Duel

Taelan Fordring adjusted his gear and walked calmly into Training Zone 1. Instructor Havinfar activated the magic barrier, drawing surprised gazes from the onlookers.

Renault gripped his two-handed sword and followed him in. He knew why the instructor had raised the protective barrier: Taelan Fordring had awakened the power of the Holy Light and possessed spellcasting abilities. However, no one knew that he, too, was a spellcaster; his month of life-and-death combat had not been in vain.

The two stood facing each other and exchanged bows according to the rules. Instructor Havinfar, the only one remaining inside the barrier, announced the terms: no powerful magical equipment allowed. After all, both boys had formidable fathers and likely possessed extraordinary magical trinkets. Only self-mastered skills were permitted, and killing was forbidden. Victory would be decided by submission or being knocked unconscious. The instructor reserved the right to terminate the duel at any time.

She cast Power Word: Shield on herself and declared the match underway.

By this time, Jaina had already introduced herself to Bridget and Whitemane. They huddled together at the edge of the training ground, and the crowd consciously cleared the best viewing spots for the three young ladies.

Bridget spoke first: "What is Renault going crazy about now? Why so formal?"

Whitemane replied, "He just returned from the training camp recently and was scolded by his father again yesterday. He originally wanted Sir Mograine to watch his match today, since he's ranked first. But his father promised his younger brother, Dalian, that they would go to Lordaeron to see the Darkmoon Faire."

"He's been in a foul mood since this morning."

Bridget retorted, "So he takes his anger out on me? Do you know what he did to me earlier? The bump on my head still hasn't gone down."

Whitemane said, "He's been easy on you. Didn't you see that Finley had one of his ribs broken?"

Jaina suddenly interjected, "He isn't going to take all his frustration out on Taelan, is he?"

Bridget didn't particularly like Jaina; she had heard rumors that Taelan had become close friends with the princess of Kul Tiras while in Dalaran. Seeing her brazenly holding Taelan Fordring's hand today only fueled her annoyance.

Whitemane, however, couldn't care less. She enjoyed playing with Taelan Fordring, and not for any deep reason—after all, how old were they? In her words, wasn't a cute little boy pleasant to look at? She was simply a fan of good looks, and Taelan Fordring had no romantic intentions toward her or Bridget.

The goddess in his heart was Little Star, Stellagosa!

Seeing Bridget remain silent, Whitemane had no choice but to say, "That's a given. The two of them haven't seen eye-to-eye since that incident involving the maid's slap."

Bridget said mercilessly, "That incident was because of you." Hearing this, Jaina immediately pricked up her ears. Was Taelan competing with Renault for Whitemane? That seemed unlikely, didn't it?

"Since they're being so formal today, who do you think will win?"

Perhaps due to a strange impulse, Jaina interjected, "Taelan will definitely win!"

Bridget felt suddenly irritated: "I think Renault will win. After more than a month of training, he's not the same person he was." She had experienced it firsthand; Renault must have mastered some powerful strength. She had sparred with him earlier.

Whitemane said, "The most powerful of the previous generation of Paladins was the expedition leader Turalyon, followed by Renault's father, Alexandros, and Taelan Fordring's father, Tirion Fordring. Our generation should be represented by one of these two."

In truth, among the second generation, Taelan Fordring received the fewest resources. This was evident from the fact that Renault later became the first commander of the Scarlet Crusade. Of course, Taelan's younger age was a factor. Yet, in his upbringing, Taelan Fordring received the most correct guidance. He had an upright, tolerant father and a mother who loved him.

Taelan Fordring and Renault Mograine stood opposite each other, both waiting for the other to move first. Renault did so out of pride, as he was older than Taelan. Taelan, however, waited to counterattack. Since Renault had challenged him, he must have had some trump card. People with strong pride often valued the opinions of others, making them easier to influence, whereas Taelan's greater psychological maturity made him difficult to sway.

