Saving The Monster Race Starts With Breeding The Elf Village

The moment Luca accepted the battle and stood ready to face Sigrid, the entire valley erupted with excitement.

”YOU CAN DO IT, SIGRID!”

”SHOW HIM THE MIGHT OF THE GALLOPING BRIGADE!”

”FOR THE QUEEN! FOR HONOR!”

Hooves stomped against the earth in rhythmic thunder, and voices rose in a chorus of encouragement that echoed across the hills.

The older ones, though more restrained, wore expressions of fierce pride.

It was a strange thing, this shift in atmosphere.

Earlier, when Luca had first arrived and everything had seemed so tense, the centaurs had been prepared for a grim outcome.

Every single one of them knew that if Luca had accepted the battle, Sigrid would lose no matter what. Sad, but predictable.

Because of this, a sense of gloom would have settled over the brigade like a funeral shroud, because Sigrid was their strongest.

She was the pillar upon which their morale rested.

To see her broken so easily, no matter how justified by Luca’s legendary status, would have been a blow to their collective spirit.

But that wasn’t the point anymore.

What mattered was that their commander had stood her ground. She had faced down the most terrifying being on the planet and refused to back down.

Even when he threatened her with death itself, she had held firm, and in doing so, she had earned something far more valuable than victory—she had earned his respect.

That was no small thing.

Even Sigrid herself felt that warm bloom of pride spreading through her chest as she watched Luca regard her with those sharp, calculating eyes.

She didn’t know him personally, not really.

She only knew the legends: the Hero who had saved the continent, the man who had stood against the human invasion, the being who had supposedly done...things...in those dreams she tried very hard not to think about.

But right now, in this moment, he was looking at her not as a nuisance or a child throwing a tantrum, but as a warrior worth facing.

And that recognition, coming from probably the strongest being on the entire planet, made her stand a little taller.

With the cheers still ringing in her ears, Sigrid began to walk forward toward Luca.

But before she could take more than a few steps, she felt a small hand tugging at her armor.

She looked behind.

Poppy was still seated on her back, her legs dangling on either side of Sigrid’s horse-half, her emerald eyes wide with worry.

The queen’s earlier bravado had completely evaporated, replaced by the anxious expression of a child watching her protector walk into danger.

”Sigrid...” Poppy’s voice was small. ”Are you...are you sure about this?”

Sigrid’s expression softened. She reached back and gently patted Poppy’s hand.

”I have to, my lady. For your honor.”

”But what if he hurts you?” Poppy’s voice cracked slightly. ”What if he actually strips you like he said? What if he—”

”Then I’ll endure it.” Sigrid said, her voice gentle but firm. ”I am your knight, Lady Poppy. Your honor is my life. If I must face humiliation, pain, or even death to protect it, then I will do so gladly.”

Poppy’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.

”That’s stupid. That’s so stupid, Sigrid! I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

”Then you should have thought about that before you went wandering off to bathe in lakes.” Came a dry voice from beside them.

Both Sigrid and Poppy turned to see Thea approaching.

The deputy commander’s expression was calm, but there was a glint of amusement in her eyes.

”Thea!” Poppy pointed at her accusingly. ”This is not the time for jokes! My knight is about to fight a demon in human form!”

”A demon in human form who, I might add, is currently looking at us with a rather impatient expression.”

Thea observed, nodding toward Luca.

Sure enough, the Hero was standing in the center of the clearing, his sword held loosely in his hand, his eyebrow raised as if to say,

”Are we doing this or not?”

Thea reached up and gently lifted Poppy off Sigrid’s back, settling the queen onto her own.

”Come now, my lady. Let the commander do her duty.”

”But—”

”She’ll be fine.” Thea’s voice was reassuring. ”I’ve only spoken with the Hero for a few minutes, but I can tell he’s not the type to cause unnecessary harm.”

”He’s testing us, I think. Seeing what we’re made of.”

Poppy still looked reluctant. She didn’t want to see Sigrid hurt. She didn’t want to see anyone hurt.

All she wanted was for everyone to be safe and happy and together. That was the extent of her grand ambitions as queen.

But she knew she couldn’t stop this. The duel was a matter of honor now, and centaur honor was not something that could be simply waved away.

Poppy sniffled, then nodded slowly.

She turned to look at Sigrid one last time, her expression hardening into something that tried very hard to be authoritative.

”Sigrid Astria Silvermane. I, Poppy Ivoryhorn, Queen of the Centaurs and the Sole Unicorn of this Generation, do hereby command you...”

She paused, taking a deep breath.

”...to come back to me without a single scratch on you.”

Sigrid’s heart swelled. She bowed her head deeply, her silver mane cascading forward.

”As you command, My Lady!”

And with that, she turned and walked toward Luca, her heart pounding in her chest.

This was it!

This was probably the most important battle of her entire life!

—

The scene that unfolded before the assembled centaurs was almost comical in its proportions.

Luca stood there, a sword in his hand, looking for all the world like a man who had wandered into the wrong neighborhood.

He was tall for a human, certainly.

But compared to Sigrid, who towered over him with her massive equine lower body he looked like a child holding a stick.

The contrast was stark.

But everyone knew what was really going to happen.

Luca was probably going to give her a chance to attack and then finish it quickly. But no one was scared—they were all cheering with excitement.

”You can do it, Sigrid!”

”Just push him back one step! One step is enough!”

”Show off your amazing swordsmanship!”

”You can do it, Commander! Bring honor to us!”

Sigrid felt more and more encouraged with every cheer. She slowly pulled out her sword and held it with both hands, gripping it as tightly as she could and putting her entire strength into it.

