Chapter 335: Strenght Of The Third Captain.

Chapter 335: Chapter 335: Strenght Of The Third Captain.

Just Khobi’s luck, the weather continues to hold clear and steady for three whole days.

​That’s three whole days of absolute torment that he spends trapped on the fence instead of being out there training, unable to so much as glance at a sword without one of his friends smacking him upside the head and telling him not to get any funny ideas.

He was told to stay off his knee until he stopped limping, and last they checked, he was still fucking limping.

​Sure, Rogard’s there too, and they have their fun, and Binny always brings food along to keep them occupied when he comes down to make the soldiers look bad, but there’s nothing that quite compares to getting in amongst it for himself.

He’s been missing the steady training ever since the start of winter, but that was because of the weather and the soldiers having other duties.

Just being told that he can’t have it just makes him want it so much more.

​He wants to fight , dammit, and as exciting as it is watching his friends battle it out, not being allowed to join in is a fresh kind of torture.

​The soldiers, meanwhile, are themselves facing a new, entirely different kind of torture.

​Arms burning, Mural slumps to the ground beside Rogard’s knees, sweating buckets despite the cool morning.

He’s one of four already clustered there; Rogard’s accumulated quite the collection, and if things keep up like this it only stands to grow.

​"...You too, huh?" one of the soldiers remarks dryly from where he’s all but collapsed against the fence, red faced and so exhausted he’s physically shaking, "Captain’s in a shit mood today." Rogard is a little impressed that the guy’s able to get the words out after the absolute annihilation he’d just endured.

​A shit mood , huh?

​That’s certainly one way of putting it.

​Sure, Loac is never really in a great mood, but this is new.

Under normal circumstances he’s positively fearsome in the ring, but at the moment there must be some kind of other power at work because out there he is positively indomitable; dealing to soldiers and knocking them on their asses left, right, and center, including one match of particular note in which he outright toppled Jaga , which never happens.

Anyone who’s ever fought Jaga knows that, and those who had been there to witness it had come out with a newfound respect for their prince.

​It’s still kind of weird to hear the soldiers call him Captain , but it’s been happening a lot over the last couple of days –ever since that business with his father –and the first couple of times he could tell that even Loac hadn’t quite been sure what to make of it.

But from the way that he’s growling at them to keep a better grip on their (goddamned) swords and to quit (fucking) hesitating when they come at him, he’s largely getting the hang of it.

​(Drogger’s the only one who doesn’t seem surprised.

In fact, Rogard would go so far as to say he’s actively encouraging it. This is probably why the soldiers think he’s scary.)

​The strangest part is that whether out of awe, a vague sense of respect, or some deep-seated sense of self-preservation, they’re actually listening .

Anyone who makes it more than three attempts in the ring with him comes out a better soldier.

Sweating, battered, and shell-shocked , to say the least; but definitely better . And clearly the rest of them can sense it, because for whatever reason, they just keep coming .

​(If he has to wait, it seems to just put him in a worse mood.)

​The next poor sod loses his sword in four seconds flat.

The fact that he didn’t get put on his ass is some achievement, but from the blank, wide-eyed way he looks down at his empty hand he clearly doesn’t even know what’s hit him. It’s been the same all morning;

Rogard’s long since stopped counting just how many soldiers Loac’s taken on and taken down and sent crawling to the edge of the ring looking like they’ve just had some sort of religious awakening.

He has a feeling Khobi would know if he asked. He’s barely said a word all day; barely looked away for even a moment, and it’s clear that while most of the soldiers see this gauntlet as some strange and unusual form of punishment cooked up by Drogger for some crime they’re unaware of having committed, Khobi doesn’t see it that way at all.

​Rogard would go so far as to say he desperately wishes he was one of them.

​Montrel fares considerably better, and his noble sacrifice grants the rest of the soldiers a brief reprieve from the onslaught.

Rogard likes to think it’s because he spends so much of his time trying to take down him and Khobi.

Not that he wins , but he puts up a good fight.

A really good fight, even, and while the outcome is still the same and he’s still no match for Loac, there’s no denying that he’s taken a hefty step closer.

Not all of those watching can tell, but Rogard can see that Montrel gets him seriously moving –which is more than can be said for the average soldier –and when he clips him with the tip of his blade, Loac looks almost impressed.

And then makes him trip over his own sword.

Because of course he does. He could’ve broken his nose though and chose not to, so that’s progress.

Although when Montrel collapses on the fence so hard it wobbles precariously under his weight, it’s clear he’s not up for looking on the bright side.

​" Shit ," Montrel gasps, chest heaving as he tries to catch his breath, "What the fuck has gotten into him?" He shakes his head incredulously and turns bleakly to look back over his shoulder to find Loac casually rolling out a crick in his shoulder; jaw set and gaze resolutely turned towards Khobi.

He’s been doing that a lot, come to think of it.

Hurry up , it seems to say. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

​I’m getting impatient .

​He doesn’t seem to care who sees.