Whoosh! Whoosh—
Valina warmed up with a rapid combination of punches into the air, each punch a silent, overbearing provocation.
Louise had already adopted a fighting stance, ready to parry and counter.
They scrutinized each other's every move, constantly observing their stances and actions.
Horatio's combat experience told him that this deathly silence in a standoff wouldn't last long.
Snap! Valina closed the distance with a swift lunge, then threw a right hook towards Louise's side of the face.
Louise had no intention of meeting it head-on; as she sidestepped to the left, she countered with an equally swift right punch aimed at Valina's face.
"Ruthless! She went straight for a move that would incapacitate her opponent," Horatio, watching the fight, frowned, seeing through the tactic.
But Valina didn't give her the chance; she ducked, dodged, and then closed in further, intending to tackle her opponent.
Faced with Valina's savage assault, Louise had no choice but to abandon her offensive stance and slide back and to the right, creating distance between herself and Valina.
Ultimately, she successfully pulled away before Valina could clamp onto her waist.
The initial probing from both sides came to an end.
Louise's sharp gaze was fixed on Valina's every move.
"Retreat? Let's see how many times you can retreat." Valina shook her head, her joints cracking.
Horatio could tell that Louise knew she was outmatched in strength by Valina, so she had been on the defensive, while Valina was eager to pull Louise into a crude, strength-based confrontation to quickly end the duel.
But this time, Louise threw the first punch, forcing Valina to tighten her defense.
Seeing her feint achieve its effect, Louise seized the opening and delivered a knee strike to Valina's abdomen, pushing her back.
The Sergeant Major frowned, and Louise lunged forward, ready to follow up and directly knock Valina down to decide the victor.
Suddenly! A contemptuous, brutal smile appeared on Valina's face as she charged directly forward in a counter-attack.
"Is this Catachan woman's abdominal muscle really that tough?" Horatio gasped, thinking that if he had taken that hit, he would have needed quite some time to recover.
The sudden counter-attack caught Louise off guard; the Sergeant Major rushed forward, wrapped her arms around Louise's waist, lifted her, and slammed her hard onto the ground.
Against all expectations, the fight entered the ground phase, just as Valina wished.
Louise was pinned beneath Valina and could only grab her opponent's wrists.
She gritted her teeth, her eyes glinting with cold resolve, refusing to yield.
While they were in a stalemate, she used her abdominal muscles, swiftly arched her legs upwards, and locked Valina's neck with her thighs.
"It's working!"
As long as Louise controlled her opponent's arms, she could end the match with a leg choke, even if Valina was a Storm Sergeant Major who had undergone human augmentation.
"Heh heh. You think…" Valina's face, which should have been in pain, instead showed a sneer.
"You can win with such petty tricks?"
Veins bulged on Valina's arms; she broke free with brute force, then forcibly pried open Louise's thighs.
Louise quickly twisted her body, intending to create distance first, but it was clearly too late.
Valina pressed down on Louise's body, then from behind, she wrapped her thick arms around Louise's throat.
She employed the most unpretentious yet exceptionally practical rear-naked choke.
"Ugh!!" Louise's hands began to fiercely elbow Valina's side.
A normal person would have let go due to the pain, but Valina was unaffected; her trained and modified body was impervious to this level of impact.
As hypoxia from the choke set in, Louise's expression grew more pained, her conscious elbowing turning into instinctive pulling at the arm around her throat due to oxygen deprivation, her legs also struggling violently.
But all she got in return was Valina increasing the pressure.
Louise's vision began to blacken, and her body started to become limp and unresponsive.
"Surrender, Sergeant, the outcome is decided!"
The resistance in her arms grew more intense, forcing the Sergeant Major to tighten her grip on the throat.
Bang!
After a heavy blow, Valina let out a muffled grunt.
Louise slammed backward with all her might, and a gush of fresh blood immediately poured from Valina's nose.
Valina turned her face away, dodging Louise's next impact, her face largely stained red with blood.
