As soon as the boy's words fell, he took a step forward and rushed towards Constanz again with his falx raised. The last strike was aimed at his abdomen, and this time the boy wouldn't use the same trick - Constanz anticipated that the young warrior would strike at his head, so he bent over and exposed his back and shoulders as the beast-like blade came down.

To the boy's surprise, a huge square shield was carried on Constanz's back. He couldn't retract his blade in time, and it bounced off the thick shield. The boy tried to stabilize his trembling blade while guarding against the knight hidden behind the scutum. The wide shield was now like a snake pit, making him uncertain whether the next strike would come from above to hit his head, sweep his legs from below, or attack his waist from the side.

The boy's hair stood on end, and he realized that the only safe place was the shield. Just as he realized this and stepped towards the scutum, Constanz lifted it up and attempted to cut his femoral artery with his long sword. However, the experienced legion commander was surprised because the boy disappeared again before him, and he felt the heavy impact from the shield raised above his head.

The boy kicked off and leapt from the shield to behind Constanz. Constanz turned around in time, and after a clash of clanging and sparks, the two pulled away from each other and switched positions again.

From the previous fight and the wolf skin the boy was wearing, Constanz had already learned that the boy belonged to a Devoran tribe on the eastern border of the Empire. But he stopped himself from voicing his confirmation, because in front of an opponent whose strength was equal to his own, even a slip of the tongue could reveal his intention and ultimately determine the outcome of the battle.

In the history of the Empire, there have been many conflicts between infantry with scutum and Devoran warriors. While the legions crushed all opposition with their iconic shields, the Dawra invented the reverse blade, which was curved forward to strike the vulnerable heads behind the shield wall. The reverse blade was created to counter the square shield, and this particular combination signaled a specific style of combat that any trained youth would understand.

Constanz decided to set a trap to lure the young man into following his own experience. He raised his shield and the opponent holding the reverse blade correctly backed away to maintain distance. After several rounds of probing, Constanz deliberately lowered his shield slightly.

He saw the glint in the young man's eyes and knew he had fallen into the trap. As expected, the reverse blade was inserted into the small gap between the helmet and the upper edge of the square shield, biting like a venomous snake towards the vulnerable neck. Constanz tightened his chin, turned his head to the left, and used his jaw and neck armor to clamp down on the reverse blade, preventing the opponent from pulling out the sword. He then lifted the square shield and thrust upwards from below.

To his surprise, the young man had leaped high and landed on his shield, trying to pull out the reverse blade with both hands. Metals clamped together fiercely and sparks flew, and Constanz felt the armor being scratched. He had to release his grip and let the young man draw his sword. In an instant, the situation reversed. The knight in armor now used his shield to support his judge, holding the hilt in a reverse grip, ready to ruthlessly penetrate the eye of the person on trial with the sword tip.

Constanz let out a roar of anger and pushed the young man up. He planned to impale him as he fell, but the opponent regained his balance and descended with his foot on the hilt of the sword. Constanz anticipated the impact and had to use his shield to block.

With a loud noise like a battering ram, the round shield was pierced through, and the blade deeply penetrated, finally stopping just before Constanz's brow. He threw the shield, along with the embedded blade, off the bridge and lifted his long sword. He knew the boy was finished, although he had fought bravely, he was now defeated.

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Having fought alongside the Imperial infantry for many years, he knew the weakness of the legion's formation: if the enemy broke the round shield with a brittle spear, the infantry would have to abandon their shields to fight. However, he could see clearly that the boy, although he had succeeded in making him drop his shield, had no second weapon on him.

Unexpectedly, the boy surprised the seasoned veteran for the third time in a short period. Although he had lost his blade, he now had a familiar officer's short sword in his hand. Constanz reached for his own side, but his ornate scabbard was empty.

"When did you...?" he asked with admiration in his tone.

"The first time we brushed past," the boy answered briskly, the passion of battle dissipating the dark cloud that had hung over him. "With the door that stood between us gone, there are only you and me now."

Constanz had thought that trading his shield for a sword was his own idea, but he had not expected that the boy had anticipated it all along. He couldn't help but praise the other's tactical genius in his heart. The thought of defeat also grew quickly in his mind and became a poisonous tree.

If he fell here, the world would be burned down to the roots by the flame which regained its freedom.

The horrifying scene made Constanz's eyes bloodshot, and his fingertips were filled with clear veins as he swept horizontally from right to left. The boy raised his short sword to block, but the heavy iron lump was like a nail hammer, knocking the boy off balance, causing him to spin backward. However, he immediately braced himself on his heel and burst out with power enough to shake the bridge. Blending with the remaining momentum of the horizontal strike, he gripped the short sword in reverse, thrust it straight towards Constanz's throat.

The latter reflexively raised his sword to block, but it was too late. The boy flipped his wrist, and the sharp blade cut through the wrist guard and severed the muscle. Blood spurted out, and Constanz's right palm spasmed, letting go of his long sword. The boy kicked the long sword into the abyss under the bridge. At the same time, he pushed down the broad shoulders of the ironclad knight and pierced the gap in his neck armor with the sword tip.

The collar quickly stained red. Constanz fell to the ground, struggling to retreat towards one end of the bridge. The victor continued to hold up the red-tipped sword, stepping forward slowly, advancing towards him step by step.

"You are a noble warrior, deserving of an honorable ending. But if you continue to distance yourself from me, I will have to kill the cowardice in you," The arrogant youth lowered his eyes and said, "If you really want to disappoint me, at least come and kiss my feet. I will allow you to leave with the shame of defeat and live the rest of your life."

But Constanz continued to retreat, fighting for his own time. If he were younger, perhaps he would have accepted his failure with his neck outstretched, but along the way, failure had become an unbearable burden. He gritted his teeth in pain and grimaced in villainy, shouting loudly to the back:

"Sandra! Where are you?"

He struggled to prop up his body with his elbows and retreated. Blood spurted from his teeth, along with a command that was high-handed and - at the same time - low-pitched plea.

A silhouette draped in noble armor appeared on the other side of the thick fog. "Summon your dragon, breathe fire, and burn our enemies... " Constanz squeezed out the last bit of breath from his chest and roared angrily, "No one can save the Empire, no one can become king... only me!"

The young man looked up at the knight who faintly radiated silver light in the mist. The other opened his arms, and both hands slowly spread towards the sky. The young man raised his blade and aimed at Constanz's broad neck. Just as he was about to swing his sword down, a hot wind blew him off balance, and he stood still. He resisted the hot wind with his elbow and suddenly opened his eyes, only to see that the mist had been dispersed, the sky was dyed red, and ominous dark clouds were swirling.

The paving stones beneath his feet were cracking under the heat. The young man walked towards Constanz against the fiery wind, but was repelled by another shock wave. In his dehydrated and withered vision, he saw an incredible scene: Constanz, as if he had not been harmed at all, propped up his body with his dry, huge arm. His neck was notably elongated, and the protruding cervical vertebrae were covered with light gray scales. His elongated nose and mouth were not human-shaped, resembling a burning dragon.

The magic dragon opened its blood-red mouth wide towards the young man. A spark ignited deep in the dark throat, attracting the boy and preventing him from evading the dragon's breath. Flames attached to the saliva sprayed out, causing the entire bridge to fall into a sea of fire. Before the flames could consume the young man, a violent wind lifted him off the bridge, tossing him around in the air like a torn rag before finally releasing all the force that supported him.

The boy fell towards the bottom of the dark valley.