The sessions with his platoon had been rather straightforward after that first assessment, which Christopher mostly considered a good thing. Good in that Lieutenant Gara and Zerez Stout had not been antagonistic towards him and Villa yet, but Christopher always kept his eyes and ears open. The way that he sometimes caught a few of the other students looking made him think that he needed to be careful. Christopher never gave them a chance to try anything untoward. Christopher and Villa had made arrangements that had them entering and exiting the building with their training mates. No way was he going to run into that trap.

The patrol squad that he had been placed in did not practice anymore combat. The focus was almost entirely on how to properly patrol their given blocks, and how to scout for threats to the city. The lessons were useful in that regard and might prove useful for some time to come. Sergeant Forro also taught them about the toolkit of the scouts. They were each given their own sets to take with them at all times. This would allow them to immediately make for their patrol routes upon the sounding of the alarms.

The kit consisted out of several colored flares which corresponded to different types of monsters of the Blight that would be able to penetrate the defenses of the city. They had a yellow flare to signal the sighting of flying creatures like Flesh Rippers and Razor Wings, while the red flare indicated the breaching of an Earth Slither. White smoke would be the signal for potentially more dangerous threats. This counted for everything from Shadow Walkers to larger groups of enemies. The system did not seem to be designed for a full breach of the city.

Sergeant Forro commanded them to run before engaging with any enemies when they spotted threats. Sergeant Forro also taught them the proper military reporting lingo and techniques, which Christopher expected to prove very useful and therefore he soaked it up quickly, listening attentively. It would allow him to communicate with Guards and Lumen Forces more effectively during high pressure situations.

He was pleased to also receive a bow upon demonstrating his ability to use one. He had now been practicing the weapon for almost two months, putting quite some hours into increasing his accuracy and speed. The practice was really coming together well, his accuracy starting to become somewhat respectable. He always felt awesome when he managed to hit the center of a target, like he had become some deadly hunter. In reality he still had a long way to go before he would be able to hit vital spots on moving targets, but he could see himself getting there eventually.

There would be many situations where the Bow could prove the most useful of his weapons, at least to start the fight with. Carrying it was unwieldy, so having a Soul Bound bow might be essential, it would allow him to summon and disperse the bow without issue. Christopher browsed the interface store for bows, and was once again greeted with only a few options. He wondered what determined the possibilities in the store. Were there certain criteria that they needed to hit for something to show up? Christopher found one option that looked pretty good.

The bow was listed for a total of 550 Soul Points, so not that unreasonable, and it would likely do well for what he intended to use it for, which was picking off monsters of the Blight at the start of a fight, and for fighting from the battlements in the walls. He could use his bow, and simply disperse it into his Soul when his enemies got close enough to require different weapons. Christopher once again held off from buying the bow. Maybe he was too indecisive, but he was always hesitant to use his points, not wanting to waste them on something unnecessary. It was probably time to make some decisions soon.

——————<>——————

Christopher dove into his quarterstaff training with renewed determination after he had been utterly outclassed by Zerez Stout during their fight. A few of them were getting closer to completing the full hour on the raft without falling into the water, but it seemed as if none of them would quite manage it before the attack.

Besides his overall technique, he also needed to improve the timing of his Soul Force blows. Many of his hits had gone to waste due to his bad control and timing. He had been practicing the Soul Force infusions relentlessly, both during the training and during some of his off hours. This made him increasingly quick and precise with his infusions. Christopher thought that he was improving quickly, getting better every day. More of his stronger blows would have connected back then with his current skill. During the training sessions with his platoons, he almost wished for another bout with the arrogant noble, just so that he could track his progress compared to before.

Christopher’s limited Soul Force reserve was still frustrating him, there were so many things to train, it required him to balance it all carefully. He did like practicing his Soul Force Blows because it was one of the quickest ways to increase his combat power. Zalla continued to provide some useful pointers during the sessions, and she had even complimented him on his progress.

He doubted that the others practiced as much in their free time as he did though. They would not be feeling the same sense of urgency as him, not expecting to face the Blight when stationed around the inner city. The people of Lumen were nervous, but he doubted that many really expected a breach of the walls. They had always dealt with other attacks on their city before without issue.

——————<>——————

Christopher fully concentrated as he balanced on the wooden platform. They had been rotating through the stances for a while now and he had still not fallen in. His muscles were beginning to feel the strain though, and he knew that he would not be able to hold out much longer. The pond of terror, as they had started referring to the pond of Soul Suckers, was still an insurmountable challenge for him and the other trainees. They could only flex their muscles for so long, before they tired. Their concentration was also sure to slip at some point during the long sessions, which was deadly. Once they fell in the first time, they would then keep falling in quick succession, their muscles increasingly sore.

