Chapter 65: Preparations Before Battle

  I'll be visiting relatives tomorrow, so I'm taking a day off, thanks for your understanding.

  Astrid had stopped her shooting training and no longer needed these young men as targets. She was now thinking about how to improve her own strength.

  For a young girl, this was indeed difficult. Astarte's rapidly advancing power suddenly hit a bottleneck.

  As a man of Osedin, Jony's following days were fulfilling but monotonous, with nothing to do but fight those few boys every day. Although he had strength and speed, he wasn't the kind of monster who could swing his sword and make everything retreat without getting close. Occasionally, he would be beaten by these boys, and as soon as the wooden sword touched his body, it was considered a failure, so to speak, he lost. However, no one ridiculed Jony for this, after all, he still won more often than not.

  Jony tried to use the techniques Bruni taught him in actual combat, but he couldn't get it right. Disrupting his breathing rhythm never worked, and although attacking with a heavy kick was successful once or twice, after that everyone became more cautious, especially when Jony's weapon showed a tendency to strike low, and some even counterattacked when Jony swung wildly, forcing him to retreat in disarray.

  However, being able to dodge is also a kind of strength.

  Jony had raised these questions when chatting with the elderly in the afternoon, and was personally practiced by the elderly, deepening his understanding of the power of these skills.

  But ultimately failed to achieve the desired result.

  Let's spare this daily practicing, praying and bewildered young man for now.

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  On the vast and boundless ocean, a huge fleet is sailing.

  At this time, the sky was clear and cloudless, the wind was calm and the waves were still. The ships in the fleet had all taken down their sails and only opened two rows of empty holes above the waterline, one on each side. From the middle, oars stretched out, slapping the water as they moved forward.

  It was the first of a fleet, and its hull stood out among the larger ships. The sailors on deck scurried about like ants on a leaf. The ship's body was clean, with a row of beautiful characters painted on the bow. Only the Velsans who frequently traded overseas could recognize these characters, but they could only barely make them out, unable to decipher their true meaning.

  "Enidhia de' denis", Kanyan: The Supreme Enidhia.

  That is the fleet of Canaan, a fleet that even from high altitude has quite a visual impact.

  "What about the Kannada masters?" asked a majestic-looking man in the cabin of the Enidiednis ship.

  The cabin walls were adorned with luxurious tapestries, elegant and not vulgar. Two long swords of simple form were sheathed and hung crossed on the wall behind the man, although they didn't match the surrounding splendor, they had a unique heroic spirit.

  "The masters have gone to rest, Your Majesty." A young man bowed before him, "They asked me to inform you that they do not wish to be disturbed for three days."

  The man nodded and asked again: "What about the losses of the fleet?"

  "Three ships sank, and not a single soldier or civilian on board was saved. You know how it is in such weather... The sailors under those merchants said that they had never encountered such a huge storm before, and we were able to get through with such small losses thanks to the help of those mages and their disciples."

  "Hmph!" The man shook his head, "These heretics. Pell, spread the word, this time although we had the help of a mage, the key was still our piety that brought us the blessing of Aenethia, let us praise Aenethia! Who led us from nothing to something, and who guided us on a new journey? It is Aenethia! Don't let our people lose their reverent hearts. Also, after this disaster, have everyone eat some stored food, they must be tired of the mage's creations. Go!"

  "Aye aye." The young man known as Pell bowed his head and chest before turning to leave the cabin.

  Inside the cabin, only the Emperor was left. He leaned back in his chair, gazing up at the ceiling, completely devoid of his previous majesty. The Emperor closed his eyes and whispered to himself: "A new continent, a new world, a new development. Aethereia, my greatest god, you will protect your people as they move forward, won't you?"

  When he finished speaking, the cabin fell into complete silence. After a while, when the Emperor opened his eyes again, he returned to his previous posture. He picked up the bell beside him and shook it twice, and a gentle knock came from the door, then the door was slowly opened, and a tall man appeared at the entrance of the cabin. He wore a majestic full-body armor, standing like a statue in the doorway.

  "Waiting for your command! Your Majesty!" A robust and energetic voice.

  "Alright, alright." The emperor smiled and waved his hand, "You're always so serious, my loyal Viking."

  "I serve you, Your Majesty!"

  "Alright, alright, let's get down to business. How long have we been at sea?" The emperor composed himself.

