Now, you might be wondering why these two minutes seem so f*cking long; well, that's a secret.
Enfred already had his eyebrows as high as they could be.
'That is indeed a formidable formation, versatile enough in its toned-down version and incredibly violent in its full glory.'
"You're right, Daniel. Such a rageful formation would only be used in a desperate struggle. It's truly a marvelous work of the imagination." Enfred nodded as he commended Daniel.
As the conversation entered a lull, fifteen soldiers arrived.
They all wore white uniforms. The Sworn nights consisted of white uniforms and colored accents. Thus, these fifteen soldiers had fourteen soldiers with yellow accents, and one soldier, the leader, had Orange accents.
"Greetings Sentinel Guard Commander, Greetings Myriad Candidate. I am Knight-Officer Adora, leader of the 5th squadron. We are here to assist Myriad Candidate Daniel with his Entry Evaluation." The young soldier saluted with both arms crossed in front of his chest, his hands clenched into fists.
Enfred looked at the soldiers as they greeted him, and then he looked back at Daniel with a smile.
The hint was obvious.
Daniel stepped forward with nervous conviction.
"Hey, as you all know, my name is Daniel." Taking a shaky breath, he continued.
"The goal of this evaluation is to see where my combat prowess and commanding skills currently stand." Slowly getting accustomed to speaking in front of a group, Daniel took on a more steady pace.
"To give you some context, we'll be in charge of the offensive front. With that in mind, I've come up with a group formation. Apollo's Wrath!"
The group of soldiers whispered to each other. The excitement was visible in every one of their eyes
"Bro! That's such a cool name!"
"I think we might get an evaluation access token if we do well!"
"Hell yeah! We have to put in our all guys."
The Knight-Officer Adora smiled behind his helmet as he heard his squad.
'We've come a long way.' He thought to himself as he reminisced about the journey he and his squadron had gone through. Just a bunch of rookies and a fresh Squad lead. But through dedication and hard work, they were able to become one of the best squads of the Sworn Knight army.
Daniel waited for them to quiet down before continuing.
"The essence of the formation is of disorder and weakening enemy armies."
"We achieve that by assuming an arrowhead formation. Seven soldiers on each side, with one supporting sentry, you, Adora."
"Your role will be supporting wherever you are needed, maximizing the formation's attack."
"Knights! I'll be at the tip of the arrow. I'll be in charge of leading the formation and cutting a path through them. Following the shape of the arrow, I'll have two soldiers flanking my sides, continuing until seven of you are narrowly lined up.
"Injury accumulation is the name of the game. I'll either one-hit-kill the beasts or wound it; then, one of the soldiers at my side will flank it. Either killing it or injuring it, and it'll continue until it's dead or we are passed it."
"The formation will constantly be moving, so don't worry about not being able to kill the beasts. We will run through them for about thirty minutes before heading back to the wall and resting for fifteen."
"We'll rinse and repeat until we are either told to stop, the evaluation is completed, or the enemy is taken care of."
The squadron of Knights wore contemplating expressions.
Thanks to Daniel's vivid explanations, understanding the purpose and roles of the formations was trivial.
"Any questions?" Daniel looked at every soldier as they all shook their heads in response.
Adora looked at Daniel was admiration. "Your explanation has been informative and consistent. We have no issues implementing such a Formation on the battlefield."
Enfred had stood silently to the side, listening. He was impressed with the level of growth Daniel displayed throughout his explanation, very few could have such an ability. 'What was that say? A jack of all trades is a master of none, but always better than a master of one.'
"You will be in charge of their lives, Daniel. Keep that in mind as you fight." Enfreded reminded Daniel of the heavy responsibility.
Although the chances of these experienced soldiers losing their lives were meager, being crippled was a very real fate.
Daniel nodded with all due seriousness. He felt conflicted. At such a young age, the responsibility of others has fallen upon his shoulders, but he had no say in the matter. He had to prove himself as well as develop a foothold in this world in order to survive and have any chance of going back home.
"I can't promise anything, but I will do my best," Daniel spoke with determination.
"Fifteen seconds, the Beast wave is upon us! I will make an exit in the wall and an entry when you come back. Good luck, Daniel." Enfred smiled.
"Alright, everybody, follow the instructions for Apollo's Wrath, Daniel. If you would correct any mishaps, I'd appreciate it," Adora spoke solemnly.
The soldiers quickly went into action, forming an arrow with Daniel at its tip.
"Excellent, keep the distance of a half step from each other & narrow the arrow a bit. Just a little bit more aaaand stop. Perfect!"
The soldiers looked at Daniel with blinking eyes.
He stood there confused when the Knight-Officer spoke up.
"Myriad Candidate Daniel, umm. Usually, the highest-ranked military authority makes a speech... So, umm.."
"Oooh, okay. I get. I need to inspire you guys, right?" Nodding his head, Daniel put his hands behind his back as he assumed a solemn disposition.
"Today, I will take my first step.." For the first time, everyone witnessed Daniel's surprisingly captivating charisma.
Every soldier listened intently, and for some reason, their hearts were beating a bit faster.
