Way of the Knights

---

"Ahhh!"

The team collectively released a long sigh of relief as soon as they entered the formation. Feeling the heavy suppression disappearing from their bodies gives them an extremely relaxing feeling followed by a wave of exhaustion. 

"Damn! We could finally rest." Theo said as he sat on the table, he stretch his neck and rolled his shoulders while his face showed a slight grimace. 

It was pretty much the same for the rest. Although they were only out there for at most, a whole day, the heavy suppression was a great burden not only on their bodies but also their minds. Regaining their mobility under that extreme pressure was more difficult than it looks like. 

"I've said this before but I'll say it again." Henry spoke, catching the attention of the team. He looked at Raven and said: "Thank god your with us. If it weren't for you, this would've been impossible." 

Although the rest didn't say anything, they too share the same sentiments as they looked at Raven. 

Meanwhile, Raven just casually smiled and waved his hand. "I'm just doing what I can. For now, why don't we all rest first? It's about nighttime already and were not in a hurry anyway." 

"Good idea." Logan nodded as he stood up from his seat. "Well, then. I'll sleep for now."

"Do remember to clear the dishes tomorrow Logan, alright?" Charles reminded, causing the sixed-armed guy to flinch and for the rest to snicker. 

Logan looked back and glared at Charles, saying: "I hear you, okay! Hmph!" 

He then stomped towards the tent, causing their rest to shake their tents in amusement. They soon followed his footsteps and went to their own tents. Well, all except for Raven who doesn't really feel tired just yet. 

He's currently busy preparing meals for the team. He planned on letting it cook overnight, just in time to reach the perfect doneness by breakfast tomorrow. That's not all what he's doing though.

Aside from preparing food for tomorrow, Raven was also busy analyzing their current predicament. 

'Just where did this immense pressure came from?' That's what has been bugging him for quite some time. 

Everyone, including him, were caught off-guard when it suddenly appeared. Raven had been trying to trace where this pressure was coming from but so far he had been failing on his attempts. He had a major guess though, and that is it's coming from the peak of the mountain. But he could also be wrong about that so he could only wait until they get there. 

Whether this question of his was relevant to their journey is unknown too. So he didn't put much attention to it, he's merely curious, that's all. 

Aside from trying to search for the source of this pressure, Raven was also thinking how they should proceed from now on. 

There is no doubt that if he tries it, he could create a rune that could nullify the effects of this immense pressure. But that got him thinking, is it really wise for him to do that? 

Raven feel slightly conflicted. On one hand, he was their support. The whole reason why he climbed the mountain with them is to make their journey smoother and easier. So far, he been doing that quite excellently. 

But on the other hand, while some people might dread this immense pressure, Raven sees this as an opportunity. 

Just like what he mentioned earlier, this pressure couldn't be found just about everywhere. Which also means that it is easy to replicate and that, they have to take advantage of it. This pressure is difficult to deal with, yes. But it also presents and opportunity for them. 

An opportunity to grow stronger...

Under this pressure, this great discomfort, training will produce twice the result with half the effort. Additionally, with Raven's formation here, their safety won't be threatened. What's more is that, they're not in a hurry anyway, so why not take this time and this opportunity to increase their strength? Who knows when they'll be able to return here? Who knows if it's even possible for them to return here once they cleared it? 

Raven sighed as his mind were filled about contrasting thoughts. In the end, he decided to discuss it with them tomorrow instead. Whatever the team decided to do, he'll just follow them. That's his role anyway. 

---

"That's a good point actually." Henry murmured softly as he was momentarily lost on his own thoughts. 

The team just finished their breakfast and as expected, Raven raised the issue with them. It wasn't just Henry, the other War Gods were considering his words as well. 

The more they thought about it, the more Raven's words makes sense. An opportunity was presenting itself to them, if they ignored it and just let it pass like that, wouldn't that make them idiots as well?

""""Let's do it!""""

All the War Gods replied at the same time. Clearly, they weighed their options and agreed to grab the opportunity to get stronger. 

"Well, I'm not surprised." Raven replied. "Okay, we'll be training then. Since our bodies already acclimated at the initial pressure, the first step is to make sure that we're completely acclimated to it first. Merely being able to withstand it is not enough, we have to make sure that we could fight under it's influence."

"I'll be leaving the formation here." Raven stated, "Monitor your conditions properly. If you can't endure it anymore, just retreat into the formation and recover here." 

"Sounds good." Logan stood up, and pumped his chest. He had a feral gleam on his face as he felt excitement rushing through his veins at the prospect of getting stronger. "Okay! Let's do this!"

"Let's not get too excited first, Mr. Six Arms." Theo smirked as he looked at Logan who's raring to go. "Before you get out of there to increase your strength, why don't you honor the bet first and wash the dishes, eh?" 

Logan was gobsmacked as Theo's words. He clicked his tongue in annoyance as he thought that he could get away from this but Theo just happened to be there to remind everyone. 

"Oh! What a cunning bastard!" Henry sneered. "You thought you could get away from this huh? Nope sir! Wash the dishes or else, I'll call you a sore loser forever."

"Okay! Okay! I'll wash them! Geez. So annoying!" Logan snorted as he gathered the plates carefully using all of his arms and went away to wash them. 

"Don't worry, you've got six-arms. You'll be done in no time!" Charles cheered him up with a knowing smile, causing Logan to glare at him and for the rest of the team to laugh. 

After that little incident, the team then focused on their own training. They picked different spots in order to not disturb each other. So far, the remaining width of the road beneath them allowed them to do that. 

South from where the formation was stationed, Raven could be found with his upper body exposed. He's currently doing a single finger hand stand, pumping his body up and down whilst enduring the overbearing pressure pressing his entire body down. 

Sweat poured from his body, landing as droplets on the ground beneath him. Each pump his did caused the muscles on his body to flex, revealing strong outlines of his perfectly sculpted body. Raven closed his eyes as he felt the heaviness of his body, beneath his skin, his muscles were constantly pulsating in order to regulate the pressure throughout his body. 

Raven could feel the soreness of his body yet he endure it all silently and didn't even show any changes on his serene expression, 

"998...999...1000! Hooo!" Raven pushed his finger using a stronger force, causing his body to be lifted several inches away from the ground. He flipped his body and landed on his soles, causing cracks to form on the ground, displaying just how much weight was pressing him down. 

After that exercise, Raven calmly sat on the ground to catch his breath. At the same time, he also circulated his Cosmic Energy to heal his torn muscles and alleviate the ache on his body. 

Exposing himself under this immense pressure also allowed Raven to discover somethings. The most surprising of which is that, even his Cosmic Energy circulation was greatly impeded by the pressure around them. 

Raven discovered this pretty early. Originally, he had a different training plan for himself but because of this surprising factor, he decided to switch it up. First, he needed to make sure that he could circulate his Cosmic Energy at it's regular speed under the influence of this mighty pressure. 

Raven didn't know why his Cosmic Energy circulation was affected but even if does know about it, he can't do anything aside from acclimating to it. Therefore he didn't bother himself with useless thoughts. 

So far, his exercise helped him a lot with this. Which is why during and after every work out, he will circulate his Cosmic Energy and allow it to adapt here. 

This isn't only the training he planned on doing so far, but this was his first goal.. Once he achieved it, then his Cosmic Energy Circulation would undoubtedly became faster once he this pressure disappears. 

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