What Matters Most
The soldiers no longer attacked one another after Gruon permitted the decisive duel. In fact, they had formed a wide circle around the combatants, making space for the fight that would determine everything.
At that moment, Baron Hardwin turned to Gruon with a question.
“Are you truly certain you can win?”
Worry had gotten the better of him. There was always the chance something could go wrong. But Gruon was confident. If he had been fighting alone, that would be one thing. But he had Daphne with him.
“If you don’t trust me, then you fight instead.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just… the opponents are who they are.”
“Whether they’re Aura users or whatever else, we carry the conviction of the Seiros Kingdom. Our mindset is different.”
Gruon spoke with more composure than tension, and his calm reply seemed to reassure Baron Hardwin. The man gave a firm nod.
After all, word would soon spread that the ones who had invaded the Thuram county were orthodox nobles. There was no need to end things here. In fact, failing to settle it now would be far more dangerous. If the choice was between claiming the Thuram county or dying, the former was obviously preferable. That was the resolve they had come here with.
“…I’ll trust you.”
With those words, Baron Hardwin stepped back to watch the duel.
The decisive battle required no special preparations. From the Thuram county, the Thuram brothers stepped forward. From Seiros, Gruon and Daphne advanced. Of course Bagan was stronger than any of them, but no one expected him to intervene. And since Bagan himself found getting involved bothersome, he simply found a good spot to watch.
The atmosphere grew heavy. A chilling wind swept through the area. At the same time, the metallic scent of blood and scattered flesh rose thickly into the air. Both sides glared at each other, assessing the situation.
During that brief pause, the Thuram brothers withdrew the Aura they had been focusing entirely on defense. The situation of being attacked by multiple foes had ended. Now was the time to use their Aura more efficiently—splitting it evenly between offense and defense.
“Darian, support me. We’ll take out that mage first.”
“Understood, brother.”
They quickly shared their strategy and raised their swords.
Tap! Tap!
Then they charged straight at Daphne. Despite claiming they would target the mage, they were aiming for Daphne, who stood with her shield at the ready. Thanks to that, Daphne saw both men coming for her at once and immediately flared her Aura.
“Martial Arts! Body Reinforcement!”
Far from simply using her shield well, she strengthened her physical abilities to perfectly block their attacks.
“She’s an Aura user!”
Julian, who had been running ahead, leaped high into the air. Daphne assumed he would strike downward with his sword and raised her shield all the way to her nose. However—
Whoosh—!
He vaulted clear over Daphne, creating a bewildering situation. She hurriedly tried to turn around, but…
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Darian moved in behind her to keep her occupied. Clang! She blocked the thrust meant to stop her from turning, but she couldn’t ignore the threat at her back.
Meanwhile, Julian—who had successfully leaped over Daphne—wore a triumphant expression as he attacked Gruon.
“Die!”
His Aura-infused blade tore fiercely toward Gruon.
The Thuram brothers had chosen this tactic for one simple reason: to prevent the mage Gruon from gaining time to cast. Compared to the two swordsmen on their side, the enemy had one shield user and one mage. That meant all their offensive power rested with the mage.
If we just take out the mage, the rest will be easy.
With that thought, Julian swung his sword. But the brothers had overlooked one crucial detail.
“Stone Barrier!”
Rumble!
Gruon was no ordinary 6th-circle mage. Crack! The swung blade was stopped cold by the rising rock. No matter how much Aura it carried, it couldn’t slice through stone like tofu.
“Oh ho. You were prepared after all.”
The moment his attack was blocked, Julian dodged around the rising rock and aimed for a blind spot. However—
“Were you waiting for this?”
Gruon had already created Water Bullets in the air and held them in reserve. Whoosh! The Water Bullets shot forward, and Julian had no choice but to block them with his sword.
Clang!
The Water Bullets slammed into the flat of his claymore, but that wasn’t the end of the trap.
“Daphne, dodge!”
