Chapter 5: Cross Sword Clang!!!
Two iron swords clashed together, producing a crisp ringing sound.
"Leilin! You're no match for me — just give up!" George gripped the sword hilt with both hands and laughed loudly.
"Not even close!" Leilin shouted in a low voice, his feet tracing peculiar steps as he launched another attack.
"Hah!" George swung his longsword in a vicious overhead chop, the blade whistling through the air.
Leilin held his Cross Sword horizontally and blocked George's attack.
"Good! Nice blocking stance!" George shouted approvingly. "Watch out — I'm going for your left foot next!"
"Bring it on!" Leilin braced himself.
"Watch this!" George swung his two-handed greatsword, tracing a beautiful yet deadly arc through the air as he slashed toward Leilin's right foot.
Leilin took a step back and raised his Cross Sword, catching George's greatsword in midair. "You said you'd go for the left foot! You're going back on your word!"
"Haha… That's called a stratagem! Testing your agility. My old man always taught me — if you don't understand tactics, sooner or later someone will play you to death! I just want to play others to death, not be played to death myself!"
George said with a grin, pulling his greatsword back.
"No more, no more! You're getting better every time! In a few more days, I won't be able to beat you at all!"
He scratched his head in confusion. "Leilin! My swordsmanship was hard-trained under a Great Knight! Even my teacher says my skills are comparable to an ordinary Knight's! You can fight me to a draw, so how did you get beaten up by Olin and his bunch?"
"My old man taught me all these sword techniques when I was little. Too bad I forgot them — I'm just trying to train and remember them again!"
Leilin clenched his fists, his face flushing red!
"Once I have the strength, I'll definitely get my revenge — break Oln's legs!"
It looked just like the scene of a passionate young man driven to improve after suffering setbacks.
"Dear Leilin, I believe you'll definitely achieve your goal!" George clapped Leilin on the shoulder.
Then, with a sympathetic expression: "Even right now, with your strength, you've got more than enough to get your revenge!"
Through their sparring sessions, George had gotten a rough sense of Leilin's abilities.
"I can handle one or two on my own, but Olin's group has five people!" Leilin said with a worried frown.
In truth, he already had confidence in taking on Olin's whole crew, but without a good excuse, how was he supposed to rope George into training with him?
"Oh right, you mentioned a Great Knight earlier — what exactly is that?" Leilin remembered George's earlier complaints and casually asked.
"A Great Knight? That's the next tier above a Knight. No matter where you go, they're absolute big shots! Get lucky, and you might even be received by the king! If you're willing to pledge loyalty, they'd definitely appoint you as a legion commander!"
"Their bodies have been pushed to the absolute limit. Apparently, in the secular world, the only things that can stop their advance are formations of crossbowmen at range — even the charge of heavy cavalry can't block their path!"
"That's incredible!" Leilin murmured.
A legion commander held status on par with a count — even Viscount John had to bow first when meeting one.
Heavy cavalry represented the pinnacle of military might in the age of cold weapons. Once they charged, even a decent-sized wall could be smashed down. And a Great Knight could withstand that with nothing but their physical body? Just how powerful was that?
Seeing the longing appear on Leilin's face, George laughed and reassured him: "No need to envy them. Wizards are a far more mysterious and powerful force than Knights. Once you become a
"Wizards are that powerful?" Leilin asked, puzzled. "Then why are those black-robed people so cold toward us — people who might actually become Wizards? They're only Knights themselves!"
"Well... I'm not entirely sure, but a Wizard's status is absolutely noble beyond question. That's what my father told me! I can vouch for it on the honor of our
George rubbed his nose and answered with a slightly awkward expression.
"Alright, alright! It's not like I don't believe you!" Leilin said, somewhat exasperated.
*Mind's Eye, scan the person in front of me!* **"Beep. Name:
In the wider world, warriors who improved their physiques through practicing the Knight's Breathing Technique without awakening their Life Energy had a common designation — Preliminary Knights!
George's physical qualities, even among Preliminary Knights, were at the very top!
This was partly due to his noble upbringing and the large quantities of expensive tonics he'd used to enhance his physique.
"All right, I'm rested. Let's head back! I really don't want to see those grim-faced men in black because we got back too late!"
George glanced around. Moonlight poured down, draping everything in a silver sheen, and in the silence, the chirping of insects drifted through the air.
During the day they had to keep moving, and Linley didn't want to attract attention, so he and George had snuck out at night to train.
This certainly hadn't escaped the notice of the black-robed guards, but after several encounters Linley had discovered that their personalities were thoroughly cold and indifferent. As long as they didn't stray too far from the camp or cause any trouble, the guards couldn't be bothered to care.
"One more round, then we head back!" Linley said. "After this match, I can return your Cross Sword!"
"Hmm... eh?" George had been somewhat absent-minded, but then his eyes lit up. "You're finally done with it? Gust has been hounding me for it nonstop!"
