Austin stomped around the room anxiously, like a beast trapped in a narrow cage. Not only that, but now his pupils are no longer sharp and sharp, but bloodshot with frustration and anxiety.
The running around at night has long since ended—the Balrog and Cerberus had given up their pursuit of the Knights before seeing the towering walls of Lysander City, the capital. At this moment, the troops had returned to the headquarters of the Knights in the capital, which is In this castle where the Juggernaut is. However, although the result of total destruction was avoided, the current situation is still very bad for Austin.
"The results of the statistics have come out." The necromancer on the side sighed, "A total of 121 people were killed in the battle last night, plus the knights and soldiers lost in the pursuit of the paladins, the total The death toll is... one hundred and eighty-three. The number of wounded is more than two hundred, and the mages are too busy now."
"Damn~! I'm so unlucky~!" Austin slammed his fist on the wall, "This is a fairy tale~! Demons, God~! If they can talk, I have to torture them, why on earth do those guys They attacked us~! And it happened at that time~!"
"What's worse is that the military supplies are all lost. I have sent 1,500 city defense soldiers to the battlefield last night, but I don't think the harvest will be great. The forest fire will turn everything into ashes "Thomas avoided the other party's angry gaze, and continued to explain the situation coldly, "In this way, it can be said that our direct troops can't survive, and the 30,000 main force of the Knights can't play in this kind of operation. As a result, the only thing we can do now... is to wait."
"Wait~! We still have a chance to fight back... Damn it..." The Juggernaut opened the curtain and stared blankly at the vast forest outside the city. Hidden somewhere in that green.
Thomas took some comfort, however, from the precautions he had taken in advance. The necromancer sewed a magic thread into the young mage's clothes, which would generate weak fluctuations of magic power and mix it with the magic power in the surrounding air. Even high-level mages cannot detect it without using special spells. But the maker himself can rely on the crystal ball to detect the location of this line—that is, the prey.
But now, the crystal ball that was placed steadily on the table did not move—the fluctuation of magic power could only travel fifty to sixty kilometers away, and it would disappear any further.
"They didn't go to town, smart decision."
"Really? To be honest, even if they enter the city, I may not be sure to win." Austin smiled self-deprecatingly.
"Is the person who can deal with Sword Dou Qi called Kaos?"
"I thought my sword fighting energy was enough to cut everything, but he cut my sword fighting energy." The sword master subconsciously touched his forehead. The scar caused by the frost pain had been healed by magic, but it was engraved deep in his heart. But the imprint remains the same, "To be honest, I feel a little helpless for the first time."
"Don't worry, my captain," Thomas patted him on the shoulder, "There will be a way. There are many ways to fight, and head-to-head confrontation is just one of them. I will find someone who can deal with him in Fahdod Suitable candidates."
"I hope so." Austin nodded, and the next moment, both of them turned their attention to the sudden knock on the door.
"Lord Austin, His Majesty the King wants to see you." A high-ranking knight walked in with a disturbed expression on his face.
"now?"
"Yes, my lord. The summoner is still waiting in the drawing room of the castle."
"Well then, I'm also going to see if the venerable king is safe and sound now," the sword master shrugged, and then turned to the necromancer, "I'm going to see him... and the ministers You guys are in charge here, Thomas."
"Be careful, sir." The other party emphasized the word "head".
"Of course." Austin waved his hand, then walked to the reception room at the end of the corridor.
He is well aware of the current situation. There are not many nobles who are dissatisfied with their own style in the court, and this failure will obviously make the situation worse-Fahdod's king is a lack of opinion. His eyes will only stay on the immediate interests, not further. But Austin also knows that the king and the nobles cannot do without him. Apart from the well-known users of Sword Dou Qi, who else can resist the invasion of the Luvis Alliance
If the League hadn't existed, would I have become like you, Son of the Forest? The Juggernaut remembered his old opponent who died under his sword. Funny how my existence depends on the existence of the Alliance. But... no matter what it will be like in the future... I must use the sword in my hand to revive this country~! I will definitely know the secret that can reverse all situations, and get the power hidden in it~!
Even at the expense of life.
