Chapter 234 – Team Understanding

Even so, there is still a lesson to be taught. Even though this was a relatively casual lesson, the students still had to learn and take away something. Fiona was not one to bother bickering with children. In fact, she relished her charm and appeal.

Her lesson revolved around the main topic of group battles, also known as the most commonly seen five vs five. This lesson was not only applicable in the CHF, but also in their future careers, particularly in the military where most combat operations were done in groups of five. Five was the best number, as too many people would make it hard for the group to complete covert operations while too little people would result in the group would introduce weak points into the group’s arrangements.

“As of now, knowledge regarding the five man group battle have been made extensive as they have been well-documented over many years. The understanding of the typical five man group battle has changed over the years, as different factors such as the areas, academies as well as member characteristics has contributed to the meaning of this terminology. This is especially true for the past few dozens of years, as some five man formations have become a mainstay that is now used by everyone. Of course, there have been many instances where a team with a weaker configuration had defeated much stronger teams, but those are circumstantial in nature. It typically involves the implementation of good strategies and coordination, such as striking at an opponent when they least expect it. However, I wish to inform everyone here that pursuing the simplest and most conventional formation should be the goal each and every one of you should aspire to in your own academy. After all, learning that basic fundamentals will bring you far in whichever occupation catches your fancy. Placing your efforts into understanding unique formations would be a huge waste of time as most of the time, their wins are mere coincidence rather than being based on actual solid fundamentals.”

With a faint smile, Fiona turned around and wrote “Multiple pairing of occupations” on the blackboard, before proceeding on with her lesson. “Though perhaps, there might be some of you that will take exception to what I have just said. If you take a look at the statistics based on the past couple of CHF competitions that have been gaining popularity, you would notice that the champions have always been using the most common formation for the last twenty odd years. This thus begs the question: why is the most common formation so good that so much time and effort have been placed into it?” questioned Fiona, keeping silent for a couple of seconds to let the question sink in. “ Can any of you answer this?”

Her voice was so soothing to listen to! Her presence made many of them thankful for the opportunity to come to Copperfield Academy for the special training. Even the atmosphere within the classroom had become extraordinarily lively and vibrant.

The notion of losing face in the special class did not exist, as its main goal was for everyone to display their skills and abilities. The brighter one shone, the deeper the impression one would leave on others. Regardless of whether it was to increase in their prestige for the upcoming CHF competition, or expand their social network, being able to rise about the rest was the main goal for everyone here.

Instantly, the hall burst into discussion, everyone debating in a low voice while trying to showcase their own personal view of the issue at hand. Fiona raised her hand after a couple of moments, silencing the class immediately before point to a few students whose viewpoints had sparked her interest.

One of the students she had pointed out was Captain Luo of Austin, nicknamed the iron King Kong and gorilla king! He was definitely not handsome, and to some, may be considered as ugly. Dark suntanned skin, thick and coarse lips coupled with his terrifying body, he looked remarkably like a giant gorilla, hence his nickname.

However, if one was to judge his intellect solely based on his appearance, that individual would be sorely mistaken. With a faint smile, he stood up. With a confident smile etched on his face, it was hard for anyone to scorn or ridicule him. This overwhelming confidence also made him seem like an older brother to many.

“For the common formation, it would be hard to identify any weaknesses as both offensive and defensive capabilities are on par with one another. Additionally, it is unique in the sense that this formation can be used for almost any combination of occupations, allowing for easy adaptation to different kinds of battlefields and combat situations. Therefore, in terms of its usability and adaptability, the common formation is much stronger compared to other formations. Analyzing the common formation is also a way to judge an academy’s abilities.

The exact depth of understand a squadron has towards group battles can often be elucidated from how they use the common formation during their training.”

“In fact, squadrons participating in the CHF competition would have, on average, two formations they would adopt during critical moments to use as surprise attacks. Nevertheless, the common formation is still needed to cover up any weakness of their formations, hence prevents their formation from being easily countered by the opponent. Thus, it is my own point of view that the common formation serves as the foundation of one’s group battles. Only when the squadron has gained mastery in it would it then be viable to form their own unique group formations.”

What Leo had said hit the nail on the head, and he had covered most of the important points, leaving behind no points of contention. However, the points he had brought up had brought new understanding to some of the students. Just as he had said, how sturdy the foundations of a squadron was depends on the squadron’s depth of understanding towards the common formation. This was precisely how Austin had achieved the champion in the eastern area last year, as evident by their solid foundation of skills and techniques. If it was not for that, they would not have been able to climb to the first place in the eastern area just by relying on their five shields formation.

With a smile, Fiona nodded her head, declining to comment on his view. She then looked towards another person, indicating that he should make his viewpoint heard.

Compared to Leo, Captain Paul of the Saxon Academy was a graceful and elegant youth. Added to his beauty was the aura of gloominess around him that came with him holding the title of Saxon Academy assassin. As such, no matter how radiant his smile is, one could not help but feel that there was a dark side to him. “I feel that Captain Leo has covered most points about the common formation well with substantial depth. However, I would like to add on about the usability of the common formation.”

“I love to read up information with regards to the military. When training the formations of their groups, 99% of the time, the Federation’s military would conduct common formation drills. Other than its high compatibility with varying occupation and adaptability to different situations, another one of its strong points is that it can be easily implemented into training sessions. With the current regulations on standardization, it had become the most widely used formation in training. Even if you were to take five new soldiers from different areas, they would, at the very least, have a decent level of understanding about the common formation. As long as they train strictly within the regulatory boundaries of the common formation, they would be able to build tacit understanding and would be ready to go to war in less than two or three months. To the military, who needs to replenish new troops at any time, this is undoubtedly the most practical.”

As an assassin, Paul was an expert in discerning people’s thoughts based on their body language. Furthermore, he had heard that Fiona had once held a mid tier position in the military, before coming back home to get married.

As she was once a military soldier, he had decided the best route to approach this subject and gain her favour was to elaborate from the viewpoint of the military. “During CHF, there may be numerous unique formations that had shined. However, beyond that, when the five members of the group were to head in separate ways after graduation, those unique formations would be rendered redundant, and can only be seen as part of one’s former glory. This would be useless when we risk our lives to fight for Federation in the future. Therefore, gaining a deep understanding of the common foundation while we still can in the academies would allow us to reap the most benefit in the future, be it whether we enter the military or other organizations.”

With a faint smile, Paul wrapped up his answer. “Therefore, due to practicality, and you can even go so far as to say that it’s for the sake of the Federation, the common formation should be the one that we spend time and effort on to understand and master. As for the other formations, they are simply just minor formations that branched off from the main one.”

Paul’s answer had garner some applause. Although his opinion wasn’t as intricate and deep as Leo’s, it allowed people to gain further insight into the idea of the common formation. In contrast to the future of mankind, how could a fleeting victory in the CHF be considered as important?

Naturally, when words are spoken with grace, applause would be given. However, contributing to the future of the Federation would require immense time and effort on the most ordinary common formation, something that most students here would be unwilling to ascribe to. After all, one’s performance during the CHF competition would have a direct impact on their future, while the future of the Federation rested on the shoulders of many. Although what Paul had said was logical, it was unlikely that any student would do just that.

Hearing Paul’s summary, Fiona gave another smile. The answers that these two had provided were not bad at all. However, they had both missed the critical main point she was looking for. In fact, when seen from a different perspective, some of the points raised may be seen as wrong. If their understanding of the common formation was at this level, there was no chance for them to be a threat to Laura.

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