The field didn't feel the same when we advanced again.
Not because it had physically changed, but because now I could see every detail with a different clarity. The hills, the narrow routes, the fallback points. Everything that once seemed like mere scenery was now part of the decision-making.
"The General didn't retreat very far," Elara said as she adjusted the units' positioning.
"He wants us to advance," Vespera replied. "He wants to see how far we'll go."
Liriel was silent, but I could feel the tension in her. It wasn't fear. It was contained expectation.
"Then we don't give him what he expects," I said. "We change the rhythm."
The order was passed quickly. Small changes in formation, almost imperceptible to anyone watching from afar. Humans advanced in layers, elves maintaining constant lateral pressure. Our group stayed mobile, like a response point, not a direct attack force.
The Sixth General appeared again, the same way as before. Calm. Present. Dominant.
"You came back quickly," he remarked. "That usually means desperation."
"Or preparation," I replied.
His smile was minimal, but real. "Show me."
The combat began without an initial explosion. It was restrained, calculated. Exactly as we trained. Every advance had coverage. Every retreat was planned. The smaller creatures were neutralized faster than before, not through brute force, but through coordination.
"Now," Elara said.
I used the new method for the first time in that clash. Not to attack, but to reposition. The peak came controlled. Short. Precise. My body responded better than before, even though the internal pressure was still there.
Vespera took advantage of the opening. A fast, direct strike, forcing the General to move.
"Interesting," he said. "You've learned not to waste effort."
Liriel entered next, power contained but dense. Not to win, but to hold attention. To limit options.
That was exactly the plan.
The General responded with greater force. The impact threw several combatants back, but the line didn't break. Not this time.
"Hold!" I shouted.
My body protested, but I kept the method under control. I didn't push beyond what was necessary. The training echoed in every decision.
"The cost is coming," Elara warned.
"I know," I replied.
When we advanced again, it was as a group. Each of us doing exactly what we had trained to do. No extra movement. No useless heroics.
The General finally took a real step back.
The entire field felt it.
"So this is it," he said. "That which was trained."
But the price came soon after.
The method began to fail. Not explosively, but insidiously. The internal pressure increased too fast. My vision blurred for an instant.
"Takumi," Liriel called.
"Keep going," I answered. "Now."
She trusted. Elara adjusted the formation. Vespera eliminated the lateral threat that could have cost us everything.
It was enough.
When the General retreated again, this time strategically, silence took over the field.
I dropped to my knees right after.
Elara was by my side in seconds. "You pushed too hard."
"But it worked," I murmured.
Liriel knelt in front of me, her eyes steady. "It worked because you weren't alone."
Vespera breathed deeply, a tired smile on her face. "The training paid off."
It wasn't victory yet.
But it was proof.
That which was trained didn't make us invincible.
But it made us capable.
And, for the first time, the Sixth General wasn't just testing us.
He was being pressured.