17. Extended Training

The entire weight of Fredrick’s body slammed into Nathanial as they were both sent flying back. Sparks flew in the air. Their iron chest plates scraped against one another, and Nathanial’s lungs expelled air as he barely caught his friend before his back hit the ground.

A groan of pain escaped them. Nathanial stared at the starry sky, wondering if it was finally over, but the sound of something falling reached him. He shoved Fredrick to one side before rolling on the other, narrowly dodging the earth-shattering punch by the watchman.

Luka stood upright, his eyes shifting between the two. He unleashed the golden energy outward and instantly spun on his heel before driving a devastating back kick into Fredrick’s chest as his friend barely rose to his knees.

Fredrick puked out bile and skidded back several feet while Nathanial raised his guard.

A heavy strike landed on his forearms as azure energy enveloped them. The shock raced through his muscles. Nathanial locked eyes with Luka, trying to figure out his next course of action—but the watchman landed one strike after another.

The sound erupted like thunder, with several loud bangs tearing through the air.

“You can’t always block.”

Nathanial barely registered his words before Luka vanished from his sight. The watchman ducked low, shifting his center of gravity at a speed he couldn’t follow. Luka spun on the ball of his left foot and swept Nathanial’s leading leg in one swift motion.

His world flipped ninety degrees, and Nathanial’s instincts screamed louder than his fear.

The sight of a clean, auraless uppercut was coming straight for the side of his face. His balance gave way, and soon that impact would drown his world in darkness. Yet Nathanial refused to fall so easily. He channeled his aura to form a protective shield around his skull, taking the blow head-on.

The ringing sound overwhelmed his senses. His jaw throbbed in pain, and his vision blurred in and out. Yet Luka didn’t waste a second, even as Nathanial’s body struck the ground with dirt pushing against his armor.

Luka’s silhouette loomed over him. A dark blur against the moon’s bright light. He didn’t wait for Nathanial’s head to clear. Instead, a heavy boot whistled through the cold air, aimed at his exposed ribs.

Nathanial threw his weight into a desperate roll before rising to his feet. He raised his fists while taking a step in and swinging a wide right hook toward Luka, only for the watchman to catch it.

“Do you really think that’s going to work?” Luka pulled the arm past him and pivoted before hurling Nathanial toward Fredrick.

The duo crashed into each other with the sound of iron plates rattling. Luka stared at the footmen and shook his head. He had systematically dismantled the two. It seemed like his expectations were still too high. Even if he ignored Fredrick’s poor performance, they still hadn’t adapted to the high-pressure environment of war.

While he could hold back his strength so that power levels were the same, he couldn’t slow down his precise movements because his instructor had instinctively hammered them into his body. Even if he wanted to, his mentality wouldn’t let him make a wasted movement.

“Well, what will you two do now?” asked Luka. “Will you give up here, or do you want to continue?”

Nathanial slammed his palm into the ground while pushing himself up. Fredrick stood to his side, clinging to his left ribcage before gritting his teeth.

“Alright,” Fredrick mumbled. “I take it back; it’s not as easy as I thought it would be.”

“We’re up against a watchman,” Nathanial pointed out. “One of the best soldiers in the Kingdom, did you really think we could take him down with just the two of us?”

“A man can dream, can’t he?”

“No.”

“Alright, then what do you say? We call it here?”

Nathanial shook his head. “Focus. We’re going to land one hit on him even if it kills us.”

“Let’s continue!”

Luka smiled and held out his hand with his fingers pointed at them before gesturing.

Aura enveloped both footmen’s bodies while only shrouding the watchman’s arms. Nathanial locked eyes with Luka. He and Fredrick stood roughly five feet apart. They were already breathing raggedly, and their chests heaved to settle their racing hearts. On the opposite side, Luka hadn’t even broken a sweat.

How were they supposed to land a hit on him? He had no clue, but if there was a will, there was a way.

Fredrick lunged first with a powerful battle cry tearing from his throat. He swung a heavy left hook just like what Nathanial had done before, and seeing this, Luka shook his head while stepping in. He caught his forearm and redirected the momentum toward Nathanial, who was trying to circle around for a flank.

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The two nearly collided, but to Luka’s surprise, Fredrick actually dove forward while delivering a powerful back toward his chest. He blocked the strike with his free hand, only for Nathanial to slip closer. For once, the watchman raised a brow but quickly recovered while blocking a series of jabs unleashed by Nathanial.

Azure and golden auras danced in the wind. Each exchange caused a ripple of energy to explode outward, and slowly, Nathanial was gaining ground. Until Luka slipped past the punch and drove a cross punch straight onto the bottom of his jaw.

The strength faded from Nathanial’s body as a sense of lightheadedness rushed over him.

How?

He thought. His aura was protecting his entire body, yet that one attack broke through everything. As he was about to fall to his knees, and Luka was about to launch one final hook to knock him out—Fredrick leaped forward with a tightening spiral. His hips snapped like the crack of a whip as he pivoted his entire frame. His trailing leg drew a sharp crescent in a fraction of a second.

The point where all the momentum gathered met Luka’s hook mid-air like the sound of two wooden bats striking dead center.