Chapter 157
As time had passed, there weren't many soldiers within the warband, or even the neighboring ones, who were willing to challenge Rayne directly.
Most chose the safer option instead.
They whispered behind his back, complained about how quickly he had climbed through the ranks, cursed his promotion, or simply disliked him because of the blood running through his veins.
Yet none of them were foolish enough to voice those opinions to his face.
After defeating Atticus in the capital, the stories surrounding his strength had only increased. Whether those stories had become exaggerated or not hardly mattered anymore. The result remained the same.
People thought twice before provoking him. Unfortunately, Sakar hadn't been around long enough to hear most of those tales.
If Rayne hadn't openly admitted a few minutes ago that he was a spellsword, the giant probably wouldn't have known even that much.
Then again, Rayne doubted it would have made any difference.
Everything he had read in the man's file suggested the same thing. Sakar wasn't the type to back away because someone had a frightening reputation.
If anything, that only made him want to test it.
Which suited Rayne just fine.
He had already planned on making an example out of someone sooner or later, and Sakar had volunteered himself without realizing it.
But before the duel, Rayne quietly activated [Analysis]. Immediately, a familiar blue screen appeared before his eyes.
***
Status (1/3)
Name - Sakar Balkar (Human)
Age - 27
Class - Stonebreaker
Rank - Common Soldier (Forsaken), Valeria Kingdom
Level - 26
Health - 100%
Mana - 100%
Stamina - 100%
***
That first page of his status was enough for him to confirm that the files had stated.
Rayne briefly considered checking the man's stats as well before dismissing the thought almost immediately. Looking deeper would consume far too much mana, and there was little point wasting it before a simple spar.
Hence, he let the status window fall. Only then did Rayne meet Sakar's eyes again.
“To make this fair,” he said calmly, “I won't be using any mana skills. You can come at me without worrying.”
Sakar merely let out a grunt. “It was never a worry,” he replied, rolling one shoulder before tightening his grip around his weapon. “I've fought mana users before.”
Rayne's eyes briefly drifted toward the scars covering the giant's face and neck. That much was obvious.
But he simply gave a small nod instead of voicing the thought.
From the side of the training yard, Bran stepped forward to stand between the two of them.
Behind him, the rest of Rayne's party had already gathered together alongside the new recruits, every pair of eyes fixed on the two of them.
Some of the recruits whispered among themselves, eyeing Sakar nervously. Others simply waited for the duel to start.
Nate, meanwhile, had already begun walking through the spectators with a grin plastered across his face, trying to get as many wagers as possible, already knowing the outcome of the duel.
He was about to make very easy money.
Bran didn't waste a lot of time before raising his voice. “This will be a friendly duel,” he announced, his gaze shifting between both men. “Three clean hits decide the winner. No dismemberment. No deliberate attempts to cripple your opponent. Anyone ignoring those rules will lose right away.”
Sakar answered with another low grunt before lifting his weapon onto one shoulder. It was a massive axe with a broad, slanted edge, nearly large enough to make Jason's own weapon look modest by comparison.
Apparently, Sakar hadn't wanted an axe at all.
He had repeatedly requested a war hammer because one of his skills worked best with blunt weapons, but the longhouse simply didn't possess one large enough for him to use.
In the end, he had settled for the enormous axe instead.
Even so, watching the giant casually rest such a monstrous weapon across his shoulder was enough to make anyone think twice before battling him. It worked well as a scare tactic.
Unfortunately for him, Rayne had seen the troll warlord. Compared to that, Sakar was still human.
Bran gave both of them one final look before starting the count.
“Begin in three...” he called, and neither man moved.
“Two.”
Sakar lowered his center of gravity, both hands tightening around the haft of his massive axe.
“One.” Bran's eyes flicked between them. “Now!”
The old man immediately jumped backward, clearing the space between them.
Sakar exploded into motion without wasting even a single second.
