The air is a little chilly.
The weapons testing ground in the northern city of Ashenil is very large. Oval in shape, its longitudinal length is approximately equivalent to a standard lance competition field. In metric measurement units, it is approximately 46 meters in length, while in Avenella standard units, it is an integer of 150.
It is said that this weapons testing ground was built by King Laurence I in the year 33 AD of Avenera, imitating the ancient Lamanite Colosseum, but his son Lawrence the Reverend II, who came to the throne later, announced this behavior. It is barbaric and illegal. Since then, people living here have used it as a good place for archery or martial arts competitions in their spare time, and this has not changed to this day.
Steaming with sweat, in the area jointly planned by the Chamber of Commerce that occupied almost one-third of the test field, several strong men holding wooden weapons were shouting and attacking each other on the fine sand ground. On the stone steps on the left, which serves as the auditorium, inspectors from the Chamber of Commerce are watching carefully.
"Go on, both of them." Rafman Corsono, who is nearly 50 years old this year, has been named the general person in charge of guard recruitment for four years because of his rich experience. This thin and bald man was born in Sivalier. He is as stern and selfless as he seems. During his tenure, there was also a mercenary group that planned to bribe so that all members could be selected to do some internal and external cooperation. They bribed almost all other investigators, but Rafman was an obstacle that they could not get past no matter what.
After the incident was revealed, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce gave Rafman all authority, including layoffs and recruitment. Because of this incident, within the Federation, this skinny, bald man was even more intimidating than some tall and muscular warriors.
——But no matter what, Rafman looks a little tired and has a headache today.
"Why are there so many guys who came to apply this time to fish in troubled waters?" He waved his hand and drove away the two guys who looked like they were pretending to fight. Rafman rubbed his forehead and looked at the waiting area on the other side.
The person he was staring at had an outstanding height among ordinary people. He was 1.9 meters tall and had black hair. Rafman's eyes were a little bright at first - because these characteristics were very consistent with the warlike and war-savvy northern people, but then he continued I noticed the man's weapon, a long and slender sword with a narrow blade.
'No, please go back, thank you for participating! The bald and skinny man almost shouted these words, but when his eyes caught sight of the person next to the participant, he stopped.
It was a white-haired young Luoan girl who had not been abused. She was not his slave but more like a companion. While the men were queuing up to sign up, the girl looked around, her eyes filled with curiosity and longing.
The middle-aged man was silent for a while. He reached out and touched the top of his head, which had no hair left, and then decided to see how these two people were doing first.
But now he took the time to take another look, almost spitting out a mouthful of blood for his tenderness just now.
The wooden weapons used in the competition tests are all provided by the Chamber of Commerce, because if the contestants are allowed to carry them by themselves, some evil-minded guy may add iron blocks or other tricks to the weapons.
There are a wide variety of weapon racks placed on both sides of the competition venue, ranging from flat-head guns made of extremely elastic ash wood to hard two-handed swords. Although there was no sword of the size that the man was carrying, there were two-handed wooden swords of a similar style - but he.
He chose an unrelated one-handed stabbing sword.
"Miscellaneous but not refined, flashy" Rafman shook his head and came to this conclusion at this young man who was less than thirty years old. The one-handed stabbing sword is often called a 'lady's weapon' among combat professionals. Its light blade and rear center of gravity make it easy for ladies with weak physical strength to master it. But mastering this precision stabbing weapon is actually not as easy as imagined.
If the extremely long sword carried by the black-haired man is a bit flashy but appropriate for his height, it seems that with such a physique, he chose such a light but highly skilled weapon without taking advantage of his body. Some of them are trying to show off their fatness.
Perhaps it was to show something, or perhaps he was not as powerful as he seemed and could only carry such a light weapon. In any case, Rafman had almost no expectations for this man - and he was obviously not the only one. People who think this is ridiculous.
