“Sir William, I have a proposal,” Princess Eowyn said as she stepped forward.
Elandorr tried to block her way, but the Princess went past him as she walked towards the Half-Elf who was sitting comfortably on a chair.
The two Blademasters followed behind her. When she was only twenty meters away from William, she finally stopped walking as she eyed her teacher’s son with genuine interest.
‘He has Lady Arwen’s eyes,’ Princess Eowyn thought. ‘Senior didn’t lie to me.”
Just as Princess Eowyn was appraising William, the latter was appraising her as well.
Deep inside, William felt guilty because he was using the Princess’s innocence to set his plan into motion. Although he didn’t want her to come into any harm, it was impossible not to have any conflicts since both of them stood on opposing sides.
“What is your proposal, Your Highness?” William asked as he fanned himself with his feather fan. “Forgive me if I don’t stand to kneel to you. My mood has not been good as of late. I’m sure that you can understand my hardships, yes?”
Princess Eowyn smiled as she brushed aside William’s disrespectful words towards her. If the Half-Elf had said this in the Silvermoon Continent, he would have been arrested immediately and thrown into jail. Still, the Princess tolerated William’s attitude because of her respect for her Master, Lady Arwen.
“We don’t need to fight against each other,” Princess Eowyn stated. “I can promise you that if you cooperate with us, I will make you the regent of the Hellan Kingdom. Naturally, it will still fall under Elven Rule, but I can guarantee the safety of you and your citizens.”
The Elves who heard their Princess’s proposal nodded their heads in agreement. If William was truly the son of their Saintess, they would be able to accept his rule as the regent of the Human kingdom that would soon fall under their rule.
“A tempting offer,” William replied with a smile. “However, what if I say no? What are you going to do, Your Highness?”
“Sir William, I am only the Supervisor of this expedition, and my authority is limited,” Princess Eowyn. “Bestowing you the regency of the Hellan Kingdom was already outside of my jurisdiction. However, on behalf of Lady Arwen, and your father, the Savior of the Elven Race, Lord Maxwell, I am willing to use the full authority of the Royal Family to confer upon you this title and authority.”
The Elven Princess looked at William pleadingly. “Please, let us join hands instead of pointing our weapons at each other. There’s no need for senseless killing because I believe that all lives are precious… even the lives of the Human race.”
Arslan, who had accompanied the Princess, and was listening to their conversation from within the forest, clenched his fists in anger.
This was the first time he was hearing something like this and he looked at William with a heated gaze. He was waiting for the Half-Elf’s reply to Princess Eowyn’s proposal.
“How about this Princess, I find that guy very annoying to the eye,” William said as he raised his chin and pointed it in Elandorr’s direction. “I have long wanted to experience for myself how strong an Elven Prodigy is. Of course, if the Elven Commander is scared to fight me one-on-one then he can invite a few more lackeys to help him. I don’t particularly mind.”
William’s declaration caught Princess Eowyn by surprise. She then turned her head to look at Elandorr whose expression had returned to its calmness.
“Sir William, you wish to fight with Commander Elandorr in a duel?”
“Yeah. Unless he is scared of me.”
Elandorr smiled evilly as he held the sword in his hand firmly. “I accept this duel. To show my reverence to the Saintess, I will do my best to hold back. Of course, blades have no eyes, I will apologize in advance if I accidentally kill you.”
“Okay.” William nodded. He was unfazed by Elandorr’s attempt to hide his killing intent.
William had already known from the start that Elandorr was dead set in killing him. However, he was not afraid. Because he wasn’t fighting alone.
‘Finish this as soon as you can,’ Ashe said from within William’s Sea of Consciousness. ‘You can’t fight prolonged battles.’
‘Understood,’ William replied.
He summoned his wooden staff as he stood from the chair and walked towards Elandorr. He hadn’t lied when he said that he was itching to test his skills against an Elven Prodigy. His Master, Celine had said that he wasn’t strong enough to face one back then. However, he was no longer the twelve-year-old boy that suffered under Celine’s beatings.
William was feeling excited at the thought of beating the crap out of the pompous Elven Commander in front of his subordinates.
What William didn’t know was that Elandorr as also thinking of the same thing. He wanted to beat up and even cripple the son of the Human Hero that saved their race from the Demon Invasion. He wanted to show everyone that the Elves no longer needed anyone’s protection, especially protection from a filthy half blood.
“Ensure his life,” Princess Eowyn silently ordered the Blademasters that stood behind her. “The son of the Saintess cannot be killed by Elven hands. I will not be able to face my Master if that were to happen.”
The two Blademasters nodded their heads. They were the guardians of the Royal Family, so their orders were absolute.
“I’ll give you a handicap,” Elandorr said as he pointed his sword at William’s face. “I will not use any magic against you. I will beat you using only my sword technique.”
“Okay,” William replied. “Are you ready?”
“Do your worst. Half blood,” Elandorr sneered.
William smiled as he raised his hand towards the sky.
Suddenly, a flaming spear descended from the heavens and William caught it in a firm grip.
“Bloom in the battlefield!” William declared as he aimed his spear at the pompous Elf whose face immediately turned grim when he felt the overwhelming power behind the blazing weapon in William’s hands.
“Fleur Du Soleil!”
Elandorr roared as he unleashed his Magic Power to activate a magical artifact that the Patriarch of his Clan had given him as a life saving trump card.
A dome of light appeared in front of the young Elven Commander as he braced for impact.
One of the two Blademasters protecting Princess Eoywn grabbed her waist and instantly teleported away to protect her from harm.
The other Blademaster summoned his sword and shield. He stayed because he planned to save Elandorr if the latter’s defenses were destroyed by William’s overbearing attack.
While everyone had prepared themselves for whatever was going to happen next, the flaming spear suddenly stopped and shot up towards the sky.
It was then when a chuckle filled with ridicule and contempt reached Elandorr’s ears.
“What were you saying earlier?” William asked in arrogance. “You’re going to give me a handicap and not use your magic powers? It hasn’t even been half a minute and you already used your magic.”
William raised a finger and wagged it side to side. “Do not make promises you can’t keep. Have you woken up from your daydream, you pompous little prick?”
