Masters of combat

behind the royal palace their was a large training ground where soldiers were trained for combat and war machines were stored for the palaces protection, at the minute the only thing present their were broken catapults, looted archer towers and an empty stable, as the friends arrived in the training grounds Ashhad remarked

Ashhad : we have a really long way to go.

Hussnain : to be honest we only need to worry about horses, the production of war machines is underway and in mass.

Ashhad : atleast Sufiyan improved the military.

Hussnain : it was the only sector that got improved the rest were largely ignored if not worsened.

Ashhad : don't worry, we'll make Ortania great again.

Humzah : enough talk let's do what we're here for.

Ashhad : right.

Humzah : when Zulqarnain, Hussnain and Kainaat fully immerse themselves in a fight, they don't stop til they win.

Ashhad : Aliza, Nizaam, Alyne and Asad, you all barely know combat but no worries Humzah will teach you everything.

Asad : I believe you are mistaken, I'm quite formidable when it comes to fighting.

Humzah : a little training wouldn't hurt.

Asad : alone Nizaam, Alyne and Aliza are quite weak but if combined they could put up a decent fight, right?

Ashhad : true.

Asad : well then, in that case Nizaam, Alyne and Aliza, I challenge you to a fight 1 vs 3.

Ashhad : are you sure?

Asad : I'm stronger than these 3 weaklings, if not an equal of Hussnain.

Nizaam : oh really, well I hope you're ready to get smashed.

Asad : be my guest.

Humzah : now now let's not get cocky.

Ashhad : we want this fight to be a clean and friendly fight, no badmouthing ok.

Nizaam : oh sure.

Alyne : I'll make sure not to kill him.

Hussnain : ok take positions.

everyone got ready, Humzah, Ashhad and Hussnain stood back as Ashhad said

Ashhad : begin.

Asad charged rapidly at Aliza, she brought forward her sword but was shocked when Asad pulled out a sickle and using it he grabbed Aliza's sword and pulled her towards himself, he then delivered a powerful punch right on Alizas face knocking her down, Alyne tried jumping him but Asad showed such quick reflexes that she failed, Asad then started attacking her with the sickle and due to his speed very effortlessly overpowered Alyne, critically injuring her and knocking her down all while laughing maniacally, he then turned his attention to Nizaam and then the two got in an epic duel, both deflected several attacks as well as getting multiple hits, the breaking point came when Asad swung his sickle right at Nizaam's face, the sharp farming tool pierced through Nizaam's ear and Asad whilst the sickle was still in Nizaam's ear began to punch him back to back on the face, eventually Nizaam pulled out the sickle and headbutted Asad back, Nizaam struck Asad's face with his sword and as the blood dripped down his cheek, he licked it and said

Asad : tasty.

before restarting his assault on Nizaam, with blows to the face and a critical to the left kidney, Nizaam began spewing blood, Asad laughed like a maniac and as he came running towards Nizaam with the intention of executing a final attack, Aliza got in the way and her left breast got severely damaged all the way up to her left eye, Aliza fell to the side bleeding badly as Nizaam screamed

Nizaam : Aliza!

Asad walked up to the bloody Aliza and said

Asad : get up and fight me bitch.

Hussnain : Asad that is enough!

Asad : what but I'm only warming up.

Ashhad, Nizaam and Humzah went and checked on Aliza and Alyne, luckily their wounds weren't to severe and would eventually heal though, it would take time as Ashhad said

Ashhad : I'll take Aliza and Alyne back inside, you guys keep practicing.

as Ashhad left Nizaam screamed at Asad

Nizaam : what the hell man!

Asad : I told you, I was better than you.

Hussnain : Asad I think you overdid it, just a little bit.

Asad : that's my style, I kill to fight and I fight to kill.

Humzah : anyways, when Ashhad returns we'll practice movement.

after Ashhad returned Humzah and the rest made their way to a platform that was 100x100 steps and each step had a hole in it as Humzah said

Humzah : alright gentlemen what you see before you is called a spike trap, every step is pressure sensitive, so every time you step on it, a spike will come out, now what you have to do is start at one side and make it to the other without touching a single spike, don't worry the spikes can't hurt you furthermore, I will be firing projectiles at you when you are crossing, to increase the difficulty.

Ashhad : seems easy.

Hussnain : easy, this is child's play.

Nizaam : aren't you even a bit concerned?

Asad : I'm ready.

Humzah : alright take positions.

