After the test is over I think I will ask Yui if the library contains any books on martial arts. Even if I don't start using my claws as my primary weapon, it won't hurt to learn a martial art. There might even be one developed by the mage knights to work better with magic.

However, first I should focus on this fight and then the test, I can worry about everything else after the test is over. So I redouble my efforts and soon the wounded ettin is on the verge of death. At this point it is heavily wounded and can barely attack so it is no real threat to me.

Leaving it to bleed out I start focusing my counterattacks on the other ettin. Soon the wounded ettin dies and I am back to fighting one on one, much easier. Within a few minutes the ettin looks like a cat's scratching post and is bleeding profusely.

When this one dies that will make five kills, not a bad start, but still a long way to go. Five out of fifteen is pretty good, but five out of two hundred is not very good. Now that I know my claws work better than knight blade my kill speed should increase quite a bit.

Once the fifth one dies instead of looking for a place to rest I go looking for another ettin. After all, if I just use my claws then I don't really need to recover my sacred power to fight. I will only have to stop and rest when I am physically exhausted, or a group of ettins chases me away.

Over the next hour I find and kill three more ettins, none of which give me any problems. Then the ettins that went into the cave return to the surface and I have to hide from them. They are moving around in groups that I can't handle and it is getting close to dawn.

So, I carefully make my way back to the trade road, but as I am about to head to town I notice the lookout is back to a single ettin. Not one to pass up an opportunity I sneak up behind the lookout and launch myself at it. Using Target Weakness, I make sure my first attack is a devastating one.

Jumping up from behind the ettin I use both hands and hit it in both throats. Not only do the wounds cause massive bleeding but they prevent the ettin from yelling for help. Now that I don't have to worry about the ettins in the camp coming up behind me I start an all out attack.

With just a few steps here and there I manage to stay behind the ettin no matter how it tries to twist and turn. My claws easily cut through the ettin's hide leaving deep wounds with every strike. The ettin dies within forty-five seconds, my fastest kill yet, and I take off up the road.

By the time the ettins realize their lookout is dead I am already most of the way back to town. The only problem is that there are no streams for me to clean up in, before town. The few people out and about this early all stop to stare at me in shock, after all I am covered in ettin blood.

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It looks like someone tried to paint me black, layers of dried blood cover me. When I reach the castle, my troop and everyone else in the area all stare at me as well. Ignoring them I walk over to the castle's well and start pulling up buckets of water and trying to clean the blood off.

Shard says "You certainly look like you have been through a lot!"

"Oh, hello Captain Shard."

Shard says "Are you injured? Should I send for a healer?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine, none of this is my blood."

Shard says "Then who's blood is it?"

"I've been killing ettins."

Shard says "Ettins? Plural? Alone?"

"Yes, it is a quest from the adventurer's guild."

Shard says "Just how many did you kill?"

"Only nine so far."

Shard says "Only? You are even stronger than the rumors say."

"Was there something you wanted, Captain Shard?"

Shard says "I heard about your new training program and was wondering if my squad could join yours?"

"Sure, if they can keep up."

With that the number of soldiers going through hell doubled, making my morning even more entertaining. It isn't like I am going to refuse, the stronger they are the more useful they will be when the attack comes. Shard's troops struggle to keep up with the pace, but not a single one of them complains.

When the run is over Shard's troop also joins in the exercise routine, again without complaint. The discipline shown by Shard's troop is pretty impressive, it's no surprise they are the 3rd strongest troop. When it is over and we all head to get breakfast, Shard joins me at a table away from the troops.

Shard says "Your training is effective, your troop has shown a lot of progress in just a few days. If it is okay with you I would like my troop to join every morning."

"Sure, I don't mind. Can I ask why though?"

Shard says "Because I want my troop to take the number one spot."

"What if my troop takes number one?"

Shard says "Then I will settle for number two."

"Fair enough."

After breakfast I head up to my room to get a couple of hours of sleep. When I wake up I leave the town and head back to the ettin's area to continue my hunt. Last night I got a total of nine kills, I need to do a lot better if I want to kill all of them before the invasion.

When I reach the ettin's area the first thing I see is three ettins sitting on lookout. It seems they didn't like me killing the lookout, so I sneak past and move into the hills to look for solo ettins. The sun is still up so all the ettins are above ground, making it much harder to find one alone.

It makes me wonder why the ettins only go into the cave at night, underground night or day shouldn't matter. Since I am unable to find any ettins wandering around alone I decide to give in to my curiosity. So I sneak past the guards and enter the cave, time to see what's going on.