Chapter 66: Special Training

North Blue.

Branch 321.

The blazing sun scorched the training grounds as yellow sand whipped through the air.

Three imposing figures launched a fierce assault on a black-haired Marine standing at the center. Their speed and strength had been pushed to the limit, and their coordination was nearly flawless.

Three snow-white capes, each bearing the insignia of a Lieutenant Commander, fluttered wildly behind them as they attacked.

The man they surrounded exuded a wild, defiant aura. His upper body was bare, revealing chiseled muscles like carved stone. A faint smile played at his lips as he casually faced their storm-like offensive.

It was none other than Gion, Tokikake, and Momonga "attacking" Rogers Daren.

But despite outnumbering him, all three were drenched in sweat, visibly straining under immense pressure.

Though they were the ones attacking, it somehow felt like Daren was the one overwhelming all three of them alone.

"So weak, Tokikake. Did you skip lunch? That punch... feels more like a tickle,"

Daren laughed mockingly, infuriating the already gasping Tokikake.

"Daren, you bastard! What the hell did you just say!?"

A sharp whoosh cut through the air from behind—danger closing in fast. Daren twisted his body to avoid the slash from Momonga and Gion, who had flanked him. He smirked and taunted,

"Am I wrong? So soft... Are you even capable, twig-boy?"

As he spoke, the Marine Captain deliberately glanced down at Tokikake's crotch. The meaning in his eyes was more than enough to make any hot-blooded man explode with rage.

"Daren, you're dead!! I'm gonna kill you!!"

Right on cue, Tokikake's furious roar echoed across the training yard.

His skin steamed, white smoke puffed from his nostrils, and he charged at Daren like a raging bull.

The force of his stomp shattered the ground, leaving behind a crater over five meters wide.

Tokikake's speed spiked in an instant, and he shot forward like a cannonball.

Bang!

A deep thud rang out.

Tokikake blinked, stunned, at Daren, whose head had snapped back from a clean punch to the face. Blood splattered through the air.

He... actually landed a hit?

But the next second, Tokikake's pupils shrank.

Daren, his head still tilted back, curved his bleeding mouth into a gleeful, twisted grin.

No anger. No pain. Just the delighted look of someone who had found a fun new toy.

"Good strength."

That voice—low, crazed, and excited—crawled into Tokikake's mind like a devil's whisper.

A twitch formed at the corner of his eye. A terrible feeling crept up in his chest.

No way...

Daren grinned wider.

Bang!!

He slammed his forehead straight into Tokikake's skull.

Blood sprayed. Tokikake's vision spun wildly as dizziness overwhelmed him.

Before he could react, a large gloved hand loomed larger and larger in his blurred sight.

"Not the face!!"

Tokikake cried out.

Daren ignored him. With one hand, he grabbed Tokikake by the face, lifted him, and slammed him hard into the ground.

BOOM!!

The earth within thirty meters fractured instantly, crisscrossed with jagged cracks as the ground groaned under the impact.

Dust exploded upward. Tokikake's upper body was embedded in the ground, only his trembling, hairy legs and clogs twitching in the air.

Clang—!!

At that moment, the sharp ring of a sword being drawn cut through the chaos.

A gleaming blade pierced the swirling smoke first, followed by the hardened face of Momonga beneath his military cap.

His billowing cloak rose behind him. Eyes cold, both hands gripped his sword tightly as he brought it crashing down toward Daren with all his strength.

Perfect timing!

Shhhk!!

The blade, glowing with sword light, slashed deep across Daren's chest—blood sprayed from the impact.

"Hmm, not bad. You've improved."

Though a deep, bloody gash now marked his chest, Rogers Daren looked completely unfazed, eyes gleaming with approval as he stared at Momonga.

Momonga gave a bitter smile—then "bravely" accepted Daren's brutal knee strike head-on.

Bang!

His body shot backward like a cannonball, smashing through three humanoid stone targets before crashing to the ground in a battered heap, blood spurting from his mouth.

But the moment Daren landed the hit, he felt a chilling pressure rapidly descending from above.

The sharpness of it made his skin prickle, every hair standing on end.

No wonder she's considered a future admiral candidate—her swordsmanship really is terrifying...

Daren murmured to himself with a smile, extending one hand upward.

Clang!

A golden meitō came crashing down, slicing through his black glove as it struck his palm—yet it stopped there, caught and locked in place by Daren's grip.

Wind howled across the training ground, scattering the smoke and dust.

Gion had leapt high into the air, gripping her blade with both hands in a full overhead stance. Her cape snapped in the turbulent air, nearly vertical behind her.

She glared down at the Marine Captain who met her with that ever-casual, teasing grin—and let out a fierce, low shout.

Her blade, Konpira, burst into a brilliance it had never shown before, straining desperately to break free of Daren's monstrous strength. Drawing on the downward force of her dive, she pushed the sword down with everything she had.

The blade...

Was just millimeters from slicing into Daren's chest—

But even with her full power, Gion couldn't drive it that final inch.

In the end, even moving it a centimeter forward became an impossible dream.

Daren decided it was time to stop holding back.

His hand, clamped like a vice around the blade, clenched tighter. The impact of metal grinding against his fingers rang out in sharp, metallic chimes.

He yanked hard.

The moment Gion lost balance, caught off guard, his fist slammed straight into her stomach.

Bang!

A burst of white shockwave exploded from her back.

Gion's face went deathly pale. She dropped to her knees, hands clutching her abdomen, blood trickling from her lips.

Drip... drip...

Bright red blood from Daren's wound dripped onto the dusty training ground, soaking quickly into the earth and leaving behind dark, muddy stains.

Daren grinned as he looked down at the three Marines collapsed before him—Gion, Tokikake, and Momonga—all gasping for breath.

"Well, that's enough for today."

He winked at them as they lay there, each wearing their own version of a "pain mask."

"We'll pick up again tomorrow."

With that, he turned and strode off toward the base commander's office.

Momonga groaned and rubbed his temples.

Gion lay flat on her back, panting, still gripping her sword tightly.

Tokikake let out a wail of frustration and cursed loudly,

"Damn it!!"

It had been half a month since their trip to the Germa Kingdom to "evaluate" the weapons.

Ever since then...

That bastard Daren had dragged them into "special training" every single day, claiming it was to help them grow stronger.

But Tokikake couldn't shake the feeling that what that bastard was really doing—was finding new ways to beat the crap out of them.

(40 Chapters Ahead)

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