Chapter 17
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Immovable Object
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“Close ranks!”
Thud!
At Demian’s shout, Platoon 1, already in a square defensive formation, tightened their ranks, becoming a solid block.
It was the same formation they had used in the match against Platoon 4.
“…They look solid.”
“Still, if they’re packed that tightly with no room to move, they won’t be able to do anything.”
Apel responded to Gerard’s mumble.
That may be true, but.
*‘I was told that while defending, they stay packed like that, but then instantly create space to attack.’*
The leader of Platoon 3, who had witnessed their tactics, had informed him.
He’d said it was a defensive tactic with the peculiar trait of suddenly turning offensive.
*‘But we have an ace up our sleeve, too.’*
If they create space and attack after defending…
“Apel, your role is crucial this time.”
“Yes, sir.”
Apel nodded and stepped forward. Gerard immediately shouted.
“Advance!”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The members of Platoon 3 marched in step, rapidly advancing toward Platoon 1’s defensive formation.
And at the very moment they collided.
CRASH!
As the two platoons’ formations crashed into each other, the eyes of the observing instructors widened.
“Ooh! That’s a pretty good shield charge!”
“Both sides have learned the shield charge properly.”
The instructors watching gave satisfied smiles at the resounding boom.
However, the trainees of Platoon 1 and Platoon 3 were locked in a fierce struggle.
*‘They really are solid…!’*
The eyes of the Platoon 3 members wavered.
Platoon 1’s square formation was incomparably tougher than Platoon 4’s, whom they had fought before.
Their defensive wall held its ground firmly, not yielding an inch.
They couldn’t help but be flustered.
And in that moment…
“Push!”
“Uraaaaaaah!”
“Arrrrrrgh!”
At Demian’s shout, the soldiers inside pushed their comrades in front of them.
In that instant, Platoon 1’s dense square formation expanded as if inflating, pushing back Platoon 3 along with it.
“Ugh!”
“Wh-what the!”
The startled shield bearers at the front of Platoon 3 cried out and staggered. But at that moment.
“Apel!”
At Gerard’s cry, Apel shot forward.
Simultaneously, the shield bearers at the front opened a path as if opening a gate.
“…!”
Opening their own formation so suddenly.
What is this?
“What are these bastards…!”
The Platoon 1 shield bearer at the front furrowed his brow.
But that was the moment.
CRACK!
“Kuh!”
Struck by Apel’s straight thrust, the shield bearer at the front screamed and collapsed.
In a single blow, the front line of Platoon 1’s formation had crumbled.
“Push through there!”
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
The members of Platoon 3 began to pour through the gap in the formation that Apel had created.
“Widen it!”
“Get in! Once we’re in, it’s over!”
Two trainees with shields at the vanguard forced their way in, pushing their shields apart like a pair of doors.
Their explosive dash made it feel as though the formation would collapse at any moment.
But then.
“Uraaaaaaaaaah!”
With a roar like a beast, a giant figure holding a shield in each hand charged furiously toward the breach.
BAM!
“Gahk!”
“Aaaaargh!”
The two Platoon 3 members who had been forcing their way in were sent flying backward.
“Where do you think you’re going? Not a chance! Hmph!”
Kyle snorted like a bull.
As he stood at the front, glaring, the Platoon 3 trainees before him swallowed nervously without realizing it.
The ones who had just been thrown back couldn’t even get up.
“…Apel.”
He had naturally counted on him.
But to think he would send a shield bearer flying with a single blow.
*‘That one seems to have considerable mana proficiency as well.’*
It meant he wasn’t just able to handle mana, but was quite skilled at utilizing it.
But…
*‘Kyle won’t be easy.’*
Because he had undergone extensive special training with Demian in preparation for the match against Platoon 3.
Demian’s gaze turned to Apel.
“Hoo. What is that monster?”
Apel narrowed his eyes as he looked at Kyle.
A height at least a head taller than the others.
Furthermore, his physique, with its bulky yet resilient muscles, was not something one saw every day.
*‘…Is he from the north?’*
He didn’t know why someone from the north would be at the 3rd Training Center, but.
*‘Things just got a little more complicated.’*
Grip.
But that didn’t mean he could back down.
“Apel! Can you break through?”
“I have to, no matter what.”
Because if I can’t do it, no one else can.
Besides, I considered aiming for another spot, but…
*‘That giant is watching only me.’*
It seemed a showdown with him was unavoidable.
In that case, there’s only one way.
“Hup…!”
Apel held his breath briefly and drew mana up from the mana hall in his lower abdomen.
As he focused all the mana he could into his spear, the tip soon began to tremble faintly.
And at that moment.
—Just watch Apel. If you can stop him, no one else can break through.
When Kyle had asked who Apel was, Demian had said he’d know him when he saw him.
He’d thought Demian was talking crazy, but.
*‘I recognized him at a glance.’*
That he was Apel.
*‘Why… are there so many young monsters…?’*
He looked to be around the same age as Demian, too.
And the thrust he just showed was on a similar level to Demian’s.
“This won’t be easy.”
Grit!
Kyle clenched his jaw. And the moment Apel’s spear shot forward.
Grrr!
Kyle overlapped the two shields he was holding.
CLANG!
The shields rang out loudly.
Kyle’s expression contorted, and blood beaded on his clenched lips. But…
“H-He blocked it!”
“That’s our Kyle!”
He had been pushed back slightly, but the three comrades bracing him from behind allowed him to block Apel’s attack.
On the other hand.
“Huh…?”
“I-It was blocked?”
“Apel’s attack…!”
The trainees of Platoon 3 watched the scene with expressions of disbelief.
