Overwhelming Firepower

After the funeral, Lucen told the remaining recruits that they could rest for the next few days in the building where the Thornefang members stayed.

During that time, Lucen had ordered a few men to make a separate set of buildings outside the walls of Ironhold. It was a kilometer away from Ironhold.

While the recruits collapsed into uneasy sleep, he sent orders. Men began working a kilometer outside Ironhold’s walls, their hammers echoing in the cold air as they raised a new set of buildings. Timber frames rose against the gray horizon, the skeletal outline of a future stronghold.

It would serve as barracks, a training ground, and a symbol. Thornefang would not remain a shadow clinging to Ironhold’s walls. They would stand apart, a blade unsheathed.

He also wanted to create one in Dorsen, but for now, he started here in Ironhold.

As for the trials, Lucen had seen enough. Blood and will had already been weighed in the monster forest. A third trial would only waste lives.

Those who had survived, those who chose to remain in Ironhold even after tasting death, would be the ones he accepted. No more, and no less.

He would not tell them yet. Let the days ahead reveal who still had the strength to endure, and who would falter before the vow was spoken.

He was also dealing with the spies sent to infiltrate Thornefang. They didn’t know much, which was expected, but there were ways to capture the people who hired them to do so.

Lucen asked for help from some of the knights to capture the people who hired the would-be spies.

***

During the wait, some of the recruits who had fully healed from their wounds decided to return home.

They had enough adventure for this lifetime. The others who came here for money decided to do something else and left to return to their hometowns.

Of course, there were still many who stayed. It might have been for their dreams, others did it because it had the best pay, and most simply continued because they had suffered a lot and didn’t want to back down now.

Many felt stressed from waiting to hear from Lucen, who would get in and who wouldn’t. Despite having nice rooms and good food to eat, they could not enjoy it that much. Well, except for a few, like Daniel.

The very second Lucen said that they could pick a room in the building, he moved the fastest he ever moved, picked a room, and went to sleep.

These past few days were paradise for him. He slept for however long he wanted, he ate when he wanted to, and no one would complain that he was doing so.

He hoped that Lucen would never make a decision, and they could just continue like this, forever.

The only problem he had was Thrall. Once he was fully healed, he quickly looked for Daniel. The young barbarian boy would come to him every single day to ask for a spar, to do some training.

Daniel lay sprawled on his cot, half-asleep, when the door opened.”Daniel! Spar with me!” Thrall’s booming voice carried no malice, only boundless enthusiasm.

”No,” Daniel muttered, rolling over.

A pause. Then footsteps retreated, and the silence returned. Daniel quickly went back to sleep.

A few hours later, the door creaked open again. ”Daniel! Spar with me!”

Daniel groaned. ”Still no.”

Thrall had asked Daneil to spar thrice in one day, every day. Sometimes Daniel would change locations to hide from Thrall, but Thrall would find him no matter what. In fact, Thrall seemed to enjoy looking for him.

***

Daniel brought a thick blanket and went to the roof of the building and slept there. Thrall, who would usually find him right around this time, did not appear, making Daniel, who was lying down, smile.

Even though it was far from being as comfortable as sleeping in his own room, at least here he wouldn’t be disturbed.

As Daniel was slowly getting secured, he heard something coming near him at incredible speed. Daniel sighed as he already knew what was coming to him.

With a booming sound, a person landed on the roof that had been enhanced by various spells and runes. This was, of course, Thrall.

”That was great. Not only were you able to hide your presence, but even your scent became so faint that it became nearly undetectable. As expected of the man who fought side by side with me. So are we going to spar today?”

Daniel tugged the blanket over his face. ”No.”

”Then I guess I will ask you again later. I hope you hide yourself better.” Thrall gave some advice.

”You won’t stop, will you?” Daniel lowered the blanket and looked at Thrall.

”Why should I stop?” Thrall asked, looking genuinely confused. Seeing his reaction, Daniel could only sigh.

”Why do you want to spar with me?”

”Because you’re strong.”

”There are other strong people in this place. The knights are strong. Why not ask them to spar with you?”

