A roar of applause erupted inside the training ground that could hold thousands of spectators. The shouts of “Josh Cleve” were so loud that they made James Gardner frown.The young man even wanted to cover his ears altogether because they were starting to hurt. However, before he could raise his ears, the person whose name had been called out by Mary Kesley spoke into his ear in a rather loud voice, “Forgive my supporters! They just want to give me support.”James forced himself to smile and replied silently, “No problem.”Josh flashed a big smile at James and also at Riley who then said, “Good luck, senior. You'll make it.”“Thank you,” Josh replied and then waved at his supporters.This immediately excited the supporters of the senior class one soldier. Shortly afterwards Josh made his way to the arena where he would fire at the twenty targets. James didn't stop staring at the senior, while Riley was more interested in reading the rules on the monitor.Before they heard Josh fir
James strode back to his place with pride. He also felt as if he had won a big prize game. His smile spread out so wide as he sat to the left of Riley who just shook his head realizing the satisfaction James was feeling over his friend.All the spectators seemed surprised by the shocking result. Many had predicted that Riley Wood would be able to compete with Josh Cleve, but they never expected that James Gardner would also be able to display his greatest abilities that were not inferior to Josh. Even though almost all the soldiers of Ans De Lou Kingdom supported Josh Cleve, the results of the first session were very unsatisfactory for them.However, it wouldn't be James if he didn't show off his abilities so he proudly called the person sitting to Riley's right, “Senior Cleve.”Josh Cleve looked too shocked, but still tried to smile slightly, “Yes?”“Aren't you going to congratulate me?” James asked in a casual tone.Riley exhaled harshly, starting to feel like his friend was goin
Riley was silent for an instant.He never thought James would ask for such a thing. To him, James was a soldier who would do anything the right way. But, what would make that young man think such a thing?Was it because he wanted to become a war general? Is it to shut people up and stop making fun of him for being born the son of Jody Gardner? Riley thought confusedly.However, if he did ask for that, Riley did not mind at all. He was even willing to step down on the spot to allow James to achieve his goal. Perhaps, by doing so, he could get rid of his guilt towards James.However, he suddenly heard James speak, “Oh my! Why did your face suddenly become like that, Riley?”Riley blinked her eyes, still looking somewhat confused.James observed the expression on Riley's face and instantly said, “Oh, Riley! Do you believe what I just told you?”James laughed crisply, “Don't tell me you actually thought about all those words!”The young man shook his head, looking very happy when he saw
As it turned out, contrary to what James expected, Josh casually replied, “What makes you think that I want to talk to you?”James shrugged, “I saw you looking at me constantly.”Diego snorted and gave James a look that said 'You're too confident'.James and Josh's conversation managed to get Riley's attention. He began to worry that something might go wrong there.However, just like James, Riley also apparently guessed wrong. Josh laughed so hard that many people looked shocked, including Ben and Shin who could only look at each other, without being able to express what they were thinking.Some of Josh's friends were also surprised by Josh's reaction, but the man who was over thirty years old said, “I'm just too amazed and very surprised by your ability. Oh, not only your skills, but Riley's as well.”James was stunned.Josh explained, “I think they … I mean my friends have been exaggerating about you and Riley.”He shrugged, “I thought, how could a newly inducted soldier have such
"There is no specific strategy. Me or James will just do what we've learned," Riley said.Ben frowned, looking somewhat confused.He knew Riley was very good at shooting. However, he still didn't know Riley's ability in archery. As for James, Ben had already seen James' action in archery when the young man was still a prospective soldier.Shin responded, "You better not underestimate him!"James shook his head firmly, "I never underestimated him at all, Senior Shin. In fact, he was the one who always underestimated us. And ... but those words spoken earlier surprised me."Alen nodded, "I still don't like him, I don't know why. It's just that I feel like he's a little weird."Ben sighed softly, "Well, there's no need to think about Josh's attitude. All you need to think about is giving your best in the next selection.""Of course, we'll do that," James said confidently as he embraced Riley who had gotten used to James' behavior.The next day, on the second day of the challenge, the th
Fred quickly replied, “Greg Sehel is a very famous land war commander. Everyone has known him as a brave, tough soldier since the days when General Mackenzie was the general of war in our kingdom.”As if he was still finishing his argument, Fred forced his friend to listen to him, “Having such a good reputation naturally makes Commander Sehel have to maintain his reputation. Of course he would help a future son-in-law.”“Even if he ends up dying?” Josh replied, sounding doubtful.Fred let out a long sigh, finding it difficult to get Josh's train of thought back on track again.However, he didn't want his friend to lose his cool so he replied, “He died a hero, Josh. He had nothing to lose.”“But ... he lost his life. What's the point of being a hero if-”“Damn you! We gave our life or death to this kingdom when we decided to become a soldier.” Fred looked so annoyed that he pushed Josh's body away from him.Still not cursing enough, he added, “You're not a teenage boy who just joined t
Unable to argue, Riley could only say, “You are very right, Senior Josh.”Josh was pensive, realizing that he had spoken too much so after that he chose to remain silent until his name was finally called.Meanwhile, Riley began to understand the anxiety of the man standing next to him and did not expect that Josh was also feeling depressed.He thought that with such overwhelming support, Josh Cleve would feel at ease as he went through the challenges, but it turned out that all that support was actually making him anxious about losing.However, unfortunately Riley couldn't do anything to help Josh overcome his anxiety.Before entering the challenge area, Riley had only nodded politely to Josh. Other than that, he didn't say anything.By the end of the sword challenge, Josh Cleve was falling further and further behind in terms of score. It was coincidentally discussed by several soldiers who were first-class soldiers.“I can't believe it, Josh is losing badly.”“I still can't even loo
James frowned at the overreaction shown by Riley so the young man said, “What's wrong with you, happy or something?”Riley suddenly hit James' arm and chuckled, “Of course I'm happy. But you're not lying are you?”James glared in annoyance, “My good friend, I wasn't the only one listening to the announcement. You can ask the rest of the kingdom if you have any doubts.”Hearing James' answer, Riley almost jumped with excitement. “What's wrong with you, you miss your parents?” Reiner asked with his forehead furrowed as well but held back a smile.Alen suddenly glanced at Riley because only that young man knew Riley's true identity so he was also curious about the answer Riley gave.“That's for sure, why ask again?” Riley replied.Ben chuckled softly, “Uh! I didn't expect one of the bravest junior soldiers to have such tender feelings.”Riley only smiled faintly.Meanwhile, James replied, “It's not just Riley who misses his family, I do too.”This time it was Diego who asked, “Are you g