At this time, the battle continued, and the atmosphere that enveloped the audience changed. If the atmosphere that previously swept over the audience was the joy and worry, now they were simply filled with astonishment. Their faces that were red with excitement turned pale. Some local people who are not used to seeing blood even choked like they were about to vomit.
CRASH!!!
Blood spurted onto the ground of the vast arena, the ground there was filled with blood. It's hard to tell if the blood is fresh or pre-existing as it keeps building up.
"Huff! Hah!!! Huff! Hah!!!"
Vino's breath was rough. His hands trembled, and his vision became blurry. Sweat flooded him from head to toe, including his face. His eyes were a little sore from the sweat that was running around that area.
"What do you think, Vino? What is it like to be involved in a life and death battle?"
Abercio's voice felt distant like it echoed in Vino's head.
"Isn't that fun? Thrilling? Don't you feel love for every drop of your blood that flows, Vino? Tell me how it feels!"
Abercio's sword flew towards him again, and Vino held it back with the sword he was holding in his trembling hand.
CLANK!!!
The entire audience in the arena roared. His attacks weren't even that strong because Abercio was just as injured as Vino, but Vino was affected by such attacks.
Abercio chuckled, "This is what I like from the Bronka family. They wouldn't make a fuss to end a fight like this. They just let it be."
It was true that the Marquess and everyone else did not ask to end the duel as this was the custom of the Bronka family. As said before the match, 'The fight will continue until one loses consciousness or admits defeat! Murder is not permitted, those who violate will be severely punished!"
No one had lost consciousness or admitted defeat yet, so the duel wasn't stopped,
"Vino, let's finish this right away. I have another man I have to work with," Abercio said. The other man he was referring to was of course Altezza, his step-brother.
Dragging his sword on the ground, Abercio approached Vino. Vino didn't even have the strength to move. He stared blankly as Abercio raised his sword at him. Vino felt cold, scared, and... embarrassed.
"You fought well. I hope that in the future you will learn to respect others and not be easily underestimated," Abercio said.
'Of course, if you do it again, you'll be rolling in the mud like a loser like what happened today,' Abercio thought.
BANG!!
Abercio hit Vino's head with the hilt of his sword so hard that Vino lost consciousness and his body fell to the ground.
Vino faints. So the winner was decided, but nothing was heard from the audience. There were no cheers, joy, sighs, or even curses, the audience fell silent.
"The winner is… Sir Abercio Bronka!" shouted Zola
After Zola's loud shout, people finally started muttering. It was as if they had finally remembered how to breathe again and reacted.
Abercio took a deep breath, 'I won in a way that's a bit hard to understand. What a fun fight,' he thought. He had to admit that Vino was a genius knight. Abercio started a deathmatch to use Vino's inexperience against him, and Vino's unpreparedness at the thought of the word 'life and death' that Abercio spoke.
Vino must have felt anxious, seeing the blood of the eldest son of the Bronka family—no matter how much he hated Abercio, the thought of accidentally taking Abercio's life had made him uneasy. He must have kept thinking it couldn't, shouldn't, or couldn't. Although not many people care about Abercio, it seems that Vino will definitely get in trouble if something fatal happens to Abercio.
Vino's wounds and the fear of his own future life after defeating Abercio depressed him, and most importantly, Abercio swung his sword without a second's hesitation as if he wasn't afraid at all. All of these factors put pressure on Vino throughout the fight. Furthermore, unlike Abercio who was used to bloody battles, Vino only engaged in real battles a few times. Much different from Abercio.
Even with the same number of injuries—differences in experience, patience, movement, and other factors resulted in Abercio's victory. All the knights, including the Marquess, realized this.
"Philip," Theodore called to the butler.
"Yes, My Lord?" Philip replied.
"How did he learn all that? Where did he get the experience from? Who taught him?" asked the Marquess without mentioning Abercio's name, only 'he'.
If someone had taught Abercio, then the butler aka Philip who knew almost everything in the house would surely know it too. Philip shook his head.
"I was also unaware of the level of skill the young master had. From what I know, I heard that he's been training alone in the back of the park lately, My Lord."
If Philip was convinced like this, there was no way Abercio would learn from someone. The Marquess was curious, how could Abercio even appear to be superior to Vino who was a knight?
"Then how can he fight like that?" The marquess asked, again.
"My lord..."
Philip lowered his head and whispered in Theodore's ear "do you not know the reason? I think you just don't want to admit it. "
The marquess covered his mouth. Philip's words hit the mark. The Marquess pouted and said as if she was lamenting, "You said that… he was born talented. Like that?"
Philip nodded.
Such a talented figure appeared in history now and then. It was as if the gods chose them, they broke all common logic and won by victory without any education or experience. Philip said that Abercio was such a person.
'It is not good,' Marquess thought.