Regaleon: The Forgotten Knight

The crowd was not the only one left astonished. Even Aldren found himself momentarily dumbfounded...

The instant their weapons collided, he had expected his superior physique and charging momentum to overwhelm Maverick outright. Yet instead of driving the young man backward, he found his spear locked firmly against the broadsword, unable to gain even an inch.

For a fleeting moment, bewilderment filled his eyes. Then almost immediately, that confusion melted away, replaced by an unmistakable belligerent exhilaration.

A wild, almost maniacal grin spread across his face as he spoke. ”I didn’t misjudge you.”

His voice was thick with excitement as he continued pressing his spear against Maverick’s blade.

Despite the tremendous pressure bearing down on him, Maverick merely raised an eyebrow.

”If you had...” He replied evenly. ”I doubt you would’ve challenged me in the first place.”

Aldren’s grin widened but gave no response. Instead of answering, he let his actions speak...

His wrists suddenly rotated.

Rather than contesting the clash of strength, he rolled the shaft of the spear beneath Maverick’s broadsword, allowing the blade to glide along the polished steel. The shift broke the bind almost effortlessly.

The instant Maverick’s sword skated free of the spear’s shaft, Aldren exploded into another attack.

Using the elasticity of his previous movement, he whipped the middle section of the spear upward in a vicious rising strike aimed beneath Maverick’s guard...

WHOOSH!

The metallic shaft tore through the air...

Yet Maverick had already anticipated the transition. Instead of retreating recklessly, he simply slid one foot backward.

It was a movement so small it was almost imperceptible. The spear swept upward before his chest, missing him by barely an inch...

Before Aldren could recover the extended weapon, Maverick’s wrists rotated fluidly. The broadsword traced a tight arc overhead before descending like a falling guillotine with both hands tightened around the hilt.

The heavy blade crashed downward...

CLANG!

Aldren reacted with instincts honed through countless training...

His hands shot upward, the spear rising horizontally above his head, intercepting the descending broadsword.

Metal screamed against metal, accompanied by spark flying through the air...

The impact forced Aldren’s knees to bend ever so slightly. The sheer weight behind Maverick’s strike was astonishing; yet Aldren’s monstrous physique refused to yield.

Muscles bulged beneath his training attire as he absorbed the force head-on...

However, Maverick had never expected that attack to succeed. The downward slash had merely been the beginning. Therefore, the very instant their weapons locked again, he abandoned the notion of forcing his blade through.

Instead, his right leg suddenly exploded forward; not toward Aldren’s chest, but directly toward his solar plexus...

The kick itself was compact and efficient as there was almost no wasted motion. It was the kind of strike forged not through flashy techniques but through countless life-and-death battles where every movement had to matter.

Aldren’s pupils contracted. Reacting entirely on instinct, he pushed explosively off his rear foot.

His body shot backward while his spear naturally followed, guided by years of relentless training.

This caused the kick to sweep harmlessly through empty air, hitting nothing but.

Now, several meters separated them and silence briefly settled over the arena.

Aldren remained crouched lightly with his spear held diagonally before him.

The grin never left his face, but something within his eyes had changed. The blazing martial fervor remained, yet beneath it now lingered an unmistakable seriousness.

Earlier, he had merely suspected Maverick possessed considerable skill. But now, he knew.

There was no longer even the slightest room for doubt. The youth standing before him truly deserved to stand upon this arena. And more than that, he deserved Aldren’s complete attention...

A faint appreciation surfaced within the towering youth’s gaze as he muttered almost entirely to himself. ”So, it seems the Frozen North really does produce monsters.”

Meanwhile, Maverick’s expression remained utterly composed.

It was almost as though everything that had transpired moments earlier had been nothing more than routine.

And perhaps, to him, it truly was.

Ever since awakening his Soul Essence, he had hunted ferocious Beasts across the Frozen North.

He had fought creatures whose claws could split stone and whose jaws could crush steel. When compared to those encounters, a friendly spar between fellow cultivators lacked the same pressure.

That did not mean he underestimated Aldren, far from it. Rather, if Aldren truly wished to force Maverick into revealing more of himself, then he would first have to earn it.