The giant charged straight toward Rayne, his heavy footsteps thundering across the training yard as he raised the enormous axe high above his head. The weapon whistled through the air before crashing down in a brutal overhead swing aimed directly at Rayne's shoulders.
Rayne simply stepped to the side.
The axe slammed into the packed earth with a heavy boom, sending dirt and small stones flying in every direction before the blade lodged itself deep into the ground.
“You're slow,” Rayne muttered.
Sakar's head snapped toward him, his scarred face immediately flushing with anger.
With a grunt, he ripped the axe free and swung again. This time the blade came from the side with enough force to split a normal man in half.
Rayne calmly crouched beneath it. The enormous axe passed harmlessly over his head before burying itself into empty air.
For the next two minutes, the pattern continued.
Sakar attacked, Rayne avoided. Again, and again.
The giant's swings were powerful enough to leave fresh grooves in the training yard every time they struck the ground, yet none of them came anywhere close to hitting their target.
To Rayne, the attacks almost seemed predictable.
The difference in their levels and physical attributes was simply too great. Combined with his combat experience from the campaign, he could read Sakar's movements almost before the giant himself committed to them.
It also didn't help that Sakar was an incredibly straightforward fighter.
Against weaker opponents, someone like him would have been terrifying. His overwhelming strength alone could crush most soldiers before they even had time to react.
But against someone stronger, the giant struggled.
Every missed strike only made him swing harder the next time, repeating the same attacks over and over again as though believing that sheer force would eventually be enough to land a hit.
But just then, as another heavy swing came crashing toward him and Rayne dodged to the right, Sakar did something different.
Instead of following through with the strike, the giant suddenly slowed the axe midway before dragging its edge across the ground. The movement sent a spray of loose dirt and dust flying straight toward Rayne's face.
For the first time since the duel had begun, Rayne's eyes widened.
He immediately raised his shield.
The dirt struck the metal with a soft patter while the rest scattered harmlessly around him. Using the brief cover, Rayne jumped backward and widened the distance between them.
Across from him, Sakar stood breathing heavily, his scarred face flushed after his strategy had failed.
Rayne, however, found himself feeling slightly more optimistic. So he could think beyond simply swinging an axe.
That was a far better starting point than the reports had suggested.
Deciding he had demonstrated enough of his speed, Rayne shifted his stance just as Sakar roared and rushed him once more.
This time, he didn't dodge.
The massive axe crashed into his shield with a deafening clang that echoed through the training yard.
Before Sakar could recover for another swing, Rayne drove his shield forward with all his strength.
The impact forced the giant to stumble back a full step, surprise flashing across his face as he realized Rayne could not only match, but overpower his strength.
Rayne didn't waste the opening.
His sword flashed downward, and the dulled edge carved a shallow cut across Sakar's thigh before the giant could react.
“First hit goes to Squad Leader Rayne!” Bran announced immediately.
The recruits behind them erupted into louder whispers, many staring at Rayne in disbelief.
Neither of the duelists paid them any attention.
Sakar looked down at the mark on his leg before raising his eyes toward Rayne again. His confidence from earlier had noticeably diminished.
And after the first cut, he didn't recklessly charge. Instead, he circled cautiously, watching Rayne's movements.
Rayne smiled inwardly. If Sakar wasn't coming to him, then he would go to Sakar.
He stepped forward, initiating the exchange himself.
Steel rang through the training yard as sword and axe collided again and again. Every time Sakar spotted what looked like an opening, he committed fully, trying to overwhelm Rayne with another crushing swing.
But was exactly what Rayne wanted. Sometimes he caught the blow on his shield. Other times he simply slipped around the giant's reach.
Then, before Sakar could recover enough for another attack, Rayne's sword darted forward and left another shallow cut across his leg.
“Second hit!” Bran called loudly.
Sakar immediately jumped backward, breathing much harder than before. He stared at Rayne for several long seconds before finally grunting, “How are you both so strong... and so fast?”
“I train a lot,” Rayne answered simply.
Sakar tightened his grip around the axe.
