Chapter 223: Combat Training

It was only until the trainees completed ten laps did Deputy Instructor Eutem Gahi called them to rest. Most of the trainees were completely exhausted and by the time they were asked to return by Eutem...

Those that had weaker constitutions than the others outright collapsed and had to be sent to the infirmary.

This was their first day in the special training program, but they were already thinking that they might not be able to survive until the end of it.

But Deputy Instructor Eutem Gahi and Instructor Lawrence had smiles on their faces.

It was because even though what they did was truly brutal. It had achieved its intended effect.

The reason why they made the trainees run like dogs on their first day was to make them think that the special training program must never be underestimated!

But both Lawrence and Eutem didn't expect a pleasant surprise to come to them other than Christine. There was a single trainee other than her that was still standing tall without any signs of exhaustion at all.

He looked perfectly fine and he even had a smile on his face as he talked with his fellow trainee.

"Who is that young man?" Lawrence asked.

He turned to look at Eutem and then pointed at Calvin, "Bring up the files that we have on that young man."

Eutem Gahi hurriedly combed through several envelopes until he finally reached the envelope that contained Calvin's file.

He handed it over to Lawrence and explained, "This guy... His name is Calvin Villanueva. He seems to be the son of a farmer, someone at the bottom-rungs of the society. But he managed to earn a recommendation from the Department of Justice because..."

"Ah!"

Eutem leaned closer to Lawrence and whispered into his ears, "He's from the Village of Tulog!"

"Oh?" Lawrence looked intrigued, "He's from that rumored cursed village? Interesting. His physical fitness isn't bad. As expected of a farmer's son. Now, I am thinking... this batch of trainees doesn't seem to be that bad at all." Lawrence made a sidelong glance at Calvin's information sheet and a delighted smile flitted across his lips.

At this moment, it wasn't only the Instructor and the Deputy Instructor that was observing Calvin.

Christine was also observing him with her bright and curious eyes.

She wanted to know how and why Calvin still looked as leisurely as ever as if they hadn't completed a jog that lasted for ten laps.

She felt curious and thought if Calvin must've undergone the same martial training as she did but after a short moment of thinking, she suddenly thought of something and decided to let out a sigh.

In the end, she still wasn't able to hold her curiosity back as she curiously glanced in Calvin's direction and surreptitiously sized him up.

If he was indeed someone that had undergone the same martial training as her, then he could be a worthy opponent!

She thought...

...

For the next seven consecutive days, the trainees were subjected to a harsh physical fitness routine. The arduous and physically testing drills took a toll on everyone. Most of them would even find it hard to work properly at the end of the day due to the exhaustion and the soreness that seemed to be spreading throughout their entire body.

To be honest, most of them felt so sore that even going to the bathroom became an incredibly difficult task.

Fortunately, Eutem noticed this issue and he added railings on the doors of the bathrooms that the trainees could use to support themselves in a squat while they did their business.

However, despite this display of kindness—the trainees had long lost their passion for the training camp.

They weren't looking forward to their everyday experiences in this camp anymore.

Instead, the only desire that burned fiercer than ever in their hearts was the desire to get the hell out of this nightmare.

What was even worse was that on top of their daily physical fitness training, they also had to study and memorize various regulations and guidelines as to how a police officer must conduct themselves on a daily basis.

There was also a daily Language and Comprehension test, and on top of that was an arithmetic test.

But not every trainee hated this part of their daily routine.

It was because some of the trainees were so poor and unprivileged that the concept of receiving free education made them exclaim in joy.

Calvin even discovered that some trainees only joined the police force, so they could harvest credits from the free education here that they could use when they finally migrated to Laguna for the sake of higher education.

Of course, migrating to the Capital City wouldn't be that easy—but wasn't that the reason why they joined the police force in the first place?

For them, the Ashmelion Police Department was a mere stepping stone.

This was a fact that Calvin realized and had always made Lawrence bitterly smile.

With achievements came rewards, but with failures came punishments. Every time a trainee didn't manage to earn enough points for the passing mark, they would suffer from it.

For the males, the punishment varied. It could be a well-aimed kick on their buttocks, or it could be a punishment of ten laps—although the former was more popular for the trainees.

As for the ladies, their punishment was only three reps of 15 push-ups which created an uproar among the males.

But it was mostly Fatty Zach that kept on complaining by crying foul and stating that the police officers must exercise gender equality and also smack the ladies on their asses.

Speaking of Fatty Zach, the poor guy was not only physically unfit for training—but he also didn't seem to have any brains inside his skull.

Throughout the Language and Comprehension, Arithmetic, Guidelines, and Regulation Test...

He magnificently scored less than the passing points for all of these tests.

And this continued for the next three days until Fatty Zach finally managed to receive passing marks for all of these subjects aside from Arithmetic.

"It takes skill to be as stupid as this..." A trainee commented on the side as he stared at Fatty Zach in schadenfreude.

