The force of Xerxes' attack was felt by Conrad, and by everyone in the crowd for that matter, as the trainees and soldiers within the outpost watched Conrad being pushed back.
Everyone gasped at this sight, and even the Lieutenant paused his tasks for a moment to gaze at the battle. "What do you know, the cat did drag something in."
Xerxes knew Dorian wouldn't let up now; Dorian would target different parts of the body, keeping the enemy's focus disoriented. Gripping his sword more fiercely, Xerxes pushed back Conrad's blade and aimed at his lower hip.
With unmatched ease, Conrad reared back his arm, just enough so that his blade could withstand the strike aimed at his hip, which he successfully evaded.
Conrad was no simple swordsman either; he knew of various tactics swordsmen would use. Whether it was being relentless and attacking different parts of the body, or taking it slow and looking for an opening, he had encountered many types of swordsmen, and that made it easy for him to perceive an opening to exploit.
Xerxes' next strike was aimed at his thigh—but Conrad anticipated this move, allowing him to jump over the slice.
Xerxes' face quickly grimaced, knowing that Conrad would be on the offensive at this point. Conrad pulled back his arm, capitalising on the advantageous position he was in, and struck down with the force of lightning.
"Orion's Hunt Style, Mark of the Wicked." After reciting these words, a different look appeared in Conrad's eyes, and the entire crowd paused for a moment.
The Lieutenant whispered in shock, "The bastard can't be serious, can he?"
Conrad was absolutely serious; there wasn't a trace of doubt in his eyes as he sought to show Xerxes his way of the sword. The devastating force of his strength weighed down against Xerxes, his raised sword releasing sparks of fire as the metals clashed.
Xerxes was in awe of how powerful the attack was. He couldn't resist it, nor did he have enough time to escape it by any physical means, so he held his breath and used incantationless mana, casting a spell that propelled his body backwards with fire. Once out of the strike zone, Conrad's attack fully landed.
There was a large crater in the floor, covering many metres of ground, distorting the earth. Conrad stood up, his figure visible through the waves of dust billowing around him.
Xerxes began to run directly towards Conrad. It was already clear that if Xerxes didn't act now, the fight would end with one of those moves, so he decided to act logically. Though it was difficult to maintain rationality while using the Orc soul shard, his body and mind were not as immature to the power as they had once been.
Xerxes had picked up two swords—the wooden sword as well as the metal sword. He ran towards Conrad, gripping both hilts in his hands, making it appear as if he was still holding one sword.
Xerxes had never tried this before, but he wanted to push his limits and draw directly from his Goblin soul shard as well.
Among adventurers from Tier 6 to Tier 1, the maximum number of soul shards a Tier 6 could utilise simultaneously was one, but when pushing their bodies, they could utilise two in conjunction.
As adventurers advanced in Tiers, they could use more and more, with Tier 1 mages speculated to use upwards of twenty at a time.
Using two soul shards for Xerxes right now wouldn't be an easy task, but he was determined to show that Dorian had taught him well.
Mixing with the hues of crimson, tinges of deep forest green were embedded within his aura. Xerxes ran forward and swung his metal sword straight towards Conrad's left-hand side.
Xerxes used his left hand to grip the steel blade, and with all the pent-up power, it shattered against Conrad's blade. The force of the blow sent gusts of wind emanating from the impact, pushing back the dust.
Everyone then saw what Xerxes had planned; he had deceived Conrad's perception of his actions.
The crowd couldn't help but lean closer as Xerxes' wooden sword swung from the right. Xerxes showed no look of worry on his face, despite striking with the wooden sword and sacrificing his steel one.
Even Conrad looked surprised, but Xerxes roared, "I don't need steel to do what I need to do, Conrad. I'll use it as a tool to express my swordsmanship."
The wooden sword was inches away from Conrad's arm when, in a flash, Conrad threw his sword up a few inches and used his indomitable speed to vanish from Xerxes' view.
Xerxes had put too much power into his swing to stop, causing him to fall over, but his eyes still trailed behind him—and there Conrad was.
While the sword was airborne, Conrad had caught it, and Xerxes realised that Conrad's attack had only just begun. Conrad gripped his sword and thrust it downward, pointing at Xerxes' neck.