While dealing with Julian, Gruon had also been watching Daphne’s situation, allowing him to provide timely support.
“Stone Shot!”
Whoosh!
A sharp chunk of rock flew toward Darian. Crack!
“Hup!”
Darian hadn’t expected magic to come flying at him and hurriedly raised his sword, but unlike the Water Bullets, Stone Shot inflicted heavy damage even when blocked.
“You bastard!”
Seeing that, Julian’s eyes burned with rage as he turned on Gruon. But—
“Shield Bash!”
Having finished her exchange with Darian and gained some breathing room, Daphne charged rapidly at Julian’s back. Of course, the Aura user’s senses detected the threat, so instead of continuing his attack on Gruon, he chose defense once again.
Julian’s claymore collided with Daphne’s shield. He managed to block it, but the tremendous impact sent him flying.
“Brother, are you alright?”
Darian rushed to the fallen Julian and checked his condition. Julian shook out his numb arms and answered.
“I can still move.”
Relieved, Darian also shook out his aching shoulder. Then Julian spoke again.
“That guy isn’t a normal mage. He handles earth and water attributes, but we need to figure out if he has any others.”
It was the result of his analysis while facing Gruon. The fact that he could analyze so much in such a short time showed they were elite nobles who had received the finest education.
Darian didn’t forget to add his own assessment of Daphne.
“That woman is also incredibly skilled. The Aura concentrated on her shield absorbed every single sword strike. If we want to win, we’ll have to target the woman first.”
“What about a coordinated attack?”
“If we can finish it before the mage prepares a big technique, victory is ours.”
“Good. We’ll go with that.”
The two seemed to have finished planning as they gripped their swords once more.
In the meantime, Daphne and Gruon hadn’t been idle either.
“Sir Gruon, it looks like we’ll have to settle this in the next exchange.”
“Of course. Buy me one minute. I’ll finish both of them at once with a powerful spell.”
They too were preparing a decisive move. Having received the order, Daphne judged that one minute against the two of them was manageable and adjusted her grip on her shield. In her other hand, the lance she held pointed firmly forward.
Seeing that stance, the Thuram brothers charged as if they had been waiting for it. Darian’s movements looked slightly unsteady, but this was a battle they had to win even if it killed them. They ran with the mindset that they were staking everything.
Meanwhile, Gruon began casting a high-level spell.
‘O light, I speak in the name of mana. Exalt the holiness of life, prevent darkness from stealing the blessings of all things, let it burn within new hope, so that our oath may not be in vain…’
Closing his eyes and casting in silence was the ultimate show of trust in Daphne.
Receiving that faith, Daphne faced the brothers’ fierce assault with an attitude that said come if you dare.
Bang! Clang!
The brothers’ claymores were steadily draining the Aura dwelling in Daphne’s mithril shield. Yet Daphne only provoked them further.
“Is that all you’ve got!”
Although Daphne’s Aura was decreasing at a rapid rate, the Thuram brothers could not afford to give Gruon any more time. In the end, Julian stepped forward.
“Darian, I’m going to use it!”
“But! It’s not perfected yet…”
“We have no choice!”
It seemed Julian had also been hiding a trump card. He entrusted the vanguard to Darian and retreated. Daphne saw this as an opportunity no matter what and pressed Darian even harder.
In terms of pure Aura quantity, Daphne was overwhelmingly lacking. But the presence of her trait and her experience completely dominated him. Against two opponents it might have been different, but one-on-one, Daphne could even seize victory.
But everything has its reason.
From behind, Julian—who had taken a deep breath—raised his claymore high. Seeing only a downward strike was possible, Daphne slightly tilted her shield toward the sky. She was ready to block it if necessary.
However, if it could be easily blocked, it wouldn’t have been a trump card.
Darian was now panting heavily thanks to Daphne. Julian nodded at him as if to say you held well.
“Martial Arts! Lightning Sword!”
Crackle!
