Ding!!!

  Two iron swords clashed together, producing a crisp sound.

  “Leilin! You are no match for me, give up!” George said, laughing while gripping the sword hilt with both hands.

  “Not even close!” Leilin replied softly, stepping with an unusual rhythm and launching another attack.

  “Ha!” George swung the longsword in his hand, creating a fierce gust of wind.

  Leilin horizontally positioned the cross sword and blocked George's attack.

  “Good! Your blocking stance is pretty good!” George praised loudly. “Be careful! I’m going to attack your left foot next!”

  “Bring it on!” Leilin got ready.

  “Watch this!” George swung his two-handed sword, drawing a beautiful and deadly arc in the air toward Leilin's right foot.

  Leilin stepped back, raised the cross sword, and blocked George's two-handed sword in mid-air, “You clearly said it was the left foot, you’re not being trustworthy!”

  “Haha... This is called strategy! Testing your agility. My dad often teaches me that if you don't understand tactics, you'll sooner or later get played to death by others! I just want to play others to death, not get played to death!”

  George laughed as he withdrew his sword.

  “Let’s stop! Let’s stop! You are getting stronger each time! In a few days, I won’t be able to beat you!”

  He scratched his head in confusion, “Leilin! My sword skills are honed under the great knight, and my teacher said my swordsmanship is comparable to that of an average knight! How could you tie with me and still get beaten by Olin?”

  “I learned all these sword techniques from my dad when I was young, but unfortunately, I forgot. Now I just want to recall them through training!”

  Leilin clenched his fists, his face reddening!

  “When I gain strength, I will definitely take revenge and break Olin's legs!”

  He looked like a passionate youth inspired by setbacks.

  “Dear Leilin, I believe you will achieve your wish!” George patted Leilin's shoulder.

  With a look of sympathy, he added, “Even now, with your strength, you are enough to take revenge!”

  Through their sparring, George had a general understanding of Leilin's strength.

  “I can handle one or two now, but Olin’s group has five!” Leilin said, somewhat troubled.

  In fact, he was confident he could deal with Olin's group now, but without an excuse, how could he trick George into training with him?

  “By the way, what is this great knight you mentioned earlier?” Leilin casually asked after recalling George’s complaint.

  “You’re talking about the great knight? That’s a higher realm of knights, absolute big shots wherever they go! If lucky, they might even be treated by the king! If they’re willing to pledge allegiance, they will definitely be appointed as legion commanders!”

  “Their physical bodies are reinforced to the limit; it’s said that in the secular world, aside from ranged formations composed of archers, even the charge of heavy cavalry cannot stop their footsteps!”

  “So powerful!” Leilin murmured.

  A legion commander holds a status equivalent to that of a count; even Viscount John must salute them upon meeting.

  Heavy cavalry represents the peak combat power of the cold weapon era; once they charge, even small city walls can be trampled, and the fact that great knights can endure it with their bodies is just incredible?

  Seeing the longing expression on Leilin's face, George laughed and consoled, “Don't envy them. Sorcerers possess powers more mysterious and powerful than knights. As long as you become a sorcerer's apprentice, your status can be on par with great knights, and if you become a formal sorcerer, congratulations, killing a great knight is no harder than squashing an ant; kings from various countries will rush to offer you treasures…”

  “Are sorcerers really that powerful?” Leilin asked, puzzled. “Why are those black robes so indifferent towards us potential sorcerers? They are just knights after all!”

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  “Well, I'm not quite sure, but the identity of a sorcerer is definitely very noble. That's what my father told me! I can guarantee this with the reputation of our Beruning family.”

  George scratched his nose, answering a bit awkwardly.

  “Alright! Alright! I'm not doubting you!” Leilin said helplessly.

  He silently thought, “Chip! Scan the person in front of me!”

  “Beep! Name: George Beruning, Strength: 1.9, Agility: 1.8, Constitution: 1.9, Status: Healthy”

  George's stats have exceeded what normal training can achieve; according to him, he has been training as a knight since he was young, which gives him his current physique.

  There is a unified term for warriors who have enhanced their physical qualities through practicing the knight's breathing method but have not activated vital energy—preparatory knights!

  George’s physical fitness is at the top level even among preparatory knights!

  This relates to his noble background and the large amounts of precious medicines he used to enhance his constitution.

  “Alright, we’re well-rested, let’s head back! I don’t want to face the cold faces of those black robes just because we got back too late!”

  George looked around; the moonlight bathed the surroundings in silver, with the sound of insects chirping in the silence.

  Leilin wanted to avoid drawing attention during the day, so he sneaked out to train with George at night.

  This certainly cannot escape the black robes' notice, but after several interactions, Leilin found them very indifferent. As long as they didn't stray too far from the camp or cause trouble, they didn’t care about anything else.

