A Different Approach.

As the sun set across the horizon, the Duke signaled for him to finally leave.

"I must depart as it is getting late, your Majesty.."

Although Veritas enjoyed the company, he still appreciated the time they spent talking. The lonesome month that Veritas experienced was enough for him to long for a chance to interact with somebody..

"I understand, Lord Alfar. I wish you safe travels."

"Likewise, I wish you good luck in your endeavors."

With a light bow, the Duke headed back inside the carriage and it only took a couple of seconds for him to leave. Veritas looked at this scenery and felt some sort of empty feeling inside of him.

Thus, he was left alone again in the solitary forest, challenging an almost-impossible trial.

He sat down a log and began resting his mind. 

The constant planning made him mentally-tired and Veritas deserved a well-rested sleep. However, before doing so.. Veritas decided to check the supplies given to him. 

'I'll do that later..'

For now, he wanted to laze around for a couple of minutes.

Veritas laid down on the soft ground and admired the orange sky caused by the setting sun. It was bright and radiant, making him feel a sense of nostalgia. Veritas enjoyed this scenery the most. For him, it signified the end of the day, marking the time to rest. 

When the sun set, the people would then go to their respective homes and rest.

Veritas liked this idea and admired the beauty of the ochre-colored sky. 

He sighed deeply in appreciation and let his worries vanish into thin air. 

For tomorrow... he would have to fight the Gargoyle Knight once more.

A couple of minutes passed by and Veritas stood up, heading towards the direction of the supplies that he was given. 

When the Duke arrived, he ordered his men to gather up the supplies inside to carriage to a specific spot that the Prince wanted. It ultimately ended up inside one of the larger tents inside the camp, storing it for his future needs. 

Upon entering the large tent, Veritas saw shelves of stocked food. There was raw meat, jerky, various vegetables and many more. Normally, these foods wouldn't be preserved but due to the special use of a Pathbearer's skill, the food that was in front of him was preserved well.

It could be said to last at least a year or so..

'What a spectacle..'

The abundance of supplies made Veritas' hope rise up once again and after socializing with the Duke, his enthusiasm had returned.

This was a great day for Veritas' mental health. Though, even if the Duke didn't arrive, Veritas would still continue on and fight the Gargoyle Knight - with each passing day, his health would deteriorate, making him more reckless in his attacks.

Knowing himself, Veritas would not give up due to such triviality. He would do everything he can in order to fight to the end, even if it meant dying..

That said, he needed to shift his plans of approach. Veritas wanted something different rather than just clashing swords and out-speeding the abomination.

Veritas needed to conjure a plan that would end up with the Gargoyle Knight's destruction. 

But.. that would have to wait for until tomorrow, Veritas needed to rest his mind.

Upon making his way to the tent that housed his resting chambers, Veritas laid unequipped his steel leggings and wore white cotton pants that stretched down to his ankles. 

Veritas then laid down on the comfortable bed and slumbered in peace. It only took him mere seconds to do so.. once his eyes were closed, Veritas was already drowsing. 

That night, he didn't dream much but rather, he felt his mind loosen up. It felt rested and completed once more, the mental strain put by the rigorous planning was almost gone. 

There were still remnants of mental instability but this was something that could easily be handled. 

As the sun finally shone towards the lonely forest, Veritas woke up and immediately prepared for his day.

Lightly pan-frying a piece of meat and heating up bread, Veritas ate a combination of the two, energizing him for the whole day. Upon drinking a sufficient amount of water, Veritas did not immediately head towards the location of the statue.

Instead, he went to his makeshift study in one of the tents and read the notes that he'd taken about the Gargoyle Knight. After a month of battle, Veritas was the most familiar with the Gargoyle Knight's pattern.

He studied the notes for a couple of minutes before finally formulating a plan of his. 

'That bastard can't break hard steel in one go, this is further proven by the existence of my sword.' 

Additionally, when it was continuously attack against the tree, Veritas only noticed quite a few dents in his sword. Of course, that very same sword would then break a couple of weeks later.

Now carrying a dull but durable blade, Veritas knew that his chances of damaging the thing was higher than before..

For a few hours, Veritas stayed inside the study and carefully made a precise plan that he needed to follow. With sufficient experience from his past battles against the Gargoyle Knight, Veritas felt that his chances of winning were much higher than before..

After that, he headed outside and wore his knightly armor, finally deciding to make his way towards the ruined castle. This time, Veritas didn't bring any potions with him.

With a dull blade at hand, Veritas faced forward against the daunting statue. He was not in range yet so the Gargoyle Knight hadn't moved an inch.

He walked slowly, anticipating the slightest movements in the Gargoyle Knight's position. 

'Here it comes..'

And then! The Gargoyle Knight vanished from its position and ran quickly towards Veritas.

He saw this and immediately parried the heavy strike of the statue. Veritas was already used to the heaviness of the statue's blade so he easily deflected its blade to the side, leaving it stunned.

This could be the perfect opportunity to strike back but Veritas already knew that doing so would only cause his blade to be parried.

