Chapter 167: Love Bites (Patreon)

“Out of the basic styles contained in the [Imperial Swordplay], we now covered the offense and defense, the last section remaining is the movement styles.

As the other two before, there are four different distinct movements for each style.

Now, a fight is hardly just waving swords around and hoping to hit the enemy or block every incoming attack.

Movement makes up around half or more in a fight. Some beasts especially, if you want to face them, need nine times out of ten to run around and look for an opening, with only the occasional attack in between. Such fights can drag out for several candles, otherwise their regeneration or defenses will simply never fail.

Hence, movement styles are equally important as attacking or defending.”

Knife Leader Tanya circled around the elf with her sword in hand. Her gradual and measured steps all had the same distance, with an odd rhythm to them.

Nisha continued to memorize all details as closely as possible, maybe it was only the military life that instilled these particular habits in the pretty lady or they might be a hidden manifestation of the [Imperial Swordplay] that she was teaching.

“The first movement style: [Advance].

Don’t get confused by the wording. You can either [Advance] forward or backward, depending on the situation. The same style can carry you into attack range for an attack or bring you just enough back to escape the sharp and deadly claws of a monster.

Attack me and I’ll show you.”

Nisha obliged and raised her training weapon once again, the movement already much more smooth than at the beginning.

When she used [Cleave] to attack the Knife Leader, the woman in question gathered a pulse of aura beneath the ball of her right foot.

As it was the leading foot facing the attacking elf, Tanya exploded into a backward motion right away and dodged the incoming wooden blade.

“This is an application of [Advance], I moved backward and dodged your attack with that.

Since it cancels an attack, that particular action is also called a [Void] movement - it cancels out an attack without relying on a defensive style.

Other movements can do the same and achieve a [Void], keep that in mind.”

Tanya suddenly exploded into motion again, this time utilizing the arch of her foot to rocket forward, straight at the dragon, who in return readied her weapon to perform a [Block].

While Nisha did not have the same cultivation as the Knife Leader, she was pretty confident that the instructor did not put her full strength in the sudden [Stab] either.

Hence, a good chance existed for her to block the sword attack.

Just before the two women collided, the soldier transformed the straight forward motion into another direction and brushed beside the hastily erected defense. Her wooden sword tapped the dragon at her left shoulder and hip.

Behind Nisha, the honeyed voice demanded her attention.

“This is the forward [Advance], as well as the second style: [Sidestep].

As you might have noticed, the sideway motion is intended to supplement the attacking and defending styles and can be freely combined.

If a monster is charging in a straight line at you, a [Sidestep] and a [Slash] at your original location can turn the attacking monster’s strength against itself and might even decide a fight on the spot.

Similarly, you can also [Void] attacks by evading them with this style.”

Nisha pondered the attack that hit her right now and had to agree with the Knife Leader.

Even with her [Spirit Sight] and vastly enhanced field of vision, the sudden change in direction caught her off guard and allowed the officer to hit her twice in a single charge.

She also had some questions in regard to the application of aura to change direction or power [Advance], but the instructor gave off a vibe that she would not answer any queries right now, at least until she introduced all of the different styles.

Meanwhile, Tanya faced the elf again after she returned to her original position. Her eyes flickered with light as she glanced at the two points where she struck the elf.

Nisha shuddered on the inside when she suddenly got scanned in a completely different manner from the professional officer, yet the feeling ceased when the Knife Leader continued with the movement styles.

“The third style is used to chain movements together and prolong a chain of attacks, instead of backing off and restarting everything after a single charge: [Turn].

Let’s repeat the previous attack and after I pass you, pay attention to my actions and follow my figure since you already know what will happen.”

True to her word, Knife Leader Tanya charged right away when her words faded away. Thankfully, the elf expected as much after the rough introduction and changed her defense from a [Block] to a [Parry], which presented a more appropriate style to defend against the rapid [Slashes].

Tanya smirked, a detail that did not pass unnoticed by the dragon, yet did not change her actions.

The two blows were parried by Nisha, and she turned her head to follow the officer, who once again passed by her with the use of [Sidestep].

Right as she was behind her back, Tanya suddenly stopped all motion forward and rapidly turned around, pivoting on the ball of her right foot and faced the unprotected back of her student now.

Two streaks turned into four and the Knife Leader hit both of the elf’s shoulder blades and hips pretty hard with the wooden sword and then let the building energy explode right afterwards.

She [Advanced] backwards and away from her struck target, the training weapon again settling in the standard stance when Nisha turned around to look at her.

“Commendable. Most new recruits can’t follow the demonstration and drop their swords from the impact.

Which is always a nice excuse to send them back into physical training and drill them until they remember an important lesson: Never drop your weapon. Never.

Whether you are on a battlefield in the midst of charging against another host of troops, going on an extermination expedition or dive into a Dungeon: The sword is the life of a soldier. If you drop it, you are dead.”

Even Nisha experienced a growing sense of annoyance when she heard the chipper comments.

