“Duel Start!”
As soon as the glowing white orb declared the start of the duel, both fighters swiftly clashed against each other.
They exchanged exactly three strikes before backing away, as they appraised the ability of their opponent.
‘How can this be!?’ Frederick was shocked after exchanging blows with Lux. ‘He’s almost as strong as me!’
Just like everyone else, the leader of the Shadow Tempest thought that since he had already stepped into the Apostle Rank, the battle would easily end in his favor.
However, after gauging the strength of his enemy, he realized that although he was still stronger than Lux, the gap between them wasn’t that big.
‘As expected, I can fight him head-on.’ Lux smiled as he scanned the Dwarf in front of him. ‘This kid needs to be taught a lesson!’
The Half-Elf stomped his right foot on the ground, preparing to charge at his opponent. However, before he could even take another step, he felt a magical fluctuation coming from Frederick’s left hand, seemingly aimed at him.
“Stone Bullet!” Frederick shouted as a fist-sized stone flew towards Lux, which forced the latter to dodge to the side at the last second.
Having his attacking stance broken, the Half-Elf had no choice but to evade the barrage of stone bullets that Frederick fired in his direction.
p ‘Crap! He is a Magic Swordsman!’ Lux cursed internally as he was left with no other option but to equip Dawne to block one of the Stone Bullets that he was unable to dodge.
A resounding metallic sound spread across the plaza as Lux skidded a few meters away from where he stood.
“Sorry I underestimated you earlier,” Frederick announced as more magic circles appeared around him. “I will now fight you seriously, so be prepare–.”
Just before Frederick could finish his words, Lux picked a random rock on the ground and threw it at Frederick to stop his chanting.
“Stone Bullet!” Lux shouted.
Frederick tilted his body to the side to dodge Lux’s unexpected attack. This also interrupted him from casting the spell “Stone Bullet Barrage” which was the machine gun version of Stone Bullet, firing bullets continuously at a rapid pace.
“You’re not the only one who can cast magic,” Lux declared as he pointed his thumb at his chest. “I can do it too!”
The lips of the Dwarves watching the duel twitched as they looked at the Half-Elf who was feeling proud of himself.
‘Bruh… you just picked up a rock and threw it. That’s not how magic works. Aren’t you feeling embarrassed for yourself?’
That was the general summary of everyone’s collective thoughts in the plaza.
Colette, and her party members, on the other hand, covered their faces in embarrassment except Robin.
He only glanced at his party mates and purposefully took a few steps back as if telling the other Dwarves that he didn’t know any of them.
Frederick shrugged off Lux’s words and decided to close the gap between them. He only used a ranged attack earlier to test and see if his enemy had any long range spells that could be used against him.
Of course, he already knew that Lux was capable of summoning the Undead thanks to the Dwarves that were on the site the day. They all said that it was how he retrieved the body of the Alpha Monster.
The only thing that confused Frederick was that the other party wasn’t using any of his summons. Although he wasn’t afraid of the other party’s summoned monster, the lack of it made Frederick think that his opponent wasn’t taking him seriously.
The two fighters once again clashed against each other at close range. This time, each of their strikes sent sparks flying in the air.
“Tempest War Art First Form…,” Frederick shouted.
“Kaizer Sword Art Second Form…,” Lux declared.
“Whirlwind Slash!”
“Crescent Slash!”
A powerful gust of wind erupted at the center of the plaza, creating a thick dust cloud which blocked everyone’s views from the two combatants.
However, Lux and Frederick didn’t falter and unleashed several lethal sword strikes that could seriously injure their opponent.
Within the dust cloud, the sound of weapons clashing could be heard. Several flashes of light could also be seen as both fighters fought toe-to-toe at point blank range.
Both combatants were losing their Health Points at a rapid pace every time their attacks grazed each other. With one powerful slash, Lux sent Frederick a few meters away from him, after the Dwarf had blocked his attack.
What Lux didn’t know was that the Leader of the Shadow Tempest had planned this all along. He used the strike of Lux’s slash to gain momentum in order to distance himself from his opponent.
