If a hungry wolf kept following you, but kept a safe distance from you and only stared at you coldly, then you, the target, would always be nervous, restless, unable to eat or sleep well.
You wouldn't know when the wolf would pounce on you and launch a fatal attack the moment you let your guard down.
Claude was in such a state and he looked rather haggard.
Looking at Fitney, who was giving pointers to the new recruits, Claude bit his lips so hard that a deep gash appeared and blood seeped out.
He could only use the pain to remind himself not to let down his guard and give Fitney an opportunity to strike.
The officer training had been going on for a month now. Due to the tight schedule, they only had two days off during the new year and the soldiers weren't allowed to leave camp.
On the first day of the break, Claude went to the infirmary and drank with Perunt. The drunken Perunt told Claude that Aueras would declare war on the alliance in less than half a year.
That wasn't a top-secret information given to Perunt by his superiors. Instead, it was a conclusion Perunt came to himself based on the news he read in the newspapers.
Even on New Year's Day, the banquet on the night of welcoming the new arrivals was a rare sumptuous banquet in the barracks, and the ban was lifted to allow soldiers to drink alcohol.
But when Claude recalled the prophecy Perunt told him about the outbreak of war, he still found it hard to swallow. No matter how delicious the food was, it tasted tasteless in his mouth. The immediate threat of Fitney and the distant fear of going to war made Claude unable to sleep at all.
Fitney had been acting as the temporary squad jarl of Claude's new recruit squad. His performance over the past month had been very normal and could even be considered excellent.
He was always patiently guiding his team members step by step, teaching them how to become qualified soldiers, how to be an outstanding NCO, and how to lead the new recruits in training.
Even if Claude had any questions for him, he would patiently answer them to the point that the four nobles let down their guard against him. They believed that now that he was a sergeant major, he wouldn't hold the fight in the cafeteria against Claude anymore. Instead, they even told Claude not to be so wary and that there was no need for him to be so vigilant.
Only Claude knew that Fitney wasn't as kind as he appeared to be. Sometimes, when their eyes met, Fitney would smile at Claude with his pearly white teeth. Claude could feel the deep malice in that smile.
Year 577 of the Sacred Light Calendar, the second day of the new year, marked the end of the holiday and the training of the new recruits continued.
There had been a heavy snowfall last night, but early in the morning, the soldiers in the barracks had been dispatched to clean up the snow on the field to make space for the new recruits to train.
The weather was cold and they were given winter clothes. They were all made of woolen underwear and the uniform was changed from linen to wool. There was also a black sheepskin robe.
Even though they still felt cold, they could at least withstand the cold wind.
The previous month's training consisted of marching in formation and firing at the same time. But this month, they were going to have combat training.
Even though guns and cannons were the main weapons of war in this era, combat training was still very important.
It wasn't rare to see a bayonet or a hand-to-hand fight on the battlefield. Sometimes, it could even decide the outcome of a battle.
Thick straw mats were placed everywhere on the large field. The combat training was carried out in small teams. Each team was led by a temporary team leader. The veteran sergeant would explain a few common hand-to-hand combat methods on the battlefield to the team members. He would also teach the team members how to master a few combat techniques so that they would have the ability to protect themselves and defeat the enemy.
They would also teach the combat techniques to the new recruits after they became sergeants.
Fitney brought Claude's squad to one of the mats and took off his black sheepskin robe. He stood on the mat and started explaining the common hand-to-hand combat methods. At the same time, he called a few of the new recruits to act as models for him. He had them take all sorts of stances and break down the moves in slow motion so that the new recruits would know how to deal with them.
The training in the morning consisted of Fitney instructing the members on combat techniques. He taught them how to punch faster and how to protect their vitals. Everything seemed normal to him.
In the afternoon, they would have actual combat training. First, two of the new recruits would fight on the mats while Fitney would point out their mistakes and shortcomings.
After an hour of training, Fitney gathered the new recruits and told them that he was going to call a few of them to practice combat with him so that they would know how to win on the battlefield.
Claude looked at Fitney warily. He believed that the hungry wolf had finally bared its fangs. What he didn't expect was that Fitney didn't call him out to fight. Instead, he called out two other recruits and told them to attack him with a smile.
The two recruits were quickly defeated by him without being able to fight back. Fitney pointed out their mistakes in teamwork and poor grasp of timing before having them step down.
Looks like two people aren't enough to threaten me … Fitney smiled at his team members. Let's see if you can make me sweat a little more. Four of you, then.
That was why he picked Aboyev, Berklin, Moriad, and Dyavid. He meant that the four of them were good friends, and he hoped that they could work well together and put more pressure on him.
All the recruits laughed as they watched the four nobles surround Fitney on the mats. Some even cheered Aboyev and the others on, encouraging them to charge forward and take down Fitney.