For the final exchange, the giant abandoned brute force altogether and began trying to move around Rayne instead, clearly hoping that unpredictability would succeed where raw power had failed.
Unfortunately, with his towering frame, subtle footwork had never been his strength, and Rayne honestly had fun for another minute since these days, he hardly ever fought anyone he could easily dominate.
But soon, he moved to end the fight.
As Sakar sidestepped to avoid what looked like an incoming shield bash, Rayne suddenly swept his sword low across the ground.
A cloud of dust burst upward between them. Before Sakar could see through it, Rayne stepped in.
The tip of his dulled blade thrust into the giant's lower abdomen, leaving another shallow cut before immediately withdrawing.
A heartbeat later, Bran's voice rang across the silent training yard.
“Squad Leader Rayne gets the third and final strike!” He paused just long enough for every soldier present to hear the result. “The duel is over. Victory goes to Squad Leader Rayne.”
Rayne lowered both his sword and shield the moment Bran declared the result.
Across from him, Sakar remained standing for only a second before dropping onto the ground with a heavy thud. The giant rested his forearms on his knees, breathing deeply as he stared at Rayne with a puzzled expression, almost as though he had just encountered something he couldn't make sense of.
Rayne walked over and gave him a small nod.
“It was a good duel,” he said. “But know your limits before challenging me again.” His voice grew a little firmer as he looked not only at Sakar, but at every soldier gathered around the training yard. “I'm not going to be this easygoing the second time.”
He had spoken loudly enough for everyone to hear, especially the forsaken standing together near the back.
It wasn't a threat. It was a warning.
One that Rayne was confident most of them would remember.
Satisfied that every pair of eyes remained fixed on him, he clapped his hands once before speaking again.
“Either way,” he said, “let's get on with the squad rankings. I'm curious to see where everyone stands.”
A few people nodded, and the next few hours passed surprisingly quickly.
To save time, Bran organized two duels at once, allowing different pairs to fight simultaneously while the rest watched from the sidelines. The arrangement reminded Rayne of the soldier tournament back at Fort Algar, though on a much smaller scale.
By the time the final bout ended, the rankings looked almost exactly as he had expected.
Since neither he nor Bran participated, Jason naturally claimed the first position. Nate secured second place after narrowly defeating Dean, who settled into third. Kesh finished fourth, while Heins rounded out the top five without much difficulty.
Sakar, meanwhile, never once attempted to challenge any of them.
Whether the duel against Rayne had humbled him or simply convinced him to measure his opponents more carefully, the giant instead focused on fighting the newer recruits. He defeated each challenger one after another and comfortably claimed the highest rank among them.
Watching every duel proved far more valuable than the rankings themselves.
Rayne quickly noticed patterns that no written report could ever fully reveal.
Ordinary recruits generally had cleaner fundamentals. Their stances were stable, their footwork followed proper military instruction and they looked like they understood the basics of fighting in formation. Unfortunately, the moment they found themselves alone in a duel, many froze or hesitated, clearly lacking practical experience.
The forsaken were almost the exact opposite.
Their movements were rough, aggressive and far less disciplined, but they fought with confidence born from countless street fights, tavern brawls and desperate struggles to survive. Few of them hesitated to exploit an opening, yet Rayne could already imagine the problems they would create inside a proper shield wall.
Forsaken rarely enjoyed becoming one small piece of a larger formation.
It was a flaw that would have to be corrected before they marched toward the Godless Ruins.
Still, those were problems for another day.
For now, Rayne had achieved everything he wanted.
He understood the strengths and weaknesses of his new squad far better than he had in the morning, and more importantly, every one of them had witnessed exactly where he stood.
Whether they respected him yet remained to be seen. But they certainly feared challenging him.
Rayne could work with that.
But as the soldiers gradually dispersed after the rankings concluded, his gaze drifted toward the group of forsaken as he caught someone's eye.
Seeing it, Rayne did his best to not smile, knowing that tomorrow morning was going to be interesting.