The Villainess’s Reputation [Kingdom Building] 332. Master And Disciple’s Duel

The air in the training grounds was thick with the scent of ozone and the rhythmic roar of the crowd. Ravenna moved like a shadow, her daggers spinning in a blur of silver, while Faldeus stood like a mountain: immovable, yet capable of terrifying speed.

“I know you didn’t just invite to your city because you missed , Little Raven!” Faldeus barked.

He pirouetted on the ball of his foot, dodging a lethal horizontal swing that would have sent a lesser man tumbling out of the circle. He rebalanced his weight instantly, launching himself back at her like a coiled spring. Their daggers clashed with a high-pitched schwing, sending sparks flying.

“So, what is the real reason?” he asked, gritting his teeth as their blades locked.

Ravenna leaned into the clash, her muscles trembling under his superior raw strength. She kicked off his chest to create distance, her breath coming in sharp hitches. “Of course, you’re as sharp as ever, old man,” she panted, her eyes narrowing.

However, her focus wavered for a split second. Faldeus saw the opening, a subtle flick of his wrist sent a jarring vibration up her arm. One of her daggers spun from her hand, clattering against the stone floor.

“ONE POINT FOR LORD FALDEUS!” Rexford’s voice bood over the cheering knights.

Ravenna didn't miss a beat. She dived for her weapon, rolling and springing back to her feet. As Faldeus pressed his advantage, laughing at her "sloppiness," she used his montum against him. She parried his heavy strike and pivoted, sweeping her leg in a low arc. Faldeus stepped back to avoid the trip, but his heel hit the chalk line and slid an inch beyond it.

“ONE POINT FOR HER HIGHNESS RAVENNA!” Rexford announced as a bell chid. “ROUND 1 CONCLUDES!”

Both combatants retreated to their corners. Alice handed Ravenna a bottle of chilled water, while Faldeus simply wiped the sweat from his brow with a rough sleeve, looking younger than he had in years.

As soon as the bell rang for the second round, Ravenna lunged. She was no longer just sparring; she was testing the limits of her master’s legendary reflexes.

“Of course, I know you lack any creative sense but I need you to make sothing, Master!” she teased and asked, her daggers dancing toward his throat.

Faldeus parried the flurry, his innate battle hunger finally surfacing. A maniacal, toothy grin spread across his face as he entered a flow state, his movents becoming fluid and unpredictable. “HA! You have mastered the blade well, but a make sothing? I aren't one of them craftsn, Little Raven!”

“you don’t need to be!” Ravenna countered. She feinted high, then dropped her weight. She didn't trip him this ti, she pinned his foot with her boot and delivered a sharp, stinging strike to the underside of his wrist with the poml of her dagger.

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The shock made Faldeus’s fingers fly open. His dagger began to fall. He caught it mid-air before it could touch the ground, but Rexford’s keen eyes had already seen the loss of control.

“ONE POINT FOR HER HIGHNESS RAVENNA!”

Faldeus retreated, shaking his numb wrist. He looked at her with a mix of annoyance and dawning realization. “Only I can make it?” he asked, his smirk returning as he dashed toward her again. “What could be so precious that it requires the hands of a forr Khan?”

“It’s not because you’re a Khan,” Ravenna replied, her voice dropping to a serious tone as their blades crossed once more. “As a Glinto’s Apostle, it’s sothing only you can do for your granddaughter.”

“CONCLUDES ROUND 2!”

The final round began with a heavy silence. The playful banter had vanished, replaced by a mutual, burning determination. The bell rang, and the two blurred into motion.

“So... you need to use my blessings?” Faldeus asked, his voice low as he effortlessly deflected a strike that would have decapitated a stone golem.

Ravenna didn't answer with words. She channeled her own strength into her daggers, the blades reflecting with a faint, light hue of the sun. She needed to prove she was worthy as his only disciple.

The Master was no longer holding back, his movents sharpening into the lethal precision of the Great Plains, and the Disciple was ready to show him exactly how the fires of Kim Island had tempered her soul.

“Yes! I need you to create an Odyssey Ring!” Ravenna shouted.

She lunged forward, not for a strike, but for a gamble. Using her superior agility, she practically ran up his fra, her boots catching on his belt and shoulders as she sought to unbalance the tall man. Faldeus let out a booming laugh, his massive hands catching her by the waist mid-air. He swung her with the intent to slam her into the dirt, but she used the montum to flip, spinning out of his grasp like a cat.

She landed perfectly on her feet, the crowd erupting into cheers. Seeing an opening as Faldeus reset his stance, she dove low for a trip. Faldeus, however, didn't bite. He planted his feet and, instead of retreating, delivered a powerful, open-pald shove. It wasn't ant to injure, but the sheer force sent Ravenna skidding backward across the reinforced stone.

Her heels scraped against the chalk line before she finally tumbled out of the circle.

“ONE POINT FOR LORD FALDEUS!” Rexford announced.

“Heh... a Glinto Odyssey Ring?” Faldeus panted, his eyes wide with intrigue. Ravenna scrambled back to her feet, her daggers raised for one final desperate charge, but the high-pitched chi of the bell echoed through the training grounds.

“FINAL ROUND CONCLUDES!”

The arena fell into a montary silence before a deafening roar of applause broke out.

“It seems my little crybaby is finally as skilled as her master,” Faldeus chuckled, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

Ravenna scoffed, sheathing her daggers with a sharp clack. “As if. I know you held back, old man. If I ever truly t you as an enemy on a battlefield, I wouldn't walk out alive.”

“True. It’s good that you realized that,” Faldeus laughed, walking over to pat her head with a heavy hand.

Ravenna sighed, the adrenaline finally fading to leave a dull ache in her limbs. “Which is why I set the rules so heavily in my favor. And yet, it still ended in a draw.”

“My... you’re finally admitting you rigged the ga?” Faldeus teased. He then turned his gaze toward the crowd, locking eyes with Marie, who was watching them with a mixture of awe and admiration. “So, the Saintess needs an artifact of the God Glinto, does she?”

Ravenna nodded solemnly, her voice dropping so only those in the circle could hear. “We have already acquired and integrated the Solious Odyssey Ring and the Herptian one. Since fate brought you here, we might as well check the Glinto ring off the list.”

Faldeus’s expression turned uncharacteristically grave. “Ho... so you’re trying to gather all twelve Odyssey Rings for the Saintess?” Ravenna looked at the Ivory Chalice looming in the distance, then back at her master. “We’ll talk about the ‘why’ inside. So things shouldn't be whispered where the wind can carry them.”