205 CCV. The Bulwark

Gridd was so fast that immediately after the parry, she snapped forward, pointing the other sword at her opponent's throat, stopping it less than an inch from his skin.

He remained motionless, sweating cold and dropping his weapons to the ground, as a sign of surrender.

"Hahahaha! What an incredible skill! Look, warriors! Admire the strength of our new ally!" yelled Dargeon, praising Gridd, who within seconds had managed to prove her superiority.

"Your sister is very strong. Her fighting style reminds me of your mother's... She also used to fight with two swords when she was young" Egil whispered to Dag.

"Yes, she is. Much of what I know about combat is to her credit. Every time she came back home, we trained near our farm and she taught me some of her techniques. She is an exceptional fighter, very precise and versatile" he confirmed, looking proudly at his sister as she was cheered by the crowd.

"There is no point in fighting with two weapons and using them as one! The real strength of dual-wielding combat lies in the speed of attacks. The blades of my swords never touch each other, except to parry heavy strikes" Gridd said to her opponent as he gathered his weapons from the ground.

"But by joining them if necessary, my attacking force increases! I've never faced someone this fast, otherwise, I'm sure it would work!" he replied, accepting the defeat.

"The power of the attack increases, this is true... but what about their speed? If you want to hit with heavy attacks I recommend using a double-headed axe or a sledgehammer. Anyway, these are just tips, if you want, when I get back to Hevnen you can come with me and learn more about this fighting style" she smiled, offering to train the warrior.

"Really? That would be great! I gladly accept the offer, Master Gridd!" he exclaimed, bowing out of respect.

"After only one fight, the first signs of the Alliance begin to take shape! Clearly, anyone who wants to follow her to learn more about dual-wield is free to go! And the same goes for the warriors of your Clan, Gridd. The doors of the Temple Of Orn will always be open for you" Dargeon said, noting what had just happened.

The Clan warriors began chatting to each other, excited about the news, while Gridd's opponent returned to his companions, defeated but happy to have a chance to perfect his fighting style.

"Now... who wants to see our new Master fight? Hahaha!" shouted Dargeon again, walking in the middle of the courtyard.

Dag walked towards him as the crowd couldn't wait to watch the next fight.

"Go easy on that old man!" chuckled Egill, suggesting Dag not to fight at full power.

"Egill, I can hear you! Don't annoy my opponent!" said Dargeon aloud, after a boy walked out of the group of warriors and handed him his shield and axe.

"Hahah! There's no need to warn me, Master! I'm excited to fight him, I've never challenged a Master Of Defense!" said Dag, enthusiastically, detaching both of his weapons from the magnets on his belt.

"Wow! Your equipment has undergone various upgrades! You have become a true warrior, worthy of wearing the hammer-shaped symbol of the Hammers Of Thor!" continued Dargeon, studying Dag's armor and belt in every detail.

Dag merely smiled and put himself in a combat position, unleashing the audience of warriors, in disbelief to be watching a friendly fight between Masters.

Dargeon raised his shield in front of him: it was a huge tower shield, almost two meters high. The other arm held a one-handed axe, pointed backwards, with its tip to the ground.

The two challengers began to walk in circles, trying to guess their weaknesses before attacking.

Dag charged first, to understand Dargeon's reaction and his parry style.

He tried to hit him with the axe and he spun, moving back the shield and parrying with his weapon.

After the two axes collided, emitting sparks, Dargeon rotated on himself and counterattacked with the heavy shield, directed at Dag's chest, which he pushed back and hit him with the hammer, deflecting its trajectory.

The Clan warriors around them were galvanized and continued to cheer the two challengers.

"It's amazing! Instead of using the shield to parry the blow, he waved it trying to hit me! Thanks to the studs on its surface, that huge bulwark is capable of inflicting incredible damage" Dag thought, smiling, glad to challenge Dargeon, who looked at him by slamming the axe on the shield, provoking him.

Dag ran again towards him, without attacking, trying to surprise him in some way, in order to overcome his defense, but he remained with the shield up, stationary in his position.

When he arrived in front of him, who slightly lowered the bulwark to look better at his opponent, Dag jumped to the edge of the shield, leaping several meters into the air.

In mid-air, he raised the hammer to the sky and it was struck by a thin lightning bolt, which charged it with electricity, causing it to release purple sparks.

When the weapon fully charged, before falling down, Dag threw the Giantbane at Dargeon and he was forced to parry it with the shield, which was slightly decentralized.

Finally, after spotting a small breach in his opponent's defenses, Dag tried to hit him with a powerful Lightning Strike, in perfect Magni style.

Dargeon, though astonished by his former pupil's technique, still managed to lift the heavy metal bulwark: when the hammer and shield touched each other, the accumulated electricity was released and lightning bolts hit the surrounding ground.

"He hasn't moved an inch!" thought Dag, his eyes wide-open, after noticing that one of his strongest abilities, though not fully loaded, had barely vibrated the surface of Dargeon's shield.

"Hahahah! Nothing to do, boy!" he exclaimed, slightly moving the shield upwards, which suddenly released an enormous amount of energy, in the form of a shockwave, destabilizing Dag, who could barely land on his feet, under the incredulous eyes of his comrades, surprised by Dargeon's impenetrable defense.