Time flowed slowly, and days and nights turned over several times.
Almost daily, continuous Training made Liens somewhat oblivious to the passage of time.
Others generally had time to rest, but he was tirelessly training all day, every day. As soon as it was break time, he would go to the instance dungeon to practice Swordsmanship without fail.
As for the matter of the escaping team, as long as it didn't affect him, he couldn't be bothered to spend time constantly monitoring it.
He felt that it was better to interrogate the progress in the instance dungeon every once in a while, rather than constantly observing the development of the situation.
However, what surprised Liens was that such a large team's actions didn't result in any leaks.
Was it because everyone had strong ideological awareness, or was the Training Camp's hatred too great?
But thinking about it, if you were whipped every day, and even beaten to near death multiple times, you would probably wish to eat their flesh and drink their blood.
Moreover, the Training Camp's primary job was to train them into qualified guards.
That is to say, even if they betrayed the team, the necessary Training would not be reduced.
They originally conceived the idea of escaping because they found it difficult to complete the Training. By keeping the team, they would have another option; without the team, they would only be able to struggle in Training.
This was also the ideological foundation that allowed the escaping team to unite.
Everyone actually knew it would be difficult for them to escape from the Training Camp, but all they needed was an option, an option to decide their own fate.
In recent days, there had been no changes in Training, and the number of people whipped for failing to meet Training targets either increased or decreased, but the fluctuations were generally within a very small range.
However, no one had died during Training these past few days, which indicated that everyone's bodies could still endure a bit longer.
As for Liens, he felt that he was handling the brutal Training with increasing ease.
Of course, this didn't mean he could effortlessly complete each Training exercise like the five people at the top of the Training Camp.
Rather, compared to the first day, he could clearly feel his own progress.
When running, he was no longer among the last group; when carrying wood, he could make one more round trip than the day before; when weightlifting, he could lift heavier objects…
Sufficient food, abundant to even overloaded Training, and good rest were rapidly strengthening his body.
Liens felt that even in a normal one-on-one fight, he could easily defeat Wooly, whose physical condition was much better than his.
After all, he was improving, while Wooly was doing well just by not regressing.
Because they were roommates, even though Wooly distanced himself from him and even gave him dirty looks,
He still noticed that Wooly's sense of fatigue was growing stronger, and his expression became increasingly numb.
He even worried that Wooly would soon collapse during Training, and then he would have to find a new interrogation subject.
…
In the afternoon, in the square, Swordsmanship Training.
The instructor stood in front of everyone as usual, but this time he didn't immediately begin demonstrating Basic Swordsmanship to the group.
"Seven days have passed, and I presume you are all sufficiently familiar with Basic Swordsmanship. From now on, I will no longer demonstrate it."
"Now, find your positions and begin Training."
After speaking, the instructor ordered everyone to begin their Swordsmanship Training.
Liens habitually went to the spot where he had been practicing these past few days, and with everyone else, he followed the routine of Basic Swordsmanship, moving his body and swinging the wooden sword in his hand.
Time passed bit by bit, and Liens immersed himself in the force application techniques demonstrated by 'Basic Swordsmanship', constantly deepening his understanding of his own body.
"Stop."
A single word, 'Stop,' rang out. It was the instructor's voice.
Upon hearing the command, everyone successively stopped their sword-swinging movements. Liens also stopped his body's motion, while a slight doubt arose in his mind.
It was too early… The instructor's command came earlier than usual.
Although he hadn't seriously calculated how much time had passed, from the lowering of the sun in the sky and his own sense of fatigue,
He could still infer that their sword practice time hadn't been very long, perhaps not even half of the usual duration.
Whether he noticed Liens's and others' confusion, or if he had already planned to explain, the instructor spoke to the crowd: "From now on, in the afternoon Swordsmanship Training, besides the necessary Basic practice, you will also need to undergo other Training."
Upon hearing this, many people's expressions subtly changed.
Although the time for practicing Basic Swordsmanship was shortened, for those with poor physical stamina, they no longer had to worry about collapsing from exhaustion, which could lead to the interruption of their Swordsmanship practice and being killed by the instructor.
This was a very good change for many, as not everyone could easily handle Swordsmanship practice.
