BXBX NOVEL Chapter 50
The recruits selected through the test.
“One hundred and one.”
Initially, the plan was to have one hundred recruits, but an additional person made it one hundred and one.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to include any stragglers just to fill the numbers.
Around 105 people were on the borderline, so they ended up cutting off the ones at the very end.
Vincent, who was with Leonhark, stood before the successful recruits and spoke.
“Nice to meet you all. Let me introduce myself again. I am Vincent, and I will be leading you as the deputy commander of the Caion Unit.”
“…….”
An awkward silence followed.
Clap clap clap clap clap.
Damian, standing in the middle, started clapping.
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!
Dianal and Kyle soon followed with their applause.
“Whooooooo!”
Kyle stepped forward, cheering loudly.
“Ahem, and from now on, we will temporarily select the vice-commander and squad leaders. The vice-commander will act in the absence of the commander and deliver the commander’s orders to the squad leaders. The squad leaders will each manage their nine squad members.”
“Yes, understood!”
Once again, Kyle responded.
Some of the others nearby frowned and glared at him.
“What? What are you looking at?”
Kyle glared back, challenging them.
His expression seemed to say, “Come at me if you dare.”
And then.
“Enough. I will now announce the vice-commander. The vice-commander is Damian. Step forward.”
Damian, surprised by the unexpected announcement, stepped forward.
He hadn’t expected his name to be called.
“As expected.”
“Heh, there’s no one better than Damian for vice-commander.”
Dianal and Kyle clapped, as if they had anticipated this outcome.
But at that moment.
“……What the hell, that brat?”
“Huh? A kid like that is the vice-commander?”
The atmosphere turned noisy.
One of them raised his hand and spoke.
“Commander, what was the criteria for selecting the vice-commander?”
A man with tattoos on his left neck, shoulder, and arm asked.
Vincent answered.
“The temporary vice-commander and squad leaders were selected based on test scores.”
“So, you’re saying that brat scored the highest among us?”
“Yes.”
“……Huh?”
He looked at Damian with a disbelieving expression. And then.
“Still, isn’t it a bit much to make us follow someone like that brat?”
He continued to protest.
Damian looked at him.
Smirk.
‘Well… not sure if I’m lucky or unlucky.’
As soon as the man raised his hand, Damian recognized him instantly.
He was Jerka, the older of the twins Damian had thought of on his way to Valphate.
Jerka frowned at Damian, who was smiling at him.
“What’s with that grin, you bastard? I’ll rip your mouth open.”
Jerka stepped forward, speaking threateningly, as if he might attack at any moment, but Damian just watched him.
‘Not many yet.’
Jerka Damian knew had far more tattoos on his body.
Interestingly, Jerka, the elder, had tattoos on the left side of his body, while his younger brother, Terka, had tattoos on the right.
‘I heard they added them one by one during their military service…’
Seeing that there weren’t many yet, it seemed that was true.
“What’s with the grin?!”
But Jerka shouted again, looking at Damian.
Vincent spoke to Jerka.
“Are you refusing orders?”
“No, I just don’t understand. Are you saying that kid really scored the highest among us?”
“Yes, it was the unanimous decision of myself and Instructor Leonhark here.”
Swoosh.
Vincent’s eyes flashed sharply.
“If you refuse orders one more time, you will be dealt with according to military law.”
“……Damn.”
Jerka grimaced.
But then.
“Captain Vincent, how about giving him a chance?”
“……Excuse me?”
Vincent looked surprised at Leonhark’s suggestion.
Leonhark looked at the gathered soldiers and spoke.
“It seems that more than half of the soldiers here do not accept the current decision. It will be hard to lead the unit with such distrust.”
“…….”
Vincent looked at the soldiers.
Just as Leonhark had said, most of them were staring at him with eyes full of distrust.
“……Sigh.”
Damian was the only soldier who defeated his opponent during the test.
But among the successful candidates here, few knew that Damian had defeated his opponent.
