Chapter 7

In the tent, everyone was silent. No one was talking to each other, but that was something that was expected as they did not know each other at all. Emily, who was cheerful with Arthur earlier, was like a scared little mouse, trying to crawl back into its hole. Everyone else just had awkward faces.

Arthur thought he needed to do something. "Well, everyone! As you all have figured, we are going to be a team from now on. Why don't we introduce ourselves?" Arthur showed a warm smile while talking to everyone.

Everyone looked at Arthur but still kept their mouths shut. None of them wanted to be the first to speak, which surprised Arthur. They were all men who wanted to join the military, but right now, they felt like a group of chickens.

"Let me start then!" Seeing this, he smiled wryly. "My name is Arthur Macquire! I come from a small noble family north of here. I will be your team leader from now on. I am looking forward to working with you!" Arthur was not good at talking, so it was short and to the point.

After that, a short pause filled the air. Everyone looked at Arthur. Everyone but Emily had an indifferent expression. After hearing he was from a noble family, they all thought that was the only reason he became a team leader. Nonetheless, they could do nothing about it but accept the fact.

"I will go next, then!" Franz stood up from his small bed. "My name is Franz, I am a normal farmer's son who had a bit of talent for the sword, so here I am! I am looking forward to fighting by everyone's side!" Arthur was surprised he talked like that. He had thought that Franz was someone who barely talked.

"M-My name is E-Emily. Nice to m-meet you all!" Emily suddenly sounded from the back. If one didn't really listen, she could easily be overheard. She looked pitiful at this moment, as she was trying to hide her face in the shirt with a blushing face. All the men in the team looked at her, getting the feeling they wanted to protect her.

"My turn, I guess … my name is Brian …" Everyone else started introducing themselves.

Arthur learned about the different backgrounds of everyone. He found out that none of the people he had chosen to join him were actually nobility. They were all commoners with skills in the military ways. He did not mind this, as all he looked for in them were strength.

Arthur learned all their names on the spot, as these were the first people to join him in fights. If possible, when he became a leader of higher rank, he wanted these people to go with him all the way. Their names were as follows: Brian, Alex, Ethan, Ned, Troy, Walter, Duncan, and Callan.

"It is good to know you all!" Arthur said after hearing all the introductions. His face suddenly showed a grin, which had some signs of cruelty. "Now it is time to assess all of your strengths!"

Everyone suddenly felt cold after seeing Arthur's face coupled with these words. They did not really feel he was that strong, but it still made them feel something was a little off.

"Franz, I have wanted to fight you from the beginning. Why don't we start it off?" The grin became wider as he looked at Franz.

"You and me both!" Franz's face showed a grin too, and it was not losing out to Arthurs. At this moment, the nine other people in the squad learned that they would have two wildmen fighting by their sides.

"Good, pick your weapon, and let us go outside!" Arthur said.

Every tent was equipped with a set of dummy weapons for training. Both of them went over to pick weapons. Arthur picked a knight's sword, while Franz picked up two. This surprised Arthur quite a lot, but it also made him all the more ready for a good fight.

Arthur and Franz both went outside to an empty spot. Everyone else also went out, looking forward to a good fight.

A small breeze went by and fluttered Arthur's long hair, adding to his manly charms. Franz, Emily, and everyone else could not help but feel he was a born leader, seeing the way he stood and how the small breeze carried his hair in a majestic manner.

"Come!" Arthur said with a focused gaze.

Nobody knew when, but Arthur's domineer had changed from a carefree young man to what looked like a battle-hardened warrior with a steel grip. This change made them all admire him a little bit, even though he was a noble.

Even Franz, who was going to battle him, had been caught off guard. Nevertheless, he ran in towards Arthur fearlessly.

As soon as he stood in front of Arthur, he felt like a seasoned warrior was looking down at him with bloodthirst. This did not stop him from slashing with both sides towards Arthur's stomach.

