A good chieftain killed all his enemies, within and without the tribe, the moment he identified them. Hassar had killed the previous chieftain and survived four coups since that day, and all thanks to his relentless practice of swordsmanship.
Powerful spells needed time to be cast and often caused collateral damage that weakened the tribe and created new enemies from the families of the dead. A blade, instead, was a surgical tool that needed only an opening to work its magic.
The khopesh rose towards the Agni's head, slipping past the other bone spike with a well-practiced flick of the wrist. The Nalrond of a few months ago would have failed to react in time and had his skull split open by the Upyr's overwhelming strength.
After fighting against Dawn over and over, however, after getting used to following the Horseman's blade and suffering countless defeats by her hand, Hassar's technique failed to impress the Agni.