Ashhad, Hussnain, Nizaam and Asad got at the starting line as Humzah shouted

Humzah : go!

the friends began running to the other side whilst dodging the spikes, Ashhad and Hussnain were at the lead and in barely a few minutes, Ashhad made it across, Hussnain got a bit unlucky as he dodged all the spikes but an arrow ended up hitting him, Asad had safely made it across 70 steps but then a wrong step triggered a spike which ended up hitting him, Nizaam on the other hand completely messed up, in just 20 steps Nizaam got entangled in spikes, Humzah face palmed and said

Humzah : alright let's move onto target practice.

the target practice was well built with 3 bullseye placed at perfect distances, as Humzah took out his bow and arrow and said

Humzah : precision is a key element in the field of combat, if one is to achieve a perfect aim at his target, he or she can easily qualify to become a spy.

Hussnain : now's my time to shine.

Ashhad : alright let's do this.

Humzah stood aside as Ashhad, Hussnain, Nizaam and Asad took aim and Humzah said

Humzah : alright, Ashhad will begin then Hussnain, then Nizaam and finally Asad.

Ashhad : alright, here I go.

Ashhad fired his arrow, it went and struck the bullseye right in the middle as Ashhad smirked and said

Ashhad : easy.

Hussnain fired next and it to struck the bullseye in the very middle as Hussnain said

Hussnain : let's go.

He and Ashhad high fived as Nizaam took aim and fired but, to Nizaam's dismay he missed horribly as Asad laughed and said

Asad : watch this noob.

Asad fired and his shot struck the bullseye as he smiled and said

Asad : now that's how it's done

Humzah : Ashhad, Hussnain as expected you have out done yourself.

Ashhad : after all you were the one who trained me Humzah and in real life.

Hussnain : Zulqarnain did the same with me.

Humzah : still Hussnain, you need to improve your movement.

Humzah turned to Nizaam and Asad and said

Humzah : and as for you two, Asad you need to improve your aim and Nizaam you need to work even harder.

Ashhad : we'll continue training after lunch.

after this the five friends went back inside and after lunch kept training till it turned dark, finally after a day of hard training Nizaam came back to his room, his whole body was aching and he just wanted to sleep, so he laid down as he thought to himself

Nizaam : (thinking) I really messed up today.

he took a crotch and said

Nizaam : I'll change, I know I can do it.

as he went to sleep, the next day right after breakfast Nizaam, Hussnain, Asad, Humzah and Ashhad got ready for practice again this time however, they were training near the forest as Humzah said

Ashhad : since Kainaat is training the volunteers for the Ortanian military, we'll train here.

Humzah : we'll begin with movement.

Nizaam : hold on where's Alyne and Aliza?

Ashhad : you see after Asad's brutal beat down of yesterday, Zulqarnain decided that he'd train Alyne and Aliza.

Asad : you stopped me at the right time, otherwise you'd be carrying dead bodies home.

Hussnain : jeez Asad have some empathy.

Asad : I empathize with nothing but the revolution.

Humzah : alright, if you're all done babbling let's begin.

again the spike trap was placed as Ashhad and Humzah went and stood at the end and Nizaam, Hussnain and Asad got at the starting line, Humzah said

Humzah : alright, since Ashhad cleared this course yesterday with no mistake, he shall be helping me today, so we both will be firing projectiles.

Ashhad : on your mark.

Ashhad loaded his bow

Humzah : get set.

Humzah loaded his bow

Ashhad and Humzah : GO!!

Hussnain took of at an impressive pace, he dodged each spike and arrow with ease and soon he was standing at the finish line, Asad kept running, his movement had improved but still he made a mistake near the end and ended up losing, Nizaam on the other hand failed just seconds after beginning as Humzah face palmed and said

Humzah : Asad and Nizaam you both need to work harder, specially you Nizaam.

Nizaam : I'm doing my best.

Ashhad : no you're not, you're only focusing on dodging not movement.

Asad : I was so close, I can't believe this.

Hussnain : it's really not that hard Asad.

Asad : tell me how you did it, please.

Hussnain chuckled and said

Hussnain : alright, I'll show you my strategy after lunch.

Humzah : now onto target practice.

the friends reached the target practice course as Humzah said

Humzah : alright you two take aim and fire.

Asad took out his bow and arrow, took aim and fired, his arrow nearly struck the middle of the bullseye as Humzah applauded him and said

Humzah : good job Asad.

Nizaam took aim with his bow and arrow and then fired, he missed horribly as Hussnain said

Hussnain : Nizaam, you really need to improve your aim.

Humzah : yes, Nizaam you need alot of practice.

Asad went and took back his arrow as he admiringly asked

Asad : no way, I was that close to a perfect aim?

Ashhad : yes you were.

Asad : I can do it, I just gotta try harder.

Hussnain : yes Asad let the fury out!

Asad : oh I will.

the training went on, throughout the day Asad straight up went berserk, Hussnain kept motivating him as well as making him angry by making fun of him but all this ended with Asad improving more and more, as the day came to an end, Nizaam again went back to his room and laid down as he said to himself

Nizaam : guh, I'm giving it my best but still.

Nizaam took a crotch and said

Nizaam : I just gotta keep trying.

