I tried my best not to smile as a rather intense man dressed in the dark uniform of the United Expanse Forces looked me over.

It was still quite early and so I gently rubbed my right arm as a cool morning wind blew by.

“Will he be completing the course?” The man, who’s name was Aymon according to the patch on the right side of his jacket. His voice was a low wheeze. And his fairly deep wrinkles added to his intensity.

“Somewhat. Show him the basics today, although I’ll need him in Coh for some official business tonight.” Yna said while standing next to me.

We were standing in front of the office buildings of the Cohval base and I could hear many footsteps as soldiers marched in the distance.

“Understood-“

“Oh- give him the bare minimum in resources. I don’t want an entire squad to have to have less simply because he’s there.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Aymon said and in the next instant, Yna was gone.

Aymon nodded to himself before gesturing that I follow him.

We walked past many dark buildings before eventually arriving at a large building.

We entered it to find Sixteen Rendaro standing next to Sixteen beds in front of which were Sixteen trunks.

“Welcome to your home away from home. The people standing before you will henceforth be your brothers and sisters and although you may not share blood, you will soon forge bonds tempered by trial and hardship. That will be your bed.” Aymon said while pointing at a thin blanket on the floor.

There was a box in front of it like the others, but did it even fit the classification of a bed.

“Stand there.”

I did as instructed and stood next to my “bed” like everyone else.

Mine was right next to the door, but I didn’t mind.

“The people in this room are all a part of the squad that is the seventy seventh and alongside them shall you train. Everything you will ever need is in that trunk and if you ever have any questions, feel free to ask me or any of your fellow trainees.” Aymon said with squeezed fists.

“With that out of the way, materialize outside, maggots.” Aymon said and like golems, the Rendaro all walked out of the building.

All of them had their hair cut short.

“Get changed.” Aymon instructed.

I nodded before reaching out to open the trunk, but Aymon loudly clapped his hands, freezing me in place.

“Whenever I give you an instruction you will only ever reply with yes or no sir, is that clear?”

I raised a curious eyebrow.

“Is that clear, recruit?” Aymon asked with narrowed eyes.

“Yes sir.”

“No need to be shy, recruit. Yell it for the world to hear. Let everyone and everything know that you understood my instruction.”

“Yes sir!” I yelled although it was getting harder to hide just how amusing this all was.

“Good.” Aymon said before leaving the building.

I chuckled to myself before opening my unlocked trunk to find nothing but dirty old clothes stuffed inside it along with some other old and obviously used items.

I sighed before unzipping my dark bodysuit and slipping out of it.

Although I almost dislocated my shoulder while trying to.

I then slipped into a dirty and smelly grey shirt which matched that worn by all the other recruits.

I had a pair of pants but my goat legs and lack of genitalia meant that I’d never have to wear pants ever again.

I let out a depressed sigh before closing the trunk.

Aymon eventually returned with a man who held in his hands a pair of scissors and other tools.

I knew exactly what purpose he served and so, after plopping down into the ground, I allowed him to cut our stupidly long black hair.

I was then taken to where the seventy seventh squad was and I joined then in line.

“Follow!” Aymon barked before leading us into a wide open area behind all the offices and buildings.

It was all paved with dark bricks. The land in the distance was littered with various courses and obstacles.

“You know the drill. Nolat, make sure Kenos over there is up to speed.”

The Rendaro next to me nodded before dropping into his hands.

“You know what a push up is, right?” Nolat asked and thanks to Katsíki, I knew exactly what he was talking about.

I dropped into my hands although my hooves prevented me from being entirely stable.

“We have to do thirty five push-ups in sync otherwise we’ll have to start over. I’m the captain of the squad, so everyone moves on my mark. Ready?”

I nodded.

“Good. One!”

We all did a single push up.

“I do not know atop who’s shoulders the blame lies on but those push ups were all over the place! Is it my fault for not giving clear enough instructions?” Aymon asked with widened eyes.

