Chapter 153

○ Training Grounds Gallery – Corps Commander Dyle

As he had declared the previous day, Halm the Crystal Dragon had come to watch.
There were many soldiers in the gallery as well.

In fact, it was if anyone who was free and had no other duties to attend to had gathered to watch.

“We have quite a crowd.”
Halm said as he watched the curious soldiers.

“Well, they’ve only ever heard rumors about them.”
Dyle’s eyes were directed at the Makaras, who were stretching on the training ground.

It was the day for the group battle.
Out of all the parts of basic training, this one was the most entertaining to watch.

There was another reason that so many had gathered.
All of the soldiers there had experienced and passed this training.

Normally, watching this battle would be a way to relax and kill time.
However, the opponent was very special for this particular battle.

The Makaras had arrived early to the training ground, and were thorough in their preparation.

They were a legendary race, who were even called the ‘Heroes of Group Battles’ by Demon King Tralzard.
But only a few had ever seen them. And even fewer had seen them fight.

“The wooden shield and spears used today had to be specially ordered.”
“They were made for this very purpose, and arrived last night.”

The Makaras held wooden shields that were taller than they were. They waved them and seemed to be testing their weight.
The wooden spears were also thicker than the usual, more deadly iron spears that they wielded.

“Wooden bows? Arrows made of wood will not be enough to pierce an Ogre’s hide.”
“While they cannot use arrowheads, they did not want to change the way that they fight either.”
“I see. It’s better to fight in the way you are accustomed to.”

The bows that the Makaras carried were small compared to their shields and spears. This was because they prioritized portability.
They had the skill to aim with precision, but their training weapons could not use metal, and so the arrowheads had been removed.

“Still, it shouldn’t be a problem if they can use their shields and spears like that. Alone, they are only a little stronger than an Ogre, but the Makaras have something else…”

“…You mean their special ability, ‘Synergy.’”
Halm nodded.

“While there are only twenty of them, which is the same number as the Ogres, they can all use ‘Synergy.’ I heard that they can even block the charge of a Black Running Turtle.”

Black Running Turtles could break buildings and castle gates with their charge. And yet just twenty Makaras could stop them with their close formation guard.

“And just when the attack is foiled, the spears come out.”
The more people there were that made the same movement, the stronger the power of ‘Synergy.’

If they all used shields, their defense ability went up.
So how effective would they be if they all used spears?

Ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred. The more people there were that did the same thing, the higher the effect would be raised.

With ‘Synergy,’ they could become equal with beings that were stronger than them.
The more Makaras there were, the greater the possibilities would be for this country. That was how much potential they had.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the Ogres put up a good fight.”
“I do hope that they won’t embarrass themselves entirely, but that’s not realistic.”

Dyle had gone through great lengths to bring them here.
The Makaras should have been with the General. They were some of the best in the army.

“It looks like the Ogres have finally arrived.”
“Well, let’s see how this goes.”

The Ogres appeared on the other side of the training grounds. And they were all carrying something in their hands.

“What is…”
“…Logs?”

The Ogres were all carrying logs on their shoulders.

“What do they mean to do?”
“Are they going to make a defensive wall?”

As Dyle and Halm watched with puzzled expressions, the announcement for the start of the battle echoed across the grounds.

○ Training Grounds – Golan

“…All of you. Do you have your logs!”

“ARRGHH!”

They all answered. Everything seemed to be fine.
We had gone to the forest yesterday in order to acquire them.

They were about twice as thick as a telephone pole. As for their length…well, they were also longer.
However, we Ogres had ‘Muscle Strengthen,’ and had no trouble carrying and fighting with them.

Once the start of the training was announced, the enemy raised their shield and curled up like turtles.
Perfect. So we’d be allowed to attack first.

“Let’s go! Surround them!”

And so we ran while holding our logs, and formed a circle around the enemy.
Arrows started to fly at us, but they could not even get through the leather armor we wore as a precaution.
When I looked at the fallen arrows, I saw that the heads had been cut off. They wouldn’t even get through our skin.

Still, I had expected them to carry large shields after watching them train, but the ones they had now were even bigger than I thought.
It was a good thing that we were fully prepared.

“Do you have the tree ready?”

“Of course.”
“Almost there!”

I had decided to prepare an attack that would allow us to ignore their great shields.
The largest log that an Ogre can carry…in fact, something that would be carried by multiple Ogres.
The idea had come to me yesterday, and I had gone searching for it.

“It’s like a world wonder.”

It was a log so big that it took six Ogres to carry.
It had taken us three hours just to cut it down. And that was while we cut from all four sides at the same time.

“Lift it up!”
“Arrgh!”

If the enemy were going to huddle together, we needed to crack them open with this.

At first, I had wanted to ram it into them, but we decided to smash it over them from above instead.

“The rest of you, help!”
Six was not enough to carry it, but twelve managed to lift it off of the ground.

I suspected that the enemy would try and stop us, and so I faced them, along with Saifo and Beka. But the enemy didn’t stir.

Did they have some kind of sickness that caused them to die if they weren’t lined up?
Surely this was the time for them to sacrifice a few men in order to stop us.

“Now drop it!”
Still, if they weren’t going to move, all the better for us.
And just like that, the giant tree that looked like a world wonder, dropped onto the enemy’s heads.

—Zuzuzuuun.

The weight added to the speed as it fell.
The ground shook, and the enemy were thrown into the air.

I could hear shrieks of ‘Synergy!’ from the gallery, but I had no idea what they were talking about.

As for the enemy, half of them were crushed underneath the log, while the other half had gone flying into the air on both sides.

“The logs! Hit them with your logs!”
“Arrgrhh!”

As the enemy tried to pick themselves up off of the ground, I swung my log and hit, hit, hit, hit as if my life depended on it.
Like a character in a boxing comic. The same motion over and over again.

Still, I could hear cries from the gallery. ‘Synergy! The Synergy!’

With this training, the leader had to admit their defeat in order for it to end.
But since that had not happened yet, the training must go on.

“All of you! It’s too early to be worn out! Keep hitting! I’ll personally make sure that you regret it if you don’t!”

“Yes!”

They were an honest bunch.
The sounds of swinging logs grew louder.

“This sound. Where have I heard it before…”

After awhile, it came to me.
The symphony of drums that I had heard in my past life.

It sounded so fun, that I had to join in.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. But at some point, I noticed that Corps Commander Dyle was grabbing onto my wait and screaming for me to stop.

I thought the rules dictated that it had to be their leader? Why was the Corps Commander here?

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Makai Hongi