In Aurelion's mind, a single word echoed "Silverfang." This girl, with every fiber of her being, proclaimed that she was a part of that noble and powerful clan.
As the girl continued to stare at Aurelion, she suddenly turned to Roric. She assumed a formal stance with her body, quickly brought her right hand to the left side of her chest.
"Captain Roric!"
Roric acknowledged the salute with a nod.
"I am Ylva Silverfang. I apologize for the disturbance." After this brief formality, she turned directly back to Aurelion.
She pointed her hand at Aurelion and spoke. "I challenge you, Elf!"
Aurelion froze for a moment. His gaze flickered first to the Captain, then to Faelan.
Faelan coughed lightly, cleared his throat as if preparing for an important speech, and then fixed his eyes on Aurelion. "What didn't you understand, lad? The girl is challenging you."
Aurelion raised an eyebrow and looked at Ylva. "I refuse."
"What?!" With this answer, Ylva, Faelan, and Sigrid all raised their voices in surprise at the same time.
"You..." Ylva began, her voice trembling. "Have you no honor? Why do you refuse?"
"Why should I accept?" Aurelion said with a shrug. "Besides, what's with this nonsense of a challenge?"
Faelan, Sigrid, and Ylva's mouths were agape.
Faelan took a deep breath. "What the hell are you saying, lad?!"
Aurelion looked at Faelan, trying to understand his reaction. Just then, Roric interjected.
"Brat, in the North, especially among warrior peoples like us, such challenges are sacred. They are a display of honor and courage." He glanced briefly at Ylva. "Accept the girl's challenge."
Aurelion rolled his eyes. "So? Can anyone who gets bored just come and challenge me, and I have to accept?"
"Yes, lad!" Faelan interjected immediately. "Well, almost! Of course, these challenges have some conditions. For example, in your case, you're still a small child, and your opponent is a sweet, adorable little girl..." He ignored the death glare Ylva shot at him. "...or are you afraid of getting a good beating from that gir-"
Roric, continued. "If there isn't an obvious disparity in power and skill between the challenger and the challenged, refusing such a challenge is considered cowardice and a great dishonor."
Aurelion began to understand the situation. His gaze returned to Ylva.
"Alright. What happens if I beat her? Do I get a medal?"
Ylva's brows furrowed more.
"Hmm, good question!" Faelan said, pretending to think. "If you beat her... you'll have officially proven in Ulfgard that you're stronger than a small, cute girl, lad! What a great honor!"
This time, Ylva's glare turned to Faelan. "I will not tolerate any more disrespect!"
She turned back to Aurelion. "I will ask again, Elf. Do you accept my challenge, or not?"
Aurelion was not at all pleased with this annoying situation. He had been somewhat forced to accept, but inwardly, he was also curious about how the granddaughter of the Silverfang Clan Leader fought. He didn't take this girl seriously, but maybe, just maybe, she could surprise him.
"Alright. I accept."
"Wonderful!" Faelan shouted. "Then I shall be your referee!"
Sigrid also stepped forward excitedly. "I'll watch you to bear witness!"
Brynja also nodded silently. "Me too," she said, and added, nudging Sigrid, "if the Captain permits, of course..."
Roric had watched all this commotion with an expressionless face. Finally, he spoke. "I will also bear witness. Let's move to the training room."
With Roric's clear command, the group headed towards the training room.
Roric, as usual, led the way. Aurelion and Ylva walked side by side.
Ylva's black eyes stared straight ahead, her jaw clenched. It was clear from her every demeanor that she was determined to teach this Elf child a lesson.
At Roric's instruction, the group moved to the training room. The room was as usual. A few simple weapons hanging on the walls, other training dummies standing in the corner, and that massive, black rock in the middle. However, one dummy was different from the others. Its surface was blackened, splinters flying off in places.
This single difference in the orderly room did not escape Ylva's notice. Her eyes briefly lingered on that dummy, then she noticed a spear leaning upright against the wall, just outside the weapon rack.
Aurelion and Ylva took their places opposite each other in the middle of the room.
Faelan, with exaggerated seriousness, stepped right between them.