"And you will all share this first step with me.."
"I don't remember my past. I awoke alone in the desert where, from what I know, I had to perform my first kill. Only to be chased by more giant Predators at every turn."
"After an arduous journey west, I witnessed these foul beasts destroy a village of roughly three-hundred souls. I raged!" Daniel raised his voice.
The soldiers felt it. They clenched their hands as they heard this.
"My vision turned red as I bathed in their guts and fought with the little I had learned to survive! I witnessed fathers being slain, mothers ripped apart & children consumed! TODAY WE WILL RAGE AGAINST THEIR DYING LIGHT!" Daniel's voice took a guttural roar!
The soldiers were riled up! They felt it with every ounce of their being! The love for their people and their land!!
They will rise to fight!
"LET'S SHOW THESE UNHOLY BASTARDS WHAT KNIGHTS WITH SOMETHING TO PROTECT CAN FUCKING DO!"
"HOOORAAHHH"
Daniel had effectively turned this evaluation into a crusade against the beasts!
Enfred opened up the mud wall, creating a gap big enough for the squadron to move through, his mood also being swayed by that glorious and blood-pumping speech!
They ran ragefully and with lots of excitement, the rage they felt in their hearts was genuine and searing.
A couple of kilometers away, a massive stampede of beasts was rushing over, occasionally trampling over some of their own.
Tigers, Kangaroos, Apes, birds of prey, parrots, etc. Some were bigger, and some had weird characteristics, but they all had one thing in common.
Their red eyes.
Daniel ran straight for the stampede! His squad was just as eager to engage in full combat!
*BOOM*
Daniel punched one of the leading apes in the face, sending it flying into the stampede with its teeth and blood chasing after it.
Many beasts tripped over its body, their momentum carrying them forward. Daniel drew one of his swords as he clumsily jumped over them and sliced.
As the formation passed the grounded beasts, everyone stabbed at them, eventually killing the beasts with a thousand cuts.
Daniel ducked & sidestepped as he stabbed and sliced the beasts, occasionally body-slamming them to the side.
A tiger jumped out of nowhere as a leopard confronted Daniel.
The tiger was directly above Daniel as the leopard lunged at him. Daniel turned his back to the leopard as its paws were above Daniel.
He grabbed its paws and swung overhead with surprising momentum, effectively using the leopard's body to uppercut the soaring Tiger.
"ROAR"
The soldier on his left stabbed at the tiger's heart, killing it instantly.
The formation was working as intended.
One confronted, one flanked, and it repeated until the target was dead or the formation passed it.
The cycle continued as they tore a path through the beast wave.
Enfred spotted everything in detail, his suburb eyesight catching the minutiae of every movement performed by Daniel and his group of soldiers
'This boy surprises me a lot.' Enfred thought to himself as he secretly took care of the stronger beasts.
'He is definitely an amateur in the field of combat, slightly better at leading a team, but he is improving rapidly. His potential matches up with the seer's prophecy.'
A faraway look glistened in his eyes.
After roughly thirty minutes, Daniel turned around and fought his way back toward the northern wall.
Thanks to their effort, the beasts headed towards the northern wall were about eighty percent weakened—leaving only a few that were left without injuries.
Of course, this didn't matter to an expert such as Enfred, but he could tell the difference either way.
When the combat team arrived, Enfred opened the mud wall while clearing the beasts that were in the way.
*pant *pant *pant
Every soldier was tired, slumping onto the ground as they caught their breath. Their captain didn't enforce the army's rules and simply allowed their break of etiquette.
Daniel was winded; even with his upgraded physique, his lack of training caused him to over-exert his strength.
That is actually a great way to differentiate experts from amateurs. Experience teaches you what movements are useless, what formations are ineffective, and what weak points can be exploited.
All of these combined allow the conservation of energy, letting the experienced fight more effectively and for much longer.
"That was great work, Daniel. You handled the confrontation between you, the Tiger, and the Leopard well for your experience level; be proud." Enfred nodded at him with a smile.
Before Enfred commented further, two soldiers carrying jugs of water and some spare rations arrived, dividing it among the soldiers who accompanied Daniel.
After everybody regulated their breaths, and got some food and water, they looked towards Enfred.
"The formation performed even better than I expected it. Initially, I thought that maybe the enemy could only be weakened by around fifty percent, which was still an excellent evaluation. But to achieve eighty percent, with no casualties, is beyond words." Enfred was genuinely amazed by its function.
Daniel stood up and spoke up as well.
"You guys were crucial to the success of this evaluation. For that, I thank you, guys!" Daniel looked into the eyes of every soldier.
"I have a suggestion, Daniel."
"Yes, Teacher?"
"I want to submit this formation to the Sentinel Central Command. They'll evaluate it, give it a grade, and then commission it with royalties. Effectively giving you a stable source of income."
Daniel pondered. 'This could work. I'm just afraid of drawing too much attention to myself.'
"As for the reasoning behind my suggestion? Simple. At the Academy, you'll have to work for your belongings and necessities, occupying most of your time. With this simple step, you'll have more time to invest in more important matters."