"If you want to learn 'Yunyao', you must first understand the principle of sword fighting energy, so that you will know why you do it." Roland glanced at the three young people sitting around him, the night had already fallen quietly At this moment, the team that had been driving for a day set up camp in a secluded and quiet place, and the bonfire in front of them was dancing happily and making crackling noises. On the other hand, Katoli and Ren seemed to have forgotten their identities as paladins, and listened carefully to every word of the witcher like the most curious students. The mage who had no interest in swordsmanship also pricked up his ears.
"Sword Dou Qi users have the power to convert anger into physical attacks. When they swing their swords, the anger will spurt out along the front line, and use the cross-section of the blade as the boundary to condense the upper and lower sides. The airflow on the side of the blade finally forms a wind blade—this kind of air blade is completely different from the wind blade created by magic—in terms of the simplest level of "shock air", the wind blade is divided into three layers, and the condensed airflow on the upper side of the sword surface It is one layer, the lower side is another layer, and in the middle is the anger layer that connects the two layers of airflow. The key to defeating sword fighting energy is to destroy the anger that condenses the wind blade."
"As long as the anger layer in the interlayer of the wind blade is smashed, the sharp air blade itself will lose its cohesion and disintegrate into ordinary and harmless air currents."
"It sounds simple..." Ryan commented.
"Any swordsmanship theory won't sound very complicated until you plan to master it, or fight against it." Roland shrugged his shoulders, "You know, there are two levels of realm above 'Zhenkong', The 'broken stone' relies on the cross formed by the intersection of two angers to condense the airflow, while the 'Broken Mountain' of the highest state is a more solid swirl-shaped anger, and the sword fighting energy formed by this can be said to be the power of a shock wave. Not only So, what I'm talking about is just the basic type, and each sword master will have countless variants on it to meet the needs of the battle-such as the point attack and multi-layer wind blade used by the Fahdod .In times of crisis, they may also play out of the ordinary."
"In other words, if we want to destroy the anger hidden behind the solid and sharp airflow, it is not enough to just memorize the structure of the sword battle qi. Therefore, we need to use a stronger technique, 'Yunyao'." The demon hunter came to such a conclusion. He stood up and pulled out the giant sword that was carried behind his back. "Now watch carefully."
Roland blew on a leaf in his palm, and the thin and light leaf immediately flew into the air. In the next moment, before other people's sights caught the attack, Frost Lament's blade cut through the stagnant air and split the leaves in two, leaving only a dazzling ice-blue afterimage that gradually faded away. Fade in the reflection of the fire.
A second later, the gust of wind caused by the epee swing suddenly broke out, blowing across the faces of everyone, and making the campfire tremble and make a whirring sound.
Katori stared intently at the weapon emitting a cold breath, unable to speak for a moment. It is not difficult to cut objects in free fall. The key problem is that the leaves are too light. As long as they are blown by the wind, they will fly around. Airflow's slashing action is also very difficult. But Kaos was able to suppress the sword wind from the giant sword and cut off the leaves before they were blown away~! How can I achieve this level~!
"A high-ranking swordsman's breathing time is called 'minute', one tenth of it is called 'second', the next tenth is 'system', and the next tenth is 'huge' , and then one-tenth is 'milliage', and one-tenth of 'millimeter' is 'Yunyao'. That is the same speed as lightning. In the sword technique created by 'Emperor' Yagasi,' Yunyao' means the highest state and perfect coordination of concentration and speed." Roland put away his sword and said while pacing.
"Sword Dou Qi itself is almost transparent, and its flying speed is extremely high. It is unrealistic to distinguish the structure of the Qi Blade in such a short period of time, but we can judge the solution of Sword Dou Qi by observing the trajectory of the Sword Master's sword. It requires a very high level of concentration, and any misjudgment of any detail will lead to a fatal mistake."
"The next thing to do is to dissociate the sword fighting energy that enters the attack range according to the trajectory of the sword master. If the movement is precise enough, all the layers of anger hidden in it can be destroyed, but not only that, but remember to keep Slash speed - fast enough to end the air blade before it bites into your body, otherwise death is the end result."
"It seems that this is a bit similar to the mirror trick. We must destroy the sword fighting spirit by recreating the movements of the sword master to build the sword fighting spirit." Katoli described her feelings and waited for the temporary teacher to make an evaluation.
