The recruits haven't done any combat training yet.

The Knights haven't taught them any fighting techniques and they just guided them on how to complete their daily training.

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The training includes running, sword practice, shooting a hundred arrows daily, and familiarizing with other weapons like spear, axe, and dagger. They were also being educated about horseback riding every week.

After all, knights were famous for their horse-riding skills, and the Sun Fire Knights wouldn't lose with the other Knights Order when it comes to their equestrian skills.

"Whoa… All the strong recruits were at the sword duel… You're unlucky, Diether." Kazim sympathized with Diether.

"Mhmm… It should be fine. He's really good in the sword. You should worry about your competition…" Sevdi commented.

Diether remained silent as he was in deep thought. He tries to remember Calliope's swordsmanship skills and he was sure that she has a background in handling swords.

As for the three 17 years old recruits, they all have a vast amount of Spiritual Energy compared to what he has.

In the end, he determined that his only chance of winning is to fully demonstrate his Master's Sword Art called Kendo.

Time passed by quickly as the competition started with the Archery…

The participant of the event was given 20 arrows and they have hit their targets from more than 300 meters.

"Three hundred? Our training only covers 100 meters… What's with the sudden increase?" Kazim complained but he didn't say it out loud as he was afraid that the Knight-Lieutenant would hear him.

Of course, the other participant had similar thoughts. The only time they held bows and arrows was after they joined the Sun Fire Knights and started receiving training…

That's right, most of them only learned archery here so they still have some mediocre skills regarding this.

Twang! Twang!

The sound of bowstrings being released can be heard throughout the field.

Kazim didn't perform well as he missed 15 arrows and the remaining 5, hit the edges of the target board.

He felt embarrassed about this but he quickly noticed something…

"Oh! Everyone scored terribly…"

Kazim exclaimed after realizing that the other participants had results that were worse than his.

The best scorer was a young boy that was also surprised by his performance… It seems that he was not expecting to perform better than the others with his lack of enthusiasm whenever he practices with the bow…

'I might have a talent for this?' He thought for a moment as he encouraged himself to work harder.

He only managed to hit 9 arrows in the target board and none of them even hit the center…

"Oh~ I should've joined Archery instead… How unlucky."

"That's true… I'm not good at spear-wielding…"

"Haa~

Many of the recruits watching the event regretted not being selected in the Archery competition. Now, the reward for that category will be obtained by someone who did not even show any outstanding performance.

The monthly event continued as the Horseback Riding competition commenced. All the ten participants went to the stable and looked for a good partner…

Sevdi walked around the stable for a moment before she found a beautiful black horse that was perhaps calling for her.

He shows eagerness by stamping his front foot after she walked in front of his stall …

Sevdi observed the black horse and she found it beautiful…

'He is healthy.'

The horse's coat glows, the mane and tail are soft, and the hindquarter muscle was also impressive…

She wasn't good at this but she at least learned about the basics of horseback riding. It is to check the condition of their horse.

After choosing a horse, Oliver showed them the track they will be using. As expected, it wasn't a normal race but a hurdle race…

None of them had tried doing this before.

It was like how Oliver increased the distance of the target boards in archery. This time, they will be racing on a track they have never tried before…

None of the recruits complained as they already know that the Knight-Lieutenant wanted to always try something new to find their limits.

Sevdi's performance was pretty good after finishing in second place. From now on, she remembered the black horse and decided to become his partner for a long time.

The spear duel and brawling had also ended after about an hour.

It was quite exciting as one of the recruits had a strange palm technique that could throw away any of his opponents. Even Diether was amazed by his performance.

"His name is Waren if I'm not mistaken… He's one of the guys who were always provoking Calliope because she was a slave…"

Sevdi said after seeing the man with the strange ability.

"Whoa~ You're amazing Sevdi… You know a lot about them."

"What? You just need to be sociable. We will be training together for a long time. It's better if we know each other… You should try befriending others as well."

"Well, you're right…" Kazim nodded at this.

'Let me try that later…' He plans to make friends with other recruits from now on as he looked around for his target.

Anyway, within the Spear Wielding Duel, none of them showed any outstanding performance as they were all unfamiliar with the Spear Arts.

It was quite understandable since a good spear could not be easily found and their techniques were quite difficult for small guys like them.

Finally, it was Diether's turn in the Sword Duel.

To avoid getting hurt, they were given wooden swords used for training.

Diether grabbed a wooden sword and made a few slashes on the air.

'Alright… I'm ready.'

The stage for the duel was only a drawn circle in the field. Apparently, Oliver made a last-minute change in the rule as he wanted to have a battle royale instead of one on one duel.

"We're short on time! Just fight until there's a last one standing… If your sword was thrown away or you get out of the circle… You're disqualified… Begin!"

Oliver said after the 10 participants entered the circle…

No one moved even after he announced the start of the battle. Everyone does not want to be eliminated first…

Diether breathes calmly as he watched everyone's movement.

He noticed that two recruits were eyeing him from the beginning… It seems that the two know each other and wanted him to be their target first…

Everyone was also looking for an easy target as they found Calliope and another twelve years old kid.

'Ma'Ai….'

Diether reminded himself… It was his master's teachings to grasp the Ma'Ai at every start of the battle…

Then, he raised his sword and stood at the edge of the line… At this rate, he just needs to step back a couple of times to get disqualified…

It was very tempting to approach and eliminate him… However, his aura suddenly changed and even the crowd watching felt it…

"I knew… Diether is really something…" Sevdi muttered as she watched the young boy closely, afraid of missing any of his movements.

Diether's eyes were looking in front but he can still see the two guys approaching him from his left and right side.

Jodan no Kamae may not be appropriate since he will be fighting two people but he was confident with his skills…

''Haaa!" The guy on the left jump forward and even shouted to get his attention… Diether ignored him and only used his footwork to move forward and avoid him.

Then, Diether parried the attack of the one on the left…

Pah!

Their sword clashed as they backed away from Diether.

If they're not targeting the young boy, their tactic might work and they could eliminate one in the competition.

"Tsk! You're good…"

Diether suddenly received a compliment.

Then, the two no longer bothered hiding their intention of teaming up as they attacked Diether together…

Everyone noticed this and realized the flaw of this competition… If their aim was only to get the reward for the first place, they can just help each other during the battle and decide later once they're the only ones left.

Some of the recruits looked at the Knight Lieutenant to know whether it was allowed… but it seems that they no longer needed to ask the question.

They just saw him enjoying what was happening and was perhaps impressed about the people that were working together…

Pah! Pah!

Calliope was attacked by a team of two but she seemed to have a natural talent with the sword as she fought gracefully against them…

Her style of constantly moving and targeting the weak spots of her opponents were being executed in a flawless manner…

"Do you think that Diether can win?" Kazim asked Sevdi while watching…

"Of course he can… He's just playing around with the two… I think he's only waiting until the three old guys eliminated each other…"

The three old guys she was referring to were the seventeen years old recruits named Aldrian, Brylle, and Daryl. Their builds were larger, their reach was farther and they were perhaps thinking that they will not have trouble eliminating the others.

They were only wary of each other.

"Whoa!"

"Amazing!"

As the three were about to fight, they heard the crowd suddenly cheering… They tried to see what happened in the corner of their eyes and noticed what was happening.

Pah! Pah! Pah!

"Aaargh!"

"I—I give up…" One of the participants said as he threw away his sword and disqualified himself.

Aside from the three, only Calliope and Diether remained in the circle.