Emrys approached the main gate of the outpost, the tall metal bars towering over him. Two armed soldiers stood guard in front of it.
As soon as he stepped closer, one of them raised a hand.
"Stop right there."
The soldier looked him up and down, his gaze lingering on the black mask.
"Who are you? And what's with that mask?"
Emrys didn't say a word. He calmly reached into his jacket and handed over the documents Alex had given him before departing.
The soldier took the papers and began reading. At first, his expression was normal, but then it changed slightly and his posture straightened.
"…You may enter."
No further questions. No verification. Not even a second glance.
The gate opened.
Emrys stepped inside, slightly surprised at how smoothly it had worked.
They didn't even confirm anything…
Just what kind of influence does Alex have?
As he walked further in, the noise hit him shouting, metal clashing, boots striking against concrete.
The training grounds were filled with soldiers. Recruits were running laps, others were sparring in hand-to-hand combat, and some were practicing with rifles under the watchful eyes of instructors barking orders nonstop.
Now that he was inside, a problem surfaced.
What do I do now?
He looked around frantically and walked straight into someone.
The impact knocked him off balance and he fell to the ground.
But the strange thing was that the man he had bumped into hadn't moved at all. He stood there as if nothing had happened.
Emrys lay on the ground, looking up at him. The sun behind the man made it impossible to see his face clearly.
The man reached out a hand to help him up.
But out of instinct, Emrys pushed himself up on his own and immediately took a few steps back, creating distance.
His eyes locked onto the stranger.
His body shifted into a fighting stance, ready to strike if necessary.
The man looked at Emrys and grinned.
Then he calmly stepped into a defensive position, not out of instinct and not out of fear.
He didn't feel threatened at all.
Both of them locked onto each other, eyes sharp and bodies tense, waiting for the other to make the first move.
They completely ignored everything happening around them the shouting instructors, the clashing metal, the running recruits.
In that moment, it felt like the entire training ground had gone silent.
Emrys gave all of his concentration to that moment. He kept thinking about what he should do, and then he came up with a strategy a way to win. Some might call it stupid, but after analyzing every step he could take, that one might work.
He removed the upper half of his mask so that this time their eyes looked straight at each other.
He really wants to take me down, doesn't he? It's almost scary, the man thought to himself.
After staring at each other intensely for a few minutes, Emrys suddenly turned his eyes to the right, almost as if there was something even more terrifying than the opponent he was facing.
The man instinctively looked as well not because he was interested in who was there or anything but it was almost like Emrys' body language forced him to look.
In that moment, Emrys took the opportunity and dashed forward without hesitation.
With all his strength, he kicked him right against the shin to knock him out.
The man, who was completely off guard, went down.
Emrys, who at that point was completely exhausted, turned around and breathed a sigh of relief. while putting his Mask part back on he thought loudly
"Huh… who is that man? And why am I so exhausted? I need to "
But before he could even finish his sentence, he was struck from behind and pushed against the ground.
Emrys, who couldn't even catch his breath, was completely overwhelmed and confused.
Who would strike him at this moment?
He looked up but was surprised to see who it was it was the man.
The man who had been unconscious on the ground a second ago was now completely fine. Even after a hit like that, he seemed completely unfazed.
He spat and said, "Not bad, but a weak kick like that can't take me out. Still, that was a good idea with perfect execution."
Emrys, In pain, he could only gasp, "I struck you with all my might… and it did nothing?! You've got to be kidding me!"
He managed to break free, creating distance between them.
"I've never seen someone like you around here. Did you just arrive? What's your name, soldier?" the man asked.
"Who cares who I am? And I'm no soldier. The better question is what are you? Some kind of orc… or troll?" Emrys replied, his breath heavy.
"Oh, don't worry," the man said with a faint smile. "You're going to find out soon enough."
The atmosphere tensed, both of them wary of the other's next move. They were so fixated on each other that neither realized a crowd had begun to form around them soldiers, trainees, even the guards at the front all gathering to witness the clash and see who would come out on top.