Swords, magic, and martial arts

After resting for a few days in Ice River City, a week had passed since the last time I accepted the mission.

Rhodes was able to take on new missions again. Even though he had been training his Iron Shirt skill until late last night, he woke up early this morning and began to think about which mission to choose.

Task 1: It's a new week again. A comfortable life can destroy a person's fighting spirit. People need to constantly challenge themselves to improve. Task Requirements: Accept and complete three tasks from the Adventurers' Guild.

Task Two: Rome wasn't built in a day; mastery of skills requires constant practice. Task Requirement: Upgrade any two martial arts techniques by one level.

Task 3: Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles; long-distance travel broadens one's horizons more than reading books. Task requirements: Enter three different cities.

Each of these three tasks seems difficult to complete within a week.

If you choose the first task, completing any three tasks from the Adventurers' Guild will take a considerable amount of time, and the tasks assigned by the Adventurers' Guild are all quite challenging, such as clearing out a bandit's lair.

Assuming it takes at least three or four days to complete one quest in the Adventurers' Guild, then it would take about ten days to complete three.

The second task, upgrading any two martial arts skills by one level, seems a little easier, but there's no progress bar for martial arts training, so who knows how long it will take to level up.

He currently possesses three martial arts skills: "Iron Shirt", "Divine Illumination Skill", and "Basic Sword Technique".

Upgrading Iron Shirt only requires taking hits, but he doesn't know exactly how many hits he needs to take. He has been practicing this martial art for the past few days, but he still hasn't leveled up.

Upgrading the Divine Illumination Skill relies entirely on lotteries, so it's estimated that it won't be able to level up for some time.

He has been practicing basic sword techniques frequently in his spare time from forging Iron Shirt these past few days, and he estimates that he will be able to level up soon.

The third task will take longer. Continuing south, we will reach another province, and it will take at least half a month to reach the next city. The time will be shorter after that.

In the end, Rhodes chose the second mission, which would allow him to enhance his strength while completing the task.

Without sufficient strength, it would be impossible to escape alive and reach the southernmost part of the Nord Kingdom.

After selecting his mission, Rhodes prepared to find a place to practice his basic swordsmanship, but he was told by Baron that he had to leave immediately.

Rod could only find time to practice while on the road.

He and Baron arrived at the caravan's location, where the caravan was still making final preparations before setting off.

"Didn't you want to buy a new suit of armor?" Baron asked, looking at Rhodes who was still wearing his tattered suit of armor.

"Uh... I don't have enough money. I'll buy it next time I have more. By the way, how much bounty did the guards give us when we handed those bandits over?" Rhodes asked.

"I'll go help them out so we can leave sooner," Baron said, and walked away without looking back.

Baron was clearly changing the subject, but Rod didn't bother to press Baron further, since he wouldn't actually hand over the money in the end anyway.

Rhodes found a relatively open spot nearby and began practicing basic swordsmanship.

Just as he was getting into the swing of things, the caravan was about to depart, so he had to stop and follow them.

……

Throughout the journey, Rhodes did not sit in the carriage, but walked along the road, practicing his sword as he went.

The basic sword technique is as basic as its name suggests. There are no fancy moves, only the most basic moves such as drawing, carrying, lifting, parrying, striking, thrusting, pointing, breaking, stirring, pressing, chopping, intercepting, and washing.

But this foundation is exactly what Rhodes needs; before practicing this martial art, he didn't even know how to hold a sword correctly.

The next destination on this journey is Blackrock City in the Mountain Province in the central part of the Nord Kingdom.

The High Mountain Province, as its name suggests, has many towering mountains, which is probably also where Nord bandits are most prevalent.

Because it is all mountainous, the natural conditions of the mountainous province are even worse than those of the snow wind province further north. The land is not suitable for cultivation and the temperature is much colder.

Because the towering mountain ranges in the Takayama Province act as a natural barrier against the cold northern winds, the climate south of the Takayama Province is much more pleasant.

After several days of tedious travel, the caravan entered the territory of the High Mountain Province. From then on, the atmosphere in the caravan became tense, with everyone on guard against bandits lying in ambush along the roadside.

"Now you finally know how to hold a sword," Weber said, noticing that Rhodes had been carrying a sword the whole way.

Rhodes felt a little embarrassed and didn't know what to say.

"If you have any questions, you can ask me," Weber added.

From the end of their first adventure, Rhodes felt that Webber, who had a bad reputation, was actually a good person.

Rhodes happened to have some questions about muscle power, so he asked Webber for advice. Webber, who was skilled in using a one-handed sword, patiently explained everything to Rhodes.

Just then, Rhodes felt the ground tremble and heard the sound of horses' hooves.

In the distance, a dozen or so people dressed in full silver plate armor and riding armored warhorses were charging toward the caravan.

They were incredibly fast; the caravan members were caught off guard and were already upon them.

The lances in the riders' hands gleamed white in the daytime, but Rhodes only saw this light for a moment before it was obscured by bright red blood.

The servants in the caravan were instantly pierced by the lances that touched their bodies, making it impossible for the dozen or so riders to slow down.

They didn't come to kill; they just wanted to eliminate anyone who stood in their way.

The riders had a clear objective: to head straight for the luxurious carriage that Rod had noticed several times.

The coachman pulled off his cloak, revealing black armor underneath. The exquisite patterns on the armor gave it a mysterious feel under the sunlight.

He reached into the carriage, and when his hand came out, a golden two-handed greatsword appeared in his hand.

He then jumped off the carriage, stood in front of it, and looked at the approaching riders with his golden greatsword in hand.

Looking at the man's equipment, Rhodes felt as if he were seeing a pile of human-shaped gold coins.

They're really rich. Selling a whole set of equipment could buy countless of my old, broken axes.

A dozen riders charged toward the carriage at full speed after passing through the crowd.

The humanoid pile of gold coins slashed the greatsword at the charging riders, cutting one rider and his horse in two. Another backhand slash severed another rider in two as well.

However, he was immediately impaled by a rider next to him with a lance, pinning him to the ground. The silver lance pierced through his black armor, disemboweling him and spilling his intestines onto the white snow beside him. The red blood stained the white snow. The humanoid pile of gold coins twitched a few times and then stopped moving, presumably dead.

The rider who had lost his lance jumped onto the carriage and started driving, while the remaining riders turned the carriage around and ran back to where they had come from, leaving behind the corpses of several more unfortunate men along the way.

With his longsword and shield in hand, Daniel the Beard mounted a horse nearby, cut the rope connecting the horse to the cart, and rode off in that direction.

The entire process of the riders charging in and hijacking the carriage was completed in just a few dozen seconds. Rhodes was dumbfounded. It seems that even having the individual strength to cut a man and his horse in half isn't enough.

If you encountered a knight on horseback, you would be stabbed to death with a single spear thrust.

Baron ran to the man pinned to the ground by the lance, threw the chipped steel axe behind him to the ground, picked up the golden greatsword, slung it over his shoulder, mounted a horse beside him, and chased after them.

He shouted, "I'll go get them! Rod! Remember to take my axe!"

Several people who knew Rhodes were staring at him, making him feel uneasy. Did they also think that Baron's real purpose was to steal that greatsword that looked very valuable...?