Chapter 243: Fighting Spirit

The next morning, the troops started arranging themselves across the castle walls into groups. Each group had one or two ascenders to act as instructors and sparring partners for one another.

Talia and Emrys had a group together, while Dorbish and Barrett joined for another.

And so on.

A few refused to be part of this training since their methods were entirely different or incompatible altogether.

For example, Markala, the hunter, who mainly used throwing pikes, would only confuse himself and others in that kind of training.

Fisher was excluded by default, as well as Raiju...

Everyone was wary of Fisher thanks to the reputation of cockatrices.

As for Raiju, he was a sentient beast... His combat expertise was not very helpful to humans, regardless of his strength.

He was also naturally armed; they couldn’t replace his canines with training equipment.

From the last meeting, Moon concluded that the number of arcanists within the kingdom was actually zero.

There were some, but not second floor ascenders, which meant that till now the arcanists in Moon’s faction were only two.

Boa and Delilah... As for the fact that Moon himself was an arcanist, that was still a secret.

Thanks to his fight with Talia, Moon understood and valued having a few cards hidden. Thus, he was keeping this for now.

Arcanist or not... That alone wasn’t going to change the way the war progressed, but it might be able to turn the tide when the time was right.

Walking into the training arena, Moon’s partner here was none other than Gustav himself.

The older ascender was leading the troops of his beloved kingdom. Thus, he wanted to lead by example.

He was the strongest of all native ascenders, but he also knew he was but an average man when it came to the greater world.

He wanted to test himself against someone like Moon, who came from a very special background, or so he thought.

Soldiers of different ranks sat around the training arena with multiple weapon racks holding swords, spears, blades, and shields.

Usually, only swords and shields were present, yet Gustav had ordered blades to be present as well as spears to give the ascenders the freedom to pick the weapons they were most familiar with.

Something that made Dorbish, an axe user, curse inwardly.

But right now, Moon had no business knowing that. He walked to the weapon rack and picked a blade-shaped training weapon.

It was made of sturdy-feeling wood, lacking an edge.

Moon swung it around, getting the feel of it. "That would work," he said.

On the other side, Gustav, in his armor, picked a shield and a sword.

His armor was a large torso plate, painted white with bluish accents on the edges. Plate vambrace and chin guard, with leather leg armor.

"Your armor looks nice," Moon praised the looks and the practicality as well.

Moon liked weapons the most of everything, and now he was starting to develop feelings for armor as well, thanks to his growing experience with metalwork.

Taken off guard, or not expecting the words, Gustav froze for a split second before smiling. "It’s nothing compared to your exquisitely artistic armor, Sir Moon."

Moon swung his blade and walked inside the white ring marked on the stone floor.

"First move is yours," he said.

Gustav took a deep breath. He raised his shield and pointed his sword at Moon, a standard stance of the military.

But what happened next was nothing ordinary.

Gustav marched forward, white Echo radiance gathered on his legs, sword and shield.

Studying him, Moon concluded a few things.

First, the reason he was using Echo was to reinforce the wooden weapon so it wouldn’t break. Not to increase the damage output.

A result of his prolonged training with Ed, learning Echo Utility methods.

Second, the white radiance was a result of a Combat Art.

After hearing about the value of Combat Arts from Barrett yesterday, Moon was surprised to see one in this small kingdom.

Yet, the art was something that impressed Moon beyond the white colour it produced.

Gustav’s speed was accelerating. His movements felt like someone gliding on a slippery surface, but far from losing his balance.

High speed and smooth execution.

That was the impression the art gave, but that wasn’t everything.

Vooo~

Gustav’s sword stabbed forward; the white radiance extended from his sword, aiming at Moon.

Moon watched for a split second before stepping away. He wanted to watch a little more of the applications of this art.

Yet, the soldiers watching the scene started cheering.

"He retreated?"

"The General has the upper hand."

"GO, GENERAL!"

To them, all of the trial-taking ascenders were outsiders after all. Not a matter of right or wrong, but in their shoes, no one would find it pleasant for the highest authority in the kingdom to lose to a child who had just walked the path of ascension regardless of his background.

Gustav glided, chasing after Moon, who gradually retreated in circles.

The white radiance retracted like a tide before a slash emerged. The Echo produced a soft, distinct sound that wasn’t like anything Moon had heard before.

Yet it was closer to the sound of flowing water.

While retreating, Moon extended his hand to the shield, using one move he was familiar with. Pull down the shield and attack.

The white radiance faintly spun like a vortex on the edges of the shield.

"Ho... good combat art!" Moon exclaimed.

He decided not to fight it head-on and pulled his hand away.

Gustav chased after Moon, who moved irregularly and had yet to show his Echo. Slashing and stabbing while maintaining his defence without fail.

A well-rounded Combat Art that offered speed, defence, offence, and balance all at once without needing multiple arts for every purpose.

Moon couldn’t help finding it impressive and also pleasant to look at.

It reminded him of the sea. Looking bright, clean and always flowing.

The cheers kept rising; Moon was rapidly retreating and also couldn’t disarm the shield. Yet, they missed a very important detail.

One that both Moon and Gustav were aware of very clearly.

To maintain this level of output, Gustav was burning through his Echo rapidly.

He was rapidly running dry, while Moon had yet to release even the slightest amount of his own Echo.

Yet, that wasn’t the only thing the soldiers missed.

Moon wasn’t trying to fight Gustav in the first place; he was trying to better understand the strength of the people on his side.

It was the same when he had fought Talia and refused to hit her when she was down.

He didn’t aim to defeat Gustav for a demonstration; for a demonstration, he had thousands of soldiers to beat up.

For the sake of the upcoming war, for the morale of the soldiers that only he truly understood, Gustav was kept in high regard in the eyes of his soldiers.

After another exchange, Moon brought up his blade. Spark Echo gathered over it, looking beautiful and glittery.

Moon started blocking, attacking where Gustav would be able to defend. He led the fight into an evenly matched battle to the common soldier.

The visual of clashing Echoes, with the sound of Gustav’s receding Echo after each clash, had the soldiers jump to their feet.

Watching intently in anticipation.

It was one of the true objectives of this drill Moon had suggested.

Since the beginning, Moon had known these soldiers had never seen blood. Thus, the first step to make them useful was to get them excited.

To ignite their spirit ablaze, get them yearning dearly for combat.

Fighting spirit.