Georges grew impatient since Aion didn't move a single inch. He was clearly calling him to attack, but that trap was way too obvious. Still, Georges lost before, and he couldn't lose and then show fear; that would be way worse…
In the end, Georges stepped forward and slowly approached. If Aion was planning a counter, then the faster he attacks, the worse things will get for him. Eventually, he got close enough to attack, and since he had better reach, he moved first. While Georges' sword was swinging down, Aion stepped forward near instantly with his left foot and then grabbed Georges' right hand and stopped the swing.
At the same time, Aion moved his right hand to attack, but Georges' guard was up, and his shield was blocking his chest and head. Still, Aion ignored that and attacked the shield with the palm of his hand… Aion managed to use Palm Strike without using the system.
The impact had been powerful enough to lift Georges in the air for two meters and then made him fall on his back. His left arm was throbbing, but the damage had been minimal since Aion targeted his shield.
"Are you all right?" Aion approached and then offered a hand for his half-brother.
"... I am fine… This was nothing," Georges said while trying to recover the air from the fall.
"Your bones look fine; your equipment absorbed most of the damage of the attack and fall," Lexus said, checking his son's body. "This is enough for today; take it easy since you still have your other lessons."
"Father… Why did I lose?" Georges asked.
"Because you want to follow my footsteps blindly," Lexus replied. "Because you fear making mistakes. There are times when someone can't afford to make mistakes, but training isn't one of them. It doesn't matter if you all show something embarrassing to me. As long as you show the will to improve yourselves every day, I will be proud of you."
It was the first time they saw their father talking like that; even Aion was a bit surprised. It didn't feel like it was something that he had planned to say; it was something that he had thought about for a long time. However, it looked like he was a bit too awkward to say that. It wasn't weird for someone who was born and raised into a warrior family to try to hide their feelings all the time…
"I think it is enough for today; I am feeling a bit under the weather," Lexus said and then returned to the mansion.
The day had just started, so Aion confirmed that he was just awkward. The others also were a bit confused. Still, Aion couldn't just forgive him with that much considering the life that his mother lived… It was a hard feeling to almost hate someone who wasn't the wrong person and was following orders.
Regardless, he also decided to change his mood by training. It was time to pick another weapon to practice, and Aion felt like using a bow this time and then using any other gear when the duels were resumed. At this point in time, his father let him carry gear to his rook, as long as they were the training type and not the real deal.
"... Do you want to practice together without attacking for real?" Georges suddenly asked while showing a really conflicted expression.
Aion frowned when he heard that; he assumed that it would take a while longer for one of them to accept his idea. Still, Lexus' words made him change his mind.
"Sure, why not?" Aion replied.
At first, Aion thought that George was up to something, but he didn't do anything out of the ordinary. By training together, they only practiced using their attacks without much weight behind the attacks. Thanks to that, the attacks were also slow and that gave them room to watch and decide the best way to react. While they weren't forcing their bodies, they were training their minds and learning the best ways to attack or how to defend in certain situations.
On the next day, Aion was told to spar with Elio and since he watched the previous spar, his lowered his stance as much as possible, that way, Aion would be unable to knock him down with strength alone. That was one way to seal one of his methods of attack, but also prevented Elio from approaching fast enough or putting any weight behind his charge.
Aion had a hard time surpassing his defensive stance, but the moment he began to run around, the same thing that happened one month ago repeated itself… Well, almost. Aion tried to run around Elio and he tried to turn around without messing with his stance. He managed to do that, but charging was impossible since he was constantly turning. Thus, there was no weight behind his attacks. In the end, when he got a bit dizzy, Aion found an opening and then kicked his leg, making him lose balance and fall.
The nex day, Aion sparred with Philip and he had quite the idea on how to deal with him and his gauntlets. Since he didn't have much weight on his body since the gauntlets were that light, it was clear that speed was on his side. Still, he challenged Aion exactly like that… with speed.
Philip charged while his guard was quite lose and then swung his sword downward. Aion blocked the attack and prepared his counter, but then he didn't feel much weight behind the weapon. Soon after, he saw the sword being retreated as the shield moved toward his face.
When the sword returned to its initial position, Aion right fist collided against the shield and he immediately realized what Philip was planning. Since the sword and the shield had more mass, they would cause more damage, even if he doesn't put much weight behind it. That also would force Aion to assume a defensive stance with each extra impact…
"Not bad, but… not enough," Aion thought.