He shaped actual lightning using his Aura. The black lightning struck Daphne’s shield.
Boom!
Martial Arts were special techniques created by honing Aura to its extreme. Such techniques always carried something extraordinary.
Crackle…
“S-Sir Gruon. I… I can’t move anymore.”
No matter how strong Daphne was, blocking it had been the best she could do. She dropped her mithril shield and looked at Gruon with apologetic eyes.
“Brother!”
But the opponents were in no better shape. The price of using an incomplete technique was severe. Both of Julian’s hands that had swung the Lightning Sword were burned pitch black. In some ways, his condition was even worse than Daphne’s.
Though Darian worried for Julian, the latter spoke.
“…Finish it quickly.”
What Darian had to do now was take the lives of the immobilized Daphne and the still-casting Gruon.
So, with great difficulty, Darian raised his sword and moved toward Daphne.
“You will regret invading our territory even in hell!”
Darian raised his sword high. Daphne had no choice but to squeeze her eyes shut. She thought this life had reached its end.
At that moment—
“If anyone should regret, it’s you bastards.”
Gruon, who had barely finished casting in time, pointed at Darian and released his mana.
“Mistilteinn!”
Whoosh!
Stab!
The moment the spell left Gruon’s lips, sharp wooden branches burst violently from the ground where Darian stood and pierced through his abdomen.
“Kuh… It seems this was a fight we couldn’t win after all.”
“D-Darian!”
Julian, whose hands were burned black, nearly shed tears of blood as he screamed at the sight of his brother with a branch through his gut.
“Sir Gruon.”
And Daphne, relieved, called out to him.
“You worked hard.”
“It was nothing.”
They briefly checked each other’s condition, then Gruon turned his gaze back to Julian.
Julian glared at Gruon as if he wanted to tear him apart.
“I’ll kill you!!”
“Try it if you still have hands.”
“You filthy hybrid bastards!!”
Gruon had already been furious about Daphne getting hurt. He decided there was no point listening to someone who insulted other races. So he raised his hand. Just like he had with Darian.
“Misti—…”
“Stop!! Please stop!!”
At that moment, a desperate voice cut off Gruon’s spell from afar.
“Please, stop! This is enough! Why in the world did you two come out to the battlefield!!”
The one scolding the Thuram brothers, who were on the verge of death without regard for anything, was none other than Count Thuram himself.
“Who the hell are you to interfere with the decisive duel! Their lives will save the soldiers of the Thuram county!”
“That’s enough. I am the lord of this territory! These two have no authority here. So please be satisfied with my life and leave this land in peace!!”
Count Thuram had made his resolve. And that decision sounded unbearably tragic to Julian and Darian.
“N-No, you can’t!!”
“That cannot be allowed! We have lost this battle!”
The two desperately tried to save their father.
“You two must live and manage the territory! The price for this battle is more than enough with this old man’s life!”
“Now that I hear it, he’s right. It’s pointless if the territory’s administrator dies.”
Gruon also accepted Count Thuram dying in their place.
“Father! Take back your words right now!!”
“This must not happen!!”
“It would be even worse if you two died!! Could the pride of nobility or the Thuram county possibly be worth more than your lives? I’m sorry to make you lose both mother and father, but you two still have a future!”
After those words, no more speech followed. Only the sound of sobbing could be heard.
“…Please kill me now.”
Count Thuram lowered his head. Gruon showed no hesitation.
“Mistilteinn.”
Whoosh!
Stab!
“Father!!”
“F-Father…”
Whether they called out or not, Gruon declared loudly.
“As a result of the decisive duel, we will not invade this land any further. However, I hope the soldiers of Thuram territory, now without their commander, will surrender obediently.”
Then Gruon released his mana. The Mistilteinn that had pierced Darian vanished, and the soldiers quickly retrieved the injured and the single corpse.
Count Thuram’s face, turned upward in death, wore a bright, peaceful smile.