Chapter 66: Battle

  The Ludwig family is not a family of geniuses. Although they have a good family background, most members are still ordinary people. They just have more material and cultural resources at their disposal, so they generally achieve more.

  Stephen Ludwig is an exception, this whole branch are exceptions. However, by the time of Lancelot, the title of genius was no longer suitable. Although this girl was a clever child, compared to her grandfather and father, this cleverness was like a candle in front of the sun and torches. Such a child would have shone brightly if she had appeared in any village or even city. But in Vischir, she was just a small candle lit up in the sunlight.

  When Lancelot received the challenge from Johnny, she had just finished her own training. As always, this violent girl who dominated the whole village was defeated by her grandfather, the great Odin, the lifelong archbishop Stephen Ludwig.

  In our childhood, we look up to adults because they are tall, strong and all-powerful. As we grow older, this upward gaze gradually levels out, leaving only a hint of the awe from our youth, or nothing at all.

  For Lancelot, her grandfather was an existence that she had to look up to forever. No matter how hard she tried, under her grandfather's hands, she was just a dish. Although this old man was her idol and role model, losing from a young age to adulthood wasn't exactly something to be happy about. Usually at times like these, she would go out for a stroll, find some familiar boys or villagers to challenge in a few rounds, and somehow regain some confidence. Johnny's challenge was truly a good thing that came knocking on her door.

  "Do you want to fight me?" Lancelot asked again, wondering if he had misheard.

  Jony nodded: "Not bad, I want to challenge you."

  "Alright, this doesn't count as me bullying you." Lancelot shrugged his shoulders, "Follow me."

  Since Johnny can get Stephen's instruction after defeating Lancelot, this challenge must be carried out under the witness of a notary. Because it was a busy farming season, there were few church affairs, and both Stephen and Udis came to the scene.

  "Remember, this is a test of skill, no one is allowed to deliver a fatal blow. Whoever yields first loses. Odin bears witness to your bravery, are you both ready?" Urdis presided over the duel.

  "Ready!" The two men stood twenty paces apart, swords in hand, and replied loudly.

  "The battle begins!"

  Although there was work to be done in the fields, that could wait. The young men of Vishir village were all excused from their chores and ran to gather at the empty lot in front of the church to watch the two fight. Everyone had seen Lancelot beat someone up before, and everyone had seen Jony take a swing, so the interest in this apparently one-sided match lay in just how badly Jony would get beaten.

  Under the premise of not harming one's life, watching others being abused is also a form of entertainment, especially when it comes to acquaintances.

  The game has started. At this time, it's not very suitable for anyone to cheer, so the spectators watched quietly with flushed faces.

  Jony took a deep breath, assuming the stance of a thrusting attack. This was his only hope for victory. If Lancelot were clever enough or had some experience in response, today's duel would be very ugly.

  －－－－－

  Time rewinds, five days ago.

  "You just said it was effective last time, is there a way to crack it?" Johnny got up with his hand covering his mouth and asked in a low voice.

  Bruni smiled complacently: "Of course, that little brat used this trick to make me lose some advantage at the time, but I soon found a way to deal with it."

  The countermeasure is not difficult, just don't take the initiative.

  Although the opponent is making a thrusting motion, being pointed at by the sword tip is quite uncomfortable. However, if the movement is small, the opponent will be unable to take advantage of the momentum to attack. Alternatively, one can simply lean the sword body against the opponent's sword and slide along the blade to the two small blades, following up with the body, slowly guiding the direction of the sword away from the axis. At this point, whether to give the opponent a kick or draw a circle with the sword before striking depends on one's mood.

  "On the battlefield, movements should be faster and more fluid. I recommend kicking first before slashing." Bruny concluded, "This move is only useful for one-on-one duels. If you really use this pose on the battlefield, the enemy might not even bother with you, but your superior officer next to you will definitely beat you up."

  But now it's just a one-on-one fight, if I can't get past this level, I might as well forget about going to the battlefield for the rest of my life.

  The scene returned to the field.

  －－－－－－

  Lancelot was slightly surprised in his heart by Johnny's appearance. This...this...

  What's going on?

  She slowly approached Johnny, holding her sword horizontally in front of her. According to her usual temperament, she would have rushed over and hacked at him. However, Lancelot knew that Johnny's movements would definitely be faster than hers. If she rashly approached, this sword would come stabbing, and she wouldn't have any other choice but to dodge. Even after dodging, the opponent could still assume a prepared stance.

  Lancelot slowly approached and finally stopped outside of Johnny's attack range, beginning to circle around him.

  She is looking for an opportunity.