”The knights are indeed strong. I have already sparred with most of them.”

Daniel narrowed his eyes. ”Then why keep coming back to me?”

Thrall’s grin widened, sunlight glinting off his teeth. ”Like I said, because you’re strong. I want to battle every strong person I see. There’s also the fact that the knights were too far above me in strength, so sparring with them was not so rewarding for them as much as it was for me. Since our strengths seem to be close enough, that means that sparring against each other would help not only me but you as well.”

”If that’s what you’re looking for, then what about the others? There was that stoic guy who kept on telling us what to do, and that shield maiden. I think they’re also near the same level.”

”You mean Bram and Veronica? I have already sparred with them. They might be strong, but their main strengths lie in something more than just direct confrontation. You, on the other hand, have the scent of a predator that’s merely sleeping.”

”Yeah, and I want to keep on sleeping, if you can stop bothering me.”

”Why?” Thrall suddenly asked.

”Why, what?”

”Why do you not wish to grow stronger? If we spar with one another, we can get stronger together. Isn’t that what most warriors want?”

”I don’t know what you think you know, kid, but I’m no warrior.”

Thrall’s grin softened into something closer to respect. ”No warrior, you say? Then why does your presence make my blood sing? The way you moved on the battlefield is something that could only be done by those who have practiced hard and long.”

”Haven’t you heard of geniuses? I don’t like to brag, but I’m one of those. I didn’t need to work hard to become as proficient as I am.”

Daniel answered with his usual laid-back tone, but for some reason, there was a small difference, as if there was something more.

”I know what a genius is. Back in my tribe, I have been called that a couple of times. Even when I went outside, other people kept on calling me that. I might be able to perform something easier than others, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t need to earn it some way or another. Your skills are not something that could be acquired simply because you’re a so-called genius.”

When Daniel heard what Thrall said, he frowned. The young barbarian was rather sharp for someone who only liked to battle. Daniel scratched his head, letting the blanket slide halfway down his face.

”You sure know how to talk, kid...”

Daniel stared at Thrall’s eyes, who was looking at him, filled with innocence. To meet someone like this who kills and bleeds in battle, to have eyes so pure. Daniel could not help but sigh once again.

”Hey kid... Have you ever regretted being so talented, so different from your peers?”

”Why regret such things? I was simply born this way. Regretting what you have is like regretting ever living.”

Daniel let out a dry chuckle, though there was no humor in it. ”You speak like an old man, but in the end, a kid is just a kid. You don’t understand.”

”What should I understand?”

Daniel sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes, usually half-lidded with laziness, carried a rare edge.

”That talent... It makes people look at you with greedy eyes. It makes them have expectations. Makes people think you owe them something. A weapon to point, a tool to use.” He let out a bitter laugh. ”They don’t see a person. Just what you can do.”

Thrall tilted his head, unbothered. ”Huh? Why should I care what other people think? If I’m strong, then I’ll just choose how that strength is used. This body, given to me by my parents and my ancestors, is now mine and mine alone. My fists are mine, this is the body I trained, no one else’s.”

Daniel stared at him, half-annoyed, half-intrigued. ”...You make it sound easy.”

”It is easy,” Thrall said without hesitation. He thumped his chest with one hand. ”This body listens only to me. If I fight, it is because I want to fight. If I bleed, it is because I chose to bleed.”

”You truly are something else, kid.” Daniel shrugged his shoulders.

Thrall blinked, then grinned. ”So will you spar with me now?”

Daniel froze, caught off guard by the bluntness of the statement. For a moment, he almost laughed, but instead, he lay back down and pulled the blanket over his face again.

”I don’t want to. I’m going back to sleep.”

”Alright then,” Thrall replied, standing and stretching his shoulders. ”But I’ll keep coming back. I do like a challenge.”

With that, the barbarian leapt from the roof, landing in the courtyard below with a ground-shaking thud.

Daniel lay in silence for a long moment, staring at the inside of his blanket. ”... Stupid kid.” Yet his lips twitched, almost betraying the ghost of a smile.