After several months of intensive training, the anticipated trial was about to begin. Every student appeared at the base of the wooded area prepared for what was to come. Standing in their designated squads, the awaited instruction on how the contest would operate.
"This is the first test you will face since enrolling here. Every student will be monitored individually to ensure safety as well as to verify performance. Although this is a mere test, do not take the risks lightly. Lives have been lost in the past.
The concept is rather simple, two squads at a time will face off in designated areas. Within those areas are two flags, one red and one blue. First team to capture the opposing flag will be the victor. Even if all members of that team are eliminated except the captor, that team will all be placed higher than the losing team."
Instructor Summers began by explaining the general concept of the contest. Although she put some emphasis on the risk of personal injury, every student understood the depths of what they were getting themselves into. Unlike during training, the contest will utilize real weapons. Ranging from gauntlets to war hammers, every student was armed with a weapon of their own choice.
Swordsmanship was highly trained during the usual lessons, so the majority of the participants were armed with single-handed longswords. The exception to this was First Squad. Joe took the time to have his members train themselves with the weapon he thought best suited them. Many of the males were armed with an axe or a lance while the women were armed with lighter weapons such as daggers or flails.
He further divided his squad into smaller teams. Each team balanced close range and mid ranged fighters. He would be a floating member. With his higher speed, he would be able to move between the smaller teams and provide support when needed. To further emphasize his speed, he had two small daggers strapped to the back of his belt. Seeing the other squads, his confidence in losing no members after the midterms skyrocketed.
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After an hour of briefings, Joe and the members of his squad were transported to an area deeper in the woods. Being on the far side, the were the perceived defenders in the trail. This concept rose the determination of everyone. With the plans that they had discussed in the previous week, they were prepared to catch their opponent's entirely off guard.
After all, who would expect them to shift the roles and become the aggressor immediately from the start gate? Nobody did and Second Squad suffered the effects instantaneously. As soon as the signal to start was given, First Squad shot off in three directions. Even with twenty-six total members, none of them felt any sense of hesitation.
After charging over a mile from their start point, the center team encountered the first opponents. Seven members of Second Squad quickly came into view. Joe silently issued a dispersal command to the other members of his team effectively allowing for a full encirclement of the enemy. Just as they finished incapacitating the final two opponents, several messages came from the other two teams indicating the resistance they had face and the lack of loss on their end.
One fact became majorly transparent to Joe, Second Squad was disorganized and only sent out the tail end of their squad to probe for opponents. That left all their powerhouses at the flag. This wasn't an entirely bad decision from a tactical point of view. Why waste energy searching for the enemy when you know where they are going to show up eventually? It really was a shame that this is precisely what Joe had planned for. The cohesion within the other squads was so thinly formed that they were bound to fall apart at the first sign of struggle.
After taking out fifteen opposing members along the way, First Squad now encircled the enemy flag with little room for outside interference. Out of the eleven remaining members, six were guarding their flag. That left five floating around somewhere outside their view. Joe instructed the third team to post outward security to ensure they weren't struck from behind. The remaining two teams were instructed to hold their position until otherwise told to strike.
With slightly heavy steps, Joe began a lone march straight towards his opponent's flag. He could have remained entirely silent and struck them in surprise, but that wouldn't allow him to test his newfound strengths. He had held himself back all the way to this point in order to allow his squad's hard work to bear fruit.
With the attention now fully on him, Joe came to a stop in the center of a small clearly. A wide smile grew dangerously across his face.
"I suggest you all come at me together otherwise I may not be able to guarantee your personal safety."
His daggers were both seated in their respective sheaths and his hands were buried deep into his pockets.
This was purely to plant a seed of arrogance within the minds of his opponents, and it worked. As if on cue, two of the six made a mad dash straight towards Joe. Just as their blades were about to pierce his location, dust was thrown into the air all around and a loud explosion reverberated throughout the woods. The two assailants stood in confusion before their worlds turned black.
From above, Joe drove his feet into the backs of the two and sent their bodies barreling into the ground. Standing on their unconscious bodies, he turned his attention to the remaining four.
"I told you all to come together. Now, will you stop playing around or do I have to come to you one by one?"