Arthur did not respond by blocking the swords but rather attacking the opponent. Since Arthur was taller than Franz, and Franz had bent forward a little, Arthur had a clear shot for Franz's head. Arthur took this chance and slashed the sword downwards towards Franz's head.

Franz was not prepared for that at all, so all he could do was stop his previous attack and move to the side to avoid the strike.

Arthur was quite surprised by this move, as he had moved at a speed barely visible to the eye. Another thing was that he saw no panic in the eyes of Franz like everything was under his control.

Being to the side of Arthur, Franz grabbed the chance to do a leg sweep to pin Arthur to the ground. If he got the hit in, this meant that Franz would be a winner for sure.

Bang!

Franz hit Arthur's leg, but to everyone's surprise, Arthur was still standing tall. At the moment, it was Franz on the ground with a hurt leg while Arthur was pointing his sword at the neck of Franz.

"I win!" Arthur gave a warm smile to Franz. "You are a great fighter. The only reason I won is that I have been trained by my father since young!" Arthur said, trying to comfort Franz a little.

"It was a good fight! I am impressed, Arthur!" Franz stood up on one leg, not daring to use the food that hit Arthur's leg. His eyes were sparkling with joy, though, as he was happy to have a captain like Arthur, who was both a young man and a skilled fighter.

"I hope we can grow stronger together and spar in the future!" Arthur smiled as he stretched out his hand to Franz.

Franz grabbed the hand with a huge smile "Me too!"

Turning around to look at the other nine, Arthur said, "Who is next?" Nobody answered, as there was an eerie silence all of a sudden. The way Arthur fought was quite scary, and none wanted to enjoy the same experience.

"Okay then, we will start with you!" Arthur said as he pointed at Ethan. Ethan was a big man who had been working in the fields since he was young.

"O-Okay …!" He did not really want to, but all he could do was smile wryly and pick his weapon of choice.

Since he was a peasant who had worked all his life, he was big and muscular, so he used a big weapon. A weapon he was familiar with, and it was the big two-handed axe. He had used it many times before as he helped his family cut down trees for firewood.

The fight did not take long to end, as Ethan did not have too much experience fighting, and his fighting style was quite predictable. It was a lot like the big bandit he fought back in the ash forest.

"Good fight. I only want to tell you to try to be a little less predictable and learn a few more movements! Looking forward to fighting with you in the future!" Arthur said. He was impressed by the fighting but wanted Ethan to be a little less predictable.

"Yes, good fight, and thank you!" Ethan stood in front of Arthur with a lot more respect. He was also thankful to get some advice for his fighting.

"Next up!"

All the fights kept going through the day, all the way to the evening. Arthur fought all of the men there and only needed to fight Emily. In the end, up to now, only Franz and Ethan gave him a pleasant surprise. Everybody else was just your normal commoner, just starting to learn the way of the sword.

Both Franz and Ethan had some individuality to them. Franz was quite agile and fast, while Ethan had monstrous strength. They both had great assets for the fighting they would go through.

Arthur turned to Emily, "Well, it is finally your turn to fight me!" Arthur showed a small smile. His face was drenched in sweat from all the fights he had gone through. They might not have been hard, but fighting still took energy.

"Y-Yes!" She jumped as she had not expected him to look at her so quickly. Nevertheless, she went over to pick up her weapon.

Arthur was surprised as soon as he saw the weapon she went for. It was the biggest weapon on the wall, and it was a massive two-handed broadsword.

"Hmm, quite light!" As soon as she picked it up, her domineer changed immediately.

When Arthur looked at her, he felt like he was being pressed down by the weight of a mountain. His legs even started to shake a little. He felt fear. Not only him, everyone there felt like they couldn't breathe.

Bang!

Everyone heard a loud sound from the side. Arthur had hit himself in the head, snapping out of this moment of fear, even starting to smile like some kind of maniac.

"This will be a great fight!" Arthur knew she was strong, but he never expected this. His blood started to boil, and his body started to ache for a good fight.