What determines the difference between the two levels of swordsman and swordsman? This is a question that is difficult to summarize in a few simple words.
If we only talk about strength and weakness, we can start from many aspects such as physical fitness, understanding and mastery of sword skills, etc. However, the title of swordsman is far from being able to cover only these few aspects.
Although related to them, it would be biased to only talk about them.
If "scholar" refers to the mainstay level who has mature technical attainments enough to claim to "know a thing or two about swordsmanship", then "teacher" refers to those whose achievements in this area are outstanding and enough to become a mentor to others. .
This kind of achievement is not necessarily limited to physical fitness, because many strong men who are recognized by the world as sword masters have not lost their prestige in the eyes of the world even if they are old and frail. It also has little to do with the number of skills mastered, because many swordsmen spend their entire lives trying their best and only achieve perfection in one style.
But they are still respected, but why?
Apart from the aspect of self-cultivation and moral character, just as in many villages around the world, whenever there is a major decision, they will ask the senior elders in the village for advice - regardless of whether the other party is a member of the ruling party, what people value is not their ability to make decisions. Physically strong or extremely capable in a certain aspect.
But something deeper.
Even among those who make a living by swords, age is not the most decisive factor.
——The rain was getting heavier and heavier. The middle-aged mercenary held a sword in one hand and stabbed at Filippo with a roar.
Although the two are similar in height, due to their age, the middle-aged man is twice as strong as Filippo - "Oh!" He put his index finger on the sword surface to increase the stability of the thrust, without stopping at all. His plan was entirely to vent the dissatisfaction accumulated in his heart towards this—in his opinion—pretentious aristocratic young man, and to kill him.
His movement range is large, with the impact of his steps, which is a typical mercenary swordsmanship, without much attention to it, just to knock down the enemy.
In contrast, Filippo's legs were separated from the front, back, left, and right, with his right foot about four steps away from his left foot. His center of gravity was firmly in the center, and the tip of his sword was hanging downward, so that he could cope with all changes.
——During the fight with Henry, he failed to perform at all due to the crushing level gap. At this moment, Mira, who was facing different opponents and watching in the temporary camp, realized that this impetuous Laman noble young man had indeed experienced A place for people.
He lowered the tip of his sword and adopted a flexible lower stroke. He didn't even consider the mid-position defense, which focused on blocking. In this way, he was either a complete fool, or someone who knew what he was doing. What kind of person.
Why is the move with the tip of the sword lowered and pointing to the ground called "The Fool's Move" in the fencing system?
Is it because it completely ignores the defensive and offensive postures that only the most stupid people will adopt? - "Humph -" the middle-aged mercenary noticed Filippo's posture, sneered, quickly closed the distance and ran to him. before. But at the moment when he rolled his shoulders back greatly to increase the force of the thrust, Filippo's front legs straightened, he was ready, and then - "Whoosh -" - the mercenary's sword Failed.
"Oh!" The crowd of onlookers shouted, but Filippo dodging the opponent's attack was only the first step. The middle-aged mercenary's attack intention was exposed from the beginning. Bo seemed much calmer than before. After avoiding the stabbing blow, he grabbed the opponent's forward arm and used the opportunity to lift the one-handed sword from bottom to top directly towards the middle-aged mercenary's wrist.
"Whoosh!" Even in the rain, the two steel swords still produced dazzling sparks when they collided with each other. The middle-aged mercenary realized something was wrong and hurriedly stopped. The Padrosi-style gauntlets with side rings for better defense saved his palms, but this unexpected attack still caused bursts of pain in his wrists and tiger's mouth. ——And this is not the end.
In the Fool's Pose, the sword point is pointed downward.
The trajectory of its attack is different from the powerful and sinking downward slash. It is a tease from the bottom up. Affected by his attack, the long sword in the middle-aged mercenary's hand was naturally hit by the impact until it was held high above his head.
——In other words, he raised the weapon he was using for blocking and defense to the top of his head, an awkward posture that could not protect his throat, chest and other vital parts in time.
"Bah!" The middle-aged mercenary shouted in a hurry, trying to influence the other party's psychology, but this had no success. "Bah--" The young man's straightened left foot turned into a lunge in an instant and then Fang's right leg was straightened, and he stabbed the long sword in his hand through the air at an astonishing speed. While shouting loudly, he hurriedly moved towards the middle-aged man who was retreating behind him, and finally avoided this in an awkward manner. one strike.
