Chapter 204: Breaking the Formation

The eastern training grounds were packed by the time Squad Seven arrived.

Temporary seating had been arranged around several arenas, and instructors moved between the registration desks while students gathered in their assigned areas. Unlike the earlier evaluation, today’s exercise would allow squads to face different opponents under varying conditions.

Noah surveyed the grounds.

“More people than I expected.”

Eric adjusted the straps around his wrists. “Good. More witnesses when we win.”

“Or when you fall flat on your face,” Sophia remarked.

“Your support means everything to me.”

Luna laughed as Damien checked their registration slip.

“We’re assigned to Arena Three,” he announced. “Our first opponent is Squad Four.”

Noah looked toward the board.

Squad Four had finished fourth during the earlier evaluation. He remembered their disciplined movements, although he hadn’t paid much attention to their individual abilities.

“Anything we should know?” Laura asked.

“Not much yet,” Damien replied. “We’ll have to observe them.”

Noah nodded.

That was precisely why they had registered.

They couldn’t prepare for every opponent in advance. They could only understand their own strengths, recognize what their opponents were doing, and adapt.

An instructor approached their group.

“Squad Seven?”

Everyone turned.

“Your match begins in five minutes. Enter Arena Three and wait for the signal. This is a supervised exercise, so the standard restrictions apply.”

They thanked him and headed toward the arena.

Their opponents were already waiting.

Squad Four consisted of four students arranged in a compact formation. Their leader, a broad-shouldered boy with short blond hair, stepped forward.

“You’re Noah Blackwood, right?”

Noah nodded.

“That’s me.”

“I’m Stellan Varg. Squad Four.”

They exchanged brief greetings before taking their positions.

Stellan’s team appeared calm. Nobody was arguing, and each member seemed to know where they belonged.

Noah watched them carefully.

They had probably trained together for longer than Squad Seven had spent developing their new formation.

That could become a problem.

Professor Astrid stood outside the protective barrier.

“Both squads ready?”

They nodded.

“Begin.”

Stellan moved first.

Two members of Squad Four advanced while the remaining pair spread toward opposite sides of the arena. Their formation expanded without leaving an obvious opening.

Noah immediately understood their intention.

They wanted to surround Squad Seven.

“Stay together!” he called.

Eric moved to intercept the advancing pair, while Damien covered the center. Sophia shifted toward the right, preventing one opponent from slipping behind them. Laura and Luna maintained their positions, ready to support whichever side came under pressure.

The first clash came quickly.

Eric blocked a heavy strike, then countered with a quick swing that forced his opponent backward. Damien engaged the second attacker, preventing him from reaching Luna.

Noah moved toward the left flank.

Stellan met him halfway.

Their weapons collided.

Stellan fought with measured precision, making no unnecessary movements. Noah tried to draw him away from the center, but Stellan refused to follow.

He wasn’t interested in chasing.

He was protecting the formation.

Smart, Noah thought.

Stellan struck again.

Noah parried, stepped aside, and looked past his opponent.

Squad Four was slowly gaining ground.

Their movements were coordinated, and they were forcing Squad Seven to defend rather than create openings.

Noah tightened his grip.

They had spent days learning to adapt.

Now they had to prove they could do it against a team that understood its own strengths just as well.

“Change formation!” Noah called.

His teammates reacted.

Eric retreated toward the center. Sophia crossed behind Damien, while Luna shifted to cover the space Laura had left open.

For a moment, the formation looked vulnerable.

Then it settled into place.

Squad Four’s advance slowed.

Stellan noticed immediately.

A faint smile crossed his face.

“So you’ve learned to move.”

Noah returned the smile.

“We’ve been practicing.”

Stellan raised his weapon.

“Good. Let’s see how much.”

He attacked again, and Noah met him head-on.

Around them, the arena filled with the sound of clashing weapons and shouted instructions.

The freshman exercise had begun in earnest.

And Squad Seven’s first real test was far from over.

Stellan Varg was more difficult to deal with than Noah had expected.

Every time Noah attempted to create an opening, Stellan adjusted his position and forced him to reconsider. He wasn’t the strongest fighter in the arena, but he understood spacing well enough to make every exchange uncomfortable.

Noah blocked another strike and stepped away.

Across the arena, Squad Four continued pressing forward.

Eric was holding his ground against two opponents, but their coordinated attacks were gradually pushing him backward. Damien had managed to prevent the other side from collapsing, although doing so left him little room to attack.

