Ancient Dragon in Arknights

Chapter Twenty-Four: Combat Techniques

"Tactical planning won't be tested; that's not something freshmen can master. Although some of you may have studied battlefield command beforehand, the school will only follow the teaching standards. Those with ideas can exchange them privately."

"The only things left to be tested are physiological endurance and tactical skills. Come on, guess how these two will be tested?"

On the third day of my university life, as usual, I attended classes in the morning and took tests in the afternoon.

However, since Angelia announced the above two pieces of information, Nesario's understanding of warrior planning was indeed superficial. He only knew the general direction, but he was completely clueless about the specifics of commanding them.

He originally thought he was going to stumble at this hurdle again.

"Report. Physiological endurance is assessed through endurance tests. As for combat skills... sparring?"

"Not bad!"

Angelia flashed her signature "cruel smile," and from her expression, everyone realized that they were likely in for a rough afternoon.

“Normally, physiological tolerance tests would take you to a specially designed room for testing. High pressure, high temperature, extreme cold... it’s not a pleasant memory. But we haven’t had that test yet today.”

"You will be facing your seniors next, and during that time—won't your tactical skills be on full display?"

"*Terra mixed profanity!*"

Upon hearing this arrangement, even the most aristocratic scions who usually maintained their dignity couldn't help but utter curses.

Even the most unambitious person who has studied at the Royal Military Academy will at least have some skills.

Apart from those who received training from a young age, most of them actually have little practical experience.

In a real fight, I'd most likely be no match for my seniors, and I wouldn't have a chance to show off my tactics and skills at all! Does being forced to roll over after being hit count as a skill?

"Don't worry. Your seniors know how to keep things in check and will make sure you get a balance between taking a beating and making a good impression. After all, we're all alumni, and it wouldn't be good if they held a grudge."

"Go warm up. If you don't want to lose too badly later, you'd better give it your full attention."

After saying that, Angelia left the training ground.

Those who remained on the field began warming up and exchanging ideas.

"What should we do? Are we really going to be used as a punching bag by our seniors?"

"What else can we do? How's your combat experience? Can you win?"

"Hey...the teacher said my swordsmanship is passable, but unarmed..."

"Me too, can I use a weapon?"

"It's probably possible. I saw wooden weapons in the equipment room before."

"......"

The four members of the Nesario group reunited as always.

At this moment, Nesario completely regarded the three girls as his friends; Rita felt the same way, having reliable friends was one of her expectations, but it had been hidden in the face of repeated disappointments; Fiona was a typical social butterfly, and she had already given everyone nicknames; the only one who was still a little awkward was Chen, who originally did not intend to waste time on socializing, but now she was completely led by Fiona.

"What are we going to do?! We're going to get beaten up by our seniors!"

Fiona was currently rubbing her smooth orange hair, looking rather insecure. From her pitiful expression, everyone could sense a sense of urgency.

"Defeat your opponent, or hold out until they are exhausted."

Chen Li analyzed the situation rationally and realized that she wasn't too flustered. Although she wasn't sure if she could defeat her opponent, she had trained hard since childhood, and although her kung fu skills weren't perfect, she still had something to rely on.

"Rita, you must be pretty good at fighting. Are you confident against the older students?"

Nesario remained completely calm. He could handle any number of upperclassmen, let alone one, even three or five.

Of course, if four guys wielding various weapons and dressed in strange clothes were to appear, he would probably panic. Don't ask, they are sworn enemies etched in his DNA.

"I've never been able to beat my swordsmanship teacher even once."

We can't rush to judgment. Rita's family is, after all, an earldom. Although he's not the eldest son, he's still their child. The tutor they hired is probably not bad. It's normal that they can't beat him.

Tap-tap-tap——

Accompanied by the rhythmic sound of military boots clattering on the ground, the senior students arrived.

"Hey, hello."

A sunny senior who looked comfortable greeted Class 1 (10), and the seniors behind him were curious and kind to everyone.

Good, at least they came with good intentions, rather than trying to "give a warning to a junior." If that were the case, then Neltharion, that troublemaker, would definitely cause a lot of trouble.

"Where is your teacher?"

"I don't know, didn't she go to see you seniors?"

Both people were stunned for a moment upon hearing what the other said.

"Well... we received instructions from the teaching assistant, but we didn't hand them over to your teacher."

"Huh? That guy didn't just go slacking off, did he?!"

"Probably!"

The students in Class 10 (Term 1) thought of Angelia's usual indifferent attitude and suddenly felt that this might be true. Usually, they still needed her to act as the recorder, but now that there are so many people, they don't need her anymore.

"Hehe, that's quite a unique teacher. Unlike our teachers, who are so rigid and boring."

"Huh? But shouldn't military academies be like this?"

"That being said, it still takes away a bit of the fun, doesn't it?"

