The Heiress They Lost Came Back Overpowered

"This is the first and last time I’m going to say this. Here with me, there are no men or women—only soldiers."

"In every training exercise, I expect every single one of you to give it your all. If something like this happens again, you can pack your bags and get the hell out. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" came the crisp, unified response.

"Then let’s start over. Thirty minutes of combat. Show me what your understanding of ’pulling your punches’ really is."

"Yes, sir!"

This time was completely different. Every punch landed, and all forty soldiers threw their entire beings into the training.

They were knocked down again and again, and they got up again and again. Fatigue, pain, and filth didn’t extinguish their fighting spirit; instead, it fueled them, making them even more driven.

The frustration in Yvonne Lowell’s heart finally began to fade. ’This is what I wanted to see.’

Nina Jennings, standing beside her, quietly gave her a thumbs-up. "It always comes down to you, our devil of an instructor," she whispered. "You’re never this talkative when you’re speaking with me."

Yvonne Lowell shot her an annoyed glare. "If they were from any other country, do you think I’d give a damn whether they live or die?"

"Yes, yes, of course. I know your beauty and kindness are reserved for outsiders. To our own people, you’re utterly ruthless," Nina Jennings chimed in, her expression a mask of mock sympathy. "If these were foreigners, you’d probably tell our guys to go easy on them. You wouldn’t even bat an eye if they decided to lie down and get a mud-pit ’massage’."

"Are you trying to get on my nerves!?" Yvonne Lowell jabbed her with an elbow.

...

「The five days of basic physical conditioning passed in a flash and were finally over.」

Over these five days, they had been subjected to a constant barrage of weighted runs, scaling hooked ladders, squats, frog jumps, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, mud crawls, falling drills, combat, sled pulls, and armed cross-country marches. There was also a passive version of "eating mushrooms"—a test of courage.

And throughout the five days, the training intensity only increased, pushing the team members to a state of utter misery.

However, their endurance and overall physical fitness had undeniably improved by leaps and bounds.

On the morning of the sixth day, after completing a twenty-kilometer weighted run on Zachary Jacobs’s orders, the soldiers assembled in formation.

Yvonne Lowell then rolled up to them on a unicycle. "Follow me, everyone. We’re going to play somewhere new today."

A shiver of inexplicable dread ran through the soldiers, but they quickly fell in line by squad and followed.

’Play somewhere new? What are we playing with? Us?!’

When they arrived at another training field, they understood. ’Oh, she really did mean ’play with us’...’

The obstacle course at their home camp was 400 meters long. The one here was who-knows-how-many times longer.

In addition to the eight standard obstacles from their 400-meter course—vaulting posts, trenches, low walls, high platforms, monkey bars, single-plank bridges, high walls, and low-wire nets—there were a host of new ones: rope walls, balance beams, spiral tunnels, high and low bars, five-step posts, and more.

Even for these soldiers, who prided themselves on being veterans of intense situations, they couldn’t help but shudder. Their usual routine was a 400-meter round trip, which meant clearing a total of 16 obstacles.

But now? A single, one-way trip had more than 16 unique obstacles.

’Right, right, right. The main principle here is clearly ’what doesn’t kill you gets you trained to death’.’

Yvonne Lowell turned to face them. "This course is based on the one at your camp, but at four times the scale. The total length is 1,600 meters, with 20 obstacles."

"The obstacles may vary, but they’re all types you’re familiar with, so a demonstration shouldn’t be necessary, right? Split yourselves into four groups and get started."

Ryan Ford, at the front of the line, blinked. He spoke up tentatively, "Instructor, how about a demonstration anyway? It’s not that we can’t do it... we’re just curious to see what our instructors are capable of."

"What’s this? Want to make another bet? You’d better have some worthwhile stakes," Yvonne Lowell said, giving him a sidelong glance.

Seemingly recalling Jasper Hayes’s miserable state after their first meeting, Ryan Ford’s expression visibly faltered.

He chuckled awkwardly. "No bet, no bet! We’re good kids, we don’t gamble. Just curious, heh, purely curious."

"Fine." Yvonne Lowell arched an eyebrow. "Finn, go give the kids a demonstration. And take it easy on them. Don’t crush their spirits too badly, or I’ll have to provide counseling afterward."

The soldiers’ mouths twitched. ’There’s nothing more crushing than you saying that right now.’

They then shot a glare at Ryan Ford. ’Why did you have to go and provoke her?!’

Without a word, Finn Knight stepped forward to begin the demonstration.

And so, they witnessed the living embodiment of the saying "like walking on level ground." It was as if Finn Knight didn’t even see the obstacles, flowing from one to the next until he reached the finish line.

He cleared the rope wall without even touching the rope, vaulting over it without a running start.

On the balance beam, he didn’t so much as wobble.

When he reached the finish line, his breathing was even, and he had the composure to leisurely brush non-existent dust from his uniform.

The crowd erupted:

"Holy shit! Does Assistant Knight have invisible mechanical wings on his boots?! Has our country’s R&D really gotten that advanced?!"

"Damn, he’s like a monkey! He just scaled that wall with his bare hands."

"I’m seeing things. He basically floated through the whole course, right? Not even tired."

"Cut it out with that ’floating’ talk. I don’t want to hear it."

"Suddenly I’m really curious about our main instructor’s speed. If Assistant Knight is this incredible, does that mean Instructor Lowell can just fly?!"

"Shut up, will you! Haven’t we taken enough of a hit?! I feel like my ego just took ten thousand points of critical damage!!"

Yvonne Lowell heard their chatter and a corner of her mouth quirked up in amusement. She shot them a sidelong glance, and the group, feeling her eyes on them, immediately went silent.

"Now that you’ve all had your spirits crushed, you can begin."

The soldiers were rendered speechless, but they had no choice but to answer. "Yes, sir!"

Yvonne Lowell stood in the center of the field, observing their techniques and identifying their weaknesses. At the finish line, Nina Jennings and Zachary Jacobs stood ready with a stopwatch and a roster.

Once everyone had completed a run, Yvonne Lowell took the time sheet from Nina Jennings, her expression showing she was less than satisfied with the results.

The soldiers were all proficient with these types of obstacles; after all, their years of training hadn’t been for nothing.

But there was still room for improvement. Aside from weaknesses on a few specific obstacles, their overall speed could be much faster.

She looked up at them. "Back at your camp, who’s the record holder for the course?"

"Reporting, Instructor. That would be me," Ryan Ford answered, taking half a step forward.

"Record holder for the entire military branch, or just among the forty of you?"

"Reporting, Instructor. I’m the record holder for the entire branch."

Yvonne Lowell’s voice was flat, betraying no emotion. "You were the fastest on this course as well. But do you know how big the time gap was between you and Assistant Knight?"

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!