Everyone was stunned. Tressa, one of the kingdom's best in sword fighting, had delivered a powerful strike, yet Lea had blocked it as if it were nothing.
"Come on, sister Lea, you can do it!" Alina's cheer broke the silence.
The crowd's eyes lit up with excitement. "This match is going to be interesting," they thought. "This human is not so bad…"
Alisha smiled at Tressa's state and cheered with Alina, "Come on, Lea, you can do it!" The rest of the group joined in, while Kira and a few other lackeys stood there with dark expressions.
Furious, Tressa stood up and dashed toward Lea again. Her attacks grew stronger, but Lea blocked each one with ease. This continued for the next twenty minutes—Tressa attacking and Lea defending.
By the end, Tressa's body was covered in cuts and bruises, while Lea stood unscathed.
"Dude this girl is a monster… how can she overpower a dragon warrior so easily, did she go through such rigorous training to attain this level of perfection?" David said to Tim, amazed.
"How would I know? But she is really amazing," Tim replied, his eyes sparkling like those of a fan girl.
On the other side, Alina clasped Sapphire's hand. "Isn't my sister Lea amazing, Sister Sapphire?"
"She sure is," Sapphire nodded with a smile, thinking, "Master is such a showoff."
At this moment, Lea addressed Tressa, who was kneeling on one knee, blood and sweat dripping to the ground. "Is this all you've got, Tressa? Then let's end it. I'm really hungry."
Gritting her teeth, Tressa stood up with the help of her sword and charged toward Lea. Lea prepared to block the attack, then twisted her wrist, disarming Tressa and pointing her sword at Tressa's neck. "It's over. I win."
Tressa stared blankly, unable to accept defeat, and collapsed to the ground.
The crowd erupted clapping loudly with some genuinely cheering praises as they were in awe while some were just looking at her enviously.
Under everyone's heated gaze, Lea placed her sword back on the stand and was about to step down when she saw her friends' eyes widen in shock. Before she could ask what was wrong, she heard a scream from behind. Turning, she saw Tressa rushing at her with the fallen sword.
As she was way too near and Lea had no weapon she braced herself to face the attack, but to her surprise before the sword in Treassa's hand could come near her a purple energy ball hit Tressa in the stomach, sending her flying into the far wall. She landed on the ground, coughing up blood.
Lea just stood there in shock at this sudden turn of events when she felt a hand on her shoulders and turned to see Liam looking at her with concern. He examined her from head to toe. "Are you fine? You're not hurt, right?"
"I'm fine," Lea replied. Liam pulled her into an embrace. Lea felt a warmth inside and smiled as she listened to his rapid heartbeat.
After a few seconds, she patted his back trying to calm him. "Relax, Liam. I'm fine."
With each pat, Liam's tension eased. He released her from the embrace but still held her hand. He turned to where Tressa lay, half-dead, his expression as cold as Antarctica.
"If you can't win you should just accept the defeat, how dare you attack her from behind?
All of us have been ignoring the things you have done all these years just because Aunt Elisabeth cares for you like her own though you are adopted but today you crossed the line, Tressa…
This is your final warning stay away from me and my loved ones if not the consequences are going to be dire".
With that, he walked out, holding Lea's hand.
The onlookers were shocked, especially at the sight of Liam hugging Lea. This sparked a new round of gossip in the palace.
As Liam and Lea left, Rayan shook his head and sighed deeply.
"What just happened here?" Alisha asked, still in shock.
"Let's just go out now. We'll talk about it later," Ria suggested. The others nodded and followed her out.
Once the group left, Kira and a few other lackeys hurried to where Tressa had fallen, helped her up, and took her to get treated.