The senior students are teaching campus survival skills. I heard that the Imperial Guard Academy also has many activities, and the fun level of these activities is related to the teacher's style.

"But the problem is, the teacher isn't here, so who will give us the evaluation?"

"Ah, about this, it's actually up to us. The two sides in the battle will judge, with the teacher as the referee. We will give the fairest evaluation based on your performance."

Okay, no problem.

Neither side wanted to waste any more time, so they decided to proceed in order.

Of course, if 100 people were to fight openly in the arena, it would not only take up a lot of space, but also potentially lead to a chaotic melee.

Therefore, the testing was conducted in batches of 10 people, with 10 testers and 10 new students participating together.

"If you need to use weapons, you can go to the equipment room, where there are testing tools. Of course, we don't have very rare weapons."

According to Nesario's observation, the vast majority of people present were using two-handed broadswords.

That's true, it's relatively easy to learn, and swordsmanship is one of the classic sports of the nobility.

Other weapons, such as bows and crossbows or Originium weapons, are also not suitable for use in duels.

Just in case, the medical personnel on campus have arrived at the scene to ensure they can provide immediate assistance should an accident occur.

"3, 2, 1—Go!"

Under the command of that sunny senior, twenty figures clashed instantly.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Opponents

Judging from the outcome, the predecessors achieved a complete victory.

The three new students clearly had no practical combat experience. They were all stiff and rigid, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the seniors' repeated attacks and soon became punching bags.

Such combat skills can only be rated as "average". Speaking of which, who is this guy who can even rate this as "defective"? Isn't that the same as being disabled?

Of the remaining seven freshmen, six were able to keep up with their seniors' pace, but as the battle dragged on and intensified, they began to struggle. There were many skillful exchanges and brilliant decisions, and the still-high fighting spirit they displayed after shaking hands with their seniors showed that they had definitely gained something from this battle.

Congratulations to the above six individuals for obtaining the combat skill: "Standard".

As for the remaining one—this kid had been in the lead the whole time, not because of his superior fighting skills, but because of his weapon.

He used a spear, while his senior, who was his opponent, used a one-handed sword. This senior, adhering to the principle of not being too bullying, did not equip himself with a shield in his other hand, a choice that brought him an extremely unpleasant experience.

An inch longer, an inch stronger; a one-handed sword and a spear without armor for a solo duel.

What was originally a test to assess the combat skills of freshmen has turned into a test to assess the physical endurance and psychological resilience of senior students.

However, the senior did learn something at the Imperial Guard Academy.

He initially opted for a war of attrition, weakening his opponent's stamina. As time went on, he deliberately feigned weakness—his once agile evasion became sluggish, and he was even attacked multiple times.

The freshman, feeling overwhelmed by his advantage, wanted to defeat the senior and claim the first cheer of the day.

The opening appeared—a heavy blow was thrust towards the senior's chest, but the senior, who was originally slow, suddenly accelerated to dodge. The momentum of the heavy blow missing and the time it took to retract the gun allowed the senior to "behead" the senior with one sword.

"Junior, your marksmanship is superb, even I felt the pressure; but you were too hasty in your combat thinking, you stepped on almost all of my traps."

His superb marksmanship and hasty personality earned him a barely acceptable "excellent" rating.

The spearman's defeat did not dampen the fighting spirit of the new recruits; on the contrary, seeing their predecessors suppressed by him ignited everyone's fighting spirit.

The strength of the predecessors lay in their extensive battlefield knowledge, weapon handling, and Originium Arts, but here, all they could use were their physique and martial arts skills—the gap between the two sides was not an insurmountable chasm!

As the test progressed, it was finally the turn of the four-person team to take the stage.

But something unexpected happened when Nesario's name was called.

"Um... Nesario, I'm sorry, you are not able to participate in this test at the moment."

"why?"

"There's a teacher's badge on it—test time to be determined."

"?"

And so, Nesario successfully got his turn to stand by the water cooler as punishment. He couldn't understand what Angelia was thinking, but as a student and as a soldier, obeying orders was an essential quality.

He could only watch the other three fight from the sidelines.

Although Fiona was a bit slow, she was incredibly strong. None of the weapons in the equipment room were suitable for her, so she took a model of a broken city spear to use as her weapon.

"My God, is there any way to heal if you get hit by this thing?"

Nesario looked at it for a moment and found that the size of the siege spear was almost the same as Fiona's own body. The sight of her wielding it with ease almost shattered the eyes of all the viewers.

Unfortunately, she lost in the end.

This was just a friendly spar, and Fiona, being a kind girl, was careful not to hurt her opponent. However, it was clear from the process that her fighting skills were quite high, considering she was able to wield such a large weapon while still being careful not to injure anyone.

The evaluation of "excellent" is only natural.