"You know him?"

Unexpectedly, Mallos’ eyes were deep and thoughtful:

"Yes."

"I know him."

In front of Thales' slightly surprised expression, Mallos added leisurely:

"From the historical record."

One second later.

Thales exhaled and rolled his eyes.

You know a hammer.

"Of course, I know that sword target practice is boring and boring, and it is far less interesting than real-person confrontation."

Mallos took Thales' water bag:

"As you have already experienced, there are three major schools of martial arts in China: martial arts, trendy, and offensive and defensive."

The watchman turned his head and glanced at Piroga and Conmuto, who had taken turns to be the prince's sparring partners.

Both of them changed color at the same time.

Mallos waved to the older logistics officer and the stocky guard officer, and smiled:

"That's enough to digest for a while."

Piloga and Commuto breathed a sigh of relief, smiled again, and nodded politely to the prince.

"But their styles can only be considered unique, and they are far from the mainstream of today's martial arts."

"Let's wait and see when you pass the first stage of sword target practice."

Mallos looked back:

"Let's go back to the confrontation training. We have many talents among our young men who can show you and teach you the two dominant martial arts mainstreams in Xingchen and even the entire Western Continent. They transcend regional differences."

Thales' eyes moved:

"Domination? Two mainstreams?"

"Yes," Mallos' words were full of the allure of grandma telling stories:

"Originating from the imperial era, they have been competing with each other for thousands of years. They have gone through countless journeys and witnessed thousands of storms. The two main streams have been passed down to this day."

Thales asked:

"And that is?"

Mallos didn't answer any more, just shook his head and gestured to Fraten on the other side of the pendulum.

The latter twisted his lips, silently raised his shield, and returned to the pendulum.

Thales sighed, stood up resignedly, and put on his helmet.

Under the illumination of the moonlight and lights, the sounds of footsteps and sword swings were heard again on the training ground.

Finally, after Thales didn't know how long it took, how many times he hit the shield, and how many pendulums he received, Marius spoke out:

"Well, my movements these few times have been good and quite qualified."

Thank God - ahem, thank the sunset.

Thales exhaled and leaned his sword on the ground.

until……

"Then let's do it twenty more times."

Mallos's face was filled with joy.

Thales' drooping little face tightened again:

"What?"

"But the pace, strength, precision, movements, including the damn pendulum... I did very well in all five categories!"

The young man protested angrily.

"Yes, Your Highness, you have done all five items very well, so in order to maintain such a good condition..."

Mallos smiled and said:

"Let's consolidate it a little more."

Thales felt that the night was so long.

Finally, after twenty standard pendulum stabbing training (including countless times more, and more and more failed actions as time goes by, not included in the total), Thales collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, and could only breathe.

.

"I heard that the 'Raging Sea' is about adapting to the situation on the line between life and death."

Thales was still lying still, just lifting his head with difficulty, trying to change the topic to avoid 'consolidation' next time:

"And this is the best training method you've found for me? Tiring me to death?"

"Is it really of practical significance?"

Mallos snorted and motioned for the others to start cleaning up.

"If we really want to talk about the practical significance, Your Highness, what do you think, as the Duke of Star Lake and the second prince?"

"How many opportunities do you have to go to the battlefield and face the enemy directly?"

As the Duke of Xinghu and the second prince.

The opportunity to go to the battlefield and face the enemy directly...

Thales, who was sitting on the ground, tilted his head and looked at the sky, frowning and recalling:

It seems...

That's quite a lot.

Marius said sarcastically:

"So, according to what you said, why don't you learn how to blow the most piercing whistle, shout the loudest 'help', and then wait for others to kill and save you at the most critical moment?"

Thales twitched the corner of his mouth on the ground.

I want it too.

What a beautiful thought.

"Unlike the ancient nobles who personally led troops and charged forward thousands of years ago, today, the existence of martial arts classes does not require you to become a warrior who can stand up to ten, or to be a vanguard who personally goes into battle."

"That's someone else's job."

Mallos glanced at him:

"Our work."

The watchman's attitude became serious:

"In the royal family and even within most high-ranking nobles, this lesson is just for you to know and feel the same way: in the past, those warriors around your ancestors who did not care about death, in the future, those warriors under you who will not care about their own lives..."

"While they are fighting for you and dying for you..."

"You have to know what they have experienced and what they will face."

"In order not to forget."

Thales, who was lying on the ground, exhaled and remembered the bloody scenes in the past: birch forest, Broken Dragon Fortress, Dragon Sky City, Blade Tooth Camp...

Thales sighed:

"Believe it or not, I know more than you... than many people."

Mallos walked up to him and appeared in Thales' field of vision upside down, blocking the stars in the sky:

"I have no intention of questioning you."

"But it's not just that."

The watchman said quietly:

"Everyone, including our royal guards, have sworn such an oath and upheld this belief: If a crisis comes and a battle breaks out, we will sacrifice everything to protect our master."

"But only one person can't think like that." His tone suddenly became stern.

Thales' expression changed.

"you."

Mallos' tone was calm, as if he didn't care:

"You must always imagine and prepare: What will you do when we are unable to perform our duties or even no longer around?"

Unable to perform his duties, even absent from his side...
To be continued...