Epic Of The Demonic Sage

As Lucius expected, word quickly spread among the servants that a match between their young lord and the Viscountess Blackshield was going to occur.

It caused a certain amount of visible excitement to spread across the servants who clearly were invested in the fight.

Every servant, young and old, was caught up in the news and spoke to each other about it.

"Young Lord Asher is going to fight the Viscountess Blackshield?" Neta exclaimed with widened eyes.

'Even though Young Lord Asher arrived last night, no news of it was heard until today. I suppose Miss Kiana probably has already heard of it even before… but there was no mention of it around me, which I supposed to be expected for a mere servant.' Neta thought.

He may have initially assumed that things were a little special since he was chosen to serve closely for Young Lord Asher, but now that didn't seem to be the case.

The young servant, Rio, nodded. "Yes. Several of the people who cleaned up the dishes during breakfast said so. Is this Viscountess strong?"

It was a common thing for servants to gossip while they worked and Rio sometimes found himself being taken under the wing of Neta and the other older male servants.

Shaking his head out of his thoughts, the servant Neta, nodded. "I think so… I've heard some things about Viscountess Blackshield. But I think Young Lord Asher will do well on his own."

"You think so?" Rio asked curiously. "I remember a long time ago that he was still in a wheelchair and…"

"That was ages ago, Rio. I'm sure that Young Lord Asher will do well." Neta said with a touch of pride in his voice. Whether or not he was a valued servant, it didn't remove his confidence in their master.

"I wish we could see it…" Rio mumbled to himself.

"We'll probably hear from the guards. Or maybe we can find a way to get there ourselves." Neta considered thoughtfully.

Half an hour later, Captain Donald and a selected number of guards were taken to the training grounds. The rest were tasked to continue with their jobs, which left several to envy.

"I think Ron is already crying that he isn't here with us," Ian said as he watched over the training grounds. He wore an eager expression on his face, practically bouncing on his feet.

"I'm surprised that Nick isn't here either, but there's got to be a reason for it." Alex crossed her arms over her chest. "Must be related to how much we can learn from the spar?"

"Look, Young Lord Asher is already there." Jay said, and gestured to Asher respectfully.

"It only feels like yesterday since we saw him with Miss Kiana constantly on his side. Now he's fine on his own." Ian said.

Lucius was dressed in a light armor dressed for mobility.

"Who is he fighting again?" Ian asked.

"Wait, I think that's her." Jay glanced to the other end of the training grounds, where the Viscountess Blackshield arrived with her attendants. "He's supposed to be fighting a noblewoman today."

"Don't make it sound like it's a different thing altogether from him fighting a man," Alex said.

"There's… there's something about her. I can't quite place it but she reminds me of the Count?" Ian said.

Viscountess Blackshield wore a similar outfit to Asher, her muscular figure was well defined and displayed finely, and a distinctive and almost heroic aura was palpable in the air.

"Yeah, that's exactly like the Count when he comes here and spars sometimes," Jay remarked in awe.

"There's also something slightly different about her too, though." Alex said. "The two just can't be the same."

"Pay attention well. You will see how Viscountess Blackshield will fight. All of you will learn how to deal with someone as defensive and yet extremely strong like her." Captain Donald said.

'They remark that they're reminded of Count Gabriel, which is true, but compared to how she was on the last fight I've seen her before… there's this excitement in her actions which is a contrast to her usual fighting style during spars. She's really going to let loose this time.' Captain Donald mused to himself.

"Captain Donald."

Captain Donald glanced to the side and saw Gellor, Barty, and Albus present.

"Oh, you three are here as well? Did the word get out that quickly?" Captain Donald raised a brow.

"Ah, Miss Kiana told us to come here. We didn't know this was happening." Gellor admitted.

"This is gonna be exciting, isn't it? I'm betting on Young Lord Asher." Albus said.

The Captain of the Guards shook his head slightly, but finally turned to the two nobles who were prepared for the fight.

"A fine day for a spar, isn't it, Young Lord Asher?" Viscountess Blackshield greeted.

"Indeed it is. Will the servants bring our weapons now?" Lucius called out.

To the side, Rio stepped forward carefully and brought him the Wind Scar Sword.

"Your sword, Lord Asher."

Lucius was mildly surprised, but then glanced to the other end and saw Neta struggling to bring a large spiked mace for the Viscountess Blackshield.

Perhaps, if it weren't for Neta's Gift, he may have dropped it already. However, there was at least some muscle in the servant as he bowed to the Viscountess and then went aside from the training ground.

Lucius raised a brow at the choice of weapon.

'It's not exactly a type of weapon that one can use for a long period of time with ease unless they have excellent arm strength… but I reckon Viscountess Blackshield is more than used to it.' Lucius thought.

Viscountess Blackshield held the mace in her finely toned arm with apparent ease, a great contrast to Neta, who used both arms earlier.

The mace was long and had a spiked head.

'It's got a good reach, and it'll be painful if I get hit with that. I would get a shield, but it's better to avoid getting hit altogether.' Lucius thought.

"Are you ready now, Young Lord Asher?" Viscountess Blackshield asked politely.

"Yes, let us begin." Lucius said.