Sixth Ring Wizard

Chapter 4 Swordsmanship

In the castle's training grounds, there is an open space specifically for swordsmanship training. Next to the open space is a wooden shelf with rows of gleaming longswords on it.

The guards usually train with real swords, but they are not sharpened to ensure a certain level of safety.

Hellagur and Emil each held a longsword and stood facing each other.

Emil personally taught Helag swordsmanship, which shows how much he valued him.

He told Helag, "Swordsmanship is for killing enemies. My swordsmanship doesn't have the fancy movements of court swordsmanship, and there won't be any unnecessary sword techniques."

"Chop, slash, stab, thrust, block!"

"These five words are the eternal foundation of all swordsmanship. As long as you master these fundamentals, the rest is about cultivating combat experience."

Emil took a deep breath, raised his longsword and suddenly slashed forward, the wind from the sword stirring up a cloud of dust.

His movements were so fast that Herag wouldn't have been able to see Emil's actions without the help of the chip.

"This is normal speed. I'll slow down a bit from now on, so pay attention to the details of my movements. When you first start learning swordsmanship, don't focus on speed. Just make sure each movement is executed perfectly."

Emil swung his sword forward again, and this time Herag could see his movements clearly on his own.

"Give it a try," Emil said after demonstrating.

"Deep Blue, activate sword technique training assistance."

A small blue figure appeared in Hrag's field of vision, demonstrating the key points of the slashing move.

He adjusted his movements according to Deep Blue's instructions, and then suddenly slashed forward with his sword.

"You're using too much wrist strength; you should use more arm strength," Deep Blue immediately advised, correcting Herag's way of exerting force.

Emil also noticed the problem and said, "The movement looks good, but you should use more of your arm strength. Try again."

Herag recalled the feeling from just now, found the right point of leverage, and slashed forward again.

"Very good! Next, I'll teach you a few other moves." Emil rarely smiled.

Herag spent the entire afternoon practicing basic swordsmanship, and his learning speed impressed even the usually stern Emil.

Herag had no intention of hiding his talents. He came from humble beginnings, and only by doing his best to demonstrate his value could he get others to invest more resources in him.

"Continue your training during this time. I will provide you with some opportunities to hone your skills later. A person who has never seen blood cannot become a knight."

Emil was already grooming Helag as a potential knight.

"Thank you, Lord Emil! I am grateful to the Baron!" Herag said gratefully.

After finishing his day of training, Herag received his salary from Butler Ivan as soon as he arrived at the hut.

"Butler Evan, there are five more silver coins." Herag opened his purse and found that his salary was higher than before.

"Not much, Mr. Herag. Captain Emil reported your situation to the Baron and specially increased your salary." Ivan was an elderly man with gray hair, smiling kindly.

"Oh, I see..."

Emil never mentioned this to Helag, probably because he considered it a trivial matter.

After receiving his salary, Helag took a can of fine wine he had bought and went to the back garden.

"Old Henry, I brought you some wine!" He walked into the garden and saw Old Henry lying on a chair with his eyes closed, resting.

"What kind of wine?" Old Henry sniffed, but couldn't detect any smell.

Herag placed the bottle next to the chair and said, "I don't know much about it either. Someone went to town on business, and I asked him to buy it for me."

"Let me see." Old Henry perked up at the sight of the wine, got up, picked up the jar, untied the lid, and took a sniff.

"This is Marco's wine from town; his wine really does taste good," old Henry said with a look of delight.

"By the way, my salary has also increased. Now I get a full ten silver coins a month. I'll share half with you!" Herag took out five silver coins and stuffed them into his hand.

Old Henry scoffed, "What do I need money for at my age? I can't even gnaw on bones anymore, and if I go to town to find a girl, they're afraid I'll die in my belly. When you get old, spending money doesn't feel the same as when you were young. You're still young, take the money and have a good time. I have enough wine."

Upon hearing old Henry's words, Herrag recalled a line of ancient poetry from his past life: "I wish to buy osmanthus blossoms and share wine, but it will never be like the carefree days of my youth."

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he asked, "Old Henry, do you know how long a formal knight like Emil can live?"

"How old? It's rare for knights to die of old age. Let me think, the ones I've heard of before were only around a hundred years old, living a little longer and stronger than ordinary people," old Henry recalled.

"And what about a great knight like the Baron?" Herag continued to ask.

Old Henry took a sip of his drink and said, "The Grand Knight is just a man, they're all pretty much the same."

"Only around a hundred years old...?"

Herag had thought that the knights, having mastered extraordinary powers, would live a long time, but it turned out they only lived a little longer than ordinary people.

"Old Henry, is there anyone more capable than the knight?"

"Even more powerful?" Old Henry pondered for a moment. "Of course there are, but those are all legends. It's said that wizards are more powerful than knights, but wizards are very mysterious, and nobody knows if they really exist."

"Wizard..." Herag silently memorized the term.

Herag returned to his cabin late at night, having spent the entire night drinking with old Henry.

After helping the drunken old Henry to rest, he still left the five silver coins behind.

He is a grateful person.

……

Two weeks later, at the castle training grounds.

Herag, clad in full armor, stood in a row with six other guards, awaiting Emil's instructions.

"A group of bandits has appeared at Pumpkin Farm. It is our responsibility to protect the safety of the people in our territory. The Baron has ordered us to wipe out the bandits..." Emil said, describing the situation of the mission.

For the past two weeks, Herag has been diligently practicing the Earth Breathing Technique and basic swordsmanship, and today he finally has the opportunity to put them into practice.

"Although these are just a group of ordinary bandits, you can't let your guard down. Getting stabbed can kill you!" Emil said, giving some instructions.

Herag listened intently, sensing that the other six hadn't taken the matter to heart.

Suppressing bandits was a common occurrence, partly because it was the lord's responsibility, and partly because it was an opportunity for the lord to demonstrate his strength and intimidate others.

This era was very chaotic, with frequent conflicts between territories.

Every now and then, Hrag would hear about which territory had been annexed or where there was a famine.

Once bandits wander into your territory, you must eliminate them as soon as possible, otherwise others will think your area is easy to bully, attracting more and more bandits.

The task force to eliminate the bandits was led by Emir himself, along with seven castle guards.

Herag was still a bit clumsy on horseback, but fortunately he had some knowledge of horseback riding in his memory. With Deep Blue's help, he quickly learned how to control the horse.

(End of this chapter)