"H-Huh?... What?" Lionel’s eyes widened instantly. When he gazed in front, he saw that the 10 soldiers looked just as surprised as him.

Meanwhile, Sir Reinhardt remained completely calm. There was even a smug smile on his face.

"You heard me correctly," he said firmly. "It’s 10 against 1."

Lionel almost choked when he heard that again.

"Sir Reinhardt, isn’t that too much?" he asked quickly.

"No," Reinhardt answered without hesitation, and Lionel could only look at him as if he were completely betrayed.

The soldiers nearby also looked awkward. Even they felt bad for him.

One of them carefully raised his hand. "Sir... should we perhaps lower the number a little—"

"No."

"..." The poor soldier immediately lowered his hand again when he heard the seriousness in Rienhardt’s tone.

Sir Reinhardt turned toward Lionel afterward.

"You faced a deadly battle during the retreat. While you managed to save others, you yourself were gravely injured." His eyes narrowed slightly.

"From this point onward, your training will no longer be treated lightly. Your safety is our top priority, so you must learn how to defend yourself from others."

Lionel pressed his lips together at that. He wanted to argue, but couldn’t. In the eyes of others, that was what really happened—that Lionel exhausted himself to save the others

"Now, take your position." Sir Reinhardt pointed toward the center of the training grounds.

"Yes, Sir." Lionel slowly walked forward after getting a wooden sword. Meanwhile, the ten soldiers also followed closely behind him.

When the other soldiers saw it, they immediately stopped their own training to watch. After all, a ten against one sparring session was not something they saw every day. It was especially rare when it was their young master who was in the middle of it.

Lionel stood in the middle and looked around him.

10 people... he sighed in his mind. Seriously?

"You may begin," Sir Reinhardt ordered as he stood at the side, unmoving. He crossed his arms together and tilted his head.

The moment those words were said, two soldiers immediately rushed toward Lionel from the front. Those soldiers knew that if they didn’t take the session seriously, then they would only be punished later on.

However, the sudden attack was something Lionel didn’t expect. His eyes widened slightly when one wooden sword came swinging towards his shoulder. He instinctively raised his wooden sword and blocked it.

The impact made his arms sting. Before he could recover, another soldier attacked from the side. Lionel quickly stepped back to dodge it.

The wooden sword barely missed his face.

"Move!" One more came from behind.

Lionel immediately lowered his body.

Thud!

The attack passed over his head. If he missed it in a second, it would surely hit him.

Damn, these soldiers aren’t joking around.

At first, Lionel felt completely overwhelmed. The attacks kept coming one after another without giving him time to think or even plan out his moves.

Clang!

Clack!

Thud!

Wooden swords collided nonstop throughout the training grounds.

Lionel blocked another strike before turning quickly and swinging toward the soldier beside him.

Tak!

"Ugh!"

The soldier stumbled back after getting hit on the ribs. However, not even a second after, another one instantly replaced him.

"This is insane..." Lionel muttered under his breath while stepping away from another attack.

But soon, Lionel was able to recover. He gathered his own thoughts as his body began reacting on its own.

He started blocking attacks more naturally with a proper stance and all. When he saw a strike aimed at his legs, he jumped up without even thinking. Another attack came in front too, and Lionel could only twist his body to the side before striking at the man’s wrist.

Tak!

The wooden sword fell from the soldier’s hand.

The surrounding soldiers slowly widened their eyes.

"Huh?"

"Our young master even dodged that?"

Even Sir Reinhardt’s eyes became slightly interested in what he was seeing.

What was this feeling? Lionel also looked surprised at how well he was doing so far. His swordsmanship hadn’t risen a grade, but why was he suddenly performing better?

It felt as though his body had suddenly improved without him even knowing it.

Clang!

Thud!

Another soldier charged at Lionel. The two exchange some attacks. When Lionel found the opportunity, he stepped forward and twisted the man’s hands using his sword. He gave it a light kick on the legs afterward.

The soldier lost balance immediately and was off to the side. But it wasn’t even done, because as Lionel turned around, another attack came to him.

Sweat slowly formed on Lionel’s forehead as the fight continued on for minutes. Even though he was still getting hit sometimes, he managed to pull through it and counterattack.

Tak!

Another soldier stumbled back after getting hit on the shoulder.

"Tsk..." Lionel quickly breathed out as he blocked another strike. His arms already hurt from the nonstop swinging.

Sir Reinhardt watched the entire scene silently with crossed arms. A small smile slowly appeared on his face. His full attention was now on the fight.

"Interesting..." he muttered quietly. Unlike earlier, there was now a clear interest in his eyes.

Honestly, he did not expect Lionel to last this long.

At first, Reinhardt only thought that Lionel would survive for a few exchanges and defeat a man or 2 before getting overwhelmed completely. After all, it was ten against one.

But now?

Not only was Lionel still standing, but he was actually fighting back properly.

Clang!

Lionel blocked another strike before stepping sideways to avoid the next one. His movements were still rough in some places, but compared to before, there was a clear improvement in it.

Tak!

Another soldier winced after Lionel struck his shoulder.

The surrounding soldiers slowly started whispering among themselves. They were surprised by what they were seeing.

"Our young master is actually like a knight now..."

"I didn’t know our young master had this kind of talent."

"He even managed to disarm one earlier."

"He’s like the duke now!"

Sir Reinhardt heard every word but kept silent about it.

"This..." Reinhardt muttered quietly under his breath. A small smile slowly appeared on his lips afterward.

"This is what I’ve been waiting for."