The bright midday sun beat down completely mercilessly on the large, open field located right between the Benson territory and General Howe’s land. The air was completely still, dry, and thick with nervous tension.

A large, raised wooden platform had been built quickly near the edge of the field for the commanders to sit.

Damon stood near the edge of the platform. He was wearing his full, heavy, dark metal combat armor. His face was completely hard and serious. He looked out over the dry dirt field where the death match was going to happen.

Damon turned his head slowly to his left. He looked at his loyal aide.

"Is he ready?" Damon asked quietly. His deep voice was completely calm, showing absolutely no fear.

Kade stood up perfectly straight. He nodded his head firmly.

"Yes, my lord," Kade replied confidently. "Gideon is fully prepared in the back tent. He has his weapons and he has warmed up his muscles. He is waiting for the signal." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Kade pointed a finger slightly toward the far side of the platform.

"And General Howe is already here," Kade informed him.

Damon did not turn his head to look. He kept his eyes completely focused straight ahead on the empty dirt field.

"Good," Damon replied simply.

In a few short minutes, heavy footsteps sounded on the wooden stairs. General Howe walked up onto the raised platform. Howe was also wearing his full, dark red combat armor. He looked incredibly smug and highly confident.

Howe walked over and dragged a heavy wooden chair to sit directly close to Damon.

"Benson," Howe said loudly, his voice full of fake, arrogant cheerfulness. He leaned back in his chair. "It’s very good to see you again. A beautiful day for a fight, isn’t it?"

Damon didn’t reply. He did not turn his head. He completely ignored the older man.

Howe chuckled softly, not offended by the silence. He was too happy about his brilliant plan.

Howe looked forward, looking out past the dirt field. He saw the massive, completely unexpected crowd that had gathered.

There were hundreds of people standing behind the safe ropes. Howe saw a huge number of commoners from the nearby villages. He also saw many wealthy nobles who had ridden their expensive carriages all the way from the capital city just to watch the fight start.

Yesterday evening, Howe had deliberately started a massive, loud gossip about the high-stakes fight. He had paid messengers to spread the news through the taverns and the noble houses. The rumor had spread exactly like a fast wildfire. Every single man in the area was there to watch the brutal spectacle. Some wealthy men were even actively gambling heavy bags of gold on the sidelines, loudly placing bets on who would win and who would die.

Howe wanted a huge crowd. He wanted the entire kingdom to see the Tyrant General lose his father’s land in public.

Damon ignored the noisy crowd. He turned his head away from the field and looked back at Kade.

"Have you heard anything from the estate?" Damon asked. His deep voice was very quiet. He was asking about a specific person.

Kade stepped closer. He lowered his voice so Howe would not hear their private conversation.

"Mr. Murry sent a fast rider this morning, My Lord," Kade replied softly. "Mr. Murry said the lady couldn’t make it to the camp today. She’s completely indisposed at the moment."

Damon did not say a word. He stood perfectly still.

He felt a very sudden, very sharp, highly annoying sting of deep disappointment in his chest. He had hoped she would come. He had hoped she would sit in the safe tent and watch him reclaim his father’s land. He wanted her to see his strength.

But Damon quickly pushed the soft feeling away. He forced his face to remain completely hard. He nodded his head slowly.

"It’s fine," Damon replied smoothly, his voice flat. "It is better she is safe at the mansion. A death match is not a place for a lady anyway."

Kade watched the General’s face very closely. Kade knew his commander extremely well.

Kade thought to himself, his internal voice filled with deep surprise.

"Is he sulking?" Kade wondered in his mind, staring at Damon’s tight jaw. "Is the great Tyrant General actually sulking because his wife didn’t come to cheer for him?"

Kade quickly shook his head side to side, dismissing the crazy thought instantly.

"Impossible," Kade thought firmly. "The General does not care about silly romantic things. He is just focused on the battle."

Kade stood perfectly at attention right beside Damon as a loud horn blew, announcing the fight was about to begin.

