“Wake up, Sister Gelin,” Maqi's cheerful voice rang in Ogre's ears.
“Uh...” Ogre was at a loss for words.
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the restless Knight girl leaning over him, letting her hair fall onto his face like a hunting spider.
Those spherical mounds, though not massive but still quite substantial, swayed beneath her sleepwear as she moved.
Ogre turned his head away.
He didn't know why he was avoiding her gaze. Perhaps it was out of some inexplicable embarrassment, or maybe he was simply overwhelmed by her presence.
“Alright, alright, I know you're shy,” Maqi giggled. She then sat up and put on her loungewear.
After all, she was just a young girl, so her shyness was completely understandable.
Mmm, sleeping last night had been truly comfortable...
“Morning...”
Ogre sat up from the bed and mumbled a soft reply.
He hadn't actually slept a wink all night—mainly because, as the night went on, Maqi had pulled him in and used him as a body pillow.
He really hadn't dared to move.
“Eh? Oh! My!”
Maqi turned her head, utterly surprised that the little girl had actually taken the initiative to greet her.
If word of this got out, others would surely die of envy.
Maqi stretched, walked over to Ogre, and gently flicked his nose. “Alright, little Gelin. Big Sis is heading down first.”
Maqi bent down, gave Ogre a sweet smile, and then left the room.
She was in an exceptionally good mood today.
“Honestly...”
Ogre touched his nose. Even his father had never flicked his nose like that...
‘Whatever, I won't ever see her again anyway.’ Ogre got out of bed, stretched his stiff limbs, and began preparing his disguise for the day.
...
“Lange, you want to learn swordplay from me?”
Laidi—Folke's third uncle—stared intently at his nephew's accompanying Knight for several seconds.
Ultimately, he saw the quality he wanted in Lange—determination.
He would never waste his time teaching a student acting on a whim.
“Yes. I want to become stronger. I want to protect the young master. Please, you must help me,” Lange said, offering his sword to Laidi with both hands.
Ever since they ran into Kakafiel yesterday, the young master had locked himself in his room again.
And so, Lange had been pondering.
Rather than idling away his time, he might as well use this period to grow a little stronger.
“Lange, at your stage, you should be training your battle qi and practicing your breathing technique to complete your Life Circle as soon as possible. Why come to me to learn swordplay? You can't even use any battle techniques yet anyway.”
Laidi did not immediately agree to Lange's request. Instead, he threw a second question at him.
“I believe the path to becoming stronger isn't limited to a single avenue. The raw strength of battle qi is not the sole key to victory.”
Lange used to think exactly the way Laidi had just described.
He had valued the power of battle qi above all else.
If he hadn't met a certain monstrous Martial Apprentice, he probably wouldn't have discarded that mindset even now.
“Excellent,” Laidi praised. He then picked up his personal longsword. “Grab your sword and come outside with me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lange knew instantly that Laidi was willing to instruct him in swordplay. He immediately sheathed his sword and followed closely behind.
“Before we begin, I want to know: why did you choose the sword as your weapon?” Laidi asked, walking ahead with his sword held behind his back.
“Uh...” This question completely stumped Lange.
Why did he practice the sword?
Well, everyone else trained with a sword, so he had simply done the same...
“Heh...” Laidi chuckled helplessly and shook his head.
“Lange, then do you know what the advantage of a sword is?” Laidi raised his gaze and posed his second question.
“The advantage...” Lange scratched his head. If someone asked him about the advantage of a war hammer, he might have an answer.
But what was the advantage of a sword?
Looking cool? Feeling prestigious? Or simply because it was easy to handle?
“Did your family never teach you how to use a sword before you began training?”
“They never did...” Lange answered honestly.
“No matter. It's not too late to learn now.” Laidi drew his sword and turned around to face Lange.
By this time, they had arrived at an empty area on the back mountain.
“Yes, sir. I will keep it in mind.” Lange also drew his sword with a serious expression.
“In truth, the most suitable weapon for a Knight is a war hammer. From a practical standpoint, a sword isn't very suitable as a primary weapon,” Laidi began, raising his blade.
“A sword is not as versatile as a hammer, not as convenient as a spear or staff, and lacks the unstoppable momentum of a saber. Therefore, the moment you face a spear or staff with a sword, you must remember—you are the weaker one.
