them with first aid. Five captains of the mercenaries stood in front of the clearing, each with an assassin's blade pressed against their throats. On top of the cliff, the figures of the shinobi in ambush were visible, although there were no more than a hundred and a half of them.
Near the fort, next to the partially destroyed earth wall, our companions sat. Algo and Vivien were heavily wounded; although they didn't have serious injuries, numerous cuts had caused them to lose a considerable amount of blood. Leira, exhausted, slept on her husband's shoulder, while Grain and Levris sat back to back, breathing heavily. Grain had also sustained several wounds, mostly from arrows, but there were no critical injuries. Behind them, Miriam sat with an empty quiver, relying only on the less-than-ideal arrows from the clan's archers.
In their current state, they would hardly be able to continue the fight, yet there were at least four thousand soldiers who remained unscathed. They had to rely on our plan.
As we approached the wall, Vina and Hiren came out to meet us. In Vina's hands was an ancient scroll with a white seal on it.
"When the battle stopped, Kurone could hear you again. Is that why you came?" Vina handed the ancient scroll to Yuki.
"Yuki-sama, if you destroy him, nothing will stop the baron anymore," Hiren tried to stop Lady Yuki, but she shrugged his hand away.
"That's true, but it's the only thing that can help us. The White Flame Pact makes no sense if Ultras is gone, and our duty is now fulfilled. I will trust the clan's future to my sister once again, if you don't mind," Yuki handed the scroll to Asura. "This pact allowed our clan to maintain independence even while being subject to the King of Verania. If we destroy it, we will be forced to submit to the baron, but I believe in you."
The girl embraced her sister and wished her luck.
"This is what you've long desired. Now you'll accept our challenge," Asura lifted the scroll high.
"Hm, you should've handed it over immediately, and all of this could've been avoided. Your stubbornness is to blame for your downfall. But I'll beat you in a duel, and your clan will become mine, although I won't be able to command you personally anymore," the baron drew a massive sword from its sheath. "It's time for me to show why I earned my title."
His enormous adamantine blade, slightly widening towards the edge, adorned with three drop-shaped rubies on a massive guard, began to flicker with flames.
Asura's dark-blue katana with a bluish blade was covered in white mist. She had already become accustomed to her blade's power and could use its full potential.
The swords began to emit a faint glow, and luminous inscriptions appeared on the blades.
"My blade was also enchanted by the Red House when I regained my title," the baron swung his blade, and flames scorched the grass behind him. "I'm a fire mage myself, but this sword amplifies my magic many times over. It's beneficial to occasionally battle a formidable opponent to keep from rusting away."
The baron raised his blade over his left shoulder, and Asura, concealing her sword in its sheath, stepped back and turned sideways to her opponent.
In an instant, the rivals closed the distance between them and delivered lightning-fast strikes. Asura swiftly unsheathed her katana and executed a horizontal slash, while Rion brought his sword down upon her from above. The fire mage's attack carried more mass and power, but the girl compensated with her lightning-fast strikes.
Their blades clashed, and waves of magic scattered the nearest spectators like a hurricane. The clash lasted only a fraction of a second, and both swordsmen were thrown backward. The baron embedded his sword into the ground and backed away a few meters, while Asura soared nearly ten meters away. The girl was clearly inferior to him in strength, but her diminutive frame proved to be a challenging target for the less agile mage.
The baron swung his blade and released a fiery wave before him. Asura dashed toward her enemy, cutting through the flames and closing in for an attack. The flames missed her and struck the ground in front of the spectators.
"This could be dangerous," Grain raised a stone wall from the ground, creating a ring about thirty meters in diameter for the duelists.
Asura struck a quick blow to her opponent's shoulder, but Rion deflected it by raising the hilt. Turning around, the girl attacked the mage's knee, but he parried the strike with the tip of his sword. Asura continued her assault, but Rion countered her attacks with minimal movements of his blade.
The girl's speed prevented the baron from launching a counterattack, but his vast combat experience allowed him to anticipate her moves and parry her strikes. Asura managed to inflict only a few minor cuts on her opponent, but with each blow, the baron stepped back under her relentless pressure. Eventually, she managed to corner him against the wall, preparing for a decisive strike.
However, Rion had been waiting for this moment. He parried the girl's attack, and without wasting any time, he attempted another strike from the same position. With nowhere to retreat, the baron was ready for her attack. Deflecting her katana with his left hand, he swung his sword sharply, sending Asura flying with a wave of flames.
