Keegan watched Lord June circle around him, treading with steady steps as his sharp eyes scanned Keegan's form. His dark blue and steel-colored armor fitted well with his figure entirely. Unlike the guards and castle guards Keegan had seen previously, Lord June wore full plate armor, though not the heaviest kind. It lacked a helmet but ensured protection of vital areas without hindering his mobility. A short sword hung at his waist. Aside from that, Keegan couldn't see any other weapons on him.
"I don't know how you do things in your savage lands," Lord June said with a snarl, whipping his spear through the air. "But here, we thank those who save us."
"You didn't save me, though," Keegan retorted, his sword still sheathed behind his back. "I didn't need saving. You just took my items and threw me out."
"Then perhaps Castle June should have killed you. A….. I will correct now." Lord June pointed his spear towards him.
"You're probably right, you have no idea how many people would have done it back in my land if they had that chance," Keagan chuckled, "But you've missed that already and probably won't get that chance ever again."
Lord June spun his spear, the audience enjoying their verbal spat. "When I'm done with you," he declared, "I'll wash the stain from my house with your blood!"
"And I'll wash my ass with your gold!" With that retort, Keegan braced himself as Lord June lunged towards him at incredible speed, opening the battle with a stab.
Keegan reacted swiftly, grabbing the sword strapped to his back and unsheathing it in a single motion. He swiped at the incoming spear, deflecting it with a clang. Lord June, however, pressed the attack. He lunged forward, spinning the tip of his spear in a deadly circle before thrusting again at Keegan.
Keegan backpedaled to avoid Lord June's relentless stabs. He pivoted to his side, hiding his weakened right side. Putting a measure of strength, he parried the next spear thrust, deflecting it away. Unfazed, Lord June spun in a whirlwind, countering with a wide swipe of his own.
Keegan stop the attack which instantly transformed into a vicious stab. He pulled back his upper body to the side just in time as the spear tip grazed his chest. Lord June immediately retracted his weapon, but Keegan capitalized on the opening. He lunged forward, his sword scraping against the spear shaft. However, Lord June was faster. With a nimble footwork, he danced around Keegan, evading him. In a swift move, Lord June spun his spear vertically and brought it down with incredible force. The air whistled as it sliced through the air. Keegan met the attack head-on, the impact so powerful that it sank his feet slightly into the ground.
The audience, both servants and lords alike, erupted in cheers at the spectacle, even though for some, the fight's speed made it difficult to follow. Russ, along with the two siblings, watched the fight with bated breath. After they were brought to the common room, they had suddenly heard news of a duel between his employer and Lord June, a figure Russ had heard about since childhood of his martial prowess.
Although he knew of the foreigner's strength, he also knew Lord June's fierce strength.
"He will win, right big brother?" Liva spoke from the side, clutching her brother's clothes. Ollie gripped his fists seeing the battle. "He will," Ollie said, tone hopeful.
The audience cheered again as the foreigner backpedaled to dodge a stab.
'A fearsome warrior indeed,' Keagan thought, dodging and deflecting a stab and a swipe. Lord June wasn't like the awakened he faced at the bandits' camp. Those were just people who had awakened and relied on their superior physical abilities to overwhelm their opponents. Lord June, however, utilizes incredible techniques along with his amped physical abilities.
Keagan closed in again. This time, Lord June met him with a charge. Keagan took a blow to the chest and was thrown backward. He planted his feet to stop his momentum, finding himself a couple meters away from Lord June. The lord slammed his spear onto the ground, using it as a pole to launch himself into a midair flip. As he descended, he brought his weapon down with astonishing force.
Keagan used the blunt end of his sword to defend himself, receiving an attack far stronger than before. The impact dug his feet into the ground.
Because his left hand wasn't his dominant hand, the fight was proving harder than he thought. Lord June, realizing this disadvantage, exploited it ruthlessly. If there were ten of him and Keagan had only his left arm, it would actually be a fair fight and he might even be in trouble.
This wasn't a fair fight though.
For a second, Keagan wanted to beat the man down, it will humiliate him, teach him what true strength feels like, in the end, he reined in the urge. 'Better to play it safe' He thought.
Cheers and jeers erupted from the audience as they witnessed Lord June's incredible strike. But before Lord June's feet touched the ground, Keagan summoned some strength in his left arm and shoved against the spear with a burst of power. Lord June's figure was thrown backward, rolling across the ground until he neared the edge of the arena.
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The cheers died down abruptly at the unexpected turn of events. Lord June, recovering quickly, scrambled back to his feet. Dirt streaked his face, and a faint tremor ran through his arms as he gripped the spear.
Without saying anything, Keagan shot toward Lord June, who met him with a vicious stab. Keagan spun away from the attack with impressive agility, landing a brutal elbow strike to Lord June's face. Blood erupted from his split lip, and he instinctively backpedaled. But Keagan closed on him. He danced around the stunned Lord June, reversing their positions. Now, it was Lord June who was forced to backpedal, desperately trying to gain distance.
The cheers of the audience died down, replaced by a tense silence punctuated by mumblings. Russ and the two children felt a wave of air rush past them as Keagan and Lord June blurred by. Their movements were too fast for the common eye to follow.
