"What are you doing here!?""Shhh! They're going to hear you." She said.She smiled big and bright right after. Lenny started speaking on a low, whispered voice, trying not to be overheard:"I told you, I'm going to follow you wherever you go.""But… I'm in the army. I'm a soldier. And we are in the middle of a camp. If the sarg finds out…""Don't worry. Sargeant Koda knows me. He is also my Sargeant.""What?""After I found out you sacrificed yourself and enlisted for the sake of the people in the village… I followed suit. And did the same thing.""You did what!? Do you know what happens to child soldiers in the army?""Sshhh!"Josiah got closer to Lenny so that they could talk on a lower voice."I know what happens…" Lenny said, "That's why I don't want to stay in the village knowing you are a child in the army."'Silly girl. I'm not a regular child. You should have known better…' Josiah thought to himself."Anyway, why did you show up now of all times? You need to get out. We are in
"Good fight, pal." Watt pat on Josiah's back as he left the arena. "Now, watch the pro."'I better see this. Not only for Watt, but to see what he has prepared for me.' Josiah thought.The fight took place right after Josiah's. Watt's opponent was soldier Lawrence. A reserved man in his early twenties who didn't talk very much to anybody. Lawrence's weapon of choice was a crossbow.Meanwhile, Watt was carrying a small wooden weapon with some heavy ball tied to the edge. The ball seemed to be something that came out a morning star, but the whole weapon was far smaller and didn't pass the same dangerous vibe an actual morning star did.'I wonder what those are called…?'The whistling sound from the instructor started the fight. As soon as it started, Watt let his weapon purposely fall on the floor. A huge crater opened up and several pieces of compact soil fell all over the place in front of Watt's feet.'Such strength… But I bet he can't hit the opponent with that strength, otherwise, h
"Are you kidding!? You shouldn't even be in the army in the first place! Don't you know who these guys are? They are our enemies! E-ne-mies!""And yet you are with them…""I…"Josiah wanted to say he was qualified because he was strong to endure and decided enough to turn against them when the time came, but knowing Lenny… She was the exact same."You clearly need me around. I've been watching your test. You always injure yourself. Didn't you know bathing the weapon on blood to withdraw more power is bad both for you and for the item?""Yeah, but… How am I supposed to outfight people who clearly also do the same? This is an important test. It's a special occasion.""Liar. If you do this now you do this always. I know.""…""You need someone to support you over your wounds and dumb decisions.""… Look… Let's talk about this later, ok? I need to prepare something to eat and rest for the fight in the afternoon. I'm going to be the first one to fight.""Ok. Later you tell me you accept me
"Next two!" Koda shouted.Reeve and Dave Johnson stepped up to the circle.Josiah was tired of his own fight, but he also wanted to witness that one. It could be that he'd be matched with the promising son of the lieutenant like they said, after all.The two young men were about the same size and had a pretty underdeveloped physique. Someone who didn't know them wouldn't give much to them. They stood still facing each other and waited until the whistling sound marked the beginning of the fight.And it soon started.Of course, Dave Johson knew all about Reeve's weapon. It caused the pain to be transferred to the attacker. With that prior knowledge, he charged in bare-handed, striking for disarming the opponent before he could draw his. Dave had all of his weapons firmly tied to the back and the hands-free. The whole way he carried his armor around was made for building up speed.They were taught how to disarm a man with a knife on the army. Theoretically, it was no big deal.'That's wh
"Lenny?" Josiah almost couldn't keep the low tone as he asked for her, after entering his tent.There was nobody in.'Of course, she wouldn't be here anymore. If anything, she must have left and his somewhere…'Josiah stood silent for a moment so he could hear the instructor and Koda talking to each other outside the tent:"The infiltrator was last seen running to the west.""What's west?""Nothing. The fields proceed to the west up to two thousand miles.""Do you think there's any place to hide?""At this point just running on a random direction is hideout enough.""Do we send a group to…"With the duo walking away, the voices started getting to low to be heard.'Lenny… Where did you go? I hope she doesn't get treated as a deserter or something because of that… I wonder if the team is going to start searching for this so-called infiltrator?'Since there was nothing to do inside the tent, Josiah walked away and went on a quest to finding more information around.'Maybe Watt knows somet
The rest of the tournament took place in the afternoon and for Josiah, it was very underwhelming. Reeve didn't ever recover his condition in time so he had to withdraw, thus causing Josiah to be the winner of the tournament for abandonment.The overall results of the tournament were as follows:First Round:A) Josiah vs Greg — Winner: JosiahB) Watt vs Lawrence — Winner: LawrenceC) Ellis vs Douglas — Winner: DouglasD) Teagan vs Daniel — Winner: TeaganE) Quinn vs Reeve — Winner: ReeveF) Brooks vs Dave Johnson — Winner: Dave JohnsonG) Yvonne vs Will — Winner: YvonneH) Kyleigh vs Austin — Winner: AustinSecond Round:1) Josiah vs Lawrence — Winner: Josiah2) Douglas vs Teagan — Winner: Douglas3) Reeve vs Dave Johnson — Winner: Reeve4) Yvonne vs Austin — Winner: YvonneSemifinals:Josiah vs Douglas — Winner: JosiahReeve vs Yvonne — Winner: YvonneAfternoon:Third prize. Reeve vs Douglas — Winner: DouglasFinals. Josiah vs Yvonne — Winner: JosiahJosiah still doesn't know whet
