>11< A Day Without A Good Beating Left Him Feeling Twitchy.

Chapter 11: A Day Without A Good Beating Left Him Feeling Twitchy.

Under the scorching sun, dozens of marines trained without their shirts on, wielding wooden swords under the watchful eye of their instructor, swinging away repeatedly.

"Ha!"

Reon stepped forward with his right foot, gripping the sword with both hands, raising it high above his head. As the sword reached its peak, he shouted and swung it down fiercely.

*Thwack!*

The wooden sword sliced through the air and struck the dummy's head with a resounding impact, leaving a clear dent in the wood.

The entire movement flowed seamlessly.

"Hu—"

Reon stepped back into his original position, took a deep breath, and focused once more on the dummy, tightening his grip on the wooden sword.

Charging power, downward slash!

This was the most basic yet crucial movement in swordsmanship.

The marines were drenched in sweat as they swung their swords, and no one dared to slacken their efforts. Swordsmanship was the primary form of combat for marines—without question.

The same went for pirates.

Most pirates lacked advanced weapons like firearms, and their most common form of combat involved rushing in and engaging in close-quarter battles with the navy.

Even if they didn't rely on swordsmanship in the future, marines needed to understand how to wield a sword so that when faced with a pirate's sudden assault, they would know how to defend against the attack.

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Reon lowered his wooden sword, his face drenched in sweat, with his arms sore and swollen.

He had completed one thousand sword strikes.

Having been a formal marine for a month now, apart from a few non-combat duty assignments, he spent every afternoon honing his swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat skills on the training field.

It was monotonous, yet fulfilling.

From not even knowing how to hold a sword to now being able to complete one thousand strikes within the allotted time with proper form, his progress was at least double that of his peers.

But he was currently troubled by one issue.

"Yo, Reon."

During the break, Fullbody wrapped an arm around Reon's shoulder and teased, "Why the long face? Did the instructor not praise you today?"

"Ha."

Reon rolled his eyes.

After completing one thousand sword strikes or hand-to-hand training in the afternoon, the remaining time was free practice, which marines generally used to reinforce their weak points.

He was no exception.

Having practiced for over half a month, plus additional night training and "super training" in the "world," he had mastered the swordsmanship taught by the instructor.

After all, they were only basic cutting techniques, and there was not much difficulty in learning them; it was mostly a matter of becoming adept through practice.

His frustration lay in the fact that he wasn't learning anything new.

It was not that he was being unrealistic; the instructor's level of swordsmanship was limited. He couldn't even teach more advanced techniques, let alone any flashy moves.

In recent days, not only had the instructor stopped critiquing him, but he had also praised him, treating him like a model student.

"Look at the new recruit, Reon!"

This opening line drew quite a bit of ire toward him.

Reon didn't mind attracting the envy, but without guidance, he felt an itch in his mind, like ants crawling on his skin.

What good was praise?

He preferred the instructor's whip!

In anything you do, having a clear objective is crucial. Knowing where you fall short and focusing on targeted training allows you to achieve twice the results with half the effort.

Unfortunately, the resources available at Branch 153 were quite limited. If the Navy's headquarters could be compared to elite academic institutions, then Branch 153 might as well be a rural elementary school.

Any decent swordsman would not stick around in this backward place; the instructors here were mostly retired non-commissioned officers filling in.

If only they could have the guidance of the renowned educator from the New World, "Teacher Kai"—just think of the advanced techniques he could impart!

Hmm, that might just be deadly.

Reon shook his head, dismissing the unrealistic thoughts, and helplessly spread his arms. "It's just like that."

"…"

Fullbody's gaze became rather peculiar.

"Are you a masochist?"

"Possibly!"

Reon nodded in agreement.

A day without a good beating left him feeling twitchy.

Perhaps he was slightly masochistic—if he could find a girlfriend who liked to wield a whip, they might create some interesting chemistry together.

