“It's you...” Narzagul said.
“Yes, it's me. I heard you wanted to invite me to your residence, so I came,” she replied with a dark smile on her lips.
“Damned elf! What happened to Marguz? Did you kill him too?” Asked a furious Narzagul.
“Wo, wo, easy. What is this aggression towards guests? Is this how you show hospitality? I thought you were more than just primitive monsters...” she replied, disappointed by his attitude.
“What did you do with Marguz?” He asked again.
“And what was I supposed to do with him? He kindly handed me an invitation, showed me the way, and was no longer needed, so he's dead. The same thing will happen to you.”
“You cursed long-eared witch... Although it's also their fault that they were too weak to prevail. But don't think you'll get away with it,” Narzagul warned, his voice menacing.
“What are you going to do? Intimidate me? Where I come from, every day I had to face threats and rough individuals who were able to destroy you in the blink of an eye if you just looked at them wrong. Do you think I would be frightened by a green moron like you? Think again,” replied Elrianthe leaning on the shaft of her spear.
“I don't know the land you come from, but in mine, there is a rule. When you come to an orc chieftain with a weapon in your hand, it means you challenge him. In our tradition, only the strongest has the right to rule, and when two chiefs face each other, the victor decides the fate of the defeated one and his subordinates.”
“It sounds perfectly obvious. So you want me to fight you in a duel for everything, right?”
“That's exactly what I had in mind. Unless, of course, you'd rather put down your weapons now and rely on my mercy. You can't refuse to fight,” Narzagul declared, strutting proudly.
“I don't give a shit about your rules and traditions, but so be it. Gaz will fight on my behalf.”
“Haha! So you're a coward after all? You're putting up your man because you're afraid to fight yourself?” Narzagul mocked.
“No. I'm a princess,” replied Elrianthe, winking at him.
“Huh?”
“I am a princess. It is obvious that my knight fights on my behalf. It will be no different now. Why should your traditions be more important than mine?” Elrianthe asked, enraged, as befits a true princess.
The rest of the company looked at this verbal clash, not knowing what to think about it.
“Agreed, but know that this is your end. I have never lost a fight with any human,” announced Narzagul.
'Phew, that was close.'
< Research >
[ Narzagul Strong ]
[ Level: 14 ]
[ HP: 1120 MP: 100 ]
'He's strong. After all, that's what his nickname suggests, but Gaz should be able to handle it if I cast Doping on him,' thought Elrianthe.
She turned back to her group and looked at Gaz. He stood indifferently, listening to the conversation. When she turned toward him, he felt a surge of immense strength. It was as if his veins were filled with pure energy. His pulse quickened and his muscles tightened.
< Master's doping >
“Don't let me down,” said Elrianthe after using the skill.
Gaz nodded, grabbed his sword, and faced the chief. He showed no nerves or fear, even though in front of him stood a more than two-meter tall, powerful orc with a large two-handed sword. Deep down, the only thing he feared was disappointing the person who had spared his life.
Narzagul smiled and prepared his weapon. A duel with a human was a fight beneath his dignity, so he intended to end it quickly.
“One blow is enough to defeat a man!” Cried Narzagul, launching an attack from behind his back.
*BANG*
Narzagul's heavy sword hit the ground with full force as Gaz shielded himself with his weapon. The angle at which he placed the blade allowed the orc's sword to slide over the edge. At that moment Narzagul had become convinced that Gaz was no amateur.
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“We're in for an interesting fight,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Duncan and Mitta joined Elrianthe. They decided to descend the hill, seeing that the duel had already begun and support from a distance would no longer be needed.
*Clank*
*Crash*
*Clank*
The fight had been going on for several minutes. The orc's strong blows began to give Gaz a hard time. Nevertheless, he fought with full commitment, demonstrating his years of experience. His evasions were confident and his attacks were well thought out. However, something was beginning to happen...
“Wow, Gaz is doing great,” remarked Mitta, who rarely had the opportunity to see him in action.