If professional soldiers that went through rigorous physical training failed to hold their weapons in such a situation, why was she still getting hit and praised at the same time by an all too cheerful Knife Leader.

This was supposed to be an introduction to the [Imperial Swordplay], hence she had no chance at all to block the unfamiliar attacks.

Why did officer Tanya look so gleeful then?

“With sufficient speed, [Turn] can not only allow you to reposition your body in combat, but also chain together different attacks.

Similar to my attacks right now, I can follow up with another [Advance], [Sidestep] and more [Turns].

Some monsters have massive vitality and defense, but lack in attack, think of an armored giant.

If you can move faster than such monsters turn and throw attacks your way, a confrontation of entirely different physiques and monstrous strength can completely swing in your favor without a need to directly clash against such behemoths.

In a similar vein, heavy armor warriors such as mounted knights suffer from similar disabilities, the key concept for this style is mobility.”

Tanya’s happy explanation rang out throughout the empty lot, while she returned to her original position and faced the elf again.

For all the misgivings Nisha had, she had to agree that the pretty woman indeed had the strength to back up her words.

Especially her attribute, both her impressive aura level and minor mana cultivation belonged to the [Light] attribute, which was known for its speed and relentless attacks for warriors and mages alike.

Only about two out of ten people born in the world of Ator had either the [Dark] or [Light] attribute while the rest overwhelmingly had one of the four elements as their alignment.

Not even one out of ten, however, belonged to the [Life and Death] element, showing just how rare that seventh attribute was.

To the dragon, it made sense why the Knife Leader emphasized the importance of speed in a battle.

Each attribute generally had an image associated with it. Fire was explosive and overwhelming, water smooth and flowing, wind twisting and swift, earth sturdy and strong.

Apart from the four basic elements, darkness was seen as twisted and corrosive, while light generally emphasized piercing might and unparalleled speed.

As for the life and death attribute, it was rare and hardly heard of seen of, hence the general image of this from the common populace was stuck at just life and death individually.

Contrary to the previous instructions, Tanya let the sword just hang next to her waist and beamed at the cute little student of hers.

“The twelfth style is regarded as a movement too, its name is slightly strange, all things considered: [Free Flow].

Contrary to the other eleven styles, there is no demonstration or even useful advice besides the one recorded in the original [Imperial Swordplay].

Each of the other eleven styles is called as such since there is not really a set movement for these attacks, defenses and movements.

You can only practice them and improve the overall form and learn more varieties that contain the essence of the style.

[Free Flow] on the other hand is the final style because it contains all the actions that tie them together.

When there’s an obstacle on the battlefield, the twelfth style focuses on the most efficient way to either jump over the obstructions or incorporate them in the attacks that come from the other styles.

A prime example would be the historic fight of Great Sword General Maximilian Decimus, who fought an evil spirit beast that instigated a to date unsurpassed monster wave in the central plains of the continent to a standstill before cleverly using a total of one hundred and fifteen gladii scattered on the ground from dead legionares to construct a sword forest.

After slaying this evil spirit beast king, the monster tide finally dispersed and the disaster for the continent was averted.

This historic battle was included in the empire’s volumes on the [Imperial Swordplay], and many instructors back home at the military academies study the sword forest formation left behind from that time to further the student’s understanding of [Free Flow] and how to use this style with the eleven others.

I can only tell you through words, since we lack a proper terrain to set up a sword formation here, and [Free Flow] lacks a proper demonstration, and use even more words to give you an idea.

When practicing the styles later on, keep in mind to look for ways to move around, include the terrain in your attacks or take advantage of peculiarities where you fight.

And with that I conclude the introduction to the [Basic Styles]. If you have any questions, ask them now.”

The last sentence caused Knife Leader Tanya to break out in a dazzling smile, charming the elf in front of her slightly.

At the same time, Nisha felt a weight drop off her back, one she did not even know that was there.

From the moment she stepped into the capital of Leandar until the present time, the dragon had never experienced the guidance of a capable master this closely.

All her skills were more or less self learned with the occasional pointer from a instructor at the [Royal Academy] or her acquaintances.

The pretty officer, looking at her with delight on her face, came from a professional army and was adept at teaching new recruits.

Twelfth styles formed a complete set of moves in her mind and Nisha did her best to remember each detail and nuance displayed by Tanya in her demonstrations.

Wait a moment … why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about something?

Stinging sparks appeared on the spots located on her hips and shoulder blades as the premonition deepened into a black and ominous looking thing when a giddy looking lady raised her sword again.

“Since we have completed the introduction, we can finally start in earnest. Don’t worry, I will try my hardest since Lance Corporal Hale entrusted the task to me.

Raise your head and shoulders, make that back straighter. You can leave it all to me, I’ll whip you in proper shape before the day is over!”

Nisha glanced at the wooden sword in Tanya’s hand and her jubilant mood vanished as the black and ominous presentiment no longer had any doubt about their nature.