To prevent slipping, a layer of fine sand was spread on the training ground.
Whoosh—a handful of sand was thrown towards Valina.
[Damn, how did he… when he squatted down!] She had to raise her hand to shield herself, but her eyes were still splashed.
Since it was the Sergeant Major's guidance, wouldn't it be disrespectful not to follow her teachings?
Horatio quickly closed in, taking advantage of her obstructed vision, and delivered a vicious uppercut to her lower abdomen.
That spot was where women conceived life, and also one of their most vulnerable areas, with only fat and no muscle. If hit, she would tremble and fall to her knees, clutching her legs.
Facing Horatio's highly threatening attack, Valina endured the discomfort in her eyes and immediately launched a full counter-attack.
Horatio smoothly changed his straight punch to a hook, curving past her forearm and heading for her face.
[This is mimicking my feint, hehe, interesting.] Valina recognized Horatio's technique.
She reacted just as quickly, raising her hand to block.
Just as it seemed she would be intercepted, Horatio unexpectedly delivered a knee strike towards Valina's lower abdomen.
The woman gasped, reacting with the speed of a battlefield veteran.
She quickly used her forearm to block the hook, but the immense force still made her stagger backward.
[This bad boy, focusing on women's weaknesses.] Valina gritted her teeth and curved her lips, signifying her approval.
Horatio seized the initiative in the offense, closing the distance directly and unleashing a vicious side kick.
The Sergeant Major quickly widened the distance, attempting to raise her hand to block, but was still swept across the elbow.
Before she could recover from her imbalance, Horatio pressed in again.
His fist tore through the air, emitting a long whistling sound.
Crack!
The battle-hardened Sergeant Major knew well that no one could resist the pleasure of pressing an advantage. She used her staggered and weak posture to deceive Horatio's judgment, luring him to focus on offense.
Suddenly, from her unstable position, she unexpectedly adopted an offensive stance, sidestepped, clamped onto his wrist, and stopped her fist right before Horatio's nose.
"A master who learns on the fly. I didn't expect to find such an unpolished gem among the Navy Heir."
The woman snorted, flicked Horatio's nose with a finger, and said with a pleased smile:
"Offense as defense, truly combining both offense and defense; seemingly retreating, but actually luring the enemy deeper. This is the second of my hard-won experiences, take it."
"Thank you, Instructor, for your dedicated guidance." Horatio expressed his sincere gratitude, performing a solemn aquila salute, which the Sergeant Major returned.
Horatio had learned another move, quickly absorbing the recent experience and mentally devising several similar strategies.
Under the enhanced learning ability provided by his prosthetic limb, he had a photographic memory for the moves he saw, many of which already had a foundation in his mind. Now, all he needed to do was convert them into muscle memory through practical combat.
[Today's gains are plentiful.] Horatio nodded with satisfaction.
Seeing this new recruit's rapid learning and humility, the Sergeant Major was very pleased, and her evaluation of the dark-haired youth rose considerably.
Then, she cleared her throat: "Now, everyone, full gear preparation!"
At her command, all the cadets quickly lined up in order.
"To the ready room, double-time!"
On the viewing platform, the Navy leaders discussed the results of the training.
"Friend, what do you think of Horatio's performance just now?" Rear Admiral Edward asked.
"I'm more concerned about his future progress. You can't be an officer just by relying on your fists. What do you think?" Rear Admiral Alexander Hood asked indifferently, standing up and tidying his clothes.
Edward had known him for many years and understood that not mentioning specific flaws was his highest praise.
"At least I'm not worried about him in terms of combat," Rear Admiral Edward said with a smile.
"He has your demeanor from back in the day, doesn't he?" The chief officer of the Naval Loyal Succession Department teased.
"Oh, by the way, your daughter..." Rear Admiral Edward suddenly remembered something.
"What about her?"
"She asked me if Horatio could be assigned to her as a bodyguard. Has your esteemed daughter mentioned this to you?"
"..."
"The Evil Cultists have already targeted her. I think it's indeed time to assign a bodyguard to your daughter, after all, she's your only child."
"How can a precious Navy Heir waste time in such a place!"
Rear Admiral Alexander Hood snorted: "We can't spoil her."
Rear Admiral Edward shrugged and said nothing more.
Rear Admiral Hood stood up, about to leave, then suddenly seemed to remember something, turned back, and added: "Use his vacation time."
—
The Navy Heir's ready room was enormous, a majestic building resembling an ancient Roman temple.
"Stand on it," Louise, as the team leader, told Horatio.
When Horatio stepped onto it, it was as if he triggered some large mechanism.
'+Initiating Equipment Configuration+'
'+Childer of Loyalty Standard Combat Gear+'
A Servitor on one side held the void-blue carapace armor, placing the front and back chest plates. With a click of locking, they closed together seamlessly.
Mechanical arms on both sides approached Horatio's outstretched body, fitting him with arm guards and carapace gauntlets equipped with advanced data-slates.
