Knights and Magic Wand
Chapter 344 - 344 168 Barracks Sparring_2

344: Chapter 168 Barracks Sparring_2 344: Chapter 168 Barracks Sparring_2 But on the battlefield, everything was always unpredictable, and the crossbowmen also had to know how to fight independently when there was no coordination with allied forces.

However, the soldiers cared more about how they should handle themselves in solo combat than the officers who led them.

The most obvious manifestation of this was that, aside from the light armor coats issued by the army to the crossbowmen, most of the wealthier crossbowmen had already begun to submit applications to Azeryan, paying out of their own pockets to order chain armor and other more comprehensive protective gear.

Joining the professional army and having ample compensation and hopeful futures, every warrior was especially willing to invest more money for safety.

The fact that his subordinates were willing to pay for their job…

was something Leon had not anticipated at the beginning.

But thinking about it, if it was himself regularly in the army, suddenly having a lot more money on hand, he would definitely arm himself as best as possible to protect his life.

Only by surviving on the battlefield could one gain more military exploits, acquire more wealth, and get more opportunities for advancement.

This also led to the fact that, in reality, the elite crossbowmen who were equipped with swords, spears, hammers, and upgraded their own chain armor, would still be a quality melee infantry in the future even if they were forced into close combat.

…Continuing on his way, passing by the crossbowmen in training, Leon saw Lokhak and Azeryan who had arrived at the barracks ahead of time waiting in the distance.

Both clad in plate armor, the two seemed to have already started sparring.

In terms of martial arts, Azeryan’s talent among his peers was not bad, but in strength, he was still far behind Lokhak.

Seeing Lokhak, swinging a red-tipped pole simulating a halberd, forced the noble’s son with a blunt-tipped spear to continuously retreat, struggling to parry and dodge, it was evident from several rounds that he was more often defeated than victorious.

Around the two sparring figures, their attendants, as well as Hawk and six other guards, seemed to have just finished their riding training and were quite interested in watching the two knights compete.

To Leon’s surprise, Canis, who was usually released from the Netti Card to get some air, was also leaning on a flagpole with his arms folded, looking on.

The Wolf Family Young Master was loitering around Selva, and would definitely not be able to enter the barracks alone; he probably came in with Azeryan and the others.

This stranger in an unfamiliar place was probably fed up with the unchanging countryside scenery of Selva; only the martially vigorous barracks could somewhat alleviate his boredom.

Seeing Leon finally arrive, having managed his hair, Lokhak and Azeryan stopped their spar.

Today wasn’t a special day; Leon just suddenly wanted to try out his increasingly improving martial art skills with his friends.

It was really demoralizing to always be beaten up by Olivia alone…

Ever since the girl’s life had turned upside down and she let go of her limitations on sword handling, gaining ample time to train, her strength grew tremendously at an astonishing speed.

This made Leon often feel less aware of his own improvements, as the girl’s upper limit continued to rapidly rise through constant live combat and practice.

It wasn’t until he had last killed the half-human giant serpent summoned by Met that he truly realized to what extent his martial power had reached compared to ordinary people.

“Sigh, why don’t you two continue—I’ll take a break,” Azeryan removed his helmet, tossed the blunt spear to Leon, and sat down to take a brief rest with a water bottle handed by an attendant.

Leon caught the spear, twirled it, loosened his wrists, and then walked toward Lokhak, who was still holding his weapon.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve sparred, hasn’t it?” Leon looked at his eager brother, marveling at how much taller this guy had grown.

He himself had already grown to over 1.8 meters, while Lokhak seemed to be fast approaching over two meters.

He really wondered what Angry Demon had initially done to Lokhak’s body—had it unlocked some genetic lock, or what?

“It’s been a while since we last trained together, but things are different now; it’s my turn to ask you to go easy, Leon,” Lokhak chuckled, buckling his helmet visor.

He had often watched his good brother and Olivia sparring.

Compared to the time under Windmill Tower, both of their strength and skills had significantly improved.

Leon smiled at the words, not daring to be careless, and also fastened his visor to protect his face.

While his brother’s skills were still not up to the average line of a Knight of Valor, his strength was certainly not inferior to a knight’s; being underestimated could also lead to injuries.

“Be careful!

Here I come!”

Seeing Leon ready, Lokhak took the initiative.

Both being direct disciples of the founder grandmother of the Olivia School, their combat styles were primarily aggressive.

Lokhak’s unusually large, heavy, red-tipped pole swooshed down towards Leon, who thrust his spear from the side to parry and counterattack simultaneously.

With a clang, their practice weapons trembled from the impact.

This was a counterstrike technique that Leon dared not use lightly against Olivia’s slashes; if the superhuman-strength girl exerted full power, an incorrect parry would certainly backfire, earning him a fierce hit.

However, as soon as they crossed weapons, feeling Lokhak’s strength, Leon realized that he had probably gone easy on Azeryan just now.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, another terrifying swoosh came hurtling towards him.

Leon halted his attack steps and side-stepped to block Lokhak’s tail end strike.

Bang—the muffled sound erupted almost simultaneously as Lokhak’s lateral step and Cat Spinning stance drove his sturdy figure, causing his pole’s tail to suddenly thrust towards Leon’s armpit.