"Ahahahahahahahahahaha!" The exaggerated laughter that resounded throughout the entire venue came from the separated third of the competition hall. Rafman frowned his light eyebrows in dissatisfaction and was about to turn his head. He was looking at other venues, so he looked back there.
The man who burst out laughing was the tall man's rival: a typically vulgar mercenary. He holds a wooden sword half the length of a sword in one hand, the green badge hanging out clearly and his careless and defenseless stance all show his confidence - or arrogance.
"Alas..." Rafman shook his head. Every quarter, there would always be a few guys like this coming in during recruitment. Their strength was average, and their character didn't look that great either. But even if you are very lucky, you can always run into those weak opponents.
'How about a black box operation and arrange a few members of the permanent mercenary team to take this guy down?' Rafman was thinking, and before he could react the next second, the laughing mercenary had already fallen. On the ground.
"Uh..." The venue was a little quiet.
"?" The tall man who was still maintaining the thrusting posture raised his face in confusion. He looked at where the inspector was: "Are you going to shout start?" he asked in a slightly louder voice.
"Uh... That's not necessary..." A female inspector around 30 years old replied, and the black-haired man who received the confirmed answer nodded: "That's good."
"Boom - bang -" He stood on the spot and swung his right hand hard. The one-handed stabbing sword drew a perfect arc and hit the fallen mercenary's abdomen. The man immediately let out a cry of pain, and then this time... Literally passed out.
"..." Rafman's eyes became serious. He walked aside and gave instructions to his members of the Chamber of Commerce.
"Invite the people from the Ford Mercenary Group and arrange for them to deal with that guy." The thin and bald middle-aged man said. The strength of the black-haired man caught his real attention. Although the opponent is just a green mercenary, if we really want to fight him, we can easily catch half a dozen of them who can kill him. But Luffman, who is cautious, still takes it seriously.
Because killing is not a difficult thing after all - what is really difficult is how to knock down the opponent cleanly without killing anyone.
Just two attacks.
Only characters with a perfect grasp of power can do this kind of thing, and such people do not live leisurely in a well-known mercenary group, adventurer organization, army or noble guard, holding an iron rice bowl, but come here There is a job here for a small position that is not considered well-paid in the eyes of those with real ability. The experienced Rafman cannot help but have doubts about this.
Even though he was a little soft on them because they brought a Luoan girl with them, as a senior member of the Chamber of Commerce, he would always put the interests of the Chamber of Commerce first.
——This is what our Mr. Sage will face next.
Neither man spoke.
After knocking down the first rude and arrogant mercenary, the person who appeared in front of Henry was fundamentally different from the person before.
First of all, well...he's a she.
He is about the same age as Henry, with red hair tied back. His emerald green eyes are focused and serious, and his slender eyebrows give him a very serious and capable look.
Her well-proportioned body was wrapped in slim-fitting clothing sewn from finely tanned smooth animal skins and burlap that were favored by female adventurers, and as soon as she appeared on the stage, she assumed a vigilant posture.
The weapon used by the female mercenaries is a flat-headed wooden gun, which is just right to restrain the one-handed stabbing sword Henry currently uses. And she obviously knew her advantages well. In this small one-third and one-third space, she stayed on the edge from the beginning, not giving Henry any chance to get close to seize the weapon.
The psychological pressure of fighting with wooden weapons is far less than that of metal weapons. A wooden gun without a bright tip is actually just a stick, so except for a few cowards who have never even tried sparring, most of them Most people wouldn't flinch from its sting. On the contrary, it is the choice of experienced people to seize the gap in the thrust and approach instantly, turning the advantage of the length of the spear into a disadvantage, and taking advantage of the opponent's slow attack speed that cannot return to defense in time to quickly knock down the opponent or disarm him.
But this female mercenary obviously won't let Henry succeed so easily.
She maintained a small movement, coordinated her breathing, and held the wooden gun in her hand calmly without appearing too nervous.
