Tetsu no Sosuke had gained quite a lot from this fight alone.
This was different from their earlier joint training. Since they were fighting against one another, there was more to gain.
The Wind Pillar and the Flame Pillar exchanged a glance and agreed.
"But if we're going to train, we can't keep fighting two against one. We need to change how the three of us train."
Tetsu no Sosuke said, "We'll train in a free-for-all."
"A free-for-all?"
The Flame Pillar looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Simply put, everyone fights everyone," Tetsu no Sosuke said. "For example, while I'm attacking you, the Wind Pillar attacks me. While you're dealing with my attacks, you also have to find a way to attack the Wind Pillar."
"That would make things a lot harder." The Wind Pillar's eyes lit up. "Sounds interesting."
"Very interesting." Tetsu no Sosuke smiled faintly. "And that's just the basic set of rules. Beyond those rules, there's another mode... one that focuses on defenses and openings."
"Explain that in detail." The Flame Pillar grew serious too. Listening closely, he had the feeling that this training method would develop more than just their swordsmanship.
Tetsu no Sosuke took a sip of tea and pondered for a moment before saying, "In a free-for-all, of course we can't fight by a rigid set of rules. The guiding principles are 'chaos' and 'change.' The three of us represent three opposing sides, and each of us has not one opponent, but two. So the standard pattern is that I attack you, you attack him, and he attacks me... but beyond that, if anyone exposes an opening, the other two can both attack it, turning the fight into two against one. Once that person successfully deals with the combined attack, we return to the