The Scholar's Rebirth

Draco had seen the note Eira left for him,Elandor himself had other matters to attend to,so he started the exams immediately he arrived.

Looking at the recruits, Draco couldn't believe how much they had improved. Their muscles were bulking and they had much more discipline and strength compared to their previous appearances.

Kael was the only one still lacking that robust physique but it was only a matter of time,after all he might act matured but he was a child.

"Give me ten",his voice ran out,the wind carry it across the field.

He watched as they moved,their footsteps so light. His head nodded in approval, before this he had seen other knights and warriors. They fought proudly and liked to show off flashy moves to showcase their power. They deemed anything less an act of cowardice,but Eira disagreed.

"The less casualties produced,the better", she had said.

Within seconds,they all lined up in ten lines waiting for the next instruction.

Draco gave the elf at the very first place in each line a box," Pick a band and hand the box over to the person behind to do the same."

"Each team has 50 members. Your goal is to collect 100 enemy bands or at least 1 enemy flag. How you do it is up to you. If your band is taken, you're out. The use of ALL kinds of weapons is prohibited, only martial arts and self defence tactics are allowed. The duration for this exam is 2 hours,after every 30 minutes a signal would be given. Once the time is up,you are to assemble back here,failure to do so will result in a week punishment for all of you,irrespective of your team. Is that understood?"

The recruits were shocked by the last rule but quickly straightened up and shouted,"SIR.YES,SIR"

Draco rolled the parchment up, his expression unchanged. "You have five minutes to prepare. After that, the test begins."

Each team instantly scattered, searching for a base of operations.

########

For the exam,They had been moved from their usual spot. Currently they were surrounded by all kinds of scenery, mountains, forests,Ruins....they had so many options to choose from.

_________

Team Red

"Where are we going?" Ryllis asked, breathless.

Dain didn't stop moving. He already had an answer.

"Cover. We need a place we can disappear into. Look ahead—those ruins."

A few recruits hesitated. "Shouldn't we pick a more open spot? That way, we can see enemies coming."

"No." Fynn, the scout, was firm. "The moment we're spotted, we'll be outnumbered. We need somewhere with tight spaces, blind corners, and multiple hiding spots."

Lyanna frowned. "It's hard to move fast in ruins. If we get surrounded—"

"We won't get surrounded." Dain's voice was sharp. "Because we'll be the ones ambushing them."

And so,they headed for the ruins.

#######

Team Blue

Vaelen was already running.

"Why the forest?" Kael panted behind him.

"Because if you can't be seen, you can't be caught," Raven replied without looking back.

Lirien, the elf scout, nodded in approval. "Trees are natural cover. We can climb, we can hide, and we can attack from above."

"But what if another team comes in?"

Lirien smirked. "Then they've already lost. They'll be walking into our territory."

No one argued after that.

########

Team Green

"We need to move. Pick a place," Talis said impatiently.

Ceylan, arms crossed, didn't rush. "We're not staying anywhere long. Just a meeting point."

"A base is a base," someone scoffed.

Ceylan tilted her head. "Not if we're smarter than that."

The recruits exchanged glances.

"We take the old watchtower," she said finally. "It's tall, has a good view, and it's a symbol of trust. Other teams might come there looking for allies."

A slow grin spread across Torin's face. "And we'll betray them."

#######

Team yellow

Thalos stretched, yawning. "We're not hiding, are we?"

Orren, arms crossed, narrowed his eyes. "A base is necessary. If we don't secure one now, we'll be vulnerable."

Elaine smirked. "What if we pretend we're vulnerable?"

Silence.

Then a slow realization.

Nyx frowned, she knew where this was going. It was a wonderful plan,but she worked better in the dark.

"You're saying… we make ourselves look weak?"

"Exactly," Elaine grinned. "Teams will think we're easy pickings. We let them get close—and then we crush them."

Orren laughed under his breath. "That's insane."

"And brilliant," Thalos admitted.

And just like that,many others formed their bases and began planning. The starting signal came in form of Draco's roar.

__________

Location:Ruins

The team gathered around together,their flag placed right in the middle.

"What do we do now?",an elf questioned.

"First,we vote a leader. I vote Dain,why? Because he choose this place. Anyone against that?",another answered.

No one else spoke up,this prompted that same elf to turn towards Dain.

"What do we do,Captain?"

Dain tapped a finger on this chin for some seconds before replying," First,we divide ourselves into smaller teams."

"Who amongst us are good at scouting?"

Out of the 50 members only a total of 5 raised their hands.

"I'll need you guys to climb the remaining crumbling walls and pillars and act as spotters. If we were able to find here so will others. For now,let's focus on picking then up one by one,let's not go full on attacking yet."

With this 10 people formed the bait team,their job was to wander around and act unawares in order to lead the opposition to their side.

Another 15 formed the ambush squad,they hid behind crumbling walls and were reading to attack whoever came close.

Meanwhile 20 were assigned to guide the flag and Lyanna,she served as the flag bearer as well as the treasurer. She was in charge of the bands they would get.

Meanwhile at the Blue team,things were a little different.

With Vaelen in charge, they went straight into attack mode. With the help of the forest as camouflage, they set traps around,made clothes out of leaves and grasses in order to blend in. This worked out very good for them.

Weapons were not allowed which meant everything had to be done in close combat.

##

Lirien crouched with 10 other members of Team Red in the dense underbrush, eyes locked on Team White's base. Their flag stood right in the center of a well-guarded hill, surrounded by a circular wooden barricade hastily constructed from fallen logs.

From their scouting reports, they knew:

White Team had lost 20 members, they currently had around 15 defenders stationed at the base.

The remaining 15 were likely out hunting for enemy headbands.

"Ten of us against fifteen defenders. A fair fight is not an option."

Kael turned to Raven, a mage.

"Can you make us an opening?"

She shook her head with a sigh,"Not really,if it's an illusion that you need,then I'm not the best option. I haven't mastered the skill yet."

Instead she turned to another mage, Ren.

"You up for this?"

Ren smirked. "Easy, We're going to walk right in."

Instead of a direct assault, Team Red used tactical deception.

Ren and two other mages created the illusion of a full-force frontal attack—50 Red Team members charging towards the barricade.

Simultaneously, the real infiltration squad, led by Lirien, snuck around from the side.

Another illusion was cast, making them appear as Team White members returning from patrol.

From a distance, Team White's defenders panicked as they saw a Red army charging head-on.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" a scout yelled.

The defenders rushed to the barricade, abandoning their inner defenses to prepare for the fake attack.

At the same time, Lirien and her squad, disguised by illusions, walked calmly through the side entrance.

Two guards stopped them briefly. "What happened out there?" one asked.

Kael didn't hesitate. He pointed back. "We got ambushed by Team Red, they're coming!"

Convinced, the guards ran off to reinforce the outer wall, leaving the flag practically unguarded.

Team Red had just walked straight into enemy territory.