Upon hearing the captain shouting to retreat, Kyle was one of the first to cut a path through the countless hordes of Crabbits. Each swing of his mace crushed the skulls of tens of monsters. But inside his armor, Kyle was trembling with rage.
This was his chance to earn more points and climb up the rankings. He would finally be among the top spots, but they called for an imdiate retreat once again. Leaving the battle was already draining his ntal focus, and now he had to face the thought that he wouldn't reach the top ten.
Upon finally returning to the hill, he deactivated his helt. Finally, he could get so fresh air and wipe the sweat from his face and head. The sensation of the cool breeze on his shaved head was one of the few pleasures after a battle, but he still needed to deal with sothing.
On his face was a gas mask, but instead of keeping it out, it was helping to lock the gases in. What bothered him the most were the tubes that went into his mouth and nostrils. Without any fineness, he yanked off the equipnt and crushed it in his hands.
"Those sons of bitches who made this crap can go to hell," he muttered, his body trembling from the amount of drugs he'd taken to enhance his combat performance. This had been his ace in the hole, one he hadn’t used the day before, but now it was costing him. Kyle wasn’t used to this level of drugs, and to make things worse, he had no way to control how much was being injected into his body.
Alongside the other cadets, Kyle continued walking until they returned to the settlent. When they reached the central square, he began to feel the side effects on his body. His sweat was so heavy it felt like sli, and the pungent odor inside his armor could knock out anyone brave enough to take a sniff. But the worst part was his muscles. He felt like every fiber of his body had been stretched beyond its limits, and now he would pay the price with imnse pain.
Still, his curiosity overrode the discomfort. He needed to see the rankings, even if the training was no longer valid. Kyle had to prove he could surpass his limits, even surpassing the top brass of the First Battalion.
| Ranking
| 1 - William Forester [First Battalion - 13th Group] - 109 Kills
| 2 - Gregory Torres [First Battalion - 1st Group] - 98 Kills
| 3 - Amanda Romanov [First Battalion - 12th Group] - 92 Kills
|
| 13 - Kyle Astor [First Battalion - 14th Group] - 76 Kills
|
“Fuck!” Kyle shouted upon seeing the ranking.
Without thinking twice, he let his fury consu him. Turning around, he saw several barrels used to transport supplies and, unleashing all his pent-up fury, kicked one with all his strength, denting the steel barrel in half.
“Ahhh!” Panting heavily, Kyle gradually started to calm down.
‘If I find out who canceled the event…’ Kyle breathed more evenly, though his eyes were still ablaze with anger, his chest boiling with fury.
‘How am I going to explain this to the Patriarch? Will the results be published?’ While Kyle contemplated his next steps, a familiar whistle echoed throughout the camp.
The captains were gathering the cadets in the center of the camp, where Captain Musk was waiting.
Kyle still wasn’t paying attention to the other cadets or what was happening around him, but he couldn't disobey an order from a superior. Even fuming with rage, he joined the others. Several cadets were injured, and many had no stamina to walk, even within the camp.
“Ahem.” With a loud throat clearing, the students fell silent and started paying attention. The captain slowly walked onto the hastily erected stage, each step accompanied by the sound of his tallic prosthetics creaking. “The first field training is over.”
The captain continued to scan the students, looking for those who were still paying attention rather than lost in their own thoughts.
“Many of you have never experienced such a brutal defeat as today’s. Seeing victory snatched away from you in seconds by a surprise attack is one of the most painful experiences any soldier can face.” Musk spoke.
The training might have failed, but it wouldn’t be useless for these students.
“Take advantage of this experience. Learn from it so you don’t suffer in the field.” The old captain gestured for another to take his place as he had other matters to attend to.
A younger captain stepped forward to replace Musk. Kyle hadn’t had the chance to be his student, but he recognized him by sight and reputation.
Caine was one of the captains who hadn’t been present for the training but had been urgently summoned.
“All students will be evacuated within the next thirty minutes. You are to head imdiately to the teleportation center. Understood?” Caine asked.
“Yes, sir!” The crowd of cadets responded in unison.
“Dismissed.” Caine finished.
As soon as the recruits were dismissed, several groups were already directed to gather their belongings and head to the teleportation area. Kyle left with his group, waiting in line for his turn to be teleported. However, he noticed sothing strange by the camp’s exit.
He noticed that one of the camps wasn’t being dismantled. Without worrying about being seen, he approached it.
Kyle could see a tent with several captains inside, so of whom had co for the training and others he recognized by sight. He seized the mont to break away from his group and approach the tent.
‘Better find out quickly if the rankings will be published… if they are, I’ll need an excuse.’ He scratched his head, trying to relieve the anxiety of imagining the Patriarch’s reaction.
As he neared the tent’s entrance, Kyle froze in his tracks. From where he stood, he could only see part of the captains and officers inside, but what paralyzed him was the unmistakable voice filled with anger.
“Musk, how the hell did this happen?” Kyle couldn’t recognize the officer, seeing only his back, but the tone of authority made it clear this was soone outranking the captain.
“Sir, the training was proceeding as planned.” Kyle began backing away from the entrance to avoid being seen, but he continued listening to the exchange between the officers. “On the first day, the students were pushed to their limits, experiencing a sense of defeat to force their growth and teach them what it feels like to lose.”
Musk took a deep breath, pausing before explaining the failures of the second day.
“However, on the second day, when the campaign was already assud to be won, we were attacked by another horde of Crabbits. We followed protocol; we spotted other hordes, yet there was no reason for them to advance toward our battlefield.”
“POW!”
Kyle flinched as the officer slamd his fist against one of the tables inside the tent, sending papers flying to the ground.
“I have read the report. I don’t want to hear the obvious.”
Another captain stepped forward, his eyes still lowered, focused on sothing on his gauntlet.
“Sir! We conducted a thorough check of all students. Two hundred cadets were injured, but there’s sothing worse—” The second captain paused to gather his thoughts before continuing.
“Damn it! Spit it out.”
“There are two students unaccounted for, and so witnesses suggest they may have fallen into the river and are still missing.”
“That’s it? Students go missing all the ti in training. Prepare two discharge letters and send them to for signing,” the officer said calmly.
“But, sir, there’s a problem. One may just be a Naless, but the other is a Princess. And she’s from the Yorks.” The second captain fell silent after finishing his report. The only sound in the tent was the breathing of those present.
“Damn it, Musk! You had a Princess in your class and didn’t keep any captains near her?!”
Even though he wasn’t inside the tent, Kyle heard the officer quickly stand up and pace among the officers.
“Caine, I want you on this search imdiately. Drop everything else, and don’t co back here without her.” The officer’s firm voice made the urgency of the order clear to the captains.
Kyle knew Caine’s reputation. He was one of the few Naless officers who had made a na for himself during the waves. Despite being blind, his Boon allowed him to use the senses of any person or animal around him, making him incredibly valuable for reconnaissance or infiltration missions.
“Until then, no information about these two is to be released. Nothing. If the Yorks even suspect they might lose another heir…”
“Ah! I don’t even want to think about the ss we’ll be in,” the officer said after a long sigh.
Hearing the conversation dying down, Kyle took the opportunity to slip away. Though he still wanted to know about the competition, it was better if the captains didn’t find out that a cadet had overheard their orders.
‘A Princess… so she fell into the water. At least soone’s having a worse day than I am.’
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