Lord June pulled back, putting his grip on the spear closer to the tip, But Keagan landed a swift kick to his stomach. Lord June wheezed, but let the force of the blow to propel himself backward and create some distance. However, before he could raise his spear for another stab, Keagan was already upon him, swinging his sword with ferocious speed as Lord June struggled to defend himself.
Spears have one obvious weakness: close quarters combat. Their long reach becomes a disadvantage when fighting in tight spaces. Realizing his disadvantage, Lord June freed his right arm, grabbed the sword tied to his waist, and swung it sideways, pushing Keagan away.
With only his left arm to deflect the spear, Keagan was forced to retreat as Lord June established some distance.
They paused, their fierce exchange having lasted barely a minute.
Lord June spat on the ground, "I killed Jon the Lion! I led my family house to its current state! Hundreds have fallen to my spear!" He bellowed, channeling strength with every word. The audience, stirred by Lord June's declaration, grew increasingly fired up. "And you!" He pointed his spear directly at Keagan. "Will be just be one of the many fallen under me!" With that war cry, Lord June surged towards him, pushing his limits as they closed the short distance in an instant.
Keagan reversed his grip on his sword and met the spearhead head-on. The sharpness of his blade and the force behind it sliced clean through the spear's metal tip, splitting it and continuing into the shaft. However, Lord June's short sword was already flashing towards Keagan's head. Keagan stepped forward and clamped down on the tip of the sword with his teeth, stopping it from going any further.
Keagan's sword continued its momentum, slicing through the spear shaft, he tried to pull away his short sword but it was stuck in Keagan's mouth. Lord June instinctively tried to retreat, but it was too late. The sword arched through the air as it freed after slicing half the spear’s shaft, Keagan reversed back his grip mid-air, and then its blunt end slammed into Lord June's head with a sickening thud.
Lord June crumpled to the ground, unconscious. His spear, split in half, clattered beside him. Keagan spat the short sword out onto the ground.
The intense but short battle ended just like that. The audience fell into a stunned silence as Keagan surveyed them. With a wry smile, he raised his hand, but as he expected, no cheers erupted.
However, he spotted a few individuals hiding smiles as they glanced at others who had sour faces. It seemed some had placed their bets on him.
Servants rushed to the unconscious Lord June, while Keagan turned his gaze towards the main stand where Lord Reede, Lady Aria, and the High Lord Wyan sat. They remained silent, their expressions contemplative as they watched him.
The light faded as night came.
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He didn’t know how long Russ's eyes had widened as he gazed upon the chest overflowing with gold coins. Just a week ago, the most money he'd ever seen was a meager handful of selkes. Then, in the bandit's leader's room, he saw a chest full of gold, believing it to be the greatest fortune he would ever see. Now, a mere table's distance away sat another chest containing an astounding 800 primals. And it was all because of the foreigner again.
'Lords are truly scary, even from a far away land' Russ thought, He was then startled back to reality by Ollie's question.
"What's the best weapon?" Ollie asked.
Keagan chuckled at the kids' question. It was exactly what you'd expect them to ask, curious and innocent. He turned his gaze away from the window.
"Every weapon has its flaws," Keagan explained, his attention divided. "It depends on the environment, the situation, and most importantly, the wielder." Just then, a voice echoed in his ears, one that didn't originate from anyone in the room.
They were in a guest room, with a large single bed, and a small living room. His long sword was placed beside the bed, the high lord didn't ask them back.
[That fool! I never asked him to do that, but it's too late now. All I can do is try to fix this mess.]" Keagan heard Lord June say using a bird to eavesdrop on him. Thankfully, the castle wasn't so large, his ability could still cover enough ground for him to spy on people.
"What weapon should I use?" Ollie asked.
"Is there any food? I'm starving!" Livia chimed in, jumping off the bed.
"Everything," Keagan replied absentmindedly, "until you find what truly suits you. Don't limit yourself to just one weapon. And Livia, I agree, I'm famished too. Russ, find a servant and ask to deliver us food."
"Yes sir," Russ nodded and opened the door, revealing a startled servant with his hands raised in mid-knock.
The flustered servant lowered his hands and coughed. "M-my lord," he stammered, unsure how to address Keagan. "Lord Reed requests your presence for dinner."
"Does my companion come as well?" he inquired, causing the servant to shift awkwardly.
Keagan nodded understandably and he interjected before the servant could reply. "Then could you bring them something to eat?"
"Of course, my lord," the servant replied respectfully.
Keagan, dressed in the loose clothing provided by the servants, headed for the door. "Keep an eye on the room and the children," he instructed Russ. "Be good," he said to the two kids. As he exited the room, Lord June's voice echoed in his ears once more, accompanied by the voice of another man.
[They'll notice one of your subordinates is missing.]
[I know. There's no salvaging the situation. I understand that.]
[Fortunately, that barbarian killed all the bandits.]
[It doesn't matter if any are alive. They wouldn't talk anyway. What I need now is a good reason why one of my trusted subordinates is missing.]
Keagan followed after the servant, while he eavesdrops on Lord June's conversation. When he heard what they said, a chilling smile briefly flickered across his face before disappearing.