Chapter 14
Damian looked at the 2nd toon forming a triangr formation ahead.
In reality, the skill level of the trainees is pretty simr. What matters is how meticulously they pay attention to details.
“Let’s just do what we practiced.”
“Alright!”
“Kyle, stick to the n. When I signal, you need to push the guys in front of us hard.”
“Hehe, don’t worry. I’m confident in my strength! I’ll knock them outpletely.”
Kyle shed a confident grin, his eyes wide with determination, but he kept shifting ufortably, as if the tight formation bothered him.
“Hey, Kyle, stay still.”
“Damn it, it’s suffocating.”
The dense rectangr formation of Damian’s toon was tight.
But soon…
“Start!”
As the instructor’s shout echoed, all the members of the 1st toon red fiercely at the 2nd toon ahead.
“Waaahhhh!”
“Crush them all!”
The trainees of the 2nd toon shouted as they charged toward the defensive formation of the 1st toon in their triangr formation.
The 2nd toon’s attack came first.
The 1st toon raised their shields, forming a dense rectangr formation to block the attack.
But…
“…Isn’t that formation too narrow?”
“Being so tightly packed isn’t necessarily a good thing.”
“Hmmm…”
The instructors, watching from the tform to evaluate, looked puzzled at the unusually dense rectangr formation of the 1st toon.
While being packed so tightly would prevent them from falling over…
“But after blocking once, they won’t be able to do much, and they’ll end up as sitting ducks.”
“Let’s wait and see.”
The instructors watched the formation battle between the 1st and 2nd toons with interest.
“Huuuuu…”
“This is… really nerve-wracking.”
“It feels like we’re in a real battle.”
The 1st toon trainees, holding their shields tightly, gulped nervously.
Even though the spears they held had padded tips instead of des, they were still threatening enough to cause serious impact if struck properly.
Damian, standing at the center of the dense formation, watched the 2nd toon. And then…
“What are these guys doing?”
“Their formation is much narrower than usual.”
“But it’s just a trick! Let’s smash them!”
The 2nd toon trainees, who had been charging with confidence, shouted loudly as they rammed their shields into the 1st toon’s formation.
Bang!
With a loud crash, the rectangr formation of the 1st toon shook hard. But…
“…Huh?”
“What’s this? Why does it feel so solid?”
That was it.
Because the formation was so tightly packed, it felt like a single, solid wall.
And then…
“Push!”
“Hyaaaaaaah!”
“Aaaah!”
The trainees in the second row, including Kyle, shouted as they pushed against the backs of the shield bearers in front.
Naturally, the shield bearers in the front also pushed back against the 2nd toon’s vanguard.
Rumble!
In that intense moment of struggle…
“Huh? Huhhh?”
“We’re… we’re being pushed!”
“Hold on! Hold the line!”
“We’re the ones attacking!”
The vanguard of the 2nd toon, shocked by the unexpectedly strong counterattack, couldn’t hide their confusion.
And that wasn’t the end.
Boom!
As they were being pushed back, the front shield bearers of the 1st toon, who had moved forward two steps, quickly bent their knees slightly and lowered their bodies.
And at that moment…
Wham!
The spearmen in the second row thrust their spears forward, aiming directly at the vanguard of the 2nd toon.
The shield bearers of the 2nd toon, caught off guard by the unexpected attack, screamed and retreated.
“Ugh!”
“What the…!”
“These bastards…!”
The faces of the 2nd toon trainees twisted as they realized just how well-coordinated the attack was.
With just one maneuver.
They instinctively felt it.
That they… might lose.
But the battle wasn’t over yet.
As the formation of the 2nd toon began to crumble under the renewed attack…
“Kyle!”
“Hyaaaaaah!”
Kyle, who had been in the second row, charged forward, breaking through the front line of the 2nd toon.
Boom!
He was like a tank.
Without even holding a shield, Kyle bulldozed through the enemy shield bearers with just his shoulder, entering the enemy formation.
The 2nd toon leader, who had been givingmands, couldn’t hide his shock.
“What the hell is that monster?”
It was hard to believe that he was just another trainee, given his immense strength.
Rumble!
Following the path Kyle had cleared, the 1st toon trainees poured in, tearing apart the 2nd toon’s formation.
At the center of this precise, coordinated movement was Damian, shoutingmands and directing them.