“No, sir!”

“Hoh? The perhaps it was a simple mishap. Try again.”

After failing a few times, we eventually did the push-ups. This was followed by an hour of various other exercises. Squats, planks and crunches.

The exercises themselves weren’t terrible, it’s just that we had to do them in sync and any deviation was severely punished.

“Hah!” I sounded as I stood on my aching legs.

“Alright, move on to the next exercise!” Aymon said prompting the entire squad to run towards the western edge of the base.

I stuck closely to Nolat while we ran and I spotted several other squads doing various other exercises in the distance.

We ran from one end of the base to the other before eventually arriving at what looked like the beginning of a rather nasty obstacle course.

However, even though my muscles ached, I couldn’t help but faintly smile as I fantasized about how much stronger I could become.

I thought about how much more Katsíki and I could build.

This… warmth, however, wasn’t born in my heart.

It was Katsíki’s and I wanted so dearly to protect it.

“Alright, the goal of the course isn’t to finish first, but to finish as a squad. Are you ready?” Nolat asked and I nodded happily while looking into his beautiful dark eyes.

“Alright, squad. Move out!” He barked before leading us down a dirt path that led to a pit that was filled with muddy water.

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We ran through the pit before coming across a wooden ramp.

We all climbed the ramp, but I wasn’t used go manoeuvring with my hooves and so I fell.

“Hey, are you OK, my heart?”

A small and rather petite man asked as he grabbed me by the arm.

I nodded before getting up and climbing up the ramp once more.

The next obstacle was a set of narrow rope bridges that we had to shimmy along while taking care not to fall into the muddy pit below.

The next obstacle, to my surprise, was a bunch of wooden hurdles which were three meters tall.

It’s at this point that the fatigue began catching up to me, but I was far too excited to let it get in my way.

I ran alongside the seventy seventh squad and even though I lagged behind a bit, they all made sure not to run too far ahead.

Such considerate people!

We eventually arrived at the course’s end where a cross armed Aymon stood.

We all stood in a single file.

“By the flame, I cannot believe what I see! That is the slowest I have seen you run! Care to explain why you are running slower than when you first arrived?” Aymon asked.

“We were trying to make sure that Kenos wasn’t left behind, sir!” Nolat said.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Alright. Correct me if I happen to be wrong but are you not the seventy seventh squad of the Eimval Divisions?”

“We are, sir!” Nolat said while standing attentively.

“If that is the case, then Kenos should be trying to keep up with you. After all, it is Kenos who wants to see if he has what it takes to be a soldier. He should be the one trying to meet your standards, no?”

“Yes, sir.”

“So you understand this? I am not a cruel man. Your ability to fully comprehend the situation deserves reward. Give yourselves one hundred synchronized push-ups.” Aymon said flatly.

I then caught a glimpse of several of my fellow trainees glaring at me, but we all fell to our hands before doing the hundred push-ups. Although it wasn’t without a few failed attempts.

“Good. But I think that you deserve one final reward before we begin the Cohval run. Redo the course and I expect improved results seeing as you are all such understanding Rendaro.” Aymon said with a gentle smile.

We all ran back to the beginning of the course and after taking a moment to line up, we redid the course although, due to my increased fatigue and the increased speed of the squad, I fell and got stuck several times.

That being said, we eventually finished the course and returned to Aymon who’s eyes were slightly widened.

“What in the world am I looking at? Not only was this attempt slower than the one before… you have demonstrated that you might not be as understanding basix instructions as I previously assumed. But the fault lies with me. How should I be reprimanded for my mistake, captain Nolat?” Aymon asked with widened eyes.

“The entire squad should redo the course until improvements are made, sir!”

“Wow! What a brilliant suggestion. My hands are tied, but I too have a duty to fulfil and fulfil it I will.”

Nolat sighed deeply before turning to face me.

He then glared at me so piercingly that my heart skipped a beat.

