Nano Machine Chapter 26: Remember, This Is All Of Your Own Making (C)

At Im Pyeong's loud browbeating the cadets all clenched their jaws and braced themselves. It infuriated Im Pyeong to see the cadets struggled to maintain their posture even after fourteen days of intense training.

How are they going to use this formation in battle if they can't even hold their shields up?

Even with all that training, there were many cadets who were faltering, how much more so for Cheon Yeo Woon who had zero martial arts training, let alone any inner power? As Im Pyeong moved his gaze over from each side he reflexively did a double take towards the cadet who was standing far left of the formation.

-What? …. how he is standing so still?-

Even after fifteen minutes, Cheon Yeo Woon was still on his feet, holding his stance with a statue-like stillness and a stern expression. In fact, the sword and iron shield in his hands were so still he almost looked like a marble sculpture.

-Did this guy really spend the past two weeks in the dispensary?-

He saw him there with his own eyes, so there was no real doubt about that, but, it was unbelievable that he was keeping his stone-like posture without even a single twitch. Im Pyeong's poor perception of him took a strange shift the other way. When more than half of the cadets in his group trembled from fatigue, Im Pyeong lifted the yellow flag signifying the shift from formation one to formation two.

*Ta ta ta tak!*

As though they were all waiting for the flag to go up, the cadets in unison let out a sigh of relief as they stretched their arms while marching into their next position. The second formation involved a tactic where the cadets make a U-shape around its target to trap the enemy. The most crucial element of this formation is to keep the U-shape without breaking up the curvature as much as possible while they close in on their target.

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

"That's right! Take small steps!"

With their right foot forward, the cadets took half-steps towards the center as the U-shape became smaller and smaller. To intimidate the enemy, they had to stomp the ground hard each step they planted on the ground. Everyone surprised their instructor as they moved in perfect unison while keeping the formation.

"You're doing great! Very good!"

As Im Pyeong lauded the group, Cheon Moo Geum, who was in the middle of the left flank of the half-circle, painted an irritated expression on his face.

This wasn't the outcome he was looking for.

-Why the hell is that bastard not screwing up?-

Being confined to the dispensary for the past two weeks and unable to learn the formations, he should have had the training instructor screaming in his face while the cadets threw shade at him for his ineptitude by now.

But instead, the instructor's lips were full of praise, which only happened when all the cadets in the group were on point. When Cheon Moo Geum was all the way in front of the formation and he was in the back, it was impossible for Cheon Moo Geum to see what Cheon Yeo Woon was doing, but now their instructor positioned them in a U-shape, he was a slight turn of the eyeball away.

-What the…? That bastard…-

After the completion of the formation, he was standing in his finished stance without the slightest look of exertion on his face. Because the stance was complete after swiping the sword from the top downward, it required a lot more strength to maintain, but Cheon Yeo Woon's face showed no signs of strain.

-Is this guy for real? Is he really untrained?-

Cadet Number Eighty, Ja Hyeon, who was only two cadets next to him couldn't believe his eyes, even he who belonged to one of the elite clans had arms that were shaking like a leaf as he tried to hold up his sword.

-Darned, filthy-blooded bastard. You think I'm just going to stand here watching you do so well?-

Cheon Moo Geum reasoned that he might as well stir the pot up a little. He sent a quiet message to his henchman, Ja Hyeon, through the process of jeon eum.

-If you can hear me, simply nod your head-

Ja Hyeon, who was focusing on the drill, was startled by the sound of jeon eum in his head, but after seeing it was from Cheon Moo Geum he paused for a second, then gave a subtle nod. Jeon eum was a telekinetic form of communication that required at least thirty-years' worth of inner power training to use.

-During the third formation shift, do I as tell you.-

Cheon Moo Geum shared his master plan with Ja Hyeon. As though to say he was ready to execute, Ja Hyeon nodded again with a small grin on his face. After about fifteen minutes, Im Pyeong, the training instructor lifted a blue flag this time to signify the next formation shift.

*Ta ta ta tak!*

Although the two prior formation shifts were arduous to complete, this last one was by far the most exacting. The formation required the cadets to overlap their shields to create a shield wall whereby they can protect each other while attacking with their swords, which would jut out through the narrow spaces between the shields.

-This isn't too difficult.-

Thanks to the scanning and simulating capabilities of Nano, the nanomachine, who transferred the contents of a book on battle formations into Cheon Yeo Woon's brain, he already had a good feel for what each formation looked like. The cadets stacked their shields on top of one another and formed an impregnable wall on all sides. Wary that they might cause an accident, the cadets from behind placed their swords in between the tight spaces of the shields with a slow carefulness.

