The well-maintained green grass became their impromptu arena. Moonlight and garden lamps were the only illumination.
There, they stood facing each other. A high-quality practice sword was already firmly grasped in each of their hands.
Wexler, the vice commander, stood on the sidelines as referee and witness, accompanied by Duke Elgard, Duchess Larina, Elisa, her other children, Kazien's three fiancés, and Erica.
"Commander Hellius!" said Kazien while taking a relaxed stance. "Unleash all your strength!"
Hellius grinned, his dense killing aura starting to emanate. "As you wish, Young Master! I won't underestimate you!"
Silence fell for a moment. The night wind blew gently, swaying the leaves.
Stances ready. Their gazes locked.
Whoosh!
In an instant, both shot forward like two arrows released simultaneously.
Clang!
Two swords clashed hard in the center of the arena. The impact was so strong that it created a shockwave that blew dust and grass around them. Strong wind blew against the faces of the spectators.
Zap!
Hellius wasted no time. He used Blink and suddenly disappeared, then reappeared right in Kazien's blind spot, behind his left back. His large sword swung horizontally, aiming for the neck.
However, Kazien, whose sharp senses could feel Hellius's presence even before his eyes saw him, spontaneously ducked.
Swoosh! Hellius's sword blade slashed the empty air above Kazien's head.
Clang!
Without turning, Kazien rotated his sword behind his back, blocking Hellius's follow-up attack with terrifying precision.
Zap!
This time it was Kazien's turn. He used Blink and disappeared, appearing on Hellius's right side, then attacking with a flurry of very fast slashes.
However, Hellius was an experienced war veteran. His instincts had been honed for decades. He could read the direction of Kazien's attacks and parry them.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of clashing metal rang out repeatedly, breaking the silence of the night. Sparks were created every time their swords met. Their movements were truly not like ordinary human movements. They moved too fast, leaving blurry afterimages on the retina of anyone watching.
Such fast and precise movements were impossible for ordinary people to detect. Erica, for example, could only see flashes of light and hear the sounds of impact without knowing who was attacking whom.
However, not for Kazien's three fiancés.
On the sidelines, Alvin, Allen, and Arken watched the sparring without blinking. Their eyes emitted an unusual faint glow.
They utilized the special ability they obtained from the Eternity Contract bond with Kazien, which was the God Eyes ability.
With God Eyes, their eyes were able to see the world in slow motion, analyze muscle structure, mana flow, and opponent's techniques down to the smallest detail. They weren't just watching. They were absorbing knowledge.
The three of them were very serious in observing the fight. Every movement of Hellius's feet, every way Kazien parried, was copied perfectly into their memory thanks to God Eyes. They could immediately practice those high-level techniques later as if they had been training them for years.
The fight between Kazien and Hellius heated up. Hellius's breathing began to labor, while Kazien still looked relaxed but focused.
"Hahaha! Great! Great!" Hellius laughed quite loudly in between the sword clashes, enjoying the peak adrenaline.
Suddenly, Hellius jumped back to gain distance.
"Young Master! Why are you only playing with swords?" shouted Hellius, slightly out of breath. "Why don't you use magic? Aren't you the greatest mage?"
Kazien lowered his sword slightly. "May I?"
"War doesn't just rely on swords! The enemy won't care about your excuses!"
Hearing that challenge, Kazien smiled wryly.
"Alright, if that's what you want."
Kazien raised his left hand. A large amount of mana gathered around him.
In the blink of an eye, Kazien's body split. One, two, five, ten... until finally, 25 identical Kazien figures appeared.
They spread out quickly, forming a circle surrounding Hellius from all directions. Each clone held a sword made of glowing pure magic energy.
Hellius and everyone watching the many Kazien clones were shocked beyond belief. Erica even covered her mouth in shock.
However, it wasn't over yet.
Some clones raised their hands. Magic circles of various elements appeared in their palms. There was blazing fire, freezing ice, crackling lightning, and swirling wind. All ready to be fired at one point: Hellius.
Hellius looked around. Twenty-five swords and dozens of high-level magic spells were aimed at him. Cold sweat dripped down his temples. Fighting one Young Master Kazien was already difficult, let alone twenty-five?
Instantly,Hellius dropped his sword onto the grass and raised both hands high.
"Hahaha! I surrender!" shouted Hellius loudly while laughing in resignation. "I surrender, Young Master!"
Kazien frowned then snapped his fingers, and all the clones and magic vanished into the darkness of the night.
"Why surrender just like that?" asked Kazien.
"If all that magic were fired in turn and I tried to dodge it, this mansion would be leveled to the ground, Young Master. There would be a lot of damage caused by that magic." answered Hellius honestly while wiping his sweat. "Besides, I'm not sure I could survive being gang-up on by 25 people at once."
"That's why I didn't want to use magic during sparring! But you asked me to do it!" complained Kazien annoyed, feeling his fight was left hanging.
Hellius laughed while patting Kazien's shoulder. "Hahaha. I didn't expect you could make that many clones! Especially since they can use magic and swords at the same time. That is a terrifying ability for an enemy."
Kazien smiled, then turned to Arken standing on the sidelines.
"It was Arken who taught me this cloning magic!" said Kazien proudly. "If not for him, I would never have been able to split myself this many times. Hahaha."
Instantly, all eyes looked at Arken with admiration. Except for Elisa, Alvin, and Allen who already knew and smiled proudly.
Seeing everyone's gaze on him, Arken became nervous. He lowered his head, hiding his blushing face. He was still not used to being the center of attention.
Duke Elgard walked up to his adopted son.
"Why are you looking down like that, Son?" asked Duke Elgard gently.
"I-I'm shy, Father..." squeaked Arken softly.
Duke Elgard laughed heartily, then lifted Arken's chin to look at him.
"Hahaha. Don't feel shy like that! Be proud and believe in yourself!"
Arken looked at Duke Elgard's face full of pride. That support gave him courage.
"Yes, Father! I won't think like that anymore!" exclaimed Arken full of conviction, greeted by applause from the rest of the family.
That night, the sparring between Kazien and Hellius ended with Kazien's victory, and new pride for Arken.