Faced with Lara Rogare's bold challenge, Logar didn't even pause to think. He shook his head.
"Sorry, Miss Lara. I decline!"
His flat refusal left the entire square stunned. Even Lysandro Rogare looked shocked— he clearly hadn't expected Logar to turn her down so cleanly.
Lara herself froze for a second, suddenly doubting her own legendary beauty.
But she quickly decided he was just playing hard to get. She sneered and tried to provoke him further.
"The famous dragonrider Sea Burner is actually a coward? Without your monster, you're nothing?!"
Logar stayed completely unmoved. He already had Baela in his life and had zero interest in collecting more women. Besides, it was obvious Lara was being planted in his camp as a spy under the excuse of "learning." The last thing he needed was extra trouble.
He had clawed his way up from the bottom through blood and corpses, not by running his mouth to impress people. The fewer complications, the better.
Lara's little scheme had backfired. She was now stuck between embarrassment and anger. In a fit of frustration she turned to a silent, coal-black giant standing behind her father and snapped an order.
"Sandoq! This man has insulted me. Teach him a lesson!"
The massive dark-skinned, dark-haired warrior lifted his head at her command. His heavy gaze locked onto Logar, burning with raw fighting spirit.
"It's Sandoq the Shadow!" someone in the crowd gasped.
"The legendary gladiator from the Meereen fighting pits! They say he's won over a hundred death matches!"
The crowd buzzed with excitement, naming his most famous kills.
What made Sandoq the Shadow truly terrifying wasn't just his size—it was the fact that in the arena he could kill lions, bears, wolves, and even winged lizards using nothing but stones he scooped from the sand.
When the huge warrior stepped out of the crowd at Lara's command, every Lyseni felt a spark of anticipation.
This foreign dragonrider had burned their harbor, smashed their temple, and was walking away with a mountain of gold. At the very least they wanted to see him bleed a little before he left.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
The chant rose quickly. The crowd was united now, all of them hoping Sandoq would give the outsider the beating he deserved.
Nettles and little Viserys both tensed up at the sudden turn.
Sandoq looked enormous—well over seven feet tall, wrapped in a black veil, every inch of him corded with battle-hardened muscle. He was clearly a warrior who had survived a lifetime of slaughter.
"Well?" Lara smirked, emboldened now that her champion had stepped forward. "Do you dare face my family's gladiator? Or are you scared?"
Logar ignored her taunt. He studied the giant in front of him, feeling the real pressure rolling off the man.
After a moment he smiled. "Fine. I accept."
He had never been a coward. He'd only refused earlier because he didn't want to give the spoiled girl the satisfaction. Now that he saw a real opponent worth fighting, he was curious how much his close-combat skills had improved after all this time.
The Lyseni erupted in cheers. They were certain that without his dragon, the dragonrider stood no chance against Sandoq the Shadow.
Logar didn't care about the noise. He leaped lightly down from the Cannibal's back and landed face-to-face with the giant.
"How do you want to do this?"
Side by side, the size difference was ridiculous.
Logar was six feet tall and lean, built like a hunting leopard—fast and explosive. Sandoq towered over him like a walking wall of muscle, shield and axe in hand.
Sandoq answered by raising his massive shield and axe and letting out a strange, rasping hiss.
The man had had his tongue cut out long ago in the Meereen pits and his face was covered in old scars, so he always wore the black veil. It only made him look more savage.
"Blades it is. I accept."
Logar smiled and drew the longsword at his hip.
Since coming to Westeros he had trained with the blade constantly and had never liked fighting with a shield—it slowed him down.
Sandoq gave a low grunt, clearly thinking Logar was an idiot for refusing a shield.
He just wanted to finish Lara's order quickly, crush this Westerosi pirate who had burned Lys, and be done with it. The moment Logar planted his feet, Sandoq charged like a mountain of meat, shield leading the way.
The iron shield—big as a millstone—smashed forward with a howling wind.
Logar had been ready. He sidestepped smoothly. The shield slammed into the ground where he'd been standing, sinking half a foot deep and spraying gravel.
Before he could recover, Sandoq's axe was already whistling down.
The blade came with terrifying force. Logar blocked with his sword—CLANG! The impact numbed his entire arm. His blade vibrated so hard he nearly dropped it.
He was secretly shocked. The giant's raw power was monstrous—no wonder he could kill wild beasts bare-handed in the arena.
Sandoq pressed the advantage, hammering with shield and axe in a storm of blows.
Logar was forced to retreat, relying purely on footwork to dodge. Several times the axe came within inches of splitting him open, slicing long gashes in his clothes. Nettles gasped. Viserys clenched his tiny fists.
"Hahaha! Without your dragon you're nothing special!" Lara laughed triumphantly. The Lyseni crowd roared and jeered right along with her.
But the longer the fight went, the calmer Logar became. He stopped trying to meet strength with strength and simply danced away, memorizing Sandoq's rhythm, waiting for the perfect opening.
After several missed swings, Sandoq started getting impatient. His attacks grew wilder—shield smashing like thunder, axe cleaving at vital spots.
Logar stuck to him like a shadow, slipping through every gap at the last possible second.
Finally, on Sandoq's fourth horizontal axe swing, Logar saw the opening.
Instead of retreating he surged forward, dropped low, and slid under the axe. His right hand drove the sword straight into the giant's ribs while his left palm jammed upward against the elbow joint.
Sandoq grunted in pain. His left arm with the shield smashed down toward Logar's head.
Logar had already anticipated it. He rolled aside, hooked his foot behind the giant's knee, and yanked.
Sandoq's leg buckled. The huge warrior dropped to one knee.
In the same fluid motion Logar rose and pressed the edge of his sword lightly against Sandoq's throat—just enough to prick the skin, but no further.
The entire sequence had been smooth, economical, and perfectly timed. Pure technique had completely neutralized the giant's brute force.
Sandoq froze, his massive body trembling slightly, eyes wide with disbelief.
He had fought beasts and champions in the pits for years, relying on raw power and ferocity. No one had ever dismantled him so cleanly with nothing but sword skill.
Logar slowly lowered his blade and stepped back two paces. He flexed his numb wrist and spoke with genuine respect.
"Your strength really is terrifying. Anyone else would have broken bones after one swing from that axe."
Sandoq rose slowly, lowered his shield and axe, and for the first time the savagery left his face. Only pure surprise and admiration remained.
He looked at Logar, those murky eyes brightening. Then he raised one huge hand and gave a solemn warrior's salute—fist to chest—before pointing at Logar's sword and letting out a low, honest "uuuh" sound. The gesture was simple, open, and full of respect.
It was the highest honor one fighter could give another.
Logar understood perfectly. He grinned and returned the salute.
"You're no slouch either. A hundred death matches in the pits don't lie. That ferocity—I respect it."
The two warriors stood facing each other—one a towering mountain of muscle, the other lean and lethal like a leopard. The killing tension from moments ago had completely vanished, replaced by quiet mutual respect.
The Lyseni crowd had gone dead silent. They stared at Logar with new fear, not daring to mock him anymore.
Lysandro Rogare watched the scene with flickering eyes but didn't dare interrupt.
Two men who had crawled up from completely different hells had understood each other perfectly in a single fight.
Sandoq gave Logar one last deep nod, picked up his weapons, and quietly stepped back into the crowd.
Logar watched him go, his smile deepening.
This trip to Lys hadn't just brought him a fortune. He had also crossed blades with a warrior truly worth respecting.
Not a bad haul at all.