It had a symbol of a horse carved in both of the man's shoulders. Imposing a manner of oddly fearsome pressure to the heart.

  ?Approaching toward the group with barony under the shadow of the tree, the horse did not halt until they got too close, and when they did, there accompanied dust blown past them to the baron.

  ?Joseph and his fellow knights stood like pillars, unbothered by sparks of dust. But along the way Britharon had a frowning face gazing at the man upfront in the enemy's group, his frown increased more when he saw the sword hanging in the waist of the man's armor.

  ?It's a long blade sword, one that belongs to the dear friend of Britharon, Belen, the right handed man of Joseph.

  ?"Baron, how long has it been? A month or perhaps a week."

  ?The man up front, bearing the armor with the horse carving, spoke. His voice had neither a respect or friendliness, only a hidden chuckle and a tone that fit the words spoken with a tongue of a fox.

  "Let's get the task over with. I don't want to drag any talk with the likes of you." Baron Joseph hated the man more than Britharon did. After seeing the sword he handed to his right hand man by himself in the waist of this man, Joseph 's hatred increased even more.

  ?Joshua gazed at the words exchanged between his father and the enemy. After seeing the horse carving displayed on the shoulder of the man's armour, Joshua had a guess of the identity of this man.

  ?Death Galloper, it's the name the man beheld other than his true name, redeemed after he dragged a knight from the Joseph barony across the battlefield while tied to his horse until the man bled to death. That same knight that bled to death happened to be the right hand man of the Baron Joseph , which is why his and the other knights' hearts are filled with hatred and burning anger toward the Death Galloper.

  ?"Such a shame, I expected a warmer welcome and a friendly chatter since we are about to be in peace," Death Galloper responded. He bore no pressure from the hatred of Joseph and his knights, only speaking to taunt them more.

  "Keep talking if you want to taste my blade," Joseph responded, but his hand did not move for his sword, knowing the terrible consequences of his action if he let his anger out.

  ?"Why would I taste your blade when I have my own one? Oh wait, this isn't mine," Death Galloper laughed, taking out the sword at his waist. Joseph and his knights' faces turned fierce and terrible, and they responded no more to Death Galloper's taunt.

  ?Realizing that, Death Galloper sheathed his sword again and turned his gaze to Joshua standing right to Joseph.

  ?"Is that the son of you? Looks pretty weak."

  ?Joshua urged his horse, before anyone could say anything or defend his name, he took matters into his own hands by moving forward from the group.

  ?"You wanna count on it?"

  ?He asked. The whole group fell silent. It is clear this is a challenge, Joshua had boldly invited the enemy for a challenge with direct words. But he had to do it, his honor is the one being ridiculed.

  Baron Joseph did not give any response and so did his fellow knights. They wait, gazing at the Death Galloper.

  ?Death Galloper is not a man to hesitate in a challenge, especially when his own words are on the witness.

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  ?He laughed with a response.

  ?"Glad you asked, but since we want you alive, I am not going to use any weapon. You're welcome to use yours if you want, after all that talk, it will be the only thing giving you an edge in battle."

  ?Joshua got down from his horse, and he tucked away his sword to the horse's back.

  ?"Then let's make a bet. I'm not gonna use any weapon in this battle, and if I win without using any weapon, you shall do what I ask."

  ?The Death Galloper also got down from his horse, the sword in his waist grabbed by him and taken out.

  ?"Considering that is near impossible, I'm still curious to know what would you ask of me."

  ?He asked, the ridicule still visible within his words.

  "The sword of yours, the sword that does not belong to you originally."

  ?Death Galloper gazed at the sword in his hand, lifting it.

  ?"This piece of metal, alright, but if I win I will break this sword in half."

  ?He said it, knowing the desperation that Joshua and his knights have to get the sword back, and breaking it would be like crushing the living spirit of their fallen brother.

  ?There was a slight hesitation that appeared in Joshua's face, it wasn't born because of the fear of facing his enemy, it was born because the fate of the sword isn't solely for him to decide.

  ?He gazed at his father, who nodded his head giving the authority he wanted to proceed.

  ?"I agree; whoever falls down to the ground first in the battle will be the loser."

  ?Joshua announced, and neither party disagreed.

  A short distance cleared between both parties when a space of ten feet was spared for the battle to hold.

  ?Joshua beheld as his son stood in the sparring ground silently watching him. It isn't a common fact for a fifteen-year-old to fight in battles, but it's also not uncommon. If the fight is desperate, a ruler needs every strength he could, that means even a fifteen year old just stepping into youth years and could counts as a soldier in battle, especially males. As a matter of this, every noble household male kid would undergo formal training before they turn fifteen, learning the way of battle and weapons.

  Joshua trained his own son with his own words and experience, and he knew what level of power his son possessed.

  ?The first action is drawn by Death Galloper who first observed Joshua for few seconds before raising his fist and leg to move forwards and strike at him.

  ?Joshua responded, he moved like a speed runner, deflecting Death Galloper's fist to a side and striking at the face of the death striker. The movement happened in such a fast speed that a reaction from the opposite side came only after half a second later after the attack.

  ?It was by no means an inhuman speed but the Death Galloper and his following group did not expect for a young individual to possess such a speed in battle.

  ?Joshua, after the initial strike at the face did not let go of his opponent's lack of response. He stepped past the Death Galloper and placed his feet behind the opponent's and pulled the Death Galloper back with all his strength.

  ?Death Galloper, now moving back by Joshua's pull, tripped his feet by stumbling into Joshua's feet and fell down to the ground. After the strike down Joshua jumped back stumbling back and forth to maintain his balance on the ground, it isn't by any means an easy task for him to take down a man more than his own size.

  ?The whole battle was over, just after ten seconds from when the battle began. The Death Galloper still had his eyes gazing at the sky and the giant tree he could see.

  "What happened?" he questioned, still unsure of the events that followed till his fall to the ground.

  ?"You lost, that's what happened, now I will redeem my prize, unless you have any problem with that," said Joshua, stating the obvious.

  ?The Death Galloper is silent, he pondered on his failure in the duel about what led to his downfall and realized the fact he underestimated his enemy. He realized he had been full of himself from the promotion he got after dragging the right hand man of the Baron Joseph to death. It was a thing he did just in a whim and not a thing he had done by his skill and experience, and after getting a promotion for the thing he merely did as a passerby action he had been full of himself, ignoring that he's still in a war, where death could come as easy as birds in the sky.

  ?His nose hurts, but the damage isn't enough to make him bleed, giving him an indication that although the kid's movements are fast, his real strength is severely lacking in fists.

  ?But the outcome had already been decided, and the kid had won.

  ?"Melavan, give him the sword."

  ?Death Galloper gave his order. His second-in-command in the group grabbed the sword tied to Death Galloper's horse and brought it forward.

  ?A breeze of wind blew as the man offered the sword to Joshua from both of his hands. Dry leaves from the large tree fell down at that moment.