Chapter 11
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Provocation
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The first week of training was mostly independent squad drills.
After all, there was no reason to get entangled with other squads when they hadn't even fully adjusted to the training grounds yet.
But as the second week began, the atmosphere changed.
It was partly because of the inter-squad competition in a week, but also to establish the most fundamental purpose of a collective like the military.
Competition and victory.
No matter how you dress it up with fancy words, the army and its soldiers ultimately exist to fight.
And if they fight, they must win.
That was the reason the military existed.
“In the first week, we trained in individual shield and spear techniques. Starting from the second week, you'll learn how to coordinate your shield and spear skills within a formation. Although it's a team exercise, outstanding individuals will receive extra points, so do your best!”
At the words of the instructor who came to teach formations, the members of Squad 1 looked at him with serious expressions.
They were all eager to earn high scores in the training camp to get assigned to their desired military branches.
Demian, too, moved quickly as he listened to the instructor's explanation.
‘Looks like they’re going to teach us the triangular formation.’
The triangular formation is an offensive formation designed to break through the enemy, and its crucial key is that the person at the very front must be strong.
It's a formation shaped like a triangle, possessing destructive power like a massive arrow being fired, but it also has the disadvantage that if the vanguard collapses, the rear can crumble along with it.
‘But to put it another way, if the vanguard is strong, it can generate that much more explosive power.’
The instructor showed the soldiers their proper positions and explained how to hold their shields and spears when facing an enemy attack.
“When the vanguard breaks through like this, it’s important to immediately push the opponent back with your shield and create space.”
The instructor forcefully knocked back the assistant instructor, who was part of the demonstration, with his shield.
As the assistant instructor holding the shield was pushed back, he immediately slung the shield onto his back and gripped his spear with both hands.
“Alright, that’s the triangular formation’s charge and the basic stance after the charge. There are other important parts, but for today, we’ll just learn this much quickly. Now, split into two groups and quickly form the triangular formation!”
“Kyle, you go over there. I’ll take this side.”
“Heheheh, I won’t lose this time.”
At Kyle's words, Demian let out a small laugh and turned away.
“Alright, everyone, gather ‘round.”
Squad 1 split into two groups of twenty.
Demian looked at the squad members who had come to his side and spoke.
“Like the instructor said, the most important part of the triangular formation is the person at the front, and pushing the enemy back with shields after breaking through. But I have a tip for you, so listen carefully.”
“...?”
“A tip?”
Wait, a tip, when we're all learning this together?
What does this kid know?
“Have you done this before?”
“My father used to be a soldier, so I learned it from him.”
“Ah... I see.”
“No wonder he was different.”
At Demian's words, the other guys all nodded.
If that was the case, it made perfect sense.
Everyone listened intently to what Demian had to say.
And at Demian's following words...
“Kekekekek, this is going to be fun.”
“That’s brilliant. Come to think of it, a weakness like that is bound to exist.”
“Let’s wreck them, heheh.”
After hearing Demian’s strategy, the guys burst out laughing and quickly got into formation.
Demian placed the stronger guys directly behind him and the relatively shorter ones to the sides.
This was because placing the shorter guys in the middle could lead to a situation where they couldn't do anything at all.
“You guys on the flanks, raise your shields a bit higher. At least high enough to cover your heads.”
“Got it!”
“Okay!”
Having quickly organized the formation, Demian looked at Kyle's formation ahead.
They were in a square formation, focused entirely on defense, but it didn't matter.
He just had to break through it.
“Here we go. Don’t slow down. We’re ending this in one go.”
At Demian's words, the others swallowed hard and nodded.
The realistic, battle-like atmosphere made their hearts start pounding.
“Begin!”
With the instructor's shout, Demian glanced at the others.
When everyone nodded to show they were ready...
*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*
Demian’s triangular formation began to move forward, one step at a time.
Since it was their first time coordinating, it felt a bit awkward, but...
“Left! Left! Left! Left!”
With the marching cadence keeping them in step, the formation advanced without wavering.
A corner of Demian's mouth lifted.
‘Not bad for a first time...’
These guys are pretty decent.
Their willingness to try is what allows them to follow along like this.
And as they gradually closed in on Kyle's square formation...
“Pick up the pace!”
“Left! Left! Left! Left! Left!”
At Demian's command, the twenty-man triangular formation surged toward Kyle's square formation.
With their momentum building, Demian, at the head of the formation, held the shield in his left hand close to his body and drew upon his mana.
He hadn't used mana during strength or stamina training, but...
‘This is a different story...!’
And at the very moment Demian, at the vanguard, was about to collide...
“Push!”
The guys behind Demian shoved his back hard.
With that momentum, Demian kicked off the ground and shot forward, crashing into the man in front of him.
*CRASH!*
“Ugh!”
“Gah!”
With the powerful impact, the men Demian collided with were sent flying to either side.
Demian hadn't crashed into the front of an opponent's shield, but into the gap between two people.
This was the fundamental principle of breaking through an enemy line.
When you charge into an ambiguous spot like that, the two defenders are forced into a moment of conflict.
‘Wh-who’s supposed to block him?’
‘Should I do it?’
Just forcing them into this brief hesitation was a success.
Even if they reacted, they couldn't put 100% of their strength into it. And if that split second of hesitation made them fail to defend at the crucial moment...