  Joni was tightly biting in the direction of Lanselot, slowly turning on the spot. Now it's up to Lanselot whether he can think of a way to break through, if he thinks of it, will he admit defeat or let her beat him up? Joni quietly dispelled this thought. What needs to be thought about now is how to cleanly and neatly knock her down when she launches a sudden attack like he did back then. This is a technical task, requiring seizing the opportunity...

  －－－－－

  Three days ago.

  "Again!" Bruny shouted, frowning. "I thought you were a clever kid, how can you be so stupid? Distance! Pay attention to distance! Don't take steps that are too big or too small! How many times is this now? If you don't manage to grab her in that instant and knock her out, you'll die a terrible death!"

  Jony got up from the ground, shook his head and complained: "Can you be gentler? I can only practice a few times a day like this!"

  "How dare you talk back!" The old man's eyes widened, "You know it hurts but don't know to summarize the experience and lessons? Come on again!"

  Jonyi struck a pose, Bruny swung his sword down, and Jonyi countered by swinging the hilt of his sword upwards. This time it was short, not enough distance...

  Bang—"Come on!"

  Back to the scene.

  －－－－－－－

  The two masters were evenly matched, which was not a brilliant performance in the eyes of the spectators. Although the young men did not dare to shout loudly, some murmurs had already begun to rise.

  Lancelot's attention was focused on Johnny, but the buzzing sounds also floated into her ears. As a qualified fighter, she had to pay attention to the surroundings even during battle.

  Lancelot felt a bit annoyed. What's to be afraid of? The kid in front of him wasn't even as strong as himself, and he knew the outcome of the fight with the village boys the other day. First, let's get this sword open and then talk about it, being pointed at by the tip of the sword was really unpleasant.

  He's here! Johnny's eyes lit up, and his expression was proud and triumphant.

  The moment of deciding victory or defeat has arrived! She swung her sword at mine! The scene where Joni knocked Bruni to the ground a day ago flashed before his eyes. Although the old man said it was just luck, after succeeding for the second time, he couldn't say anything else!

  Here comes! Swing open, tread step, turn over, strike!

  The voice was not loud, but Lancelot almost immediately dropped his sword and covered his chin, blinked twice, and tears fell down uncontrollably.

  The murmurs around them stopped abruptly. After a few breaths, Udis was the first to speak up: "Joni wins!"

  Still silence. The boys looked at Lancelot on the ground, not daring to cheer. They could feel a terrible atmosphere emanating from that tearful body. Of course, this might be an illusion born of their long-term oppression. Still remembered was the year when Lancelot, who had mixed with the boys, was hit by a pile of snow falling from a tree. At that time, she was still a somewhat willful little girl, but already a willful little girl who had released her barbaric power...

  An unbearable past.

  As expected, Lancelot slowly stood up, raised his head and glared at Johnny: "You!"

  "Lancelot!" Udis spoke again, "Lose is lose!"

  "But he..."

  "What your father said is true, on the battlefield any small mistake can get you killed." Stefan interrupted Lancelot's words, "You should learn from it instead of blaming your opponent."

  "...is." Lancelot took a deep breath and replied reluctantly.

  "Are you okay? I..." Johnny asked cautiously.

  "This sentence made Lancelot, who had calmed down a bit, erupt again: 'You despicable bastard! You actually launched a sneak attack! You, you, is this how you treat girls?!'"

  A maiden's heart...

  "Despicable and shameless? Sneak attack?" Joey smiled, "You're still using the Barbarian's Fist technique, what should I call you?"

  Lancelot said.

  "Enough!" Stefan said, "Lancelot, you lost and that's it, there's no excuse to be made, you can challenge him again next time. Johnny, although you won, your actual strength isn't that strong. If this were a real battlefield, this set of moves wouldn't work at all, do you know that?"

  "Yes."

  "Alright, everyone disperse! Joanie, come with me."

  Following Stephen's footsteps, Johnny came to the backyard of the church, Stephen's house.

  "Sit." Stefan pointed to the seat with a superior air.

  Jiang Yisheng sat down, but didn't actually sit, only half his buttocks touched the chair, and he didn't dare lean back to rest. He vaguely remembered that Qing officials used to have even more rules, but it had been a long time and he couldn't remember clearly, so he could only try his best to show respect.

  "No need to be so formal." Seeing Johnny like this, the old man was taken aback and then waved his hand, "Oscar isn't Versailles, not so many rules. However, you're still young, where did you learn such etiquette?"

  "It's a bit awkward," "I think I should be more respectful towards you, so my movements are a bit stiff."

  "Uh-huh, yeah." Stefan nodded, "This is indeed not Velsa's etiquette."

