Chapter 207: Blood For Blood

Rhea Solberg no longer smiled.

Not because she was angry, but because she had stopped treating the match as a simple test of strength.

Across the arena, Squad Six regrouped. Their spear wielder moved toward the left, while the student with dual blades exchanged positions with the swordsman at the rear. The staff user descended from the platform and took up a position near Rhea.

Their formation had changed, but its purpose remained the same.

“They’re adapting to our strategy,” Sophia observed.

“Good,” Noah replied. “That means our first plan has done its job.”

Eric glanced at him. “You say that as if we planned to give them a free lesson.”

“We learned something, didn’t we?”

“I learned that their spear is annoyingly long.”

“An important discovery.”

Professor Astrid watched from the instructor’s platform without interrupting. The purpose of the exercise wasn’t simply to determine which squad could score the most points. She wanted to see what happened when a promising strategy stopped working.

Squad Seven was about to find out.

“Ready?” Rhea called.

Noah raised his sword.

“Ready.”

The signal sounded.

This time, Squad Six didn’t advance.

Instead, Rhea retreated toward the center while her teammates spread out, leaving several apparent openings around the stone barriers. The arrangement forced Squad Seven to decide where to attack without knowing which gaps were genuine.

Damien took a step forward, but Sophia caught his sleeve.

“Wait. They’re inviting us in.”

“I noticed.”

“Your feet disagree.”

Damien glanced down and realized he had already started moving.

On the opposite side, Eric circled toward the swordsman. His opponent retreated without engaging, drawing him farther from the rest of Squad Seven.

Noah saw the trap forming.

“Eric, don’t chase!”

Eric stopped just before crossing behind the nearest barrier.

The swordsman gave him a disappointed look.

“Shame. I thought you’d take the bait.”

“I considered it,” Eric replied. “Then I remembered I’m supposed to be intelligent today.”

“You’re doing wonderfully,” Sophia called.

Eric ignored her.

Squad Six had successfully prevented them from exploiting the same weakness twice. Their opponents were now using distance to divide Squad Seven, waiting for someone to make an impatient decision.

Noah lowered his sword slightly.

You could end this quickly, Dead Zone remarked.

Not the point.

You keep saying that.

Because you keep forgetting it.

Dead Zone fell silent, though Noah could sense its displeasure.

He had the speed to force his way through the formation. With Ragnarok’s power, he might even secure the remaining points before Squad Six could respond.

But doing so would teach his squad nothing.

“Everyone, stay within supporting distance,” Noah instructed. “We move together, but nobody waits for me to make every decision.”

Sophia nodded. “I’ll handle the left side.”

“I’ll keep the center occupied,” Damien offered.

Luna studied the barriers. “I’ll watch for anyone trying to circle behind us.”

Eric rolled his shoulders. “And I’ll avoid being lured into an obvious trap.”

“Let’s celebrate the small victories,” Damien said.

Squad Seven advanced slowly, maintaining a formation that could shift without leaving anyone isolated. They weren’t trying to force Squad Six into a mistake. They were reducing the number of mistakes their own team could make.

Rhea noticed the difference.

She signaled her staff wielder forward, hoping to draw Sophia away from the others. Sophia held her ground, parrying a controlled strike before stepping back into supporting distance.

When the dual-blade fighter moved toward Luna, Damien intercepted her path. Eric, meanwhile, abandoned his attempt to reach the rear swordsman and returned to the center.

For several seconds, neither squad could find a clean opening.

Then Luna spotted something.

“Rhea’s moving toward the right barrier whenever we regroup!”

Noah turned his attention to the field.

She was right. Rhea had been adjusting her position to preserve the best angle for her spear, but the barriers restricted her movements. Every time Squad Seven tightened its formation, she was forced to retreat along the same narrow route.

Sophia understood the opportunity.

“If we close that route, she’ll have to abandon her preferred range.”

“Don’t close it completely,” Noah said. “Leave her a way out.”

Eric grinned. “A trap with an invitation?”

“A choice,” Noah corrected. “Let’s see what she does with it.”

The squad began shifting into position.

Rhea watched them carefully, her expression turning thoughtful as she realized they were no longer reacting to her movements.

They were shaping the battlefield around them.

She could retreat and surrender the center, or advance and risk being surrounded.

For the first time since the match began, the decision belonged entirely to her.

Rhea tightened her grip on the spear.

“Squad Six,” she called, “we’re changing tactics.”

Noah raised his sword as the opposing team moved.

The first point had taught Squad Seven how to break a formation.

The second exchange was teaching them something more difficult.

A good team didn’t need to control every move. It needed to recognize the right moment to make one.

Rhea Solberg made her decision.

“Break the formation!”

Her command surprised even her teammates.

The spear wielder moved toward the outer boundary, drawing Eric away from the center. The dual-blade fighter rushed toward Damien, while the staff user climbed onto a nearby platform to threaten Sophia from above.

Rhea remained near the middle, her spear ready.

Squad Six had abandoned the formation that made them difficult to approach. Instead, they were forcing Squad Seven to defend against several attacks at once.

Noah immediately understood the danger.