Faelan, opening his arms theatrically, began to speak "Yes, ladies and gentlemen! Today, here in this humble but glorious arena, we have gathered for an honorable challenge fight between two young and powerful warriors!"
He paused, gesturing towards Ylva. "On one side," looking at Ylva's scowling face. "the shining star of the Silverfang Clan, who hides sharp claws beneath that world sweet smile, who defeats her opponents with this sweetness, Ylvaaaa Silverfang!" he shouted, starting to applaud. Sigrid also giggled and joined in the enthusiastic applause.
When the applause died down, Faelan turned to Aurelion this time. "And on the other side, our poor Elf Aureliooon, who hasn't been able to stay out of trouble since the day he arrived, which is quite understandable given he's the only High Elf among us, who has suffered the blows of fate but has not given up!" He started applauding himself again, and Sigrid accompanied him.
When the applause subsided, Faelan turned to Aurelion. "Well then, lad," he said, trying to put on a serious expression. "As the challenged party, the right to determine the conditions of this honorable fight belongs primarily to you. Tell us, what kind of showdown will we witness?"
Aurelion pretended to think for a moment. "How are these challenges usually done?"
Faelan shrugged. "Well, you know, lad, usually the two sides try to rip each other's heads off. Whoever rips off the other's head first, wins. Quite simple."
Aurelion turned to Ylva. "You say. I want the fight to be unarmed. You decide the other rules."
Ylva was a little surprised by Aurelion's attitude but maintained her seriousness and turned to Faelan.
"Referee. The fight will continue until one side is unable to fight, surrenders, or..." her voice hesitated slightly here, as if unsure, "...or the referee decides that one side has clearly won and the continuation of the fight is meaningless."
Faelan looked at them both in turn. "You guys are so boring," he said with disappointment.Then he shrugged "Alright!" called them both to his side.
Aurelion and Ylva took a step closer to each other. Faelan spoke in a whisper, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Biting, scratching, spitting, insulting, cheating, making funny faces to distract your opponent, any kind of vileness you can think of is allowed! Eat each other alive!"
Aurelion and Ylva stared blankly at Faelan.
"I'm sure these rules are not usually like this," Ylva said.
"Silence! If I'm the referee, my rules apply! Now get to your places!"
Aurelion and Ylva returned to their starting points. As Aurelion was taking his position, he made eye contact with Roric.
Roric, noticeably, made a gesture with his hand, signaling him to be slow.
Aurelion wasn't planning on using energy against this girl or acting hastily anyway. His aim was to observe her and understand what the Silverfangs were after.
The two stood opposite each other in the middle of the fighting area, a few meters apart.
Faelan took a deep breath. "Then," he said in a loud voice. "Let the fight beg-"
Suddenly, Faelan's voice cut off. His hand was suspended in mid air, his eyes staring expressionlessly ahead. He had frozen.
Ylva was momentarily startled by Faelan's strange movement. Just then, she was instinctively about to make a move forward, but Faelan's frozen state distracted her. She stumbled slightly, looking at Faelan in bewilderment.
Aurelion, however, was no longer surprised by Faelan's condition. On the contrary, this was an opportunity for him. In the second Faelan froze, his eyes caught Ylva's momentary hesitation and the opening in her guard.
Faelan suddenly came to, completing his sentence as if nothing had happened: "-in!"
But as that word left his mouth, Aurelion had already launched himself. While Ylva's mind was still muddled by Faelan's strangeness.
Ylva, coming to her senses at the last moment, noticed Aurelion rushing towards her.
She tried to take a step back with a quick reflex, but Aurelion had already closed the distance. The Elf child's fist struck Ylva's abdomen, right below her diaphragm.
"Guh!"
A pained sound escaped Ylva's lips, her breath knocked out by the blow. Her eyes widened for a moment, her body instinctively doubled over.
"And the first blood, pardon me, the first blow comes from our poor Elf, ladies and gentlemen!" Faelan shouted enthusiastically, clapping his hands. "Our Silver Princess seems to have been caught a bit off guard! Or did she have too much for breakfast?" Sigrid giggled, while Brynja shot Faelan a warning look.
