Chapter 41 - Playing With The King
"No problem, however it will cost 10 shop coins for the spell to be cast. I will make one for each of you with your names respectively, so 20 shop coins total. Also you now have a quest.
[Playing with the King]
{You have challenged the king to a timed beast fight. This is a friendly bout, however try not to beat the king too badly lest something happens. Objective is to get the faster time than King Uther.}
{Rewards:
Increased friendship
Increased fame and renown in this kingdom
+ 10, 000 experience
Failure:
Decreased friendship
Risk of opponent becoming your enemy}
Yue then walked into the pen as the timer appeared above him and started. As to not waste anytime, he dashed at the wolf. Seeing this the 2 meter tall wolf opened its jaws as it rushed to chomp down on the impudent human that threw it in here. Yueliang upon landing in front of it, propelled his fist upward, both breaking the wolves jaw and making it miss its target at the same time.
The wolf in that split second of having its jaw broken, slashed its claws at Yueliang and dug a few centimeters deep through skin, muscle, and bone. Blood started to gush from the open wounds on Yueliang's chest. Knowing that he would die if not healed quickly he jumped onto the big wolf and strangled it in a headlock while using his legs to hold himself in place. The wolf bucked and rolled trying everything to get this lousy human off of itself. Soon the wolf went down suffocated, and just for good measure, Yue kept holding until he saw the timer stop at 28 seconds.
As soon as the timer stopped, Yueliang let go of the wolf and then got up. He picked up the wolf corpse and threw it into his inventory, then walked to the edge of the pen. Yang healed Yue as he was walking, and it only cost two years. Yue then asked upon arriving at the gate. "What do you think? Are you ready to try?"
"This seems like fun, I wonder how much I will beat you by." The king teased as Yue prepared another wolf for the king to try.
Yue while getting another wolf felt that he took too long as strangling the wolf was too slow. However considering his low health at that point he had to put pressure on the wound to prevent blood loss, and at the same time kill the wolf. Where as if he tried to just punch it to death, he might have died before the fight was over. Either way, Yue threw the next wolf into the pen, and said. "You may begin, the timer will start once you enter."
The knights who were following them while exploring the town, started cheering lightly for the king, as they did not want to distract him from the fight. The king just waved as he heard their cheers and opened the gate to walk in to the fight. The moment he took a step into the pen, the wolf glared at him, and started moving closer while circling the ring of the pen.
The king glared back and started running forward as he did not want to lose on time. He threw a punch towards the wolves face as the two met and the wolf tried slashing his core. However before either could land their attacks the king swiftly kicked at its side sending it flying about 2 meters. One of its ribs had broken, however the two quickly got back to their fight.
This wolf slashed at the kings arm to try to keep his next punch from landing, however as the king tried to dodge, his abs got slashed. Having no armor meant, having only your body as your defense and offence. Uther quickly used his left arm to hold his stomach, and right leg to try kicking. Having been slashed in that particular area though, had made his kick considerably weaker.
Back and forth the two fought, and King Uther was thinking. 'Wow, this is certainly more difficult than I imagined. This is actually decent training, I should have my soldiers do... Woah... that was close.' He thought as the wolf swiped at his head quickly, nearly taking it off.
As soon as the timer hit 29 seconds, Yueliang dashed in to save the king, as he was getting injured more and more as time passed. If he was to let him finish the fight on his own it would be terrible, as the king might die, thus he said. "Pardon me, I have won so if you do not mind." Yue said this as he reached under the charging wolf and 'helped' him leap into the pen with the rest of his pack.
Yue then said. "Sorry for interfering in your fight. I am sure you could have handled it."
King Uther replied. "Thank you for saving me face, however I am not sure about that. This is much better training than I imagined. Thank you for showing me this, and saving me. I am not one to forget favors."
"It is alright, I am just glad you are safe my friend. If we could remain friends and get along well, that would be enough."
"Haha, you are quite humble, however as we are already friends, then how about I help you with advertising Xin Qidian."
"That seems like a lot to ask as I am sure you are quite busy." Yue replied.
Uther quickly responded. "Well it is a good thing you are not asking then. So it is settled, I will help you with that, and if you are really worried about it, then you could do me another favor."
"Tell me what it is and I will see what I can do."
"If you could train a squad of ten of my best, then that would be great. Actually add Lancelot to the mix if you are up for it. That would make one complete elite squad. What do you say?"
"I feel like this was your plan from the start, however helping you surely will not turn out bad. I will teach them, however it may take a couple months if you want them to come out decent."
"Great, I look forward to seeing how they turn out. You have one year to complete their training. In the mean time, I will help you promote this town, and get your certificates. You will also be provided a stipend for their living and training expenses. For now, I think my men and I should head back. I will leave that squad here with you, do not worry, I will bring everything to you once it is done." King Uther said as he quickly got to his horse after being healed by his mages.
He then left the town with his men all except for Lancelot and the 'elite' squad he wanted trained. Considering how fast he did so, it was like trying to escape so Yue could not refuse. Yue just thought to himself. 'Oh well, I guess my fault for agreeing to it. However this training is going to take a while. Also, what all should I train them in, I do not want to do to well or it may come back to bite me. However if I do too little the same will occur.'
Then aloud Yue said to the squad of men. "Go up to your inn, you may rest or shop. However tomorrow begins your training. Remember one main thing, no armor, no weapons, and no spells. All training will focus on what you were born with until I say other wise."
Upon hearing this the men quickly went back to their inn except for Lancelot. The knight then said. "Will we really be training in such a way? Also, you only have a year, is that really enough time?"
"Yes, however you will have other training as well. Either way, if a year is not enough, I am sure the king will give me more time when he sees your progress." Yue replied with a grin on his face.
Lancelot, quickly returned to the inn as well, after hearing this. He was beginning to feel worried, not about if they would be able to progress in that time, but about what sort of terrifying training lies in wait for them. Yue just watched them scurry off into the inner circle to rest up for tomorrow.
In the mean time he went to one of alchemy shops to work on designing some potions. These potions would be for both the soldiers and himself. They would help the body to grow depending on the effort put in. If enough work was put in even raising a skills power was not impossible. He stayed up most of the night working on them, and when he awoke, he had one thought with a scary smile. 'Time to Train.'