“Can you walk?” Tamara asked Arthur with concern.

“Yeah! Arthur, are you alright? I can't believe that woman just did that!” Stevan finally snapped out of his daze and approached them, holding Arthur by the shoulder, which made him flinch.

“I know, right! If she wasn't our sergeant, then I would have... you know...” Simon chimed in with gusto.

“With her cultivation, she can probably hear you, you know?” Tamara whispered, which made Simon's face turn white.

Arthur couldn't help but chuckle at Simon's reaction. It was just so priceless that it helped him gather himself.

“I'm alright. You guys can go first. I just need a little time,” he said with a small smile. “Also, you probably want to take Kale with you. I think he needs more help than I do,” he added, pointing at Kale.

It was funny that Kale took it harder than Arthur, even though he was the one who had a dagger under his throat.

“Fine, take your time, but don't take too much. We don't know what that woman might do to you if you do,” Simon agreed.

“She can hear you,” Tamara helpfully reminded.

Simon opened his mouth but closed it again, barely able to hold back his cursing. “Let's go, Kale. We should not make Sergeant Layla wait,” he said before dragging Kale with him.

“Hahahaha!” Arthur and the others finally couldn't hold back their laughter after Simon left the room.

After a while, Tamara left with Stevan to give Arthur some time, which he appreciated since he really needed it.

*Squeak Squeak*

Rat squeaked with its foreleg crossed and one of its hind legs stomping the ground, as if protesting Layla's previous behavior.

“I know, Rat. I don’t like her either, but we are stuck with her for the time being,” Arthur weakly smiled at his bond.

*Squeak!*

“We can't just leave. Also, it wasn't all that bad here. Today, I laughed more than in the last ten years, you know?”

“Anyway, let's go. We don't want her screaming at us for being late,” he picked up the rat before running after the others.

The yard was massive, as it needed to be large enough for a whole battalion of soldiers and their bonds, which could be larger than houses!

“Privates, get in line!” Sergeant Layla barked at them.

“This is a combat assessment. I know the other sergeants probably started with some theoretical knowledge, but you guys are in luck! We will push the knowledge for later and jump right into the action!”

“You will pair up and duel each other. You may use any weapon you want, but you are forbidden to use your bond. Am I clear enough?”

“Yes, Ma'am!” they replied.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“If at any point your bond helps you or disturbs the fight, I will take it as you failing to control your bond and becoming a liability to our squad. And I don't have to spell it out for you what that means, right?” she emphasized.

“No, Ma'am.”

“Good. You will be using this training sword, but if you prefer another kind of weapon, just let me know,” Layla pulled out six sets of training swords out of nowhere.

“Kale, Simon, you go first.”

Kale took the training sword she offered him, but Simon seemed to hesitate before he looked at his sergeant.

“Ma'am, may I have a training spear, please?” he asked, to which Layla summoned a wooden rod with a blunt wooden spearhead.

With both recruits armed with wooden weapons, they were ready for their duel. They just needed their officer to start the duel.

To Arthur's surprise, Kale's demeanor changed 180 degrees the moment he got his hand on the wooden sword.

“He seems more confident and... how do I put this... sharper, I guess?” he thought.

“Start!” Layla announced, and both recruits sprang into motion.

It was the first time Arthur saw people fighting with weapons, even though he knew that most people trained in martial arts since the apocalypse.

Kale's movements were light and fast. He closed the distance within seconds, zigzagging across the yard.

Meanwhile, Simon decided to hold his ground, waiting for Kale to attack. His form was solid, holding the spear with both hands.

Kale circled around Simon, trying to catch him from the side with quick footwork, which, to Arthur's surprise, looked like Kale could change direction while running at full speed without slowing down.

Simon was not a slouch either. He blocked the sword with a swing of his spear, but it didn't stop there. The momentum of his spear hit Kale's sword, pushing him back a few meters.

The clash continued, with Kale keeping up his dizzying footwork while trying to hit Simon where he least expected it. Simon blocked each attack and pushed Kale back each time they clashed.

“Woah! Simon is actually so strong for his size! Kale is so fast too! I bet Simon’s trait is about strength, while Kale’s is about speed!” Arthur exclaimed in marvel at the exchange.

“No, Arthur, you got it wrong,” Tamara corrected him.

“Huh? What do you mean? Simon is so strong he can push Kale back. There's no way mundane human strength can do that,” Arthur asked in confusion, which made Tamara frown.

“Don't you know that animal cultivators get half their bond's physical might? With Little Orange being that big, it's normal for Simon to have superhuman strength! Also, Kale can move quickly because of Bumble as well!” she explained.

“Ah, is that so? I did not know,” he confessed sheepishly, which earned him a piercing glare from somewhere. He could feel it without looking.

“If I had to guess, then I believe Simon's trait is something that helps him ground himself, as I don't see him getting pushed back even an inch during their clash, which is impossible with so much movement involved,” Tamara supplied.

“Then what about Kale?” he asked.

“If Sergeant Layla hadn't said that Kale doesn't have a trait or talent about insects, I would have guessed it was his trait. But now that the cat is out of the bag, I think his trait is about the sword. I just feel there is something special in the way he carries his sword,” she pondered, but she wasn't sure about it.

As they talked, the fight was about to reach its climax. Kale had been moving around Simon for a while without striking, looking for a chance, which Simon did not give, as he remained on defense without any interest in taking the initiative.

Both Kale and Simon were out of breath, but neither had given in. Kale finally decided to strike, but this time, he decided to clash head-on instead of striking from the side.

His strike was pretty wide, which looked like a desperate move to Arthur, and it seemed Simon thought that way as well. He saw it as a chance to attain victory.

Simon had secretly been holding back his strength, as he knew that with the difference in speed, he needed an opening to land a hit on Kale.

With the chance presented to him, Simon used his full strength in this clash, intending to disarm Kale.

Wood clashed against wood before the wooden sword spun through the sky, splintering apart due to the full power of Simon's attack.

“That's it!” Layla stopped the fight. “The winner of this match is Kale!” she declared.

Kale had let go of his sword the moment it collided with Simon's spear. Then, he slipped closer to Simon with his superior mobility, holding his open palm towards his neck. The rest was history.

“What the hell!” Arthur was stunned by the twist and turns of their little duel. “Kale is so strong! Who would have guessed!” he screamed internally.