The Dragon King's Heart

Everyone was watching the battle at the edge of their seats. Alum tightly gripped his hands, worried about the outcome of the battle. His palms began to sweat. He hastily wiped them on the hems of his clothes. 

Margaret noticed it. She too was nervous at the fight. She knew the extent of Nyx's abilities on the battlefield. She was a burst fighter, her strength came in bursts of raw energy. Lord Ethan, on the other hand, was a calculative fighter. 

He would bide his time and study his opponent. Only when the moment was right, he would pounce and deal the fatal blow. Seeing the battle play out before her, Margaret bit her lip. From the way she saw it, Nyx was falling into Lord Ethan's trap. 

"Come on Nyx, you're a smart gal. Can't you see what he's trying to do?" Margaret muttered to herself as sweat trickled down her forehead. 

Kol carefully analyzed the battle. He could see Nyx was quickly losing energy. Though it was not obvious to most, he could tell that her movements were becoming sluggish. 

On the field, Nyx was beginning to feel the fatigue set in. She cursed her own impulsivity. But, she came prepared. She could see Ethan was playing on the defensive, conserving his energy. If she wanted to ensure her victory, she had to bait him into attacking. 

After all, she still did not have any knowledge of his fighting styles. 

So, Nyx lunged forward, wielding both swords in her hands. But just before she was about to reach him, she stumbled and took a fall. Everyone who was watching gasped in shock. Alum's eyes widened in shock. 

"Nyx! Get up! Get up or you'll be-"

Before he could even finish his warning signs, Alum watched as Ethan took the opportunity to attack Nyx while she was down. She did not need to see his movements to know what he was attempting to do. 

Nyx grinned. She swiftly rolled over to the side, narrowly avoiding Ethan's incoming attack. His rapier stuck into the dirt. She swiftly got back up onto her feet, both swords still in her hands. As Ethan attempted to pull the rapier out of the ground, Nyx thrust her sword towards him. 

Ethan let go of the handle and stumbled back. He gritted his teeth in anger. She tricked him! The spectators were impressed. They had not expected Nyx to make such a move. 

"We're nowhere near the end and you've already lost your weapon? We can't have that, now can we?" she teased. 

Using the tip of her sword, she removed the rapier from the ground and sent it flying back to Ethan. He caught it right in his hands. 

"Watch yourself, woman," he warned, "I'm just warming up."

He might have underestimated her in the beginning, but now he was going to get serious. Ethan lunged forward with the rapier in hand. His swift quick-step movements paired well with his weapon of choice.

Nyx did not dodge his attacks, she deflected them with her swords, careful not to waste too much of her energy. She could feel her stamina decreasing as the battle went on. If she wanted to win, she had to end the battle swiftly. 

But her original order was to stall. To stall until Laina returned. If she was to win the fight now, would that solve the situation? While she was deep in her thoughts, Ethan took the opportunity to attack her. 

Despite her ability to dodge the incoming attack, Nyx was still hurt, the rapier grazed her arm. A cut formed across her upper arm. Blood seeped from the open wound. Though the blade of the rapier was thin, it was still a sharpened blade. 

"Nyx! Stay focused!" Alum yelled anxiously. 

Nyx knew he was right. If she were to get distracted again, she would not get away with just a cut on her arm. It could be a lot worse. Nyx tightened her grip on her weapons. She yelled out a battle cry as she ran towards Ethan again. 

She swung each of her swords at him, one at a time, hoping to get an opening to do some damage. But Ethan was like an eel. He carefully weaved through each of her attacks, all while dealing attacks of his own. 

It was difficult for Nyx to keep up with everything. As she tried to formulate a different plan, she leaped away from him, putting distance between them so that she could catch her breath. 

"Fatigued already?" Ethan mocked. 

Sweat trickled down her face. Without blinking, she quickly wiped it away, so as to not disrupt her vision. Nyx was breathing heavily. She felt as if her lungs were on fire, she could barely think straight. 

"I cannot lose. I must not lose!" Nyx muttered to herself. 

As her arms grew sore, the swords grew heavy in her grip. An idea popped into her mind. Nyx threw down the swords. She cracked her knuckles and assumed a boxing stance. Everyone was surprised by her decision. 

Who brings fists to a sword fight?

"Are you mocking me, woman?" Lord Ethan asked in annoyance as he pointed his rapier towards her. 

"Maybe, maybe I'm not," Nyx replied with a grin on her face. 

She tightened her fists, ready to take Lord Ethan on. Seeing this as an insult, Ethan was pissed. He lunged at Nyx with his rapier aimed for her heart. Nyx took in a deep breath to keep her heart calm. 

She sidestepped to dodge his attack at the last second. They were barely an inch apart during this exchange. With one swift decisive move, Nyx punched Ethan's arm during their exchange. This caused him to drop his rapier as the spectators gasped in anticipation. 

Nyx turned to face Lord Ethan, still smiling, as she punched him in the gut. Caught completely off guard Ethan flew backward, landing heavily on his back as he grunted in pain. The leather armor he wore provided little protection, but it was insufficient. 

With him down on his back, Nyx took the opportunity. She quickly picked up one of her swords and rushed towards Ethan. But just as she was getting close to him, the sound of trumpets blaring stopped her in her tracks. 

The blaring trumpets had everyone's attention. Everyone turned to look in the direction of the trumpets. The spectators parted ways as a familiar face entered the training grounds.