To practice swordsmanship, the first thing you needed was a Cross Sword!
As a noble, many young men wore warrior's garb with a long sword belted at their waist.
But the former Linley hadn't had one, because — it was too heavy! It interfered with movement!!!
Because he'd found it a hassle, Linley hadn't even brought a dagger when he set out on his journey, which meant that after transmigrating he was completely unarmed, unable to even find a Cross Sword for training.
In order to practice swordsmanship, Linley had turned to the first friend he'd met upon waking — George.
Using the threat of exposing their friendship as leverage, he'd forced George to provide sparring partners and weapons for free!
Thinking back to the way George's eyes had rolled back in exasperation, wearing the expression of a man who'd realized he'd befriended the wrong person, Linley still couldn't help but chuckle.
"Your swordsmanship has improved really quickly! But are you sure you don't need the Cross Sword anymore?" George asked once more.
"I'm on good terms with Gust anyway. Borrowing it a while longer shouldn't be a problem..."
"I appreciate the offer, but I really don't need it!" Linley declined with a smile.
After this period of actual training, he had thoroughly digested the Cross Sword technique passed down by the Farrell family. Thanks to the Chip, his swordsmanship would remain at its peak permanently — it wouldn't grow rusty from a prolonged period without handling a Cross Sword.
"Fine, then let's have one last match. Same rules as always — I'll only use the same amount of strength as you!"
George spoke as he picked up his two-handed greatsword and walked to the center of the grassy field, the bright blade gleaming coldly under the moonlight.
Leilin also stepped onto the field. "Come at me! Don't hold back this time!"
He had an experimental idea he wanted to put into practice here, which was why he had issued the challenge.
"Chip! Establish a task! Analyze the opponent's strength and the surrounding environment, and simulate the optimal strategy for defeating him!"
"Task established. Analysis commencing…"
"Simulation results: Subject sustains no injuries, target loses combat capability. Would you like to activate dynamic assistance view?"
"Activate!" At Leilin's command, countless blue lines suddenly appeared before his eyes, seemingly digitizing the entire field into a virtual map.
"Based on the target's reactions, the probability of launching a preemptive attack is 98.99%. The attack will target the subject's right arm! Optimal countermeasure: dodge sideways, jumping slash!"
As the Chip's voice sounded, the blue lines on Leilin's retina formed a phantom image of George raising his greatsword and swinging it down toward Leilin's right arm.
"Hah! Taste my blade!" George shouted and, just as predicted, launched the first attack, charging at Leilin with his two-handed greatsword — his movements identical to the phantom simulation.
Leilin smiled faintly, sidestepping the attack. He raised his Cross Sword with both hands, leaped into the air, and brought it crashing down.
Jumping Slash!!!
"Damn it! How is this possible?!" George yelped and rolled on the ground, barely dodging the edge of the Cross Sword.
Leilin's Cross Sword struck the earth, sending up a spray of dirt and small stones.
George got to his feet, his expression turning serious. He could sense that Leilin had anticipated his attack long before it came and knew his movements inside and out.
"If you're not going to attack, then I'll counter!" Leilin said with a grin.
"Bring it on!" George fixed his gaze intently on Leilin.
Leilin gripped his Cross Sword and lunged forward with a straight thrust! Every movement was textbook-perfect.
George moved to block, but tilted his body sideways to evade the thrust, then slashed back at Leilin with a counterstrike!
"Optimal countermeasure: rotate fifty degrees to the left, horizontal slash!"
Following the Chip's prompts, Leilin dodged George's greatsword and unleashed another horizontal slash that grazed past George's body by a hair's breadth.
As the fight dragged on, cold sweat poured from George's face in greater and greater amounts.
Every move he made was completely shut down by Leilin, and his room to maneuver grew smaller and smaller.
"I can't keep this up! I have to go all out!" George suddenly swung his greatsword with all his might and clashed head-on with Leilin.
Clang!!! A streak of silver light flew out and embedded itself straight into the grass — it was George's two-handed greatsword! The blade continued to vibrate, emitting a steady hum.
On the battlefield, Leilin's Cross Sword was pressed flat against George's waist. "You've lost!"
"Right! I've lost!"
George muttered, then stared straight at Leilin. "How did you do that?"
"It's simple — after all that training, I memorized your patterns!" Leilin sheathed his sword and gave a smiling bow.
"My... patterns?" George repeated.
"Yes. Simply put, everyone has habits when they swing their sword. Once you memorize them, it's easy to set traps based on the enemy's tendencies. That's exactly how I handled you!"
"Haah!!!" George let out a long breath. "I understand!"
Then he looked at Leilin as though staring at some kind of monster. "Your talent with the sword is truly the highest I have ever seen!!! If you hadn't been selected as a Wizard Apprentice, I would absolutely recommend you to the War God Academy in the royal capital!"