Nizaam then went to sleep, the next day as he arrived at the training ground he saw that only Ashhad, Humzah and Asad were their and Hussnain was nowhere to be seen, so he walked up to Humzah and asked

Nizaam : Humzah where's Hussnain?

Humzah : Hussnain had perfectly passed both courses yesterday so his training is now complete.

Ashhad : Nizaam, you and Asad need to improve your skill.

Asad : I have improved my aim and movement.

Ashhad : great than show us.

Asad : alright.

Humzah : as always take positions.

Asad and Nizaam went and stood at the starting line as Ashhad said

Ashhad : on your marks.

Ashhad loaded his bow

Humzah : get set.

Humzah loaded his bow

Ashhad and Humzah : GO!!

Asad took off just like Hussnain had done the day prior, Asad took every step with caution, dodging all arrows, avoiding all spikes and eventually albeit slowly Asad made it to the finish line as Humzah applauded him and said

Humzah : Asad that was fantastic.

Nizaam on the other hand embarrassed himself once again by failing at the very start as Ashhad said

Ashhad : Nizaam, you're hopeless.

Nizaam got disheartened as Humzah scolded Ashhad by saying

Humzah : shut the f up Ashhad, Asad did it and so can Nizaam, I believe in him.

Asad : enough talking.

Asad took out his bow and without waiting for the others went to the target practice and shot all three bullseye right in the middle as Asad said

Asad : see Ashhad, Humzah I did it.

Ashhad : well done Asad.

Asad : I'm feeling stoked, give me a real challenge.

Humzah : this is my limit but if you want you can go to the forest and train in its dense regions to further improve your movement, aim, defense and offense.

Asad : thanks I'll do just that, see ya.

Asad left as Ashhad turned back to Nizaam and said

Ashhad : as for you do that course again.

Nizaam : oh come on!

Nizaam tried the spike course again and again and again but he always failed, finally after watching Nizaam suffer many times Ashhad said

Ashhad : alright stop.

Nizaam was in a miserable state as Humzah said

Humzah : at the rate you're trying, I'll take a month for you to even slightly improve.

Ashhad : I know exactly what the problem is.

Nizaam : really, what?

Ashhad : you're super slow.

Nizaam : how do I overcome that.

Ashhad : by improving your speed.

Nizaam : huh?

Humzah : I think the best way for you to improve your speed is by running.

Ashhad : exactly.

Humzah : alright, Nizaam run 3 thousand steps.

Nizaam : what?!!!!

Nizaam fainted upon hearing this as Ashhad asked

Ashhad : sure, he'll run 3 thousand steps, in his dreams.

Humzah : then let's make it a dream come true.

thus began Nizaam's training, for the whole day Nizaam kept running and eventually he completed the 3 thousand steps as he approached Humzah, Humzah said

Humzah : well done Nizaam, from tomorrow you will do a 1500 steps run, this will improve your stamina and movement.

Ashhad : don't give up hope Nizaam, I know you can do it.

Nizaam : thanks * huff * * puff *.

as the day drew to a close, Nizaam was so tired that he immediately went to bed, Humzah was walking to his room when Kainaat came walking from the other way, seeing her Humzah stopped and said

Humzah : oh hey, how are you?

Kainaat : fine, what about you?

Humzah : I was a bit tired but after seeing you all my tiredness has went away.

Kainaat : really, are you feeling fresh?

Humzah : yes.

Kainaat : are you feeling relaxed?

as she got closer to Humzah, Humzah said

Humzah : yes.

Kainaat : can you do anything?

Humzah : yes.

Kainaat got so close that her face was only a few inches away from Humzah's as she asked in the most flirtatious voice

Kainaat : are you sure?

Humzah got really hard as he said

Humzah : umm .... yes.

Kainaat : then go wash my horse.

Humzah : wait, what?

Kainaat : I haven't bathed my horse in a long time and all this training has made me so tired, so I thought I'd ask you to do it.

Humzah : oh .... I see.

Kainaat : but if you're busy than that's ok, I'll just do it myself.

Humzah : what about tomorrow?

Kainaat : I have to train our cavalry tomorrow.

Humzah : no one's gonna mind it if you're a bit late.

Kainaat : Ashhad's gonna kill me, last time he scolded me infront of all the volunteers for coming 10 minutes late.

Humzah : I'm really sorry than.

as Humzah began to head towards his room Kainaat said

Kainaat : guess I'll have to do it myself, oh well I hope their's no zombies otherwise I'm not coming back home.

Humzah turned around and said in a very annoyed tone

Humzah : where's the bucket?

despite the cold weather and the danger of zombies, Humzah went to the stable and at a time when everyone else was asleep Humzah was cleaning Kainaat's horse and while he was doing that he said to himself

Humzah : God if I don't get to marry her after all this bs, than I swear I'm gonna end my life.

as he continued cleaning the animal, the night soon came to an end and after a delicious breakfast Nizaam made his way to the training site where he met only Humzah, seeing this he asked

Nizaam : where is everybody?

