Mars scoffed when Maxim landed on the courtyard and stood firmly, looking at him with fire in his eyes. Finally, Mars could see the man he despised, someone whom he considered his nemesis, even though they had never met before.

He always remembered how Emmelyn fondly said Maxim was more handsome than Gewen, and how Maxim was so carefree and full of knowledge, making him sound like the perfect man.

Now that Mars could see Maxim in person, the king of Draec scoffed and thought Emmelyn must have a weird standard for beauty. Mars didn't consider Maxim handsome.

Okay, he thought the Summerian monarch looked good for a man but definitely not better looking than Gewen.

Mars didn't realize he was being biased with his own feelings and the fact that he hated Maxim to the core, he couldn't see anything positive about Maxim who stood before him now.

Mars also had been sick of the man since the first time he heard Emmelyn talk about her friend.

However, he had to keep his feelings of displeasure to himself because, at that time, Maxim was Emmelyn's dear friend and Mars didn't want to make her think he was jealous for no reason.

Now, it was clear as day that Maxim was interested in Emmelyn. He even openly told Edgar that he would take her away from Mars.

At this point, Mars no longer stood on ceremony and considered Maxim as his enemy.

Emmelyn would definitely understand why he acted this way if he told her what happened. She couldn't blame Mars for kicking Maxim's butt because he was trying to be a homewrecker and separate Emmelyn from Mars.

If Emmelyn loved Mars and Harlow, she would take his side, and ditch Maxim.

Meanwhile, Maxim had his own thoughts too when he looked at Mars Strongmoor, finally in flesh, right before his eyes.

For months, he had also felt curious to see what Mars Strongmoor looked like.

He threw a hateful gaze at Mars when he remembered how Mars took Emmeyn from him.

So, this was the lucky bastard who got to marry the woman he loved after taking away her home and killing her family.

Damn. Life was so unfair! 

Maxim loved Emmelyn with all his heart and would never hurt her in any way... yet, fate was so cruel and put him in a situation where he was not allowed to love her. This made him feel so bitter and angry.

He might be more willing to let her go if Emmelyn found a good man who cherished her, protect her, and was a decent man overall. But why did it have to be Mars Strongmoor?

"Finally, we meet," Maxim smiled mockingly. "To be honest, I didn't expect to see you here."

"You challenged me, so here I am," Mars replied coldly. "Don't get cold feet now."

"You wish!" Maxim snorted. "I have been wanting to kick your butt for a while now but I have been really busy. So, it's good that you came here on your own initiative."

"You talk too much," Mars chided. "Where is my wife?"

"At my place," Maxim replied. "She is safe with me."

Mars felt anger filled his chest. Even though Maxim spoke as a matter of factly, his words were laced with accusations. Mars knew Maxim mocked his failure to keep Emmelyn safe while she was in Draec.

Emmelyn was imprisoned and had to fake her death twice while Mars was away, chasing after a witch. His wife suffered greatly and was in dangerous situations many times as she was trying to escape from her chasers.

It hit right to the feels. Mars couldn't deny that he indeed failed to protect his wife and this made Maxim's words all the more hurtful, because they were the truth.

"I've learned my lessons," Mars said with gritted teeth. "I will never fail her again."

"We have yet to see that," Maxim scoffed. "If you can beat me, I will give up on her. If not... then you cannot be relied on protecting her. I don't see why she should return to you. You will only disappoint her and put her in danger."

"You talk too much, Loriel... or Maxim?" Mars narrowed his eyes menacingly. "I won't hold back."

Mars unsheathed his long sword and prepared his stance. Maxim smiled faintly and followed suit. He tossed away his bow and quiver and used only his sword.

Now, the two men stood firmly, looking like two hungry wolves, ready to devour their opponent.  They both showed intense hostility toward each other.

Maxim and Mars were tall, well-built, and equally fierce. They looked at their opponent with killing intent which made everyone around them unconsciously step back to give them space.

Edgar and all the soldiers and commanders from their joint army were watching the duel with interest. This was truly a sight to behold.

After one month of open war with Summeria, finally, the king came to the frontline.  He came to not just any place, but his enemy's base which showed how much confidence King Loriel had in himself.

"HYAAA!!" Maxim opened an attack by charging toward Mars, swinging his sword toward his opponent's neck. Mars scoffed and ducked quickly.

With a beautiful movement, he stepped forward, turned around, and swung his sword to stab Maxim's back.

The man dodged and charged back with his sword. Mars withstood Maxim's attack with his sword and took his turn to charge again.

The sound of swords clanking and breath panting filled the courtyard as the two men fiercely battled their skills and wits in close combat.

Everyone in the courtyard could only watch in admiration. The two monarchs were really formidable, they thought. Both were trained in combat and could hold their own in such a fierce battle.

Several times Mars managed to graze Maxim's skin, and the man quickly returned the favor.

After half an hour, both men were starting to look disheveled and bloody with cuts here and there. However, Maxim and Mars kept fighting fiercely, looking unbothered by the small injuries they sustained.

For the onlookers, it was hard to tell which one of the kings would win this combat. Renwyck and Emery who were watching the fight from the air, on the dragons' backs were rooting for Maxim, but since they were in the enemy's base, more people were taking Mars's side and hoped he would win.

They thought it would be so nice if the king of Draec beat the king of Summeria in this fight. That might as well stop the war and they could declare victory.

However, at this rate, it was hard to see if Mars would win the battle, at least not so easily.

"Gosh...! That's Loriel... What is he doing here?!"

Edgar turned around at the surprised voice and found King Stevan of Astland strode from inside the castle and looked at the battle with bulged eyes. He looked disheveled and panicked from the commotion caused by the dragons' attack.

"Your Majesty, King Loriel is fighting with King Mars," an officer informed Stevan and briefly explained what happened.

Mars's brother-in-law narrowed his eyes and his lips curved up in a mocking smile. "How long have they been fighting?"

"Almost one hour," said the officer. His voice was laced with admiration. The man had been watching the fight with great observation and realized both men were very skilled in combat.

Watching them move, charge, and dodge their opponent was truly a feast to the eyes of those who had a great interest in the arts of combat.

"Crazy! And they still don't look tired," King Stevan muttered to himself. He balled his fists when he looked at Maxim's face and hatred filled his heart to the brim.

This young brother-in-law of his was just lucky he was born into the Ashborn family. He could get the throne of Summeria as part of his birthright.

Stevan knew that Maxim was not interested in power and he didn't care about his people and his kingdom. So, why couldn't he just step down and let others who were more passionate about the throne take over the burden from him?

"Get our best archers and shoot him," Stevan whispered to his officer. His eyes gleamed in satisfaction when he imagined his dirty work would land him the throne after he sneakily killed Maxim.

"No, you don't." 

Stevan looked up and furrowed his brows toward Edgar who spoke just now. "Why not? This is a good opportunity to win the war without getting into long and arduous battles."

"Because the men are dueling and it's between them to settle their fight. My king doesn't need your help to win his own fight," Edgar replied coldly. 

"But..." Stevan pursed his lips in annoyance. He wanted to say another word but Edgar had unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Stevan's neck.

"Don't make me repeat my words," Edgar said menacingly.

The tall and burly man was very intimidating with his furrowed brows and murderous gaze, making the scholarly-looking King Stevan shrink in his place.

"F-fine..." King Stevan scoffed in annoyance.

.

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***********

From Missrealitybites:

Sorry for taking a while to publish this chapter. For a non-native English speaker, writing about war and action scenes is very, very difficult because of my limited vocabulary.

So, I hope this one turns out all right/decent and you can enjoy the scene just fine.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.