However, new Training would inevitably require a new familiarization process. During this process, if one couldn't quickly master the key points of the Training, they might again face the threat of death.
Just like those few unlucky individuals on the first day of Swordsmanship Training.
The reason those people couldn't meet the practice requirements was that their memory was too poor; they simply couldn't remember the movements of Basic Swordsmanship.
This resulted in them being constantly beaten by the instructor, leading to increasing injuries and physical exhaustion, which ultimately caused them to fall under the instructor's sword.
So, upon hearing about new Training content, many began to worry if they could endure it.
However, no matter how worried they were, they dared not voice any doubts and continued to quietly await the instructor's next command.
The instructor paid no attention to the changes in everyone's minds and calmly continued to explain the upcoming content.
"Next, I will group you into pairs, and those in the same group will engage in a Swordsmanship duel."
"Your goal is to defeat your opponent. The loser will be punished, and then you will be regrouped and continue battling. There are no draws."
"The duel has a time limit. Those who fail to achieve their goal within the specified time will all be punished."
After speaking, the instructor pointed at the crowd with his finger, one by one, and began grouping them.
He didn't use a roster for grouping, either because he didn't have one or simply didn't want to remember the Trainees' names.
Liens's opponent was a relatively unfamiliar person. That person was not from the same dormitory as him; although he was a bit taller than Liens, he was still considered relatively thin and small among everyone.
Liens's gaze swept around, and he noticed that for the first round of duels, the instructor assigned opponents based on body type; the two people in each group had similar physiques.
The square was very large, and even dividing it into nearly fifty Swordsmanship duel areas was more than sufficient.
And for each group's duel, a Training Camp guard stood by to supervise and time it.
However, their method of timing wasn't through any tools, but by observing the instructor's commands; they stopped when the instructor told them to stop, and started when he told them to start.
Speaking of which, now that there were so many guards in the square, did that mean the defenses in other areas were not as strict?
A fleeting thought crossed his mind, then was quickly dismissed by Liens.
He gripped the wooden sword with both hands, facing his opponent not far away. The opponent was in the same stance, and there was no unnecessary chatter between the two.
Firstly, because they were unfamiliar, there was nothing to say.
Secondly, because a guard was nearby, neither wanted to risk a potential whipping for talking too much.
Liens stepped forward, swinging his sword at his opponent. The opponent, inexperienced, hastily blocked Liens's attack with his wooden sword.
Then, the two exchanged several sword strikes. Finally, Liens seized an opportunity and struck the opponent's sword-holding hand, causing him to cry out in pain and drop his wooden sword.
However, the guard nearby did not declare Liens's victory because of this.
So Liens could only continue to strike his unarmed opponent with the wooden sword.
It wasn't until the opponent had shouted "I surrender" for quite some time that the guard slowly announced the end of the match and Liens's victory.
As for Liens's opponent, he was pulled aside by the guard to receive a whipping as punishment.
Actually, when Liens saw how his opponent reacted to his first sword strike, he knew he could end the match with his next strike.
Given his understanding of Basic Swordsmanship and his almost ceaseless practice of Swordsmanship over the past seven days,
His sword speed and reaction ability were far superior to his opponent's.
But he still exchanged a few rounds of swordplay with his opponent before disarming him.
This way, the match would look better and give his opponent some face.
Although these people might not care about 'face,' it also allowed him to hide some of his strength and avoid becoming a target.
Being too conspicuous would attract others' attention, and in reality, Liens preferred to keep a low profile.
That way, when he did something like backstabbing others in the instance dungeon, others' vigilance towards him wouldn't be too high, making it easier to succeed.
Subsequently, Liens's matches generally maintained a result where wins slightly outnumbered losses.
In the matches he won, his opponents were generally relatively slender individuals whose physical qualities were not much stronger than his.
And in the matches he lost, his opponents were those who were much taller and larger than him.
However, in some of the lost matches, Liens felt that he could have actually won.
Although those tall individuals had much greater strength than him, he sometimes found it difficult to hold his wooden sword steady when blocking their swings.
But their movements were relatively straightforward, and he could easily find their weaknesses and counterattack.
However, winning against such people would be very conspicuous, so he gave up.
Being beaten felt very unpleasant, so he decided to 'repay' these people well in the instance dungeon.