Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Next, when the instructors stepped down from the platform and headed toward each squad one by one, everyone, not just Ron, realized that their squad now had a dedicated instructor.

Of course, it was only Ron who found this surprising. The true locals didn’t display any particularly astonished reactions. They were probably long accustomed to this arrangement.

Even Jason, who cared so much about Ron, hadn’t mentioned this before they came. He likely considered it common knowledge that everyone already knew.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Morris. From this point forward, I will serve as your squad’s instructor for a period of three months. You will officially join the territory guard and begin carrying out garrison duties.”

“Hello, Instructor Morris. My name is Ron.”

After Ron spoke, Justin and the others each introduced themselves in turn.

Immediately after, Instructor Morris began outlining the training tasks for the next three months:

“Starting today, you will train in formations and battle formations every morning, and conduct Sword Stance and practical combat training every afternoon. The specific pace will be adjusted by me based on your actual progress.

“If you can complete all training tasks ahead of schedule, I can take you outside the territory for a look. Not just outside the town limits, but truly beyond the territory’s borders!”

“Really? Instructor!” Justin immediately showed an expectant expression.

“Of course it’s true.” Morris said with a smile.

But the very next moment, his expression changed abruptly as he warned Justin with exceptional severity: “This is the first time. Since you are new recruits, I will not issue punishment! The next time you question my word, I will make sure you understand the true meaning of military law.”

“Yes, Instructor.”

“Good! Training begins now!”

…

Naturally, there wouldn’t be any battle formation training on the very first day. It was just basic formation drill, and not even conducted on a per-squad basis, but rather with all twenty teams training together.

This kind of collective training grew increasingly difficult to coordinate as the number of participants increased, so they repeated the drills over and over again, reminding Ron of the military training he had undergone during his school days.

Thanks to that prior experience with school military training, Ron adapted to this kind of collective formation drill very quickly.

In reality, the Sis Territory’s formation drill was far more oriented toward practical combat, emphasizing speed, efficiency, and overall coordination.

It didn’t fuss over the fine details of individual movements. As long as the objective was met, minor inconsistencies in form didn’t matter. After all, everyone had their own habits.

From that perspective, the Sis Territory’s collective formation drill was actually far less strict than the military training Ron had experienced during his school years.

Throughout the morning’s training, Ron didn’t find it tedious at all. Instead, he found it quite interesting. He could see that the basic formations they were currently drilling likely had a very close connection to the battle formations that would follow.

Many of the movements involved repositioning, filling gaps, and similar actions, which easily called to mind coordinated encirclements or joint defensive efforts. With these hypotheses in mind, Ron threw himself into the training with even greater focus.

…

After a hearty lunch, it was finally time for the Sword Stance training that Ron had been looking forward to the most.

Instructor Morris led the five members of the Blood and Fire Squad to a corner of the training ground and got straight to the point. “Sword Stance training doesn’t need to be so formal. Other than when I’m explaining, which you may not interrupt, feel free to ask questions at any other time.

“First, regarding the training itself. I noticed what you were doing this morning. I should say there are some smart ones among you. The territory guard’s earliest training was conducted exactly that way. After nearly a century of refinement, there are now far more efficient methods available.”

At this, Morris paused and pointed at Ron. “You, step forward!”

“Yes, Instructor.”

Ron took a step forward and stood at attention before Morris, his expression calm as he awaited further instructions. And Morris did indeed have further instructions:

“Perform the preparatory movement for the First Sword Stance!”

“Yes.”

Ron acknowledged, raised the longsword in his hand, leaned his body slightly forward, and thrust his sword forward!

He had practiced this movement many times during the morning. Without someone else forcibly locking him down, it couldn’t achieve the Sword Stance state. It was just a perfectly ordinary sword thrust.

But this time, Morris was present, and from his words, one could infer that the man possessed some kind of more efficient method for instantaneous lockdown.

Ron waited with anticipation. The next moment, his vision blurred. His lower back, shoulder blades, elbows, and other points felt as though they had been forcefully jabbed, and then he couldn’t move.

The sword in his hand was on the verge of leaving but hadn’t yet left. The kinetic momentum generated by his entire body’s coordinated movement was on the verge of breaking but hadn’t yet broken!

This was the Sword Stance state!

But at this moment, Ron had absolutely no desire to further perceive the Sword Stance state. His mind was already completely occupied by Instructor Morris’s movement just now:

Pressure point striking? Another world’s version of pressure point striking?

In the era Ron had lived in before transmigrating, the existence of acupoints had long been confirmed as real, and their essence had been determined through experimental methods. But using pressure point strikes to immobilize someone remained a skill that only appeared in legends.

Could it be that the people of this world had made similar discoveries, and even developed them further for practical use?

“Instructor, why can’t I move?” Ron forced the words out with difficulty.

It wasn’t that he found it hard to speak because his body was immobilized. Rather, at this moment he was experiencing an unprecedented burning, even searing pain in his right arm, lower back, and right thigh.

It also felt as though an invisible electric current was surging back and forth through those areas, making him want to contort his body with all his might.

“This is the more efficient method I just mentioned. By disrupting the flow of Life Energy within your body, I force your body to react passively. This reaction can be movement, or it can be stillness.”

As Morris explained, he pointed at another person, this time selecting Pat. “Of course, just like your manual lockdown, using Life Energy disruption to keep you still can only serve as early-stage assistance.”

As he spoke, Pat was also immobilized by his strikes.

Then came Justin, Karel, and Dimi. The Blood and Fire Squad soon fell entirely, each one frozen in a sword-thrusting posture, rigidly standing on the training ground.

“This is what Sword Stance training amounts to. Through continuous perception, you will truly familiarize yourselves with and grow accustomed to this state, then gradually transition to maintaining it on your own.”

Simple and brutal enough. Knowing this was the training method, Ron couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, because it meant he could very likely learn the Sword Stance properly through this kind of training.

Perhaps this was why training was called training!

“Hold this state for one hour. Carefully experience your current condition. If you feel any discomfort, tell me immediately. Absolutely do not push yourselves. If injuries end up affecting subsequent training, you will bear all consequences yourselves!”

Morris gave this reminder, then walked to the side and assumed the same stance as Ron and the others, namely the First Sword Stance of the Ice Sword Art. But he didn’t use any assistance whatsoever, achieving the Sword Stance state through his own ability alone.

Ron and the others certainly didn’t believe that Morris, as an instructor, would strike a mere pose to fool them. It was inevitably a true Sword Stance state.