Hive Knight: A Dark Fantasy LitRPG (Trinity of the Hive Book 1) Grayson Sinclair (book recommendations website .TXT) 📖

I’ve cut a bloody swath through your men and am staring you in the face, seconds away from slaughtering all of you, you decide to have peace talks!”

I laughed at her, cold and dark. It was a twisted, vile sound that did nothing to cool the rage in my heart.

“I don’t think so,” I said and slammed my sword through Duel-Wielder’s throat.

Her scream drowned out the music my steel made as it sliced through her neck. Duel-Wielder gave one final rasp, as I pulled my sword free before toppling over and bleeding her life into the ground.

Any chance of peace died with the girl on the ground.

Bowman nocked an arrow, while Longsword Junior ran at me with his sword. I caught Bowman’s arrow in the shoulder, but it pinged off my armor. I parried Junior’s thrust and sliced a deep gash into his arm.

Bowman had already nocked a second arrow and prepared to fire. I didn’t relish the idea of dodging arrows while simultaneously fighting off Junior. Prioritizing the archer, I ran at Bowman, trying to put some distance between Junior and me.

Before I could reach Bowman, a burning sensation sliced along my cheek. The hot rush of blood down my face told me how close I’d come to death. Keep some battlefield awareness, idiot! Being level one hundred would do nothing for me if an arrow struck my unprotected face.

I reached Bowman before he could nock another arrow and sliced through his bow. My sword cut through the wood and his leather armor, slicing a furrow across his chest. He fell backward, whimpering in pain as blood soaked the front of his armor. Bowman tried to back away, but I thrust my sword into his chest before he could move.

I yanked my sword free and left him for dead.

Junior closed the distance between us quickly, his sword sliced down towards my neck. I caught his strike on the edge of my blade; his inferior common-tier sword chipped as it landed. With a push kick, I sent him reeling back. Before he could recover, I thrust at him, keeping him from getting his balance and edging him toward my target.

With one last thrust, he backpedaled, right over the corpse of Duel-Wielder.

Junior fell to the ground and shrieked as he landed in his friend’s warm blood. He tried to stand, but panic had taken hold, and he only caused himself to slip and fall right back down. I stepped forward and put him out of his misery; my sword pinned his body to his fallen friend. He struggled in the throes of death to free himself to no avail and died looking into the lifeless eyes of his comrade.

With his death, I’d killed all the commander's guards.

The commander knelt by the body of Duel-Wielder, oblivious to the deaths of the others. I could’ve killed her on the spot if I’d wanted, but that would’ve been too quick.

I knelt and stared into the broken gaze of my opponent. I held no remorse for my actions, nor the one I was about to commit.

She refused to look at me, and I lashed out. My fist slammed into her jaw, sending her to the dirt amid a cloud of dust. Her look of sadness turned to black hatred as she stood.

“Tell me your name,” I demanded.

“My name is Elizabeth.” She spoke through clenched teeth. The fury in her voice rivaled what was in my heart. “You will pay for what you’ve done, you monster!”

Monster? I suppose I am. I smiled. “That may be true, but you and yours are the ones to blame. I didn’t ask for any of this.”

I bowed low, keeping my eyes on her. “Well, Elizabeth, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Duran, and I challenge you to a duel.”

Chapter 6 - Dance of Death

As with most duels, ours started slow; only fools rushed headlong into one. I kept my distance, sizing up my opponent, while she did the same. Which surprised me. I half expected Elizabeth's rage to cloud her judgment as it had for her friends. I figured she would charge me with no plan of attack, but she impressed me by remaining calm.

I had my sword at the ready and could have attacked her before she’d even drawn hers, but I held off. I wanted to see how good of a fighter she was. Even with my history, I still loved duels. They were the ultimate test of skill.

She drew a gleaming one-handed sword; it bore a silver, sapphire-encrusted hilt. The large gemstone set in the pommel matched her eyes, and while beautiful, it was a piece of art rather than a weapon. To display such extravagance on a sword, a tool designed to kill, was bordering on the ridiculous. The length of the sword was also unusual. It was quite short, just above a shortsword but thicker than a longsword.

Elizabeth unstrapped a small kite shield from her back. I hadn’t noticed it before; her cape had hidden it well. Having a shield explained her shorter weapon. It would allow the full operation of her blade while also being able to defend with herself.

The shield was a mixture of rich, dark wood with metal for its center. The tell-tell silver-white sheen coming from the metal told me it was good quality Aldrustian steel. Vastly cheaper than the dwarves’ shadowsteel, but still more expensive than regular steel.

Neither of us had made an opening move yet, both of us playing it cautious. I thought I knew what kind of person Elizabeth was considering her choice of armaments and current profession, but it would have been reckless of me to charge in based on what I thought I knew.

I glanced at the timer for my auras in the bottom corner of my interface. I had a little over