Calvin wanted to sigh, but he was also in agreement with the trainee.

How could he not?

It wasn't that Fatty Zach wasn't trying hard enough... it was that no matter how he tried, his improvements seemed to be minuscule when compared to the effort that he was putting.

'He's truly the epitome of having no talent!' Calvin could only lament like this in his heart.

But the trainees sure did found out in the past seven days that Instructor Lawrence was a true demon. There were times when Calvin found himself so angry at Lawrence's unreasonable demands for Fatty Zach's sake to the point that he wanted to kick the former's ass.

But there was really nothing that Calvin could do for these were the demands of the special training program.

He could only grit his teeth and continue to feel sorry for the Fatty.

Fortunately, the heavens were merciful to those that were suffering.

After seven days, Fatty Zach seemed to have successfully acclimated himself to the harsh environment of the training camp and he wasn't suffering so much as he did in the past seven days.

He was now able to pass the tests and examinations in flying colors giving Calvin a pleasant surprise.

After a day of rest, the trainees were summoned by Instructor Lawrence to the training grounds.

Wearing their uniforms, they reported to the training grounds and discovered that there was a wooden podium on the grounds.

Scanning his gaze across the trainees, Deputy Instructor Eutem walked up the podium and announced, "Listen, you bastards have done well in the past few days..."

"But this doesn't give you the right to be complacent! You lot may be better than average garbage, but you are still considered as garbage!" Eutem Gahi criticized.

The trainees bitterly smiled.

'What was he planning to do, trying to intimidate us like this?'

"Combat is one of your core lessons in this training camp. Your bodies might be stronger now, but fighting techniques are still necessary to survive out there in the wild..."

"Each and every one of you here must be at least capable of suppressing criminals once you run into them. "This is why today, you bastards will learn the right way to fight an enemy..." Deputy Instructor Eutem Gahi smiled.

'LET'S GOOO!'

The trainees were hyped inside, but they didn't dare to express this on the outside.

They remained standing steadfast like statues with not a single change on their faces.

Instructor Lawrence glanced at the trainees before he declared, "Who among you has the guts to cross blows with Deputy Instructor Eutem?"

"If you manage to withstand at least five blows in combat with him, then I will permit you to have a day off! You can go to the nearby hamlet and shag some girls for all I care!"

Most of the trainees were already trying their best to calm down their excited hearts, but there was one person that couldn't hold himself back.

"Sir, are you serious?!"

It was Fatty Zach.

Lawrence immediately sent him a declare.

Fatty Zach was quick to correct himself, "Reporting! Sir, are you serious?!"

Lawrence didn't look amused, but he didn't scold Fatty Zach this time as he nodded, "Yeah, I am."

"All right, say no more, sir..." Fatty Zach coldly snorted and walked up the wooden podium without even asking Lawrence for permission.

"Hey, Fatty. Are you sure that you are going to do this?" Calvin looked worried.

"My good brother, do not stop me..."

"I've heard from some of the officers that replenished our food inventory in the kitchen that the nearby Azucar Hamlet is famous for their oriental babes. As a man, how could I let such a precious opportunity pass—right before my eyes?!"

Fatty Zach's eyes burned with a determination that seemed to be fiercer than Calvin's determination to save the world back then.

"Besides, it's only five blows... Even someone as weak as me should be able to withstand it."

"Why else do I have all this fat on my body?"

Fatty Zach patted his bosom and a proud smile spread on his face.

"Wait for my good news, brother!" Fatty Zach didn't even warn his enemy.

His figure dashed with heavy footsteps towards Deputy Instructor Eutem, his gaze held a fire that burned fiercer than ever while his fist was clenched and was ready to meet the face of its enemy, but...

Boom!

In a blink of an eye, dust swept up the skies and clouded the vision of everyone.

No one knew what exactly happened the moment Fatty Zach made his move, but someone was defeated in an instant.

It was none other than...

Fatty Zach!

Wha...

What happened?!

The trainees simultaneously cried out in their hearts.

But Calvin and Christine knew more than anyone as to what happened at that particular moment.

When Fatty Zach raised his arm, clenched his fist, and sent out his punch.

A fist that was even faster came crashing onto his cheek.

He spun on the spot, twice, before falling onto the ground.

The momentum that the force of the punch carried made him roll several times on the floor before he managed to stop.

Fatty Zach's ears were drowned out by the tinnitus that the punch had caused and he found himself disoriented as his face stung in pain.

How ruthless!

Calvin lightly chuckled while Christine wore a grave look on her face.

The former had experienced something like this in the past, so he wasn't really surprised.

But Christine had never expected that an instructor would be so ruthless as to knock their trainees in one punch.

Christine's righteous heart became filled with indescribable fury for Fatty Zach.

Sure, Fatty Zach might be a perverted bastard who has relentlessly tried his best to sneak a peek into the ladies' bathing area, but he didn't deserve to suffer like this!

Christine declared in her heart.