Rich in experience, far above the Blue Card, he is probably an Orange Card mercenary. Henry judged that the situation seemed a bit tricky to ordinary people, but he only thought for a moment before launching an attack.
"Pa! Step!" The sage holding the sword in one hand took a big step forward and ran over. Then in the next second, as if he had foresight, he squatted down to avoid the wooden spear thrust forward by the female mercenary. "Ka--" Henry jammed the bayonet on the barrel of the wooden gun with his backhand. If it had a spear head, the sage's move would have blocked the opponent's retrieval action, but it didn't, and the female mercenary was obviously a A veteran.
"Pa! Swish -" She flicked the elastic wooden gun made of ash wood with one hand and blocked Henry's bayonet. Then she strode forward with her right foot without retreating but moved forward with the gun in one hand. After stabbing hard in front, he raised his gun high and swung it directly towards Henry.
"Huh-huh!" A series of reactions were like lightning, but the blow of the wooden gun with a huge attack range did not have any hit feeling.
The red-haired female mercenary widened her beautiful emerald eyes, then decisively abandoned the spear in her hand and rolled on the spot.
"Pah-whoop!"
An afterimage flashed past, creating a puff of dust. The female mercenary, with a lot of dust on her face and clothes, barely managed to avoid Henry's thrust. The sage did not hit her, but she obviously lost her weapon. There is no way to continue fighting, so it would be more honorable to admit defeat - the female mercenary thought this, and a cold look suddenly flashed in her eyes.
She stood up, dusted herself off, looked at Henry, and spoke her first words since they met.
"Did you do this on purpose?" the female mercenary asked Henry. What she was referring to was obviously the sage's sudden increase in speed. If Henry had rushed over at full speed from the beginning, even if he could not knock her down with one blow, he could stab her with one hand. The high speed of the sword can also catch her off guard with continuous high-speed attacks, resulting in her embarrassing defeat. But he did not do this. Instead, he chose to lure himself to attack and stretched the weapon so much that he could not recover it in time and had to give up in order to avoid the attack.
"Yes." The black-haired sage nodded, which made the female mercenary's eyes become colder.
"Because I'm a woman?" she asked, and at the same time her aura changed, and she regained her fighting posture, as if Henry's next answer would determine his life or death.
But in the face of this pressure, our wise man just shrugged: "No, it's just because you are more polite."
"..."
The female mercenary fell silent, then smiled after a while.
"But you do look more pleasing to the eye, compared to that guy," Henry said, and the red-haired female mercenary who smiled and shook her head turned to look at Rafman on the steps.
"This guy is fine, let him join" she shouted, and the bald middle-aged man more than ten meters away nodded.
"So are you a big shot?" Henry said to her. In fact, from the moment she came on the stage, the sage knew that this female mercenary was not an ordinary participant, but this was his purpose. If the bodyguard of the business group who took Mira with him this time didn't behave more forcefully, unknown trouble would come to his door automatically.
Typical people who use these old-fashioned things to find trouble, such as 'This girl is a spy who has hooked up with the Luoan bandits,' and the like, will inevitably appear during this period of travel, although Henry doesn't mind telling them one by one. They beat and cried, but he didn't want the Luoan girl, who looked strong but was actually still fragile, to feel sad and blame herself for these boring things. In addition, he is now more or less Mira's 'teacher'. If he doesn't behave well in front of students, he is not a qualified educator.
To sum up, contrary to Henry's previous style, this time he made a small splash and attracted some attention.
After all, traveling together for two people must be different from traveling alone.
The days from now on may never be the same again.
The black-haired sage thought so, while the red-haired female mercenary in front of him shrugged like he did before: "I will be your commander for the next period of time, Ford Mercenary Group. Deputy Commander, Adela Mihir." She came over and held out her hand.
"Henry Meyer, please give me some advice." Henry held those slender but well-trained palms.
"To each other," was Adela's reply.
