Naga the Instructor

The next day, when Rajputs on the walls checked the Khilji camp, they noticed that the Khilji camp was noticeably quieter than it was yesterday.

When they looked closely, they saw Khilji soldiers who were lying on the ground exhausted. They had deep rashes on their bodies. They felt shocked as they saw the tragedy of the Khilji soldiers.

The main culprit was, still, sleeping inside his house.

Aarv leisurely woke up in the afternoon. He knew that for the next eight months, the fortress would be surrounded by the enemy. After doing his daily routine, he walked toward the courtyard where all of his guards were training with the three instructors.

"Haiyaa… Haiyaa…"

Aarv watched them as they practised sword-swinging. While wielding any sword, there were three important factors that the wielder needed to pay more attention to. The first one is being able to draw a sword effortlessly like it was an extension of your arm. The second one is being able to swing the sword efficiently. While lastly, the third one is being able to maintain stable breathing throughout the swordplay. And to achieve all of the three, you have to practice!

Aarv watched them practice for a while and suddenly walked towards them. Seeing Aarv, all of them did not budge and continued with their practice. Aarv did not mind it. He walked towards the side of the courtyard where the rest of the swords were.

He picked a talwar that he liked and walked toward one of the instructors saying, "Naga, should we practice for a bit…?"

The instructor named Naga nodded and walked to the side of the training grounds while saying, "It's been a while since I last trained with you, young master… let me see how far you have progressed."

He drew out his talwar from his scabbard and took the defensive stance, ready to take on Aarv.

Aarv looked at him and thought, 'It is time to test out my new strength.' This was the first time Aarv sparred with anyone after he levelled up. He wanted to know his limits and what his new body could do.

"ready…?" He asked instructor Naga as he drew in a cold breath of air as he took the attacking stance.

"Phew…"

"Boom…"

The land at Aarv's feet caved in as he launched himself toward Instructor Naga.

At first, the instructor decided to only use 50% of his strength to give Aarv a fighting chance. But as soon as he saw Aarv's speed he changed his idea completely! His eyes got serious as his concentration increased.

It was all too late. Before he could muster all of his strength, Aarv's sword was right before him. His instincts kicked in as he hastily retreated while bringing his sword in front of Aarv's sword.

"Bang…!"

A loud sound of sword crashing was heard as the Instructor's 10kg sword flew from his hand and landed almost 20 meters away. The instructor himself stumbled back a few steps and then looked at Aarv with deep shock.

"Go pick your sword… and this time is serious Naga…"

Aarv looked at Naga and said with a smile that looked like the smile of a devil.

After the initial shock, Naga quickly stabilized his emotions and walked toward his sword. As he turned around, his aura completely changed as a dense killing intent appeared around his body.

"Be careful, young master…"

As soon as Naga's words landed in Aarv's eyes, he saw Naga rushing toward him with all of his might. Aarv also rushed forward to meet Naga's sword head-on…

"Clang…"

A loud sound of sword clashing resonated throughout the air as Aarv slid back more than a meter. This time, Naga had won the first exchange. But, he did not give Aarv time to stabilize himself and rushed toward him.

On the other hand, before Aarv could stabilize himself, Naga's second attack was already in front of him. He hastily put his sword in front of him in defence…

"Clang…"

This time Aarv was sent flying almost 4 meters. Before Aarv could think, the third attack was already in front of him… and then the fourth, fifth and sixth…

"Clang… Clang… Clang…"

As time passed, more than 20 blows were exchanged between him and Naga. He was unable to do anything but defend himself from the sharp attacks.

"Think… Think… Think…"

As Aarv was trying to think of ways to counter his opponent, He remembered a scene from his past where his father was teaching him.

"Wrong… you are doing it wrong…"

Major general Sudansh Bhosle was sparring with little Aarv.

"Don't always focus on putting more strength behind your attacks… it is useless against opponents stronger than you…"

"In that case what is more useful is your technique… your footwork…"

As the scene flashed, Aarv instinctively stepped aside while routing the upcoming attack to the side with his sword. This time Aarv did not blow back like before. Naga too looked at Aarv with surprise as he pulled his sword back.

"Come…!"

Aarv looked at him with a complete focus like anything other than his opponent was nothing in his eyes. Naga looked at Aarv's focused face and attacked him.

This time the attack came from the other side with much greater force than before. Aarv looked at the attack and took a step back to get out of the sword's trajectory. Naga was waiting for just that as his sword swing turned into a stab towards Aarv's chest.

"You are too naive…"

Naga thought… but before he could celebrate, he saw, Aarv rotating to the side while routing his attack away from him with his sword.

"Creeee…"

Sparks flew as both swords slid against each other. Naga quickly withdrew his sword and attacked Aarv with a wide swing.

"Chance…!"

This was the exact chance that Aarv was waiting for. He quickly stepped to the side but did not block the opponent's sword with his attack instead he rushed forward.

"Chee…"

A sound of clothes being torn was heard as the sword brushed passed Aarv's right shoulder. Naga tried to quickly withdraw his sword but before thinking, he felt his body lifting off the ground.

Aarv locked his right leg behind Naga's left foot as he lifted naga off the ground.

Naga looked toward his opponent as a scene flashed through his eyes. A scene where he was lying on the ground Panting while Major general Sudansh Bhosle stood in front of him unaffected.

There was not even a single drop of sweat on Sudansh Bhosle's face as he looked at Naga.

"Strength does not answer to anything Naga… If you could combine your strength with a proper technique, no one will be able to beat you…"

When he came out of his past and looked toward Aarv, he did not see Aarv but, Major general Sudansh Bhosle himself…

"Major General…"

Before he could finish, Aarv slammed him to the ground.

"Bam…"

Before Naga could collect himself, he sensed a cold sensation around his neck.

Aarv put his Sword around Naga's neck and said, "Naga you lost…!"

Naga did not hear what Aarv said. The scene of Aarv's father talking about combining strength with technique still lingered in his mind as he said, "Indeed I failed to understand…"

He then looked at Aarv and said, "I lost Aarv babu…"

He lost the match, but he still had a bright smile on his face. He now had a way to improve his swordsmanship even further.

He got up from the ground and looked towards Aarv, "Thank you Aarv babu… that was a good fight…!"

Aarv also returned the gesture.

When both men turned around, they saw that all the 100 soldiers had stopped their training and were looking at both of them with deep respect.

Aarv looked at them and said, "If you trained hard enough… you will also be able to fight like us one day…!"

Naga also nodded and returned to his original place. The third instructor who always kept quiet spoke to Naga,

"How much…?"

Naga looked at him seriously and said, "About 80%... but still can be improved…!"

A strange light flashed in Naga's eyes as he said, "he is still far away if he wants to rival his father though…!"

The quiet instructor did not say anything else and stood there watching the soldiers practice more enthusiastically.