"Baron, thrust low to his left!"
"Come on, Suolin, knock that bastard down!"
In the middle of the grounds, two youths were sparring fiercely with wooden swords. The other students circled around ten paces away to watch, some shouting cheers and encouragement.
The grounds were open and spacious, with wooden racks along the perimeter holding numerous blunted weapons. This was Viscount Xuefeng's knight training grounds, situated within his castle in the North City District.
Due to the close friendship between Scholar Haide and Viscount Xuefeng, the training grounds were made available to the students free of charge. Stables and several warhorses were visible not far off.
High on the spectator stands, Viscount Xuefeng and Scholar Haide sat beneath a wooden canopy, discussing the two youths in training.
"Baron Quide's boy, Baron, isn't bad. Quite nimble," Viscount Xuefeng remarked, assessing one of them.
"As for that commoner youth named Suolin, this is the first time I've seen him."
"Ah, Suolin. His father is a warrior who returned from the frontier and currently lives in seclusion in Burnt Stone City," Scholar Haide recalled of the student's background.
"Oh? Such a warrior lives here? How strong is he?" Viscount Xuefeng stroked his neat mustache, asking with interest.
"He should be around the mid-tier of the 'Second-Order - Blood Law', but he stated that he would never return to the battlefield," Scholar Haide said, shaking his head. "They say it was because he witnessed too much death on the battlefield, and his wife passed away prematurely, so his only wish now is to raise his child healthy and strong."
"That is a pity. Still, a man tempered by the battlefield would make an excellent drill instructor if he were willing to come work for me," Viscount Xuefeng suggested.
"I shall ask on your behalf later, My Lord Viscount," Scholar Haide nodded slightly.
...
*Crack!*
With a heavy strike, the wooden sword in Baron's hand snapped clean through, sending wood splinters flying and exposing jagged fibers at the break. Seizing the opening while his opponent was disarmed, Suolin kicked Baron squarely to the ground and plunged his sword into the dirt right beside his neck.
The sudden move gave Baron a fright. It took him a few seconds to process what had happened before his face flushed with rage.
"You filthy peasant!" He took it as a deliberate humiliation.
"You're the filthy one!" Suolin refused to back down, firing right back.
"How dare you insult a noble!"
"Master Haide said that here, we are all students! There is no distinction between nobles and commoners!" Suolin quoted the words their teacher had spoken on their first day.
"You—!"
Beside himself with fury, Baron clenched his fists and swung at Suolin, only for Suolin to dodge and land a punch of his own.
Seeing Baron take a hit, two of his noble cronies rushed in to back him up. At that, several bolder commoner students moved to Suolin's defense as well.
The noble trio threw punches and kicks with complete abandon. On Suolin's side, however, except for Suolin himself who had no fear, the others did not dare strike too hard and only tried their best to pull them apart.
Watching the boys brawl across the training grounds, the girls on both sides remained relatively calm.
"A bunch of fools." Iona crossed her arms over her chest, disdaining to watch such a crude, tedious spectacle.
"Lady Iona speaks truly," agreed Walaini, who over the past two days had turned into Iona's devoted shadow.
On the other side, Kailun looked at the field with concern. "Should we stop them? Teacher said fighting is wrong."
Kemiya shook her head vigorously. "No, no, no! Let them fight if they want to, just don't get us dragged in."
"We can't afford to offend the nobles, and Suolin's side isn't to be trifled with either," Kemiya analyzed in a low murmur. "Besides, Tiya is fragile; it wouldn't do for her to go over there." Using their companion as a shield, Kemiya kept Kailun from stepping forward.
"All right, then we'll protect Tiya." Kailun glanced at the frail, long-haired girl beside them and decided not to get involved in the fight.
Up on the stands, Viscount Xuefeng and Scholar Haide had watched virtually the entire spectacle unfold below.
"Heheh, what an energetic bunch of children," Viscount Xuefeng chuckled.
"Youths will be youths," Scholar Haide said with a slight shake of his head.
Having been founded on martial valor, the Raygas Principality took a favorable view toward fights that were not life-threatening. That was precisely why the youths in the arena threw punches at the slightest provocation—they were all well accustomed to the custom.
"Let them brawl for a while. Go break them up in a bit," Viscount Xuefeng instructed the attendant beside him.
"Yes, My Lord," the attendant replied respectfully.
...
Half an hour later, the brawl came to an end. Several injured students leaned against the wooden railings at the edge of the training grounds while their peers applied healing ointment to their wounds.
"Hiss—ow!" The burly student, Lei, raised a hand to ward off the finger applying medicine. With a dark bruise under his eye, he grimaced and winced.
"Stop squirming! There are still plenty of spots left to treat," Kemiya grumbled in exasperation, continuing to rub on the ointment.
Across from them, Baron and his companions slumped in wooden chairs while Walaini applied ointment to two of them. As for Iona, she paid them no mind, instead conversing with Viscount Xuefeng. Seeing her beaming smile and charming demeanor, one would find it hard to imagine her usual haughty arrogance before her fellow students.
Elsewhere, Xilutaiya also held a jar of ointment, applying medicine to the restless youth before her.
"You have quite a few old injuries on you."
Having finished applying the ointment with a cloth-wrapped swab, the girl placed it back into the medicine vial and quietly studied the boy named Mick. He resembled a wild beast—ferocious, unruly, and covered in scars of every sort.
"Mind your own business," Mick snapped gruffly at her.
"Mm." Xilutaiya offered no protest, stepping quietly back.
Surprised by her quiet obedience, Mick turned his head and took a closer look at Xilutaiya. Though the dark-haired girl was undeniably fair, beneath the loose-fitting robes she looked quite frail and slender.
*She's pretty cute—only a little behind Iona. If she put on a bit more meat, she'd probably match her,* the boy assessed in his mind.
Perhaps because Xilutaiya had been so accommodating, Mick softened his tone slightly.
"Thanks."
"It's nothing." The girl shook her head and walked off to look after the other injured students.
Cleaning wounds, applying ointment—she handled every step with practiced ease, surprising several of the students.
"Did you do this often before, Tiya?" Kemiya asked curiously, echoing what the others were wondering.
"A while back, many people from my village were injured, and I helped care for them. That's how I learned a bit," the girl answered.
"That's still really impressive!" Kemiya gave her a thumbs-up.
Seeing that the students had rested enough, an instructor walked over. Burly and muscular, he wore leather trousers and a white shirt, sporting a stubbly beard.
"Scholar Haide sent me to train you and see what kind of foundation you have."
"As it happens, I watched your entire brawl earlier, so I already have an idea of your skills." Clasping his hands behind his back, he paced back and forth before the group.
"The boys did decently enough—every one of you knows a Breathing Method." If they didn't even know that, they wouldn't have been able to study under Scholar Haide in the first place.
"Now pick up your swords and challenge me one by one. I'll point out the flaws in your swordsmanship and footwork."
The instructor barked his command, calling all the students together. And with that, the afternoon's instruction began.
Chapter 21