  Viking stood still, but his eyes darted back and forth a few times, as if recalling something. Finally, he gazed forward: "Two hundred fifty-three days, Your Majesty!"

  "Has it been more than eight months?" The emperor pondered, "Did those merchants mention how much longer it would take to reach the destination?"

  "This time Viking didn't hesitate, apparently he had asked before: 'Three months, Your Majesty!'"

  "Almost a year's voyage!" sighed he. "And only three months more to see the land! This is indeed a hard journey, Viking."

  At the emperor's summons, the man straightened his chest a little more.

  "Once you reach the shore, it's up to you. The Empire will abandon everything and head to this new continent to spread the truth of Aini Deya, develop the civilization of Aini Deya, don't let me down."

  "Don't worry!" Viking seemed to have been insulted, and replied loudly, "The warriors of Ainedia will absolutely not lose to a group of poorly equipped natives!"

  "I believe in your strength." The Emperor waved his hand, "But don't underestimate the enemy either. Remember, once we reach the shore, our future will be in your hands. The glory of the True God, you shall protect."

  "Yes!" Viking was very excited and his feeling of being insulted was swept away.

  "Alright, go down."

  The cabin fell silent once again.

  "Three months..." The emperor's hands were propped on the table, his thumbs pressing against his brow. "Still three more months."

  He can't wait any longer.

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  Fifteen days later.

  Even if spring comes later in Osaetin than elsewhere, the time for sowing has arrived. The young men of each household have to get down to work. Jony understood this very well: even though the path of battle was promising, as a son of a farming family, he had to put his family's business first. Just like when he used to practice sword fighting, he could only do it after the blacksmith shop closed or when business was slow. In comparison, these young men from farming families at least have a whole winter to indulge in extravagance.

  In one night, those who called Jony brother and fellow, together with whom they honed their martial skills, dispersed at the same time, each returning to his own home, each looking for his own mother. Jony carried his own sword, alone in a daze on the once bustling empty ground.

  After a while, Joanie shook her head and sighed silently: Alas, I have a lot of actual combat experience, but the old man's teachings still haven't been practiced by me!

  Even if it's against Peter, Johnny can't guarantee a hundred battles without defeat. The two are still mostly even-handed. The problem is that none of these young people are the three-move enemy of Lancelot. If he and they can only win or lose like this, wouldn't they be just one dish against Lancelot?

  Jiang let out a long sigh and slowly turned back towards the lumber warehouse.

  "Mr. Bruni, it's me, Joni." Joni said, knocking on the door.

  After a while, the door opened.

  "Jonah, no training today? That's right, it's almost spring break." Bruny stepped aside to clear a path. "Come on in."

  This time the old man didn't talk for half a day, perhaps the desire to speak had been fully expressed in these two months. Now he was even smiling and asking Johnny, "What brings you here?"

  Jonyi was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly realized the opportunity was rare and quickly spoke up: "Those sparring partners have all gone back home to farm, but I still haven't reached the level of defeating Lancelot. Even the techniques you taught me, I haven't really grasped."

  "This is actually normal." Bruny nodded, "The two techniques I told you were exchanged for countless battles on the battlefield, and many people died, both enemies and comrades. If you can learn it in this short period of time, then you are a genius, a martial arts genius. Are you a genius?"

  "No." Johnny shook his head.

  "That's right. It's normal if you can't learn it, don't be discouraged. Young people must have vitality, you have plenty of time, this kind of thing needs to be learned for a lifetime, don't lose confidence in yourself because of temporary setbacks, understand?"

  "I see......" No, that's not right. "But I never lost confidence in the first place, I was just worried about how to defeat Lancelot."

  "Oh, that little girl." Bruny chuckled, "Last time you practiced with Astry and chatted with her for a couple of sentences, she hid and didn't come out for several days. She really doesn't know how to respect her elders. Evil can't defeat justice, I'm rooting for you!"

  Joni gazed at Bruni, his eyes filled with sincerity, pleading and various emotions.

  "As for the specific implementation, it depends on you. Don't rush, young man, you have to believe that the final victory belongs to you." The old man patted Johnny's shoulder affectionately.

  For example? Joanie is still staring at Bruni.

  "Look, didn't Ossetia Kingdom ultimately defeat its own enemies and establish its own country?"

