Free Web NovelChapter 246: Thirty Seconds
Hans brought sixty recruits into the yard after breakfast, resting his wrapped leg on a stool.
Half carried Ferra’s new spearheads, while the rest held practice shields or the empty frames meant for wounded people.
Cassie waited near the front with her staff, placing Jonas between the recruits and Toby without crowding either man. Lana remained at the registry until Marrick finished the morning complaints, leaving her place beside Juna empty.
"Walk backward," Hans said, pointing toward the far wall, "keep your shield facing me until the bell rings again."
The first bell sent every line moving at a different pace, causing three miners to step on the people behind them.
One shield turned sideways before ten seconds passed, opening the recruit beside it from shoulder to knee. Hans threw a piece of chalk through the gap, striking the exposed man near his collar before the line reached halfway.
"Dead," he said, marking the sheet across his lap, "the person beside you decided his shoulder needed more room."
The recruits reset with less talking, though two men still crossed their feet during the next backward step.
Both hit the yard together, taking another shield down when its owner reached for them instead of keeping position.
"Do we learn how to strike today?" a younger miner asked, lifting his practice sword, "walking away will not stop a Flint rider."
"You cannot walk away yet," Hans said, pointing at the three people untangling themselves, "put the sword down until your feet work."
The miner opened his mouth again before Hans handed him one end of an empty carrying frame.
"Your friend loses a leg when the line breaks," he said, indicating another recruit, "get him behind the wall without turning your back."
They lifted the frame between them, immediately losing balance when the shield line moved faster than their steps.
The bell rang after thirty seconds with only eleven recruits reaching the wall in formation.
"Those eleven survived," Hans said, looking toward the scattered groups, "everyone else tries again before lunch."
Hajin watched from beside the bell post while Loccy waited near the repaired cart opening.
She had asked to join the formation until Hans assigned her to stand beyond it as the threat everyone retreated from.
"You are not allowed to hit them," Hajin said, watching her roll one shoulder, "they still have mine shifts tomorrow."
"What if they stop moving?" Loccy asked, looking toward the recruits resetting their shields, "the drill needs something behind them."
"Hit the ground," Hans answered from his stool, "anyone who turns to watch you gets marked dead."
Loccy summoned her hammer after the next bell, striking the yard far behind the last line without opening a Wing.
The impact sent half the recruits looking over their shoulders, causing the front row to walk into them.
Hans used the chalk until the entire group carried white marks across their coats.
"Again," he said, waving Loccy back into position, "turn around next time and I mark you out before she swings."
Cassie’s party entered the yard once the recruits reached the wall with twenty-three people still inside formation. Jonas took the front with his axe held low, Toby watched the open flank, and Cassie stayed behind both with her staff.
Hans placed two recruits who could not walk on a carrying frame inside their formation.
"Thirty seconds," he said, pointing toward Loccy, "reach the wall without leaving those two in the yard."
Cassie raised an earth barrier after the bell, blocking Loccy’s first ground strike while Jonas called the backward steps.
Toby released a white flash across their open side, forcing the recruits playing attackers to cover their eyes. The formation moved faster than the miners, keeping the carrying frame level through the first half of the yard.
Loccy struck to their left, causing Cassie to raise another barrier where the retreat path narrowed near the wall.
Jonas changed direction too late, driving the carrying frame against the earth before Toby could warn him.
One recruit rolled off the frame, landing outside the formation while the simulated attackers closed around him.
"Stop," Hans said, tapping his sheet, "your mage blocked the safe path, then your front line followed her wall anyway."
Cassie looked at the barrier before lowering her staff, leaving the mistake standing where everyone could see it.
"I thought Loccy would cross from that side," she said, checking the space beyond it, "so I closed the angle before she moved."
"Ask Jonas where he can step first," Hans said, pointing toward the axe in front of her, "your wall belongs behind his feet, not on top of them."
Jonas reset the carrying frame while Toby pulled the fallen recruit back inside their formation.
Their second attempt reached the wall in twenty-eight seconds, though Jonas lost his axe when he used both hands to catch the frame.
"Better," Hans said, marking the lost weapon beside his name, "you can retrieve it after the wounded person reaches cover."
Lana entered from the registry as the recruits started another rotation, carrying her slate beneath one arm.
She placed it beside Juna before checking the hunting knife inside her oversized pocket.
"The knife stays there," Hans said, watching her join the rear line, "today you move with people who are bigger than you."
Lana took a place behind two miners, keeping both feet beneath her while the shields rose ahead.
The bell sent them backward as Loccy struck the yard, leaving the girl hidden between bodies for twelve seconds.
A recruit playing a raider rushed through the open flank, hitting a practice shield against the ground beside her.
Lana stopped moving as the shield filled her view, letting the line pull three steps away without her.
The raider lowered his shield immediately, but she remained planted until Hans ended the drill.
"I froze," Lana said, staring at the space her group had left, "I saw him coming, but my feet stayed there."
"Move them now," Hans said, pointing toward the starting line, "you can be angry after you get back into position."
She turned too quickly, catching one foot behind the other before both knees struck the yard.
Juna reached her after the fall, though Lana pushed herself upright before either hand touched her.
"Your rear foot crossed again," Juna said, crouching beside the scrape, "set it outside your hip before the shield comes."
Lana copied the stance with blood running beneath one knee, then waited for the same recruit to rush her.
He struck the ground again, making her shoulders lock while her foot moved where Juna had placed it.
The step carried her behind the shield line, though she tripped near the wall and hit the other knee.
"That one moved," Hans said, marking the sheet, "Vella can complain about the landing."
Vella pulled Lana beside the clinic barrel, covering both scrapes with golden healing while pretending to inspect the bandages nearby.
"I am treating an unrelated knee disaster," she said, closing the deeper scrape, "nobody here needs to look pleased with herself."
Lana failed to hide her grin before returning to the line with both knees still sore beneath the healing.
Ash appeared beside her carrying a barrel lid, gripping it with both hands while he copied the nearest shield stance.
The lid covered his entire chest, leaving him unable to see Hans raise the chalk near the stool.
Loccy struck the yard again, sending Ash backward into Juna’s legs while the lid remained upright before him.
He growled from the ground, pushed the lid aside, then dragged it toward the starting line for another attempt.
Hans signaled the bell worker without giving him time to join, sending all sixty recruits backward once more.