“Move out!” He yelled before leading us back to the beginning of the course.

“Why the fuck did he have to join our squad?”

“Yeah. Isn’t he the supposed prince of the Rendaro? Shouldn’t he be training with the scouts or something?”

Such things were said as we stood in line at the beginning of the course.

“Come on guys. There’s no point complaining. He’s here now, so let’s try to get him to improve.”

A certain petite man said.

“Lheel’s right. The faster we get him in shape, the better. Now more out!” Nolat barked.

.

..

Pain.

Lots of it.

I desperately grabbed the fur on my legs as I tried keeping myself upright.

We had redone the course so many times that even the already rather fit seventy seventh squad were exhausted.

“This truly is a dark day for the Expanse. Ah well, the blacksmith says you can only strike the blade so many times before it cools. Head to the gate.” Aymon sighed.

We all stumbled our way to the gate on the Eastern side of the base where the road that connected Coh to Eimval was.

A few guards could be spotted here and there and I could’ve sworn I saw a certain black blade hiding inside one of the offices.

“Nah, we can’t keep doing this. Nolat, talk to the instructor and ask for Kenos to be taken to another squad.”

A short and ridiculously muscular Rendaro said with clenched jaws.

Nolat sighed before rubbing his bald head.

“I can’t. That’ll make both us and the us and the instructor appear incompetent-“

“Fuck pride. I don’t think we’ll be able to take doing this for three more weeks.”

A bald woman walked up to the angry little man before wrapping her arms around his.

“Calm down, Müel. Standing with is us not only the Black Prince, but lord Katsíki himself.”

The woman said teasingly.

Both Müel and I raised our eyebrows.

“What does that have to do with anything?” He asked while taking frantic breaths.

The woman turned her gaze towards me before skipping towards me in a manner she must have thought was cute.

“Hello, sir. My name is Bette. Pleasure to meet you.”

I forcibly grabbed Bette’s hand before gently kissing it.

“The pleasure is all mine. I do hope that our time together is fruitful.” I said with a gentle smile, but the glares I got from the rest of the squad persisted.

Bette’s eyes widened and she did a little giggle before taking her hand back.

“Err… remind me again, why do they call him the black prince?” Müel asked while scratching his bald head.

“He was the first and last Rendaro prince. A dark, twisted man who tortured and killed countless innocent people all to satisfy his perverted desires.” Lheel, the small and cute one, said.

“Hoh? But wasn’t that like… hundreds of years ago? How’s he still alive?” Müel asked.

“Because he is the host of darkness-“

“I sure hope you’re reflecting on your performance, because if not, then I have failed as your instructor. Tell me, Nolat, have I failed as your superior?” Aymon asked.

I turned around to find that he was now wearing the same clothes as everyone else.

A study pair of leather boots, some dark grey pants and a vest.

“No, sir!”

“I hope not.” Aymon said before marching out of the gate.

“Follow!” He barked prompting the entire squad to March behind him.

I followed from closely behind as we began what was know as the Cohval march.

Coh and Eimval were about twenty five kilometres apart and so the base was located about twelve and a half kilometres away from either city.

The goal of the Cohval march was to march towards either Coh or Eimval and our destination was seemingly Eimval.

This was already a daunting task in itself and the searing hot sun was doing nothing to help.

.

..

I fell to my knees as we stopped at a certain building back in the base.

Everyone took deep and loud breaths as we stood beneath the bright light of the afternoon sky.

“Alright! Hit the showers.” Aymon said before walking away.

Nolat sighed deeply before leading us into the brightly lit building in front of us.

Thanks to Katsíki, I knew exactly how the showers worked.

Space magicians would pump water into countless pipes that fed water to various parts of the base.

Some of those pipes led into this building and some of them ran across the roof before descending as shower heads.

However, before we did any of that, we needed to undress and wash our clothes.