The machine behind, with the help of a Servitor, fitted Horatio's shoulder pads.
"We are His servants."
"Forging a grim mission."
The priests of the Ecclesiarchy sprinkled holy water on Horatio, accompanied by the chanting of Acolyte singing hymns to the God-Emperor.
[Oh, this damned sense of ritual.] Horatio thought, both amazed by the complex and cumbersome nature unique to the 40K universe, and praising the Empire's emphasis on its warriors.
The Aom Shield Helmet was slowly placed on Horatio's head, emitting a crisp click as it settled into place. Horatio's eyes immediately glowed with a terrifying red light, exuding the oppressive aura of a battle-hardened warrior.
"Clad in strong armor, wielding the wrath of red flame."
Two rather terrifying-looking 'little angels' flew one after another behind Horatio, slowly flapping their sacred white feathered wings. One held a Ryza-pattern Hellgun, and the other held a large energy pack.
This weapon, made from the finest materials by the forge world Ryza, was the most popular standard weapon of the Childer of Loyalty troops.
By adjusting this energy backpack, with its 60-terajoule operating range, the Ryza-pattern Hellgun could fire lasers capable of penetrating ceramite.
This meant that Horatio, wielding this gun, could even scorch and kill traitor Space Marine if he encountered them.
"With pious hearts, we are His guardians."
Click! Click!
The fully armored Childer of Loyalty warriors slowly descended from the assembly platform.
Horatio looked at his helmet; the visual display area had a holographic tactical analyzer constantly searching and analyzing surrounding information.
The information on his arm data-slate was even more detailed, including information about his squad members, the status of various body parts, and weapon conditions.
This was the T0 of mortal forces, a Childer of Loyalty army where an Imperial Guard regiment was only allocated ten such warriors.
The sturdy, expertly crafted carapace armor, individually supervised by the Department of Military Affairs, gave Horatio an unprecedented sense of security.
The Hellgun was large and heavy, and the carapace armor was not light, but for Horatio's body, which had been enhanced by Father Lati, it was not much of a burden.
The cadets wore heavy boarding team armor.
The Gothic Fleet's boarding teams (also called Scavengers or Deck Sweepers) had helmets similar to knightly armets, with a slit in the middle of the helmet serving as their visor.
This armor was heavier than that of Voidsmen-at-Arms (regular Armed Voidsmen-at-Arms), similar to carapace armor, made of ceramite and plasteel.
They carried a Cadia-pattern Hellgun to distinguish it from the Childer of Loyalty weapon.
Primarily, this was because the Ryza-pattern Hellgun was more valuable, and the Department of Military Affairs rarely issued Ryza Hellguns to anyone other than the Childer of Loyalty troops.
The Cadia Hellgun had lower power and endurance compared to the Ryza-pattern, with a battery energy pack weighing only 10 kilograms, and its optical sight and overall gun cost were far less than the Ryza-pattern. However, this did not prevent it from being an excellent and valuable weapon capable of penetrating traitor Space Marine power armor.
Horatio had read Rear Admiral Hood's manual and knew that the Navy was developing a batch of experimental armor specifically for the Hellspawns unit. Perhaps soon, everyone's armor would be standardized. Of course, given the Empire's efficiency, it could also take a very long time.
"Everyone, lock your Hellgun to stun power mode, and double-time to the training ground!"
"The Hellgun's safety is here, and you can adjust the firing mode here," Louise said to Horatio through the comms.
She patiently guided him on how to use the Hellgun.
"Although you've been divided into squads, for now, you will train in groups. Manage your own groups. I don't want anyone from any group to fall behind, understood!"
"Yes!"
—
Thump-thump-thump! Solid, heavy footsteps pounded on the quick-setting concrete ground as the cadets formed a square formation and ran at a steady pace.
The 15-kilometer journey to the firing range seemed so distant. The scorching sun made everyone's armor and weapons hot.
Fortunately, the internal circulation system could inject cool air into the armor, expelling hot air through the vortex radiators on the sides of the horn-shaped comms backpack. Horatio felt like he was wearing an air conditioner.
Two Storm Sergeant Majors drove a taurus assault vehicle behind them, yelling at groups that slowed down and spraying them with exhaust fumes and dust from their wheels.
Sergeant Major Valina was also wearing the full gear of a Storm Troopers, but she wasn't wearing a helmet. A bright red beret sat on her head, and given her height of 1.9 meters, she was like a leading flag.
Horatio adjusted his breathing evenly and rhythmically. They had already run 8 kilometers in full gear. Everyone in Louise's group was running excellently at the very front, closely followed by Henry Harvey's group.
The only slight drawback was that the second son of the Ravenberg Family had fallen a bit behind, but he was still panting and catching up with the team.
Horatio observed his surroundings. He noticed that Group Leader Louise was observing the environment while running.
[It's too quiet. There are no other cadets on the entire road. Did the instructors block the road?]