Previously, when Mozu and Dars had their swords cut off, they did not feel any particularly overwhelming power. But this new recruit, wielding an axe, had it violently yanked—sent flying—by Roya, and only then did he truly experience what absolute strength meant.
In that instant, he almost felt as if his entire arm had gone numb.
"I… I surrender!"
Having realized the enormous gap between himself and Roya, and with fear rising in his heart, he no longer dared to continue fighting. He directly admitted defeat.
The third new recruit to challenge Roya was once again defeated by him in an almost crushing manner. Outside the field, an eerie silence finally descended.
That recruit had been ranked close to one hundred in the entire camp. Yet even someone like that was still crushed by Roya as easily as rotten wood, with no power to resist at all.
Then just how strong was Roya…?
The recruits ranked below the top hundred all swallowed hard, their hearts turning ice-cold. Any thoughts of challenging Roya were instantly extinguished by this bucket of cold water.
After a few breaths of silence—
"I'll go."
Finally, someone stepped forward to challenge Roya again.
The fourth recruit to challenge him was already within the top hundred, yet he was still crushed under Roya's hands.
The fifth, the sixth, the seventh…
Gradually, the challengers reached around the fiftieth rank. At this level, recruits could finally exchange a couple of moves with Roya, and so more and more people began stepping up to challenge him.
Swords, blades, blunt weapons, spears, chains…
All kinds of weapons appeared, dazzling in variety. But no matter the weapon, when facing Roya's sword, not a single one gained even the slightest advantage.
Even those who managed to withstand one or two exchanges were immediately pushed into a disadvantage, then forcefully defeated. Not a single person managed to make Roya hold his sword with both hands.
The reason he never used both hands was not because Roya was deliberately holding back, but because there was simply no need. Casual strikes with a one-handed sword were already enough to crush them. Why bother using a two-handed slash?
By this point, no one was paying attention to anyone else. All eyes were focused solely on Roya. Even those who had intended to challenge others temporarily suppressed that thought.
Roya never once asked for a break. He accepted every challenger without exception, and almost all were defeated in a withering, crushing manner.
One man, one sword, sweeping the entire field!
At this moment, the thoughts in the minds of all the recruits present—including those on Roya's own team—were no longer about exposing Roya's background or testing his limits.
Instead, there was only one question:
Just how strong is Roya?!
Finally, a recruit ranked within the top thirty of the entire camp stepped forward to challenge him. Everyone believed he would at least be able to exchange blows with Roya.
But once he entered the field, what greeted him was a terrifying slash!
This horrifying strike was unleashed by Roya gripping his sword with both hands. The recruit ranked around thirtieth was utterly crushed in a single blow, defeated as easily as decayed timber!
If not for a Marine rear admiral stepping in to save him, he might very well have been cut in half by the sword energy Roya released.
Even so, blood was spilled for the first time in the arena.
A one-handed sword emphasized control and flexibility. A two-handed sword emphasized unmatched power—advancing relentlessly, cutting down everything in its path with a single strike!
When that silver-white sword energy suddenly appeared in the field, carving a clearly visible crack several meters long across the ground, the recruits outside the arena had already fallen into complete silence.
Their eyes were filled with shock.
Sword energy!
Although they were only new recruits, they were recruits of the Marine Headquarters training camp. Many of them were well-informed. Someone capable of displaying sword energy was undoubtedly a monster-level existence within this camp.
What was a "monster"?
In the ordinary battalion of the Marine Headquarters training camp, a monster referred to someone vastly stronger than other recruits—abnormally strong individuals, such as the top-ranked person in each team. These people were almost guaranteed to enter the elite training camp.
Among Roya's teammates, aside from Hina, no one could have imagined that Roya's strength would rise to such a level in just two short months.
"To one-shot even someone ranked in the top thirty… with that kind of strength, only those monsters in the top ten could probably fight him."
"It's a pity. If not for the fact that this class has Drake, with his strength, he might really have had a chance to take first place in the entire camp."
Many people muttered to themselves in shock.
At the same time, it wasn't just the recruits who were stunned. Even the Marine officers present revealed looks of astonishment.
"How is this possible? That level of slash…"
"We underestimated him. Reaching this level in just one month?!"
Even the chief instructor, Zephyr, showed a trace of surprise on his face.
He had already felt that Roya's swordsmanship had advanced greatly over the past month, but he never expected that even now, they were still underestimating the degree of Roya's improvement.
A month ago, Roya's swordsmanship had been extremely rough. He had relied on flame sword aura and terrain advantages to dominate the practical combat assessment. But now, relying purely on straightforward slashes, Roya had crushed a recruit ranked in the top thirty of the ordinary battalion!
---
"This Roya… the change in him is simply too drastic."
Elsewhere, Drake looked at Roya with a grave expression.
Previously, Drake had never paid particular attention to Roya—neither during training nor during the practical combat assessment.
When Roya revealed the ability to cut through steel, Drake did take some notice, but he still hadn't regarded him as particularly important.
However—
When Roya, alone with a single sword, effortlessly defeated every challenger, even crushing a top-thirty recruit with a single strike—
Even Drake could no longer take him lightly.
What truly made Drake feel uneasy was not Roya's current displayed strength, but rather… his rate of growth.
In just two months, the transformation was nothing short of earth-shattering. Such a growth rate was frightening even to Drake.
"Fortunately, although his swordsmanship and slashes are strong right now, at this level, he's still not enough to be a real threat," Drake weighed Roya's power and murmured inwardly.
---
After Roya used a two-handed strike to instantly defeat a recruit ranked in the top thirty, the arena fell into a prolonged silence.
Those ranked around thirtieth now clearly understood the gap between themselves and Roya. Those ranked around twentieth knew that they themselves could not possibly one-shot a top-thirty recruit the way Roya had.
For a time, no one stepped forward to challenge Roya.
What Roya had said earlier had seemed excessively arrogant to them—but now, it was clear that it wasn't arrogance at all.
It was confidence.
Absolute confidence in his own strength.