Chapter 105: [105] Cadets

In one of the many plain fields just outside Artaris, many wood elves had gathered after receiving instruction from Ash.

The air was frigid due to the rain, the harsh winds causing them to cling tightly to their clothing.

A good number of them were nobles, some were guards, while some were ’talented’ hunters in the village. In total, they numbered fifty.

“Why did Sir Ash ask us to assemble here, in this god damn cold no less?”

“I heard it was Lord Eliron who asked him to call us out.”

“Really? Damn, I think my ears are going to freeze off. What does Lord Eliron want to do with us?”

The elves were discussing among themselves, trying to guess why they had all been called out so early in the morning.

But they all became quiet when Eliron arrived. Both he and Ash were carrying large bags atop their shoulders, with Terra walking by their side.

Clack!

They placed the bags on the floor and pulled them open, dozens of freshly made wooden swords and staffs pouring out of them.

“Huh? What are those for?” One of the elves muttered as he watched the swords.

Meanwhile, Eliron was smiling as he stared at them.

With the plan of leaving the village in the books, there were a few things he had to address first, one of them being the sorry state of the wood elves.

Because of this, he gathered fifty elves with the most potential in Artaris, fifty people he was determined to make knights or mages.

One of the most important aspects of a kingdom was its army.

They were so vital that a kingdom’s strength is often judged by how powerful its military was.

But Artaris did not even have a proper guard unit, talk less of a military.

These elves would be the backbone of Artaris’s might, and their shoulders would be the pillars on which the future soldiers would rest.

“Listen up, you Elves!” Eliron’s voice boomed over them.

“Starting from today, you all are cadets working to become knights and mages. You will undergo a brutal training regimen for six months, courtesy of myself and any other instructor you will have along the way!”

“By the end of it, you may either blossom from the maggots you currently are into blood-sucking butterflies, or you will be crushed under the weight of duty!”

There were mixed reactions amongst the crowd.

— Hell yeah! Now we’re talking!

— We get to train under Lord Eliron himself? Does that mean we’ll learn his swordsmanship??

— Training to become knights… Can we really get to that level?

— Don’t you need mana to become a knight? I can’t even sense mana, talk less of wielding it.

— So that was why they called us out…

While some people were excited by the thought of it, others were skeptical about the entire affair.

But Eliron’s voice cut them right out of their thoughts. “Do you understand me?!”

“YES SIR!!” A resounding chant echoed through Artaris.

Although a lot of them were skeptical, it was a direct order from their lord, one they could not refuse.

“It is good to see we are all in agreement. Alright, Knights, step forward and pick up a sword. Those of you with talent for magic, pick up a staff!”

Because of the wood elves’ poor aptitude for magic, naturally, a good chunk of the elves picked up swords.

This was because even among the nobles who could use mana, there were still a good number of them who had aptitude for swordsmanship as opposed to magecraft.

At the end of the day, there were forty swordsmen and only ten mages.

Once they had all picked up their weapons, Eliron grabbed a wooden sword and stepped forward.

“Alright, all of you, come at me at once.”

To effectively train them, Eliron had to know what level the elves were currently at.

But the elves seemed hesitant about fighting their lord… they just stood still like oak trees, watching him with an uncertain look in their eyes.

Step Step!

To their surprise, one of the elves stepped out of the crowd, raising his sword at him.

Eliron smiled as he saw the young man.

“Durin, trying to have payback for last time?”

Durin swallowed. “No, my lord, I just wish to see the fruits of my training.”

Eliron took his stance. “Alright, Silver Star, let’s see just how much you have improved.”

Seeing that one of the youngest people among them had stepped up, the other elves could no longer sit still.

They all marched forward as well, holding their swords firmly.

“We can get outdone by our junior now, can we?”

“Look at us cowering in front of an eighteen-year-old boy, haha. Where is our pride?”

“He’s just one man, we are fifty, we must at least put a scratch on him!”

“Yeahh!” The elves psyched themselves up, raising their swords in the air.

“CHARGE!!”

“OVERWHELM HIM WITH OUR NUMBERS!”

Eliron’s smile deepened as he watched them. ’It looks like we picked the right group to train…’

You could teach an elf to hold a sword, but only they could light the fire in their hearts.

To Eliron, that fire was far more important than hidden potential.

Swoosh!

A large root sprawled out of the ground, pulling out dirt and rocks as one of the elves waved her staff.

She was a noble Eliron recognized as Agnes, a decent mage among them.

Eliron could already even see a golden string of light floating around her.