Later, when Renault was seduced by the Dreadlord, it wasn't just because of Fel magic. His pride and jealousy, long festering under unfair treatment, were also to blame.

Thus, Taelan waited for Renault to reveal his hand. He had Divine Shield as his own trump card, and its near-invincible effect was his final safeguard.

"Why aren't they moving yet?" Bridget couldn't help but ask. She was always decisive and never liked to drag things out.

Jaina had spent a lot of time with Taelan Fordring and had picked up many of his catchphrases. Sensitive to the atmosphere, she sensed Bridget's hostility: "Mortal wisdom! Taelan calls this 'striking only after the enemy has struck'."

As expected, the younger Renault lacked patience, and the first move offered a distinct advantage. He declared, "Since you won't make a move, then I won't be polite."

Taelan Fordring nodded, signaling it didn't matter. First move reaches 10 mana; second move gets the coin.

Renault raised his sword, crouched slightly, and charged. He was indeed much stronger than he had been a month ago, and his movements were standard, having corrected many minor flaws. Taelan immediately raised his shield to meet Renault head-on. To be fair, the three-year age gap was quite significant. Renault's strength was far greater than Taelan's. Upon impact, Taelan was knocked back. He took advantage of the momentum to retreat flexibly, easing the pressure on his body and using the moment to recover from the brief stun of the Charge. Renault followed up immediately, his hand glowing red as he unleashed a Heroic Strike.

Having recovered, Taelan dodged to the left while thrusting his shield forward to execute a Mortal Strike. Renault had already suffered from this skill and knew it was hard to dodge, so he hurriedly raised his greatsword to Block. The shield struck Renault's sword directly. The damage was blocked, but the stun was a magical effect that could not be mitigated. Without the Eye of Violet, Taelan's mana was insufficient for infinite Charges and Shield Bashes; he had to calculate his skill usage. Therefore, after stunning Renault, he immediately put distance between them.

Renault recovered quickly, switched to Berserker Stance, and charged at Taelan again with a swish. Jaina, watching from outside, immediately said, "Berserker Stance, Intercept?"

Bridget said unhappily, "Little sister, you're quite knowledgeable, aren't you?"

Jaina said nothing more. Charge was a Warrior skill in Battle Stance, while Intercept required Berserker Stance—it was already considered an extraordinary ability. Being able to use Intercept meant he was also a spellcaster.

Taelan was not surprised by the Intercept, as Old Mograine was a master of combat skills. It was not strange for Renault to have mastered such abilities.

In the real world, there was no need for balance. The heroes here were often far more terrifying than in the game world; they were all hybrid classes. It was not unusual to master skills from other professions.

Seeing Renault switch stances, he immediately raised his shield to block, reducing the subsequent damage. This time, Renault did not use Heroic Strike; instead, he swung his greatsword at Taelan Fordring's lower body—Hamstring. It was a powerful Warrior combat skill designed to limit the opponent's mobility. This time, some talent must have triggered, as Taelan Fordring was rooted by the Improved Hamstring. Furthermore, his leg began to bleed, staining a corner of his cloak red.

Renault felt a surge of joy, preparing to circle behind for a leap-style heavy strike. Bridget, outside the arena, said, "Hey! He got hit by Improved Hamstring; he's going to take a heavy hit now. If he doesn't want to lose, he'll have to use that annoying Holy Bolt of his." Clearly, she still remembered being blasted by the Holy Bolt last time. Jaina immediately began to worry for Taelan.

Taelan, however, was not in a hurry. He knew that after being hit by an Intercept, some form of crowd control would surely follow. He calmly used his Paladin class ability: Blessing of Freedom!

I have things to do today, so I'm posting two chapters back-to-back. I'll edit them when I get back tonight.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you provide plenty of feedback.

Additionally, I am accepting character submissions. Both World of Warcraft characters and original characters are welcome; for original characters, please include a character profile tag. Due to the backlog of drafts, they will be added later.