Tangâ! As she pulled the trigger, there was a sound of chemical explosion that echoed throughout the shooting ground. After two more shots, the ground fell silent.
âMy lady! You hit the bullâs eye again!â said Lunia, âYou are doing really great!â
Amethyst, who was still aiming at the target, lowered her hands to the ground. She blinked a few times. Aiming with one of her eyes closed had strained her eyes.
âWas it a bullâs eye?â
âYes! Youâve hit it 3 times already. Itâs not easy to hit the bullâs eye this quickly. Also, your other 7 shots were almost in the center, too! That is great progress!â
âReally?â
âYes! You have a knack for shooting.â
Lunia took the target board brought by the custodian of the shooting ground and showed Amethyst. She showed her the holes cluttered in the middle, made by Amethyst. It didnât look very bad.
âCan I take this? I want to show it to Alec.â
âYes, go ahead. This is a skill to be shown off.â Amethyst was happy with Luniaâs compliments and wanted to show off her skill to Alexcent.
âAlec should be in his office right now. I donât think he is going to the palace today.â
âRight now, heâs at the training ground,â said Lunia.
âTraining ground?â
âYes.â
He had forbidden her from going to the training grounds for a while and he was there, instead. Amethyst was curious. âWhy?â
âI was told that he had assembled the knights for a special training,â said Lunia.
âSpecial training?â
âYes. The duke is leading the training personally.â
âThen all the knights should be there.â
âNot all,â said Lunia, âThe division leaders and the elite knights might be there.â
Amethyst thought that for Alexcent to lead the training personally for the division leaders and alite knights, it must be a very important training. What was Alexcent preparing them for?
âReally?â said Amethyst, âThen I shouldnât go now. Iâll just get in the way.â
âNo way! Everyone will probably welcome you. They might, in fact, be wishing for you to come.â
âMe? Why?â
âProbably because youâll be their savior.â Lunia smiled.
âSo, should I go?â asked Amethyst.
âYes. Of course!â
Amethyst nodded. She can come back if she was told to go anyway. Amethyst made her way to the training ground. The target board paper fluttered in her hands.
The atmosphere in the training ground was tense due to heat and aggressiveness.
âPlease!â Buer, who dropped his sword, sat down on the ground as he lowered his body to pick it back up.
âGet up!â Alexcent yelled.
âMy lord!ââ
âWeâre just getting started and youâre giving up already?â
âItâs been half a day!â
âI donât know since when the knights became so lenient and lazy in their practice.â
âNo, my lord! I didnât mean that.â
âThen get up!â
Buer, at Alexcentâs order, gritted his teeth, grabbed his sword and got up. Leyrian and Hill got into their stance. Alexcent could fight 100 soldiers alone without breaking a sweat. With high-ranking knights coming together at him, he was still going strong.
Hill, Leyrian, and even Buer went at him with all their skill and might.
I know itâs the duke, but how is he not even breaking a sweat? Have we really become lazy? There is no way! I have trained every single day for this. He truly is a monster!
With the training going on from early morning, their legs started giving way. âLosing your strength just with this much practice?â taunted Alexcent, âMy knights truly have become lazy. The dukeâs formidable knights are really no more.â
âNo, my lord!â
âNever!â They yelled simultaneously,
âThen brace yourselves. You didnât think Iâd stop at this, did you?â Everyone was surprised at Alexcentâs words.
Of course
I knew it!
I will never drink again in my life.
They were suspicious that only the division leaders and the elite knight, Marcus, were called for the training. The knights who were present on that day. They were surprised when the duke had declared probation as punishment for them. It had seemed a really light punishment knowing the duke. That was just a front.
The knights groaned as they lifted their swords. They all ran at Alexcent with their swords in the air. The sound of metal clanging filled the training ground. Amethyst, a step away from the grounds, hesitated.
âMaam, whatâs wrong?â asked Lunia.
âI⦠donât know if I should go in. I donât want to bother them. I think itâd be better for me to wait till after they are finished with the training.â
âWhy donât you watch it quietly?â
âWhat?â
âYou came all the way; it would be a waste to just turn around and go back. You can watch them train without being seen. You can show it to him later after the training.â
âR-really, can I do that?â
âOf course. I am sure you want to see how he is when he practices his skills, donât you?â
âYesâ¦,â nodded Amethyst. During the duel with Count Glacia, she had run away. When he was fighting Barden, she was busy trying to stop him. She was very curious about his fighting skills. Her heart pounded even imagining him like that. She so wanted to see him focused on his work.
Lunia smiled and led Amethyst away towards the edge of the training ground, hidden from view. âCome his way,â she said, âI know a place where you can watch them without being seen.â
âA place where I can see them, but they wonât see me?â
âYes,â said Lunia, âYou can see the entire training ground, but nobody can see us.â
âWas there always such a place?!â
âOf course!ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
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