It was understandable.
So many applicants had dueled against numerous knights simultaneously.
Those who were fighting elsewhere or far from where Damian was might not have seen him.
However, those who had witnessed Damian’s skills just stayed quiet, knowing that this situation couldn’t be solved with words alone.
They also felt that Damian needed to prove himself once more.
Vincent sighed softly.
“Fine… let’s do that.”
Vincent then turned to the soldiers and spoke firmly.
“Remember this: you have no reason or right to demand justification or explanation for orders. Orders are orders; you must follow them unconditionally.”
“…….”
“However, since distrust from the very start of the unit is unacceptable, we will, just this once, create a chance for you to be convinced at the request of the instructor.”
Vincent looked at Damian.
“Are you okay with this?”
“I have no issues.”
“Heh, this makes sense. Once he shows what he’s capable of, no one will refuse.”
Jerka chuckled and stepped forward, speaking to Vincent.
“If I beat him, do I become the vice-commander?”
“That’s right.”
Vincent nodded.
But just then.
“Give me a break, you idiot.”
“Who said that?”
Jerka’s face twisted in anger as he looked toward the voice.
Dianal spoke with a stiff expression.
“Damian has already proven his skills in the test. Facing a fool like you… I think I’ll be enough.”
“Dianal, it’s fine.”
Damian said to Dianal. But…
“Is there any need to use a sledgehammer to kill a chicken? I’ll handle this fool so he doesn’t cause trouble again.”
“Piss off, you lackey.”
Jerka sneered at Dianal.
Dianal sighed as if Jerka was pathetic.
“How cheap. You look like a thug.”
“What did you say?”
Jerka’s face twisted in anger.
“You look like someone who needs a good beating to learn some manners.”
“I know your kind too. The ones who need to be beaten up to learn respect.”
“…….”
Watching the two suddenly ignite, Damian looked at Vincent.
Vincent, already feeling dizzy, had his palm covering his face.
“Hehehe.”
Leonhark chuckled slowly, amused by the soldiers who were like live fish flopping around.
‘…Definitely, he has unique tastes.’
Damian sighed softly as he watched Leonhark.
“Hey, tattoo boy.”
“What?”
“If you beat him, I’ll give up the vice-commander position. That should be fine, right?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. Just don’t whine and cry about it later like a brat. Heh heh.”
Jerka chuckled slowly.
“Both of you, pick up your sparring weapons. Real swords are not allowed.”
At Vincent’s command, Dianal grabbed two wooden sparring swords, while Jerka picked up one.
Vincent asked, “Are you ready?”
“Are we fighting here?” Dianal asked. And then.
“Of course, damn it! Is there a special place for fighting?!”
Jerka shouted, charging toward Dianal without warning.
Dianal looked slightly flustered by the sudden attack.
Whap!
He quickly stepped back, deflecting Jerka’s attack.
Thud! Thud!
The sound of wooden swords clashing echoed loudly, and the surrounding soldiers quickly stepped back, forming a circle.
A makeshift arena was created in an instant.
Inside, Jerka charged at Dianal like a wild beast.
“Hyaah!”
Whoosh! Swoosh!
Each strike was as if it were a one-hit kill.
His movements were unrefined, but each attack was quite threatening.
Whoosh!
Dianal ducked, narrowly avoiding Jerka’s swinging sword.
Jerka’s attack narrowly missed, slicing through the air.
Jerka shouted, “How long are you going to keep dodging?!”
On the surface, the fight seemed to be one-sided in Jerka’s favor.
Despite his bold entrance, Dianal appeared to be struggling.
Naturally, a few onlookers sneered at Dianal.
“What’s this? Acting like he had something up his sleeve.”
“Seems like he’s just full of hot air.”
Those who had seen Dianal spar with knights during the test watched silently.
And
“…Huh?”
Damian observed the sparring with a different perspective.
It was a fight between reason and instinct.