"That's right, but in the actual situation you will find that the rhythm is much faster. Every time you smash a qi blade, your eyes will be blinded by the resulting gust of wind. What's worse, sword fighting qi is not Although the leaves are only made of air with different densities, they are solid and sharp, and it is very difficult to maintain the attack speed when cutting in." The death knight smiled knowingly because of the girl's intelligence, "Anyway, the principle is these , the next step is the actual practice. I will tell you the subtle relationship between the blade and the airflow, and how to enter a state of high concentration in a short period of time. Remember, only when your sword can beat the sword wind Only when you hit the target, you have reached the realm of 'Yunyao'."
"Then let's start now~!" Katoli and Ren immediately stood up and demanded in unison.
"It seems that there is no need to deploy a defensive circle tonight..." Xiu Yin yawned helplessly.
Before the girl noticed, the morning sun had quietly floated out of the horizon. The crisp golden light draws clear lines under the combing of the dense branches and leaves, scattered in the forest in a ladder shape, just like the strings of a harp, with sharp edges and corners without losing elasticity.
A green leaf fell slowly, gently plucking the strings. In the next instant, the dazzling sword glow awakened the still air, and the short sword in the girl's hand slashed towards the target in front of her like lightning.
As a result... it still doesn't work~! Katoli opened her eyes wide and watched for a long time, and finally realized that she didn't hit anything - the leaf laughed and flew three meters away, and landed firmly on the ground without any injuries. The girl sighed involuntarily, recalling what the witcher said yesterday.
"'Yunyao' can not only be used to deal with sword fighting spirit, but also very helpful in normal battles. After all, the level of concentration is one of the key factors to win. But don't think that you can easily master these. As far as I know, In recent years, only Uther, who is known as the guide of light, has understood the profound meaning of 'Yunyao' in the alliance."
The way of fighting that only the great guide of light understands may indeed be too forced for me now. Katoli comforted herself, but in the next moment, she suddenly noticed something, and a deep haze flashed across her pupils.
So... what about the Dark Eagle? He used to be Uther's student, has he mastered the highest meaning of this kind of swordsmanship? If the Dark Eagle also understands 'Yun Yao', how should I face him one day in the future? If you want to prove yourself right, you must surpass Roland Strife in all aspects~!
"Continue to practice~!" Katoli wiped the fine sweat from her forehead, and once again concentrated on clenching the short sword in her hand.
For Josephine, and for myself, I must master this skill~!
Counting from Roland's acceptance of Katoli's invitation, today is the fifth day of the four people's trip together. The city of Lysander has long been left behind, and the Fahdoud Knights seem to be with them. The demons have suffered heavy losses in the battle, and there has been no obvious movement so far. The death knight, who had been on high alert all along, planned to take advantage of the morning break to divert his attention. He left behind the two young men who were in charge of breakfast and tidying up, and walked slowly in the forest, letting the tense The body feels warm and moist vitality.
Soon, the water-colored pupils caught the girl's slender figure, and Roland stopped involuntarily, looking at her quietly under the cover of dense leaves.
Katoli's movement of swinging the sword was powerful yet light, and the dagger was retractable and retractable in her hand, just like a luminous butterfly flying in the air.
Dilicia is a good teacher, and Katoli is also extremely talented—much higher than that paladin named Ren, which enabled her to comprehend the essence of swordsmanship in the shortest possible time. But Roland is very clear that these alone are not enough to reach the realm of 'Yunyao'.
Another indispensable thing is needed.
Let go of all attachments.
The girl's short black hair was playfully jumping, and the emerald eyes were reflecting a cold brilliance, but the death knight's eyes lost focus, and slowly reflected the scene fifteen years ago.
At that time, Roland was being devoured by the flames of hatred. In order to gain enough power to avenge the entire alliance, the young swordsman abandoned Luvis' belief, and left the kingdom of elves that took him in without hesitation. On a journey to find the legendary sword. However, he encountered an unprecedented crisis in the Northland.
The Nordson continent, which is covered with ice and snow all the year round, is inaccessible. The dwarves are hiding in the deep underground cities, and the surface is full of spider warriors who are good at poisoning, plus all kinds of monsters with strange abilities, and monsters that may appear above their heads at any time. On the ice-breathing white dragon, the Avenger found himself unable to move. Every encounter has to pay a huge price to survive. Not only that, the almost 24-hour snowstorm and the extreme lack of food, just like the most domineering demon king, mocking the tiny human beings who are dying. Not even the most seasoned ranger can survive in this environment.
