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Once everyone had calmed down a bit, the true lesson started. It was nothing extravagant and mind-blowing, and the lesson only consisted of general defensive and offensive techniques.

The best way to demonstrate the effect of the techniques, Vimur and Ashton decided to go for a rematch. Only this time, the use of abilities was not allowed.

For a moment, Vimur thought it was a chance for him to avenge his loss as the last time they duelled, he ended up in the hospital, and Laihud felt the same.

Ashton was strong, and Laihud had no doubts about it, but without his abilities, he couldn\'t see how Vimur would lose again.

"This time is going to be different, Ashton". Vimur smirked, "I can feel it in my bones."

"Of course, it\'s going to be different." Ashton smiled back, "This time, I\'ll kick your ass, both literally and figuratively. Now, if you\'ve done barking, come at me."

Vimur charged toward Ashton with his fists curled up like a couple of wrecking balls. His rhino-like physique only gave more momentum to his charge as he sped up.

The run-up was so fierce that the guards behind Ashton immediately moved sideways. Any man would have done the same because stopping Vimur seemed impossible at the moment.

However, Ashton stood his ground. While everyone worried about him, he did not seem to be fazed.

The next moment, the two mercenaries collided. The shockwave afterwards pushed everyone away While a cloud of dust surrounded Ashton and Vimur.

"It\'s over... There\'s no way the white-haired mercenary would be walking off by himself after this." One of the guards mumbled.

"You are underestimating him too much," Ely replied, "Just shut your mouths and watch."

Having suffered a defeat from Ashton\'s hands, Ely knew very well that Ashton intentionally took the attack head-on. He could have easily dodged the attack, just like he had dodged bullets during their fight.

Ely might have said that, but the rest doubted his words. The guards weren\'t the only ones who thought Ashton was defeated, and Eula\'s mother and servants thought so too.

The only ones who weren\'t bothered at all were Eula and Vulcan. Eula had seen Ashton fight and knew he wasn\'t weak enough to lose a fight just like that. As for Vulcan, he wouldn\'t have taken Ashton in as a disciple had he been so weak.

In a couple of seconds, the dust settled down, and much to everyone\'s surprise, Ashton had not only managed to stop Vimur\'s attack, but he also did it with one hand.

Vimur\'s face had turned red as he struggled to push Ashton backwards. But just like their previous duel, he failed to do so.

"Not bad, not bad," Ashton mumbled, "You\'ve gotten stronger than the last time. Did you level up or something?"

"Yes, I did..." Vimur replied through his pursed lips, "But I think it doesn\'t matter, does it?"

"No, it doesn\'t."

Having said his piece, Ashton let go of the force he had been holding on to. He turned so that his back was towards Vimur, grabbed the tanker\'s hand and flung him over the shoulder before slamming him to the ground.

Vimur\'s momentum ensured he couldn\'t fight back at any step of the way. It had been a while since Ashton used this move. But even so, it was just as effective as before.

The \'duel\' lasted less than twenty seconds and ended with Ashton\'s victory. Most of them were left dumbfounded, but the duel made them realise why the mercenaries respected Ashton more than anyone else.

"That damned shoulder toss..." Vimur spat in frustration, "Who the hell even created that move!"

"Rather than blaming the creator, blame yourself." Ashton patted Vimur\'s shoulder, "Why do you always charge at your opponent? I could\'ve predicted your move even before the duel began. Your fighting style is just that obvious."

,m "Tsk, I guess you are right. The \'Titan charge\' has been my signature move for as long as I can remember. But I guess it\'s time to learn and adapt to newer things."

"I\'m not telling you to change it completely. Just make it unpredictable, get it?"

Vimur nodded, shook hands with Ashton, and focused on training the guards.

Everyone was taught how to execute a perfect shoulder toss for the next couple of hours. Apart from a few dislocated shoulders and a handful of busted skulls, everything went fine.

On a positive note, after watching Ashton and the rest of them working so hard, the mercenaries who refused to help the guards earlier also joined the training sessions.

