Chapter 198: The Game
The rhythm of wooden soles striking packed earth echoed through the training field. Morning light poured across the grounds, washing the circle of trainees in a pale gold that softened the harsh angles of their focus. Dust hung in the air like smoke, stirred by the shuffle of feet, the occasional grunt of effort, and the quiet corrections murmured between partners from other groups.
Orion stood watching the members of his group. For the past half hour, he'd drilled them on anchor steps — the foundational movements that stabilized their stance and flow, connecting their body's weight to the ground in a controlled rhythm. It was a motion that looked simple, but the difficulty lay in its precision: timing breath, weight, and reaction as one.