[Name: Agnes]

[Title: Nil]

[Class: Mage]

[Rank: Novice]

[Evolution Status: Key Figure For Advancement•°]

’We are just starting, and I can already see a future here…’

Eliron let out a low chuckle as he charged forward, swinging his wooden sword.

Bang!

As the large root descended upon Eliron, he blocked it with his sword at an angle, deflecting the branch and sending it down to the floor.

“Not a bad attempt, but you should pour more mana into you—”

Clang!

Just as he was speaking, Durin swung his sword at Eliron, cutting him off.

The sword charged right for his head, Durin no doubt keeping the lessons they learned from their last bout close to his heart.

“Hey, I was still talking, you know?”

The two wooden swords bounced against each other with a loud clacking sound.

“Forgive me, my lord—Swish!”

Durin quickly recovered his position, planting his foot into the floor before delivering a myriad of strikes.

“You don’t look like you want to be forgiven.” Eliron frowned.

He blocked every single one of Durin’s strikes with his sword, using one hand to swing it while his second hand rested idly on his waist.

Then he redirected Durin’s attack and knocked him to the side.

Durin became unstable, and before he could regain his posture, Eliron shoved his foot into his butt, causing him to eat a chunk of grass.

’Hehe…’

At the same time, four elves had pounced towards him.

’Look at these kids…’ Eliron scoffed internally.

Instead of forming a plan, they had all just leaped at him, hoping they would catch him off guard.

“Don’t just rush, an organized plan many times is better than a brainless surprise attack!”

He sighed as he watched them approach.

“No matter… Pain is the greatest teacher.”

He intercepted the blade of the first mid-air, twisting his arm to the side. The man let out a low grunt just before Eliron drove the pommel of his sword into his face.

Swish!

Two others slashed at his face. Eliron moved his head just a few inches back, both swords cutting past him.

“Hiyaaa!” The fourth elf screamed as he went low, slashing his sword at his shin.

But Eliron leaped up, then brought his blade down upon his head, sending him face-first into the dirt.

Haaa—!

Eliron breathed out as he turned to face the last two out of the four.

Before they could even gasp in shock, Eliron had tossed the unconscious body of their partner toward them.

They scrambled to catch him, but once they did, Eliron was nowhere in sight.

“Huh?! Where did he- -”

“Never take your eyes off your opponent…” Eliron’s voice behind them caused their blood to run cold.

They tried to hurriedly spin around, but Eliron bounced his wooden sword against their heads, their skulls sounding like hollow drums as they crumpled to their knees.

“Well… that explains the foolish tactics.”

The cadets continued their attempts at trying to land at least one hit on the young lord.

The mages tried their best to coordinate with the swordsmen, and the swordsmen likewise with the mages, but one by one, they fell like logs…

All while Eliron pointed out their mistakes, using pain to etch them into their hearts.

“Is he even an elf?” One of the trainees gasped as he saw his friend drop like a drunkard at a midnight party.

“Damnit!” The person next to him cursed, his hands bruised from taking Eliron’s blows.

’I already have a mana core! Yet, the difference in our power… is it really this great?’

“Huh? Where did he go?”

“It looks like you guys have a lot of time to leisurely chat…”

Gulp…

They both slowly turned around, only to see a pair of menacingly blue eyes staring back at them.

“Shit- -”

Crack!

It took a little over seven minutes to take out all of them. Worst of all, Eliron had not used a single skill, neither had he backed his attacks up with mana.

Durin, along with a few others, had put on a good fight, but the vast majority of them were worse than weak.

Eliron turned to glance at those who were left, his eyes searching through the multitude of barely conscious cadets.

“Ahh, there you are! So Agnes, done with that spell you’ve been cooking up?”

Agnes was standing in the wasteland, her clothes ragged from the combat, and her breath labored.

The girl’s green eyes widened slightly, her long, wavy green hair fluttering in the wind as she finished her chant.

“Forgive my insolence, my lord, but this is the only thing I have capable of scratching you.”

“World life magic!”

Whoosh!

Her mana exploded outwards, encompassing the area, a large green aura surging into the sky.

She stared at Eliron, holding the staff in her hands tightly.

“Scepter!”

Eliron had a wide smirk on his face as he stared at the scene unfolding before him.

’Agnes! Is this the true depth of your strength?!’

Bright green eyes burst out of the haze of mana, a large arm tearing through as the creature stared right at Eliron.

Spirit magic…

Never in his wildest imagination would he have thought Artaris had such a hidden talent…

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