“I can’t have heard that right,” said Krel, his voice dropping into dangerous territory. “You actually think you can take not just Vrek out, but me as well?”

  “Yup.”

  “An Elf who hasn’t seen the slightest bit of combat, thinks she can take on two hardened troll warriors. Girl, this is my third time competing in a Proving, what could you possibly have to match me?”

  Vrek punched his leaner compatriot in the face, knocking him away, then growled at her.

  “You think you can take me, girlie? It seems you’ve lost your mind from terror. That’ll make this next part a little less fun, but I’ll take my time and make it worth my energy.”

  “You really don’t get it, do you? I didn’t say I could take one of you out, I said I could take BOTH of you out. Literally your only chance of even slowing me down is working together with the guy you just decked.”

  The two trolls looked at each other, consternation playing out on their faces. Meanwhile, Len was screaming internally. Not only was this not the plan she’d come up with for herself at the start of this, it was actually actively contrary to those plans. She hadn’t really been paying attention to the rules at the start of things, but she figured it’d be best to be the last one standing. That really only required taking down one worn-out opponent who’d done all the hard work for her. Both of the trolls did look winded from their activities, but neither seemed anywhere near at risk of running out of steam.

  Maybe if she let them go to town on each other for a while she’d have a chance, but encouraging them to team up? Madness. Still, something inside her refused to be satisfied with just letting things stand. Both of them had actively underestimated her, had deemed her unworthy before even saying a word (granted, part of that had been by her own design, but she wasn’t in the mood to be gracious here), they both needed to have their assumptions about her permanently adjusted.

  Vrek was the biggest obvious threat. If he caught her in those trunks he called arms, she was as good as done for. Krel, for all his leanness, had snapped a man’s neck without effort. They were both clearly accomplished killers, but that didn’t mean she was completely outmatched. Just had to be smart about it.

  “Well, go ahead boys, whichever one of you is brave enough to take me on, come take the first swing.”

  She caught a flash in Krel’s eyes, but the one who’d take the bait on that taunt was obvious. Vrek lumbered forward, roaring a challenge. She almost hoped that Krel would take the opportunity given by the larger troll presenting his back, but no such luck.

  First moves are important, so much can be determined by one mistake right as you clash with an opponent. No one really knows what to expect and misjudgments are easier to make. Vrek was still laboring under the assumption that her escaping him the first time had been a fluke, some happenstance that wouldn’t be repeated. She, meanwhile, was even more aware of the utter mass of him and just how impossible a task it’d be to match him strength for strength.

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  A lot of the standard throws wouldn’t do her any good here, he was damn near twice her height and easily four times as heavy, might as well try to headbutt her way through a brick wall. Thankfully, a lot of judo was about using your opponent’s strength against them and no matter how large a humanoid body may be, a lot of the hazard points are the same. Even better: Vrek was clearly no martial artist. All he had going for him was strength and size and had never bothered to learn more than that. He had virtually no guard as he reached forward, trying to grasp her head in his two meaty paws.

  It would’ve been bad news if he’d caught her with that grip to be sure, but she slipped under the grab and caught his left wrist with her right hand. Wrenching with all the strength she could muster, she twisted it inward, forcing his palm up, then she planted her feet with her back to him, continued the motion, and levered the entirety of the troll over her body, slamming him into the granite with a titanic shock. Not content to leave it at that, she took his still-ensnared wrist and wrenched it further out of his control, and brought it down over her knee with all a titanic heave, eliciting the sickening sound of stretching sinew before the arm gave out entirely and snapped. This got a new roar out of the stunned troll, one of mingled agony, consternation, and rage. She sprang away from him and waited for his next move.

  “Maybe she actually is too much for you, Vrek,” smirked Krel. “Want me to handle her for you, give you some time to nurse that?”

  “You stay out of this, you bastard. After I’m done with her, you’re next.”

  “I keep telling you guys,” she laughed in a voice that was almost melodic and sounded completely bizarre to her ears. “If you keep doing this separately, you’re both gonna end up crying. Don’t think I’m gonna go any easier on you that this meathead, Krel.”

  Krel just smirked again and waved, the picture of nonchalance.

  “Oh, I’m good, my dear. Happy to watch the show from here for now.”

  Thank God. She did NOT need this to become a two on one match. Keeping up appearances was all well and good, but she still wasn’t sure how she was gonna take out this one opponent, let alone finish the other one.

  Vrek, to his credit, was back on his feet with little preamble. His arm hung limply at his side and was turning into a purple mess as internal bleeding pooled inside him, but he paid it no particular mind. The malice that he’d had in his eyes had given way to a far darker and more purposeful hatred. It wasn’t like he’d been holding back before, but any chance that she’d get out of this fight alive without beating him first had totally evaporated.