We headed over to the guards’ training grounds. Along with the Fifth, some of the other guards had gathered there to observe.
“All right, let’s get this started.” Commander Bolton clapped his hands together. “Leobolt, you’ve got to protect the balloon behind you from the guys who are gonna be attacking. Think of the balloon as the people of the capital or even the Orb of Light.”
“I understand.”
I had taken the exact same test when I had first joined. As I looked back on the memory, a sense of nostalgia washed over me.
You know, I never even considered I’d end up on the delivery side of this thing.
As I was heading over to face Leobolt, the other guards started coming forward.
“Let us handle this, Commander!”
“Guard work is serious business, not some noble rich kid’s playtime fantasy. I’ll get that fact through his thick skull.”
“Best to drill in early how brutal the world can be.”
Apparently, none of them had gotten great vibes from Leobolt. They were all trying to use the excuse of being his sparring opponent to give him a good thrashing.
“Tch... Ya bunch o’ stubborn mutts. What do you wanna do, Leobolt?”
“I don’t mind at all. In real battles, monsters will often attack in packs, so this should be excellent practice for handling multiple enemies at once.” I felt zero sense of concern in his reply, meaning either he hadn’t noticed their malicious intent or he had just ignored it completely.
Given the new opportunity to vent their frustrations in their usual manner, the guards had begun to get excited.
“Hell yeah. Time to knock this guy down a peg.”
“Heh heh. Don’t blame us if he runs off like a little coward.”
“Um, Commander? Shouldn’t we stop them?” Seira asked, seeming ill at ease.
“Our boys seem like they’ve got some animosity for our noble pal Leobolt here. Better to get that kinda bad blood outta their system sooner rather than later.” Apparently, Commander Bolton was just going to sit back and watch.
“I’m betting one gold coin on fancy-pants Leobolt!” Spinoza announced.
“I have to agree...” Fam murmured. “Though, Spinoza... I’m pretty certain you don’t have any gold coins.”
“Well duh, it’s on credit, of course! How about you, Sieg?”
“Hmmm,” I said. “I’ll put a silver coin on Leobolt too.”
His expression was the very picture of calm, but an aura—something akin to spiritual energy, perhaps—emanated from his body. He stood in a highly polished stance, with no apparent openings to exploit. With just a single glance, it was easy to tell he was no ordinary man.
“I dunno what all that ‘supreme sword’ stuff is about, but we’ve been bustin’ our balls training every day. If we all go after him at once, we should be able to take him down.”
“Prepare for a picture-perfect rain of pain, Guard Corps style!”
Nearly ten guards at once burst forward and launched themselves at Leobolt, paying no attention whatsoever to the balloon behind him.
Commander Bolton rolled his eyes. “These guys are hopeless...”
Letting out thunderous battle cries, the guards viciously attacked Leobolt with their swords and spears, attempting to lay him out flat. But just as the tips of their weapons were about to touch him—a storm suddenly erupted.
“Whoa!”
“Wh-What the...?!”
The guards were certain they had all jumped in at him simultaneously, but they had been repelled in the blink of an eye by a sudden wall of wind pressure and thrown against the ground.
At the center of that wind pressure—in what would’ve been the eye of the storm—stood Leobolt. He was in a post-swing stance after attacking with his wooden sword, with one foot planted forward and his right shoulder pulled inward. The storm had been caused by his swing.
“He managed to knock them all away with a single attack...” Fam said.
“But when did he even swing his sword? It happened so fast I didn’t see a damn thing. He was just in that finished pose all of a sudden,” Spinoza remarked.
“That was a powerful wind gust! Did he use some kind of magic, maybe?” Seira asked.
“No, he didn’t,” I replied. “That wasn’t magic.”
“You’re absolutely correct. Very astute of you,” Leobolt flashed a pleasant smile in response to our questions. “I have no understanding of magic. That was a sword technique. I merely cut through the air and sent everyone around me flying away with a burst of air pressure.”
It was simple enough to explain, but it was clearly not an easy trick to pull off. One would have to swing their sword fast enough to cause a whirlwind, which would also require a massive amount of force. Neither the guards who had been sent flying nor the Fifth had managed to see his sword move—though Fam and I had just barely caught something, apparently.
The guards, scattered across the ground, had lost their will to fight after just that one strike. They had no doubt accumulated enough battle experience to realize the unfortunate truth—Leobolt’s abilities were leagues above their own.
“Okay, looks like the show’s over,” Commander Bolton said, rubbing his chin. “Time for you to show him what you’ve got, Sieg.”
“Understood.”
“You may as well have me face the entire squadron,” Leobolt offered.
“Awful sure of yourself, huh?” the commander replied. “The Fifth is our ace squadron. The other guys you fought don’t even come close.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt their strength. It’s rare to have one-on-one fights on the battlefield, though. I’d like for this to feel more like an actual battleground experience.”
Leobolt did not have his sights set on a quick victory nor the glory to be gained from it; he was focused solely on the idea of battling monsters. I could find no reason whatsoever to doubt that.
Commander Bolton seemed to have come to the same conclusion that I had.
“All right, I’ll allow it.” He cast a glance at us. “Make it a good one, soldiers.”
He had decided to go along with Leobolt’s request. He was sending in the Fifth.
“Right on—we got this. I’m ready to really let loose!” Spinoza thundered.
“Let’s make him regret fighting us all at once...” Fam threatened softly.
“I’m usually on defense, but I promise to do my absolute best on offense this time!” Seira vowed.
Taking their wooden weapons in hand, everyone besides me moved in to try and pop the balloon behind Leobolt’s back.
“C’mon! It’s smashin’ time!” Spinoza swung her giant wooden war hammer around in an attempt to crush her opponent.
Between swords and hammers, the latter were vastly more destructive. If a swordsman tried to block a hammer strike, even with the side of the blade, he’d just be crushed.
Yet Leobolt managed to successfully defend against Spinoza’s attack—simply by warding off the incoming hammer swipe with the tip of his sword.
With her power disrupted, Spinoza’s balance was thrown off, leaving a wide opening in her defenses.
“Agh! Shit!”
“I’ve got you, Spinoza!”
Before Leobolt could move in for the kill on Spinoza, Seira stepped in. He effortlessly dodged the fierce sword thrusts she unleashed in his direction.
The whole time he was battling the two of them, not once did Leobolt let his guard down when it came to keeping an eye on Fam and me either.
His weapon control and ability to concentrate are almost frightening—I’d have to agree with the people who call him another Sword Saint. I don’t think the Guard Corps could ask for a more powerful new recruit.
Still, we can’t just let him walk all over us either. We don’t want him to get disillusioned—we’ve got to show him what we’re made of.
“Is this all the Guard Corps’ ace squadron has to offer, then?” Leobolt taunted gently.
“Hah! You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Spinoza growled.
“You have yet to see the Fifth’s trump card...” Fam added.
“It’s your turn, Sarge!” Seira called out.
“Right. Leave it to me. Iron Target!”
I stepped out onto the front line and activated my skill. Instantly, something strange happened to Leobolt’s movements: his focus, which had been evenly spread across Spinoza, Seira, and Fam as well, zeroed entirely in on me and me alone.