It didn't take Ylva long to recover. After a few deep breaths, she straightened up, her face slightly flushed from the blow, but her black eyes were on fixed Aurelion.
Aurelion, meanwhile, stood a few steps away from Ylva, in a half guard, an annoying smirk on his face. "What's wrong, Silverfang? Did you drop your money or something?"
Ylva gritted her teeth. But she tried to control her anger. She took a deep breath, positioned her hands slightly in front of her and looked at Aurelion. "Come,"
The smirk on Aurelion's face widened. "With pleasure."
He approached Ylva with relaxed steps, as if out for a stroll, and then suddenly accelerated, assuming one of the basic attack positions of the Northern Mountain Stance, and attacked Ylva.
He threw a straight, powerful punch.
Ylva displayed surprising agility against Aurelion's attacks. Moving her body like a snake, she dodged Aurelion's punches skillfully by leaning back and sidestepping.
"My, my! Ylva is practically dancing with our poor Elf! But our Elf isn't idle either, constantly applying pressure! When will this cat and mouse game end?"
Ylva, as if not hearing Faelan's words, continued to evade Aurelion's attacks.
Then suddenly, just as one of Aurelion's punches was about to find its mark, Ylva ducked under the blow and launched her own attack with the same fluid motion.
A fast, sharp left hook flew towards Aurelion's face, followed by a right straight.
Aurelion wasn't surprised by Ylva's sudden counter-attack. Using the basic blocks of the Northern Mountain Stance, he parried the first blow, and dodged the second by slightly sidestepping.
Ylva's attacks were fast, but Aurelion's defense was also solid.
Ylva looked at Aurelion "Are you really going to fight me with this technique, Elf? I learned this technique, the Northern Mountain Stance, when I was four."
Upon Ylva's words, Aurelion glanced at Roric out of the corner of his eye, his brows slightly furrowed.
A faint smirk had appeared on Roric's face. Just then, Ylva, seeing Aurelion's momentary distraction and an opening in his guard, lunged forward quickly.
However, this was an opening Aurelion had deliberately given. He easily dodged Ylva's oncoming attack by pulling his head back at the last moment and sent a hard knee strike towards Ylva's exposed abdomen.
"Ghaak!"
Ylva's breath was knocked out of her once again. Her body bent from the impact of the knee strike, and she once again doubled over in pain.
A deep anger mixed with shame appeared in her eyes. She looked at Aurelion again.
Aurelion was looking at Ylva with that same annoying half guard and that mocking smirk on his face. "I guess this Northern Mountain Stance technique is more than enough for you, Silverfang."
"Now that's class!" Faelan shouted. "Our Elf has officially adopted the simple but effective philosophy! And Ylva looks like she's fallen into the same trick twice! Ah, youth..."
Ylva took a deep breath, trying to swallow her pain and anger. She straightened up, changing her stance.
She spread her feet shoulder width apart, bent her knees slightly, and lowered her body a bit more. She held her arms low, almost at knee level, her fingers slightly curled. She tensed her legs, planting her feet firmly on the ground. Her eyes were locked on Aurelion.
"Not again," she said "this won't happen again." She locked her gaze on Aurelion. "This technique... Serial Claw Technique!"
The smirk on Aurelion's face spread even wider. "You Silverfangs need to work a bit more on naming things. Kitten Scratch would have been more appropriate, don't you think?"
Ylva didn't respond to this last comment. As Aurelion assumed the Northern Mountain Stance again, Ylva suddenly shot forward.
With the power from her low stance, she began to run towards Aurelion with incredible speed. Because she moved low and constantly changed direction, Aurelion had difficulty predicting exactly where and how she would attack.
Ylva circled Aurelion like a shadow, trying to break Aurelion's defense with fast and serial claw like strikes at every opportunity.
"This is it! This is a true Silverfang!" Faelan cheered. "Our Elf is now cornered! How will he escape these claws? Or will he be scratched by a sweet little kitten?"
