"Now that you have finished this, can I get my duel?"
She asked me with rather an impatient tone; it was clear as the sky that she was carving the fight... really rather similar to Hela and Sigmar, though she was far more restrained at the moment, which was somewhat surprising.
"Yes, but when I win, you will leave me alone at least for a few weeks before you start pestering me for another one."
I stated, and seeing her accept my proposal, I mentally sighed in relief. Knowing that it was essentially impossible to tell someone as battle-hungry as Esdeath to stop challenging me for duels entirely, I just gave her a timespan during which she would leave me alone.
"I like your confidence, but the winner is yet to be determined..."
After that, we went to one of the remote areas, far from the Icecrown Citadel Fortress City, mostly for this reason, so we could fight with all our might. I knew that Esdeath was something that was essentially called an AOE fighter; she couldn't showcase her entire power in place, which she couldn't damage.
Like in the Icecrown Citadel.
If we fought there, we could easily damage the city structures or destroy parts of it, which wouldn't be something very welcome. Due to that, the Partas Tribe had another area for training, mainly used by the Tribesmen who had far more destructive abilities that could affect large areas.
It was in a rather secluded place, far from the Icecrown Citadel, where they could, with their full power and without care for their surroundings. The training area where we arrived was essentially frozen tundra or something like that; one thing was sure, and nothing was growing here.
Which wasn't that surprising, as this place was destroyed far more than it should have been.
"Rules of engagement?"
I asked as we stood across from each other; I looked at General Esdeath Partas and asked, preparing for the combat, while she was too redying her saber for our already long-awaited duel.
"Nothing. I want to use my full power, as much as I want for you to use your own full power against me in this duel."
She said to me, as I grimaced a bit because while it seemed that I was confident, the reality was a bit different, because my combat style typically revolved around the direct manipulation of the Laws, usage of Spells, or Magic Rules.
In fact, I was at rather a strong disadvantage, much to my taste; it was clear that she had more trump cards than I had. However, if there was one aspect in which she clearly lacked, it was experience.
Even though close combat was never my forte, I had several millennia to practice it, not to mention that my dear beloved wife Hela would practically force me to train with her every few days.
So, one could say that I was a true master in several weapons, martial arts, and close-quarter combat, but there was something that I lacked compared to beings like Hela. Their sense of combat when they wielded weapons was an instinctive feeling, something like another sense.
It was also something that I lacked and only learned due to my long life and experiences that I had. I was almost fourteen thousand years old or so; this was an advantage that the short-lived beings couldn't really match by themselves.
In the end, even though I had to admit that her talents in close-quarters combat were not enough for her to win against me, I was physically far stronger and had far more experience.
Just by looking at her holding the saber, I was able to tell a lot about her combat style, which wasn't that hard considering the number of battles that I survived. Not to mention, Hela taught me how to read my opponents. Observing them just holding their weapons was rather useful in determining the first strike, which could often be crucial.
The best combat was the one that was won in just the first exchange.
That was something that Hela tried to drill in for years, and I had to admit that it was a really useful principle.
I got one of the Bladestaffs from the Partas Tribe; I had them manufacture it for me, created from the best possible materials, as I needed rather advanced weaponry for my on the Fenran Rex IX.
"As you wish, then."
I said while giving her the opportunity for the first move.
However, to my surprise, Esdeath just remained standing there, looking at me, at my weapon, and then once again at me. It was rather smart of her, and I was right now caught off guard because I didn't really expect that she would do the same thing as me.
So, right now, it has come to a war of attrition.
Or patience.
Both of us were right now doing two things at the same time. One of them studied each other, while the second one forced the other one to act first, which meant that the one who didn't act as the first would obtain an advantage.
The feeling was torturous, but I could wait; I had far more patience, though I was beginning to understand how annoying this was. I could now understand why Hela was so angry every time I did this, and this strategy worked very well.
After just ten minutes, I could see that the Heiress of the Partas Tribe already lost her concentration and patience and rushed towards me with a saber in her right hand, and was cracking with Warp Energy.
'Her combat style is good, sharp, without wasted movements, but at the same time, it is relatively simple and predictable to a great degree. Someone who is also experienced enough could foretell her moves just by simple observation, coupled with many calculation capabilities...'
I analyzed her movements; it wasn't that hard; the combat style she was using was the same that was generally used by the members of the Partas Tribe. Even then, it was a very practical combat style.
However, I could see there were some minor differences in the movement techniques and the way she was attacking, which were more refined than the methods used by the ordinary members of the Partas Tribe.