Blood Elf Monarch

The female dark elf Illiana standing in front of Tristan at the moment was certainly one of the strongest individuals he ever met. She was a figure that had reached the same level as the ruler of Vanyar Kingdom Queen Leena, a peak Crescent Moon stage magus.

However, Tristan didn't show nor feel an ounce of concern at all. He just worried that defeating her would only create more trouble for him.

But then, it was as if Illiana knew what he was thinking as she said, "Of course, a normal duel will not really prove who is the better leader."

Tristan raised his brows at her words. With a smile that only he himself knew what it meant, he asked, "What do you have in mind then?"

It seemed the woman anticipated his reply and had prepared an answer beforehand as she immediately said, "We will have a duel in war."

Tristan saw Illiana turn to look at the king. She was asking for approval, and the latter gave it to her.

"Follow me!" she said, walking ahead. Tristan along with the king himself followed the energetic woman, walking toward a balcony of the palace that was facing a field filled with rising stones.

"Here is the battlefield for our duel," Illiana said as she turned around and stared intensely at Tristan.

He once again raised eyebrows as he looked upon the field before him. Glancing at the dark elf in interest, Tristan asked her about the details and specific arrangement of this so-called duel.

The two of them would be given one thousand Uruk each to be commanded as they see fit. The Uruks were known for their undeniable discipline and obedience. Hence Tristan knew when one was assigned to him, they would do the task given to them without the slightest bit of question.

Nodding his head at the arrangement set for the duel, Tristan saw Illiana pointed her finger at the two hills opposite and quite a distance away from each other. He didn't even need her to know that those two locations would be their starting and objective point.

"We will put a flag on each hill. The Uruk that could grab their opponent's flag first will be the winner." She turned to him and flashed a smile, "Sounds simple enough, right?"

Tristan could clearly see the entirety of the field from the balcony he was at. The multiple hill peaks and the sight of lava river flowed throughout the trenches on the ground. The field of battle was separated into three conspicuous paths, where each corridor was as long as a dozen miles.

She then continued her words, "Of course, you can lead the battle yourself. After all, that's what a leader is for. As for me, I will assign one of my trusted men to fight in my stead."

With this type of arena and the fact that only the Uruk was allowed to grab the flag, Tristan realized this fight was all about tactics. What determined the outcome of a situation where two opposing parties had equal strength would be the leader's ingenuity and insight on utilizing the resources they had.

As for Tristan, this kind of fight did seem very interesting in his eyes.

"Alright, I am in." said Tristan as he folded his hands. "What are we competing for?"

The female dark elf smiled and said, "If you could defeat me, I will admit my mistake and approve of you as a superior leader."

Tristan slightly frowned at her words. Any elf would consider such a duel of honor important, but for Tristan who wasn't an elf to begin with, this was not enough.

"No. It's not interesting at all." He then looked at Illiana and flashed his signature wicked smile, "I want to raise the stake"

Illiana also smiled wickedly and responded, "Ohh..! Confident, aren't you? Are you sure?"

"Yes. back in my homeland, there is this saying.. go big or go home."

Illiana chuckled "Alright! What do you want to bet on?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Tristan. "If I win, that means I'm a capable leader. Therefore, the dark elves shall follow my command for the coming battle."

It was at this moment that the female elf seemed hesitant, which surprised Tristan as this was a side of her he had not seen from her before. 

"With such a bet, I need you to agree on one thing.."

"Oh?" exclaimed Tristan curiously. "Name it."

"You shall not use your blood skill on the Uruks."

"Do you dare to accept this?"

Once again, the woman somehow knew one more of his secrets. The skill she meant was no other than the [Blood Seal]. Tristan himself knew and agreed that it was indeed such an overpowered skill in certain conditions, and it certainly won't be fair for the battle. Hence, he accepted the restriction imposed on him.

The moment Tristan voiced his agreement, Illiana showed a grin and said, "Alright then, it's settled. We have an agreement. Of course that means that if I win, I want the same thing. The Arcadian will follow my command for the incoming threat."

The way she quickly answered made Tristan feel as if she had been preparing for this all along. He couldn't help but feel he had stepped into a trap unknowingly and willingly.

Tristan glanced toward the king. His gaze literally asked the other party's affirmation about the matter, that Illiana could make such a bet with him. And surprisingly, the king smiled and said, "My daughter has been leading our kingdom's army for dozens of years. I'm sure you will be surprised with her capability, king of Arcadia."

The revelation was indeed surprising. But then, Tristan thought that since the other party had never really succeeded in war against Arcadia, her so-called talent probably didn't amount to much.

Returning his attention back to Illianan, Tristan nodded his head. "Alright, we have a deal."

The dark elf was grinning and said, "I will prepare the Uruks in an hour. In the meantime, I suggest you study the battlefield. I don't want you to cry later, saying that the battle was unfair."

Frankly, the words Illiana spoke made Tristan's confidence wavered a little. He was worried that he underestimated the situation too much, and therefore, decided to check on the battlefield in person.

As explained and seen with his own eyes, there were indeed three paths. All three were wide enough for a whole thousand Uruks to travel unhindered. However, each of them was by no means a smooth road.

There are several sections of the path that go up and down, just like a series of small hills. Each of the paths was also not a straight one, as it could branch out and have many different small paths. But in the end, all paths would converge to one end.

As for the black stones that separated the three paths, they were extremely high and at an angle of ninety degrees. Their existence completely denied any attempt to move to another main path halfway through.

The condition of the paths as well as the rocks conceived potential places for troops to hide and arrange an ambush.

Tristan tried to memorize the paths as much as he could, but he believed that it would come to his main strategy to eventually win the fight.

After an hour of surveying the site, Tristan went to one of the hills where the objective flag would be. A figure came right after he arrived and planted the flag that was supposedly to be the focus of the upcoming fight.

Tristan assumed the person would immediately leave after he set the flag when he saw the other party approached him.

"Princess Illiana has two messages for you, Arcadian King."

Tristan perked his ears up when he heard that woman had something for him.

"First, don't worry about killing all the Uruks. They can be easily replanted." the person said and Tristan nodded in acknowledgement. "And second, she said that if you want to back out, now is the last chance to do so."

Upon hearing the second part, Tristan burst into laughter. He couldn't help but find the female dark elf more hilarious in time.

His gaze turned toward the one thousand Uruks. All were well trained and well equipped. One could faintly feel the oppressive atmosphere around them as they thirsted for battle.

Flames seemingly flickered in Tristan's eyes as he stared upon the Uruks.

"Are you all ready?!!"

"Chiwikkk!! Chiwwikk!!"

Tristan looked to his right side and through his enhanced senses, saw that the balcony he had previously been on was filled with many dark elves. There was the king, the dark elf triplets, and a few dark elf elders. There was also, of course, Illiana who was staring at him with a smile.

On the other hill opposite of his, he could see the person he would fight against. It was a huge, muscular dark elf with a mask on his face. The one that only had affinity in metal elements.

Then, Tristan waited for what seemed to be the cue of the fight.

All of a sudden, bright objects could be seen shot through the air before exploding in the sky like a firework.. Looking at the beautiful display, Tristan knew the fight had finally started.