Chapter 7: the beginning of a long journey, Part 4

We spent two whole days walking in the forest with a grumpy Orion. He didn't seem to appreciate our first heated exchange. But I was too tired to think about it. Lyanna and I didn't sleep until the third night. We were both plagued by a series of intense nightmares about past events. We were more affected by what we did than we thought. Our minds began to weaken little by little but Orion gave us some medicinal herbs.  I was really grateful to him and apologized for my behavior.

At the beginning of the fourth day, we arrived at the town of Kenelin in the territory of the neighboring lord. After two more days, we were already on the road. The news of Aldrick's death and our disappearance had already spread. Aldrick hadn't announced that we were disinherited. If I didn't know him so well, I might have thought he did it to keep our honor intact. But I guess he just wanted to avoid exposing his shame to the public. No wanted poster have been issued for us. This meant that we could travel with a minimum of caution. Orion provided us with everything we needed: a change of clothes, food, different types of weapons, and books on various subjects, including the fighting arts specific to each of the five kingdoms of Alcine. These books were not very detailed, but some knowledge wouldn't hurt. 

Orion also bought two horses and some camping equipment. It was agreed that we would follow him in his activities as a bloodhound and learn alongside him.

Speaking of learning....we were in a plain about twenty meters from a road. We set up camp there to spend the night. It was a fairly large green space with a river below. We weren't the only ones camping there. Several merchants had set up camp to spend the night too. There were armed men here and there to protect them. 

Lyanna and I were gathering wood for a fire when Orion suddenly spoke up.

"Starting today, I will train you in close combat." 

He said suddenly, spreading both legs and raising his fists. 

"Right now ?"

I was confused by his decision. 'Shouldn't we train physically first ?' 'And why now ? '

"Don't worry I won't use my spiritual energy. Get into position." 

From his stance, I could tell that he was using the hand-to-hand fighting techniques of our kingdom. These techniques were mainly based on powerful punches aimed at breaking the opponent's body. 

I began to say something but the figure of Orion came closer in an instant. Then..

"Boom." 

With mad speed, He approached Lyanna standing next to me and thrust his right fist into her chest. She didn't see it coming and was sent flying for several feet before rolling to the ground raising dust. Lyanna lay inert, the whites of her eyes visible.

"What the hell was that?" I shouted in anger and panic as I dropped the pieces of wood I was holding. It was too fast for me to do anything. 

"Stop shouting. She is still alive. I'm not here to coddle you kids. Get in position." Orion replied more seriously than usual.

"That's not what Uncle Gerald asked you."

"I am free to choose how to train you brat. I don't know how you got rid of that bastard, but it certainly wasn't in battle. I've been watching you since we met, you are weak. Smart, for a kid, but weak. In this new life, your brains won't get you out of every situation. "

"Tss. I understand but at least teach us the basics. "

"Okay, lesson number one: learn to roll with the punches."

"...."

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I didn't even have time to react or say anything. I felt a sharp pain in my head. Orion's fist had come down with all its weight on my skull. The area went dark in an instant. When I regained consciousness, I saw that Orion was attacking Lyanna.

"Boom" "Boom" "Boom" "Boom" 

The blows followed each other. Rights, lefts, rights, lefts...Lyanna's body was being tossed back and forth. She was falling and getting up again. She had bled profusely, her white shirt was covered in blood and dust. However, her face and limbs showed no sign of injury. She too could regenerate but the scar on her chest remained unhealed. Lyanna had put herself on guard and was trying to dodge and counter but it was almost useless. None of her attacks hit Orion, who dodged them without batting an eyelid. 

"Strange, your wounds are healing too quickly for someone who hasn't mastered myndo," Orion said and scratched his little beard. 

He had a smile on his face as he watched Lyanna struggle even though she was exhausted.

"Let's try this."

He wrapped his right hand in energy. He hit Lyanna in the stomach and sent her flying off the ground before falling back.  She found herself face down with great difficulty in getting up. She began to spit out blood and a few tears flowed from her eyes.

Orion picked her up and laid her gently on the back. He lifted her shirt slightly to see her stomach.  A huge red patch was drawn on it. 

"Interesting. You heal quickly from attacks without spiritual energy. But those containing it heal more slowly. It's almost like cheating. Your healing ability is amazing." Orion concluded as he continued to examine Lyanna.

A slight smile came over my face as I saw my sister struggling so hard. 'There's no way I'm letting you outrun me.'

"You know Orion, beating up children is nothing to brag about. It's just lame...." I said provocatively . 

"Oh, the princess has woken up. For a guy less resistant than his sister, you have quite a big mouth," he replied, stifling a laugh.

"...... Shut up, I was just surprised okay? Come and fight me." I shouted as I felt my ego shatter.

"Well, you are responsive. That's good. Come on, show me what you are made of." Orion said before rushing at me. 

He raised his fists, throwing a right hook. My mind calmed down. I could see by the movement of his hips the potential attack and crouched to avoid it, but I wasn't fast enough. I took the blow on the face and was thrown a few steps away. A red-hot liquid began to drip from my nose. 

"Ohh you saw the direction of my punch, well done kid. You must have read the books I bought you. I don't know why you wanted them so much. But your reactions are too sluggish. Theories are good but the practice is better."

 "Shut up..." 

I stood up while wiping my nose. I put myself on guard. The pain was sharp but was already fading.

"Looks like you need some discipline," Orion replied with a bitter smile. 

"Looks like you're not so strong, is that all you got?"  

The result of that first day of training was a total failure. Every step after that session was torture. Every movement required more strength than we could usually muster. We were exhausted to a degree we had never experienced before. During the dinner, Orion gave us some advice while making fun of me. Forget my apologies, one day I'll beat you up

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