"We are the holy white sword, capable of slaying corrupt officials at the top and demons and monsters at the bottom." - The Yetina Sect of the Holy White Church, the Knights of the High (Noble) Class.
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No matter what happens after that, people always remember the first time deeply.
Although a long time had passed, so long that he had forgotten how long it was, Henry still remembered how he felt when he held the sword for the first time.
Different from what is recorded or boasted in many documents that the sage himself would find dumbfounding when he read it, he did not fall in love with the heaviest sword at first sight, and he picked it up and waved it around with astonishing strength, making the The adults around him who were originally mocking were shocked.
Literature always deliberately creates dramatic conflicts to immerse you in. Even history books are no exception in many cases.
The original author embellished the facts for the sake of political propaganda or even just personal emotions, and after it was spread among the people, they further added fuel to the fire, and in the end it became completely different from what happened at the beginning.
In the long history, there are only a few epics that have been repeated over and over again. The legends of most nations are inseparable from revenge.
Just for stories like "The Revenge of the Prince", you can find similar legends on the west coast, the east coast, or the west and the prairie.
On the one hand, this is related to the commonality of human civilization, but on the other hand, it is also closely related to the likes and dislikes of ordinary people as readers.
People always like things that they can understand and can relate to. It is easy to understand that a weak boy is looked down upon by others around him, and it is also easy to understand that a blockbuster suddenly does something impressive. Entering into the legendary story and imagining that you are also the once weak protagonist, and getting satisfaction from the surprised and shocked expressions of the people around you, people tend to ignore those unreasonable things.
Qualified legendary stories can always make you immerse yourself in the whole story and ignore the indefensible points in the description.
And if you think about it carefully.
Could it be the same with the whispers of demons and witches, and the dream that Henry had never indulged in from the beginning?
She doesn't have the ability to really simulate being anyone, she doesn't have this level of intelligence. Everything exposed in the exposed scenes is just the dark part of one's own heart. Those scenes that are constantly attacked with words and even formed into reality are all projections of the things you most long for or fear in your own heart.
What attacks you is your own heart.
The witch doesn't have the strength to attack directly, at least not this one. But she can make all your weaknesses explode, causing the unstable parts of your heart to begin to waver, and then make you defeat yourself.
So, then again.
How did Henry feel when he held the sword for the first time?
--Heavy.
Heavy and difficult to master.
At that time, he didn't even know the correct standing posture. When he swung downwards, his whole body was tilted forward and staggered several steps, and he almost fell. At the same time, he was still worried that the too sharp and shining blade might injure him.
He still remembered the day when his heart was pounding and he was so nervous that he almost couldn't breathe.
But this is already like a lifetime ago.
The sage's breathing was steady and his heartbeat did not speed up. He was as calm as if he were taking a walk in the afternoon.
"Tap-tap!" Facing dozens of times more enemies, he advanced instead of retreating.
The ghoul with blond hair and pointed ears originally cowered, but after Henry got too close, he opened his mouth and rushed toward him like a rat forced into a corner.
Instead of using his usual wide-angle slashing technique, Henry struck out with lightning speed, but used the "half-cut" style of long sword swordsmanship - not a slash, but more like a quick strike on the ghoul. 's head.
"Crack-!" The ghoul fell back behind him faster than when he rushed towards it. "Bang!" It hit the ground hard, and black oily body fluids surged from the breach in its head.
This level of injury was not enough to cause real casualties to them, but when the ghoul got up from the ground again, a large area of ulcers began to appear from the wound, just like a human being bitten by poison. .
"Roar, ah, ah, ah, ah!" It screamed and rolled on the ground, and green smoke gradually emitted from its body. Finally, it seemed as if all its body fluids had evaporated, and the whole body was twisted and tangled, turning into a dry gray charred corpse.
No ripples.
He could no longer remember how many people and objects Kramer had killed.
I don't know when it started, but the weapon seemed to no longer have weight in my hand. Breathing, heartbeat, muscles; steps, wrists, shoulders, everything seemed to be integrated. Swinging the sword became his instinct. He didn't even need to deliberately control it to hit the target. The moment he swung the sword, he just thought about it. It’s already time to take the next or next few steps.
"Roar ah ah ah -" It was sharp and harsh, like the sounds of birds and beasts mixed together. The ghoul's roar was very unpleasant.
But when they are hit, they will make a human-like cry.
Although such things are supposed to have no sense of pain, they still seem to remember how they should react when they were hit.
This is a creature that even the most loving nun can hardly sympathize with. Like the witch, it is a creature that should only remain in legends.
——What are the druids doing. Then he slashed another ghoul in half with another sword. Henry thought casually as the corpse gradually emitted green smoke and turned into a charred corpse.
Witches are taboo existences that violate the cycle of life and death and are a part of nature.
Despite their many differences, the Druids and the Church are on the same side when it comes to controlling witches.
At least to some extent - Henry split open another ghoul. These creatures with low intelligence were afraid to come near him for some reason, but they seemed to be attracted by him.
To use a popular metaphor, it is like your cat staring at the fish on the table, greedy and wanting to eat it, but afraid of you and worried about being punished by you.
"Crack-" Henry stopped. He did not rush in again, but retreated to the direction of the entrance of the camp.
He was observing the black-haired elf.
Or was it really an elf?
Her expression looked so pure and innocent, and so did her eyes, pure and without other thoughts, just like a newborn baby.
This is also the reason why she did not direct these ghouls to carry out more effective attacks - such as bypassing him and jumping over the fence that only had a psychological comfort effect to attack other people who were still in dreams. Considering the supply problem, if she had even a little bit of fighting consciousness, directing the ghouls to attack the horses that were also sleeping could cause them huge losses.