She knew that if she faltered even for a moment, she wouldn’t stand a chance.

Her gaze hardened like a warrior going in for the kill!

Across from her, Luca loosely held his blade, lazily twirling it in a circle with a relaxed, easygoing smile.

’Honestly.’ Luca thought to himself, watching her lock into a full-power killing stance. ’I was just gonna parry her once and wrap this up in three seconds.’

But as he listened to the deafening chants of the centaurs and saw the fiery, beautiful resolve in Sigrid’s eyes, he changed his mind.

’Nah. Ending it in a split second is too cold. I’ll let her throw a few heavy swings, make it look like a real high-level clash, and then wrap it up cleanly.’

’Give them a good show and let her keep her dignity.’

Normally, a proud knight like Sigrid would despise being coddled or humored in a duel.

But given the absurd gap in their baseline power, Luca figured a little theatrical goodwill would go a long way in smoothing out diplomatic relations.

”Lady Poppy!” Thea called out from the sidelines, gently nudging the little unicorn. ”As the sovereign of these lands, you must officially signal the start of the duel.”

Poppy nodded quickly. She had done this dozens of times for friendly sparring matches among her knights.

Standing bare-footed on Thea’s back, she drew herself up, raising both of her small hands high into the air.

”This is an official duel!” Poppy announced, her childish voice trying its absolute best to sound regal and solemn. ”Between Commander Sigrid Astria Silvermane...and the human hero, Luca!”

She paused, shooting a very sharp, extremely suspicious glare directly at Luca.

”Let me remind you that this is a friendly spar! I expect both sides to exercise restraint and not take things too far!”

”Also no dirty tricks! A stripping! No perverts allowed!”

Luca just chuckled, giving her a playful wink that made her huff in annoyance.

Poppy raised her arms to their absolute peak.

”When my hands drop...the duel begins!”

In an instant, the deafening cheers vanished. The heavy pounding of hooves ceased.

A suffocating, absolute silence fell over the clearing. The air grew brittle with anticipation.

Sigrid felt like her entire body was coiled tighter than a spring.

Every muscle was tense, every nerve was firing.

She could feel the weight of her sword, the roughness of the hilt against her palms, the way her heart was hammering against her ribs like a caged animal.

’This is it.’ She thought. ’This is the moment.’

Poppy looked at both of them one last time. Then she sighed.

And brought her hand down.

—

The instant her palms fell, Sigrid didn’t hesitate.

She didn’t test the waters. She didn’t probe for weaknesses.

”HAAAAAAAH!”

With a terrifying, battle-crying roar, Sigrid lunged forward, her horse body exploding with terrifying thrusting power as she brought her silver broadsword high above her head.

She was going straight for an executioner’s overhead strike—a full-force, unrestrained cleave intended to split a mountain in half.

In a normal spar, using a lethal, unreserved killing blow was a massive breach of etiquette.

But Sigrid knew that trying to hold back against the Hero was an insult to his existence.

She had to hit him with everything she had, or she wouldn’t even touch his shadow!

Luca watched the heavy steel blade descending toward him.

Through sheer centaur muscle, that swing possessed enough power to cleave a normal man from shoulder to hip, painting the grass with his insides.

’Not bad.’ He thought. ’She’s got good form. Lots of power behind that swing. If I were a normal human, that would probably kill me.’

But he wasn’t a normal human. He was the Hero.

And to him, that sword was moving through molasses.

He casually raised his own sword to parry, not even bothering to put any real effort into it.

He was just going to deflect the blow, let her know that he was paying attention, and then give her a few more exchanges before ending it.

That was the plan, anyway.

The two swords met.

CLANG!

There was a sound like a thunderclap, and sparks flew through the air.

And then, to everyone’s absolute shock, Luca’s sword went flying out of his hand.

PAA!

It spun through the air like a discarded toy, end over end, before embedding itself in the ground several feet away with a dull thunk.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

The worst part was what happened next.

Because Sigrid’s sword, having met no resistance, continued its downward arc.

And Luca’s hand, which had been loosely holding his own blade, was still in the way.

Schlick!

The sound was sickeningly wet.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop.

The centaurs who had been cheering fell silent.

The ones who had been watching with bated breath went completely still.

Even the birds in the nearby trees seemed to hold their breath.

And then the chaos erupted.

”What in the world...”

”How...How could it be...”

Gasps of pure horror rippled through the crowd like a wave.

Some centaurs brought their hands to their mouths.

Others stared with wide, disbelieving eyes, as if they were trapped in a nightmare.

A few of the younger ones turned away, unable to bear the sight before them.

Because what they were seeing was...gruesome.

Luca’s hand—his right hand was no longer a hand.

It was split!

The blade had caught him at the perfect angle, slicing through the webbing between his fingers, traveling through the center of his palm, and continuing all the way up through his forearm.

The cut was clean, as if someone had taken a ruler and drawn a line straight down the middle of his arm.

Now his forearm hung in two separate pieces!

The left side dangled to the left. The right side dangled to the right.

Between them, one could see the exposed flesh, the sliced muscles, the cracked bones gleaming white against the red.

Blood began to pour out, thick and crimson, dripping onto the ground in a steady rhythm.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The first drop hit the earth, and the centaurs lost their minds.

”WHAT THE HELL?!”

”DID THE COMMANDER JUST—”

”SHE SLICED HIS HAND IN HALF?!”

”NOT JUST HIS HAND—HIS ENTIRE FOREARM!”

”LOOK AT IT! IT’S HANGING THERE LIKE A BLOOMING FLOWER!”

”HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!”