What is a good paragraph using cruel and duel?

The baron's laughter echoed cruelly through the hall, a sound as sharp as the rapier he’d chosen for the duel. His opponent, a younger man with eyes that held a flicker of defiance despite the grim certainty of the upcoming fight, knew this was no mere contest of skill; this was a calculated act of cruelty, a public execution disguised as a gentleman's disagreement. The baron's cruel intention was plain: to not merely win, but to inflict lasting damage, a testament to his absolute power and the utter hopelessness of his opponent's position.