That did not mean that Christopher had not made progress. His ability to adjust to the movements of the water had improved, putting less overall strain on his muscles. The required muscle groups in turn also grew stronger as he used the stances. He was now in third place of their small group of ten regarding how long they could stay standing without falling in. The last time he had only fallen in twice during the session, but he had almost held out to the end with only a single tumble. Going to zero falls seemed rather impossible though, at least it would be some time away. Zalla was often there observing the training, her face blank at the terror that they experienced during their falls. Netello Brave never even bothered to show up for this part of the training.

Suddenly, the distant sound of what sounded like a locomotive engine startled Christopher out of his concentration. He managed to drop on his knees before falling in, but two others were not so lucky. Christopher managed to brave those additional ripples as well.

‘Shit, that was the Soul Alarm he quickly realized. It took him another moment to process the implications of hearing the Soul Alarm. ‘Shit, we are under attack already?’ The attack was still a few days away, this was not supposed to happen. ‘Does this mean that the timeline had changed that much?’

The overseer of their training was the first to get out of his stupor.

“You should all have instructions on where to go. Better get moving and stay alert.”

They all clumsily got out of the water, with the helping hand of the attendant. Christopher was honestly not sure where to go now. He had planned to set off the Soul Alarm, before running to his actual post, but that plan had now gone out of the window. After they clumsily got out of the pond, Christopher could not help but follow the others towards their areas of patrol within the Noble District. The fact that he was already in the Noble District made it a relatively short journey. He had his scouting kit and weapons with him, giving him all that he needed.

He managed to arrive at the block that he had to patrol, which was somewhere in the east of the Noble District. At some point he had to push through some people to get to his post since many of them were moving in the other direction, trying to reach the stronghold in Swift Keep. He could not see the guy that he was matched with in the area, but hopefully they would see each other when the people had evacuated. Christopher was thinking about what to do as he patrolled. His partner eventually arrived, bringing some relieving news. Most people had now evacuated the area.

“False alarm, it was just a drill. Please help spread the word to other people.”

‘Are you kidding me, are they trying to give people a heart attack?’

He soon after learned that the drill had been ordered by Guard Captain Merrem. It was all to test the response of the people and the Lumen forces. A test that had chaotic consequences, and that roused a lot of anger with the populace. Guard Captain Merrem had no doubt seen his approval among the people plumet with this lates test, at least judging from the comments that he overheard from the populace. There were many wounded from the panic, and many had bunkered down in their homes and were hard to reach.

Eugenius Swift had to make a proclamation that same day, stating that there would be no more tests. It would be bad if people did not believe the next alarm after all. The next sounding of the alarm would be the real attack. The people were all but amused by the fear that the alarm had caused them to experience. In hindsight, Christopher supported the actions of the Guard Captain, knowing how much of a mess the response during the previous invasion had been. Hopefully this change would lead to some notable improvements in response times and organization. Had they for example now noticed the number of Soul Mages that had not shown up to their posts? Christopher hoped so, since it would allow leadership to correct the issue.

——————<>——————

Christopher stayed silent as he moved the red Flesh Ripper piece three squares forward, trying to keep his face as blank as expressionless as possible. He had been rather annoyed to learn that Tinos had used his facial expressions to read his intentions. He felt foolish for not considering that possibility during his previous games. How many of his traps had failed due to his facial expressions giving them away?

At first, he had lost some of his focus when controlling his expressions, causing him to make more mistakes. He now finally managed it without that much of a conscious effort, his pokerface in place.

Christopher’s latest move was a rather devious trap, and it had taken some time to set it up. Evading the piece should lead Tinos to a certain loss of material in just a few more moves. Slaying the piece would be the better choice, but would still leave Christopher slightly ahead with the exchange. They had two spectators, but both of the men were more focused on gossiping about someone they knew rather than intellectually following the game. Christopher tried to tune them out as they gossiped about someone’s misadventures at a brothel.

“How is you training at Swift Keep proceeding?” asked Tinos, possibly half to distract him.

“It’s pretty useful. Sergeant Forro had taught us a technique to make better use of our peripheral vision. It should help me more quickly spot threats and also when fighting multiple enemies.”

“I can see how that could prove useful. Any more problems with the Nobles?”

“Not really. I have been careful to avoid any situations that might be dangerous. How have your order been coming along. Still making the same equipment for the army?”

“That’s pretty much what we have been doing non-stop. They are working all of us to the bone. not that I am complaining, we all follow the commandments of Adenium after all.”

“And how is Tamas doing? Still on inscribing duty?”

“Pretty much. Either that or training with her platoon. They really like working her to the bone. Be glad that you do not have any Soul Art licenses as well. It makes me nervous, having her placed at the wall.”

“I am sure that she can take care of herself there.” Christopher comforted, while being just as worried.

“Everything alright?” Tinos asked with a sharp look. His expression must have slipped.

“Sure, let’s keep playing.”

Christopher’s mind wandered. Tinos did at least fall for his carefully laid trap, but Christopher’s proceeded to lose the Force of War game handily due to his now loss of focus. Tomorrow would be the day of the invasion. Had he done enough? Would his plans work?