Aurelion was indeed struggling against Ylva's new and fast attacks. The static nature of the Northern Mountain Stance was proving insufficient against Ylva's dynamic and fluid assaults.
He realized he needed to change his current passive situation. For a few seconds, he observed Ylva's attacks, trying to catch the rhythm in her movements, the intervals between her attacks, and any possible openings.
Ylva, thinking she had momentarily opened Aurelion's guard, sent a punch with her left hand straight towards his face.
Aurelion was waiting for this exact moment. Calculating the angle and timing of the punch, he dodged it at the last second by tilting his head slightly to the side and simultaneously sent his own right punch as a counter-attack towards Ylva's exposed chin.
Just as Aurelion's counter-attack would land, Ylva, with instantly twisted her body sideways as Aurelion's punch was about to reach her face.
Her body, as if liquefied, flowed around Aurelion's fist, and she suddenly closed in dangerously on Aurelion.
Not only had she nullified Aurelion's counter-attack, but she had also created a perfect attack position for herself. And without hesitation, she delivered a sharp blow from below, upwards towards Aurelion's completely exposed chin.
Crack!
Aurelion staggered backward from this blow to his chin. His eyes had widened in surprise.
He definitely hadn't expected such a move, such a counter. This girl... this girl was truly talented.
He quickly tried to shake off the stunning effect of the blow and began to prepare for a counter-attack, but Ylva, instead of continuing her assault, had retreated a few steps.
A confident smirk was on her face. "I might fall for the same trick twice, Elf but not a third time." And she lunged towards Aurelion again.
Sigrid and Brynja were clearly surprised by this move, while the smile on Roric's face widened. Faelan excitedly lifted his head.
"FINALLY! Our poor Elf finally got a taste of our sweet kitten's claw right in the middle of his face!"
Aurelion, faced with these words and Ylva's growing confidence, a smirk began get wider on his face.
It was clear that he couldn't defeat this girl by relying solely on the Northern Mountain Stance. Ylva was too accustomed to this basic technique, and her own "Serial Claw Technique" provided a clear advantage against this stance. It was time to change strategy.
He took a deep breath and changed his stance. Maintaining the solid foundation of the Northern Mountain Stance, he transitioned into his own mixed martial arts technique.
"Ohooo! Our Elf is changing tactics! Will this new trick work against our sharp clawed kitten?"
Ylva immediately noticed this sudden change in Aurelion's stance. She hesitated for a moment.
She sent a few probing strikes towards Aurelion.
Aurelion, now more comfortably, parried these blows by slapping them away with his hands and sidestepping, and suddenly sent a low kick towards Ylva's legs.
Ylva, noticing this low kick at the last moment, dodged it by lightly turning and jumping over it, and continued to probe Aurelion.
Aurelion, similarly to Ylva's low stance, tightened his guard and bent his knees, lowering himself. Both his hands came up to his chin level, assuming a stance reminiscent of a boxer.
He tilted his head slightly forward, moving his shoulders, and began to advance slowly towards Ylva.
Ylva, though momentarily hesitate, she threw a series of punches.
Aurelion, skillfully moving his head left and right, dodged these punches and, capitalizing on an opening he caught in Ylva's guard, began to send his own fast and serial blows.
Ylva struggled against Aurelion's blows coming from such close range and different angles, trying to evade by moving her body.
Just then, Aurelion noticed Ylva's momentary imbalance and, landed a hard punch with his left hand accurately on Ylva's liver.
Ylva let out a silent groan from the blow to her liver. The pain had spread throughout her body, but she didn't give up. She gritted her teeth and resisted the pain.
Aurelion, however, remembered the unwritten rule very well.
An uppercut always follows a liver shot! And he delivered a powerful uppercut from below.
Ylva, noticed the uppercut coming towards her chin at the last moment and, with all her strength, pulled her head backward.
Aurelion's uppercut grazed just below Ylva's nose. However, Ylva's already unstable body lost its balance even more and she stumbled backward, falling onto her back.
As the smirk on Aurelion's face widened even more with the excitement of the fight, he looked at the fallen girl.
"What's wrong, Silverfang! I'm just getting started,"