Elmar almost clicked his tongue when he realized that he had missed the kid's vitals. Probably the pain caused by the burn messed with his aim… Regardless, he knew very well for how long a man or a kid could endure that kind of pain without passing while screaming in pain. So, it was only natural that soon, he would have another chance. However, before he could pull his spear, Zaos grabbed it.

"I don't think so, jackass," Zaos said.

Before he could do anything, Zaos swung his sword at him. Elmar also thought of grabbing Zaos's right hand and stopping the attack, but he changed his mind when the weapon suddenly began to burn. Elmar jumped backward, but not before he kicked his own spear and made the wound on Zaos's left side hurt like a bitch. Zaos almost fell on his knees, and the pain made him lose consciousness for a few moments, but in the end, he endured it.

Several soldiers moved to protect Elmar since he was now unarmed. Still, in the end, another soldier just suddenly appeared and passed him another spear. Zaos sighed thanks to that, but at least that deception made him decide to pull the spear from his side. He pulled, and blood began to flow through the wound without hesitation, but he quickly stopped the bleeding by using Heal a few times.

Your Pain Resistance has reached level 20.

Your Pain Resistance has reached level 21.

Your Pain Resistance has reached level 22.

"How am I going to explain so many scars on my body when I return home?" Zaos asked and then sighed. "Mom is going to freak out…'

While Zaos was treating that like a normal occurrence, the mercenaries couldn't help but flinch. That kid was just way too abnormal… While they had kids in their armies, they were mostly squires that carried weapons and made food. While that boy killed dozens if not hundreds of mercenaries during those weeks. Now, he was making the fastest and most skilled general of the army, having a hard time while fighting. Several of them raised their bows to shoot, and then several soldiers also raised their shields and approached to protect Zaos. However, Elmar stopped the mercenaries.

"Wait, don't interfere," Elmar said. 'I can't let my duel be interrupted after all this… things are just starting to get interesting."

From Zaos's perspective, things were far from interesting. Still, thanks to that, he had time to drink potions and recover all his mana while he was also healing himself. In any case, that could work. He still had the chance to defeat the bastard that killed one of his superiors and contribute to the fight outcome. Still, there was one issue: could he defeat Elmar, who had only a few burn marks on his arms when Zaos was quite hurt and having a hard time breathing due to some cracked ribs?

Elmar ordered his men to step away, and the soldiers around Zaos did the same. Perhaps they did it even more willingly than the enemies because they didn't want to fight the man who could faster than their eyes.

My name is Elmar Gilraut," Elmar said. "What is your name, boy?"

"Why the sudden need for introductions?" Zaos asked.

"You are young, so you might not know this, but it is a common courtesy to give the names to those you are going to kill," Elmar replied.

"Ah, is that so," Zaos said. "Well, let's hope that you have time to remember me after death. My name is Zaos Sielders."

"Sielders?" Elmar frowned. "Isn't that…"

"Yeah, a pretty famous name, right?" Zaos asked while he was confirming the state of the wound on his left side and trying to buy time. "Some people say that I belong to a family of famous warriors that served the royal family for thousands of years. What about you? Do you come from a family of assholes who love to burn the houses of those that can't protect themselves?"

"Why so serious, boy?" Elmar asked. "You talk like what we do is a crime. From where I come from, the weak don't have the right to do anything aside from being prey of the strong. In our country, we don't need weaklings that don't know how to swing a spear."

"What about a hoe?" Zaos asked. "I am pretty sure you wouldn't belong to a proper country that doesn't have farmers. Are they weaklings as well? If that is the case, you must come from a place that has a lot of forests."

"Here I was thinking that with your potential, you would be more reasonable," Elmar shrugged. "I guess you are just a snot-nosed brat."

The wound wasn't completely closed, but it wasn't bothering Zaos all that much. He wanted to buy more time, but in the end, he will make do with what he has. When Zaos moved his left away from the wound, the blood in his hand was already dry, but he quickly got rid of it in the snow. After taking a deep breath, he was completely ready to fight again. Elmar frowned when he saw that… it was virtually impossible that Zaos could be that skilled at healing magic. Either he used the spell so many times in the blink of an eye, or he was faking. Elmar saw some of his soldiers being treated by the followers of the demon god. Still, only a handful of them had so much mana to keep going healing deep wounds like that. Now, and much more than before, Elmar felt the need to crush Zaos's.

Elmar took a deep breath and then began to slowly walk toward Zaos. Suddenly, he disappeared from Zaos's field of vision for a single moment, and then he appeared ready to stab his heart. Zaos moved his sword to block the attack, but after using his weapon like that for so long, it didn't resist the most powerful strike delivered by Elmar and broke… in the end. The spear pierced his left chest.