He fell on the muddy water, and then managed to get up on his hands and knees, panting and regaining his attack posture.
Fool, fool.
Who are the so-called fools?
"Huh..." Filippo retracted his lunge and then changed his center of gravity.
What exactly does "swordsman" mean?
This young man, who had previously made the white-haired Luoan girl look down upon, gave the answer.
"Do you know what he just did?" Henry asked rarely, perhaps because this situation is really difficult to encounter. Mira nodded, then shook her head.
"I probably know it, but I can't explain it." She said this. Although the girl herself was already considered excellent, if she could learn everything in just three years, then the world would be full of masters. Character.
"Attack distance." As always, Henry saw blood.
"Ah!" A simple word pointed out the blind spot in the girl's mind.
——Attack distance.
This is a very vague term, a concept that can only be understood by those who often engage in sparring with others or in actual combat.
It is not something that can be explained in a few simple words. It is different from the basic starting position and force exertion method of swordsmanship, which can be explained in words. It requires.
It's time.
Filippo held back until the last moment and was able to dodge the middle-aged mercenary's sword because he was extremely familiar with this Padrosi-style long sword and could almost understand its attack without even looking at it. range, so that you can naturally judge the time when you should hide.
Anyone who is qualified to be a mentor to others and can be called a "sword master", whether it is Joshua or anyone else whom he met on the west coast before, has a talent as outstanding as Mira's. something that young people don’t have.
That's experience.
Judgment of attack distance and opponent's intention is not something that your body can keep up with as long as you understand it.
Only after you have experienced many battles and actual battles, and your body's conditioned reflexes have reached the point where you know how to dodge and where to stop as soon as you see your opponent's moves, only when you reach this level can you be qualified. to talk about this vocabulary.
Filippo is only in his early 20s and has enough actual combat experience to enable him to use such skills.
What she did to provoke Henry before was indeed overestimating her abilities, but this irritable and impulsive young man might have worked hard in a place she didn't know, and the bruises and broken skin on his body due to practice were scratched out from the sword. I have countless blisters and calluses.
"Chang——cha——!" Sparks flew in all directions. Before Filippo turned around, he was caught in the fast-paced attacks with a posture that remained unchanged and adaptable to the ever-changing situation. The swords of the young mercenary kept clashing with each other, and the gaps in the blades and guards of both sides began to increase. The middle-aged mercenary, who was clearly a stronger man than Filippo, couldn't hold on after a series of attacks that covered his head and face. He had to stretch out his left hand to grab the weighted ball of the sword and hold the sword with both hands to barely protect himself.
"You're bullying people too much... You're bullying people too much!!" The middle-aged mercenary, who was already holding back his anger, roared again. This is because many combat professionals, including Mira and Henry, are not very good. can be seen.
Filippo's level is much higher than that of the middle-aged mercenary, and the two of them have not seen blood so far. It is just a sword-to-knife confrontation. It is not that the middle-aged mercenary burst out with extraordinary momentum, but that the young man deliberately aimed his weapon and attacked. .
Not hitting the body, but attacking the weapon. This approach is a great insult to the middle-aged mercenary. He roared angrily, and his momentum increased out of thin air. He no longer held the sword with both hands, and used powerful and heavy attacks to reverse the situation.
"Dang! Cha-Qiang Qiang" I didn't know whether it was for the sake of fairness or just looking down on Filippo who was holding a one-handed sword. Although the sword in his hand was a longer one-handed and a half sword, the middle-aged mercenary only held it with one hand. At this moment, he finally put aside his face problem and used the sword with both hands to strike more powerfully. Filippo, who was holding the one-handed stabbing sword, was immediately at a disadvantage.
"——" The young man changed his previous chatter and remained silent since the battle began. When he saw that the opponent changed his attack intention, he immediately distanced himself without any hesitation.
"Cha——" "Huh... Huh... Huh..." After a period of wild swings, a half-handed sword slashed at the soft body with a dazzling arc. In the dirt, the middle-aged mercenary kept this posture and gasped for air. Although he still wanted to raise his sword, even laymen such as the merchants and travelers in the team could already see the essence of his exhaustion.
"...That's enough, stop now!" A female voice among the passengers called out, but how could the two men who were deep in the middle of the battle listen.