Humzah : Zulqarnain and Hussnain are helping out the girls, Ashhad and Asad have went to train in the forest as well as to spend some uncle and nephew time.

Nizaam : understandable.

Humzah : I have a feeling that no one's gonna come to train here again but oh well as long as even one person's coming I'll train them.

Nizaam listened quietly as Humzah said

Humzah : mark my words Nizaam, You're gonna become the best of the best.

Nizaam got motivated as Humzah said

Humzah : now start running.

Nizaam : yes sir!

from that moment onwards Nizaam began to bare the pain and let go of his fears, he now made it his goal to make Humzah proud, everyday he would increase the amount of steps he had to run from 1500 to 2000 then 3000 and finally 5000 steps everyday, all the while he improved his aim as well, in just 1 week Nizaam's speed had increased and his aim also got accurate, their were even times when Nizaam skipped lunch and dinner but he kept training then finally after 2 weeks of just running, Nizaam retook the spike course, it was turning evening time as Humzah said

Humzah : alright Nizaam all your training has let up to this point, I hope you won't disappoint me, I won't be firing any projectiles so you just have to dodge the spikes, got it?

Nizaam : ok.

Humzah : alright take position.

Nizaam got at the starting line as Humzah said

Humzah : and go!

Nizaam took off at an unprecedented speed, he successfully dodged all the spikes but on the 70 step mark Nizaam screwed up and a spike struck him as Nizaam screamed

Nizaam : no!

Humzah sighed, the day soon came to an end, back in the dining room Humzah, Nizaam and the others were seated as Ashhad said

Ashhad : it's almost been 2 weeks since we've all been training, how's it going with you guys?

Zulqarnain : fantastic, me and Hussnain have been at it for days, we've really improved over time.

Alyne : Zulqarnain not only improved his skill but he also helped us improve ours.

Aliza : yeah Zulqarnain's really awesome.

Kainaat : all troops have been trained and cavalry prepared.

Ashhad : what about the artillery and cannon units?

Kainaat : they are still underway.

Ashhad : do it quickly Kainaat, I want nothing but perfection.

all this time Humzah and Nizaam had remained quiet so Asad decided to pull their leg by asking

Nizaam : so Nizaam have you improved your skill?

Nizaam : yes I have.

Asad : did you complete the course?

Nizaam was speechless as Asad said

Asad : Ashhad, I still find it hard to believe that this man was your choice for minister of law and relations.

Nizaam got up and left as Humzah tried to stop him

Humzah : wait Nizaam.

but Nizaam was so upset that he didn't listen, Nizaam went outside and began to train, he kept running reaching speeds greater than that of Zulqarnain and even Kainaat, he also did target practice to the point where his arrows broke the bullseye, as the sun rose Nizaam arrived at the training site but Humzah wasn't their so Nizaam started looking for him but it soon became clear to him that Humzah had not came, so he sat on the ground and began to cry as he said to himself

Nizaam : EVEN AFTER GIVING IT MY BEST, I'M STILL JUST A FAILURE!!!!

Nizaam began to cry uncontrollably but just then he heard his brother Umair's voice from the finish line of the spike trap

Umair : Nizaam don't give up!

Nizaam looked up and saw Umair standing at end of the spike course as Umair said

Umair : you can do it Nizaam, don't give up!

Nizaam : Umair.

unable to control himself Nizaam ran straight towards his brother, as he screamed

Nizaam : UMAIR!!

Nizaam kept running and when he reached Umair, he immediately hugged him, Umair smiled as Nizaam began to cry and said

Nizaam : Umair, where we're you all this time?

but just then he heard Humzah shout

Humzah : NIZAAM YOU DID IT!

Nizaam opened his eyes to see Humzah coming his way, he also realized that he was hugging thin air as Humzah reached him, he hugged him and began dancing with joy, Nizaam asked in confusion

Nizaam : what happened?

Humzah : Nizaam I think you're sleep deprived, buddy you just completed the course.

Nizaam : what?!

Humzah : yeah look.

Nizaam looked back and saw that he was standing only a step away from the spikes and the spikes behind him were also risen meaning that Nizaam had ran across 100 spikes without getting hit once as Nizaam began to shed tears of joy, Humzah said

Humzah : I also saw the bullseye course, you really out done yourself.

Nizaam : thanks.

Humzah placed his hands on Nizaam's shoulders and said while looking him in the eye

Humzah : I'm proud of you.

Nizaam felt as if he was on top of the world, as Humzah said

Humzah : come on let's go get something to eat, have you eaten breakfast.

Nizaam : I've been training since last night.

Humzah : fair enough let's get something to eat.

the two went back to the royal palace.