Pioneer Wizard's Notebook

The manor is not a castle; the walls are neither wide nor tall, and the whole structure is only a little over four meters high.

This isn't too bad news; a smaller space means fewer blind spots.

With the current number of young and middle-aged people in the town, the walls are well-defended, and even if someone is afraid and makes a mistake, the sheer number of people can fill the gaps.

The biggest problem is the lack of defensive weapons.

Arrows, rolling stones, and other projectiles, when used in conjunction with the Solar Wind, can inflict potentially fatal damage on Iceborne Ghosts.

"I will have Pullman provide the food and Hibbert continue the communication. Tomorrow, all the residents of the town will be mobilized to make throwing and rock-falling weapons."

Lind added.

In the northern ice plains, food is always the hard currency, and its appeal to ordinary people far surpasses that of gold and silver.

The food distributed tonight as promised is enough to entice other residents to rush to work.

"It seems you really want to stop those monsters' attacks."

Seeing that he was not stingy with food, William felt relieved. "I will select a group of residents who are not good at archery and order them to take up wooden spears and shields and stand at the forefront. These militiamen need better treatment and pensions for their families."

Linde nodded in agreement: "No problem. Their treatment will be twice that of others. If they die in battle, their families will receive fifty silver coins and the territory as a form of good treatment."

In the North, this pension would be enough to buy eighty hens or twenty-five goats, enough to support a modest family.

Of course, this is on the premise that the Flowery Collar still exists.

William bowed slightly to express his gratitude: "I hope you won't forget your promise today."

The sky grew completely dark.

The conscripted militiamen left happily with the grain, bringing the news back to the town.

The next day, early in the morning.

The sun had not yet fully risen, and the earth was shrouded in a gray haze.

The entrance to Sunflower Manor was already crowded with townspeople who had come to visit.

Under the arrangement of Inspector Hippo, these residents were assigned jobs.

The men came up to the wall to receive training, while women and girls pushed wheelbarrows around, searching for heavy stones.

The bricklayers were assigned to repair the gaps in the wall, and the cooks went into the kitchen to prepare lunch for everyone.

Although everyone knows that the lord's second son initiated this recruitment, it lacks legitimacy.

But the lure of food was enough to make them put aside their burdens. On the last pasture before the cold winter, the sheep had no time to care about anything else; grazing was the most important thing.

The manor was no longer desolate; it was now bustling with activity.

Before the sun had fully risen, Linde took the time to approach Knight William and inquire about the necessary comparison of combat strength.

"How does your strength compare to that of the Iceborne Demon?"

William gripped his sword hilt and replied, "With full equipment, I can handle two ordinary Ice Demons; any more than three, and they're dead for sure."

It was roughly what Lind had expected.

The Ice Demon's body is incredibly tough; he's experienced it firsthand, and ordinary people can hardly cut through it with a longsword.

It's safe to say that if even one Ice Demon were to break into the town, it could slaughter all the civilians in the entire town.

In contrast, William's ability to take down both on his own, even with the need for chainmail, is proof enough of the knight's strength.

In his previous life, he would have been a superhero.

As for why knights' physical abilities far surpass those of ordinary people, it relies on special combat skills and breathing techniques.

Lind opened the wizard's journal and began to record the relevant characteristics.

"Spinning Slash and Bellows Breathing Technique"

Linde stared at the text in thought, then looked at William and said, "Could you demonstrate the Whirlwind Slash for me?"

William did not refuse; it was customary for knights to demonstrate their martial skills before battle.

He drew his longsword, bent his knees as he turned to the side, and gradually shifted his weight onto his front foot.

The next second, power burst forth from the soles of his feet, propelling his entire body to swing his sword forward, drawing an arc-shaped blade with extraordinary momentum.

As expected, Lind's idea was confirmed.

The secret to the knight's powerful physique lies in magic.

Although they could not control or even observe magic, they found another way and came up with a more practical approach.

That is, through combat skills and breathing techniques, day after day of practice, magical runes are built into the body using muscle memory.

Just like the knightly tradition of the Blossoming Territory, the Whirlwind Slash.

When combined with the bellows breathing technique, one will passively absorb magical energy during practice, thus strengthening the body.

Once you've mastered the skill enough, you can be promoted to knight. You don't need to think; swinging your sword is casting a spell.

Other professions such as assassins and rangers are not much different; the key lies in the combat skills they advance in.

"Does the existence of combat skills diminish the importance of talent, replacing it with sweat and effort?"

Linde wrote down his conclusion in his journal, quite interested.

"How long does it take to practice combat skills and breathing techniques? Can those militiamen master them quickly?"

William looked uncomfortable and refused, saying, "It takes at least fifteen years of training to go from commoner to knight's squire and finally to knight. They can't possibly learn that."

Linde realized what was happening and said, "I was being abrupt, don't worry about it."

That's true. Although combat skills have lowered the barrier to entry for professionals, it's always human nature to cherish what you have.

William learned his combat skills from Baron Jefferson after years of hard work, and he suffered a lot in the process.

Even now, with the world on the brink of collapse, it's hard not to feel resentful about asking him to selflessly teach these commoners.

There's no rush if we can't improve our immediate combat strength.

Linde finished inspecting the walls and went inside the garden.

His gaze lingered on a dead spruce tree.

This tree, which recently died from an ice storm, had a diameter of over one meter and tough bark, which prevented the manor maids from dealing with it for a long time.

Lind retrieved the only remaining knight's sword from the armory.

The next second, the wind howled through the air.

Spinning Slash!

The cold wind, mixed with snowflakes, was carried by the sword, whipping up the bark of the spruce tree, sending wood chips flying, and the sharp blade cleanly and crisply sliced ​​through the trunk.

The tall spruce tree crashed to the ground.

As the snowflakes swirled up, Linde sheathed his knight's sword.

"It seems that talent still has the upper hand."

Compared to the runes on the advanced sunflower, the magical runes flowing within William's body when he casts the Whirlwind Slash are much simpler.

Linde had previously studied the Spinning Slash and the Bellows Breathing Technique.

Looking back now, it's enough to overcome more than a decade of hard training, instantly building up the magical runes of the Whirlwind Slash within the body and unleashing this knightly combat technique.

"Compared to a normal knight, I lack the muscle memory honed through countless trials, so I have to think things through before swinging my sword?"

Linde chuckled lightly, not paying any attention.

This isn't a drawback; runes of this level aren't enough to burden him.

After actually using it, some inspiration struck him. If he had time, he could try to further refine this combat technique.

The entire town was busy, and Sunflower Manor had entered a state of high alert.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

That morning, Philip and Judd, the two manor soldiers who remained behind, went to scout the outermost edge of the Ice Mist Forest as usual.

Before they even got close to the forest, the two wolfhounds at their feet suddenly started barking and rubbing their paws nervously on the ground, unwilling to go any further.

The two soldiers urged the hound on, but it didn't respond. This immediately made them realize what was happening, and their faces turned panicked.

"Let's go up the hillside!"

The two hurriedly climbed to a high place and looked down. In the distance, they could see dozens of strange figures appearing and disappearing in the woods.

They couldn't help but widen their eyes, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

"Icefield Demons! These monsters are really here! Quick, go back and inform the adults immediately!"