Blink, and you'd miss it.
The first strike—no, the first three—was all one continuous blur of hands and metal.
Helena attacked, going for the axe. But Welf was faster.
By the time the hammer could have reached him, his hatchet swiped low, forcing her back.
He needed no more distraction than that, grabbing onto her weapon with a bare hand.
It wasn't against the rules—but it caught the princess off guard.
All this happened in less than a second, but for all intents and purposes, the duel was over.
Neither of them yielded, though.
"You gotta pry it out of my hands, touching isn't enough," the Bladebreaker teased.
But it sounded like a plea, not a taunt.
She was eager to continue, even if she was already panting.
Never mind that the blacksmith's weapon-holding hand was free to strike whenever.
He never did.
"I'd hate to hurt you," Welf smirked, towering over her like a boulder.
Konrad had never seen him this fast before.
He warmed up after all the sparring, sure, and didn't have to swing that huge sword around. But if he was able to do this all this time, he must've been going easy on him.
His right-hand man was even more formidable than he had thought.
"I won't hold back," Helena gritted out, trying to yank her hammer free.
Her other hand—and knee—was pounding on his indomitable body, but it didn't budge.
"Let me know when you start," Welf teased, raising the hatchet higher out of her reach.
Right as Konrad was about to comment on how one-sided their duel turned out to be, she shifted gears. One step back, a punch square in the face, and she jumped.
She kicked Welf in the chest with both legs, using him as a springboard.
That did the trick. She landed hard on her back a few feet away, but freed her weapon at least.
The blacksmith flew in the other direction but kept his balance.
Before he'd react, though, Helena was on her feet and rushing in.
She learned from her mistake and wouldn't let him grab her hammer anymore. Her weapon danced around without ever connecting with him—aiming for the axe alone.
It was a strange sight, thanks to the specific ruleset, but it was no less entertaining.
"Go, get her, bossman," the recruits cheered, but Helena's guards seemed rather nervous.
For her, the outside world might as well have ceased to exist.
She focused on the hatchet and nothing else, but couldn't quite manage to reach it.
Welf had the height and the strength advantage. He toyed with her, keeping the weapon out of reach, but had to be on the lookout, too. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't strike her down.
Her frustration was building fast, resulting in more and more punches with her bare fist.
Neither of them considered using their weapons as intended, though.
Like a playful couple wrestling in their bed.
Konrad felt like he was watching something inappropriate.
"If a duel's supposed to look like this, I was doing it wrong until now," he mumbled to Bor.
The trainer snorted, but wouldn't take his eyes off those two.
"It looks like they're messing around, but they're so fast, you might miss the important bits. Like that kick—ouch," he said, shadowing the pair's movements like he was fighting, too.
At last, Helena managed to get a hold of the axe.
She hooked the hilt of her hammer under its beard, but it mattered little.
The blacksmith's hand held it like a vice.
She tried to punch his fist, wrestle his arm, even use her weight and swing her legs around it, but no dice. The difference between their strength was too much, but she refused to give up.
Clinging to his weapon-holding hand like a monkey, she kicked back at his chest.
Welf groaned, losing his balance, and fell on his back. Helena landed ass-first on top of him.
Despite all this, the axe was still firm in the redhead's hand.
Helena slammed his fist against the ground, bit it, and that finally worked. Welf yelped, his grip loosening, and the princess pried the axe out, throwing it a few feet with a victorious cry.
The thing was—she also lost her hammer along the way, but didn't even realize it.
She had bigger problems than that.
With a single move, the blacksmith got her into a firm chokehold.
He'd spin her around and push her down flat against the ground.
If their fight hadn't looked like lovers bickering until now, this pose was straight up sexual.
Recruits and guards all watched with their breath bated, and Helena's face turned red. Both the strain and the embarrassment were finally catching up with her.
Or the anger when she realized she had no chance to move.
"What now?" Welf gritted out, staying on top of her.
"You lose," the princess choked, although she didn't seem like someone who won, either.
"You're unarmed and pinned," the blacksmith pointed out.
"Also unhurt," she snapped back, but couldn't even breathe.
She tried to shake him off, but it was like fighting a mountain.
"Princess, this is too indecent," the guards yelled, finally intervening.
Their voices sounded strained and embarrassed—but at least Konrad didn't have to say it.
Welf reacted first, jumping back and wiping his hands on his pants.
His face was all red, but not from the strain.
He must have realized how large their audience had become.
Apart from the recruits, workers finishing their shifts also gathered around. For a deserted town like Halaima, they caused quite a commotion.
"I went overboard," the blacksmith muttered, bowing to the princess and her guards. "Sorry."
"Ah, no, I did, too," Helena responded in kind, getting up and blushing even harder.
"I bet you don't have duels like this in the capital," Bor hollered, with the recruits joining in.
"And this is why women cannot join the tournaments," a guard said. They tried to shield their disgraced maiden with their bodies. It was lucky she wore armor, which she pointed out.
"Without these plates, I could've moved faster, but damn," she said. "You're good."
"And shameless," the guard scoffed again, shooting glances at the victorious tribesman. "To treat a noble woman like that—"
"It was a duel," Helena snapped. "I asked him to be serious about it."
And she sure did, her face still burning despite her strong tone.
"When your sister can knock out half a tribe, you stop being careful," Welf mumbled, scratching his head. That sent Konrad's dirty mind wandering.
Liliske, getting rough-handled—by him, of course, nobody else.
That felt like an odd fetish, but he was sure he'd like any skinship with her.
It would have been her beating the crap out of him, though, unless he started to work out soon.
"That tiny girl?" the princess asked, raising her eyebrow. Yes, that was Konrad's first reaction, too. "You have the strangest companions, Lord Halstadt."
"You have no idea," he laughed, but not for long.
"Let's see what you have learned from this duel, then," she demanded, ready to fight again.
Right. She promised a bout earlier. He thought she'd forget.
But after that show, he couldn't back out in front of all his men.
"Can I have that axe?" he asked, resigned. A recruit handed it over with a wide grin. "I'll try my best not to disappoint you, but I'm a gentleman. Please go easy on me for your guard's sake."