“Spread out to the sides and secure some space! Kyle, push back anyoneing at you!”
The instructors watching this were left speechless, their mouths agape.
“What… what is this?”
“1st toon Leader. Did you give them some special training?”
“Hmm… no, I’m a bit surprised.”
Even Brian was astounded by the sight of his toon members.
They looked almost like elite soldiers who had undergone advanced training.
And there was a reason for this.
After every training session, Damian had pointed out the deficiencies of each toon member and made them do additional training in the barracks.
“Raise your shields! Don’t lower them below your shoulders!”
“Hey, do it like we practiced! Move in when I signal!”
Even in the tense situation, the 1st toon traineesmunicated by shouting to each other.
Then, as they coordinated, they gradually pushed back the 2nd toon and secured more space.
Just as Damian had taught them.
It hadn’t been a long time, but simply following what they learned produced these results.
“Now!”
Wham!
At Damian’s signal, the shield bearers who had advanced forward knocked their opponents aside andpletely split the 2nd toon in two.
And then, Kyle charged toward the isted 2nd toon leader.
“Hyaaaaaaah!”
With a loud battle cry, Kyle’s charge sent the 2nd toon leader into a panic, causing him to retreat.
“Stop him!”
“No way!”
“You think I’ll let you get away!”
At the 2nd toon leader’smand, other shield bearers rushed to block Kyle’s path. But…
“Hehehehe, gotcha.”
“…!”
“What did you say?”
Just as everyone’s attention was focused on Kyle…
Swish!
Someone leaped over Kyle from behind,nding on his shoulders.
“Nice, Kyle.”
A dark figure used Kyle as a springboard and lunged forward, thrusting their spear into the chest of the 2nd toon leader.
Thwack!
“Gah!”
The 2nd toon leader fell t on his back.
Damian quickly jumped on top of him, snatching the g from his grasp.
“It’s our victory!”
Damian shouted as he triumphantly raised the enemy’s g.
An overwhelming victory.
The instructors couldn’t help but rise from their seats and apud the quick, decisive battle between the two toons.
“Impressive.”
“It looks like it’s going to end in aplete victory for the 1st toon, don’t you think?”
“Well, if the other toons are on the same level as the 2nd toon, it’s possible, but…”
“But I don’t think that’s necessarily going to be the case.”
“…?”
At the instructor’s words, the others turned their attention to another formation battle that was taking ce.
* * *
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it…!”
The 4th toon leader, with narrowed eyes, was failing to break through the solid formation of the 3rd toon.
“Push harder! Push! Put more strength into it!”
The narrow-eyed leader in the center of the formation yelled desperately.
In response to his cries, the shield bearers at the front of the 4th toon gritted their teeth and gave it their all, but…
“Arghhhhh!”
“Hyaaaaah!”
The 3rd toon’s defensive line didn’t budge an inch.
As time passed, the uniforms of the 4th toon trainees began to be stained with blood.
The unhealed wounds were being reopened as more damage piled on.
“…Their spirit is remarkable.”
The 4th toon was nothing short of relentless.
Gerard, the leader of the 3rd toon, observed them quietly before turning to Apel beside him.
“What should we do?”
Apel looked over at the 4th toon trainees.
They were all sweating profusely, some with red droplets falling to the ground from their feet.
It was clear that they were in poor condition.
“Let’s just hold our ground. The time’s almost up… they won’t be able to break through us.”
In this exercise, the attacking formation had to break through the opponent’s defense and capture their g within the time limit.
But with the time almost up, there was nothing the 4th toon could do.
It didn’t seem wise to break their formation just to attack.
Gerard nodded.
“So… now it’s our turn to attack?”
“Stoooop!”
Right then, the instructor’s shout echoed, and the trainees of the 4th toon, who had been pushing with all their might, copsed.
They seemed to have exhausted all their strength in the previous attack and were now panting heavily.
“Huff… Huff… Huff…”
They needed time to catch their breath, but…
“Switch roles!”
At the instructor’smand to quickly switch from attack to defense, the 4th toon trainees grumbled as they forced their heavy bodies to stand again.
But then…
“What are you doing! Is this all you’ve got? How are we supposed to crush the 1st toon like this?”
The narrow-eyed leader berated his toon members.
