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As if by design, Azar Javed’s head rolled over to Rudolf. The dead sorcerer’s head stared right back at the leader of the order. Rudolf froze. Just a while ago they were talking about capturing the Lady of the Lake and receiving the king’s reward and becoming the most revered people in Ban Ard, but now his friend was dead.

Mr. Azar died just like that. Was this operation a mistake? Rudolf’s beard trembled, and his knuckles were white from holding the hilt too tightly. Now that their trump card was torn apart, they had no way of fighting the Lady of the Lake.

At the same time, all the vodyanoi and drowners snapped out of their collective trance, and they charged ever closer to the knights. After that earlier battle, there were only less than half of Rudolf’s knights left. All of them were covered in blood and overwhelmed by exhaustion. Even though they regrouped and held their swords before them, even though they had killed more than double the number of enemies, they still could not change the fact that they lost the battle.

“Gods! Kreve, Lebioda, Eternal Fire, Melitele, someone… Please, deliver us from evil…” The knights kept muttering prayers under their breaths, but the gods were silent.

A beautiful silhouette of a woman appeared out of thin air and waved her hand, saving the lives of every remaining knight. The vodyanoi and drowners halted their footsteps, as if they were soldiers who just received a command from their commander.

“The Lady of the Lake?” the knights gasped.

The woman in the air had dark green hair, astonishing looks, and a great, beautiful fish tail. Her smile was gentle, and the sunlight draped her in a golden sheen. She attracted the eyes of everyone on the battlefield.

“Knight of the order, lay down your weapons. I believe this to be a misunderstanding.” Her voice was sweet, as if she were a mother concerned about her children. It reached their hearts and swept all the fear and exhaustion away. The knights were starting to let their guard down, and some looked like they had fallen into a trance. Even their dimeritium necklace failed to keep Vivienne’s charm at bay.

The remaining knights, who were sober, looked at Rudolf, but the man was silent. He seemed to be struggling with himself.

Adda trotted to the goddess and bowed at her. Their eyes met, and the princess knew what her goddess was trying to say. “Knights of the order, Azar Javed’s death is nothing but a punishment for his sins! You are just victims he strung along in this heretical conspiracy. The goddess is merciful!” The princess looked at the tired knights and persuaded, “You are but misguided lambs. Lay down your weapons and repent! Drink the holy water, and you shall have salvation! Those who are saved shall return to Vizima with their lives intact!” Adda announced, “I shall personally speak with the king and spare you from death!”

Three of the knights were wavering, and they started easing up, but when they looked down and saw the bodies of their comrades strewn across the ground, they tightened their grips on their swords.

Adda kept persuading, “Think about your parents! Your wives! Your children! You do not have to give up your lives for an evil sorcerer who has perished!”

Rudolf heaved a sigh and came to the lead. “The battle is lost. There is no need for any unnecessary deaths now.” Resolve sparked in his eyes. “Lay down your weapons!”

“Sir?” His knights stood around him, still willing to fight. “But our brothers would have died for nothing!”

“Do you not hear me? Knights, lay down your weapons! This is an order!” Rudolf pushed them back with a single glare.

Left with no choice, his knights unstrapped their weapons and tossed them away. Some of them even heaved a sigh of relief.

“Now stand back! Back!” Rudolf chased his knights away and knelt on one knee. He pleaded, “Your Highness, you have triumphed, but only Azar and I are the sinners here. The knights were only following orders. They do not know the truth. Please, have mercy on them.”

“Naturally. I have promised to spare them if they are willing to repent.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Rudolf sighed and stood back up. He looked at the Lady of the Lake, and resignation surfaced within him. He knew he could never win, and then he looked at the young witcher. Rudolf noticed that the witcher killed a few of his knights easily. He was a powerful enemy and a great rival.

Rudolf held his sword once more. He must never surrender, even if everyone else had. He was the symbol and backbone of the order. “Your Highness, I have one final request!”

“Name it.”

“I wish for a fair duel before my execution!” Before Adda could answer, Rudolf charged at the young witcher, leaving his knights behind. The knights, shocked by the sudden attack at the witcher, followed their leader as he attacked.

They heard a sigh ringing beside their ears as the Lady of the Lake blew at them. When her breath touched the ground, a few thick vines broke through the ground and wrapped themselves around the knights’ ankles. The vines traveled up their torsos and eventually wrapped them up like a cocoon, revealing nothing but their eyes so they could watch the duel.

“Bear witness to this battle, knights. This is a duel between the king of Vizima’s knight and my champion! This is a fair battle with honor and lives on the line. None shall be permitted to interfere!”

Letho crossed his arms and watched this battle with the knights, though he looked worried. “Don’t die, kid.”