Asura was thrown fifteen meters away, and she hit the ground with force. The flames slightly scorched her attire and the tips of her hair, but she managed to avoid fatal injuries by bracing her katana under the impact. If her sword weren't made of meteoric steel, it would have shattered into pieces. Nevertheless, the heavy blow left her shoulder numb with discomfort.
"Hmm, you reacted quickly, but you still have many years to grow to my level," Rion prepared to go on the offensive. Swinging his sword, he advanced towards the opponent, continuously sending waves of flames at her.
"Darn," Asura evaded the flames, but the pain from her previous injury made every movement excruciating. "Don't underestimate me!"
Dodging the attack, the girl swiftly swung her sword, sending a thin icy wave at her opponent. The attack wasn't as massive as the flames, but it far exceeded them in sharpness and precision.
"Tch," the baron shielded himself with his blade engulfed in flames, and the icy wave shattered against the edge. "Even without being a mage, these skills run in your blood."
The baron looked at his sword with interest; a thin crack appeared near the impact site on the hilt, and one of the rubies fractured, showering the ground with fragments.
"Well, then I'll be more serious!" The baron raised his sword high above his head, and his entire body was enveloped in a crimson aura. The blade shone with energy, ancient writings became visible on the edge, and the rubies blazed with bright flames. In the pre-dawn darkness, Rion radiated like a new sun, and the pressure of his magic made the spectators involuntarily step back.
"These restless souls," Hilda leaned on Grain's fence and raised an icy wall above the battlefield, shielding it from the flames. "I hope this will hold."
The heat from Rion's magic melted the icy protection, but the princess restored it, reassuring the spectators about their safety. Nonetheless, many soldiers flinched and moved away. As a result, only we and the five mercenary commanders, accompanied by their assassins with blades drawn, remained near the battlefield.
"Ha!" Asura gathered all the pain and rage accumulated within her into a fist and poured it into her blade. The enchanted edge greedily absorbed the warrior's hatred, gaining strength. Runes glowed with white light, emitting a chilling aura that protected the girl from the raging flames.
The baron gathered the flames in his blade and sent a fireball toward his opponent, which could have destroyed an entire mansion. Asura sliced it in mid-air, and the icy blaze struck the wall behind her.
The mage continued swinging his blade, sending a hurricane of fiery flashes at the girl, but she fiercely defended herself, evading the strikes at the last moment. The baron pressed her, advancing with each attack, and she had to press into the ground to avoid falling under the pressure of each strike.
Eventually, Rion found himself one step away from his goal, raising his sword to finish her. A pillar of flames descended upon Asura, but she blocked it with her blade. The katana screeched under the impact, and the girl could only hold it by grabbing the blade's end with her other hand.
The flames burned her, and blood dripped from her left hand, clutching the blade. Asura knelt, but she refused to yield to her enemy.
"AAAAARRR!" With tremendous effort, she rose from her knees and flung Rion's sword away.
But he was waiting for this. Recoiling backward, the baron thrust his right hand forward, engulfed in flames, and struck the girl in the chest.
The blow was powerful and threw the warrior several meters away. It hit her right in the solar plexus, knocking the breath out of her.
Asura drove her blade into the ground and tried to stand, but her legs wouldn't obey. The girl fell to her knees again, and blood from her injured hand slowly dripped down the blade, soaking into the earth. With each drop, she grew weaker, and the icy aura on her blade weakened. The baron confidently approached his prey, slinging his sword over his shoulder.
"You endured so much against me without losing consciousness; you truly deserve praise," the baron stopped a meter away from the girl. "I wouldn't want to kill such a formidable opponent if you surrender."
"But if I surrender, what will happen to my family?" Asura tried to buy time, recovering her breath after the blow.
"They will serve me. You've shown that the strength and skill of the best warriors run in your blood. It's a shame that there are no fighters like you left there, but your shinobi still possess a couple of useful skills."
"So, you only want the White Flame?" Asura looked at her hand, from which her family's blood, the blood of the White Goddess, flowed. "The strength and curse of our clan. You know that frequent use shortens our lives."
"That's not a problem. Your clan is mostly made up of women and children. I believe your maidens will bear many children for my warriors, and they will all possess this power. As for those who are not suitable, we can use them to fill Leran's slave markets."
"For you, my family is nothing more than resources to achieve your goals," Asura tightly gripped the katana's hilt, the piercing cold searing her wound, and she managed to lift the sword again.
"Well, to me, they are important tools, and I don't intend to waste them," the baron replied.
"In that case, I will never surrender to you," Asura withdrew the blade from the ground and, sitting on her knees, raised her face to the sky, eyes closed.
"Then forgive me," Rion raised his sword for the final blow. Asura opened her eyes, and they flared with a white light.
"Help me, White Goddess..."