Dianal was meticulously analyzing his opponent’s movements and using trained techniques.
In stark contrast.
‘He’s just moving on instinct…’
In terms of raw talent, Jerka seemed to have the upper hand.
He had the skills to back up his cocky attitude.
‘But.’
He was not a match for Dianal right now.
Thud!
A dull sound echoed.
Jerka’s sword flew upward.
“Ugh!”
Jerka frowned as Dianal suddenly counterattacked.
Dianal spoke to Jerka.
“Now it’s my turn.”
He had been taking his time to assess Jerka’s movements.
It looked like he was on the back foot, but.
Wham!
Dianal deflected Jerka’s sword and immediately closed the distance, getting inside Jerka’s guard.
A startled Jerka hurriedly swung his sword at Dianal.
Whoosh!
But his sword again sliced through empty air.
And at that moment.
Wham!
Dianal, who had moved inside Jerka’s guard, rammed his shoulder into Jerka’s chest.
Thud!
“Gah!”
Jerka’s expression twisted as his breath caught in his throat.
The impact of the shoulder strike was far greater than Jerka had expected.
But that was just the beginning.
Thwack!
“Argh!”
Dianal’s follow-up attacks pounded Jerka’s body.
The two wooden swords struck Jerka’s sides and legs in quick succession.
Swish!
Dianal spun behind Jerka and struck his shoulders with both swords.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
Jerka couldn’t hide his surprise at the sudden onslaught.
He couldn’t even see Dianal’s sword strikes.
Dianal spoke.
“Don’t be surprised. It’s natural not to see them; I struck from your blind spot.”
“W-what?”
“For a thug, you’re not half bad.”
Dianal genuinely praised Jerka’s skills.
Jerka’s attacks had been sharper and more aggressive than Dianal had anticipated.
However,
“Now, just fall.”
“Who do you think you’re talking to?!”
Jerka swung his sword at Dianal’s head.
Whoosh!
But again, Dianal’s form vanished.
Jerka’s sword, missing its target, swung powerlessly through the air.
Swoooosh!
And then, a gust from below.
The moment Jerka glanced down.
Wham!
Dianal’s sword, swung from below, struck Jerka’s chin.
“Guh!”
Jerka’s head snapped back, and his knees buckled.
His legs momentarily lost all strength.
But Jerka didn’t fall.
Seeing this, Dianal clicked his tongue.
“This is the end.”
He swung his sword down with force.
“Dianal!”
Thunk!
But at Damian’s shout, Dianal stopped his sword just before it hit Jerka.
Jerka gulped, staring at the wooden sword that had stopped just before his face.
‘If that had hit me…’
His face would’ve been shattered, no doubt.
Suddenly, his legs gave out.
Thud.
Jerka collapsed onto the ground.
Damian spoke to Dianal.
“That’s enough. He’s going to be a comrade from now on.”
“…Understood.”
Dianal nodded, looking at the fallen Jerka. And then…
Swish.
Dianal extended his hand to Jerka.
“Are you alright?”
“…That brat isn’t stronger than you, is he? About equal… right?”
Jerka asked Dianal.
Dianal answered.
“If Damian fought seriously… he’d probably last about 30 seconds.”
“…?”
“I think that’s enough of an answer. Still want to fight Damian?”
“…No. I must’ve been out of my mind for a moment.”
Jerka grabbed Dianal’s hand and stood up.
Wobble.
But as his legs gave out again and he nearly collapsed.
Grab.
“Heh, this guy. Seems weaker than I thought.”
Kyle slipped his arms under Jerka’s armpits, supporting him.
Jerka frowned, but.
“He’s similar to me.”
“…I see.”
At Dianal’s words, Jerka quickly bowed his head.
It seemed there were quite a few monsters in this unit.
With the situation settled.
“Is it over now?”
Vincent looked at the soldiers.
“If so, I will now announce something important. Everyone, focus.”
At that, all the soldiers turned their attention to Vincent.