The large shield in Faust’s left hand was slim and astonishingly light. It still presented decent coverage for his body. Two leather straps gave him a better grip. In his right, he held a spear about two meters long. Instead of a sharp tip, the shaft’s end was cushioned.

Vitus, Cassius, and Leona watched from the sidelines as Aquila and Faust circled each other like wolves stalking after their prey, ready to pounce on each other anytime. Neither Aquila nor Faust had experience in close combat. When Vitus announced they would start with mandatory weapon combat training Faust had heard him grumble something along the lines of:

“Brutish weapons. No elegance…”

Faust was focused. The past week of practice with Leona did wonders for his balance.

“Don’t focus your eyes on a single part of your opponent’s body! You’ll miss other movements!” They heard Vitus shout from the sidelines. Faust immediately noticed a difference. While he was focused purely on Aquila’s spear before he was now aware of his entire body. The rhythm of his steps was obvious to Faust now. He had good instincts.

That was when Faust saw Aquila's feet move forward before his upper body or spear moved at all. This gave Faust enough time to raise his shield to stop the spear from hitting his head. After the first thrust, a second immediately followed and hit his feet since he had pulled it up too far. He was immediately scolded.

“DON’T FUCKING HIDE BEHIND YOUR SHIELD!” Vitus shouted angrily.

“HOW WILL YOU FIGHT AN OPPONENT YOU CAN’T SEE?”

‘Sounds about right. So instead of hiding, I should use another way to stop his thrust without covering my vision… Vitus's last tip was really good… if I hadn’t seen his feet move I wouldn’t have been able to react in time to his thrust. Aquila sure is fast.’ He looked into Aquila’s smirking eyes.

“Hold your shield away from your body, don’t hug it. That will provide you with more mobility, vision, and protection!” Vitus patiently added.

Both teenagers followed his advice and had an easier time blocking and attacking as they held their shields correctly. Vitus watched them, visibly unsatisfied.

“Their thrusts are pathetic. We will work on that in the punching training.” He grumbled.

Leona gulped.

“It looks decent already…” she argued.

“No. For a kid maybe. For a soldier… no way. I’ve shown them the very basics of holding a spear and shield, but they’re far away from proper technique. They’re forgetting my advice mid-fight!” he chuckled. Leona slowly started to understand that this wasn’t casual playfighting but preparing for actual combat.

After continuing their fight for a minute Faust had noticed something.

‘His shield always releases an opening whenever he attacks… I will use that to my advantage…’ he smirked.

Aquila had different thoughts.

‘He easily gets overwhelmed by a flurry of attacks. Ill hid his head now when he tries to protect his legs.’

‘The next time he attacks I'll evade backward and counter with my spear…’ Faust decided and waited for the right moment.

‘NOW!’ Both men thought when they burst into action.

Aquila pounced forward nimbly and expected to have his spear repelled by his opponent's shield.

Faust’s eyes glinted as he retreated a step and evaded the thrust before stepping forward and in the same movement glid forward and with his full body aimed at the opening on Aquila's upper body.

His spear hit the boy right in the face and made him fall to the ground with a bleeding nose. Aquila dropped his arms and groaned. Faust stood there dumbly. In his mind, he had imitated the movements required to fork hay on the farm in Poplia… just with one hand.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Vitus's eyes glinted.

‘Where the hell did that come from?’ the old man thought. Leona cheered.

Faust hurriedly dropped his weapons and ran over to Aquila.

“Hey, you okay?” Faust asked and worry filled his voice. He was still amazed at his previous actions.

‘I did it! I fucking did it!’ he cheered inwardly.

‘So if I use my entire body not just my arms and shoulders to thrust… then it will be stronger and faster…’ he marveled.

Cassius gulped. He knew Aquila was prideful.

‘Ououou, that hurt. And his pride took the brunt of it.’ He secretly snickered to himself. Aquila's pride pissed him off. It made his social skills awkward. He cared for his friend, yet he couldn’t suppress a sense of Schadenfreude.

Aquila groaned.

“Fucker. You got me.” He remained silent for a bit. Cassius looked at Faust and rapidly moved his flat hand in front of his throat. Faust understood. He also knew Aquila was prideful. An awkward silence filled the air as Aquila wiped the tears from his eyes. He looked at Faust and then started laughing. It didn’t sound happy. A bit shrill even. Vitus was perplexed.