Switching his grip on his weapon, Frederick stabbed his sword to the ground and shouted.
“Stone Spikes!”
Lux’s sixth sense kicked in, prompting the Half-Elf to summon his Skeleton Warrior in order to deal with the Dwarf’s unexpected move.
Several two-meter spikes jutted out of the ground around where Lux had initially been standing a moment ago, piercing their target from all directions.
As the dust cloud settled, Frederick saw the Skeleton Warrior’s body collapse in front of him, but the Half-Elf was nowhere to be found.
Augustus, who used his detection skill, immediately located Lux and shouted to warn his leader where the enemy was.
“Frederick, above you!” Augustus hollered.
Unfortunately, it was already too late. The Skeleton Warrior had propelled Lux high up in the air before the Earth Spikes hit it. This allowed the Half-Elf not only to escape the attack, but also initiate a counter attack of his own.
‘Kaizer Sword Art Fourth Form!’ Lux pulled his sword back in order to prepare his family’s special attack that he had practiced, while jumping off the tree on their property.
He had practiced this move so many times when he was twelve years old, to the point that he fainted every one out of three attempts.
Now that he was no longer worried about fainting, Lux unleashed the attack that had made his Grandma Vera spank his bum numerous times for repeating this move over and over again until he fainted.
“Phoenix Descent!”
A screeching sound that was similar to that of a phoenix, spread across the plaza as Lux’s sword shone brightly.
The crowd watched as the Half-Elf brushed through the Dwarf’s body and skidded across the ground with his sword at his side.
Phoenix’s Descent was the only attack that his Grandma Vera had taught him that could be used while he was mid-air.
It was also an attack that put great stress on the body due to the difficulty of its execution. But, the current Lux was now strong enough to execute this move without fail.
Frederick knelt on the ground clutching his chest with his hand. He didn’t expect that not only would someone survive his Earth Spikes, but also manage to counterattack against him.
Although they didn’t actually receive any injuries when Duel Mode was activated, they could still feel the pain of each attack. Lux’s last strike made the dwarf feel as if his body was sliced in two.
“Duel Over!”
“Winner, Lux!”
The Orb of Light announced the victor of the duel before fading away.
Colette, who intently watched the battle, immediately ran towards Lux and jumped into his arms. The Half-Elf stored his weapon and caught the ever-lively little girl with both hands, and swung her around, and around, making Colette shout in joy. ʀᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀs ᴀᴛ N(o)vl(ꜰ)ire.nt
The Dwarves stared at the Half-Elf in disbelief because they hadn’t expected this outcome. As soon as the dust cloud settled, the battle had also come to an end.
Augustus clenched his fist, because he couldn’t believe that Frederick had lost against the Half-Elf. Now that his leader had lost the battle, it was now his turn to fight.
“You did well, Half-Elf,” Augustus said as he stepped forward. “Now, it’s my turn. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a few minutes to rest.”
Lux put Colette down on the ground as he looked at the Shield Warrior who had a serious expression on his face.
“There’s no need to rest,” Lux said. “I don’t want to waste time. Let’s just duel now.”
This time, Lux was the one that initiated the duel and summoned the Orb of Light.
After giving it a drop of his blood, the orb flew towards Augustus.
‘Although I’m not as proficient as Frederick in fighting, I am confident in my defense,’ Augustus thought as he dropped a drop of his blood on the Orb of Light, signaling his acceptance to Lux’s challenge. ‘No matter what kind of attack he makes, I can block them all!’
“I recognize this duel,” a voice filled with Divinity said. “The fight will begin in thirty seconds. Make your preparations.”
Augustus smirked at Lux, and the latter smirked back at him. When the timer ended, Augustus raised his shield and held his ground.
As a Shield Warrior who specialized in defense, he had decided to use the counter-attack strategy on Lux, believing that he would be the last one standing between the two of them.
However, the smile on the Dwarf’s face stiffened when Lux raised his hand and summoned Diablo and his Skeleton Warrior to fight by his side.
He had completely forgotten that his opponent was a Necromancer who didn’t need to fight one-on-one battles with him!