Remnant's Tactician

Chapter 49: Unintentional Intentions

"Hragh!"

I narrowly avoided a lance thrust from Soire, the tip grazing on my arm before I swung my sword at her. Soire immediately spun her lance to block the hit and moved aside when Sol jumped forward and tried to attack with his sword.

I was able to move aside from his strike when Soire caught me off guard by thrusting her lance near my face, getting closer and jabbing me in the gut. The punch was strong enough to knock the wind out of me as I collapsed down to my knees and held my stomach, coughing from the blow. I looked up and saw Soire about to swing her lance when Sol was quick enough to block the hit near inches from my head.

"That's enough, Soire!" Sol exclaimed.

"Tch, this is the third time we've stopped." Soire complained. "No point in sparring if you get knocked down easily."

"Although she agreed on fighting by your rules, Soire." Frederic spoke, walking up to us. "It was clear that Milady isn't ready to fight in such conditions."

It was getting difficult to breathe… Frederic helped me up as I struggled to stand. It has been a month since I started training with the Shepherds, and already I'm feeling like I'm reaching my limit… Soire's rules were that we're to spar without the use of Aura or Dust, only using training weapons.

I've endured most of the training everyone has done here in camp.  Most of which have left me exhausted by the end of the day. And they do this everyday in the morning? I've told Frederic not to hold back with my part of the training since I didn't want to feel different from everyone else. I can see why Chrom asked him to go easy on me now.

"There's no signs of improvement if we do things little by little." Soire pointed out. "If she can't handle something like this, then there's no point."

"I-It's fine, Frederic." I got out, trying to stand properly. "One more time."

Soire huffed with amusement as she stepped back. As much as I wanted to rest, I can't afford to waste their time after all I've been through. My arms felt numb as I tried to hold onto my sword. Soire and Sol were a few feet away from me while Frederic reluctantly allowed us to continue as he moved away. I took a deep breath, ignoring the pain from before.

"I'm ready." I spoke.

As soon as I said that, Soire immediately ran right in front of me. I stumbled back, blocking a strike from the side of her lance. I used her strength along with my momentum to move away from her. If I try to guard against one of her attacks, it'll affect my grip since they're strong. I notice Sol dashing in the corner of my eye as I turn and evade a swing from him.

Soire may be fast, but she doesn't have good movement like Sol. Taking the time to study their ways of fighting before, Sol tends to distract with quick movements and attacks from blindspots, allowing Soire to rush towards the target while they're occupied.

He then attempted to attack with fast swings. Although not as strong as Soire, Sol's hits were so fast that a few managed to slip by my guard. 

I was about to swing my sword at him when he jumped, letting my attention to Soire who thrusted her lance directly towards me. I held up my sword and blocked the hit, resting the flat side of the blade on my fingertips. Although I was able to block the hit, my sword broke from the strike as Soire still had her forward momentum. The tip of her lance was a foot away from my chest when Sol fell and kicked the lance aside, hitting my right shoulder instead.

The impact from the hit caused me to drop my broken sword and grip my shoulder in pain. 

"Lady Robin!" Frederic exclaimed.