"Two fools! Both of them actually aimed at the same spot! Don't they discuss some strategies before making their move?" said some of the trainees. Their first cooperated attack happened to get many opposing opinions from their fellow trainees.
"Haih... These kids..." the headmaster sighed. But instead of directing his disappointment on Hespar and Lucas, it was actually meant for the observers.
While it was common to strike from multiple fronts in a party, these basics somewhat made them lose the ability to make an accurate judgment according to their opponents.
It may seem foolish to focus on one side, but this was the best strategy, considering the baron has more than ten years of experience in him. As someone of his caliber, could the baron be somebody so easily flustered because he was attacked from multiple directions?
Hespar and Lucas ignored the disdainful gaze and comments from their fellow trainees. This was indeed another admirable quality a proper soldier should have.
Using his palm to face Lucas's fist, the baron followed up with a swift action using his right elbow and knee to clamp the wooden sword in between. The accuracy of his movement is counted to the tiniest detail, even to the number of seconds to disturb the two youth's strength.
The baron followed up with a firm stomp on the ground using the same leg. Using that stance to propel his body forward, he rammed his shoulder into Lucas.
"WHAT!" the unprepared Lucas felt like he was knocked by a horse carriage. Furthermore, the counterattack is yet to finish.
With his left hand still tucked behind his waist, the baron took another step and turned his back towards the youths. This action also used his left shoulder and sent Hespar flying like Lucas.
Only two steps were needed for the baron to throw the class' two top trainees away without breaking a sweat.
Luckily, Hespar had it better. Instead of rolling on the ground like Lucas, he managed to keep himself stable and land safely six to seven steps away.
This kind of challenge somewhat made Hespar get more excited than before. Without himself knowing, Hespar unconsciously releases more of the white Aura hue around him.
The other trainees hardly noticed the phenomenon, but it couldn't escape the headmaster and baron's eyes. Furthermore, the battle also lit a spark in Lucas as a hint of red hue appeared around him. It was faint like sparking ember but much more apparent than Hespar's chalk-white Aura.
'Both of them indeed had better talent than the others!' the baron smiled. This time, his hand stance changed from pointing upwards to down but maintaining the back of his palm facing them. His posture somewhat resembles a single-handed mantis right now.
"What now?" Hespar asked Lucas as the latter returned on his foot.
"Again!" Lucas charged forward. He might be just a mere son of a hunter, but that hunter is neither any ignorant weakling of Lavos Village. As a close-quarter combatant, it is his responsibility to ensure there's no gap between him and a moving opponent.
Hespar once again attacked like before.
But as the baron was about to catch the wooden sword, the blade wobbled and lost its momentum. This caused the baron's attack to catch nothing in its way. And by using the opportunity presented by his feint, Hespar put in as much strength as he could to deliver an impactful attack.
**BANG!**
The sound of breaking wood can be heard.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the sound Hespar wanted to hear. What turned out to be wasn't the wooden sword's sound that broke something. It was the sound of the wooden sword that was broken instead.
Instead of catching Lucas's fist this round, the baron used the back of his palm to knock Lucas aside. As for how Hespar's weapon was broken, it was thanks to the baron's elbow.
It was so sturdy that even a wooden sword would break from the impact.
The baron quickly prepared to repeat the same stance to knock Hespar aside. But this time, he underestimated Lucas too much.
Although he was thrown back just like before, Lucas kept his balance this time. This improvement cut down the time he lost by two-thirds as he executed an attack fueled by that faint ember Aura.
There's a faint hint of fire Aura in his attack this time.
"Not bad!" the baron gave his praise. The word coming out of the baron's mouth made the trainees realize that they were the foolish ones.
The attack from Lucas made the baron rearrange his move. Instead of trying to take Hespar down, Lucas is a more threatening target now. Even if that attack was faintly fueled with Aura, it is still a powerful punch.
Meanwhile, Hespar's attack is sharp and accurate but lacks the power that deserves the baron's attention. And by losing the wooden sword, even if Hespar's attack connected, it would be weaker than he presumed.
Thus, this quick judgment made the baron shift his attention to Lucas and not Hespar.
The baron then straightforwardly received Lucas's fist. He could choose to approach it differently, but this is the most accurate method to gauge the youth's strength in his fist. That decision also allowed Hespar to attack.
By putting his palms together, Hespar imagined that his hand was the tip of a sword and stabbed into the baron's right ribs. His attack was like Lucas, fueled with a hint of the white and unknown Aura.
But the result was lacking.
It barely had a third of the power compared to Lucas. The attack didn't even tickle the baron as he made a turn and tossed them apart from his spot.
"Urgh!"
"Argh!"
Both of them moaned in pain from crashing into the nearest walls. Since they were still too young, it was understandable that their defenses were not their best.
"Lucas!" suddenly, Hespar yelled. He's sounded like he was trying to get his attention.
"What?" Lucas was struggling to stand up. He finds it weird that he's losing more stamina than he should. And all Lucas did was throw a few punches and roll a few times on the ground. By right, he could do another set of these movements before feeling exhausted.
"Aim at the baron's left side! That's his blind spot. His provoking stance on the right is to cover his weaker left side!" Hespar shouted without even worrying if the baron would feel offended or not. In his mind right now, all he was thinking was how to win.
As for the baron, he was in shock instead of feeling angry at what Hespar said.
'How did this boy suddenly know that my left side is weaker? Don't tell me... it's because of his Aura?' the baron unconsciously protected his left side more after listening to Hespar. His action might be tiny, but that slight hint was enough for Lucas to take action.
"Let's do this!" Lucas felt like he saw some light in this fight. And before he knew it, he collapsed from sudden exhaustion and fell to the ground, face first.
Even Hespar couldn't fight against that sudden fatigue and feeling weak on his knees.
"What the hell... Hap-Hap..." Hespar's mind went blank.