Disgraced Elven General (14)

At Kilkreatha's shout, her Royal Guard surged forwards, their Aura flaring as they prepared to engage Dura and I, alongside our own personal squad.

My blades hummed as I unleashed my Aura fully, my black equipment shining with an emerald green light as I walked out to meet the Royal Guard.

The first of the Guard to reach me was a bulky woman wielding a heavy headed spear, which smoldered with a dark red Aura.

Her features were hidden under her helmet, just like mine were hidden beneath my mask, but our eyes conveyed the little we had to say as we began our dance of death.

With a speed that seemed impossible with such a heat weapon, the woman slashed her blade down and cut deep into the tile, cracking the ground around me.

Barely dodging out of its path, I took the momentary drop of her guard to lunge forwards, both my swords raised and flickering out towards her armored figure.

Letting out a grunt, she shifted her shoulder to force my blades to land on her pauldron, two jagged gouges running along the golden armor.

As she retrieved her spear from the floor, I was forced back as she began to thrust and cut with precision, avoiding large, unwieldy attacks for the moment as our comrades spilled forth, engaging each other in battle.

Dura watched Kilkreatha, the two in a stalemate as neither wanted to make the first move, leaving it up to us for now to determine the outcome of todays warfare.

With each of us inside this throne room being veteran fighters, even the loss of one person could turn the tide entirely against one side, and with such even skill and experience, it came down to who could hold out longer before dying.

Steel clanged against steel as we fought, and I ducked beneath the arcing swing of the spear before leaving two nicks on her wristguard, wearing away at her armor and weakening the places I wanted to attack.

Her armor was slowly being torn away, while I was left uninjured but winded.

Constantly on the move, I rolled away from a swift stab that transitioned into a bash, my eyes falling to the ground around us.

An idea popped into my head, and I solidified my Aura around my blades and dashed forwards, keeping her occupied.

Redirecting a swing, I forced her spear into the floor and raised one of my swords, the woman trying to block with her pauldron once more.

However, instead of attacking her I slashed down at her weapon, letting out a low shout as I cleaved through the haft of her spear and splintered the wooden grip, leaving her with just a stick.

As she stumbled back in confusion, I pressed my advantage and scored another deep cut along her stomach, before I lodged one of my blades deep into her side, blood spurting free from the wound.

Releasing that sword, I continued forwards as she tried to retreat away from me, my sword rising and falling as I slashed and cut at her armor, revealing the soft flesh beneath.

Cutting her down, I retrieved my blade and flicked her blood free from it, turning instantly to the next Royal Guard and joining the Orc, slowly adding to our advantage.

As one Orc fell, I killed another of the Guard, retaining our advantage.

Kilkreatha shouted in anger as she surged to her feet, her Aura flaring wildly around her as she glared hatefully down at us.

"Damn Orcs! I'll relish shattering your bones beneath my boot!"

Dura walked forwards to match her, their conflicting Auras crashing together in the center of the room.

Kilkreatha's was chaotic and loud, the flashing greens and yellows bathing the room in a bright, yet sickly green light.

As for Dura, hers was heavy and subdued, a simple crimson wave that pulsed steadily from her body, filled with bloodlust.

Which was fitting, as the War Chief raised her hand and collected the blood shed by the warriors and formed weapons from it, launching them towards Kilkreatha.

The traitorous Elven Princess waved her hands, a barrier of dark verdant green shrouding her, while a thin longsword flickered into her free hand, pulsing with her yellow Aura.

It took us all a moment to rein ourselves in after such potent Aura's collided around us, but that moment gave me the opening needed to slit the throat of a Royal Guard, their body thudding to the floor as I was the first to move.

Whittling down their numbers, I had little opportunity to observe the fight between Kilkreatha and Dura, but the sounds of their Aura warring against each other - alongside their shouts - filled the room, overshadowing the sounds of our blades clanging together.

As more corpses began to litter the ground around us, we were able to finally step back and watch in awe as the War Chief clashed with the Elven Princess, both wielding their advantages exquisitely.

Dura had far more practical experience and physical strength, which she put to great use as she utilized her Aura to imbue herself with more power, her heavy axe slamming against Kilkreatha's barrier.

However, Kilkreatha had a superior control over her own Aura, allowing her to use it to shape attacks that could be sent from anywhere, meaning that Dura was incapable of only attacking; she needed to defend as well.

The two were in a stalemate, as the potency of Kilkreatha's Aura kept her safe and kept Dura occupied, but Dura's physical prowess made her too much of force of nature to just be stopped or injured by Kilkreatha's attacks.

But, that was if they were the only two present on the battlefield.

With my assistance, we killed the rest of the Guard and surged forwards to aid our War Chief, adding our Aura to hers as we tried to crack the shield that Kilkreatha had erected around herself, all while we blocked her attacks with everything we had.

She was screaming obscenities at us the entire time, her eyes crazed as she wielded her Aura to its extreme, before the crazy light in her eyes became amplified.

Sensing a shift in her style, we all backed away warily and observed her, waiting to resume the fight.