‘Did that hit mess with his head?’

Yet nobody could look into Aquila’s head.

‘Oh fuck. Hahahaha! I spent so much time training the bow I missed out on this! This is awesome! Pain… it makes me feel alive.’

Only Cassius smiled faintly.

“I think he likes it.”

“The fighting?” Leona asks with disbelief on his face.

“No. The pain.” Cassius smirked.

Leona gulped with a blush.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s a maniac. Always has been. The more things suck the more he likes it. No food for days? He grins. Can’t feel his arms from bow practice? A bright smile. This… must be a kick for him. Not sexually, but... he's just crazy you know, those people exist.” The man explained.

Vitus listened attentively, then it dawned upon him.

“That can be dangerous, but it can also prove to be useful. If he can control himself, he will be a good asset to your squad. I know people like him. They’re scary on the battlefield. Lucon, Schenk’s second in command is such a fighter. I once saw him covered in wounds with an axe in his hand splitting orcs while laughing… his laugh sounded pretty similar.”

“Lucon? But he’s so nice.” Leona asks aghast.

“To you. Not to his enemies. And even less to himself. That’s what we call freaks.” Vitus smirks.

“That’s probably why Schenk assigned Aquila to your squad.”

In the meantime, Faust had helped Aquila back on his feet and Aquila immediately wanted to continue with the practice. Faust gladly continued.

Though none of them knew, Schenk was watching them. Next to him stood Lucon.

Lucon was a man about to turn 30. He had no beard or hair.

“Faust sure took Aquila by surprise. His movements were nimble. Vitus didn’t even show them how to counter yet. He has a good affinity for battle. That prideful boy deserved that.” Lucon grumbled. He didn’t like arrogance. His scar-covered face showed disdain.

“Vitus will teach him. There won’t be a hint of arrogance left. But I have to admit. The laugh just now… reminded me a lot of yourself.” Schenk chuckled.

Lucon scoffed.

“I would never be such a prick.” Schenk just smirked at him.

His friend hit Schenk on the chest and laughed heartily. “Fuck off.”

They were brothers in arms. While in stressful situations they strictly followed the protocols indoctrinated into their minds, in private moments like this they were more like actual brothers. Lucon even called Schenk by his first name, Androcles. Something not many could allow themselves.

Schenk coughed and returned the favor. Both grinned. Schenk looked back at the kids.

“Still. Aquila is a maniac. Just like you. I saw it when he was training the bow by himself. He treats himself worse than his enemies… and enjoys it.” The baron spoke.

“That’s why you assigned him to your daughter's retinue? Do you enjoy it so much having a battle maniac as your friend that you want her to have the same?” Lucon chuckled and put a hand on Schenk’s shoulder.

“Couldn’t wish for a more loyal follower and comrade.” He said and put his hand on Lucon’s shoulder.

The latter just smiled. They continued watching the kids.

“I just hope war won’t break them…” Schenk sighed.

“Like us?” Lucon replied with a toneless voice.

“Like us,” Schenk confirmed.

“It gets to everyone Androcles. Even to the best of us.” Lucon mumbled and his eyes showed a mix of hurt, killing intent, and coldness.

“The day I stopped feeling anything when I took a life… I still remember it as if it was yesterday… you know, the day we overran the Bloodhand Tribes outpost.”

The same coldness took root in Schenk’s eyes.

“How could I forget? I’m constantly getting reminded of it in my dreams.”

“Damnit Androcles! We're only thirty!” Lucon mumbled.

“A warrior can’t escape his fate.” Schenk sighed.

“They will also find a way to deal with it.” Lucon nodded.

Schenk couldn’t help but look at Faust who was currently battling Cassius.

‘He’s already suffering from it… what Mirabella told me was horrible… but what is to be expected of a boy who saw… what he saw… I just hope he will find a way to deal with it for good or even use it as a source of strength and determination, not just suppress it like me.’ Schenk thought with a sad smile and traced a few of the scars on his forearms.

He could still feel the pain of every one of his wounds whenever he thought of them. They didn’t actually hurt, a doctor told him, but it was his mind making it up.

When Lucon saw Schenk tracing his scars he shook his head before punching him into the shoulder.

"Snap out of it!"

The baron just smiled weakly.

“There are some wounds time just doesn’t heal.”