There was a large section of the building dedicated to that and standing near several large tubs were heat magicians who were drying people’s clothes.

I slipped out of my vest before washing it and offering it to one of the dryers.

He looked me over before gasping.

“Greetings, lord Katsíki!” He said as he and the others stared at me.

“Err….yeah.” I simply said before taking my vest and since I didn’t have a designated closet, I placed it on top of the closet itself before joining everyone in the baths and unlike with water we used to wash our clothes, the water from the showers was warm.

Unfortunately, there were only Sixteen shower heads-

“Come. We can share, my heart.”

I turned around to find a flustered Lheel pointing at his spot.

I then lowered my dark brown eyes and looked at his crotch.

“Hey! Hurry up or we’ll all be punished, my heart!” Lheel cried while hiding his little penis.

I gently smiled before nodding.

I then quickly washed the dirt from my body but I had quite a hard time reaching behind myself and cleaning the fur behind my legs.

“Do you… do you need some help, my heart?” Lheel asked. His face beet red.

“Sure.” I said with a slightly wider smile.

Lheel nodded to himself before helping me wash up.

“Do you want some help?” I asked.

“No, that’s not necessary, my heart-“

I gently placed my hands on his small, but rather firm shoulders before washing away at a bit of dirt he’d missed.

His chest, arms- his entire body was so slender and dainty…

I actually wanted to eat him.

I turned my attention to his crotch again and he looked up at me with wide, trembling eyes before realizing that I was staring at his dick again.

“Ahem! Thank you but that’s enough, my heart.” He said before scurrying away.

I let out a chuckle before gasping upon realizing that his legs were covered in scars.

I would’ve wondered where he got them but I didn’t really care and also, shower time was up.

We all dried ourselves before getting dressed and returning outside where a freshly bathed and changed Aymon awaited.

Standing next to him, was a cross armed Yna and she glared at me as I joined everyone in line.

“Everyone other than kenos should head to the study hall.”

“Yes, Sir!”

The seventy sevenths yelled before marching away.

Yna walked up to me before looking my exhausted self over.

“Did he cause any trouble?” She asked flatly.

“Aside from being terribly out of shape, no ma’am.” Aymon reported.

“Alright, thank you.” Yna said before placing her hand on my shoulder.

I didn’t even manage to blink before finding Yna and myself standing out in the desert on the Cohval road.

We teleported a few more times before eventually arriving at Coh where we returned to the cabin just as the sun sank.

I fell onto Yna’s bed only for her to grab me and shove me off.

“Stay here.” She instructed before leaving.

I sighed before painfully resting my back on the wall.

Everything ached and moving was becoming increasingly difficult.

I couldn’t help but laugh at all this.

Never in my life as prince would I ever have imagined that one day I would be training to fight what could best be described as the incarnation of a god’s will.

I wanted to try harder and grow stronger… well, I’d do all that after getting some rest.

I closed my eyes and just like that, I slept.

.

..

“Here.” Yna said prompting me to open my tired eyes.

“What’s this?” I asked her as she dropped a bowl of what I assumed was food in front of me.

It was a peach liquid which was filled with scraps. Scraps I hoped were leftovers.

“It’s food.” She snapped.

I chuckled to myself before eating the surprisingly edible slop.

What?

You thought I wasn’t gonna?

It didn’t taste too bad.

After all, it was just watery leftovers.

This was actually good because less food was being wasted.

Not that I cared.

I eventually finished eating and after placing the bowl on top of the table where Yna’s little kitchen used to be, I laid down to sleep.

I let out a chuckle as I looked back at all the naked bodies I saw in the showers.

All those tits, asses and dicks…

FUCK!

I WANT MY LIBIDO BACK!!!

“Don’t forget to switch with Katsíki tonight. The leader of the Ash Wraiths is coming and-“

“Yeah, yeah.” I sighed.

I allowed my mind to drift into unconsciousness and it wasn’t long until I was fully asleep.