  "Do we have to wait that long?" Johnny finally couldn't help but ask.

  "Hehe." The old man chuckled a few times, "I won't tease you anymore, let's study tactics instead. It's been a long time since I've done this sort of thing."

  For a brute like Lancelot who always has his strength magic with him, there is absolutely no chance of winning in a head-on battle. Using dirty tricks like throwing sand or lime powder won't work either, because during the fight, someone will definitely be supervising from the side.

  "Can you throw knives?" Bruny asked Joni.

  Jiao Ni was startled: "No way! Can I use hidden weapons?"

  "No way." Bruni fell into thought again, "I just want to make sure, so that when the time comes and you're forced to use it, you won't say I taught you."

  "Alright......" Johnny was quite helpless, but he soon came up with a plan, "I'll run first, then turn back and strike with my sword, how's that?"

  He is very confident in his speed.

  "Do you know what brute force is?" Brunie glanced at Johnny with a slanted gaze, "Don't you? I was blessed by the priest on the battlefield, and my whole body is full of strength, including my legs. Do you know what that means? I dare to bet that even if Lancelot's daughter wore her father's armor, she could still catch up with you. Of course, if she slammed on the brakes, the consequences would be the same as yours."

  "That's right... " Johnny's eyes lit up and immediately dimmed again. "She couldn't have really worn it out."

  "Never mind, it's hard to think of a way out, let's just use the existing one." After a long time, Bruni finally threw out his killer move, "This was thought up by a kid in my team before, and it was still effective in the previous few battles."

  "My goodness, why didn't you bring out the good stuff earlier?" Johnny looked at the old man with disdain.

  "If you keep looking at me like that, I'll go find Lancelot and duel him myself." The old man grunted, picking up the massive sword by his bed, "Come with me."

  Having a request for someone, Joanie quietly followed Bruni out of the house.

  "It's actually quite simple, you just make the motion of preparing to strike from the beginning." Brunie came out of the house, threw away the cloth wrapped around the giant sword, stepped forward with his left foot and backward with his right foot, opening up a bow-legged stance; his right hand was in front, his left hand was behind, grasping the hilt horizontally in front of him, the tip of the sword pointing at Johnny, "Now you're Lancelot, how are you going to attack?"

  "Are you going to use a real sword?"

  "Don't worry." Bruni said disdainfully, "You can't hurt me, I won't hurt you."

  It's really straightforward...... Joanie took off her sword holder and assumed a standard attacking posture: "Then I'll come."

  He said he came, but Johnny didn't immediately attack. The Bruny in front of him was already in a state of preparation, the sword tip pointing at himself, no matter how he attacked, he would be the first to make a move. Only then did Johnny experience the troubles of those miscellaneous soldiers who faced long spears and guns that day, being stared at by sharp metal objects with cold light, it really felt terrible.

  Just get the sword tip out of the way first. Jony swung his giant sword from right to left, striking Bruny's sword with a diagonal slash. As expected by Jony, the sword tip was knocked off course. But what Jony didn't expect was that Bruny would follow up on Jony's momentum and swing his sword in a circle, taking a step forward while turning his hands over and using the hilt to strike his own chin.

  Fast, ruthless, accurate, as if it was just an instant.

  "Ugh!" Johnny cried out in pain and dropped his sword, clutching at his jaw as he fell to the ground.

  "You see." Bruni didn't offer any help either, just sheathed his sword and smiled, "Just like that."

  Jiang Yi slowly came back to himself, covering his chin as he stood up. Fortunately, he hadn't bitten his tongue.

  "What if I change direction?"

  "Give it a try."

  Joni twisted his neck, let out a loud cry, and swung his giant sword from left to right. Bruni also followed the momentum, twisting his waist in the direction of the opening, his right foot changing from back foot to front foot, taking a big step forward, not using the hilt, but using his elbow to heavily strike out, hitting Joni's face squarely.

  Jiang Yi dropped his sword and fell over with his hand covering his mouth.

  Bruni also inserted his sword into the ground and rubbed his elbow: "You little devil's mouth is quite solid."

  Johnny's mouth was full of blood and he shook his head to indicate that he couldn't speak.

  I thought we agreed not to hurt anyone?

  But Joanie's heart was secretly pleased with a few more parts.

  Lancelot, hehehehe.