Chapter 12: The Escort of the Dual-Wielding Swordsman

  After joining the Northern God of War Church - Odala said they called themselves that way - Joni had to make a second vow.

  "I, Johnny Smith, hereby solemnly swear to the great God of War Odin, the true god I believe in...". Johnny half-knelt before Odara, a bit tense. He couldn't help but feel tense, as Odara's magnificent large sword was resting on his right shoulder. Johnny felt a chill run down his neck.

  "I will be faithful to my lord, Knight Odalric of Ludwich, serve him, contribute my bravery for him and support his rightful heirs. At the same time, I demand suitable reward and protection from my lord. I will guard this oath with my life until the other party refuses to fulfill their promise or automatically gives up."

  "I, Odalric Ludwig, in the presence of the great war god Odin, my true and revered deity, do hereby solemnly swear on behalf of my family, to protect this vassal, Johnny Smith, providing him with suitable reward in exchange for his fealty to me personally and to my lawful heirs, as well as his service and bravery. I shall uphold this oath for the rest of my life until he refuses to fulfill his obligations."

  Joni felt as if someone was watching him from the shadows. Was it Odhara? No. Aethereia? Not her either. This gaze that seemed to see right through his soul, could it be Odin, the God of War? But...

  Joni didn't dare to think wildly.

  The oath finished, Odara withdrew his sword and Jony stood up again.

  Is God so idle? Feeling that gaze has gone, Joanie only completed what she wanted to say in her heart just now.

  "Alright, from now on you're my attendant." Odara patted Joni's shoulder.

  "Hehe, that's great, Uncle Odara. I'll take my leave first." Astrid smiled and bid farewell to Odara, then turned back to Joni and waved her fist at him, "Alright, you have to work hard, or else I'll lose face. I won't let you off the hook!"

  What a lovely and kind little girl, yet in her mind is the soul of an old weird uncle.

  "Alright, I'll take you around the castle to get familiar with it, and then show you your room. You'll be staying here from now on." Odara wrapped her arms around Jony's neck and shook him gently, snapping him out of his daydream about Astrid.

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  Odara led Jorny along the way he had come, bringing him into the forecourt of the castle.

  "This is the training grounds. The group on the left are the gunners, and the one training them is Rul Nis, a 12th-level warrior. He's the instructor for the city guard's gunner unit." A lean man was watching his gunners practice their formations with a serious expression, and whenever he saw something wrong, he would kick them.

  "On the right, archers are training. You see that one dressed differently from others, that's Aishtier's father, Eisatis Hugh, a 12th-level Ranger, he is an archery instructor, you can tell. The man wearing leather armor with his hair tied back in a ponytail, calmly drew his bow, shot an arrow, drew again, shot again, within one breath, two arrows had already hit the bullseye. Suddenly, his movements quickened a bit, whoosh whoosh whoosh, three arrows were fired in rapid succession, all hitting their mark."

  "Haha, this one's played beautifully, Aisatrie that little girl wants to shoot accurately, she has to aim for a while, if she learns from her father's quick shooting, then five arrows will be shot off target." Odara obviously appreciates Aisatris' technique.

  Joni was a bit dazed, at first Ais Trielle saved himself with that arrow, the action was also so familiar, almost without aiming, drew his bow and shot, brushing past my face just killed a goblin...

  He suddenly realized why Astrid was so enthusiastic.

  Looking back, I'm sweating bullets.

  "What's wrong with you, let's go say hello." Odara slapped a palm on Jony's back, leading him to the center of the training grounds.

  "Hey, Rouru, Eisatis, this is my new attendant, take care of him from now on!"

  Lour looked over, expressionless, nodded slightly, and then turned back to continue training the troops. Eisatis was enthusiastic, with a warm smile on his face, and even waved - this father-daughter pair really resembled each other.

  "Rouru is like that, he's cold on the outside but warm on the inside, you'll understand later." Odara seemed to have expected this kind of situation and explained in a low voice as Rouru looked over.

  Through the training grounds, Odara and Jony enter the main castle.

