When Wilton told him that he was to fight as a Void Magic Warrior, Rocky had already ntally prepared himself and adjusted his mindset, planning to greet the life that was to follow as a soldier.
But he hadn't anticipated that on the very first day, he'd encounter such a trendous challenge!
The twenty-lap run around the field nearly caused a simultaneous collapse of both his body and mind.
Such an intense long-distance run, not only for Rocky, who'd never undergone any training before, but even the other mbers of the Fierce Tiger Squad were gasping for air after finishing, naturally, Rocky reached the limit of his physical endurance halfway through.
But reaching the limits of his physical endurance was not the issue for him; the real blow was to his spirit.
Rocky had never imagined he could be so feeble.
Rocky wasn't a competitive person, but he also had his pride, so when he saw others passing him ti and again and eventually finishing the course, while he was struggling alone at a pace that was nearly slower than walking, one could imagine how he felt inside.
What's more, after everyone else had finished running, they didn't go back to rest, because Kyle had said that they could only sleep after everyone was done with their running. In other words, unless Rocky also completed twenty laps, even though everyone else was done, they would still have to wait for him.
This made Rocky even more unbearable.
Ever since becoming the City Lord of Thunderhawk City, Rocky had virtually carried the entire city on his shoulders, bearing the livelihood of thousands, so when had he ever held others back?
This feeling was completely intolerable for Rocky.
And it was this very feeling that made him even more exhausted physically and ntally, even more unable to move forward.
"He's about to give up, we're going to win."
As Rocky once again ran past him, a middle-aged mber of the squad smiled at Abbas, while Abbas himself didn't even glance back, though his face looked rather troubled.
Right after everyone had finished running, they had actually placed a bet on whether Rocky could finish, and in this bet, only Abbas had wagered that Rocky could complete the run, while the other eight were convinced he would give up halfway.
"What's there to bet on, a pampered City Lord, who has never suffered like this, will definitely not be able to endure."
Watching Rocky's sluggish figure run past, the burly man who had talked to Rocky before laughed and said; his words echoed the thoughts of most people present.
"Yeah, guess he won't last another two laps."
"It's doubtful he'll last even one more lap, he's already walking."
"That's great, we'll get so extra sleep tonight. Otherwise, if he keeps running like this, we won't be able to sleep at all."
Watching Rocky's gradually disappearing figure, everyone chatted, each adding their own comntary. From their remarks, it was clear that these squad mbers didn't necessarily look down on Rocky; they just didn't see him as a warrior.
In their eyes, Rocky's identity was still that of City Lord—a City Lord who used his status, position, and wealth to craft an exceptional suit of Armor. That was certainly fine, but without these trappings, how could Rocky possibly compare to these real warriors?
So, they didn't look down on Rocky; they simply didn't see him as one of them, nor did they consider him a true warrior.
It was precisely because of this mindset that even though Rocky ran very slowly, keeping everyone from sleeping, no one complained in the slightest.
Because this was the normal outco, wasn't it?
He ca here to hold everyone back, didn't he?
The team mbers chatted with each other, quickly shifting their focus away from Rocky and onto other topics.
During this process, Rocky kept gritting his teeth and running.
By now, his mind had ceased pondering anything else; he was consud by a single thought—to keep running!
To tell the truth, after ten laps, he had wanted to stop more than once because he was truly exhausted. But each ti he thought of giving up, he would clench his teeth once again and not only keep running but also try to run a little faster, though it was essentially in vain.
He had to keep running no matter what!
That beca Rocky's only thought.
This thought was unrelated to what others thought of him, and even unrelated to the act of running itself; it was solely because he believed he could keep going!
Rocky simply couldn't believe that he couldn't last even twenty laps when he could carry Thunderhawk City on his shoulders, when he could bear the load of thousands of residents—how could he possibly not finish the run?
This simple determination kept him going. Despite running very slowly, really slowly, he never stopped, not even once. Ti passed extrely slowly, but he kept going, steadily completing fifteen laps, then sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen!
When Rocky passed by Kyle and the others once more, they had stopped chatting, because they knew that him running past this ti ant he had completed a full nineteen laps and had only the last lap left to complete twenty!
Although a trace of dawn was now visible in the sky, and most of the night had passed, the mbers of the Fierce Tiger Squad still couldn't believe it. Did Rocky actually make it?!
How could this be possible?
Everyone stopped talking and turned their gazes towards Rocky's slow, receding figure. Each person furrowed their brows, feeling that sothing didn't seem quite right.
In this manner, under everyone's watchful eyes, Rocky stumbled away in the distance before stumbling back, eventually making his way to where Kyle and the others stood.
With a plop, when Rocky reached Kyle, he was supposed to report to him, but instead, he just sat down on the ground, unable to care about anything else as he gasped for breath.
But this ti, Kyle didn't yell at him. Instead, he nodded and turned to everyone, saying, "Alright, you can all go back to sleep now."
Hearing this, the rest of the squad glanced at Rocky, said nothing, and turned back to their tents, except for Abbas, who ca over with a smile on his face, pulled Rocky up, and supported him into the tent.
As everyone retreated back into their tents, Kyle did not. He simply turned back to look at everyone's retreating figures, especially Rocky's, and nodded unconsciously.
However, not long after standing outside the tents, Kyle laughed. He glanced at the sun slowly rising on the horizon, turned, and entered his tent, after which the sound of roaring was heard...
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