A sword is double-edged, which means when your strength is insufficient, you must reduce your slashing frequency.
Because a blade bouncing back from a parry is highly likely to injure you.
A single-edged saber doesn't have this drawback.
That is the first disadvantage.
Second, there aren't many parts of a sword you can grip. Even with an extended hilt, your room for maneuvering and shifting is limited.
Therefore, you must remember to use footwork to make up for the limitations of your sword techniques.
That is the second disadvantage.
A sword is not long. Even a longsword cannot compare to longer weapons like spears...
And in close-quarters combat, a sword is not as easy to draw and use as daggers, fist blades, or even short sabers...
Controlling distance is the single most important thing you must always keep in mind.
That is the third disadvantage.
Yet if you play to its strengths, the sword is full of advantages. Lange, you must remember—only by understanding your own flaws can you truly bring out your strength.”
Laidi explained the advantages and disadvantages of the sword word by word.
“I understand...” Lange looked down at the sharp sword in his hand, a sudden wave of realization washing over him.
He finally seemed to understand why he couldn't beat Serandic or Ogre before.
It was because he had exposed all of his weaknesses.
“Precisely because we are weak, there is more room for improvement. It is only because our human race possesses this spirit that we have been able to secure a place among the myriad races—because we know how to compensate for our weaknesses.
Lange, you must remember:
weakness is not an obstacle to survival, but failing to recognize your own weakness is.
Only by facing your weakness can you become strong.”
After imparting these words of wisdom, Laidi officially began his instruction.
“Lange, you must always keep this in mind: a weapon is only an accessory. The one who is truly strong is always the person using it...
There is no fundamental difference between battle qi and a weapon.
A weapon is an extension of your limbs, and battle qi is an extension of the weapon. Therefore, before learning to use a weapon and battle qi, you must first learn to master your own limbs.
If you wish to wield a weapon well, the core is never about how fast or fierce you are. It is about using your heart to feel your own pace and your breathing, and then unifying them step by step. This is also one of the true purposes of practicing our breathing techniques.”
“Understood, Uncle Laidi!”
...
At the same time, over on Macar's side, he also began explaining the advantages and disadvantages of the sword.
“Without powerful battle qi, an armor-piercing sword isn't actually suited for heavy slashing. The most appropriate way to attack with it is thrusting and scraping.”
Macar demonstrated a few moves as he spoke.
Of course, this wasn't entirely correct—an ultra-heavy sword was highly suitable for slashing attacks.
However, considering the trainees here were all girls, there was no need to discuss ultra-heavy swords.
The primary weapons of Paladins in the Church of Dawn were typically only of two types: war hammers and heavy swords.
In a sense, a Paladin practiced swordplay mainly as a foundation to use heavy sword techniques.
Compared to light longswords, which had various limitations,
an ultra-heavy sword was a truly versatile, all-purpose weapon. Blocking, slashing, sweeping, and cleaving—combat styles that didn't work on a light sword instantly became viable when switched to a heavy sword.
Aside from its high requirements to wield, an ultra-heavy sword basically had no weaknesses.
‘This is exactly what Teacher Yade taught,’ Ogre recalled. The reason he hadn't chosen to train with a sword back then was that the weapon was too awkward to use and easy to injure himself with.
Macar casually went through a sequence of sword movements, sheathed his weapon, and waved the group over.
“In a moment, you will try to attack me using your weapons.” Macar began handing out wooden training sticks to everyone in an orderly fashion.
Only when he reached Ogre did he hesitate slightly.
Macar noticed that Ogre's hands were too clean and perfect—they certainly did not look like the hands of someone who should be gripping a weapon.
He was somewhat worried that the upcoming mock battle might ruin these pristine hands.
Fortunately, while Macar hesitated, Ogre did not.
Seeing that the stick wasn't being handed over, Ogre took the initiative to snatch it from Macar's hand. His decisive speed caught Macar off guard.
‘Now this is what I'm supposed to be doing.’
As he gripped his "weapon," a familiar sensation rushed back.
Ogre finally felt a sense of relief.
After going a whole day yesterday without any fighting or training, his hands were practically itching for action.
Rate on N.U.
