Chapter 37: Training

In a large room without an opening, three people are fighting. These people are Leonidas, Desmond, and Saibus. The two apprentices work together to beat one of their elders. They have made enormous progress in recent months, but Leonidas remains physically more vital than them. By adding his strength and mastery of weapons, hand-to-hand combat, and vast experience, Saibus and Desmond have their buttocks dismantled by the latter's mentor.

The fight between the three assassins is not a fight where everything is allowed. Magic is prohibited. Instead, this fight aims to train Desmond and Saibus in handling their weapons and hand-to-hand combat against an opponent stronger, faster, and more experienced than them.

Desmond uses longer xiphos than the usual Xiphos, which he supplements with a small spear that can lengthen and shrink from a classic spear to a small pike.

Saibus always uses his double blades in coordination with the Xiphos and his lance Desmond.

Saibus makes a series with his twin blades that Leonidas dodges or blocks with his fork. Finally, Leonidas blocks one last shot from Saibus and bends down to avoid Desmond's cut. Then, he takes his pitchfork and splits it in half to make two long, heavy swords. From there, he blocks the apprentice attacks without moving from his seat.

The attacks of Desmond and Saibus follow one another, but neither can pass the defense of Leonidas. So they stop and walk away from him to prepare a plan. The two do not make any sound but speak with their looks and silent codes that they teach the Leagues. Unfortunately, Leonidas also knows the code, so they had to modify it a bit without Leonidas understanding what they were up to.

With a nod, the two rush towards Leonidas. They run in a circle towards him, arriving from either side of the old one. The apprentices arrive alongside Leonidas at the same time. Saibus emits a cross slash with his blades, while Desmond makes a vertical cut with his Xiphos.

Leonidas advances toward Desmond and dodges his attack. He slashes the side of Desmond's Xiphos, which pushes him. Leonidas takes advantage of the opening he created to grab the latter by the wrist and throw him back onto Saibus.

Desmond flies towards Saibus, which is five meters away. He takes advantage of its height to throw his mini lance, which gets more significant during the launch. The spear arrives towards Leonidas' back but the latter dodges by making a U-turn on his left foot. The lance passes and comes crashing into the floor of the room.

Saibus runs past Desmond, who positions himself and lands on the ground before pursuing Saibus. Again, Saibus, this time, makes a diagonal cut from right to left. When Leonidas blocks his shot, Saibus immediately moves to the left and leaves the way for Desmond, who cuts horizontally to the right. The two then team up to hide behind each other's back and take Leonidas by surprise.

But that doesn't work that much other than managing to make a slight cut on Leonidas' left cheek.

After an hour of continuous fighting, Saibus and Desmond are on the ground, sweating, out of breath, and panting to catch their breath.

Leonidas is barely out of breath. He stands upright with his armor and his pitchfork in his hands.

He looks at the two apprentices on the ground.

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"Good, you have improved since the last workout. Now go wash up, and go to your studies to finish the day."

Leonidas walks out of the room afterward as he hears Desmond and Saibus whispering and complaining that they haven't had a chance to do any real damage to him and their inability to make him serious.

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On the top floor of the fortress, Saibus crawls through the corridors to get to his room. Finally, he arrives at the door and opens it. He enters and walks with difficulty towards the tub. He turns on the water and lets the hot water flow into the wooden tub, creating a water vapor.

He cuts off the water supply when the tub is complete and undresses. Then, he steps into the tub and dives into the hot water.

"Hmmm."  He moans when his skin comes in contact with water. He sits in the tub and stretches his legs. He rests his arms on the wooden edges and relaxes by returning his head.

'After getting dragged away by a Spartan, taking a hot bath is the best thing.'  thinks Saibus.

'But it's kind of funny to think that even here, there are Spartans.'  Saibus laughs inwardly. This thought brings back the memory of a book he had read that explained the Spartans' history in this world.

The Spartans are not the inhabitants of the city of Sparta but a clan in this world. The Spartans are known for their mastery of war, combat, their forces… They were mercenaries with the supreme law of following the strongest or whoever managed to beat it. The clan met the League centuries ago during a contract and was practically exterminated. So they decide to join the ranks of the latter.

The Spartans soon became essential members of the League like the Miles and their cousins, the Auditore of Firenze from the now-defunct city of Firenze or the Siwas.

As in my homeworld, the Spartans undergo an infernal training called agōgē. Most Spartans enter the Combat and Training Halls after becoming assassins.

Strangely, in this world, the Spartans exist but not the Athenians, who have nevertheless sworn enemies of the Spartans. Thus, we also think of the other when we think of one. This is bizarre, but it is not Saibus's concern.

He thinks about other details about the Spartans as he washes. After washing, Saibus gets out of the tub and drains the water. He wipes himself off and puts on his nightwear before going to his office.

He takes his sketchbook out of its drawer. He flips through it to the drawings of his twin swords. The different designs represent his blades but with various modifications. In some pictures, the improvements are slight; in others, they are more important and change the handling of the edges a little.

He thinks about the changes for a while, then turns a page and studies the senbons he wants to create.

He intends to create several types to meet several uses. One of the designs, the senbon, has mini hooks to hook onto the target and release more poison. On another exquisite, the senbon presents a great length and lightness. Another is, on the contrary, smaller but heavier.

Saibus goes through leafing, drawing, and modifying his plan book until he goes to bed.

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