Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Faced with Karel’s invitation, Ron hesitated for a moment. After all, the only thing he knew about Karel was that the other boy’s father had also died in the Aberrant Beast invasion five years ago.

Sensing Ron’s reservations, Justin was about to explain but was stopped by Karel, who personally addressed Ron. “The few of us are very close friends, and more importantly,

“Apart from Justin, the three of us are just like you: we all had loved ones die at the hands of Aberrant Beasts. Friendship and hatred are our strongest bonds. So? Will you join?”

“Alright, I’m in!”

In truth, Ron didn’t have particularly strong feelings about which team to join. Since Karel was sincerely inviting him, why not join them!

Rather than gamble on teammates he had never interacted with, it was better to trust Justin’s judgment. At least based on his understanding of Justin, the people Justin approved of wouldn’t be too eccentric.

Seeing Ron agree, Karel immediately announced, “With you joining, we now have five people, which meets the minimum requirement to form a squad. I hereby declare the Blood and Fire Squad officially established!”

“Blood and Fire?” Ron was somewhat curious about the name.

“Our hatred for the Aberrant Beasts is as deep as blood, and the friendship between us burns as fiercely as fire!” Karel explained with passionate conviction, then asked Ron, “What do you think of the name?”

“Not bad, quite fitting!” Ron offered a casual word of agreement.

To his surprise, Karel grew even more delighted. “I knew you’d like the name! Come on, let me introduce you to the other two companions.”

“Mm.”

“This is Dimi.” Karel pointed to a boy as skinny as Ron had been before. “Don’t let Dimi’s thin frame fool you, his strength is nothing to scoff at.”

“This is Pat. His father fell in battle when he was very young, but his mother is also a Formal Knight. Dimi and I have been under her care over the years.”

Ron exchanged formal greetings with them and briefly introduced his own situation. Just like that, they all became acquainted.

…

“We’ve now met the minimum headcount for forming a team. Should we keep recruiting more members?” Ron asked Karel.

Karel didn’t answer the question directly. Instead, he turned his gaze to the others, particularly Justin and Pat. Ron immediately realized that the team size also carried some significance.

Justin and Pat exchanged a glance, and Justin took it upon himself to explain to Ron: “The instructors told us to form teams among ourselves because these will be our future Knight squads, so we have to consider battle formation configurations.

“Generally speaking, Knight squads are configured with five to ten members. More or fewer will affect performance, or rather, it would no longer be a squad-scale battle formation.

“Battle formation drilling isn’t something that can be completed in a short time, and the more people there are, the more time is needed to develop cohesion. Before we become Formal Knights, we won’t have any missions that put us face to face with the sources of chaos. A five-person squad is more than enough.”

“I see!”

Ron now understood the plan that Justin and the others had in mind. They intended to add more members after becoming Formal Knights. By then, the new additions would have already undergone battle formation training and would be powerful Formal Knights in their own right. With a little fine-tuning, they could become vital pillars of the Blood and Fire Squad.

“Then let’s leave it at that!”

Ron noticed that quite a few teams on the field had already finished assembling and were even beginning to practice the Ice Sword Art they had just learned. He suggested:

“The hour the instructor gave us is far from up. Do you want to practice the Ice Sword Art?”

“Yes, definitely! I only managed to imitate the First Sword Stance earlier, and I still can’t hold it at all. What about you?” Karel looked at the others with eager anticipation.

When his gaze turned to Ron, Ron mimicked the others and spread his hands, saying, “No good, it’s too difficult. I only managed the First Sword Stance too.”

“I have an idea, not sure if it’ll work, but help me think it through.” Karel hesitated briefly before deciding to share it with everyone.

“What idea?” the group asked.

“The hardest part of the Sword Stance should be that it’s very difficult to control using only our individual ability. But what if someone else helped control it? Wouldn’t that lower the difficulty somewhat?”

“Huh, that approach? Why didn’t I think of that!” Justin slapped his thigh, then enthusiastically slapped Karel’s arm. “Karel, you’re a genius!”

With that, he turned his gaze to Ron, the newest member who was still getting to know everyone. “Ron, what do you think?”

“I think it’s doable. At the very least, we can try it. There are so many instructors around the training ground right now. If we’re doing something wrong, they’ll probably point it out, right?”

Having others assist from the sidelines and achieving the Sword Stance on one’s own were naturally not the same thing. Ron himself was well aware that once external force was involved, the internal interconnection of the body’s tissue structures would inevitably fall short of what Life Energy circulation required.

But getting a head start on perceiving the Sword Stance state through others’ assistance, even if only a partial state, would still be beneficial for independently achieving it later.

It was just like when Ron was little and learning to write: adults would often guide his hand. Although this couldn’t immediately teach him to write on his own, it allowed him to feel the changes in pressure as the brush tip moved across the paper.

After enough repetitions, he would naturally be able to write by himself.

Ron even suspected that the instructors had them form teams precisely with the intention of having them help one another!

…

Since the idea was on the table, they naturally had to give it a try. Taking advantage of the instructors’ presence, even if they made mistakes, the instructors would most likely correct them. Otherwise, what qualified them to be called instructors!

“Who goes first?”

“I’ll go first!”

Ron volunteered to be the first test subject. On one hand, having just joined this small group, he needed to show some initiative. On the other hand, the Life Energy brimming within his body was the perfect “litmus test”!

As long as he could feel the Life Energy circulating, it would prove that their makeshift method worked. The others might not have performed the Ice Breathing after returning home yesterday, and without surplus Life Energy, even if they achieved the Sword Stance, they wouldn’t necessarily be able to confirm that fact on their own.

Also, because the instructors were present, the others didn’t object to Ron’s proactive volunteering. If anything, they seemed eager to try.

“Let’s go with the First Sword Stance. We all managed to replicate it, just couldn’t hold it. Next, we’ll each take control of a part of Ron’s body, but we’ll follow along with your movement and only lock everything down completely at the final moment when the Sword Stance is achieved.”

Saying this, Karel was the first to step in, one hand gripping Ron’s wrist and the other bracing against his elbow. The others adopted similar grips, primarily securing Ron firmly at the joints.

“Then I’ll begin. When I’m close to the limit, I’ll give you a warning. You need to lock down my movement at the absolute fastest speed!”

“Mm.”

Karel and the others had fully entered the zone, each one nodding with earnest, serious expressions.