After the melee part of the training was over, the mercenaries began teaching the guards a thing or two about weapons and how to use them. Since Ashton did not know whatsoever about operating and using guns and other artillery weapons, he decided to stay back.

But Vulcan wasn\'t about to let his disciple slack off like that. He gestured Ashton to follow and disappeared inside the forge.

"... First, you tell me to take a day off, and then you call me back inside. What\'s the deal with you?"

Ashton complained, but his actions didn\'t match his words as he picked up the sticks and lit a fire.

"First, you don\'t get to question me." Vulcan smugly replied, "Second, you don\'t need to use the sticks anymore and third, wear an apron before going anywhere near the fire."

Ashton didn\'t argue and picked up an apron that was visibly too short for him. But when he touched the thing, it expanded to fit him perfectly.

"Magic, what a fascinating thing!" Ashton released an exaggerated gasp, which again got him smacked in the head with Vulcan\'s hammer.

"Time for your second lesson. Beating the sheet."

"Beating the shit... Out of whom?" Ashton raised his eyebrow and got hit again, "Ow!"

"Not shit, sheeeeet. A metal sheeeet!"

"That does make more sense..." Ashton replied while caressing his head, "Beating a sheet... It seems simple enough. Where is the sheet, though?"

"Right here," Vulcan replied before throwing a jet-black metal bar in Ashton\'s direction.

Ashton tried grabbing the bar with one hand, but as soon as his fingers came in contact with it, he realised how big of a mistake it was.

Although the metal bar was barely five inches long, it weighed more than half a tonne!

"What the fuck is this thing!?" Ashton blurted out.

"My people called it the Nyx metal. One of the seven rarest metals in the galaxy and possibly the universe." Vulcan replied, "Normal weaponsmiths can\'t even dream of touching this metal relic, let alone work on it. You should feel lucky you\'re getting to use it for your first attempt.

"I feel lucky it didn\'t fall on my foot or something..." Ashton mumbled, "Just look at the dent on the floor!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Pick it up and get to work." Vulcan gave the instructions and walked away, leaving a perplexed Ashton behind.

"How am I supposed to hammer it!?"

"I didn\'t spoon-feed my biological children. What makes you think I\'ll do it for you?" Vulcan yelled without turning around, "Do whatever you have to, but I want it to be turned into a sheet by sunset."

"... If I could, I would have used your head instead," Ashton mumbled before trying to lift the metal bar off the floor.

[Not going to lie; I feel sorry for his children. Who knows what kind of atrocities they had to go through while he was around.]

"I\'m wondering... what did they... do to make him... want to buy milk... Godamn, it\'s heavy!"

Even the undead genes on Ashton\'s face turned red when he finally lifted the bar off the ground. But his problems were yet to begin.

From what Astaroth knew about the Nyx metal, it was not only the heaviest but also one of the most rigid materials in the galaxy.

That said, working on such metal would be difficult for even the most experienced weaponsmiths. So for Ashton to even turn the metal bar into a metal sheet was going to be a feat he could be proud of for decades. However, Ashton was out of breath even before starting.

[It\'s a shame all those muscles are going to rot away... Tsk tsk tsk.]

"Shut it, will you?" Ashton retorted, "Now... What should I do next?"

[You\'ve got to melt it first, I guess. Once the metal has turned a bit soft, you can start hammering it- wait, you don\'t have a hammer.]

"I don\'t need a hammer... Probably."

Using Seraph\'s crystal, Ashton lit up the forge and placed the black metal bar right in the middle of the fire. Usually, a person would need to use tongs to do so, but Ashton abused his fire immunity and did it with his hands.

Minutes passed, but the metal showed no signs of changing its form. The lack of change prompted Ashton to gradually raise the temperature of the fire till the metal bar turned red.

Once heat reduced the metal to a semi-solid state, he removed it and curled up his fists.

[Wait, you\'re not going to-]

"Why use a hammer when you have hands?" Ashton let out a sinister smile, "Let\'s begin."