"Well learned! Hahahaha!" The female Sergeant Major not only didn't groan from the pain but instead laughed maniacally, morbidly.
The smell of blood ignited Sergeant Major Valina's killing instinct, forged on the battlefield, and she continued to increase the pressure.
"Ugh!"
Louise's face was flushed, like a ripe apple; even with her mouth open, no sound could escape her throat.
Her vision instantly plunged into darkness, and the hands that had been struggling to pull at Valina's forearm completely lost strength due to the lack of oxygen.
"Enough!" Horatio rushed over, using the strength of his mechanical prosthetic limb to forcibly pry open the Catachan Sergeant Major's arm.
Even though her vision had blackened from the choke, Louise, as a Childer of Loyalty of the Navy, did not tap the ground to surrender to the Storm Sergeant Major.
"Hah—ugh ah!" Louise gasped for air, rolled onto her side, and fortunately, thanks to Horatio's timely intervention, she suffered no significant injuries.
"As expected of a Kasrkin recruit, truly a good prospect," Sergeant Major Valina praised with a serious expression.
She took two bottles of water from a nearby Storm Sergeant Major, twisted open one, poured it on her face to wash away the blood, and tossed the other to Louise.
To establish her authority, she showed no mercy during the sparring match with her squad leader.
"Thank you… Instructor for the guidance." Louise stood up from the ground, her voice sounding somewhat drained.
"Hey, you, you're new, aren't you? What's your name?" Sergeant Major Valina eyed Horatio suspiciously.
Her strength was her capital for surviving battles; how could this young man pry her arm so easily?
"Recruit Sergeant Horatio, Instructor." Horatio saluted solemnly.
"How do you have such great strength?"
"Honed through rough and tumble," Horatio, of course, would not reveal the secret of his prosthetic limb.
"Huh?" Valina was surprised at first, but soon her surprise turned into a smile.
"Interesting. Want to learn a few moves from me?" Valina casually wiped away the seeping nosebleed with her thumb, raising the corner of her mouth as she asked.
"Please guide me, Instructor."
Valina looked at the young man before her indifferently, then snorted approvingly.
"I thought all you Navy cadets were a bunch of cowards. It seems there are still a few with backbone among the new blood.
As your instructor, I will teach you without reservation, all techniques and experiences I've gained with blood."
"Please."
Horatio did not intend to use any arm abilities in this sparring session, but his Machine Soul Affinity might help him learn this Storm Sergeant Major's techniques faster.
"Prepare yourself, warrior."
The two stood face to face, Valina looking into Horatio's eyes.
That gaze reminded her of her old platoon leader, a Storm Sergeant Major who was a former gang leader from Necromunda.
Their gazes were so similar, seemingly indicating that this young man also had a similar gang background.
The atmosphere fell silent.
Holding her breath, Valina swiftly closed the distance and delivered a fierce kick with her left leg towards Horatio's chest. If it connected, he would be sent flying several meters.
Clap! —
Horatio quickly sidestepped and raised his arm to deflect the kick, but that was Valina's feint; she quickly retracted her leg and settled, then a right hook sliced through the air towards Horatio's face.
"So fast!"
Horatio, relying on his superhuman reflexes, quickly ducked to dodge, narrowly avoiding the blow.
From these few fierce attacks, he could tell that this Sergeant Major, nicknamed 'Lioness,' was exceptionally strong and much more serious than when she dealt with Lydos.
After a round of contact, Valina voluntarily created distance, allowing some time for instruction.
"You have very good strength and speed, but actual combat doesn't rely solely on these two to win."
Valina said to Horatio, "Speed, strength, technique, strategy—none are expendable. When dealing with the right opponent, gouging eyes, tearing flesh, kicking the groin, throwing sand in the face—there are far more methods available than just these, as long as they help you survive and win the fight."
"Having been through the Lower Hive for so long, I'm familiar with this," Horatio nodded understandingly.
"Then I won't hold back, Instructor."
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