109 Battle Royal (2/2)

I spared her a thumbs up before continuing my dash forward.

This small diversion caused Luca to get ahead of me which was just as well as there was a line of defenders between us and the commander in his turquoise robe on his bright green swifthart.

Boom!

A second explosion rocked me from behind, the wind pressure passing right through my back and nearly causing me to stumble.

\”A little too close, Shanks!\” I yelled into the sky.

Luca reached our opponents first. His broadsword's shadowblade swept forward in what I often described as the reaper's scythe swinging down on unlucky fools who were never aware that my brother's gift tripled his strength, giving him what was arguably a giant's power — assuming one believed the legends that giants once roamed the Fayne too.

Luca's one slash swept away the line of defenders like he was some legendary hero in a Dynasty Warriors game using his Musou power on the mobs before him.

This was the chink in the armor that I needed to breeze past the defensive line.

I left Luca there to deal with the enemies. I wasn't worried for my brother though as I was sure Pike would be flying to his side soon enough. Those two were ridiculously clingy in a battlefield which would have made me barf if I wasn't similarly attached to Aura at the hip.

Speaking of Aura, she was probably going to get mad at me again for not bringing her along on this dangerous mission. But that was the thing; I didn't want her doing something too reckless because she was such an important figure in the clan. Plus, I could only trust her to lead the unit when I wasn't around to do it. Everyone respected her. Sure, Azuma was the better commander, but there are more than a few veterans among the Foolhardies who hadn't forgotten that he was once our most dangerous opponent.

While all these little things were popping up in the non-battle focused part of my mind, the part of me that was absorbed in the fight readied itself for that critical moment that would determine my victory, not just against a two-thousand-man enemy Commander, but also against my fellow young commander and arguably my biggest rival among the young commanders of the clan.

So imagine my frustration when I saw Al Sheridan and his swifthart breaking through the encirclement of defenders to the right of me.

\”Shit!\” I huffed as I increased my pace even more.

Ten feet between me and the boss, and although he was further behind, there was no doubt Al would reach him at nearly the same time. Stupid swiftharts could bridge short distances with a single long leap of their powerful hindquarters after all.

\”Like a bolt of lightning, carve away all defences with a single glistening blade,\” I whispered.

Then I leapt forward with my falchion raised high. I aimed directly for the side of the enemy commander who looked disbelievingly between me and Al Sheridan who also had his glaive pointed forward.

I swung my falchion sideways. Al Sheridan thrust his spear forward.

Predictably, the pixie commander spread his wings to dodge our attacks which both I and Al expected. So, it really was no surprise when we both threw daggers toward him at nearly the same time. It was even less surprising when both our daggers hit each of his wings.

I'd taken Al's position into account and reasoned he would go after the left wing while I struck the right wing. No doubt he thought the same thing too.

\”You know this is my win, right?\” I hit him first,\” Al commented.

The enemy commander's swifthart panicked and ran away, clearing the space between me and Al.

\”The deal was whoever took his head, first,\” I reminded him. \”And you're blind. I obviously hit him first.\”

We watched the pixie scream in pain while desperately trying to keep afloat despite his wounded wings. This proved unsuccessful and he plummeted to the ground just outside the circle of white stones that separated the mana pool's secret garden from the rest of the world.

But I couldn't spare a second to survey my surroundings. I only knew I had to get the enemy commander in time before Al did.

It turned out both Al and I were the losers for as we scrambled toward the fallen foe a shadow appeared in the sky above it.

I looked up just in time to watch Verania Folkor zooming down toward the enemy, her reaper's scythe slashing forward in an arc.

A second of disbelief, my breathing turned ragged at the sight. Then, without any fanfare, she cut off his head.