If you can't make yourself stronger, then everything will stop here, and the truth will be buried in the bone-chilling snow along with your own body.
In order to survive, Roland turned into another self, a hunter who only focused on fighting and food. He became aggressive, came out at night like a monster, and soon had a much sharper intuition than usual. The huge sword allowed him to survive duels again and again. The young swordsman Finally got used to eating the flesh of dead monsters—although the spider warrior's leg meat wouldn't rot if he boiled it for six hours, at least it would keep him alive.
In one—and only—encounter with two dwarves in the North, he had even had the thought for a split second: why not try to hunt them? Maybe the fat of the old dwarf will be tenderer than the meat of the ice and snow demon ape~!
Even now, thinking back to the moment when it was almost a mistake, that beast-like self who acted entirely on instinct still made the Death Knight feel chills all over his body. But in such an environment, in order to survive, in order to be able to stand on the land of Alazea again, in order to be able to swing the sword of vengeance against Wendam, Roland, who gave up everything, understood what Uther had taught , but he has never been able to master the fighting skills - the highest mystery of 'Yunyao'.
So, can you understand it? The demon hunter's thoughts turned back to his eyes, his water-colored pupils stared at the girl's slim back. You long for revenge too, don't you? To avenge the Juggernaut for Josephine, and to avenge the Dark Eagle for Alazea, are you planning to give up everything
We are similar, and perhaps it is because of our homogeneous souls and thirst for vengeance that my eyes are drawn to you.
That's right, you are the same as I was seven years ago, we are the same kind.
"The posture of holding the sword is very good. If you continue like this, you will be able to practice the No. 1 sword-drawing technique in the mainland." Roland's voice came from one side, interrupting Katoli's practice. The girl looked around, and saw that the witcher was walking slowly towards her, avoiding the pull of the branches skillfully.
"Sword drawing~! Compared with when we met in Belial Village, you seem to have developed a lot of humor." The girl curled her lips, pretending to be angry.
"You have only practiced for four days, don't be too impatient, swordsmanship is not something that can be accomplished in a day."
"But the bad thing is, I don't have any idea about this technique at all..." Katoli shook her head, "Even if I understand the principle and the method of practice, I still can't seem to comprehend the true meaning. You can only wander outside the door of 'Yunyao'."
"That's because talent, patience, and perseverance alone are not enough to meet the necessary conditions for comprehending 'Yunyao'." A sly gleam flashed across the death knight's eyes, "Another thing is needed—perseverance and simplicity." Heart."
"What does that mean?"
"Do you know what people call that 'Emperor'?—the Lord of Swords. It is said that he neither fights for justice nor wields his sword for evil, and no matter who stands in front of him, Yagasi will step forward to challenge, And defeat the other party.” Roland stared at the girl listening to the story, “Power, honor, righteous cause, or evil temptation could not attract him, Jagassi was only obsessed with the sword, he only practiced the sword for the sake of practicing the sword. And in the end He, who can only see the sword in his eyes, created the highest mystery that can defeat the fighting spirit of the sword - 'Yunyao', and Jagassi has thus become an eternal legend."
"Practice the sword just for the sake of practicing the sword. Is this the so-called pure heart?"
"Yes, rather than having the talent to become stronger, the desire to become stronger is the key to comprehension. Katoli, you must be clear about your purpose of learning 'Yunyao', for example...revenge." When this is hot When the words rolled over the death knight's icy tongue, the bottom of Roland's pupils involuntarily flashed the quivering fire of the soul.
"Revenge, yes, it is indeed a powerful and simple motivation, but..." Katoli stared at the other party's water-colored eyes, "I don't want that to be the only reason for me to learn 'Yunyao', and I don't want that to be my only reason to learn 'Yunyao'. His heart is swayed by vengeance."
"Revenge is not an evil thought that needs to be eliminated," the witcher shrugged. "Of course, if that's forbidden for a paladin..."
"Luvis's teachings don't mention things like revenge. This is my own principle," the girl shook her head. "Kaos, do you know about the Undead War?"
Roland nodded.
"In the 227th year of the Luvis calendar, the first year of the Undead War, a very powerful death knight appeared at that time. He once held many titles, 'Pride of Alazea', 'Conqueror of the Northland' ', 'Lord of the White Dragon', but now, he is known as 'Dark Eagle'."