"Ugh, I wish I had your drive," Fullbody sighed, pointing to a warehouse next to the training ground with a mischievous grin revealing a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Let's go! It's time for something new!"

"Something new?"

Reon's heart sank, and he rushed to warn Fullbody, "Let's make it clear—no dancing today!"

Dancing awkwardly in the training ground would be social suicide.

He cared about his face, after all.

"Relax."

Fullbody waved a hand dismissively and walked over to the edge of the training field, entering the warehouse. He came back with two worn boxing gloves, one red and one blue.

"Here, catch!"

He tossed Reon the red gloves.

Reon caught the gloves, his eyes lighting up.

"Are we doing sparring training?"

"Exactly! I'm not too fond of swordsmanship, so let's engage in some close combat instead."

Fullbody removed the iron knuckles he was wearing, slipped on the boxing gloves, and began to move his body, throwing a couple of quick punches at the air.

His movements were quite impressive!

Back at the training field, they found a corner and marked out a square ring in the sandy ground.

"I haven't done this in a long time."

Fullbody cracked his neck, brought his fists together, and even licked his lips, striking a villainous pose.

"Reon, before, your body was too weak for real combat training, and you could easily get injured. But in the past half month, I've noticed your recovery ability is quite impressive, so you can really let loose."

"Yeah, bring it on!"

Reon's expression was one of excitement.

He had wanted to engage in sparring training for a long time.

On the one hand, with the looming threat of sudden pirate attacks, getting familiar with fighting would help him not to panic when encountering a foe.

Although the branch wouldn't allow them to face too dangerous tasks right now, it was better to be prepared; no one knew when an unexpected event might occur.

There was another important reason.

The "world" had previously recorded Fullbody's dance lessons, so could it also document the processes of combat?

If that were the case, he could refine his battle experience within the "world."

Reon fixed his gaze on Fullbody, cautiously inching forward. As his opponent entered striking distance, he stepped forward heavily with his left foot, twisting his waist to channel power, and drove his right fist toward Fullbody's face.

Right Cross Attack!

"Ha ha! Bring it on!"

Fullbody quickly squatted, allowing Reon's punching fist to soar just above his head.

Before Reon could react, Fullbody leaped into the air, practically glued to him, and delivered a rising left uppercut!

"Howl Yugen!"

The whistling left uppercut crashed into Reon's chin with tremendous force!

"Bang!"

Reon felt his skull rattle, a jarring pain and dizziness making his eyes roll back, and his heels lifted off the ground from the violent impact.

In the next instant, his entire body soared into the air, crashing heavily about three meters away.

K.O!

The fight lasted barely 10 seconds.

"Hey, Reon? Are you conscious?"

In a haze, it seemed someone was slapping his face.

Gradually, Reon focused his pupils, and in his view, Fullbody's face was getting closer, lips pouting as if he was attempting to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

"Stop! I'm fine!"

He raised a hand to block Fullbody's mouth, struggling to sit up while holding his throbbing head, making an effort to recall the moments of the battle.

Had he really been knocked out by a single punch?

He had clearly seen Fullbody's dodging and punching trajectory, yet due to overexerting himself, he hadn't had time to adjust his body for defense.

Was his own intent too obvious, making it easy for Fullbody to capitalize on the moment and land that K.O. blow?

Maybe he should conserve some force in his punches, always be ready to change tactics, and throw in some feints?

It seemed he had gotten a bit too carried away recently; just because he had performed well in training didn't mean he was anywhere close to being a qualified warrior!

"Bro, we'll practice again tomorrow!"

Late at night, at midnight.

[The World.]

Next to the training ground, there was now a ring, with Fullbody standing in the center like a champion awaiting challengers.

"Just as I imagined."

Reon tightened his fists in excitement.

The "world" could indeed record the battle sequences!

This meant that not only Fullbody but also other marines and instructors in the branch could become his training partners.

Perhaps even pirates could be included.

In fact, in the distant future, it was entirely possible to learn the "Thunder Bagua" package from Kaido himself in the "world"!