?Chapter 1317:


    Though she still had twenty minutes left in her training, Ellis had already spoken to the staff. As the team leader, he had the authority to arrange special meals whenever drills or duties shed with regr dining hours.


    No one else had the faintest clue about any of this.


    Freya looked at the food ced in front of her, genuinely caught off guard.


    “Eat,” Ellis said simply, his tone firm yet thoughtful. He had been thoroughly impressed by her standout performance and razor-sharp hacking instincts during the initial training. “There’s more training lined up for everyone this afternoon.”


    Freya gave a small nod and began to eat. Neither of them said another word.


    After polishing off thest bite, Freya looked up and asked, “Thatpetition you mentioned earlier… could it be arranged for a rest day?” She sounded a touch hesitant.


    Ellis kept walking as he answered naturally, “Afraid I’ll tack on extra training afterward?”


    Freya didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”


    A soft chuckle escaped Ellis.


    Freya instinctively turned to look at him, just in time to catch the gentle smile on his face. For the briefest second, that easy expression made him look absurdly handsome—but it really was just a moment.<fn4729> ???? ????s? ???????s ?? FindN0vel</fn4729>


    “Don’t worry,” Ellis replied casually as they walked. “I’ll schedule it ahead of time.”


    Freya didn’t respond.


    In the days that followed, Ellis’s gentle training style vanishedpletely, reced with the stuff of nightmares.


    For three straight days, Freya and the others were pushed to their limits, left sprawled across the ground, too drained to twitch a finger.


    Once, they had still found the strength to chat after training. Now, even breathing felt like a chore.


    “Three moreps,” Ellis ordered, his tone cold and clipped, hisbat gear spotless and imposing. “Finish them, then go have lunch.”


    The group traded exhausted nces. They were far too wiped out to even think about food.


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    “Captain,” Cade croaked, gathering thest of his strength to sit up, “we seriously can’t run anymore. We just dragged ourselves through a forty-kilometer weighted trail run this morning. Let us lie down, just for a bit.”


    This time around, the packs had been heavier than anything they had carried before. They had only managed to survive it by pushing themselves past the brink over and over again.


    “These are your lunch options,” Ellis said, handing over a printed menu. “Finish theps and you’ll get Option One. If not—or if you’rest—you’ll get Option Two.”


    One by one, they slowly sat up, curiosity forcing them upright despite the burn in their legs. They needed to know what made Meal Option One worth dying for.


    The second they read the menu, their eyes lit up.


    Without a word, they jumped to their feet, shouldered their weighted packs again, and bolted off in a mad sprint around the training field.


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