"Roland Strife. I know this name." The witcher's expression became very subtle, "It is said that he is an apostate."
"He's an avenger. It all started because of King Wendam of Alazea, a cowardly man who put Roland's lover on the altar in order to survive. The king also tried to kill Roland to silence him, but failed. Roland who survived did not hesitate to become a death knight to gain power, and finally he returned with an unstoppable army of undead, and within a short year, he attacked the capital of Alazea and killed his enemy." Ka Tori replied word by word, "Of course, in this whole incident, my father Wyndham Olander deserved what he deserved."
While saying this, the girl's emerald eyes kept staring at Roland without even blinking, and there was no trembling, hesitation or sadness in that clear tone.
"It's rare for someone to comment on their father that way." After a long silence, the witcher answered briefly.
"Did you know? 'Windam Oland deserved what he deserved.' It took me a whole year to say this." Dilicia told me everything about that incident, and the only thing I could do was to run out of the house crying. It took three days for the knights to find Katoli, who was hiding in the corner of the street—a woman who had lost everything she could rely on. A girl of faith, before she knew the truth, she always wanted to avenge her father, but now, she has nothing."
"When I got home, I didn't want to talk to anyone. My adoptive father, adoptive mother, Ryan, or other childhood sweethearts, they often came to comfort me, but those words couldn't rebuild new hope for me... So I put I cover my ears and don’t listen. I just practice sword alone, and sometimes I follow mercenaries from other cities to kill bandits and robbers—my parents can’t stop me from doing this, and the first time I killed someone was in that year,” Katoli said. As he spoke, he suddenly showed a miserable smile, "Kaos, according to what you said, if I knew about 'Yunyao' at that time, I might have realized it quickly... This is really ironic."
"What happened next?" Roland asked softly, as if he was afraid of alarming the girl beside him.
"Then one day, the battle with the robbers was very fierce. Many people died on both our side and the enemy. After the battle, I found that my body was covered with blood—all from the people I killed, so I went to the nearby lake to take a bath. Facing the mirror-like lake water, I found that the scene in my eyes suddenly changed. I didn’t look like a fourteen-year-old girl at all~! I seemed to be turned into someone else... a death knight..."
The girl's thoughts went back to that snowy morning seven years ago. The dark eagle's eyes were shining with a soul-stirring light, even the heavy snow that covered the sky and the sun could not stop the flame from burning.
Roland's thoughts also returned to the moment when his revenge ended seven years ago. After that, the deceased who had been desperate and madly burning his soul lost the motivation to move forward, and had to swallow alone the bitter fruit that accompanied the end of revenge—confusion, emptiness, and loneliness. The distance between Jiu Yuan and him remains the same.
"I have seen the Eagle of Darkness before, and I don't have any memory of the specific situation at that time, but his eyes... seemed to be burning with flames, eyes that people couldn't look at, but I will never forget them anyway. It was my childhood nightmare. However, when I stared at the lake, I realized that I had also become a nightmare." Katoli's clear and sweet voice sounded again, "At that time I finally woke up, if I couldn't If I calmly face everything that has happened, then I will only sink deeper and deeper into the quagmire of hatred, and finally become an existence that is completely opposite to my own beliefs."
"I don't want to become like the narrow-minded and selfish death knight, so I'm going to re-examine the whole thing before deciding on my goals."
"What's the conclusion?" Roland looked at the other party intently.
"It's what I told you just now, never let your heart be swayed by revenge~! Of course, if that damned Fahdoud dares to appear again, I will definitely try my best to kill him." The girl replied seriously, "But if we don't meet again, I don't plan to deal with him through war—although the alliance does have the idea of annexing Fahdod, I will definitely oppose it, because I am a victim of the war myself."
"So, what about your other enemy... the Dark Eagle?"
"If this mission is successful, the strategic plan of the undead will be completely destroyed. At that time, I will join the Knights of the Holy Sword and drive ghouls, spider monsters, and death knights out of the mainland. If I meet For the Dark Eagle... I swear I will kill this war criminal~!"
"But he is said to be dead."
"That doesn't matter. I will use my own experience to prove that Roland Strife's actions are wrong~! He threw himself into the war for revenge, even killed his mentor, and fought with his former companions with a sword. This kind of revenge is wrong~!" Katoli's voice was like lightning that pierced through the listener's whole body.