A sharp exhale escaped Conrad's lips, but there was no pity or hesitation in his eyes. This fight had revealed much about Xerxes' character to him.
There was an entire conversation conveyed through the clash of blades, and Conrad now understood who Xerxes was.
He wasn't one to give up; he fought with every means of combat he knew, respected those he valued, and would do anything to protect them and their image. This was what Conrad resonated with.
Conrad had become so engrossed in the battle that he hadn't even noticed the group of people watching them. He crouched and extended a hand to Xerxes.
A sincere smile spread across his face. "Xerxes, the way you fought was inspiring. Everything about your fighting style, your dedication to battle, and your ferocity spoke volumes about the lengths you're willing to go to and how formidable you are for your age."
The crowd erupted in cheers, agreeing with Conrad. Many began applauding Xerxes for his commendable strength, and younger trainees at the outpost used this as inspiration to train and push themselves even harder.
Xerxes couldn't help but return the smile. He felt as if, bit by bit, he was becoming more accepted among everyone, especially the Truth family, the ones who had saved him.
His gratitude was evident in his words and the compliments he gave Conrad about the battle. "Thank you, Conrad. Honestly, I thought I would have had you when that debris was created from your attack. I tried using the Orc and Goblin soul shards in unison, but my judgement and reasoning were clouded, and I didn't realise how much of a badass you'd be, pulling off that flashy move where you appeared behind me. You're so intense, Conrad!"
Conrad chuckled and pulled the young man up, ruffling his hair. "You're the badass, Xerxes. You even got my men training harder. Makes me wonder how you even lost against some beasts, but it's okay—my job is to make you a better swordsman."
"Today, I was able to get a good gauge of what sort of fighter you are. You don't wait for your prey or hope for an opening; you press forward and create that opening. That's something I can work with. Your attack patterns are pretty predictable, but that's just because of your limited skill set. I will change that."
Xerxes nodded, clasping his fists together. "I can't wait for our sword training to start. I'd be lying if I said I was looking forward to Aemon's training more than yours. I've always been more passionate about using the sword; it feels natural to me, more so than magic."
Conrad agreed with him. "It was always a pain when I was a kid dealing with Dad's anger. I couldn't get the hang of magic as well as he hoped, but I was always a natural with the sword. I think I can develop a good training schedule for you, and I think it's best we hold off on your spar with Leiya for a while. I want you to give her a good challenge."
Xerxes grimaced slightly. "I wouldn't be able to challenge her now?"
Conrad's face lit up with absolute joy at the thought of his daughter. "She's incredible. She's got the strength of beasts and the mana of Aemon. She's amazing, and she wouldn't hold back, so I want you to be stronger. Then, I can take you on some missions, but I'll show you around first."
Xerxes was starting to feel quite fearful of how strong Leiya would be. Would she really be out to kick his ass without any remorse?
Nonetheless, Conrad began to show him around and explain the routine the outpost followed.
There were two squadrons: one stationed at the outpost during the day and one at night. There were roughly 100 guards stationed, each required to become proficient with both the sword and magic, with squadrons comprising roughly ten people each.
Conrad often covered the morning watch, with Lieutenant Mairon covering the night. The two figures of the outpost didn't require squadrons and were classified as squadrons by themselves due to their sheer strength.
Questions that had previously lingered in Xerxes' mind, such as why they killed beasts despite the barrier that deterred them, were answered. They killed beasts that approached the barrier, taking their soul shards and instilling them into the barrier itself.
The methodology of how they did this was known only to Aemon, with Aliya—Aemon's daughter-in-law—amplifying his work. The barrier was essentially made from the corpses of mana beasts, with mages continually infusing power into it regularly.
It had some form of cloaking magic that made the city invisible to monsters, and there was a natural deterrent caused by Aemon's power that kept monsters away from the area.
Each member of the outpost also had rings that allowed passage in and out of the barrier, granted only to them and the Truth family.
The day concluded, and the Lieutenant, Conrad, and Xerxes walked back to the castle, as there were pressing concerns to discuss regarding the discovery Lieutenant Mairon had made.