  "There are nine people in the castle guard," Odara said as she walked. "They're called the Tabri Nine."

  Jonyi remembered " Wu Dongjiu Wei", his face filled with vertical lines. By the way, what's with this " alias", can't everyone in the city just call you Chengzhu Weidui?

  "I, Ruru, Eisatis. You've already met him. Nikola. Wind Speaker - don't look at me like that, he came up with the name himself. Nikola. Wind Speaker is a 13th-level mage who usually stays in his room on the top of the castle doing experiments and research, all sorts of messy stuff, not letting us see or find him. Just knowing this is enough."

  And there's the law master, really want to see the power of magic.

  "The first floor is a hall, there's nothing much." The two went up the stairs, "The second floor is a banquet hall."

  Huh? Why didn't you introduce the other five people? Johnny's mind was full of question marks, but he didn't dare ask any questions. After all, they were his bosses, so it was better to be more low-key.

  Continue walking up...

  "The third floor is the armory and a place to practice martial skills. You'll be training here from now on. That sword of yours... tsk, who let you become a brother in our church? Let me take a look, there should be something suitable for you in the double-handed sword armory..." Odala muttered to himself as he searched through row after row of weapon racks.

  Joni's eyes were about to well up with tears, and yet such a wonderful thing happened. Was the great god of war Odin really watching over me, allowing me to smoothly walk onto the highway?

  "Found it." Odara pulled out a large two-handed sword, without any fancy hilt or guard, and no engravings on the blade - to the point of simplicity - even the non-blade part didn't have leather wrapping, "Take it and use it."

  Joni took the sword, weighed it, and found it not heavy, similar to his own. He grasped the hilt with both hands, swung it in the air a few times, and felt that it was more comfortable than his own. To put it professionally, the balance of this sword was more precise than his own. Instantly falling in love with the great sword in his hand, he raised his head to thank O'dara repeatedly.

  "Haha, no need to be polite, we're all brothers serving Odin, and you're my attendant, of course I'll help you out. This kind of sword would normally cost more than five gold coins at a blacksmith's shop, after all it's a challenge to the casting craftsmanship."

  Qiao Ni felt even happier, five gold coins ah, when could he afford it himself in the monkey year and horse month?

  "...So, Astrid told you your monthly salary is five silver coins, right? Here, I provide food and lodging, so consider these five silver coins as repayment of your debt. Let's say this sword costs five gold coins, ten months, just ten months, and this sword will be yours."

  What? What?!

  "Don't make that face, I'm providing you with food and lodging. Besides, if you don't have a weapon, how can I teach you? Right? So, I'll just have to ask you to go home then, and neither of us will be happy, nor will Ais Wallenstein be happy, it's all so troublesome, right? As warriors, we must endure hardships and train our combat skills diligently. This is also for your own good, to help you control unnecessary indulgences. You should thank me, shouldn't you?"

  Qiao Ni looked at Oudala's lips flying up and down. He felt that this big man, who seemed very loyal, didn't quite match his face.

  "Don't be stunned, put down the sword. This sword is only temporarily lent to you, and you can't take it away. Besides, you can't hold any other weapons on your body now."

  Joni felt as if he saw the devil's horns emerging from Odara's forehead, and a sharp tail swishing back and forth behind him.

  Isn't he a devout follower? How can he be so... calculating?

  Jony quietly put down the large sword in his hand and silently followed Odara towards the stairs. When they reached the entrance of the stairs, he suddenly thought of a question.

  "Excuse me, sir, what position are you in charge of in the guard?"

  "Who me? I'm just a dual-wielding swordsman."

  "How many dual-wielders are there in the castle's army?"

  "There used to be one, now there are none." Odala looked Joni up and down, "I reckon there will be two soon."

  "Is it just the two of us?!" Joey was somewhat stunned, his tone slightly agitated.

  "Calm down, kid, dual-wielders were originally shock troops in the army, what's the use of having too many?"

  Assault team? Assault team! Assault team...

  Jony felt some regret.