The Lion King's Trial!
Deep in the mysterious forest Alvin, like a wild man, lurked in a swamp, with only the upper half of his face showing. He breathed in filthy, foul air, and his entire face was covered in mud, as if he had completely blended into his surroundings.
Even the wild beasts that lived near the swamp were unaware that a human was lurking not far from them.
Although the swamp smelled terrible, it was just enough to mask the human scent on his body, preventing the terrifying beast from detecting it.
He's been here for three whole days, all for this moment!
Behemoth!
This was his target for the hunt. Only by killing this behemoth, cutting off its head and bringing it back could he fulfill the Lion King's request. Behemoth amphibious behemoths. Adults could reach an astonishing five meters in size. They resembled silverback gorillas, but were covered in thick mud armor. This was because they liked to stay near swamps, and over time, the mud would coat their skin, forming a natural armor.
Furthermore, these behemoths possess extremely high intelligence and incredible strength in their arms, making them difficult even for Space Marine to confront head-on. When injured, their hormones surge, plunging them into a state called "enrage," which multiplies their strength and speed!
Behemoth is an ancient monster that inhabits the planet Caliban.
However, these giant beasts were later slaughtered by the Knights of Caliban led by the Lion King, and should theoretically be extinct species that would never reappear.
However, the giant Behemoth still dwells in this mysterious forest.
Based on his observations over the past three days, he has figured out some of the habits of the Behemoth.
To understand why things turned out this way, we need to start with what the Lion King said two weeks ago.
When the Lion King meaningfully told him that he would personally train him, Alvin showed great resistance and tried to persuade the Lion King with reason.
Unfortunately, if the Lion King could be easily persuaded, he wouldn't be the Lion King.
His protest was ruthlessly rejected by the Lion King.
In the days that followed, Alvin fully experienced what it was like to be personally "taken care of" by the Lion King. To put it bluntly, it was worse than death!
Ryan Aljonson's swordsmanship is a pinnacle of skill, combining the traditions of Caliban's knights with his personal philosophy.
Extremely practical!
This Caliban sword technique emphasizes a single, fatal strike, avoiding unnecessary movements, minimizing one's own weaknesses, and combining power and speed.
It's fair to say that the Lion King's swordsmanship is among the best in the Imperium, if not the most outstanding.
But this caused Alvin a lot of trouble.
It wasn't that he hadn't learned swordsmanship, but the person in charge of teaching swordsmanship at the time was completely flawed compared to the Lion King!
The most direct result was that Alvin had dozens of sword wounds on his body almost every day, even though the Lion King deliberately controlled his strength.
In the words of the Lion King, he wouldn't use that lukewarm teaching method; Lion must go through brutal battles to be qualified to survive!
This training method is very "Lion King- like".
"Too slow!"
With a casual flick of his sword, the Lion King stopped Alvin in his tracks.
Then, with a seemingly simple slash, he bypassed Alvin's defense and left a shallow sword wound on him.
"Your movements are too numerous and chaotic!" The Lion King, gripping a very ordinary iron sword, shouted, "In real combat, you must learn to minimize your movements, making each one precise and concise!"
As he spoke, the Lion King swung his sword again, a seemingly simple straight thrust. Alvin retreated, raising his sword in an attempt to block.
But the same thing happened again!
The Lion Sword slashed downwards, aiming for Shang Alvin's leg. The latter hurriedly swung his sword to block, but unexpectedly neglected the defense above, and was immediately punched in the head.
"You're only concerned with the upper body and neglect the lower body! What kind of teacher did you have?!" The Lion King roared, slashing down with his sword. "Swordsmanship isn't just about how to wield the sword; you also need to take care of your footwork. Where are your legs? And what's your other hand for?!"
When!!!
The sword struck Alvin's blade, the violent shock nearly splitting his hand and sending the sword flying.
"Grip your weapon tighter!" the Lion King said. "In the chaotic battlefields of the future, losing your weapon is tantamount to losing your life!"
Looking at Alvin, who was panting heavily from exhaustion, the Lion King showed a rare hint of tenderness. "Can you still keep going?"
"Able!"
Despite being tortured to the point of near death, Alvin gritted his teeth and persisted. "Again!"
"Very good."
A smile appeared on the Lion King's face, then vanished, replaced by a stern expression. "To show you mercy here would be to harm you—even though you are Psyker, you must learn this swordsmanship!"
"Yes!"
Alvin, trembling, gripped the blade tightly, took a deep breath, and said, "Come on, Lion King!"
After finally mastering the Caliban sword technique through the Lion King's brutal training, he immediately faced the second test.
The Lion King took Alvin's entire equipment, including the shattered Sky-Shaking Unicron Armor, the precision-engineered Bolter, the Power sword, and the Plasma Gun.
All that was left for him was a dagger.
Looking at the dagger's blade, its jagged edges resemble serrated teeth, clearly indicating that this dagger has been "battle-hardened" many times.
Then, the Lion King led Alvin and Zabriel directly to a mysterious space.
"This is... Caliban?!"
Zabriel was stunned. The familiar forest before him made him feel as if he had returned to Caliban.
But his perception told him that this was definitely not the Caliban Forest, because Caliban had long been destroyed, and only the Stone Fortress remained!
The Lion King didn't explain to them where they were, but simply pointed to the depths of the forest and said to Alvin, "This is your final test. Enter this forest, find a giant beast called 'Behemoth,' hunt it down, cut off its head, and then return here."
This is Alvin's trial!
This also proves the results of the Lion King's personal training for him over the past two weeks!
"It's been three days already--."
Zabriel gazed at the mysterious forest, a hint of worry in his voice. "Is this really alright? He's not Space Marine, and he's not equipped with any weapons, yet he's going to hunt down the Behemoth."
Are you questioning my decision?
The Lion King sat by the lake, expressionless.
"No, my lord, I dare not question your decision, but..." Zabriel shook his head, "According to Caliban's records, the Behemoth was capable of using Psychic Power, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
The Lion King's tone remained cold.
"My lord, he is just a mortal. Even if he is Psyker, how can he hunt down the Behemoth alone?" Zabriel said with some reluctance, "If I remember correctly, in the Caliban Blood Trials, the only person recorded as having hunted down the Behemoth alone is you—right?"
What are you trying to say?
The Lion King slowly turned his head to look at Zabriel.
Looking into the Lion King's cold eyes, Zabriel took a deep breath and mustered his courage to say, "I believe the test you set is unreasonable. The Behemoth is definitely not something he can hunt."
"Are you saying I deliberately sent him to his death?"
The Lion King's gaze was calm as he slowly spoke.
"No, it's not --"
Zabriel lowered his head, feeling the air around him suddenly become extremely oppressive.
"He's no ordinary person."
However, the Lion King suddenly uttered a sentence that seemed to hold profound meaning. "Don't worry, this is a step he had to take, and I simply sped things up a little in the process."
Not an ordinary person?
Zabriel was taken aback by what he heard. For some reason, the scene of when he found Alvin suddenly flashed into his mind.
Beneath the enormous tree, Alvin was enveloped in a golden aura, like a fledgling waiting to hatch inside an egg!