The next morning.
Arianna was still asleep when she felt a cold splash of water on her face. She awoke with a jerk and looked around her. Everyone around her was receiving the same treatment as her.
"Won't you stand up?" The cold voice of an official rang in her ears and she immediately jumped up.
She ran to the training grounds and saw people being whipped. She knew she couldn't escape it and so she knelt down. The whip hit her back and she sucked in a cold breath of pain.
'Come on Arianna. You went through this yesterday. You can also do it today.' She thought and clenched her teeth.
She thought she could withstand it but when she got she got whipped the second time she screamed and cried.
"Come on Arianna!" She screamed to herself.
The whip came again.
"Ahh!!" She screamed and groaned.
"Come on! Come on!"
The whip came again and her cries like those of the others rang in the air.
After they were whipped, they were made to stand in lines. The general's voice barked around the field.
"First rule of training, never be late! Did you not read your training manual?" He asked and there was silence. "I don't expect much from humans." He said disdainfully.
"You!" He randomly pointed at a man. "Come forward." He ordered and the man came forward in fear.
"Shannon." He called and a female official with pale blue skin and red flaming eyes walked forward. He left to the side of the training ground and sat on a chair.
Anyone with brains would be able to tell what was about to happen. But before one could blink an eye, Shannon had charged at the man. The man looked to be no more than 20 years. He looked thin, malnourished and weak. Shannon knocked him out with one punch.
"This one, out." The general said and two officials carried the man away. The general once again pointed randomly at another man and at this moment everyone became restless. If the phrase 'This one, out' meant extermination, then there were some of them whose feet were already 2 feet in their graves.
The man who was pointed out already knew the situation and so unlike the unfortunate first man, he was able to put up defenses. Despite that, he didn't last for more than two minutes. He fell to the ground after being punched by Shannon.
"Out." The general once again said and the man was taken out.
"Out."
"Out."
This went on and on and kept people's hearts in their throats. Noone knew who will be called next so everyone had to be prepared. Due to the experience gained from previous fights, the people who battled in subsequent fights didn't have as much problems as the beginners.
On Arianna's part, she analyzed the fights with great enthusiasm, interest and concentration. When she was called out, although she had a lingering fear, she was still quite confident in herself. She looked at the people who weren't sent out. It was surprising that out of over two hundred people, only about 15 managed to meet the general's requirements.
She hadn't walked out fully when Shannon charged at her. She of course already knew Shannon's methods and dodged quickly.
As a female demon, Shannon didn't easily get tired and Arianna knew of this fact. There was only one way to beat Shannon. And that was to make her lose energy.
With that in my mind, she started running around the field nimbly like a rabbit. Whenever Shannon threw an attack at her, she'd dodge with agility and run back three steps.
This also made her lose energy but she felt energized whenever she heard Shannon gasp for breath. This went on for over an hour and at a point, Shannon paused and laughed.
"Human, are you trying to make me get exhausted?" She said and laughed hysterically. She looked like she was trying to catch her breath.
Arianna didn't mind because her heart rate had sped up to an alarmingly high level. She also needed to breathe in. Shannon continued.
"I am a demon. I can run around the whole of Aysha for a week. And you think you can make me tire out? Jokes." Shannon exaggerated and charged at Arianna with a lot more momentum than before.
At this rate, Arianna wouldn't be able to dodge as nimbly as before. Coupled with the fact that her energy was almost completely expended, there was very little chance of even fairly dodging. Shannon was coming to her at a high speed and with a lot more force.
Arianna didn't try to dodge and just fell to the ground. This move made it look like she had accepted defeat, but in reality she was waiting for Shannon to fall into the trap.
Shannon who had initially gathered a lot of strength in her fist had not expected Arianna to suddenly fall to the ground. The momentum she had gathered which was meant to be executed on something had suddenly lost its target. She lost her stepping and fell over due to inertia. In the split second that she fell over, Arianna leaped up like a rabbit and kicked her in her stomach. The strength of that kick made her feel a dull pain in her stomach. Even though she wasn't a human, her organs weren't very much different from that of a human, so the effect it would have on her were still the same.
She stared at Arianna in disbelief and then it dawned on her that she had greatly underestimated her for being a human.
It wasn't just her but every other person present on the field was shocked. It was a very simple move and could even be considered amateurish, but it managed to work. Even Arianna herself didn't think she'd pull it off so perfectly, she was just hoping. The general was able to hide his surprise and there was a hint of a smile on his face. The kind that wasn't quite a smile.
"Go on." He said and everyone snapped out of their moment of shock.
Arianna walked to the side feeling satisfied.
He smiled without even realizing it.
"This human is quite interesting." He muttered to himself.
After Arianna had left to the side, Shannon stood up. The fights went on and on. A certain man even tried to play the same trick Arianna had played, but he was easily handled by Shannon. Shannon was using a lot more strength and finishing off everyone quickly. It was like she had gone bored and didn't want to bother with the rest of them.
After a while, the fights came to an end and only 26 people came out as finalists. They lined up in 2 straight lines. Their heads raised and their chests high. There were a total of 9 women and 17 men. The only people who had managed to progress.
"Although your fights have ended, your training doesn't stop there." The general paused and looked at all of them. "You will start to train harder and take missions. Something of the future to be frank. But for now, let the training begin." The general said and left the field.
The officials came forward and started instructing them.
Arianna looked forward and saw that her life as a soldier in the Ayshan army had officially begun. She would have to take it more seriously to avoid the fate of those who were sent out.
"Stance!" Faye, the witch barked an order at them.