Chapter 403
"All named commanders and elite fighters—deploy to frontline combat. The humans have sent their senior officers to hunt our leadership. We meet them directly. Show them what happens when they underestimate us."
Commander Vex’ahlia with her eighteen elite demon warriors, purple-tinted skin and centuries of combat experience.
Skar, the serpentfolk chief whose natural predator instincts made him deadly in close combat.
Jessica remained at the medical stations, but her brother Kelvin carried her blessing into battle.
And from positions throughout the settlement came others:
Viss, the serpentfolk warrior known for having killed seventeen humans in personal combat over three days.
Thomas, the human builder who’d joined the settlement after being rescued from bandits, now fighting to defend his adopted home.
And others—named fighters who’d earned their reputations through three days of brutal combat.
The battle was about to evolve from mass warfare into a series of champion duels.
Major Aldrich was forty-seven years old, a twenty-nine-year veteran of the Church’s military. He’d fought in the Demon Wars, survived three sieges, commanded in forty campaigns.
He pushed through the eastern sector’s rubble with twenty elite soldiers following him, searching for the demon commander he’d observed coordinating the eastern defense.
Commander Vex’ahlia.
"Demon commander!" Aldrich called out, his voice carrying military authority. "Face me directly, or I’ll kill your soldiers one by one until you do!"
"A challenge. How... honorable." Her voice carried ironic amusement. "Very well, human commander. You want single combat? You’ll have it."
The demon warriors withdrew, creating a cleared space between Vex’ahlia and Aldrich.
This would be a duel.
They circled each other, weapons ready.
Commander Vex’ahlia’s dual swords intercepted the strike, deflecting it with minimal effort. Her counter-attack came instantly—both blades striking from different angles simultaneously.
Fast. Inhumanly fast.
Aldrich’s bastard sword moved in practiced patterns—cuts, thrusts, defensive positions learned over three decades of training. His holy blessed blade burned with divine energy every time it struck demonic flesh.
Aldrich scored first blood—a cut across Vex’ahlia’s thigh where his holy blade sliced through her guard. The wound sizzled with divine energy, burning deeper than a normal cut would.
Aldrich ducked, feeling the blades whistle over his helmet. His own counter caught Vex’ahlia’s side, opening a shallow cut that burned with holy fire.
"You’re skilled," Aldrich acknowledged. "But holy weapons burn demon flesh. Every cut weakens you. Eventually, divine energy will overcome supernatural vitality."
"Thirty-seven campaigns. One hundred seventeen personal combat duels. I’ve killed eighty-three opponents in single combat."
They engaged again.
Aldrich’s sword work was textbook perfect—military doctrine applied with precision and power. Every strike threatened vital areas. Every defensive position was optimal.
Aldrich scored a second hit—his sword catching Vex’ahlia’s shoulder, cutting deep. Divine fire poured into the wound.
Aldrich felt his right arm go weak from the elbow wound. Felt the stabbing pain in his side where Vex’ahlia’s blade had penetrated armor.
They separated again, both seriously wounded now.