Ryder and Benedict continue their fight by the river, both of them exchanging heavy blows at both of their opponents.
The clash of steel and the roar of the battle filled the air as the two strongest forces of Gladius and Clypeus met on the battlefield.
Amidst the chaos, the two fighters "Rapier" Sonnet and "Securis" Astaroth fought with both skill and determination.
Ryder proceeded to move in lightning speed, as his rapiers flashing in deadly arcs, while Benedict used his battle axe with brutal force and using his shield to deflect the blows with such precision.
"You're real strong, you know?" Benedict said while blocking Ryder's attack.
The two warriors who were both driven by their personal vendettas and their respective royalties were locked in a fierce duel. The sounds of the duel began to fade as they focused solely on each other, their movements could be considered as a deadly dance of attack and defense.
"I could say the same for you." Ryder said as he continued to break through Benedict's defenses.
"Your strength is impressive Securis, but you won't break my defense." Ryder said as he panted.
"And you won't outrun my axe, Rapier. Your speed can't protect you forever." Benedict said as he gritted his teeth.
Their weapons clashed again and again, sparks flying with each impact. The two fighters didn't know that their troops were driven by their own battles and their orders began to move away, leaving the two warriors behind.
"Troops, we must go, Gladius calls for us!" Lucien said.
"But sure, what about Captain Rapier?" The soldier asked.
"He can handle himself, for now we must return back to our duty." Lucien replied.
*The Gladian military went ahead of the Clypean military and headed back to their kingdom*
"Men! We shall return back to Clypeus. Sir Benedict can handle this opponent, for now we must head back to our duty as soldiers of Clypeus." The Clypean soldier ordered.
*The Clypean soldiers headed back to Clypeus*
*Meanwhile back to Ryder and Benedict who were still fighting with one another*
"Wait where did the others go? Did they just..." Ryder said in surprise as he glanced around his surroundings.
"It seems like it. Damn it!" Benedict sighed as he sat on the ground.
"Hey! We're not done yet!" Ryder shouted.
"You're not, but I am." Benedict said a she laid down on the ground.
"Besides, I need some rest nonetheless." Benedict said.
"Listen here, I am not going back because slaying you is my top priority." Ryder said angrily.
"Well I could say the same for you." Benedict said as he got up.
The realization of them being left behind left hit them both. They were both focused and engrossed in their duel that they hadn't noticed their armies moving away. The sounds of battle grew distant and were replaced with eerie silence.
"Well I guess we shall call this a truce, for now. We need to find out way back to our respective armies." Ryder said as he was sheathing his rapiers.
"Agreed but don't think this changes anything between us, Rapier." Benedict said, lowering his axe reluctantly.
And so the battle ended with the conclusion where two of the strongest soldiers ended their fight with a draw as they were left behind by their own troops and are now trying to make their way back to their respective kingdoms.
"We should probably head somewhere to spend the night." Ryder said as he headed towards the forest.
"Fine but I still don't trust you very much." Benedict said reluctantly.
"A cave might as well do as our temporary shelter." Benedict said as he was following Ryder.
"I can agree with that." Ryder said.
The two of them continued venturing around the forest, looking for a place to stay for the night and food to eat as they were starting to get hungry.
"I wonder if there is some food to eat, I'm getting quite famished to be honest." Ryder said as he held his stomach, he felt it starting to grumble and desperately needed to find food.
Suddenly they heard a noise, it was the sound of a twig being snapped, they looked in the direction from where they heard the sound and they found themselves a food source, an unsuspecting deer.
"A deer, that should do." Benedict said.
"Wait, don't be too cautious, deer are sensitive, they tend to be cautious if they hear suspicious movement." Ryder said.
"You're right with that one, so what's your plan, smart-ass?" Benedict said.
"You distract it from the front while I approach it from behind then once we kill the deer, we split half of it, deal?" Ryder said.
"Fine, but don't take the good parts, the good parts of the deer are my favorite..." Benedict said as he was starting to have a blood lust.
The two of them carefully approached the deer with Benedict arriving in front of the deer carefully approaching it with Ryder arriving from behind and slaying it from behind.
"I must say, that's a well coordinated strategy you've made." Benedict said.
"Thanks, now let's go split the deer so we can start eating." Ryder said as he sheathed his rapier swords.
Both of them split the parts of the deer to eat as they were really hungry after trekking for hours.
"Good catch." Benedict said as he was munching on the deer.
"Thanks, I guess." Ryder said as he ate the deer.
"Let's get back to finding a place to rest, shall we?" Ryder said as he got up.
"Ok, let's get back to work." Benedict said as he got up, following Ryder.
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*Meanwhile in the underground areas of the kingdom Gladius, there lies a dungeon with prisoners trapped and locked away*
"Let me out from here!" A voice cried out.
"You won't be able to get out from here, no one will come for you." The Gladian knight replied.
"My brother will...he will come back for you...you filthy bastards!" Elara replied.
"Yeah I'm sure your brother will, but I don't think he stands a chance against us." The Gladian knight replied.
"Big brother...wherever you are...I hope you find me...I miss you dearly...." Elara cried to herself, as she missed Benedict, her elder brother.
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*Back to Benedict and Ryder who have finally found themselves a place to stay*
"Finally, I felt so exhausted." Ryder said as he lay down on the ground.
Benedict sat down, looking up at the ceiling of the cave
"Elara, my dear little sister, wherever you are, remember that your elder brother will come back for you no matter what." Benedict said to himself internally.
"What you thinking, Securis?" Ryder said as he looked at Benedict.
"Nothing much, anyways I'll be resting now, good night I guess..." Benedict said as he laid down on the ground, resting his body.
"Good night as well I guess..." Ryder said as he lay down resting as well.