Everywhere near the low number of buildings was a complete desert, whenever it was close to the dusk. Especially on the abandoned factories near the 40s. The soldiers were under training in the west side, the superiors who didn't work with the soldiers were preparing to move back to the central headquarters, and even the security moved further closer to the gates, as the streets around the 40s were completely devoid of the possibility of being targeted by trespassers since they were in the middle of the complex. At that time the whistling winds were the only visitors in the area. If somebody screamed there, he'd never be heard.Josiah's jacket flapped with the strong wind blowing at his body. He wasn't wearing any armor. He just had his sword; the gift his mother gave him and his dearest weapon. He was holding it pointing the blade down.Tonight was their promised test. They agreed on the rules. In order to prove her worth, Lenny needed to withstand a spar with him for two minutes. Th
Lenny was crouching with both her arms and legs on the ground. It was the way she moved when she lived in the forest.Josiah saw her using that form only once and then never faced anyone moving like that before. He had no idea what to expect. In his experience moving in such a way is only bad for a human.'An animal also moves on four feet. If she is confident in her speed this means I should expect her speed to match at least that of an animal.'Lenny began crawling around Josiah, trying to find a weak spot. He swung the sword at her, causing her to stay back. They tested each other for a while and then Josiah got accustomed to her speed.Or at least he thought he got.Lenny charged at him with the speed he assumed she would but she dramatically altered the speed midway, causing Josiah's timed to swing to be a little late. 'What!? She can jump almost like a talpig!'Josiah had to switch his swinging to some plan to defend from her leap. He used a cross-blocking stance to protect his
"Lenny!" Josiah shouted, seeing her being knocked unconscious on the floor. 'Damn it! Is she all right?' Josiah started getting worried. He had just freed himself from the flaming piece of armor.The whole scenery was now lit on due to the flames of the two balls the magician released out from nowhere, and also the last attack, which was some sort of energy wave."Hah! You kids are no match for this power. Come on. It's only me and you now, little brat."'This is not good,' Josiah thought. 'Lenny is already out and we don't even know everything he can do. Not only that I am also stuck inside this hole and can't seem to be able to climb back. He could finish soldier Ray on his own, which means without Lenny to distract him it's going to be very hard to fight him one-on-one. What should I do…?'The magician seemed to be expecting Josiah to charge in, with a malicious smile on his face. The last attack made his face now clear to be seen. He was an older man, with his pale face full of wr
Fingers were snapped.The complete darkness was turned into an enlightened environment. Josiah's eyes went out of focus for a second. He could now catch the barren walls and the surroundings with his eyes. The light source was unclear, but it illuminated everything with a weak, yellow light. Over the ground, there were a lot of unknown objects scattered over. Dolls, metal tools, jewelry, curtains… The purpose of everything was mysterious. And to his left, Josiah could catch the silhouette of the owner of the voice of who directed to them a while ago: a short man on a dark blue robe, covering his head with a hood. The man didn't look very physically strong. He seemed weaker than the people he was used to sparring with inside the army. Josiah couldn't see his face because the light source seemed to come straight from behind him, rendering his face pitch black."You…""Witness the power of magic!"The man extended his hands to Josiah and a huge mass of fire came towards him. A concentra
"You said what!? Soldier Ray? How? What happened?" Major Clockburn asked holding the messenger on the shoulders."I don't know! One minute he was following me for the interview, then when I called he wasn't there anymore. I searched everywhere, but…""It's the same thing that happened to the villagers..." Clockburn observed. "Change of plans. Everyone! We are going to divide and search for Ray. Each of you… Grab a tracking bracelet inside the vehicles!"A tracking bracelet was made with a bond of blood between two holders. It worked similar to Watt's bloodbound power, two people bonded to use the power: the holder and the vessel. They both cut a small drip on the wrist. The vessel wears the bracelet around his wrist and the blood of the holder reacts whenever he points his wrist in the direction of the vessel.Major Clockburn was the holder of several bracelets inside the carriages. This way he could track the soldiers of his squad.Too bad the soldiers weren't using the bracelet after