“That's true, but if that doesn't change, we may have a problem,” replied Elrianthe.
*Clank*
*Cut*
Gaz was unexpectedly wounded on the cheek. Although there was nothing unusual about it, as time passed, his movements seemed not to react appropriately to his opponent's actions.
*Cut*
Another cut. Gaz was wounded in the leg. Fortunately, the blade cut shallowly. This began to raise doubts. He shouldn't have been hit.
'What's going on with his attacks? It seems to me that he attacks from the left and the cut comes from the right. I can't counter his strikes. They are kind of unpredictable,' Gaz wondered.
Elrianthe came to similar conclusions as she watched the two of them. From her perspective, it looked as if Gaz was starting to make more and more amateurish mistakes. His blocks were ineffective, his attacks missed, and he was falling into traps more and more often. It was as if someone was fooling his eyesight.
“Something is wrong,” she mumbled.
“You noticed that too?” Asked Taygeer, who was also confused by something in the clash.
“Could it be his skill? The orc tricks Gaz into making mistakes? Sometimes I see as if his shadow does not match his movements...”
“Quite possibly. I'm afraid Gaz might lose this,” Duncan stated.
Of course, Elrianthe was not satisfied with this answer. So she decided to use a little help.
< Research >
[ Narzagul Strong ]
[ Level: 14 ]
[ HP: 820/1120 MP: 100/100 ]
'His MP has not changed since the beginning of the battle. Could it be that his skill doesn't require mana?' She wondered nervously.
She couldn't let Gaz lose. That would be the end for them all. Of course, if they were going to keep their word and surrender after losing, which was not in her plan for today. She wasn't going to show courage or honor for the sake of some stupid orc tradition she hated.
Trying to find a reasonable explanation, her gaze wandered around looking for answers. She looked at the two women who were standing a little further away and also watching the fight. To Elrianthe, however, calling them women was a misunderstanding. They looked like ordinary orcs with long hair, breasts and dressed in women's clothes. A truly disgusting sight.
A little closer to the fight stood an elderly orc with a staff in his hand, making small movements. They didn't look suspicious, but Elrianthe, watching him for a long while, saw that they were not random.
“Hey, Mitta. Look at that old orc,” whispered Elrianthe.
“He's probably their shaman. What about it?”
“See what he's doing with that stick,” she said, pointing to a clue.
The shaman then noticed that he was being watched by the two and stopped his activities for a moment. It must be said that they were not very discreet, watching him in this way.
“He's using magic against Gaz!” Mitta snapped out.
“Are you sure?” Elrianthe asked.
“I've been feeling the subtle influence of magic for a long time, but it wasn't until he panicked and stopped that I clearly felt it was coming from him,” explained Mitta.
“You can sense the magic being used?” She asked surprised.
“And you don't?” Asked Mitta, even more surprised.
“No.”
“Really? You're an elf. You should be able to do it too.”
“It's possible that I escaped from a lesson at the elven school that day,” she joked.
“In any case, a shaman helps an orc win a fight. If he uses some illusions, he could easily fool Gaz, which would make him start making mistakes.”
'An illusion would be very useful to fool the marquis,' thought Elrianthe.
“Taygeer, come with me.”
Shaman Urguluk did what he could to support his chieftain. The opponent Narzagul faced had a lot of experience in combat, and the sheer brute strength of the orcs was not enough.
''Damn elves. I bet she has something to do with it. Maybe this man is strong, but with my magic, he will be defeated quickly,' thought Urguluk, confident in his abilities.
“Emm, excuse me?” A female voice sounded behind his back.
Urguluk turned around and saw an elven woman accompanied by a huge cat-man. The shaman became instantly frightened, realizing that his sabotage had been discovered.
“What you-”
< Daze >
Before he had time to say anything more, Elrianthe overpowered him with her skill. Urguluk fell to the ground, and Taygeer broke his staff into tiny pieces with a powerful kick.