So! Veritas didn't aim for a strike.. rather, he ran straight towards the ruin castle.

The heaviness of the Gargoyle Knight weighed down its speed but it could not be said that it wasn't as nimble as Veritas. 

Only a couple steps away.. Veritas ran with haste towards the ruined castle. By further enhancing his steps with his unique swordplay, Veritas managed to trick the Gargoyle Knight in its tracks.

'So close!'

He had only been a few meters away when a sudden stone sword went striking past him.

The Gargoyle Knight threw its sword towards Veritas!

'Crazy bastard.'

Feeling the shift in the winds, Veritas deflected the heavy sword upwards, flying high up in the air.

However! The Gargoyle Knight merely leaped up and grabbed its sword, not letting a single momentum be wasted and striking down towards Veritas. 

'That's new!'

Veritas anticipated the strike but it was too heavy! It caused him to slide further back and open a crater from below. He felt his bones shake due to the heaviness of the slash.

The Gargoyle Knight quickly sent a fast kick towards his head but Veritas nearly escaped the looming strike.

The clashing swords were then stopped by Veritas' withdrawal.

He leaped back, causing his distance towards the ruined castle to be farther. 

'It won't let me get close at all!' 

He gritted his teeth and held his sword tight, Veritas did not rush to slash first but then waited for an opportunity to counter.

That opportunity never came as the Gargoyle Knight dashed and slashed in an upward manner. However, Veritas didn't need to counter-attack, all he needed to do was parry and then run towards the castle!

This plan carried immense risk, if Veritas made even a single mistake.. then running would not be in his options any more. He needed to be careful and perform every action flawlessly.

Veritas parried the immediate strike and left the Gargoyle Knight to be stunned for a fraction of a second. Seeing this opening, Veritas out-sped the Gargoyle Knight once more and ran through the various debris leading up to the castle. 

He reached the stairs leading up but was then stopped by the Knight once more..

'So persistent!'

Veritas counter-attacked and was parried immediately. Seeing this, he used the winds to flow unpredictably and attack to the side. The Gargoyle Knight anticipated this and aimed to parry but it was too slow in realizing the Veritas had thrown a feint.

He could strike now but Veritas chose to deflect the Gargoyle Knight's sword away, rendering it incapable of sword combat.

'Use your fists, I don't care!' 

That.. it did. The Gargoyle Knight ignored its blade and ran to Veritas with only its fists as weapons. This already happened a week prior to the present. Veritas was fighting rigorously and planned to deflect the Gargoyle Knight's blade. He was filled with hope back then but that hope turned into despair once he realized that the Gargoyle Knight still had other means of fighting.

But now! Veritas knew this fact and took advantage of his range. He was a step faster than the abomination but that wouldn't last forever. Sooner or later, the Gargoyle Knight would catch up.

For a few meters, Veritas needed to ascend up the stairs leading to the castle, but the Gargoyle Knight prevented him from doing so. 

It will do everything it can in order to catch up!

"Then try catching up, bastard!"

His body rotated and danced around, removing his figure from the vicinity as if it had suddenly vanished into thin air. 

The Gargoyle Knight was perplexed for a second before realizing what had happened. Although, it only realized the true situation to a partial extent. 

It deduced that Veritas was going to use this opportunity to ascend further up the stairs and enter the ruined castle where the Gargoyle Knight would face him.

The deduction of the Gargoyle Knight was correct but it missed one thing.. Veritas did ascend up the stairs but he did not enter yet! When the Gargoyle Knight reached the top of the stairs, it was immediately attacked in the back by the Prince of Elrod.

Without any time to react, Veritas dealt a heavy blow to its back!

The Gargoyle Knight was taken aback by this and staggered in front. Veritas tried to strike once more but the Gargoyle Knight quickly turned around and deflected the sword to the right with its arm.

Veritas used this momentum of the sword being deflected and rotated quickly, striking another heavy blow towards the Gargoyle Knight!

However! The Gargoyle Knight grabbed the dull sword and received the bluntness of the blade.

With a tight grip, Veritas was sent flying back in an instant! There was now a considerable distance between the two..

'I was so close!!'

The Gargoyle Knight received a heavy blow but it still did its job of protecting the ruined castle as it threw Veritas away from it.

In a blink of an eye, Veritas noticed something peculiar from the Gargoyle Knight's hand. 

'A-a crack?!'

Seeing a medium-sized crack in its arm changed everything in Veritas' viewpoint. 

'I actually damaged it!'

Distracted by the surprising development, Veritas failed to notice that he was high up in the air before finally landing in the solid ground. 

"Umph!"

He landed on his back and immediately felt the pain from the impact. Luckily, there were trees that absorbed the crash, if not.. Veritas would've died right away.

Veritas waited for the daunting Knight to come strike him down again, but that moment never came.

He was not in range anymore!

Looking straight at the taciturn Knight that was picking up its sword, Veritas closed his eyes and sighed deeply..

"It's a draw.."

Veritas felt his vision darken and then his eyes closed in a daze.

He had fainted.