I moved first.
Not because I wanted to pressure him, but because I needed to take control of the pace of the fight. If I let him dictate it, I would never get the chance I needed.
My sword met his halfway.
The impact was so strong that I felt my fingers tingle. The vibration ran through my entire arm and up to my already aching shoulder. He didn't step back. He simply twisted his body and tried to strike me from the side.
I barely dodged.
His blow grazed past me and hit a rock formation behind me.
The stone simply ceased to exist.
It didn't break. It didn't crack.
It vanished into a cloud of fragments.
The sound of the explosion echoed throughout the entire area.
A chill ran down my spine.
If that had hit me…
I didn't finish the thought.
I advanced again.
The sequence of attacks I unleashed next was not meant to hit. It was meant to push. To force space. To force movement.
He blocked with absurd precision.
But unlike before, I could make him move.
One step.
Then another.
The ground kept breaking beneath our feet.
Behind me, I heard the sound of magic being released and Elara's restrained cry of effort. Liriel kept her light active, even knowing it wasn't having its usual effect. Vespera moved in circles around her copy, trying to find a pattern. Rai'kanna and Lyannis fought together, coordinated, preventing theirs from gaining ground.
No one was winning.
But no one was falling.
That was what kept me standing.
The General suddenly advanced with greater speed than before.
I barely managed to raise my defense.
The impact broke through my guard and something grazed my arm.
I felt the cut.
Hot.
Immediate.
Blood began to run down.
I stepped back twice, breathing heavier.
He observed the wound.
"Your body is at its limit," he said.
I knew.
My muscles were stiff. My breathing no longer returned to normal between movements. The accumulated exhaustion of the past days was now demanding its price.
But I was still standing.
And that was enough.
He came again.
This time, with more force.
I dodged to the left and his strike went straight past me, hitting a rocky rise at the side.
The mountain simply split apart.
A crack opened from top to base as if it had been cut by an invisible blade. Half of the structure slid and collapsed with a roar that made the ground tremble.
Dust rose high.
I stared at it for a second.
That wasn't a normal strike.
It was pure destruction.
If I hadn't moved…
I focused on him again.
I couldn't keep exchanging blows like this.
I needed to finish it.
I advanced with everything I had left.
My sword met his once more, but now I wasn't holding back any strength.
I pushed.
He was forced to step back.
One more step.
Another.
I used the momentum and spun my body, concentrating all my strength into the next strike.
My blade came down violently.
He dodged.
The attack hit the ground.
The earth split open.
A massive fissure ran across the field ahead of us, cutting through trees, rocks, and roots as if they were paper.
The trail of destruction extended for dozens of meters.
My breath faltered for a second.
That was everything I had.
And still I didn't hit him.
The General looked at me with something different in his eyes.
"That power," he said. "Now I understand."
I understood too.
I didn't have the energy for many strikes like that.
Maybe one more.
Maybe.
My arm was already growing heavy. The cut burned. My legs were slower.
And he noticed.
He advanced.
I blocked on reflex, but the impact was too strong.
I was thrown backward, my feet dragging across the ground until I stopped several meters away.
My vision blurred for a moment.
I spat blood.
I stood up anyway.
In the distance, I heard Lyannis shout my name.
Rai'kanna answered something I couldn't understand.
Elara released another spell that illuminated the area for a second.
Vespera kept moving without pause.
Liriel maintained her light, even while panting.
They were still fighting.
I couldn't fall.
The General now walked toward me without hurry.
"You already know," he said. "You are cornered."
Yes.
I was.
Not by him.
But by time.
I had no margin left.
Either I landed the next strike…
Or it would end there.
I took a deep breath.
Ignored the pain.
Ignored the exhaustion.
Ignored the blood.
Gripped the sword with both hands.
If I was going to try, it would be now.
I didn't need to win.
I needed to hit.
Just once.