*CRUUUMBLE!*
...they were bound to be broken through.
“Push them back!”
Demian shouted loudly as they pushed inside.
“Hyaaaah!”
“Urraaaagh!”
The squad members who broke through pushed with both hands on their shields, creating distance from the opponents.
And at that very moment.
“Now!”
“Hyaaaaaaah!”
The guys on the sides, gripping their spears, thrust them between their opponents' legs.
Working in pairs, they jammed their spears into the enemy's crotch and twisted them like scissors.
“Agh!”
“Wh-what is this?!”
As their legs got tangled in the spears and they fell, their formation collapsed in an instant.
Kyle, who had been preparing for the enemy attack from the center, couldn't hide his bewildered expression at the sudden turn of events.
“Wh-what was that?”
“We never learned anything like this.”
“What are you doing?! Push them back, now!”
Kyle shouted urgently and threw himself forward to repel the attacking squad members. But...
*BAM!*
Demian blocked his path, a grin spreading across his face.
“Hey, your formation’s shattered, you know?”
“Grr!”
The thought of losing again made Kyle's face flush red as he shoved Demian.
If he couldn't at least push this guy back, his pride would be in tatters.
But just as Kyle put all his strength into the push...
*Swoosh.*
Demian shifted his body back slightly, then twisted to the side and pushed Kyle away.
“Ugh!”
The movement was so fluid that Kyle couldn't even react, sent flying toward another soldier.
Watching this, the instructor was dumbfounded as he looked at Demian.
‘He’s even more incredible than I heard.’
The reactions of the instructors seeing Demian for the first time were mostly the same.
He displayed such an overwhelmingly superior performance that it was hard to believe he was in the same cohort as the other soldiers.
‘And it’s not like he has great physical stats...’
In fact, in terms of physique, Kyle was arguably the best among all the current recruits.
His strength, speed, and resilience were all top-notch.
And yet, Demian had completely sent him flying with pure technique.
“Stop!”
But shock was shock; he still had a job to do as an instructor.
The instructor shouted loudly, and the brawling soldiers paused to look at him.
“The attacking team wins. Now, switch offense and defense and get ready!”
“...Yes, sir!”
Kyle’s team, who had been on defense, seemed a bit disappointed, but they quickly channeled their energy into preparing for their attack.
This was the beauty of competition, wasn't it?
The subsequent attack by Kyle's formation was, in a word, Kyle's one-man show.
Although the team was somewhat disjointed, Kyle single-handedly broke through the entrance.
“Stop!”
However, after breaking in, they failed to secure proper space, so the overall performance felt a bit lackluster.
“Everyone except Kyle, you need to practice your shield charges more. It’s not just about strength; timing is crucial.”
“...Understood.”
“Hoo, Demian’s team seemed to do something right earlier.”
“Is there some kind of secret?”
After it was all over, everyone began to review and check their methods.
‘This is a good flow.’
With this kind of atmosphere, growth is inevitable.
In that sense, Demian’s influence was far greater than that of a mere squad leader private.
But just then...
“What’s with those guys?”
“Heheh, looks like they really took a tumble in the dirt.”
“That’s Squad 1, right? The one with the little kid as squad leader?”
At the sudden murmurs coming from the side, the members of Squad 1, who were reviewing their formation, turned their heads.
“Ah, they said we might run into them now that our training routes are similar, right?”
“The inter-squad competition is in a few days... but what the hell did those bastards just say?”
“Did he just say ‘little kid’?”
Knowing full well who that 'little kid' referred to, the faces of the Squad 1 members twisted in anger.
But the guys passing by looked at Squad 1 and said,
“What, the squad leader’s a little kid, so we called him a little kid. You got a problem with that?”
“How pathetic must your squad be for a thirteen-year-old to be the leader? Hahahaha. A bunch of morons.”
The ridiculous provocation left the Squad 1 members not just angry, but dumbfounded. But then...
“Leave them be. It’s not the fault of the kids who just follow along without knowing any better. The one at fault is the guy who doesn’t know his place and is playing squad leader.”
The man with slanted eyes walking at the very front said, looking at Demian.
It was obvious that he was the one setting the tone.
But Demian ignored him.
He wasn't foolish enough to fall for a provocation from someone so insignificant.
He could just crush them when they met in the inter-squad competition anyway.
Demian turned away, as if uninterested. But then...
“Who the fuck do these bastards think they are, running their mouths?!”
“You’re dead when we see you in the competition, you sons of bitches!”
“Get ready to be annihilated! Especially you! The one with the slanted eyes! Yeah, you, at the front!”
“...Huh?”
The guys who had shown little motivation even when Demian told them they had to beat Squad 4...
‘Did they fall for the provocation...?’
As Demian's eyes widened at the sight of them, Kyle snorted and said,
“Those bastards are Squad 4, right?”
“Huh? Oh... yeah.”
“Those sons of bitches!”
As Kyle shouted, the other squad members glared and said to Demian,
“We’re definitely going to kill those bastards!”
“I won’t be satisfied until we’ve broken their arms and legs!”
“Tell us to fight them like we’re going to kill them when we face Squad 4!”
Demian scratched his head at the sight of his squad members suddenly bursting with fiery enthusiasm.
It was an unexpected situation, but...
‘Maybe...’
This could be good.