Hearing that the young master did not respond or spoke at all, Don decided to gather his courage, and ask.

"Though we have no clear idea of your level, Young Master…" He said, looking warily at the calm-looking boy, knowing that he was akin to a sleeping dragon currently, ready to explode if poked. He gulped at this thought but still continued. "…But we have yet to see your friends in action at all. Would you-"

​​

"Our time is limited Captain Don, please try to get to the point." Before the man could go for a couple more rounds, Aiden urged him forward.

"Y-yes, apologies Young Master." Don smiled wryly at him, bowing slightly before taking a sigh and gathering all his willpower to finally blurt out the question.

"Would you guys mind if we were to do some fights in the training yard? We could get to know each other better that way and may even help each other improve. Every bit counts after all, and we need all the help we can get during this month-long expedition." He explained, turning his body to the side and gesturing towards the back side of the room where another wooden door could be seen.

"Hmm…" Aiden thought about the idea and turned around to face the girls and Drake. "What do you guys think about it? Are you guys up for some one-on-one fights against members of the Silver Howl? They are going to be part of our group for the time being…"

Although Aiden would rather not fight pointlessly and would reserve his energy for later, he also agreed with Don that it was truly the best way for the two parties to get to know each other in the shortest time.

"Brother, I personally think it is a good idea. We do not need to go all out, but just to see what the other side is capable of." Lily was the first to speak up. Nodding she smiled at her brother, agreeing to the idea quickly walking closer to his brother.

Galina silently nodding with a gentle, warm smile plastered on her face, she didn't linger much on the topic, and simply stepped forward, closer to his Young Master, Aiden. The two dogs, Sam and Biggy, followed after the two young missuses, without seemingly a care in the world. To them, the command of their alpha, Aiden was the utmost, they only cared about following their blond mistress's words.

"I too don't mind, though I also don't think we should waste too much of our energies on it. The first day of the War Games is said to be especially fierce, many lives are usually forfeit by the time the sun sets." Sara spoke up with a stern tone, taking a step towards Aiden as well and leaving only the royal siblings behind.

After Scarlet and Drake too agreed to the proposed event without much of a hassle, they all, joined by the still conscious members of the Silver Howl, walked towards the back door, leaving the building and entering a spacious-looking yard behind it.

The area was designed to be a training ground for the troops, it was like a large open arena. The ground kept natural, even watered to keep its healthy, muddy structure. Atop a layer of beautiful emerald blades of grass created the illusion as if this was an open field, a plain rather than an artificially designed area to train your mettle.

To the left, at the far side, several training dummies were placed down with a great variety of armor glimmering on them. You could see the cloth, leather, and metal of various degrees of qualities equipped on these lifeless statues, holding onto swords, maces, and even lances towards the back. Some even had a hollow, faint, barely perceptible glow emitting from them, creating a thin film of a protective layer, amongst other most likely well-prepared enchantments to train different sets of skills.

Turning their heads to the right, they could see targets placed around, some down covered mostly with the grass, whilst others were placed high up the sky, designed to train your sight and aim as well.

At the same time, the center was left open, with slightly shorter, ankle-length grass only aimed to be the perfect place for face-to-face fights, duels, or -merely based on the generous space-, even makeshift group battles.

While Aiden and the team were gazing at the marvels of such a unique training grounds, the members of the Silver Howl finally overcame their trepidations and fears that they spawned when they faced that terrifying boy. With bright, almost smug smiles plastered on their faces, they followed after their captain, taking their spots at the center of the grassy field.

Turning to face the still awestruck, gazing youngsters, they lined up neatly behind their revered leader.

"Sara… your mother is really incredible…" Aiden muttered as he slowly turned his attention towards the group in front of them. "So, Captain Don, please enlighten us on what you guys planned. How should these duels be done?"

Upon hearing his words, the rest of the team followed his gaze and turned their attention to the 11-strong men and women standing firmly behind their elderly captain.

Looking at Aiden and his group, the Captain revealed a faint smile as he nodded and spoke.

"Well, if not counting you and me for that matter you guys have 6 whilst we are 10 strong, making that 16 heads lining up against each other."

He looked at the boy as he continued.

"Whilst we are more than double you guys' numbers, ultimately it doesn't matter. For the next 30 days, we are going to be one full team rather than two halves. Since our goal is to showcase our individual strengths and weaknesses, we can just do 4 fights randomly, and the other 4 would be either against those that haven't thought or…"

His smile stretched wider as he proposed his sudden idea to the boy.

"We could do a little game!"

Taking the hook, Aiden's interest rose, he looked at the old man.

"What do you mean? What game are you planning?"

"It's nothing too dangerous, don't worry Young Master!" Don smiled, pausing for a brief moment before he continued, revealing his idea. "I say, why don't we join up and fight against those 6? That way, we too get to know each other, we wouldn't be completely left out and the rest of my team could also have a chance to introduce themselves!"

—

"What do you think, will they be able to work together, Sebas?" Standing in her study, looking over the field the Masked Mistress spoke up to the figure that just joined her.

The elderly butler gave a bow as he stopped, closing the door behind him.

"I believe so, Mistress. The young lady and his friends are a good match for the Silver Howls. Though they have a few… unique personalities in their ranks, they are of a similar mindset than the young masters and mistresses." He answered almost instantly as if his response was already prepared beforehand.

"Hmmm…" The Masked Lady thought about the elder's words for a bit before agreeing to it. "I guess you are right… I just hope that the captain can move on from the shadows of his heart and open up once more…" She muttered, watching as a familiar figure slowly walked up to the center of the room whilst the others took their places on the side.

The first duel was about to start!

---

AN: Hey there Readers!

Just a friendly reminder, that from wherever you are reading (although I wholeheartedly thank you if you are reading and enjoying the story through Webnovel), you can reach out to me using any of the below methods!

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