WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Abood

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 18: Combat Training

About a month and a half had passed since Friedrich and Yurika were taken into the Hosenfeld household. As autumn deepened, their training entered a more practical phase.

Friedrich, who had steadily built up his stamina, now began learning basic techniques for self-defense. Yurika, having started to grasp the fundamentals of structured combat, was training toward becoming a fully fledged knight.

The two of them sparred with Gregor, engaging in drills that simulated real combat.

"Don't avert your eyes. You can't block a strike if you’re not watching your opponent’s blade, you wimp!" 

Gregor shouted as he brought his sword down. Friedrich, summoning what little courage he had, managed to block the blow. He had no breath to spare for a reply.

It was just training, so naturally both of them wielded wooden swords. Gregor’s weapon was even wrapped thickly in cloth. But that didn’t make the strikes any less terrifying when delivered with such force.

More than the sword itself, it was Gregor’s presence that struck fear into him. The sheer pressure of a man who had survived real battles. For Friedrich who had been just a countryside commoner two months ago, that presence was overwhelming.

Pushed back by that pressure, Friedrich soon lost grip of his sword after several clashes.

“Ah—”

And in the very next moment, Gregor’s wooden blade was pressed against his throat.

"That’s the end. Friedrich the Knight drops his sword in disgrace and dies on the battlefield without a single achievement to his name. That’s five deaths today. And all in one session."

Gregor gave a fearless, mocking smile. Friedrich responded with a stiff, pained grin of his own.

It was obvious that Gregor wasn’t using his full strength. His strikes were heavy, yes, but technically simple. He wasn’t using any advanced techniques. And yet, Friedrich still lost within seconds.

Friedrich’s goal wasn’t to win. It was to hold out , to face a single opponent and survive for a short while. That was all. And even that, he couldn’t manage.

“You’re still far too lacking in stamina. The only time you manage to block properly is in the first few exchanges. After that, you start getting dragged around by the weight of your own sword. You panic when you can’t move freely and start turning your eyes away. Once your strength runs out, you can’t absorb the impact of a strike, and you drop your blade.”

Gregor swung his wooden sword with ease in one hand as he calmly laid out Friedrich’s weaknesses.

"I can tell what you’re trying to do. And your decisions are mostly correct. You pick up techniques quickly probably because you’re sharp, but it’s meaningless if your body can’t execute them. By the time spring comes and you enter the army, you need to be able to endure three times as long as you do now. If you can manage that, then as long as you're not completely isolated on the battlefield, you probably won’t die so easily."

"...And if I do end up alone?"

"If that happens, anyone would die. Me, His Excellency, it makes no difference. That’s what war is. It’s not some heroic tale out of a storybook,” 

Gregor added, then turned his gaze to Yurika."

"Fighting to make sure he never ends up like that. That’s your job, you cheeky little girl. Yurika, you’re next."

With those words, Gregor raised his sword and took his stance.

The atmosphere around him changed. While his intensity remained the same, he now carried a sharper and more refined presence, like a blade honed to a perfect edge, leaving no openings.

"Come at me."

In the next instant, Yurika’s eyes lit up with delight as she raised her wooden sword and charged at Gregor.

Gregor blocked her opening strike by holding his sword horizontally. The force of the impact sent Yurika’s blade bouncing back, but she immediately readjusted her stance and swept low in a sideways slash aimed at his legs.

Gregor calmly stepped back to evade it.

That was all Friedrich could follow. After that, the clash of wooden blades came so fast they blurred, and before he realized it, Yurika was being pushed back.

Suddenly, Yurika leapt backward, putting herself well outside striking range. She then raised her wooden sword and hurled it at Gregor.

At the same time, she launched herself forward. Clutched in her hand was a wooden dagger, though Friedrich had no idea when she had hidden it.

Gregor effortlessly knocked aside the thrown sword. Before the dagger could reach him, he extended his arm and caught Yurika cleanly by the collar.

Then without hesitation, he slammed her into the ground.

“Ugh!”

Gregor hadn’t slammed her down with full force, and the ground was only packed dirt, so Yurika didn’t seem to be hurt. But the impact had clearly been rough, the sound she made resembled a squashed frog.

“You idiot. This isn’t some playground scuffle. What kind of fool throws away their primary weapon so easily?”

With an exasperated look, Gregor grabbed Yurika by the collar of her shirt and pulled her back to her feet. She looked perfectly fine now, casually brushing the dirt off her clothes.

“Was that no good? I mean... it wasn’t good, was it? I really thought that would be the move that let me win today.”

“Obviously not. Throwing your sword is a last resort, something you do only when you’re completely cornered and desperate. You don’t just toss it away because you're under a little pressure. Honestly, did you really think a cheap trick like that would work? And when did you even sneak in a training dagger? Go pick them up”

Yurika bent down and retrieved her wooden sword and the small dagger she had tossed aside.

“Your fighting style is far too reckless. You only followed proper swordsmanship for the first few strikes, but unlike Friedrich, you didn’t lack the skill. You simply got heated and forgot it. I’ve told you before, wild and brute-force attacks might work against untrained people or common foot soldiers, but they won’t hold up against seasoned fighters or trained knights. If you try to overpower them with raw strength, you’ll lose. And stop rushing in like an idiot. Look here.”

He paused, then pointed the tip of his wooden sword toward Friedrich. Compared to where they had started, the distance between Gregor and Friedrich had grown considerably.

“You got so caught up fighting a strong opponent right in front of you, you lost sight of everything else. You didn’t even realize you were being lured away, and now you’re this far from the person you’re supposed to protect. Let’s say that sword you threw had actually struck me. What would you have done next? With Friedrich surrounded by other enemies at this distance, how would you protect him? Would you throw your little dagger next, is that it?”

Yurika turned to look at Friedrich. When she realized the distance between them, her eyes widened in shock.

“As I said earlier, if you're isolated on the battlefield, you die. Right now, you just got Friedrich killed. It’s fine because this was training, but if it had been real combat then wouldn’t be coming back.”

Yurika was visibly shaken. She shook her head slowly, lips moving without sound as she mouthed I’m sorry. Friedrich gave a gentle nod with a soft smile, but whether that brought her any comfort was unclear.

“Retainer Yurika.”

Gregor called her name, and she turned to face him.

“I’ll say it again. This isn’t child’s play. This is real war. That’s what this training is for. Do you understand?”

“…Yes, Captain.”

Yurika answered with a solemn face and a firm voice.

Footnotes: 

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