Before Simon’s mind could even make sense of what had happened—his entire world had already tilted.
His breath reeled—eyelids clamping shut—as he dropped face-first onto the ground.
The soldiers encircling—and even Bavrik, the battalion commander—staggered back, gasps tearing from their throats. None of them had foreseen this. Not even Bavrik himself.
Eren being powerful—fast, even edging slightly stronger than him—was acceptable, even expected. But this? This defied every measure he had taken of the boy.
Now, before his eyes, the unimaginable played out: Simon—a mere common soldier, a man Bavrik had idly chosen to spar Eren out of curiosity, just to gauge the newcomer’s style—now lay sprawled in the sandy clearing, face pressed to the dirt, his fist mangled, a toe missing... perhaps more fingers lost as well.
And above him stood the boy.
His helm—the front already destroyed—shattered off of his face as Bavrik staggered, eyes wide, mind reeling.
This... This is nothing like what I expected. Velira said he was powerful—yes—but this powerful?
He swallowed the thought, holding it tight behind his teeth, while the other soldiers could only gape—disbelief etched into every face. A boy, younger than most of them, still barely of age, with no banners of any noble house nor the shadow of any great faction behind him—stood there wielding not even a proper weapon, just the broken branch of some unknown tree.
And yet, with it, he had carved strength so terrifying that even the earth itself cratered beneath his blows.
They could only stand, stunned—bewildered—unable to reconcile what their eyes had just witnessed.
A backing... it had to be. Their minds grasped for reason. Some illegitimate son of a great noble... that must be it. But even then—
None of them could truly comprehend what they had just witnessed. The soldiers nearest Mira—who had only moments ago cleared space around her, keeping their distance in veiled hostility—now stood drenched in sweat.
A great noble’s bastard son... then Mira... she must be the favored concubine of one of those lords, secretly meeting him here. The thought spread like wildfire.
They realized they had jumped to conclusions too quickly.
And with that realization came panic. One by one, those who had edged toward Mira fell to their knees, eyes lowered, shoulders trembling. Their voices broke in unison:
"Your Grace... we did not know. We would never have dared speak so rashly—never shown such hostility—had we known your standing. Forgive us."
They could not even fathom what might happen if word of this ever reached the ears of that high noble. The very thought made their stomachs twist.
Meanwhile—watching it all in disbelief—stood Mira. Her eyes widened, lips parted, the shock so heavy she barely registered her own breath.
Eren’s gaze swept across the ring—the soldiers, the writhing Simon—before finally settling on the small cleared space where no one stood near. His step-aunt.
He exhaled, a calm smile breaking across his face as he called out to her astonished eyes.
"Wasn’t it awesome?" he shouted, striding toward her, leaving Simon behind in the dirt.
Simon, trembling, dragged himself across the sand in crawling pain, clutching at his mangled toes. "Gone!" he screamed, voice cracking in despair.
The soldiers, still reeling from the demonstration, jolted back into motion and rushed in to help him.
Bavrik was the first to shake himself free of the moment.
"Get the healers!" he barked. "Call Alayne too, if she’s free."
As the soldiers scattered to obey, his gaze lingered on Eren. A low murmur slipped from his lips, half-smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Now that... that’s a gem I never expected to find in this haystack of a village."
Recognition. Acknowledgment. Something more than curiosity now gleamed in Bavrik’s eyes, even as Eren walked forward without pause.
Mira stood just ahead, soldiers still kneeling around her—unsure when relief would come, waiting for her word to rise. She herself only leaned forward, breath unsteady, as Eren drew near.
"I know you’ve always been the stronger one... but that speed—" Mira’s gaze traced his face, lingering, searching. "Are you hurt?" she asked at last.
Eren chuckled softly. "After all that, is that what you’ve been trying to ask with that astonished expression?" A small laugh slipped out despite himself.
Mira hummed, eyes not leaving him. "No... there are too many questions, more than I can ask right now. For the moment... your well-being is all I care about." Her voice faltered, words trailing off.
Eren’s expression gentled. He took her hand, replying in a calm murmur, "Then why don’t we go there—" he nodded toward the direction of their tent "—and talk."
His hand rose, brushing along her cheek, lifting a strand of sweat-damp hair clinging to her skin. He leaned in closer, his voice low. "Just you and me..."
A faint blush crept across Mira’s cheeks. She turned her gaze aside at first, silent—then after a breath, whispered, "Alright."
Eren smiled, warm and unhurried, before guiding her back toward the camp.
Nearby, the soldiers who had fallen to their knees still kept their heads bowed, uncertain, frozen in the posture of submission.
"So..." one of them muttered from behind the line, his voice barely audible. "Are we supposed... to stay ?"
None answered. The others only kept their heads lowered, the silence thick with unease.
Then a sharp voice cracked across their ears—firm, resolute. This update is available on NovєlFіre.net
"What are you lot doing?"
Bavrik stood there, arms crossed, his expression hard but his thoughts in turmoil. He was already unsettled—confused by what Eren truly was. Was he simply a prodigy plucked from some backwater? Or a noble’s bastard, carrying a lineage no one dared offend? Could such power be harnessed for the battlefield without inviting disaster?
Questions crowded his mind.
"What are you doing?" Bavrik’s gaze swept over the kneeling soldiers. "I think there’s enough work waiting for you lot, instead of playing kneel-and-catch."
One soldier turned, fumbling for an explanation—but Bavrik cut him off.
"Save it. You’ll have extra luggage to pick up on the way," he said flatly, already turning back, his mind sinking once more into restless thoughts.
Behind him, uncertainty still lingered. "So... do we keep—?" one soldier whispered.
The frontmost soldier snapped upright, brushing dirt from his knees with a sharp slap.
"Shut up and stand, idiot."