Chapter 15: Duelists

A clear sky blessed the training grounds. A brisk light wind chilled the air. It was perfect conditions for the duel of the sons of Luxenberg.

Confident in his hard work Victor had no doubts in his mind while preparing his practice sabre. A slightly heavier and duller blade than he was used to, Victor nevertheless was still happily wielding it. His intense training with Andrei had paid off. Running through the motions and forms he had learned, Victor smoothly swung his sabre at the nearby practice dummy.

Having arrived early to get some practice in Victor was mentally preparing for his duel with Klaus. When Victor was first possessed by Conrad he was able to retain all of Victor's memories through a quest reward. Many of those memories were filled with sadness and dread due to the constant harassment and abuse by Klaus.

Constantly belittled and bullied by him, Victor stood no chance against him. Without his father's love or sympathy, it was basically a thumbs up to Klaus and Katrina to act however they wanted to. 

This duel was not only a chance for Victor to gain decent rewards, but a chance to avenge himself. With Victor's memories, the growing disdain for his half-siblings fueled a fiery rage deep inside of Conrad. With his improved body and his vigorous training, Victor would ensure that today's duel was a crushing victory.

After waiting an hour Klaus finally arrived. To Victor's surprise, the entire family came to spectate this duel. Katrina and Josephine subtly mocked Victor hiding their faces with fans. Vipon wore his usual stone-cold face, showing no particular interest in the duel. Klaus took his time to prepare and practice for this duel, wasting 10 minutes before finally stepping into the outlined square in the middle of the training grounds.

"It's okay if you want back out now Victor, it would only be a slight embarrassment rather than getting humiliated in this square by me," Klaus snarked with his signature twisted grin.

Victor remained silent, not acknowledging Klaus's remark at all. His eyes shot daggers in Klaus's direction. Recognising he wasn't going to get a rise out of his supposedly pathetic older brother Klaus entered his stance. At the same time, Victor lifted his sabre and entered a defensive stance.

Duke Vipon approached the two boys dismissing the instructor present to officiate this duel. " I will officiate your duel today, do not disappoint me," He said in his typical deep and emotionless tone. 

Victor was taken aback for a second. His father who always looked so disinterested was now officiating a duel. Josephine and Katrina grinned, with Vipons clear favouritism to Klaus over the years they assumed that even by some chance Klaus was losing, Victor would be disqualified on a technicality.

Both boys were ready and as soon as Vipon's hand dropped Klaus pounced at Victor unleashing a flurry of attacks. Calmly and precisely Victor deflected each attack in a fluid motion. Unrelenting, in his offensive Klaus continued multiple slashes and stabs, trying to apply overwhelming pressure. Yet, Victor was efficiently dodging and deflecting all of them.

'Why can't I land a hit on this worm,' Thought Klaus as he continued to bashfully assault Victor. 

Vipon who had been closely watching his sons fight already knew who'd be victorious. From a normal perspective, it was an easy assumption to believe that Klaus was dominating the fight. Katrina and Josephine definitely thought so as they cheered for Klaus. But, Vipon could see how composed Victor was. Victor wasn't flailing around desperately to defend, but in fact, was allowing Klaus to attack while he keenly defended.

'I suppose I should begin a counter-attack now,' Victor thought haphazardly. Instead of being stand-offish and deflecting Klaus's attacks, Victor now was beginning to parry. In a dance-like motion, his sword began to land fast but light blows to Klaus. Although it didn't result in much damage due to the dullness of the blade, it certainly infuriated Klaus.

'I can't believe this piss-ant is landing attacks on me. I can't lose in front of father.' Klaus thought while attempting to fend off Victor's counter-attacks. Gaining a tiny bit of separation Klaus dragged the tip of his sabre along the ground and flicked up dust to impair Victor's vision.

Momentarily stunned Victor was once again on the backfoot, desperately defending against another barrage of attacks. The harmony of steel clashing rang throughout the training ground. The onlooking soldiers, Katrina and Josephine were in awe of the intense duel between the brothers, all expecting to see Klaus win within a minute. 

It had been 5 minutes since the duel had begun, but both sides were fighting with all their might. Tired of being constantly on the defensive, Victor began to slowly overpower Klaus. Each swing was purposeful and full of conviction, forcing Klaus to be on the defensive. However, Klaus couldn't keep up with the onslaught of attacks. Constantly leaving gaps to strike, Victor precisely took advantage of the holes in Klaus's defence and began to land more impactful blows.

Not used to sustaining this amount of damage Klaus's body began to waver. The strength in his arms began to fade due to fatigue, whereas Victor showed no sign of letting up. Klaus's defeat was near. The onlookers could only watch in horror as the prodigal son Klaus was getting battered by Victor.

Katrina was on the verge of tears, while Josephine could only stare in disbelief, slowly losing the colour on her face. It was clear what the outcome was going to be. Vipon's expression did not change throughout the entire bout. Not one shred of concern could be found on his face while his favourite son Klaus was getting crushed. 

Seeing no point in prolonging the duel any further, Victor went in for the final blow. His sword came from high to low slashing diagonally down Klaus, knocking his sword from his jelly-like arms. Raising his sword to Klaus's neck Victor stared at his father to declare the duel over in favour of him.

"The duel is over. Congratulations on your win Victor," Vipon stated while looking at his sons. Looking at Victor, Vipon gave a subtle nod of approval for his tremendous effort in the duel. For Victor, this was the first time his father at acknowledged or praised him. As for Klaus, all he received was an ice-cold glare from his father. 

Josephine and Katrina rushed to Klaus's side trying to cheer him up, but to no avail. He had failed miserably, even resorting to a cheap tactic like flicking dust into his eyes didn't work. All he could do was stare at the ground in shame of his humiliation, with purple bruises beginning to appear on his body.

With the assistance of his servants, Victor returned to his room to bathe and rest after such a fierce duel. 

"It should not have taken me that long to defeat Klaus," Muttered Victor, slightly bitter that he could not decisively crush his childhood tormenter. Although, there was deep satisfaction in finally taking down Klaus. Years of despair and resentment washed away in an instant. Victor was able to do something incredible and it was all possible to his word work with the assistance of the system.

"It's time to claim my rewards," Victor said with a gleaming smile whilst rubbing his hands together.