"It's good to be careful, but try to keep pace! Don't sacrifice speed for caution!"

As expected, the slowness of the formation irritated Im Pyeong and caused him to raise his voice. Although it took longer than he hoped for, the shield wall and formation was complete. Cheon Yeo Woon managed one spot on the middle level of the three-floor wall. And, right behind him was Ja Hyeon in charge of placing the sword in between the cracks of the shield wall.

The only thing left for them to do now was to hold their stance and formation for an allotted time.

-Kekeke! Your butt is a perfect bull's eye.-

Ja Hyeon's face took up a big grin, as he lifted one of his feet. He was planning to concentrate his qi into his foot and give the middle-shield man Cheon Yeo Woon a nice, strong boot.

-The only place for a filthy-blooded bastard like you is on the ground!-

*Tak!*

Since kicking him too hard would make too much noise, Ja Hyeon first gently placed his foot on top of Cheon Yeo Woon's butt.

When Cheon Yeo Woon felt the sensation of the sole of someone's shoe on his lower back, he turned around and gave Ja Hyeon a death glare.

-What the…? How dare you, you little prick!?-

Even before he had the chance to concentrate his inner power into his foot, Ja Hyeon felt his anger simmer up to his head. He was thinking of giving Cheon Yeo Won nothing more than a good push from behind, in a fit of rage he mustered up all his power and thrust his foot forward.

It was in that moment…

*Pahng!*

"Agghh!"

A powerful rebounding force came from Cheon Yeon Woon's butt sending Ja Hyeon flying and tumbling back until he landed with his limbs sprawled out on the ground. At the unexpected outcome, Ja Hyeon's face lit up in utter surprise.

-Did he just deflect my kick using inner power from his butt qi??-

There was no doubt that when Ja Hyeon kicked him it was Cheon Yeo Woon's inner power that forced him to fly backward. Moreover, Cheon Yeo Woon's inner power was much greater than his own. As he lay befuddled and sprawled out on the ground, a figure with the countenance as angry looking as the mythical god Rakshasa's loomed over him.

"Is it you, again?"

It was the training instructor, Im Pyeong.

Thanks to what had happened with Cadet Number Twenty-Three whom he stabbed in the back, Im Pyeong remembered Ja Hyeon. Alarmed by Im Pyeong's menacing visage as he looked down at him, he tried to get up from the ground when suddenly…

*Jji-lit!*

When he planted his feet into the ground to push himself up, a flash of pain radiated from one of his soles causing him to stagger about. Small traces of Cheon Yeon Woon's inner power that knocked him to the ground was still lingering in the sole of his foot. When he finally found his balance after teeter-tottering for, the only thing he could see was the scoffing face of Cheon Yeo Woon, standing behind Im Pyeong.

*Euh-deuk!*

Ja Hyeon bit his lower lip in anger. Oblivious to the whole situation, Ja Hyeon's behavior agitated Im Pyeong, he slid his hand down to the black baton hanging at the side of his hip.

"Are you biting your lower lip at me? You better get your act together, son."

"Instruct… instructor Im! You don't understand! His butt…"

"What? Butt?? What the hell are you talking about?!"

*Puk!*

"Agghhh!"

Even before Ja Hyeon could finish his sentence, Im Pyeong unstrapped his baton and struck JaHyeon in the solar plexus with a lightning fast speed. After having the wind knocked out of him, Ja Hyeon once again fell to the ground in a fetal position.

The training instructor Im Pyeong then hunched over and whispered in his ear with an evil tone.

"For the next four days, I will not give you any free time. Instead, you and I will undergo extra training time in Hell until the lights go out."

"Ha ah… ha ah… but Instructor Im…"

As Ja Hyeon tried to talk back again, Im Pyeong lifted his baton to strike him once more. Not wanting to get hit, Ja Hyeon cried out in a beggarly voice.

"Fighting Ma!!!"

All the cadets in Group Eight were watching the spectacle, trying hard not to grin. It brought them great pleasure and relief seeing the great humiliation of the brown-noser Ja Hyeon, who had been shamelessly doing the evil biddings of the group leader and Buk Ma clan's Grand Prince candidate, Cheon Moo Geum.

*Euh-deu-deuk!*

The cadets who were looking heard the grinding of teeth with intrigue. At seeing his plan fail again, Cheon Moo Geum's face turned bright red in a fit of uncontrollable anger as the vein on his forehead bulged out.

-Cheon….Yeo…Woon!!!!!-