They were being outmaneuvered.

“Damien, switch with Sophia!” Noah called.

Damien reacted immediately.

He withdrew toward the center while Sophia moved into the opening, forcing one of Squad Four’s fighters to turn and defend against her.

The pressure on Eric eased.

He seized the opportunity, stepped sideways, and drove his opponent back with a sequence of quick strikes.

“That’s more like it!” Eric shouted.

“Focus!” Sophia replied.

Noah almost smiled.

At least some things never changed.

Stellan attacked again.

Noah parried, but the impact sent a jolt through his wrist. He adjusted his grip and countered, forcing Stellan to retreat half a step.

For the first time, Noah had created an opening.

He could have pressed forward.

Instead, he glanced toward the rest of the arena.

Squad Four’s formation had shifted to compensate for Sophia’s movement. One of their members had moved closer to Stellan, leaving the opposite side less protected.

Noah recognized the pattern.

They were disciplined, but their formation relied on maintaining their spacing. If Squad Seven could force them to react to several threats at once, they might disrupt that coordination.

“Laura, cover Luna!”

Laura moved immediately.

“Luna, push them toward the center!”

Luna released a controlled burst of energy, forcing one opponent away from the outer edge of the arena.

Damien intercepted the retreat.

Eric advanced from the opposite side.

Suddenly, Squad Four had to defend against attacks arriving from multiple directions.

Stellan’s expression sharpened.

“Regroup!”

His teammates began shifting back toward him.

That was the opening Noah needed.

He stepped forward and struck Stellan’s guard.

Their weapons collided.

Stellan held firm, but Noah changed the angle of his next attack, forcing him to turn. The movement disrupted the compact formation behind him.

Sophia slipped through the gap.

Her wooden sword stopped against the shoulder of one of Stellan’s teammates.

“Point!” the instructor called.

The announcement echoed across Arena Three.

Squad Seven had scored the first decisive hit.

Eric grinned.

“One down!”

Stellan retreated, quickly reorganizing his team.

Noah didn’t celebrate.

They had earned an advantage, but the match wasn’t over.

And Stellan looked far from defeated.

The next exchange was faster.

Squad Four abandoned its compact formation and began using individual attacks to draw Squad Seven apart. One fighter pressured Laura, another forced Damien to defend, and Stellan returned his attention to Noah.

It was a clever adjustment.

Their opponents had recognized the weakness in their new approach and were attempting to exploit it.

Noah blocked Stellan’s attack.

“You adapt quickly,” Stellan remarked.

“So do you.”

“Then let’s see which of us learns faster.”

Stellan suddenly changed his rhythm.

Instead of attacking Noah’s weapon, he targeted his footing, forcing Noah to shift his balance. A second strike followed immediately.

Noah barely blocked it.

His heels scraped across the arena floor.

Stellan pressed forward, determined to keep him on the defensive.

Noah’s muscles began to ache.

He could feel the familiar temptation to reach for something beyond his ordinary strength, to end the exchange with overwhelming power.

He refused.

This was a training match.

He didn’t need to win by unleashing something he couldn’t fully control.

He needed to win by thinking.

Noah watched Stellan’s shoulders, his feet, and the slight pause before each attack.

There.

Stellan favored his right side when preparing a forward strike.

It was subtle, but consistent.

Noah waited for the next attack.

When it came, he stepped outside its path and redirected Stellan’s weapon with a sharp parry.

Stellan’s balance shifted.

Noah moved past him, placing his blade against the side of Stellan’s torso.

The instructor raised his hand.

“Point to Squad Seven!”

The spectators cheered.

Noah stepped back and lowered his sword.

Stellan looked at him for a moment before laughing.

“All right. I deserved that.”

Noah smiled.

“You nearly got me first.”

“Nearly doesn’t count.”

“Apparently not.”

The instructor called for both squads to reset.

Squad Seven had gained the advantage, but their opponents were still standing, and the match had not yet reached its conclusion.

Noah returned to his teammates.

Eric was smiling broadly. Sophia looked focused, Damien was already reviewing their positioning, and Luna seemed eager for the next exchange.

Laura met Noah’s eyes.

“You’re not pushing too hard.”

“I’m trying something new.”

“Good.”

Noah looked across the arena.

Stellan was speaking quietly with his squad, clearly preparing another adjustment.

The next exchange would be their most difficult yet.

Noah raised his sword.

“Stay sharp, everyone.”

Squad Seven took their positions.

The match continued.