***

Metal clashed, and sparks flew. One of the swords was pushed away from the impact, and the other was free to attack. Roy leapt back to mitigate the impact. The moment he touched the ground, the young witcher opened his arms and thrusted Gwyhyr ahead. He swung his sword at the challenger, piling all the pressure on him.

Rudolf’s sword was a lot heavier than most steel swords, but it suited his superhuman strength perfectly. His reaction speed was on par with a witcher, who had already mutated, and his swordsmanship was solid. The knight held his sword before his chest in a plough stance, the tip pointing up at the witcher’s throat. He bent over a little, and his shoulders were relaxed. His footwork was light and precise. Every movement was perfectly executed, as if he had done it thousands of times.

Even though Rudolf was a powerful enemy, Roy didn’t plan on fighting him with anything other than swordsmanship. It was a fair battle, and an unfair advantage would blemish both of the fighters’ honor.

Both fighters circled each other, closing in occasionally, switching their sword’s angle and position every time they moved. A moment of stalemate later, the witcher made the first move. He took a step forward with his right leg and held the sword in the plough stance, slashing Rudolf’s chest down from the upper right corner.

A silver arc flew through the air as Rudolf raised his sword to defend himself. The blades clashed, and Rudolf managed to knock Gwyhyr away. He closed in and aimed straight at the witcher’s defenseless neck. Roy, however, was faster. The moment his attack failed, he moved diagonally backward and evaded Rudolf’s onslaught. At the same time, he swung his sword down, aiming to slice Rudolf’s forearm off.

Rudolf smacked Roy’s blade away, and the fighters’ faces fell. They both retreated and put some distance between them, getting into a stalemate once more. The knights were watching the battle without blinking even once. It was but for a moment, but both fighters already had a brush with death multiple times.

Letho was starting to look grim. He balled his fists, loosened them up, and then balled them again.

***

Roy heaved a sigh and moved horizontally. He changed hands and held the blade on his right. The young witcher kept his eyes on the knight at all times, for getting distraction meant death. A drop of sweat traveled down his nose. It was his first time meeting his match. In a regular battle, he could have killed him with his bolts, signs, or even Fear. When it came to pure swordsmanship, however, he had no advantage. Rudolf might have a slower reaction speed than him, but his swordsmanship was better, and he had more experience in battle. He knew how to find the shortest attack range and how he could do the most damage even in the heat of battle, while Roy only had his instincts to combat that. Auckes trained him, and his instincts told the young witcher how to attack and defend.

***

The fighters crossed blades again, and sparks flew like a waterfall of fireworks. They broke apart once more, and Rudolf took a step back. He dragged his sword behind him, looking like a dracolizard that was swinging its tail around. He was getting ready to launch a fatal attack at any given moment.

Roy held Gwyhyr above his head, as if it were a lance, and his enemy was dead ahead. Rudolf was unscathed, but Roy had sustained a wound on his shoulder, and blood drenched his armor. Even so, Roy did not wince. He was still calm. He was thinking back to the first time he sparred with Auckes. He glanced at the rays of the sun through the corner of his eye, noticing how its position was changing.. At the same time, he kept moving forward and backward, taking note of his distance to his enemy.

When Rudolf came to two meters on his left, Roy turned his wrist and held Gwyhyr horizontally. At the same time, he turned it down a little bit, and the reflected sunlight blinded Rudolf for just a split second.

A split second was enough for Roy to nab the win.

The blades clashed one more time. The blades clashed one last time. There was no stalemate or sparks this time. Rudolf’s sword was made out of regular steel. It was no match for Gwyhyr. Roy’s blade was a labor of love from the gnomes, and thanks to his character sheet, it had been leveled up multiple times. It cut Rudolf’s sword in two, and the broken part flew far, far away.

Roy did not stop his blade. He brought it forward until it reached the knight’s throat and drew blood.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. I have disappointed you,” Rudolf Valaris muttered, his eyes closed. The defeated knight sighed. “You have bested me, witcher.”

“No. You only lost because my weapon is superior. My skills? Not so much.”

Rudolf’s eyes were bloodshot, but the gaze within them was without spirit. He had given up resisting. “A defeat is a defeat. This is a fair duel between knights, and you, witcher, have bested me.” He turned around. “Brothers of the order, heed my order! Cease fighting at once! The princess shall take you in from this moment on!”

The knights were screaming, but thanks to the vine, all they could make were muffled noises.

“Those who defy my orders shall be exiled from the order!” Rudolf smiled at the witcher one last time, and there was gratitude in his eyes. He held the witcher’s blade and sliced his throat open.

Blood splattered Roy’s face. The knight was still holding the blade, standing up tall even when he was dying. Even when his strength was fading.

A sliver of black smoke departed his body and flew up into the air before it darted into the bloodstone Vivienne was holding.

***

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