*‘Apel’s thrust…’*
This attack was their secret strategy for Platoon 1.
*‘It was a thrust from Apel that could send four or five men flying…’*
But Apel, whose attack had been blocked, calmly raised his spear again.
*‘If I can’t break through in one go…’*
I’ll keep hammering away until it breaks.
“Hyaaaaaaaaah!”
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Apel’s thrusts rained down on Kyle’s shields.
They were so powerful that the wooden shields were being deeply gouged and were starting to break.
“C-Cover Kyle!”
“You bastard!”
Seeing this, the nearby spearmen of Platoon 1 thrust their spears toward Apel.
“Not a chance!”
“You think we’ll just let you do that!”
Simultaneously, Platoon 3’s shield bearers protected Apel, blocking the attacks from Platoon 1’s spearmen.
It was truly a clash of titans.
Some of the instructors watching the match had already stood up to get a better view.
That’s how thrilling the situation had become.
“Hyaaaaaaaah!”
And at the moment Apel’s spear, thrust forward with a shout, struck Kyle’s shields once more.
CRACK!
“Urk?!”
The shield Kyle was holding shattered into pieces, scattering into the air.
With only the handle left in Kyle’s hand, Apel’s eyes flashed.
“This is the end.”
“Daaaaaaaamn it!”
Even though it was made of wood, to think he could break a shield with a cotton-padded staff.
Kyle roared in frustration.
And then came Apel’s follow-up attack.
Kyle crossed his arms in an X-shape to defend. But…
CRUNCH!
With a sharp sting of pain, Kyle felt his feet leave the ground.
*‘Crazy…?’*
Three of my platoon mates are bracing me from behind, and I’m still getting pushed back?
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
The three Platoon 1 members who were sent flying back with Kyle tumbled to the ground.
Through the opening created as Kyle was thrown back, the shield bearers of Platoon 3 pushed forward with all their might.
Kyle urgently tried to run back and plug the hole, but.
Tremble, tremble.
His legs, trembling violently, wouldn’t obey him. What’s more.
“…Damn it.”
Apel was already charging at him again.
Faced with his beast-like gaze, Kyle tried to raise his arms again, but they no longer listened.
“Fall.”
Apel delivered a final blow toward Kyle’s chest.
Kyle watched the spear coming toward him.
“You son of a bitch…!”
Unable to dodge or block, he spat out a curse. But at that moment.
CLANG!
Demian, who had suddenly appeared in front of Kyle, swung his spear and knocked Apel’s spear upward.
For a moment, Demian’s and Apel’s gazes crossed.
During the test, they had smiled and encouraged each other, but.
*‘Demian…!’*
*‘Apel.’*
Though it was a sparring match, the two of them considered this a battlefield.
In a situation where neither could back down an inch, Apel bit his lip and gripped his spear tightly again.
But at that moment.
“STOOOOOOOOOOP!”
Pweeeeeeeeeet!
Along with the instructor’s shout, the whistle signaling the end of the match blew loudly.
At that, the members of Platoon 1 who had been defending collapsed to the ground.
“Whoa, it’s over…”
“Wow… Why was that so tough?”
“These bastards… they can really fight, huh?”
If just a little more time had passed, the formation would have collapsed completely.
As if saved by the clock, the Platoon 1 members sat on the ground, panting heavily.
Platoon 3’s assault had been incredibly fierce.
But…
“…Damn it.”
“To think we lost…”
The atmosphere in Platoon 3 was even more funereal.
They had naturally assumed they would win.
Apel, in particular, looked at the defeated Kyle.
Kyle looked back at Apel.
Their gazes, clashing in mid-air, seemed to create intense sparks.
*‘…To think he blocked that so many times.’*
*‘…To think he took me down.’*
They couldn’t help but acknowledge each other.
Swish.
Next, Apel’s gaze shifted to Demian, who was standing beside Kyle.
It was a gaze that seemed to want to say something.
But Apel turned away without a word.
He felt as if this loss was his fault.
Watching Apel turn away, Kyle muttered.
“…That monstrous bastard.”
“You okay?”
“…Hoo.”
Demian asked.
Kyle let out a small sigh in response.
“I managed to block him somehow… but why is he so strong?”
“Kekeke, I told you he’d be strong.”
“Still, I didn’t expect the shield to break. If it hadn’t, I would have blocked him completely.”
Kyle said regretfully as he got to his feet.
But his arms were red and badly swollen.
“Fall back.”
“Nonsense. They’re not broken. It would be a disgrace for me to fall back over something like this.”
“There are still two weeks of training left. If it gets worse, you won’t be able to graduate properly.”
Demian handed the flag he was holding to Kyle.
“Guard the flag in the center. If we lose it, it’s all on you, so you have to protect it.”
At those words, Kyle let out a small laugh and said.
It was their turn to attack now, so what meaning did the flag have?
But he knew Demian was saying it to protect his pride.
Kyle took the flag.
“I’ll never let them take it, so go and crush them for sure.”
“Of course.”
At Kyle’s words, Demian raised his spear. And…
“Switching offense and defense!”
At the instructor’s shout, the platoon members who had been sitting down scrambled to their feet and began to form up.
Both platoons moved into their respective formations and prepared for offense and defense.
“Everyone alright?”
“Still full of energy.”
“Actually… I don’t think I’m doing so great. The spot where I got hit earlier really hurts.”
“I feel a bit queasy too…”
They groaned and complained, but everyone seemed to have some fight left in them.
Seeing this, Demian chuckled and said.
“This is it, just one more time. And it should go without saying, but I have no intention of using the full time limit for this attack.”
Five minutes.
“We’ll capture their flag within that time.”