Swords, magic, and martial arts

The crowd gathered around the largest table in the tavern to listen to Rhodes recount his discovery.

"I just used a spell I learned from a necromancer's diary in town, the one from the necromancer named Otto last time," Rhodes said. "I discovered a magic circle on the ground in town that resonated with me. The magic I used is related to gravity and can pull objects according to my will."

The magic circle on the ground is very similar to my magic; it can make people or animals on the circle involuntarily move to the location set by the circle's creator, like sleepwalking.

"Are you sure? Do you know where the creator of the magic circle sent the residents?" Harvey quickly asked.

Rhodes nodded: "My total mana should be enough to sustain this spell until we find it."

"Let's get going without delay!" Baron stood up from the bench and walked out.

After leaving the house, he turned back, scratched his head sheepishly, and looked at Rod, asking, "Which way do we go?"

A purplish-black ball of light appeared in Rhodes' palm, and he closed his eyes to sense it carefully.

"Follow me." After saying that, Rod walked in one direction.

"It's already so dark, why don't we rest for a day before going?" Rod asked after leaving the tavern.

He felt that he was not in a good condition to fight. He was still very tired from practicing basic swordsmanship and just wanted to lie down on a soft bed to rest.

"We don't know what the situation is there. If we go there too soon, someone might die every second. Going there sooner can save a lot of people," Harvey replied.

"Did you come on horseback?" he asked again.

"No." Baron shook his head.

Harvey looked at Rhodes and said, "Your name is Rhodes, right?"

"Sven will lend your horse to Rhodes first, and the three of us will ride ahead. We'll leave marks along the way, and you can follow on foot," Harvey added.

"Give my horse to a commoner? Make me, a nobleman, walk there?" Sven said angrily.

"We need to keep checking our direction on the way. Only Rhodes can lead us to the location. If we ride there, we might be able to save a few more people," Harvey said.

"Then why not just have him lend him the horse? He is..." Sven pointed to the "Silent Knight" who was already sitting on the horse.

Harvey quickly interrupted him, saying, "Don't waste your time, he's much more useful than you."

Sven reluctantly said, "Alright then, I promise to lend my horse to that commoner. Remember to take good care of it."

"In the end, even noble young masters will have to go with us poor commoners," Hammer teased from the side.

"You've said so much, but haven't you considered whether I can ride a horse?" Rod said from the side.

Sven looked at Rod with disbelief, as if he were seeing someone who couldn't ride a horse for the first time.

"I'm not a nobleman, and I've hardly ever seen a horse before I became an adventurer," Rod explained.

"It was my oversight. For those of us who grew up in the Roman Empire, even adventurers who are free citizens mostly know how to ride horses," Harvey said. "Fortunately, I know a divine spell that allows you to communicate simply with your warhorse, so you can ride even if you've never learned to ride."

Sven was relieved to hear that Rhodes couldn't ride a horse, but his face fell again after hearing what Harvey said.

However, he still led the warhorse to Rhodes and handed him the reins.

Harvey placed one hand on Rhodes' shoulder, and his palm emitted a strong golden light, which quickly entered Rhodes' body.

Rhodes felt his body start to heat up, and his face was burning hot. He took a few deep breaths before his temperature returned to normal.

Harvey mounted his horse and said to Rhodes, "Stop daydreaming, get on your horse!"

Rhodes followed Harvey's posture and sat on the horse. As soon as he mounted, he felt a faint connection between himself and the warhorse beneath him.

"Don't be nervous. Although it can't understand what you're saying, it can tell what you're thinking," Harvey said.

"You guys hurry up and go, we can keep up with you," Baron urged.

Rhodes nodded, communicated with the horse beneath him using his mind, and the warhorse began to run.

……

Rod's first impression of riding a horse was that it was cold; it would be strange if you couldn't ride a horse on a winter night.

No wonder most Nords don't know how to ride horses. Riding a horse in winter is colder than riding an electric bike in the past. If I equipped my horse with a blanket to block the wind, similar to what was necessary for electric bikes in the past, would that start a horse riding craze in Nords?

Wealthy people use bear skin, and ordinary people use goatskin. But putting something like that in front of a horse seems a bit silly, so let's forget about it.

But it seems that for those who can afford a horse, buying a carriage would solve all their problems.

Along the way, Rhodes would use gravity spells from time to time to feel the magic that attracted him. Harvey didn't need to make any special marks; the tracks left by the three people riding warhorses and wearing armor were too obvious in the snow.

They stopped at the foot of a mountain. There was no need for Rhode to use magic to sense it; he could see with his naked eye the eerie, blood-red light emanating from the mountaintop.

The light was not visible from a distance, but it suddenly appeared when we reached the foot of the mountain.

"Should we wait for them or go up and check?" Rhodes asked.

Harvey dismounted, took his two-handed sword from his back, and said, "Warhorses will be exhausted from walking up the mountain. We'll walk up first, and if things go wrong, we'll retreat here quickly and meet up with them on horseback."

"Rhodes, you stay here and take care of the horses. He and I will go up."

Upon hearing that he wouldn't have to risk going up, Rhodes felt a surge of joy, but just then, a black figure fell from the tree and pounced on Harvey.

Before Rod could warn him, Harvey was tackled to the ground by the dark figure. The figure grabbed Harvey's neck with one hand, pinning him to the ground, while raising the other hand high, intending to deliver a fatal blow.

The creature before him surprised Rhode, who even wondered if he was seeing things. It didn't seem to be human, but rather a werewolf covered in black fur.

Before the werewolf's attack could land, the "Silent Knight" beside him slashed with his sword. In order to avoid having his neck severed by this sword, the werewolf could only choose to use his claws, which were originally intended to attack, to block the blow.

The two-handed sword struck the werewolf's arm, leaving only a bloody wound, but did not sever the werewolf's arm completely.

While pinned to the ground, Harvey clenched his right hand, which was clad in steel gauntlets, into a fist and delivered a powerful punch to the werewolf.

The werewolf jumped back to dodge the attack and created distance between them, remaining wary of the two knights launching an attack.

Harvey picked up his two-handed sword from the ground, bowed his head and silently recited a few prayers before charging towards the werewolf.

Upon seeing this, the werewolf turned and ran; Harvey's charging speed was far slower than the werewolf's running speed.

Harvey stopped and checked the armor around his neck, which had several dents from the werewolf's claws.

"What terrifying power! Luckily, some rare metals were added during the forging of my armor, otherwise I would have already returned to the embrace of the gods," Harvey said thankfully.

"If we've already encountered such a dangerous creature as a scout at the foot of the mountain, it must be even more dangerous up there. We'd better wait here for Baron and the others to arrive," Rhodes suggested.

Harvey nodded and said, "There is a difference between bravery and recklessness. I didn't expect it to be so dangerous here. Waiting for our comrades to arrive before going up together is not against my oath."

Although Rod was curious about what oath he had made, he was too embarrassed to ask. He found a place he thought was safe to sit down and conserve his energy. Fighting in the middle of the night instead of sleeping made him really sleepy.

He didn't notice a pair of eyes watching him from the shadows not far from what he considered a safe place...