  “Let’s have one more match, then we’ll head back!” Leilin said. “After this match, I can return the cross sword to you!”

  “Hmm... Huh?” George, who was a bit distracted initially, suddenly brightened up. “You’re done using it? Gus has been urging me to ask for it!”

  To train swordsmanship, the first requirement is a cross sword!

  Many young nobles wear samurai clothes with longswords on their waists.

  But Leilin didn’t have one before because— it was too heavy! It affected mobility!!!

  Due to the trouble, Leilin set off on his journey without even bringing a dagger, leaving him completely unarmed after crossing over, unable to find even a sword for training.

  To train his sword skills, Leilin turned his thoughts to the first friend he encountered upon waking—George.

  By threatening to expose their friendship, he could get George to provide free sparring and weapons!

  Thinking of the time when George’s eyes turned white, appearing as if he had made a bad friend, Leilin couldn’t help but want to laugh.

  “Although your swordsmanship is improving quickly! But do you really not need a cross sword?” George still asked.

  “Since I’m quite familiar with Gus, borrowing it for a little longer won’t be a big deal…”

  “Thank you for your kindness! But it really isn’t necessary!” Leilin smiled and declined.

  After this period of practical training, he thoroughly grasped Ferrell's secret cross sword technique, and due to the chip, his swordsmanship will remain at a peak state without becoming rusty from not touching the cross sword for a long time.

  “Alright, then let’s have one last match. As usual, I will only use the same strength as you!”

  As George spoke, he picked up his two-handed sword and walked to the center of the grass, the bright blade gleaming coldly under the moonlight.

  Leilin also moved to the field, “Come on! This time, no holding back!”

  He had an experimental idea he wanted to practice, so he extended the invitation.

  “Chip! Establish a task! Analyze opponent strength and the surrounding environment, simulate the best defeat scheme!”

  “Task established, analysis begins…”

  “Experimental result, subject unharmed, target loses combat capability. Do you want to enable dynamic auxiliary view?”

  “Enable!” Following Leilin's command, a multitude of blue lines suddenly appeared before him, as if virtualizing the field.

  “Based on the target's reaction, the probability of a preemptive attack is 98.99%, the attack target is the subject's right arm! Best counterplan: sidestep, jump slash!”

  As the chip’s voice sounded, the blue light within Leilin's retina formed a shadow of George, raising his sword and slashing at Leilin’s right arm.

  “Ha! Watch the sword!” George shouted, indeed initiating the attack first, swinging his two-handed sword toward Leilin in the exact same motion as the simulated shadow.

  Leilin smiled, sidestepping the attack, raising the cross sword, leaping into the air, and bringing it down fiercely.

  Jump Slash!!!

  “Damn! How could this happen?” George shouted and rolled to the ground, narrowly dodging the edge of the cross sword.

  Leilin's cross sword struck the ground, sending up dirt and small stones.

  George got up, his expression turning serious; he could feel that the Leilin from just now seemed to have anticipated his attack and knew his movements like the back of his hand.

  “If you don’t attack, I’m going to counterattack!” Leilin said with a smile.

  “Bring it on!” George stared intensely at Leilin.

  Leilin held the cross sword, advancing to pierce directly! Every move was executed as if it were straight from a textbook.

  George made a blocking move, but his body shifted to the side, avoiding the thrust while swinging back at Leilin!

  “Best counterplan: turn left 50 degrees, horizontal slash!”

  Following the chip's prompt, Leilin dodged George's great sword, executing another horizontal slash that just barely grazed George's body.

  As they continued to fight, more and more cold sweat appeared on George's face.

  Every action he took was countered by Leilin, leaving him with less and less room to dodge.

  “I can't let this go on! I’ll fight back!” George suddenly swung his two-handed sword and collided with Leilin.

  Bang!!! A burst of light shot out, landing straight into the grass; it was George's two-handed sword! The blade was still trembling, emitting a buzzing sound.

  On the battlefield, Leilin's cross sword was pressed horizontally against George's waist, “You lost!”

  “That’s right! I lost!”

  George murmured, then his eyes fixed intently on Leilin: “How did you do that?”

  “It's simple; after this time of training, I memorized your patterns!” Leilin sheathed his sword and smiled, bowing.

  “My… patterns?” George repeated.

  “Yes, simply put, everyone has their own habits when fighting. Once you memorize them, you can easily set traps based on your opponent's habits. That’s how I dealt with you!”

  “Whoa!!” George exhaled a long breath, “I get it!”

  Then he looked at Leilin as if he were a monster: “Your talent in swordsmanship is truly the best I have ever seen!!! If you weren’t selected as a sorcerer's apprentice, I would definitely recommend you to the War God Academy in the royal capital!”