Sparring with the Battalion Commanders (1)

– At the town hall –

"Ahhh finally done with my tasks."

Blanc muttered to himself as he stretched his hands and arms.

"Alenna, I'm done for today. I'm leaving the rest up to you guys."

"Sure mayor! Good work today!"

After quickly finishing his town management work, Blanc quickly headed to the veterans' training ground which was located inside the Forest of Echoes.

He was a bit excited to spar against the battalion commanders. 

He has been monotonously training for a long time so it would be nice to see his actual progress once in a while.

After one and a half hours of walking, he finally reached the training grounds. 

Helena quickly spotted him and called him over.

"Blanc! Over here! I didn't assign any individual missions to the battalion commanders today as you requested."

Blanc quickly headed to where Helena and the others were.

He then scanned over the ten battalion commanders and he decided to start from the weakest one when it comes to swordsmanship.

"You've all grown so strong now huh? Well then, let's spar! Eden let's go first."

Helena and the battalion commanders were surprised upon hearing Blanc's request. 

They've been training most of the time inside the Forest of Echoes training grounds so they didn't know that Blanc has been working hard for the past 11 months.

The battalion commanders think that they've already far surpassed their mayor when it comes to sword skills.

Their train of thought is understandable though since Blanc is usually busy with matters regarding town management.

Still, they wouldn't just disregard his request. He's their respectable mayor who paved the way for all of the people in Resonance Town.

So aside from the initial shock, Eden didn't say much and complied. He started wearing their sparring equipment and Blanc also did the same.

After a few moments of preparation, both of them were ready. They were wearing light leather armor with wooden swords as their weapons.

"Begin!"

Helena announced the start of the sparring match.

Currently, Eden is at tier 3 advanced swordsmanship and he has a tier 4 elite combatant physique. 

He's an archer though so it is expected that he is lagging behind by quite a bit when it comes to swordsmanship.

Blanc didn't waste any time and he immediately dashed towards Eden. 

Eden was surprised when Blanc decided to attack him directly. They've sparred with Blanc before when they were still beginners.

Although they lost to Blanc at that time, they knew that Blanc had a defensive fighting style. He likes baiting the opponent's attack before defeating them with a swift and calculated counter.

Blanc attacking head-on like this made Eden overthink. This mayor of theirs loves using his brain when fighting.

While Eden was busy trying to figure out what Blanc was trying to do, Blanc just did a head-on vertical slash.

Eden didn't expect that Blanc would just do the simplest move so he was a bit caught off guard. 

However, Eden is a veteran so he was still able to respond accordingly even though his movements were a bit awkward.

Eden's eyes opened wide after feeling Blanc's power. Blanc's physique is way stronger than his own?! How?!

Eden was blown back and was sent sliding back for a good three meters before being able to stabilize his footing.

He gritted his teeth as he looked at his numb and shaking hands.

"Where are you looking? Your opponent is right here."

Eden was brought back to reality after hearing Blanc's voice. What was he doing looking at his shaking hands? He was in the middle of a spar!

He hurriedly looked towards Blanc's direction and he was greeted by a sword slashing down towards the middle of his neck and right shoulder.

*PAH*

"Kuhahkkk.."

Blanc's wooden sword struck Eden cleanly and he was forced to kneel on his knees because he almost lost consciousness.

He lost!

Eden was in utter shock and disbelief. However, he was an archer so he wasn't hurt too badly by this loss.

"That's enough! Blanc wins!"

Helena and the other battalion commanders were in disbelief. 

Although the fight ended quickly, they saw a glimpse of Blanc's combat prowess and they knew that he was at least qualified to fight toe-to-toe with them!

"Hoh? Blanc! You've been hiding things from me?"

Helena smiled at Blanc. She loves surprises like these and she wishes to see how many of her battalion commanders can Blanc defeat.

"Continue! Greyson! You're up!"

Helena knew how strong each of her battalion commanders were so she called them one by one to face Blanc based on their strength.

Greyson was the 9th on the battalion commander's power rankings so he was called to go up next against Blanc.

"Mayor! You've given us a huge surprise! I'm looking forward to this sparring with you!"

Greyson said as he bowed and assumed his battle stance.

"Likewise!"

Blanc smiled and gave a simple reply as he also assumed his battle stance.

The second battle didn't go on for much longer compared to the first one.

Just like his battle with Eden, Blanc dashed in aggressively and overwhelmed his opponent with his superior physique and swordsmanship.

In just less than twenty exchanges, Greyson couldn't hold on to his sword and it was sent flying by Blanc.

"Enough! Blanc wins!"

Helena announced Blanc's victory again, but the remaining battalion commanders' expressions turned serious this time.

They were indeed stronger than Greyson but some of them couldn't beat Greyson in the same manner that Blanc just did.

Blanc's combat prowess ignited their fighting spirits. 

Not only that, Blanc was staring at them fiercely and passionately as if he was saying "I'll fight all of you, bring it on!".

This was the first time that they saw their mayor burning with fighting spirit when it came to combat. 

They saw him in a new light and they felt that they'd gotten to know their mayor just a little bit better.

The battalion commanders thought that he was only smart, kind, ruthless to his enemies, and decisive. 

But today, they saw a new side of Blanc. There was a deep-seethed confidence buried beneath his kind and nerdy exterior.

They understood that when Blanc does something, he does it with 120% effort and because of that, he is always confident that he will succeed.

Just like today, Blanc knew that he trained very hard and he was confident that his training regimen would let him catch up to the battalion commanders.

And of course, he was successful. He knew that he would be successful in catching up. He never doubted himself and the process even once.

The results are clearly speaking for Blanc so no one could doubt him even if they want to.

Even Helena's fighting spirit was ignited by Blanc. If he could defeat all ten battalion commanders including Alexander, then she would fight Blanc herself.

By this time, even the veterans and elites who were training were attracted by the commotion and they were in utter disbelief as they watched their battalion commander Greyson lose to their mayor.

The sparring matches suddenly turned into a big event!

Blanc ignored the crowd and rehydrated himself before standing in the middle of the sparring grounds again.

"Who's next?"