The experienced soldiers and higher-ranked officers were divided in squads. Each squad had a leader; which needed to be at least a three-star ranked person. The leader gave orders to four commanders which needed to be at least a sergeant, and each commander was in charge of up to a crew of fifteen. Squads were in charge of missions to protect and aid the kingdom. Things that couldn't be done by a crew of recruits. The missions often required dealing with criminals, creatures, or any other thing which required experience in combat.Josiah had spent almost the entire year in the reserve, helping with the affairs, instructing newer teams, improving his sword skills, and getting better on the art of controlling the blood flow. Then, one day on the eleventh month, Josiah's squad was called into the city of Bhule, one of the cities of the kingdom which were located most farther from the capital.The trip took a long day, even if the squad went by carriage instead of marching. After all, th
Lenny was crouching with both her arms and legs on the ground. It was the way she moved when she lived in the forest.Josiah saw her using that form only once and then never faced anyone moving like that before. He had no idea what to expect. In his experience moving in such a way is only bad for a human.'An animal also moves on four feet. If she is confident in her speed this means I should expect her speed to match at least that of an animal.'Lenny began crawling around Josiah, trying to find a weak spot. He swung the sword at her, causing her to stay back. They tested each other for a while and then Josiah got accustomed to her speed.Or at least he thought he got.Lenny charged at him with the speed he assumed she would but she dramatically altered the speed midway, causing Josiah's timed to swing to be a little late. 'What!? She can jump almost like a talpig!'Josiah had to switch his swinging to some plan to defend from her leap. He used a cross-blocking stance to protect his
Everywhere near the low number of buildings was a complete desert, whenever it was close to the dusk. Especially on the abandoned factories near the 40s. The soldiers were under training in the west side, the superiors who didn't work with the soldiers were preparing to move back to the central headquarters, and even the security moved further closer to the gates, as the streets around the 40s were completely devoid of the possibility of being targeted by trespassers since they were in the middle of the complex. At that time the whistling winds were the only visitors in the area. If somebody screamed there, he'd never be heard.Josiah's jacket flapped with the strong wind blowing at his body. He wasn't wearing any armor. He just had his sword; the gift his mother gave him and his dearest weapon. He was holding it pointing the blade down.Tonight was their promised test. They agreed on the rules. In order to prove her worth, Lenny needed to withstand a spar with him for two minutes. Th
The rest of the tournament took place in the afternoon and for Josiah, it was very underwhelming. Reeve didn't ever recover his condition in time so he had to withdraw, thus causing Josiah to be the winner of the tournament for abandonment.The overall results of the tournament were as follows:First Round:A) Josiah vs Greg — Winner: JosiahB) Watt vs Lawrence — Winner: LawrenceC) Ellis vs Douglas — Winner: DouglasD) Teagan vs Daniel — Winner: TeaganE) Quinn vs Reeve — Winner: ReeveF) Brooks vs Dave Johnson — Winner: Dave JohnsonG) Yvonne vs Will — Winner: YvonneH) Kyleigh vs Austin — Winner: AustinSecond Round:1) Josiah vs Lawrence — Winner: Josiah2) Douglas vs Teagan — Winner: Douglas3) Reeve vs Dave Johnson — Winner: Reeve4) Yvonne vs Austin — Winner: YvonneSemifinals:Josiah vs Douglas — Winner: JosiahReeve vs Yvonne — Winner: YvonneAfternoon:Third prize. Reeve vs Douglas — Winner: DouglasFinals. Josiah vs Yvonne — Winner: JosiahJosiah still doesn't know whet
"Lenny?" Josiah almost couldn't keep the low tone as he asked for her, after entering his tent.There was nobody in.'Of course, she wouldn't be here anymore. If anything, she must have left and his somewhere…'Josiah stood silent for a moment so he could hear the instructor and Koda talking to each other outside the tent:"The infiltrator was last seen running to the west.""What's west?""Nothing. The fields proceed to the west up to two thousand miles.""Do you think there's any place to hide?""At this point just running on a random direction is hideout enough.""Do we send a group to…"With the duo walking away, the voices started getting to low to be heard.'Lenny… Where did you go? I hope she doesn't get treated as a deserter or something because of that… I wonder if the team is going to start searching for this so-called infiltrator?'Since there was nothing to do inside the tent, Josiah walked away and went on a quest to finding more information around.'Maybe Watt knows somet
"Next two!" Koda shouted.Reeve and Dave Johnson stepped up to the circle.Josiah was tired of his own fight, but he also wanted to witness that one. It could be that he'd be matched with the promising son of the lieutenant like they said, after all.The two young men were about the same size and had a pretty underdeveloped physique. Someone who didn't know them wouldn't give much to them. They stood still facing each other and waited until the whistling sound marked the beginning of the fight.And it soon started.Of course, Dave Johson knew all about Reeve's weapon. It caused the pain to be transferred to the attacker. With that prior knowledge, he charged in bare-handed, striking for disarming the opponent before he could draw his. Dave had all of his weapons firmly tied to the back and the hands-free. The whole way he carried his armor around was made for building up speed.They were taught how to disarm a man with a knife on the army. Theoretically, it was no big deal.'That's wh