Artemis a young captain level officer spoke with arrogance as he grabbed his large rune covered bow from his back and made his way towards Hamon.
He was one of the highly gifted youngsters among the frost wolf battalion, someone with a lot of ambition and promise. Hamon wouldn't be surprised if Artemis was leading the frost wolf battalion in the next decade.
Along with his skills with the bow, his knack for understanding battle strategy, leadership qualities and ability to remain calm under the most dire of circumstances made this young soldier almost perfect in the eyes of those around him.... save for one fault, arrogance.
Which to be honest couldn't really be considered much of a fault when he had the skills to back it up but none the less a trait that could eventually lead to his downfall. Hamon wished to round off this quality of his in this war and thankfully a recent enlistee by the name of Frost was the perfect tool to do that.
Frost was someone that looked to be similar in age to Artemis, yet his strength had already reached B-rank, surpassing Artemis who was still at the threshold. He wanted to Artemis to realise the fact that there's always someone better out there regardless of how talented you think you are, Frost was one such person.
Of course, Frost paled in comparison to Artemis's other traits that he developed as a soldier, but power was always the focal point especially when people were young.
Artemis wasn't part of the ranged corps right now but an individual shock trooper that had yet to see any action in the past few days, his abilities kept hidden. A painful situation for such an ambitious young man, even more so when he got to witness Frost in action.
But finally, he was going to be able to show off his skills.
Artemis's face revealed a fierce desire, his eyes spurting flames and his hands were gripped tightly around his bow as his hawk like eyes surveyed the battlefield looking for prey.
Hamon smiled mischievously understanding the young man's feelings.
"Artemis, I need you to ride on Kiba and be our aerial sniper. Take out the damn poison heralds that Frost can't reach or misses as such a task is too much for one man."
Kiba who understood what Hamon was saying turned to look at Artemis with a tilted head as he examined this young man with some confusion.
"So, you need me to support Frost." Artemis asked with a peculiar tone.
"Yes Captain Artemis, do you understand your orders?" Hamon infused his aura into his voice showing that he wasn't playing. These orders could mean the difference between victory and defeat, he had no time for arrogance and or personal feelings.
Artemis's eyes winced as he felt Hamon's aura and heard his serious tone. He let out sigh before replying.
"Understood Colonel, I'll see to it immediately." He saluted before walking next to Kiba.
"Looks like you and me will be partners for a while." He looked straight into Kiba's eyes, showing not a single iota of fear, viewing him as an equal.
Most soldiers in the frost wolf battalion were like Artemis in this way as they held many wolves under their command who were treated just like any other solider in the battalion.
Kiba eyed this Artemis with a slight frown. He wasn't exactly fond of the young man and preferred that only Frost ride him like a mount, but he understood his position here. The fact that there wasn't any scorn or trepidation in the young man's made it easier, but he still audibly scoffed before lowering his back.
The combination of Artemis and Kiba then swiftly made their way high up into the air, using the sun to obscure their position.
The young archer couldn't help but smile wildly as his heart thumped. He gazed down into Frost's eyes and knew his message was understood. It was time to show this Frost the power of a Captain of the frost wolf battalion.
"Hahahahahahah" he laughed out without reservation before lining up another arrow in his bow.
"Kiba take us 10 metres to the left and stay within the sun's gaze, can't have the B-ranks getting a line of sight on us." Artemis requested to Kiba while eyeing up his next target.
"Chuff" Kiba chuffed while doing as asked, smiling as he did.
The monster horde didn't just have close combat fighters, there were also ranged units and spell casters though they made up a much smaller margin. Artemis and Kiba flying through the air would make for an easy target if they weren't hidden by the sun and or constantly aware of their surroundings.
Artemis may wish to show off in front of Frost and the Majors, but he wasn't a fool, he knew the weaknesses of a solo archer.
With Artemis assisting him Frost was able to cull a great many more poison heralds resulting in the B-rank leader nearly spitting up blood before he ordered a mass retreat of his kin, staring daggers towards Frost and the obscured archer in the skies.
Their teamwork was almost seamless as though they'd fought side by side for years, a result that greatly surprised the two involved as well as Hamon and the observing Majors.
"Damn they cover one another's shortcomings without even having to communicate. Hard imagine that this is the first time they've fought together." One of the Majors couldn't help but comment with wide opened eyes. Together Frost and Artemis killed dozens of poison heralds as well as countless other monsters that were in the vicinity, creating a clear decrease in activity wherever they passed.
A dream team of fighters.
Hamon didn't reply with words, but his wide smile said it all, the results were beyond what he expected, and he could see with his skilled vision that Artemis had a very different expression on his face from when they began.
Artemis noticed their compatibility even more so than the others and was blown away. Where he initially wished to test his mettle against the newcomer Frost and prove to him that he wasn't the only one with skills and talent he now found himself full of respect and even awe for the young man as well as his partner the glacial winged tiger that he was currently riding.
Frost's movements, instincts and adaptability to any situation was something he envied yet the most shocking thing was Frost's complete and utter trust in him. He would openly ignore certain monsters because he knew Artemis would have a line of sight on them and would take care of it.
Artemis felt his petty arrogance and jealously towards Frost wash away as this situation repeatedly happened. While he viewed this interaction as a test between them, Frost simply enjoyed having skilled support, someone he could entrust his back to while he went all out.
He never had the slightest inkling of rivalry, was it because Frost was so far beyond him skill wise or that he himself was just petty and insecure, Artemis didn't know but his initial arrogance seemed childish and pointless.
The moment his mindset changed there was a significant change in Artemis, his arrows flew faster, and his heavy bow felt lighter and easier to pull. He felt his bond with archery deepen and with-it new knowledge unfurled, and a mad smile adorned his lips.
He achieved advanced bow mastery, an obstacle that had been impeding his path and weighing on his mind for past few months.
'Hahahaha master was right my skills were already high enough to advance but my mentality wasn't hahahaha.' Artemis laughed internally as a weight lifted from his chest and the knowledge completely unfurled bringing with it a new skill.
Not one to be patient Artemis filled his bow with his internal energy as he activated this newfound power.
"[Sky descending squall]"