Thrown Bait

[Your stamina stat has increased by 1]

[Your stamina stat has increased by 1]

Leon dropped to the ground like a tree that was felled.

"My leg, I can't feel my legs..."

"Don't exaggerate it, stand up." Knight Finduilas said.

Leon lifted his head to get a good view of him, "What did you say? Exaggerate? At this point, I might die before the court meeting."

"There you go exaggerating. Stand up!" Knight Finduilas yelled.

Leon jumped to his feet, "Aiishhhh!!! what the hell!!!" he shouted while jumping to his feet. He paused for a second, 'Even though my leg feels numb, why do I find it easy to stand, it's like I'm standing but not feeling my legs standing.'

"What did you expect? You've been running around in a state of tiredness for ten days that has caused your muscles to instinctively follow despite their worn-out state, why? because they are used to it. So without wasting time, we will be practising footwork."

"Footwork?"

"Yes...think about it based on the explanation I gave, right now your muscles are in a worn-out state, if we force them to master certain footwork they would also get used to it and even when your leg movement will be as fast as your mind."

"Sounds unreasonable, how many days will that take?"

"Twenty days, but let's maximize the ten days you have left before you go to the capital."

Leon sighed, '...you are probably going to kill my legs by the time I'm supposed to go to the capital, I wonder if I'll even have legs to go.'

"Footwork consists of various types, it is the foundation of every swordsman and martial artist. Of course, you have to know that every sword style and martial art style has its footwork, but all these footwork that they end up having are all derived from what is called the universal footwork. As long as I am concerned its history as the first footwork dates back into the history that no one was able to trace, what we do know is that the creator of this footwork was also the creator of the first breathing technique, he understood the impact breathing had on leg movements and created a breathing pattern in response to the footwork he created."

"Wow, he must have been a genius?" Leon exclaimed, sitting with his legs crossed.

"Stand up" Knight Finduilas who had missed the time he sat said upon noticing him.

Leon stood to his feet, this time slowly.

"He is a genius, however, no one knows of him, even his legacy is forgotten, a lot of warriors today do not consent with the fact that he was the beginning of it."

"Then how do you come to consent with it?"

"Because my master believed strongly in him." Knight Finduilas replied.

"Okay, so how does this universal footwork works?"

"You crouch, and move your right foot two steps forward, sliding your left foot as you move, then you move your left foot two steps backwards tracing the same line you moved from, and sliding your right foot as you move, then the next time you'll be moving forward will be with your left foot, then you do it in turns like that." Knight Finduilas concluded with a detailed demonstration as he spoke.

Leon was beyond frustrated, with Knight Finduilas's demonstration alone, he could tell, that this training was something that would wear out his thighs, calves, toes, knees and heels. But he had no choice, his resolve to get stronger rose after he heard about the political system of the kingdom.

... ... ...

"This is crazy, how many days has it been since we submitted a request to see the duke?" Tara said, laying her head on the table.

"I guess there's no reason for his soldiers to lie if they say he's busy and cannot see anyone," Rutaba said.

"You are probably right, after all, he has properly distributed the profits he promised to the mercenaries he hired. Even to the ones that died while facing the red orc." She noted.

"But a red orc, his reason for hiring mercenaries was justified after that video went viral, plus he subjugated the area and now it has turned to a peace zone, which means he even brought it under his jurisdiction, he is currently the rising star of Aron. It's a pity his identity is unknown." Rutaba said, with his thick voice.

"If it happens to be WhiteOrl, don't you think we've hit the jackpot?" Tara exclaimed softly, with a bright expression on her face.

"At this point, I don't think that guy is Whiteorl, but sure let's try out best," Rutaba replied.

Suddenly some certain persons reached the table they were seated at.

"Can we sit?" Roiner said.

Tara's facial expression became unaccommodating.

"I know we are not the best of allies but I think we can work together on something we both want," Roiner said again.

"And what might that be?" Rutaba said, sending his glare towards Roiner.

"We know you want to recruit the duke of Tirianae to your guild," Roiner stated.

Tara scoffed, "If you know that much, how is working with you supposed to benefit us when both of us are after the same thing?" she said.

"All we need to do is share information and kidnap the duke, we will give you the privilege of being the first to talk to him. Then we will talk to him afterwards." Roiner replied to her.

"And let's say he decides to join our guild before even getting to hear you, are you certain you won't stab us in the back and try to turn the situation to your favour?" Tara asked, confidently staring at all three of them as they stood.

"The reputation of my guild stands on this, do you think, I would act recklessly?"

Tara looked at Rutaba who nodded in response.

"So? What is this information you think we can exchange?" She said, inviting them to seat with her hand gesture.

Roiner began after speaking, "We know you guys have certain information about the Duke."

"Huh? what makes you think that?" Tara asked, taken aback by Roiner's claim.

"If not how did you know the Duke was going to use players has meatshields against the orc?!" Darq butted in harshly.

"Hey, but some leash on your dog. I hate noise." Tara said.

"This bitch!–"

"Darq..." Darq who was about to jump at Tara composed himself as Gareth softly called his name.

"...so you guys guessed we have some sort of information because of that?" Tara asked.

"Don't you?" Roiner asked in response.

"Well, we do...but you go first." She said.

Roiner sighed and looked at Gareth who seemed to give an approval signal, "We got a piece of information, an emergency meeting has been summoned from the capital. If we are correct, the Duke will be moving out in some days and would be travelling. And because of etiquette, he has to move with a chariot."

"...hmm, a perfect chance to kidnap him...but didn't you see the strength of his soldiers?"

"Leave that to us, we are quite confident in what we can do."

Tara and Rutaba looked at each other and nodded.

Gareth grinned as he saw them nod, 'They took the bait.'