Sangraya, home to the First Prince's forces as well as most of the Markluzian Kingdom's main military. With walls that seem impossible to scale and a dense enough population to provide manpower, the city of Sangraya was one that has stood the test of time.

The disciples moved forward with their respective masters leading the way. In a short two weeks they reached the northern shield of the kingdom. A marvel of architecture and the genius of mages from 200 years ago, the awe they felt almost circumvented their fear of going to battle.

With the arrival of troops, comes the welcome of a well-armored man. The pleasantries exchanged were short due to how urgently the troops were needed. The disciples and the drafted soldiers couldn't even say goodbye as each of them were brought to different sides of the battlefield.

"Well then disciples, it's time for the real battle to begin." Master Bungcao waved his hand and the disciples followed.

Master Bungcao assumed command of not just the 60 disciples that he brought, he also commanded an additional 200 soldiers. Treated as someone with a high military rank due to his merits and past achievements. They were placed at a camp right outside of the walls, one with a heavily injured commander, Master Bungcao will be handling logistics and strategy from the post.

"It seems that they want me to simply sit around and advise the prince…" Master Bungcao quickly deduced.

"No matter, I will take command of most of the soldiers here." He walked around the camp and after a few minutes of deliberating he finally made a decision on his plan of action.

"Faisal, call onto our direct disciples."

"Right away sir." The instructor responded.

Soon enough four disciples knelt at the entrance of Master Bungcao's new office. In a line it was Hektor, Paul, Tarik and Garnesh.

"Each of you will be commanding disciples from our dojo during our stay here." The master informed them. "For the three of you, live battle is something that you are already used to."

"Garnesh, I expect you to learn a lot from this experience." The master then pointed to the three other disciples. "The three of you have grown enough to add a martial art from our dojo's teachings into your arsenals."

"This will be the time to prove yourselves once more. As disciples of our dojo you will make a name for yourselves and you shall carry the burden of the lives of your fellow disciples. Do us proud my dear disciples, do us proud."

---

"Forward!" Tarik called out as the rest of the other disciples followed.

The red-haired swordsman was second only to Hektor when it came to skill. As such he has a total of 12 other disciples under him, with Tarik acting as the captain. Similar to a small platoon. Both Tarik and Paul have learned their new weapon arts to enhance their arsenals. Putting the two of them above the only other direct disciple, Garnesh.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Paul and Garnesh each commanded parties of 10 while Hektor had fifteen disciples under his lead. With the sheer effectiveness in how they demolished their prey, the difference among the four disciples was clear.

Hektor swatted the goblins like flies, leading the charge on one end of the battlefield. The normally expressionless boy appeared to be quite delighted to be at the forefront of battle once more. 'Souls! SOULS!! YES, FINALLY!!' He thought to himself as his grin grew larger.

"The fucking monster hasn't even used his birds yet!" Tarik exclaimed in exasperation. "Make haste, we need to clear a path."

"Remember to yell out when you see an orc, only the direct disciples are strong enough to face one of those bastards!" Garnesh barked out as he sent a scowl towards Tarik's direction.

Paul clanged his blade to his shield before he slammed said shield to the ground with a blue energy. Knocking back a group of goblins in his vicinity. "GO!" He ordered, the unit behind him moved with precision. While only third in ranking in terms of overall combat prowess, any observers can see that the knight-like boy was the best leader among them.

"The direct disciples of a dojo are something else huh?" Asked a soldier as he watched the display before him.

"Handpicked by masters themselves, they have talents that regular folks like us can only dream of." Responded another. "Enough with that, the new commander is making us set up a watchtower. We have to focus."

"Yeah, yeah… sure."

[A soul has been added to your collection.] One thrust pierced right through the long-eared bastards head.

[A soul has been added to your collection.] Another thrust nearly tore one in half.

[A soul has been added to your collection.] With a spin his slash decapitated another.

"If it was me from three months ago." His spear cleaved through another green-skinned midget. "Then I would have ran out of aura right now."

Aura: 2,410/6,550

"Oi, if you're tired then you can head back." Hektor ordered his men. "That goes for the rest of you too."

"He's right, it's time for the rest of you to go." Paul agreed as he moved behind Hektor.

"It's time to finally test ourselves huh?" Tarik asked as he moved towards Hektor's region as well.

"What the hell are you guys planning now?" Garnesh looked at his peers, it's been hours since they started and the sun would soon come down. He was right to question this decision.

"This is why you're not reaching our level Garnesh." Tarik taunted. "You fight from the safety of your shell and quit when you get tired."

"What happens if you have to fight when you haven't eaten anything?" Tarik began. "What happens when you're outnumbered and your leg isn't moving the way you want it to?"

Tarik got right into the face of a person who was once in a similar level of skill. "What happens when your back is against the wall and there's no one there to help you?"

"Enough." Hektor called out, he was the only one that was still fighting and pushing the goblins back.

"I don't care who joins me, but if you're just going to get in my way then leave."

Paul bashed the skull of another goblin before grunting in agreement. "Test your limits or not, the choice is yours Garnesh."

Garnesh grinded his teeth and followed the rest of them in falling back.

"We have priests and healers at the camp yet they don't want to use it?" Tarik asked out loud making sure that the other swordsman heard him clearly.

"Weak-willed." Tarik stated before dashing towards a group of goblins. "You give our dojo a bad name."

Tarik's provocation soon bore fruit as Garnesh charged towards the battle with his sword held high.

Souls: 58 -> 97