The moment Asher opened his eyes, he saw all hundred soldiers staring at him, their eyes wide open in shock. Following their gazes, he spotted the massive ditch he had inadvertently created when training. He then exhaled sharply.
Rising to his feet, he issued a command. “Moses, make sure everyone is fed. Training begins immediately after that.”
Without another word, he turned and walked away.
Levi frowned as he approached Moses and Simon, his brows furrowed with unease. “What could turn that kid into… that?”
“Loss,” Simon said softly, his voice tinged with weariness.
“It’s not for you to know,” Moses interjected firmly, turning to face Levi.
Shortly after everyone had filled, they marched into the forest, heading to a dense area filled with towering trees. Once there, they began thrusting their spears against the same tree they had struck the previous day. While training, Levi’s arms trembled because he had to practice thrusting with both hands to maintain his stamina.
He couldn’t understand it. They were going to thrust their spears against enemies that were made up of flesh and blood so why did they have to train against something that was this hard?!
By the time he thrust his spear two more times, he felt like his palm was about to split open. The stinging pain forced him to drop his spear. But right then, the sound of approaching footsteps fell into his ears.
“Simon, I can’t…!”
Levi’s eyes widened as he saw Asher standing behind him, his golden eyes piercing into his soul.
Although he was in his mid forties, Levi felt a chill run down his spine. There was something about Asher’s force that had always made him feel uncomfortable but when standing face to face with him, it was a dozen times more jarring.
At that moment, Levi thought he was staring at a ravenous wolf ready to rip him apart. Sweat trickled down to his chin and he forced himself to pick up the spear.
To his shock, Asher handed him a brown wrapping and a small jar of ointment. “Apply it and continue. It will ease the pain.”
With that Asher turned and walked away.
Levi stared at the items in his hand and then at the retreating captain. ‘Maybe he’s not an evil incarnate after all,’ he thought.
And just like that, a week passed in this relentless cycle. Every day, the hundred soldiers trained before sunrise and would only return to the camp after sunset. The gruelling training continued to seep into their knight bodies, slowly reforging them into tougher, more disciplined warriors.
Like any other day, Asher stood in silence, watching them thrust their spears against the trees. Around him lay what could be considered the remnants of their efforts—over 150 fallen trees!
His sharp eyes zeroed in on a particularly muscular man with brown wrappings around his hands while he relentlessly thrust his spear against a tree. In a mere five thrusts, the large three fell.
Although panting, the buff man was determined and moved on to the next one. He was Levi. And there were many others like him.
By the time the sun had started to set, Levi had brought down six trees, breaking his previous record of four. Yet, his arms trembled uncontrollably from the strain.
Collapsing onto the ground, Levi lay panting, his gaze fixed on the sky.
Tapk! Tapk!
He heard footsteps approaching. Not long after, Asher appeared, his gaze steady as he looked down. “You have done well.”
Turning away, Asher examined the others who were furiously thrusting their spears like mindless beasts, their sole desire seemingly nothing more than toppling the unyielding trees before them.
Asher nodded to Moses, who was perched atop Stark’s back.
“Halt!”
Although the soldiers struggled to stop in unison, Asher wasn’t worried about that. The first stage of their training had borne fruit. The purpose of this training was to instil a mentality that every strike executed would be undoubtedly backed up with the instinct to kill, the force of each thrust bound to be precisely destructive!
Secondly, beyond the mental conditioning, the training also increased their stamina and strengthened their bodies. Thrusting wasn’t merely to build up the arms—it engaged their chest, abs and other muscle groups of the body that had undergone strengthening.
“We march back to camp,” Asher commanded. “Take tomorrow to rest, we shall begin the next stage of the training after that.”
Struggling to his feet, Levi asked a question. “I mean no offence, Captain, but… what is the next stage?”
“You shall see it soon enough.”
With that, Asher mounted Bezerk and rode off, leaving the soldiers to begin their march back.
“Why does he get to ride while we walk?” one soldier grunted. Your journey continues with empire
Levi glanced at the soldier and then at Asher’s departing figure. “He has been doing that for the past two days,” he muttered, shaking his head.
_____
Asher rode through a narrow path in the forest that opened into an open space surrounded by tall trees but no grass. The reason the ground was devoid of any grass was because it was covered in a thick layer of ice!
Asher dismounted and then began walking on the ice.
He gazed at the boulders that were half the size of a human and walked over to an empty space and then began to form another ice boulder.
For the past two days, he had been testing his newfound talent. At first, he thought he would need to cast spells for his ability to work, but to his surprise, it worked more naturally—similar to the synergy Ashbourne had but on a far stronger level.
Also, he discovered that the greater force he poured into creating the ice, the stronger and more resilient it became. Strangely, his ice had never melted!
It was like his ice was akin to a beautiful stone that retained its permanence.
Asher did not know what sort of ice this was. Not even the Ashbourne wolves, renowned for their mastery over ice elements, couldn’t produce ice like this.
However…
Raising his fist, Asher struck a punch at the ice boulder he had just created and it shattered into countless ice shards.
He knew he had a lot of work to do if he wanted his talent Kryos to live up to its name. For now, his focus was on creating the next training ground for his men.
Asher dreamed of creating an elite force, one surpassing the King’s Swordsmen and this time, both he and the system would work hand in hand.
It wouldn’t be the system anymore.
His thoughts faltered as the ice rose behind him, forming a sculpture of Sapphira. For a fleeting moment, his cold demeanor thawed. But then, with a swift motion, he destroyed the sculpture.
‘System, the first training stage is complete. Are they qualified?’
[Ding! Would you like to upgrade the 100 from their incapacitated rank to their true rank as diamond-ranked paladins? Yes or No? Be warned: this upgrade represents just the basic level for a profession such as the paladin.]
‘It’s a step forward.’
A faint smile touched Asher’s lips.