  Then Stefan asked Johnny about his life, family, interests, study progress, and finally, in a harmonious atmosphere, he raised the most critical question.

  "Are the stories you told Odala on your way here all made up by yourself?"

  "That's right," Johnny said readily, "I made it up myself."

  After he finished speaking, he felt something was wrong.

  "Where did you hear about the war? I heard from Odala that there hasn't been a war in Tabri City for twenty years."

  This... Jony was suddenly speechless. After a while, he hesitated and said: "When I was young, an old poet came to my home..."

  "Oh?" Stephen chuckled, looking at Johnny, "An old poet?"

  Actually, my true identity is... This truth sounds more like a lie than lies themselves.

  "Yes." Jony nodded. "He stayed at my house for a few days, told me many stories, and later I tried to compile these stories myself."

  "Oh." The old man neither confirmed nor denied it, "I understand."

  Silence...

  "Starting today, you'll be following me to learn." Stephan broke the silence, "From your story, I think you have the potential to become an excellent commander. Although not brilliant, I can try and it's also a contribution to the kingdom."

  A hundred-year-old man is qualified to call everyone a young whippersnapper; Stephen Ludwig has the right to call everybody an idiot.

  "Where's Sir Brunel?" Johnny asked.

  "Go give him a shout. The guy's a bit of a nuisance, but it's also kind of sad that he's always holed up in the lumber shed. You decide." Stephan tapped out a rhythm on the table, "Go on."

  As for that annoying old man, Johnny had a grudge. But now that he wanted to part ways, he felt somewhat reluctant. Arriving at the wooden door, Johnny hesitated before finally knocking on it.

  "Jonny?" Bruni opened the door, "How's it going?"

  "I won." Joni thought of Lancelot's frustrated expression, feeling a little pleased, and then felt a bit down, "But next I have to go study with Mr. Stefan Ludwig."

  "What a great thing!" Bruny slapped the door panel, "Who doesn't know that Mr. is a powerful figure, both civil and military!"

  "But I won't be able to come here often."

  "Oh, I see." Brunie also thought of something and fell silent.

  "Unless I have nothing better to do, I'll come visit you," Johnny broke the silence.

  Bruni nodded: "Alright, you've got a conscience. Are you in a hurry to go to class today?"

  "It's okay."

  "Enough chit-chat, come on in." The old man pulled Johnny into the house. "Where were we last time?"

  ……

  In the north of Oserdin, the weather is getting colder. Although it's already spring, the biting cold wind is still blowing outside. The northern border of Oserdin is separated by a row of military fortresses, on one side of which are the villages of Oserdin, and on the other side, the vast northern wilderness.

  Even in such a place, there were signs of life.

  "(In barbarian language) Winter is almost over." A man said, roasting by the fire in a beast skin tent on a cold wind.

  "It should be, the tribe's stored food can last for more than 20 days. Have any prey come out in these days?" another man asked.

  The one who spoke earlier shook his head: "No, the hunters we sent out had no harvest."

  "These damned beasts." The second man spat on the ground, "It's time to come out of the lair, but they're still lazy and won't come out of their hole."

  "Chieftain, why don't we call up a few people from other tribes and go south to try our luck?"

  The man called the leader furrowed his brow: "The south? With just us? Do you think those Osedin barbarians are just for show?"

  "But this weather won't warm up for a while. Winters have been getting longer and longer over the years, what if..."

  "That's better than making fun of the lives of the Naxi people."

  While they were arguing, someone came in from outside.

  "Your Excellency, there is an envoy requesting an audience."

  " Envoy?" The leader exchanged a glance with the man beside him, "Please come in."

  A tall man pushed open the curtain and strode in, bringing a gust of cold wind with him.

  "In the yurt of Usuri tribal chief, Aishike, to the master of this place, brave Osriva, pay respects." The messenger bowed and saluted.

  "No need for formalities." Osiriva raised his hand slightly. "I don't know why you've come, messenger."

  "Honorable chieftain, winter is reluctant to leave, and the grain reserves of each tribe are decreasing. Our chieftain suggests that we unite and go to Osedin for food."

  "United Army?"

  "Yes."

  Osiriva pondered, but the man beside him couldn't help but speak up: "Has your chieftain forgotten the fate of the allied army back then?"

  "That was just an accident." The messenger glanced at the man. "This time, we won't let Osedin's priest sneak in again."

  "Tell your chieftains," Osirvad said, "the House of Osirvad is at their disposal."

  "Thank you, brave Chief Osiriva." The messenger stood up and bowed respectfully. "I have other tribes to visit, please excuse me for taking my leave first."

  "Please."

  This winter was exceptionally long, but the frozen earth was not quiet.