1 Duel
Battle of Arisonji, in 1253. (Alternative world of the Earth)
Indra, 18 years old and barely 1.70 meters tall, was standing in the middle of a plain that served as a battlefield and an arena for duels.
He was armed with a sword, a shield, an armor and an iron helmet.
In front of him was a giant human, like a monster, he was not only intimidating but also disproportionately powerful.
This one was only armed with a gigantic axe proportional to his size. His confidence could be seen from miles away, as he wore only back armor to protect his vital points from archers.
But his confidence didn't come from nowhere, he had never met an enemy who could approach him without being split in two by his axe while arrows could barely penetrate his skin.
So by removing his armor, he could lighten his body and therefore have excellent combat endurance.
His whole being gave off the feeling, "I am a killing machine" even though he did not speak.
Indra had a heavy feeling just looking at him, but he knew he had no right to lose this duel, for not only would he lose the several thousand soldiers that accompanied him, he would also lose a good part of his Kingdom's territory.
The consequences would be disastrous. The people would lose confidence in their ruler while some nobles would see a weakness in the Kingdom and prepare a rebellion to gain their independence.
The economy would also be severely infected, and a famine could strike the Kingdom as this territory produced an astronomical amount of food that fed over 30% of the Kingdom's population.
He could hear the cheers of his soldiers as well as the insults of the northern barbarians who formed a circle around him and Sören, the leader of the northern barbarians.
But Indra had been trained since birth for this situation. Strength, agility, endurance, he lacked nothing.
The pressure was enormous for him, but he had already prepared himself mentally for this situation as well as for losing his life.
Thus, a mental state sought by many people comparable to the legendary epiphany took hold of Indra.
Gradually he ignored the noise around him as he focused on his opponent. The young warrior had entered the "zone".
The zone is a mental state that even the humblest person can reach. In this state, all senses become extremely sharp while the perception of time can slow down several times.
He threw his shield to the ground, knowing that trying to block this monster's axe was tantamount to seeking death, and took a fighting stance taught by the best swordsman in the Kingdom.
"Oh, you're pretty interesting kid," Sören said with a smile.
He obviously did not take his opponent seriously.
But Indra did not answer him, in his state the least distraction would make him leave the "zone". Anyway, he didn't even hear him because he was too focused on finding the slightest flaw in Sören's posture.
Unfortunately Indra couldn't find any, so there was only one thought in his mind.
"If there is no flaw, then create the flaw that will cost your opponent his life." This was repeated to him every day by his teacher who taught him the art of war.
Suddenly Indra pressed on his right foot and propelled himself extremely quickly towards his opponent.
Sören's answer was not long in coming, his axe was directed towards Indra. Despite its imposing size, the axe was extremely fast.
As a result, the cries of the northern barbarians could be heard in the distance, but the soldiers under Indra did not seem particularly panicked, instead there was a bit of excitement and pleasure, as if they were watching a show.
And indeed, in Indra's eyes, there was no trace of panic, instead his eyes were as deep as the abyss, nothing could be discerned.
When the eyes of the two fighters clashed, Sören was slightly disturbed, because he had never met this kind of look.
Normally he could sense fear, despair or even indignation coming from his enemies, but this time it seemed to be different.
But for the invincible leader who had never lost, it was extremely exciting.
"Don't disappoint me young warrior!" he murmured with a smile as he felt a newfound respect for his opponent.
His grip on his axe tightened once again as the speed of his attack accelerated.
Just as the axe was about to split Indra's body horizontally from the left, Indra suddenly stopped, causing the axe that was supposed to split him in half to pass right in front of him.
Indra's technique, was a secret and ancestral technique, transmitted only in the royal family, it allowed at the cost of severe damage to organs, muscles and bones, to stop momentum completely immediately.
Of course, Indra had been trained since her childhood so the damage was all minimal at most and therefore it would not impact her combat effectiveness.
The surprise could not only be seen on the faces of Sören, but also of all the northern barbarians.
On the contrary, the soldiers under Indra were starting to roar.
"Haha, as expected the young master is invincible!" shouted a powerful soldier pointing his spear upwards.
"Everyone knows that the savage barbarians don't stand a chance against the refined techniques of our young master," said a rather reserved soldier calmly amidst the shouting and cursing with a smile.
"Your tribesmen still have their brains filled with muscle, that will never change!" mocked another one pointing his spear towards the barbarians.
Indeed, the end could be seen by everyone, Sören's arm had ended up in front of Indra, and as if Indra had planned it all, his sword was already heading towards the position of Sören's arm.
Sören's eyes crinkled at the situation he was in.
*Tsuick* *ding*
An arm flew out as blood spurted out.
To everyone's surprise, Sören had managed to punch Indra in the stomach with his left hand at the sacrifice of his right hand.
Indra had to retreat because, despite his back armor, the power of the gorilla in front of him was so enormous, that he felt the blood rising in his throat like an unstoppable tide.
For the first time in his life, he spat blood on the ground.
But he barely managed to keep his composure, still keeping him in the "zone".
However, his soldiers were no longer so calm, and it was the same situation in the northern barbarian camp.
No one thought that such a situation would happen in a duel that seemed so unbalanced to everyone.
The duel was temporarily at a standstill.
The two had about ten meters separating them.
Sören was watching his opponent while Indra was looking at the ground.
He had his back bent, while his left hand held his stomach and his sword was firmly planted in the ground in front of him.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, he got up and stood.
His spine was as straight as a spear.
And as thousands of people watched, a joyful smile appeared on his face.
His left hand went to his helmet, then he took it off with one hand and threw it on the ground.
His long hair flowed down his back as his suave and charismatic face appeared before everyone.
"You are called Sören, aren't you?" he asked in a powerful and dominating voice.
And without waiting for the answer of his opponent, Indra continued:
"Well Sören, I send you all my compliments for having managed to hurt me!
The scene was clear to everyone, it was not only the leader of the barbarians who despised his enemy, no Indra did too!
Not waiting for an answer, Indra started to walk towards the barbarian leader but everyone's mouth was wide open at Indra's confidence.
For good reason, Indra was walking towards the barbarian leader with his bare hands!
"I was born as the crown prince of the Golden Griffin Kingdom." He revealed.
"Since then, the royal family started to train me in swordplay at the age of 4" Indra revealed in a calm tone.
"And since then, I've become passionate about training, and literally obsessed with getting better and stronger every day," he explained.
"At 6 years old I could defeat a grown man."
"At 8, I was as strong as an ordinary soldier."
"At 10, I could defeat a dozen ordinary soldiers alone."
"At 12, I began to walk the battlefields, earning a reputation as an invincible wunderkind."
"At 14, I became invincible, all those who thought themselves stronger than me died under my sword."
"Now I am 18, I have continued to train and so I am stronger than I ever was."
"I really thought that no one would be my opponent in this world anymore, and that from now on I would live a boring life, but you appeared in our news network!"
"When I heard about your divine strength, I traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles to meet you, and now here we are!"
"So don't disappoint me Sören!" concluded Indra.
