Chapter 148: Chapter Hundred And Forty Seven

The large recruit’s wooden sword missed her completely. It hit the empty dirt floor, sending up a small cloud of brown dust.

Because the large man had put all of his massive strength into the downward swing, the missed attack pulled his heavy body forward. He stumbled slightly, entirely off balance.

Camilla did not hesitate.

While he was stumbling, she stepped forward lightly. She brought her own standard wooden sword up in a fast, sharp, upward motion.

Smack!

She hit the large recruit firmly on the inside of his right wrist.

"Aargh!" the recruit yelled in sudden pain.

The sharp strike hit a sensitive nerve cluster. His fingers automatically opened. He completely lost his grip on his weapon. The broadsword fell out of his hand and dropped onto the dirt.

The crowd of soldiers standing around the ring gasped in shock.

The arrogant recruit realized he had just lost his weapon in the first three seconds of the match. He was completely furious and deeply embarrassed. He did not surrender. He turned around wildly and lunged at Camilla with his bare, empty hands, trying to grab her by her grey tunic and throw her to the ground.

Camilla easily stepped backward, staying perfectly out of his clumsy reach.

She did not want to hurt him badly, but she needed to draw blood to win the match and avoid running fifty laps.

As the angry recruit lunged forward again, Camilla smoothly dropped her center of gravity. She ducked completely under his grabbing hands.

She moved behind him. She lifted her right leg and delivered a swift kick directly to the back of his left knee.

The large recruit’s leg buckled instantly. He fell forward, crashing heavily down onto both of his knees in the dirt.

Before he could even attempt to stand back up, Camilla spun around. She held her wooden sword lightly in her hand. She stepped close to his kneeling body.

With a very fast, flick of her wrist, she swung the tip of her wooden sword.

Thwack.

The rough, splintered wooden tip of her training sword hit the large recruit exactly on the side of his right cheekbone.

It was not a bone-breaking hit, but it was hard enough to scrape the skin deeply.

The large recruit froze on his knees. He raised his shaking hand to his face. He touched his cheek. When he pulled his hand away, he saw a bright smear of red blood on his fingers.

The fight was over.

Up on the wooden balcony, Kade had stopped reading the King’s letter. He was staring down at the dirt arena with his mouth slightly open.

"Did you see that, My Lord?" Kade asked, his voice full of genuine surprise. "That small boy... he just disarmed and dropped a man twice his size in less than minutes."

Damon stood perfectly still at the railing. He did not say a word.

Damon was deeply impressed with Camilla’s performance. His sharp mind analyzed every single move she had just made.

"That was not standard military training," Damon thought to himself, his eyes fixed on the small figure in the grey tunic. "Recruits do not fight like that. He did not use brute force. He used perfect timing, flawless footwork, and precise nerve strikes. He moved exactly like a seasoned, professional killer. Who is this boy?"

Down in the arena, the strict instructor raised his hand high into the air.

"First blood!" the instructor shouted loudly. He pointed his wooden sword directly at Camilla. "The winner!" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The crowd of soldiers began to murmur and whisper excitedly. They could not believe the tiny, scrawny boy had just defeated the biggest recruit in their group so effortlessly.

The large recruit stayed on his knees in the dirt, completely humiliated.

Camilla stood victorious in the center of the ring. She lowered her wooden sword to her side.

But as she stood there in the hot sun, Camilla suddenly felt a very strange sensation on the back of her neck.

It was the distinct, undeniable feeling of being watched.

It was not the normal gaze of the crowd. It was an intense focused stare that felt like a physical weight pressing against her skin.

Camilla slowly turned her head. She looked away from the defeated recruit. She looked past the circle of watching soldiers.

She lifted her chin slightly and looked up. She looked directly toward the long wooden balcony attached to the main command building.

Camilla looked up.

Her dark, hazel eyes, looked straight up toward the balcony.

At that exact same second, Damon was looking straight down at her.

Her eyes and Damon’s eyes immediately met.

The distance between the dirt ring and the wooden balcony was significant, but the connection was absolute. Their gazes locked together completely across the hot, dusty air of the military camp.

Time seemed to freeze entirely.

Damon stared down into those specific, hazel eyes.

He looked at the delicate shape of the jawline. He looked at the way the small figure stood, holding the wooden sword with a very specific, relaxed, reversed grip. He looked at the few, tiny, completely unmistakable strands of bright red curly hair that had escaped from the edge of the wig during the fight.

Damon’s heart gave a sudden jolt inside his broad chest. His breathing stopped completely.

He instantly recognized her.

There was absolutely no doubt in his mind. He had lived with those eyes for a year. He had seen them flashing with fake tears, and he had seen them burning with hidden anger.

The scrawny, highly skilled recruit standing in the dirt ring was not a boy at all.

"Camilla?" Damon thought to himself.

His internal voice was a mixture of mind-shattering shock, confusion, and sudden, rising alarm.

He gripped the wooden railing so tightly that the old wood actually groaned under his large hands.

"What is she doing here?" Damon’s thoughts raced wildly. "Why is my wife dressed in men’s clothing, hiding in my training arena, fighting my recruits? "

Down in the arena, Camilla stared up at his face.

She saw him gripping the wooden railing. She saw the intense, recognizing shock completely cover his handsome features. She saw his eyes widen slightly as he stared directly at her.

Camilla’s stomach dropped completely down to her soft leather boots. Panic flooded instantly into her veins.

"Oh no," Camilla thought, her heart hammering frantically against her tightly bound chest.

She quickly pulled her gaze away. She instantly looked down at the dusty dirt floor, hiding her face completely from his view.

"Why is he here?" Camilla whispered to herself very softly, her voice shaking slightly with genuine fear. "He is supposed to be inside a command tent having boring meetings all day! Why is he standing on a balcony watching basic recruit training?"

Her mind worked at lightning speed, trying to calculate how bad the situation truly was.

"Did he recognize me?" she panicked internally. She thought about the direct eye contact. She thought about his shocked expression.

"He definitely recognized me," Camilla answered her own question, feeling completely sick to her stomach. "He is not stupid. He has lived with Camilla for a year. He just watched me use advanced combat moves on his soldier."

Camilla stood perfectly still in the middle of the crowd. The instructor was already calling the next pair of fighters, but Camilla did not hear him. The cheering of the soldiers faded into complete, deafening silence in her ears.

"What do I do?" Camilla thought, her sharp mind scrambling desperately to find a safe way to escape the camp before Damon sent his guards down to arrest her for impersonating a man.