Once a man becomes stubborn, there is no way he can get it back.
"What's wrong, noble young master! Are you looking down on me? I can still fight! Come on!" In just a few minutes, the middle-aged mercenary, who was obviously not as good as Filippo in controlling his breath, was already a He looked like he could no longer stand still, but his voice was still loud and he shouted provocatively at Filippo.
"...What do people like you have to say about my noble status!"
After all, Filippo was still just a young man. He couldn't hold back and finally opened his mouth and roared at the other party.
"Do you think I am a noble who wants to be a noble? Do you think being born into a noble is really that good?" A half-long black hair was soaked by the rain and stuck to the face, vaguely exposed from under the sea. With emerald eyes shining dazzlingly, Filippo pointed his stabbing sword straight at the opponent and roared word by word.
"My family has placed high expectations on me since I was a child. As long as there is one thing I don't do right, it's corporal punishment. I work harder than anyone else!"
"I work harder than anyone else!"
"But what did I get in exchange?" He roared at the middle-aged mercenary, but the words seemed to be addressed to other people.
"That guy is a noble, that's because that guy is a noble!"
"No one cares about how much blood and sweat I have shed. No one notices that I am just practicing silently while they are having fun and enjoying themselves. Everyone attributes my achievements to my status as a noble, and everyone uses that Look at me with such a damn look! Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" He shouted, taking steps to strike at the middle-aged mercenary with his sword.
"Clang Dang——!" Sparks flew again, and while maintaining the posture of fighting hard, Filippo said again: "Why do you people have this kind of virtue? If you don't work hard, you can't stand others. Achievement, thinking that all those who are better than you have reached this level because of their background, connections, and shady background.”
"Qiang——" The two swords separated, and the two swordsmen, the old and the young, with very different identities and ideals, simultaneously distanced themselves.
Whether it is a slashing sword or a half-handed sword, it is full of gaps, but these gaps are not proof of the setbacks a man has suffered in his growth.
"If you don't work hard, then you only know how to point at other people's spines, and look behind you with that kind of look, that kind of... gloomy look mixed with jealousy and dissatisfaction!" He raised his head again. The long sword, but this time it was split open by the middle-aged mercenary's angry blow.
"Then you again! -" "Dang!!" The huge impact sound was followed by a metallic trembling buzzing echo. For the first time in this entire duel, Filippo was at a disadvantage. He immediately opened the distance to avoid the opponent. The next attack, and the middle-aged mercenary shouted: "Then do you know what kind of life those people who can't even succeed in their efforts lead?"
"I hate this theory!"
"Is poverty because of not working hard enough? Is being humble because of not working hard enough?"
"Where do you tell me to start working hard! Ha!" "Chu-cang-" The frantic sword moves once put Filippo at a disadvantage. He subconsciously began to readjust his breathing, trying to stabilize his position and change his footwork. Stand firm on this slippery ground.
"You can have sword skills because you have a sword master, but what about me! Who wants to teach a low-level mercenary with a low status and no money!" "Dang Qiang-" The angry attack made Filippo's hand stab. The sword almost flew out of his hand. He repeatedly pulled away and readjusted his posture. As his fingers gradually became cold after being exposed to the rain for a long time, they were no longer so flexible, and he began to feel tired.
"What do you know! You blame us for not working hard, but even if we want to work hard, there is no way!"
"Us!" "Boom!" Filippo assumed a solid neutral position and blocked his attack.
"No!" "Crack--clang--" He twisted his wrist and twisted the sword blade on the middle-aged mercenary's sword.
"Okay, I'll get everything done and I'll give you all the conditions you need!" The guard of the stabbing sword blocked the middle-aged mercenary's blade, and Filippo locked it with the 90-degree angle between the guard and his own blade. The mercenary's sword then slid forward.
"So that you can work hard without any worries."
"Parents!"
He approached the middle-aged mercenary and used the exact same technique that Henry had used a few days ago. He twisted the opponent's wrist and removed the entire half-sword from his hand.
"Take——!" The sword was slapped on the muddy ground, and the splashed muddy water polluted its surface, but it was quickly washed away by the rain, revealing its dazzling and flat light.
"I don't have parents either." Filippo flicked his stabbing sword, then left these words and walked towards his horse not far away.
Only the middle-aged mercenary was left stunned.
The rain was pouring.
Down in the dirt.
It also falls on people’s hearts.
