"Begin." said Pyralex and Liora charged at Maria.
Moving backwards, Maria threw a dagger that sprouted out vines to immobilize its victim but Liora easily sidestepped it.
Grabbing her two batons on her waist, Maria moved to intercept Liora but Liora punched the air and a swift breeze blew Maria back.
"So that's what she is planning on doing." Princess Marina thought as she watched Liora punch the air again.
"It would have been dangerous if this wasn't a sparring session." Princess Marina thought as she watched Maria be pushed towards the end of the ring.
"Liora Althaea's is a close range fighter." Princess Marina thought.
"And as a close range fighter she has only two options in this fight." Princess Marina thought as she watched Maria be pushed back by the wind pressure from a kick.
"The first is to incapacitate her opponent." Princess Marina thought as Maria shielded her face from the wind pressure of Liora's fist.
"And the second is to push them out of the ring." Princess Marina thought as she watched Maria trip and get blown out of the ring.
"Since it's a sparring session it's obvious which one she would choose." Princess Marina thought as the match ended.
"But it's a pity." Princess Marina thought as Maria burst into tears.
"She lost the moment she tried to challenge her." Princess Marina thought as she watched the frustrated tears flow down her face.
"A veteran in close range combat can't be beat by a rookie who just started training." thought Princess Marina
"And I am guessing that's what he wanted to teach her." Princess Marina thought as she watched Daeros approach Maria.
"Knowing the difference in skill or power between yourself and an opponent is a skill that people tend to overlook." Daeros said as he bent down before Maria.
"And thinking that the world will stop to let you think on a battlefield is a greater folly." Daeros said as he ruffled Maria's hair.
Taking Daeros's place, Princess Marina bent down till she was on eye level with Maria.
"You did well, Liora was just a bad match up." Princess Marina said and Maria's remaining friends rushed up to console her.
"Exactly! She is almost as good as the Marchioness in close combat so this was an unfair matchup from the beginning." Rassera said and Esmira wiped Maria's tears.
"We will get them next time." Esmira said as she raised her fist towards Maria.
"Next time." Maria said as she bumped her fist with Esmira's.
Seeing the amiable atmosphere between the four friends, Daeros smiled before saying "Last but not the least,"
"The stage awaits Princess Marina." Daeros said and Princess Marina walked into the ring in her dark green combat outfit and her quarter staff with ores at the opposite ends.
Pyralex shouted "Begin!" and Princess Marina covered the ring in mist and Daeros sprouted vines and turned them into large propellers to drive away the mist.
"I didn't take you as someone who reuses their tricks." Daeros said as the mist began to lift.
Creating more mist to overpower his blades and hide herself, Princess Marina levitated herself an inch above the ground and created eight silhouettes from the mist.
Flashback
"Playground" Princess Marina thought as she looked at the platform showcasing the Earl's Manor.
"It is an ability given to those with high attunement to the Earth and everyone's visualization of it is different" said Lorraine.
Flashback end
"I don't know anything about attunement but Daeros has been proven to have a sixth sense." Princess Marina thought internally.
"In the first few days when training was hard, Maria thought hiding would save her from training but every time she hid, Daeros always found her." Princess Marina thought as she made the silhouettes move.
"If my presence can be detected because of my feet on the ground, in order to win this battle I have to confound his senses." Princess Marina thought as she focused on maintaining the silhouettes.
"How did she erase her presence?" Daeros thought as he released a full frontal attack on all eight silhouettes.
"Now!" Princess Marina thought as she escaped the mist with her feet inches from the earth and positioned herself behind Daeros.
Daeros, concentrating on attacking all eight clones who seemed like they were running forward, didn't notice Princess Marina's presence behind him until an arrow of wind was aimed at the back of his heart.
Relaxing his hand, Daeros said "Flawless as always." and Princess Marina grinned like a Cheshire cat.