The disjointed attack made it clear that they weren’t in sync.
“When we first attacked, I told you two of you should hit the same shield bearer at the same time. That’s how you break their front line!”
“We did! But what are we supposed to do when they hold their ground?”
“Those guys were so tough. Three others were backing up the one we were attacking!”
At the toon members’ints, the narrow-eyed leader scowled.
“So you’re saying you couldn’t take down one guy with two people, and now you’re ming me?”
“No, it’s just that the others were covering for him… Never mind, I’m too tired to argue.”
“Come on, guys, it’s not over yet. Now it’s our turn to defend.”
“Yeah, if we hold out well, it’ll be a draw. Let’s give it our best shot.”
Some of the other toon members tried to mediate, and the narrow-eyed leader sighed and returned to his original position.
“Let’s do this right, guys. Fight on!”
He shouted, but no one responded.
And so the battle continued with the 3rd toon attacking and the 4th toon defending.
“It’s better to break through right away, right? They look pretty worn out.”
Before moving the formation, Gerard looked at Apel for confirmation.
It didn’t seem necessary to drag out the fight against such an exhausted opponent.
But Apel shook his head.
“Rather than that, just tapping their shields with our spears while they’re holding them tightly against their bodies will be enough to tire them out.”
If they kept their shields close to their bodies, each strike would exacerbate their unhealed wounds, adding to their suffering.
Gerard chuckled at that.
“So you’re suggesting we stick to the basics but draw it out a bit?”
“Yes, time is on our side.”
At that response, Gerard gave Apel a thoughtful look.
In just two weeks, Apel had shown himself to be quite an unusual character.
‘…Has he already studied tactics?’
His understanding of formations and exploiting the enemy’s weaknesses was impressive.
It might be natural on the battlefield, but…
‘In a training camp like this… and for a fourteen-year-old to be this knowledgeable is not normal.’
He couldn’t help but be curious about Apel’s background.
It was clear that he wasn’t just an ordinarymoner.
“Alright, let’s go with that.”
Gerard then began to move the formation, looking at the 4th toon.
They wore fierce, determined expressions, but determination alone wouldn’t be enough to win.
“Charge!”
The 3rd toon, as per Apel’s strategy, kept some distance from the 4th toon and began striking their shields with their spears.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each time the blunt spear struck the shield, the bodies of the 4th toon trainees shook.
The best oue would be if they couldn’t hold out and charged forward themselves.
Even if they didn’t, this alone would be enough to wear them down.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The 3rd toon continued to maximize their time, relentlessly striking the enemy shields.
The shield bearers of the 4th toon began to grimace.
“You bastards! Juste to us already!”
“They’re stalling for time!”
As their frustration grew, curses began to spill from their mouths.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The spearmen of the 3rd toon, hidden behind their own shield bearers, continued to poke at the enemy, unbothered.
“Ugh!”
Finally, one of the 4th toon’s shield bearers at the front wavered and created an opening.
And at that moment…
“Now!”
“Hyaaaaaah!”
At Gerard’smand, the leading shield bearer of the 3rd toon charged through the gap with ferocity.
Bang!
With the shield leading the charge, the front line of the 4th toon staggered heavily.
“Ugh!”
“Don’t fall! Hold the line!”
But the gap couldn’t be closed immediately.
As the formation of the 4th toon started to crumble…
“Apel!”
At Gerard’s shout, Apel dashed towards a nearby toon member.
As Apel ran, one of the 3rd toon members held his shield close to his body, providing a foothold for Apel.
“Hup!”
As Apel stepped on the shield and leapt forward…
“Haaah!”
The 3rd toon member, who was his foothold, pushed his shield up,unching Apel into the air.
Whoosh!
In an instant, Apel soared over the 4th toon’s shield bearers, his eyes shing with intensity as hended.
Magical energy surged into the spear Apel was holding.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
And with a series of dull thuds, the formation of the 4th toonpletely copsed.
“What… What are you doing, you idiots!”
The narrow-eyed leader shouted angrily at his toon members. And at that moment…
“…It’s over.”
Damian, who had finished his battle earlier and came to watch the 3rd toon, murmured softly.
He had thought Apel was someone unusual, but…
‘In the end, the real showdown will be between the 1st and 3rd toons.’
Damian’s gaze was fixed on Apel.