Shadow of Glory

Before descending, a wizard gave him a vial "this should be enough to heal superficial wounds," he said. Lodtrack took it, and immediately, the pain in his wrist disappeared. When he reached Leonor and Jill, both congratulated him.

"I see you're still the same Lodtrack with no mercy," Jill reproached him.

"It's better not to have mercy than to let myself be injured like a beginner," he replied, looking at her arm; she laughed in response "but now that doesn't matter, it's still you and me."

"Yes, and I'm going to give you a beating," Jill said teasingly.

"We'll see..."

"Well, well, rest first, and then decide who will defeat whom in the ring," Leonor said irritably.

Minutes passed, and both were fully recovered. Veatriz had returned and told Lodtrack that she had to leave and wouldn't be able to see the final. Finally, they were called to climb into the ring.

"Thank you for your patience; our warriors are finally ready to battle!" the crowd was eager for the fight "Before me stands the beautiful lady Jill, Draco's apprentice, and the warrior who has surprised us all, the skilled Lodtrack, another Draco's apprentice." The referee gave the signal to begin.

Both drew their weapons, and this time, Lodtrack equipped his shield "I seem to be a case of extreme necessity," Jill said sarcastically.

"After the last time we fought, I can't underestimate you," Lodtrack replied. With that, the gong sounded. Jill slashes with his spear, Lodtrack easily deflected the attack with his shield, and responded with a horizontal cut. Jill managed to dodge by crouching and launched a thrust from below that grazed Lodtrack's jaw. They continued exchanging blows. Jill attacked with a flurry of thrusts, cornering Lodtrack, who hid behind his shield, trying to prevent attacks to his blind spots.

"Could it be that Jill..." Leonor thought, "could it be that she wins."

'When you fight, you tend to position yourself behind your shield to block; consequently, you neglect the offensive. You are a very strong warrior, but you lack flexibility in attacking. In that aspect, Jill is superior to you,' Lodtrack recalled his master's advice, noticing his weaknesses and what he wanted him to understand: the frenetic way Jill attacked but without neglecting her blind spots; her smooth movements when maneuvering and extremely powerful in the attack. 'You should use the shield as a complement in combat, but you can't rely on it as the basis of your fighting style, or you'll lose the moment you can't block more attacks.' At the time, he hadn't given much importance to these words, but now that he faced her again, he couldn't stop thinking about it; how to counter and surpass her, he just needed a second.

At the right moment, Lodtrack separated the shield from his body and deflected Jill's next thrust, creating an opening. With a thrust, he pierced Jill's forearm, causing her to drop her lance due to the pain.

"Incredible! I'm out of the fight," Jill sighed disappointed; she wanted to beat him once again.

"The winner is Lodtrack!" the referee shouted, and the crowd cheered.

"Thank you," Lodtrack said.

"Why?" Jill asked, confused.

"Thanks to this fight, I realized my weaknesses and managed to improve my combat mindset."

"Gods! You're such an idiot. At least you could wait for me to recover to tell me that."

"I'm sorry," Lodtrack laughed nervously. As they spoke, two figures approached. Lodtrack recognized one of them "Princess!"

"What a great display of skill, Guard. Now I know why they call you the elite of the elite," praised the princess. The other person approached, and Lodtrack recognized the emperor's son.

"So, you're my opponent. Very impressive," said the prince. The tournament winner had the right to duel with the kingdom's best swordsman (or so they said), Prince David.