Only Claude had a bad feeling that something bad was about to happen and that feeling was getting stronger and stronger.
"If you are surrounded by enemies who have the advantage in numbers on the battlefield, you must quickly decide which direction to break out from and charge forward with the determination to perish together with the enemy, just like this …" Fitney explained to the surrounding team members with a smile. Suddenly, his body blurred and appeared in front of Moriad. His right fist smashed into Moriad's left ribs. Moriad opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. His entire body fell forward. Fitney raised his left knee and kicked upwards. Moriad's entire face was instantly covered in blood. He fell backwards and fainted.
Claude could have sworn that he heard the crisp sound of bones breaking the moment Fitney made his move.
"Just like me, you have to deal with the enemies in one direction as quickly as possible. Don't hold back.
Remember, they're your enemies and their casualties are your fortune. The more they die, the safer you are, "Fitney explained with a smile.
Fitney smiled as he explained, "Look, I only have three enemies left. I don't have to worry about my back anymore. I've created a safe direction for myself …"
Since Fitney had knocked Moriad out too quickly, Berklin and Dyavid, who were in front of him, didn't know that Moriad was heavily injured and unconscious. They were still hoping that Moriad would get up and restrain Fitney from behind as soon as possible.
Aboyev, who was on the left, saw Moriad lying on the ground with his face covered in blood. He froze for a moment and took a few more glances to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating. Moriad was indeed unconscious on the ground.
He wanted to yell for Berklin and Dyavid to be careful, but he didn't have the chance. Fitney was already pouncing at him.
"When we find out that the enemies we're facing aren't as strong as we thought, the best choice is to take the initiative and strike down one of them to shock the rest," Fitney said as he pounced at Aboyev and crashed into him.
Aboyev spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying high into the air. His body spun in the air as blood splattered all over the place. He landed three to four feet away from the grass mat and landed with a loud thud on the cold, hard ground.
Claude yelled, "Stop!" He pounced at Aboyev, but he didn't manage to catch him.
"The rest of the enemies have been shocked by your attack. It'll be easy to deal with them now," Fitney said as he charged at Berklin and Dyavid.
"Ouch!" Berklin howled in pain as Fitney elbowed him in the right side of his face. Blood and two teeth flew out of his mouth as he clutched his face and rolled on the ground. He was luckier than Dyavid in that he could still scream.
Dyavid was knocked unconscious as well. Fitney used Berklin like a sandbag after knocking him out. After a barrage of blows and a suplex, Berklin fell to the ground unconscious.
"You can't hold back on the battlefield. You have to be as ruthless as you can because you're betting your life on it!"
Fitney was still standing on the straw mat as he spoke confidently. He looked at the others around him, who were shocked by his ruthlessness. Finally, his gaze stopped on Claude. "You don't have to worry about them. Don't be fooled by their wretched state. I've already controlled my strength. They only have flesh wounds. They'll recover in a few days at the infirmary.
There are four of them, after all, and it's rather difficult for me to deal with them. Not to mention, I wanted you to understand the cruelty of hand-to-hand combat on the battlefield, so I had no choice but to use them as a demonstration. "
Claude glared at him furiously. He didn't think that Fitney would be so treacherous as to use the four nobles he was on good terms with first and then push all the blame away by saying that he used too much force during the demonstration.
"Claude, do you have any objections?
If you do, just say it out loud. I won't blame you, "Fitney said with a smile.
Claude ignored him and walked towards Aboyev. "Everyone, help me send them to the infirmary."
"Hold it right there, Claude. What are you trying to do?
I'm your captain now. You're not allowed to leave the field without my permission! "Fitney blocked Claude's path.
Now that everyone knew who Fitney was targeting, the rest of the team silently took a few steps back and continued to watch the fight.
"What are you trying to do? You injured them so badly and you're not going to let me send them to the infirmary?" Claude looked Fitney in the eye without fear.
"Hehe, they're not in a hurry," Fitney said nonchalantly.
Fitney replied nonchalantly, "I know what I'm doing. At least their injuries are lighter than those of my brothers.
It won't matter if they stay unconscious for a while longer.
Today is the actual combat training. It's a good day for both of us. Perhaps we can have a combat competition to settle the grudges between us. What do you think of this idea of mine? "
"Not much. I'm not interested." Claude walked past him to check on the injuries of the four nobles.
"Hehe, you coward. Am I wrong?" Fitney burst into laughter. "Claude, you don't seem to like it.
Come out and fight me, don't be a coward. Let me see if you're worthy of your title as the top physical student. "
Claude ignored him.
"You might be able to escape today, but you won't be able to escape tomorrow. If you don't agree to a duel with me, I'll send your four lackeys back to the infirmary as soon as they leave. The combat training will continue for a month anyway, so I'll make up for their lagging training …" Fitney said gleefully.