I woke to the sounds of other soldiers moving about and talking.
Getting up was a struggle.
My muscles ached so badly that even opening my eyes required effort.
My body remembered every blow, every dodge, every strained movement from yesterday and the day before.
After forcing myself to focus and looking around the camp, I realized I had overslept.
The sun was already nearing the middle of the sky.
Amy was nowhere to be seen; she had probably gotten up much earlier.
The fact that I had slept this late meant no assembly order had been given to the soldiers.
I frowned.
That was strange.
Very strange.
For the past two days, orders had always arrived before dawn.
After wandering between the tents for several minutes, I spotted Amy running toward me from a distance.
Her bandages were still wrapped around her injury, yet she moved with surprising ease for someone who was supposed to be wounded.
She quickly reached me, her face glowing with excitement.
“Quick!
Come with me!
There’s a fight between knights!
We can watch it!”
I was confused, but I followed her anyway.
As we made our way through the camp, I finally asked:
“What happened?
Why wasn’t there an assembly order?
And why are the knights fighting?”
She glanced at me and answered with her usual enthusiasm.
“Well, most of the soldiers are dead.
There aren’t even a third of them left anymore.”
She paused briefly.
“Actually, maybe a quarter of the army would be more accurate.”
“With numbers that low, large-scale battles won’t make much of a difference.
So they’ve decided to let the knights settle the war.”
She grinned.
“Didn’t I tell you yesterday how powerful knights are?
Well, today you’ll see for yourself.”
I couldn’t deny my excitement.
For the first time, I was about to witness the people considered the strongest on this battlefield.
I wondered what their combat would look like.
Before long, we arrived at the gathering place where the surviving soldiers had assembled to watch.
They stood at a safe distance, some on small hills to get a better view.
We joined them.
In the vast field ahead stood twelve people.
Six on our side. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
Six on the enemy’s.
Just twelve individuals…
Yet they represented the strength of two entire armies.
The combatants faced one another from several meters apart.
Fortunately, they had chosen a series of individual duels rather than a chaotic group battle.
Our knight moved first.
He possessed an enormous physique.
His armor was made of thick, solid steel, making the trainee knight’s armor we had fought seem like little more than cardboard in comparison.
A massive greatsword rested in his hands, both long and wide.
Even from a distance, his presence was overwhelming.
Opposing him was a tall woman with a deceptively slender frame that concealed genuine power.
She wore light, flexible armor that allowed complete freedom of movement.
A thin sword rested in her right hand.
A strange, calm smile lingered on her lips.
Her presence was steady and utterly unshakable.
The duel began.
Their battle surpassed anything I had imagined.
Their movements were too fast for my eyes to fully follow.
The ground carried the impact of their strikes as subtle tremors.
The woman was especially quick.
Her attacks were swift, light, and precise, each movement carrying the promise of death.
The man’s attacks were the opposite.
Heavy.
Powerful.
Unyielding.
Every swing threatened absolute destruction.
There was something else as well.
Something strange.
I could feel it.
Barely.
Yet it was there.
Their wills.
They were terrifyingly sharp—more lethal than anything I had ever encountered before.
Simply standing there and sensing them made panic rise inside me.
This was combat from an entirely different realm.
I could barely watch it.
Analyzing it was impossible.
The battle ended quickly.
The victor was the man.
Yet even he had not emerged unscathed, which came as no surprise.
It was a victory for our side.
Soon the second duel began.
Then the third.
The fourth.
The fifth.
When everything was over, the final score stood at four victories to two in our favor.
I was genuinely stunned.
No wonder Amy had said that if we ever faced one of them, we would die without question.
I turned to her.
“This is something else entirely.
How can humans become this strong?”
She answered simply.
“Relax, Daron.
They’re knights.
They’ve been trained since early childhood.”
She shrugged.
“It’s no surprise they’re this powerful.
They’re war machines driven by instinct, not emotion.”
With the fighting over, Amy and I turned to leave.
But after only a few steps, the crowd suddenly erupted.
Shouts.
Cheers.
Cries of reverence and astonishment unlike anything we had heard before.
Amy and I immediately turned back.
“What’s happening?”
“What is it?”
A stunned soldier answered us, his face pale.
“A fight!”
He swallowed hard.
“A fight between two Grand Knights!
It’s about to begin!”
Amy and I exchanged incredulous looks before turning toward the field.
Two men stood there.
They radiated power, authority, and dominance.
Neither of them wore armor.
Only practical clothing and swords.
Everyone else wore armor for protection.
They didn’t need it.
I could say with complete certainty that they stood above everyone else.
The moment they stepped into the center of the field, every person present began trembling with a mixture of fear and awe.