Almost at the exact moment Roya swung his sword and cut Mozu's blade cleanly in two—
Former Marine Admiral Zephyr, along with the surrounding instructors, all had their eyes flicker with surprise, each revealing a trace of astonishment.
"This…"
A Marine rear admiral could not help murmuring in shock, "To think that in just one month, his swordsmanship has grown to this level. Is this the talent of a natural-born swordsman?"
One month ago, during the practical combat assessment, Roya had indeed displayed a flame-type sword aura. However, from any perspective, his swordsmanship back then was extremely crude—barely qualifying as that of an entry-level swordsman.
But now, one month later, that seemingly casual strike had directly severed Mozu's sword in half, flowing smoothly like clouds and water. It was clear that Roya had already begun to grasp the essence of the sword path.
In the arena.
After casually cutting Mozu's sword in two, Roya did not continue attacking. He simply stood there quietly.
"I wonder," Roya said with a smile as he looked at Mozu, "whether your body is sturdier than your sword?"
Though he was smiling, paired with those words, the expression instantly took on a demonic quality.
Mozu clearly could not accept this completely unexpected outcome. He clenched the broken half of his sword tightly and raised it again.
But—
Before the broken blade could even fall, Roya's Engetsu had already lightly pressed against Mozu's throat.
Clang!
The broken sword slipped from Mozu's grip and fell to the ground.
Feeling the icy chill radiating from the blade at his throat, Mozu's heart turned cold, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He did not dare move. Only now did he fully regain his senses, disbelief still lingering in his eyes.
Seeing this, the instructor responsible for officiating shook his head and announced the result directly.
"Roya wins!"
Once the result was declared, Roya sheathed Engetsu and casually walked off the field. From start to finish, he had merely swung his arm twice.
Only then did the stunned recruits finally come back to their senses.
"Mozu's sword… was cut cleanly in half?!"
"If I'm not mistaken, Roya's sword should be a famous blade."
"But even a famous blade shouldn't be able to casually sever a standard-issue steel sword like that. That's steel, not a tree branch!"
Many recruits wore expressions of utter disbelief, their gazes involuntarily drawn to the broken half of the sword lying on the ground. The fracture was perfectly smooth, gleaming with metallic luster under the sunlight.
This didn't look like steel colliding with steel at all—it looked more like steel slicing through wood, cleanly cutting it in two.
Even the stronger recruits, such as Drake, could not help showing looks of astonishment as they watched.
Someone recalled the previous moment and muttered in amazement:
"That guy… didn't he just swing his sword with one hand?"
Using both hands was undoubtedly more powerful than using one, yet Roya had effortlessly cut Mozu's sword in half with a single-handed strike. If he had used both hands—
Would Mozu have been split in two, sword and all?!
At that thought, many gazes toward Roya became noticeably heavier. While this alone did not mean they fully accepted his first-place ranking, it undeniably proved that Roya's strength had nothing to do with those absurd rumors.
Among everyone present, however, the most shocked and incredulous were undoubtedly the recruits from Roya's own squad—the very ones who had just been spreading stories about his so-called "true background."
Once they snapped out of it, their jaws nearly hit the ground.
"Mozu's sword actually…"
"How is this possible?!"
These recruits, who believed they were extremely "familiar" with Roya's strength, were now staring in disbelief.
True, Roya had missed training for two months, but two months ago he had been the worst recruit, nearly failing every physical test. To go from that to instantly overwhelming Mozu was such an abrupt leap that no one could process it right away.
Roya's current strength compared to two months ago was not just slightly different—
It was worlds apart.
Meanwhile, those who had already been skeptical of the rumors began to sneer.
"Interesting."
"Bottom of the squad? Failing grades? With swordsmanship like that, even if he isn't first, he's definitely not as pathetic as those rumors claim."
"Or what—are you saying everyone in your squad is stronger than him?!"
The mocking laughter immediately made the faces of those recruits burn with embarrassment.
Unable to endure it any longer, one of them forced himself to shout, "What's so amazing about it? He's just relying on the sharpness of a famous sword!"
"Engetsu—one of the 21 Great Grade Blades—is indeed a famous sword," another recruit who knew swords well said bluntly, "but a famous sword doesn't mean you can casually chop a standard steel sword in half. That's steel, not rotten wood."
Those words made the first speaker's expression stiffen again.
With no way to back down, he steeled himself and shouted, "I, Dars, challenge Roya!"
Since things had already come to this, the only way to save face was to defeat Roya!
As long as he avoided the edge of Roya's blade, it would be fine. Roya's strength and speed had been failing grades before—no matter how much he improved in two months, it couldn't be that much.
That's right. Exactly!
With that thought, Dars stepped out of the crowd and entered the arena.
The recruits were clearly surprised that Roya was challenged again immediately. And although Dars ranked slightly higher than Mozu, he was still outside the top hundred.
Challenges that met the rules could not be refused. However, when challenged consecutively, a combatant was entitled to a ten-minute rest before fighting again.
Roya had barely exerted himself, so he clearly did not need the rest. Still, the officiating instructor followed procedure and asked:
"Roya, since this is a consecutive challenge, you have the right to rest for ten minutes."
"No need. Let's start right away."
Roya shrugged casually and stepped back onto the field.
Seeing this, the instructor decisively announced:
"Second match: Dars versus Roya—begin!"
Almost the instant the match began, a sharp sword chime echoed across the arena. Another broken blade shot skyward, tracing an arc through the air.
Because this time the fragment flew toward the crowd, a Marine rear admiral flashed forward and lightly kicked it down in midair.
Different opponent.
Same outcome.
Dars tried to avoid Roya's blade while counterattacking, but that was nothing more than wishful thinking. Under Roya's sword, there was no such opportunity.
Once again, a casual strike forced Dars to block, and with a single slash, his sword was cleanly severed.
"Next."
Roya stood in the center of the arena, sword in hand, and spoke calmly.