After two exchanges Bronn drastically changed his fighting style. He chose to remain more distant and wait for Faust to attack him before retreating and countering. This made it much harder for Faust to use his abilities as an advantage.

Faust felt elated at how fast, fluid, and easy his body moved. He had even defeated a veteran, even if only for the initial exchanges. The seasoned warrior had soon adapted himself. He was still at a speed and agility disadvantage, but Bronn’s strength and technique were superior to his.

Yet Faust did not tire. He whirled about on the battlefield like a tempest. He circled the older man, moving in and out with incredible speed. It all came so naturally to Faust.

‘It’s like I can feel the rhythm…’ he marveled as he attacked Bronn once more who grinned, deflecting and countering. Faustdodged and countered again, being able to fight on one level with the elite soldier. Neither of them tired out and they practiced for half an hour.

‘My spear technique has improved significantly… I have much better control of my body… but most importantly I feel as if I was half my weight when fighting.’ Faust concluded and propped his spear on the ground, looking at Titus who grinned.

“Not bad kid! You were able to fight on one level with Bronn, which is unheard of at your age. You used your speed to your advantage. But don’t get too excited, your technique is far from good.” He reprimanded Faust who grumbled inwardly.

‘I’m a 16-year-old who just managed to fight with a veteran… give me a break.’

Bronn laughed.

“This is great, that means if your technique gets to an acceptable level, which it will, if you train with us, then you will become a warrior much scarier than any of us.”

That made sense to Faust.

‘If I am on one level with an elite warrior and my technique is imperfect… then what would be if my technique was perfected?’ his eyes glistened. Titus didn’t want to mock him—quite the opposite.

‘It was hidden praise,’ Faust realized. ‘He has merely recognized my potential and stated the facts. My technique is bad in comparison to Bronn's. I can’t even imagine what would happen if one had an entire army of people like me… or stronger…’ Faust shuddered at the thought.

‘Now I understand why Alexander thinks this is so incredibly important, sending his elites for such a long time.’ Understanding dawned upon Faust.

‘If he can gain the edge on this new source of power… then the entire Kingdom will be his for the taking… then of course, all the other powers will search for it too. Tiberius… the other Dukes, maybe even the dwarves…’ he thought and realized he knew little to nothing about dwarves.

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He sat down on a bench with Bronn while Titus left to do some kind of paperwork.

Bronn was smiling.

“Kid, you really are as exotic as we were told. I didn’t believe Titus at first when he told me, but now that I’ve seen and experienced it first-hand… your reflexes and fluid movements are beyond human. Your footwork looks like that of a lifelong dancer…” he laughed, and Faust was happy when he heard the praise.

“Thank you, Bronn, but I am by far outclassed by your skill. You were able to adapt to my fighting style so quickly and were able to even out the playing field with your experience and prowess. I have not seen anyone handle the spear like you.” Faust replied and Bronn hummed happily.

“It’s good you are on our side. Your special constitution might be useless in a formation, yet in single combat, assassination, spying, and skirmishes, you have a large advantage. If you commit yourself diligently to learning how to use a spear, sword, and knife from me, then you will become a large threat. Maybe even some throwing weapons…” Bronn seemed to ponder, and Faust had trouble taking all that in.

“I… I have no idea about anything but formations and skirmishes, I have never learned about assassination or spying.” Faust admits and Bronn grins.

“Normal soldiers don’t. But those are skills that will be required on our mission. Well assassination not really, probably, but spying will be a main skill. That’s also the reason why we will travel in disguise.” Bronn revealed another fact about their mission.

“Oh? Then it will be a secret mission.” Faust nodded understandingly.

“We will brief you, from what I’ve been told, the other two boys have some kind of experience in these fields already. Regardless, we have an expert on the matter traveling to the castle at this very minute and he will advise Titus in his decisions and assist us.” Bronn explains.

“Oh? Who is that person?” Faust asked curiously.

“A former member of the Tide of Blood, an assassin’s organization. He was responsible for reconnaissance on targets. Now he is the personal spy of Alexander’s father, Lucius Argorus, the Duke. He has contacts in the city as well. He is the perfect person to bring with us.”

Faust gulped.

“You seem to have received a rather detailed briefing already,” Faust commented and Bronn slapped his back.

“You are right! We have known a mission like this one would start sooner or later so we have plans already. We just had no idea how crucial it would be. Initially only one of the Companions would have led a reconnaissance unit, but now we got an entire mission with a squad of around nine people on our hands.” Bronn leaned back onto the bench and sighed, looking at the rising sun.

“Antioch… the most beautiful city of them all…” he sighed dreamily.

Faust did not know any details besides what he had heard in the story about the siege from Alexander.

“What is it like… Antioch?” Faust asked, looking up in the sky.

“An island, far off the coast… the entire city is made of white stone, surrounded by high walls. There are dozens of small harbors all protected by gates, big or small. Inside of the city, you can find the most beautiful art, exotic spices, and things you have never seen before. It's also one of the few places outside of a battlefield you might see a dwarf.” He laughed and traced his beard.

“Bronn, can you tell me anything about dwarves? I heard them being mentioned so often, yet nobody has cared to elaborate so far…” Faust asked curiously, and Bronn was happy to oblige.

“There is a lot to know about the small bastards… well then, let me begin all the way back, before the kingdom had even formed… before Salutio even had its name.” Bronn took a deep breath and began telling the story.