The brief interlude lasted only a heartbeat. Then Aldren moved again...

This time there were no flourishing spear rotations and no elaborate feints; only simplicity.

The spear shot forward; direct and decisive. Exactly as a spear should be.

Its polished tip flashed beneath the morning sun while Aldren leaned fully into the thrust, driving his entire body behind the attack like a veteran infantryman charging through the breach of an enemy formation.

It was a strike designed not merely to wound, but to dominate space. It is meant to force Maverick into reacting on Aldren’s terms...

Maverick also answered with equal simplicity.

He pivoted upon his lead foot, causing his body to slip slightly to the side.

The flat of his broadsword brushed against the spear’s shaft. Rather than stopping the attack, however, he merely redirected it.

It was the smallest of movements; yet one executed with exquisite precision as instead of opposing Aldren’s momentum, Maverick borrowed it and guided it.

He attempted to let inertia carry the larger youth harmlessly past him. Unfortunately, Aldren was no novice himself.

The instant he sensed the change in trajectory, his forward foot slammed into the arena...

BOOM!

His charge halted almost unnaturally.

Without losing balance, he twisted at the waist while the spear described a broad horizontal arc, its blade whistling viciously toward Maverick’s ribs.

Maverick reacted immediately.

The broadsword rose vertically before him, his stance lowered, and his weight settled...

CLANG!

Steel collided with steel. Bright sparks scattered across the arena once more...

A ripple of force swept outward before the formation beneath their feet quietly absorbed the excess energy.

The two weapons remained locked for only an instant; but that instant was enough.

Maverick rotated his wrists. The broadsword slid along the spear’s shaft before suddenly darting inward like a serpent seeking an opening.

Its edge flashed toward Aldren’s neck...

Aldren’s response bordered on instinct as the butt end of the spear whipped upward...

CLANG!

The incoming blade struck the hardened shaft instead...

Neither combatant paused for a second.

The moment the impact occurred, Aldren pivoted sharply and the collision successfully redirected Maverick’s sword away from his neck.

Then using the opening created by the deflection, he twisted his hips and swept the spearhead in a vicious crescent toward Maverick’s exposed flank.

It was an inescapable strike. Or at least, that was how it appeared as the attack had been timed perfectly.

Maverick’s sword was already committed elsewhere and there wasn’t enough time to recover it for another block nor could he simply step backward without risking the spear following through.

Yet, Maverick remained calm and not panicked.

His feet left the ground. Rather than retreating conventionally, he sprang backward just enough for the spearhead to whistle inches before his abdomen.

But the moment his boots touched the arena, Aldren attacked again...

The spear lunged forward in relentless pursuit. There was no hesitation or pause; only pressure.

Seeing the thrust arrive, Maverick did something that caused several veteran knights to narrow their eyes.

His left hand shot forward.

Instead of grabbing the shaft, his palm clamped firmly around the spearhead’s base, just beneath the blade. This action of his caused the thrust to stop almost instantly.

Gasps erupted from the surrounding spectators when they saw that dangerous move.

One mistake and his hand would have been torn apart. But thankfully, it was successful...

Aldren’s eyes gleamed. Then without hesitation, he poured more strength into the weapon, attempting to overpower Maverick through sheer force.

But Maverick was already moving. Rather than resisting directly, he turned with the spear.

His body rotated around the line of attack allowing the spearhead to slip harmlessly past his side.

His fingers released their grip at precisely the right moment. And in that same motion, his broadsword flashed...

A heavy horizontal slash roared toward Aldren’s torso...

Aldren ducked instinctively as the blade hissed over his head, close enough to stir his tied hair.

For the briefest instant, relief flickered across his face... But it was too soon.

Maverick had never intended for that slash to be decisive.

His momentum continued naturally; his hips rotated and his rear leg suddenly whipped around...

THUD!

The kick slammed squarely into Aldren’s side. But unlike the previous strike aimed at the solar plexus, this one landed cleanly.

The tremendous force staggered the towering youth several steps sideways, his footing breaking for the first time since the duel began.

His stance opened as his center of gravity shifted. And for a warrior as observant as Maverick, that single flaw was all the invitation he needed...