Rhea had recognized their attempt to control the battlefield. Rather than retreating along the narrow route they had anticipated, she was making the entire field unpredictable.

“Don’t try to cover everything!” Noah called. “Handle what’s in front of you!”

Eric barely ducked beneath a sweeping strike from the spear wielder.

“That’s reassuring advice!”

He redirected the next thrust and stepped sideways, refusing to chase his opponent toward the boundary. His attention remained on the center, where Noah and the others were fighting.

Meanwhile, Damien blocked the dual-blade fighter’s first attack. The second slipped past his guard, tapping his side before he could recover.

“Point to Squad Six!”

Damien retreated, accepting the loss without complaint.

Rhea’s team had equalized.

“Nice adjustment,” Sophia said, breathing steadily as she defended against the staff wielder.

“I’m trying not to take it personally,” Noah replied.

“You should take it personally. It might motivate you.”

Despite the conversation, Sophia remained focused. Her opponent was using the elevated platform to control the angle of each attack, forcing her to spend more energy defending than advancing.

Rather than trying to reach the platform, she moved behind a stone barrier.

The staff wielder followed, expecting to maintain the advantage from above. Sophia stepped out just as the student descended to pursue her, forcing them into a closer exchange where the staff’s length became less useful.

Sophia redirected the weapon and tapped her opponent’s shoulder.

“Point to Squad Seven!”

The score was now two points to one.

One more point would secure the match.

Rhea glanced at her teammates before turning back to Noah.

“Your squad is improving quickly.”

“So is yours.”

“That’s unfortunate for you.”

She attacked before he could respond.

Her spear came forward in a controlled thrust, forcing Noah to deflect it with his training sword. He moved to close the distance, but Rhea rotated the shaft and caught his blade, pushing it away before stepping beyond his reach.

Noah tried again.

She denied him again.

Rhea wasn’t relying on a fixed pattern anymore. She alternated between quick thrusts, sweeping attacks, and short retreats, making it difficult for Noah to predict when she would create an opening.

He could have forced the exchange with Ragnarok’s power.

Instead, he studied her footwork.

Every time she redirected his sword, her right foot shifted backward to preserve the distance she needed. It was a small habit, barely noticeable beneath the rest of her movements.

Noah began adjusting his approach, making each attack threaten a different angle.

Rhea responded carefully, but her movements gradually brought her closer to the stone barrier behind her.

She noticed the restriction and changed direction.

That was when Noah stopped attacking.

Rhea hesitated.

Only for a fraction of a second, but it was enough.

“Luna, now!”

Luna moved from the opposite side, forcing Rhea to turn her spear away from Noah. Eric abandoned his own exchange and stepped into the open lane, blocking Rhea’s route toward the center.

The three movements happened almost simultaneously.

Rhea had a choice: defend against Luna and risk exposing her shoulder to Noah, or turn toward Noah and allow Eric to close the remaining escape route.

She chose to defend against Luna.

Noah stepped in and touched her shoulder with his training sword.

“Point to Squad Seven!”

The instructor’s whistle followed immediately.

“Match over! Squad Seven wins!”

For a moment, the arena was quiet. Then Eric threw both arms into the air.

“Two victories! Someone start preparing our statue!”

“Your statue is going to be very small,” Damien told him.

“Jealousy is unbecoming.”

Rhea lowered her spear and approached Noah. Her expression was thoughtful rather than disappointed.

“You stopped attacking to make me hesitate.”

“I wasn’t sure it would work.”

“But you trusted your squad to create the opening.”

Noah glanced toward Luna and Eric, who were already arguing about whose contribution had mattered most.

“I did.”

Rhea extended her hand. “Good match.”

Noah shook it. “Good match.”

Professor Astrid joined them a moment later.

“Squad Seven, you demonstrated better independent judgment today. Your next task is to maintain that awareness when you’re tired, distracted, or facing an opponent whose abilities you don’t understand.”

Her gaze shifted toward Rhea.

“Squad Six, abandoning your original formation was a reasonable decision. However, once you changed tactics, you lost some of the coordination that made your squad effective. Flexibility is useful only when your teammates can adapt with you.”

Both squads acknowledged the feedback.

As they left the arena, Noah felt the familiar exhaustion settling into his arms. It was satisfying, but he knew the victories didn’t mean they had mastered teamwork.

They had simply discovered another way to improve.

Later that evening, Noah sat alone on a bench overlooking the academy’s training fields.

Students continued practicing beneath the courtyard lamps. Somewhere nearby, Eric’s unmistakable voice carried across the grounds as he attempted to persuade Damien to join another training session.

Noah smiled faintly.

You seem pleased with yourself, Dead Zone remarked.

We won.

You won because your friends compensated for your limitations.

Noah’s smile faded slightly.

You really don’t know how to congratulate someone.

Would you prefer a medal?

Noah leaned back against the bench.

For once, he didn’t argue.

There would always be battles where he had to rely on his own strength. Ragnarok wasn’t going away, and neither were the questions surrounding the second and third signatures within him.

But those questions could wait until tomorrow.

Tonight, he was content to be a student at Valhalla Academy, surrounded by people who were learning to fight beside him.

And that, he realized, was progress worth keeping.