At the exact same time, behind the raised wooden platform, a small, dark canvas tent was set up for the Benson fighter to prepare.

Inside the dim tent, Gideon, the absolutely massive, highly trained soldier chosen by Damon to fight the death match, was already preparing. Gideon was a giant of a man. He had thick, bulging muscles, a bald head covered in old scars, and hands the size of dinner plates. He was sharpening his heavy iron broadsword with a rough stone.

Suddenly, Gideon stopped moving the stone.

He narrowed his small, dark eyes. He felt a very strange, cold feeling on the back of his thick neck. He was a highly trained killer, and his instincts were excellent. He noticed that someone was secretly watching him from the shadows of the tent.

Gideon quickly stood up from his small wooden stool. He gripped the heavy handle of his broadsword tightly.

"Who is there?" Gideon asked loudly, his rough voice completely ready for a fight. He began looking around the dim corners of the small tent. "Show yourself!"

He knew someone was definitely there. He could feel the presence.

But he couldn’t see the person at all. The shadow simply moved too fast.

Before Gideon could even swing his sword, a very sudden, incredibly fast, completely silent movement happened right behind him.

A heavy, perfectly placed physical hit struck the specific nerve cluster on the back of Gideon’s thick neck.

THWACK.

Gideon’s dark eyes rolled completely into the back of his head. His massive body went completely limp instantly. He dropped the heavy broadsword to the dirt floor with a loud clank. The giant soldier fell forward heavily, completely knocked unconscious by a single, perfect strike.

From the dark shadows of the tent corner, Camilla appeared softly.

She stood completely still, looking down at the massive, unconscious man lying flat on the dirt floor.

"He’s huge," Camilla whispered quietly to herself as she threw the brick on the floor, examining his giant shoulders and his thick chest. She shook her head slowly. "I definitely can’t wear his combat outfit. It would look like a giant potato sack on me. I would trip over the trousers."

She smiled a very small, highly satisfied smile behind the dark cloth covering her face.

"Luckily, I planned ahead and brought my own," she thought.

Very early that morning, while entering the busy military camp secretly, she had easily sneaked into the laundry supply tent. Using her stealth skills, she had quickly found and taken a standard, dark black military combat uniform meant for a very slim, young soldier build.

She was currently wearing her stolen attire. She had completely, securely covered all of her pale body from the top of her red hair all the way down to her soft leather combat boots. She wore a long-sleeved black shirt, tight black trousers, and heavy leather bracers on her arms.

Most importantly, she had wrapped a thick, dark black cloth tightly around the lower half of her face, and pulled a dark hood completely up over her head. Absolutely nothing was visible except for her sharp hazel eyes. She looked exactly like a completely anonymous, highly trained shadow assassin.

She reached down and picked up a pair of long, sharp, lightweight twin daggers she had taken from the weapon room. She secured them tightly to her leather belt.

She heard the loud horn blow outside, announcing the start of the match.

"Time to win that gold," Camilla thought, her eyes flashing with pure excitement.

She stepped completely over the unconscious giant man. She pushed the canvas flap of the preparation tent open and walked confidently out into the bright sunlight.

Out on the raised wooden platform, General Howe stood up from his chair.

"Let the fighters enter the field!" Howe shouted loudly, his voice carrying over the noisy crowd.

From the far side of the dirt field, Howe’s chosen fighter walked out. It was a massive, terrifying mercenary from the outer kingdoms. The man was covered in thick metal armor and carried a huge, deadly battle axe. The crowd gasped at the sight of the giant killer.

Then, the announcer called for the Benson fighter.

When Gideon’s name was officially announced loudly across the field, the flap of the back preparation tent finally opened.

The crowd went completely silent. They expected a giant monster to walk out to face the mercenary.

Instead, a very slim, highly agile figure dressed completely in black walked smoothly out onto the dry dirt. The figure moved with incredible, quiet grace, not making a single sound as their boots hit the ground. The black cloth completely covered their face and hair.