12. A New Training Regimen

From afar, two men cloaked in dark green stared at the training yard where Richard, Fredrick, and Nathanial stood. They were calmly observing the trio perform their routine strength training while sitting at a weathered oak table with two barely stable crates as their seats. One man had blonde hair with bright blue eyes like that of the ocean, while another had black hair with hazel eyes the color of walnuts. Both were watchmen, the same ones that had pulled the trio from the jaws of death only a few days prior.

Now they were on a small, four-hour break with their leather armor fastened tightly to their bodies and iron swords strapped firmly to their belts in case of an emergency deployment. Each one had a leather pouch on one side and an obsidian dagger on the other.

The weight of iron hung heavy at their belts, and the stench of blood followed them wherever they went. But now the two calmly sat there without a care for the dirt that clung to the fabric of their cloaks.

“Is that the patrol party we saw earlier?” the man with hazel eyes asked.

“Hm?” the other raised a brow before nodding. “It would seem so, John. But it seems like they’re struggling a bit.”

“Mhm. Mhm.” John happily agreed. After taking a quick sip of his warm tea from the cracked wooden cup, he stared at his friend with eyes filled with conviction. “That’s why we should step in and give them a bit of help. Isn’t that right, Luka?”

Luka took a deep breath and clapped his pale hands together before pointing them at his friend. He closed his eyes and slowly exhaled. Then opened them and judged his every word.

“Are you outta your goddamn mind?”

John blankly stared at him. “Huh? I thought you would be up for that idea since that’s usually what happens when Tucker suggests it.”

“No? There’s a difference because that’s dodging work. Here we’re adding more to our plates.”

“It’s basically the same thing, plus we have nothing else to do.”

Both of them stared at the swirls of white steam reaching for the sky. The amber liquid of dried leaves that John had carefully brewed with delicate practice tasted awful, like someone had spat in their cups. But both of them drank it because there was a certain elegance that made them feel like upper-class nobles. Yet, after sipping away at the same drink for days, they had grown bored with it.

John placed the cup back down on the oak table with a soft click. “Alright, but hear me out.”

He paused for a second. “We’ve been hunting down those abyssal cloaked bastards along the perimeter for days now. Even if we keep killing them, there seems to be an endless amount of bodies being thrown at the kingdom’s forward positions.”

The other watchman slowly nodded while pulling down his hood. “So what? Are you saying the Avalon Empire has a reason for this besides testing the strength of our forces?”

“It’s hard to say, really. I mean, if you think about it… They’re the ones who declared war on us. If it wasn’t for the other watchmen discovering those bandit encampments and burning them to the ground, then we would’ve been in a shitty position. Strategically and logistically.”

“Look, I understand, but we’re barely winning these skirmishes as it is. It’s a miracle we haven’t lost anyone yet,” Luka said, dropping his gaze to his boots. “Especially in a career where most of us die young.”

“You don’t have to remind me; I know. I know damn well that we’ll probably not see the end of this war, but what about them?”

John gestured toward the trio nearby, who were doing their best. “You’ve seen what it’s like out there. The Empire is practically sending its youth into the meat grinder without a care in the world, and they’re talented, too. We’re trading blows with four-star aura users. If we don’t help them, then even those guys we saved are going to die for nothing. Can you in good conscience just stand by and let it happen?”

“They’re not the ones I’m trying to protect,” Luka muttered.

“I know, man. You care about the others in our batch, but come on. Out of all the patrol groups that went out, they were the only ones who made it back because they actually fought together.” John nodded toward Nathanial. “That kid with the white hair, doesn’t he remind you of someone? He’s got that same stubborn grit. The attitude is different, sure, but the potential is there. We can’t just let that go to waste.”

Luka cracked a smile. “You don’t have to tell me that. It’s not every day you see someone who doesn’t have an aura raise his hands against a four-star aura user.”

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“Exactly!”

The water contractor eagerly jumped out of his seat, causing Luka to lean back with a troubled expression.

“That’s why I want to help him. He’s got that iron in him.” John clutched one fist close to his heart while staring at the sun. “Imagine, with our guidance, we can turn him into one of the best soldiers there is. Unlike all the other patrols that broke apart and got picked off one by one. His men gathered around him and held their ground!”

“We’re not even the best soldiers here.”

“That’s beside the point, now, tell me…” John extended one hand to his dear friend. “Are you with me?”

Luka stared at the outstretched hand before slowly exhaling in defeat. “You’re such a pain in the ass.” He grabbed the hand with a firm grip. “Let’s just try not to die, alright?”

“No promises.”

Richard’s smile slowly broke as veins of pure, controlled rage emerged on his forehead. “So… he thinks he can run, huh?”

“Uh…” Nathanial worriedly stared at him. “It’s not that much of a concern—”

“Oh, but it is, my dear friend.”

Richard cracked his knuckles while tilting his neck to one side, then another. Aura shrouded his body in an instant as he locked eyes with the distant figure of Fredrick. And at that moment, a cold shiver raced down Nathanial’s spine. He didn’t see a man in those eyes anymore. He saw a predator marking its prey with a gaze that had caught the scent of fresh blood.

“I’ll be back.”

Those were the last words that left Richard’s mouth as a burst of wind erupted from where he stood. Nathanial blankly watched the gap between his two friends close, and heard Fredrick’s distant scream echoing throughout the land. And with it, a single thought emerged.