But she didn't.
She doesn't seem to act for some purpose - this expression is a bit inaccurate. It should be said that she doesn't act for some complicated purpose, but more like instinct.
——There is something.
——There is something in this camp that she wants.
The sage still maintained a vigilant posture. He observed the pointed-eared ghouls around him and had some guesses in his mind.
This should be an accident.
I am afraid that the druids, who claim to be the protectors of the natural ecology and have been silently maintaining the ecological cycle of the entire Rigal world, could not have expected that such a situation would happen this time.
"Isn't this a witch born out of hate and hatred, or out of an old-fashioned desire for revenge?" Henry clenched the sword in his hand, but it was at this time that something happened in the camp behind him.
"Thump-thump!"
It's Constantine.
He knelt down on one knee, gritting his teeth and sweating all over his face.
He had read in books about this method of attacking through dreams. This was a technique used by advanced wizards and demons to play with human souls. There were three ways to deal with them.
"Uh--" The knight commander raised his head and looked at Henry, who had only his back in front of him. The outline of the sage's back was initially emitting a faint green light, but when he looked carefully, he found that it was just orange fire. .
The first method is to see through the dream from the beginning and keep your heart unshakable. After confirming that there is no way to invade the heart, it will naturally resolve.
The second method was adopted by Constantine.
He compromised in his dream, letting his anger take over him as he saw those dead and living people filled with hatred.
And after the massacre, he fell into a cycle.
The killed people were resurrected over and over again. Even if he killed them all, he could not escape from this dream. Finally, when he stood alone in a pool of blood for countless times, he was stunned for a long time. Finally, He looked at the big sword in his hand.
How to wake up from a dream and back to reality.
It's very simple, just let yourself die in the dream.
Cutting off one's own head with a sword is not only a very technically difficult task, but also requires extremely strong mobility and courage. This was the reason why Constantine broke out in a cold sweat, but he quickly adjusted his breathing to control his body, grabbed the broad-bladed sword, stood up and ran towards Henry.
"How many." Since the ghouls retreated into darkness again from the sage's previous attack, Constantine was not able to see everything clearly.
"59." Henry didn't look back, and the knight commander in black armor did not wear a helmet to increase his vision at night. Perhaps due to the influence of the dream, he stepped forward decisively after judging that these things did not take a detour to attack others behind him.
In his chest.
Holding back a ball of anger.
"Haaah-" he shouted loudly, but it did not come from Constantine but from the mouth of the strange creature crawling on the ground. This scene that chilled the hearts of ordinary people was dispelled by the flames in Constantine's chest. He swung out a cassock chop with an arrogant attitude, and the broad-bladed sword severely hit the monster's side. The whole thing flew away.
"Stab-" "Ahhhhhhh-" The sharp claws scratched deep marks on the ground, but this tenacious monster rolled over and got up again after landing.
"What a hard thing." Even though he had experienced many battles, Constantine still couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
A long and narrow wound did appear where the broad-edged sword hit its tough skin, but the surface defenses of these monsters with thick cuticles were so high that even Constantine's strength was still not enough to break them.
No bodily fluids were oozing from the wound, which meant he hadn't cut deep enough to break its actual skin.
But the impact was real. The monster's forelimb - called the right hand by human standards - drooped at the shoulder, and the entire forearm hung limply like noodles. It was obvious that the bones had been shattered.
'In other words, this sword is not sharp enough. ’ Constantine frowned.
"Whoa--" "Ouch--" Henry distanced himself from him and faced more ghouls on the other side. The black-haired elf was hiding out of reach of the light, and she looked a little dull.
Henry cut off another ghoul. The ghoul that fell to the ground and was cut in half was twitching with black body fluids. And Constantine's attack once again failed to work.
This made him question his weapons.
"Clang——!!" The physical exhaustion caused by the continuous slashing at large angles and the wavering in his heart caused him to be taken advantage of by a ghoul. The sharp and hard claws with great force caused a shallow dent the moment they hit the breastplate, and then sparked a fire.
"Uh-huh -" The impact made the tall knight commander almost fall backwards, but the life-threatening incident also made him sober and calm down.
If this attack method is not feasible with the weapon in your hand, then just change to another attack method!
He dropped the broad-bladed sword without mercy and pulled out the dagger from his waist.
"Hmph!" With a muffled grunt, Constantine rushed forward to pick up the ugly, dirty, and smelly ghoul and threw it to the ground, relying on the fact that he had a full set of armor on him. Then the dagger was thrust into its eye socket, crushing its brain.
Even though they have turned into monsters, the weaknesses of these guys have not changed much.
The two were fighting in the front, and in the camp behind, three people woke up at the same time this time.
Horno's mood was a little low, Margaret held her shoulders and shivered, while Mira wiped the corners of her eyes.
"Ah -" The black-haired elf changed. She shouted, then stretched out her hand towards the camp but slowly retracted it. This action could not escape the eyes of Henry, who was always paying attention.
"" The witch in the darkness looked around at the ghouls around her, but just when Henry felt that she was finally going to launch their offensive, so she stopped and took a few steps back, she turned around and started to move towards Ran in the other direction.
"Elvans, Horno, Antexia! (I am the elf Horno, listen to my orders)"
“Boom——Boom!!”
The magic light flickered, and Horno's cloak, which he took out a short wand from his waist, was blown wildly by the huge wind pressure. Mira rushed over to protect Margaret, who was still trembling. Several torches around her were extinguished due to the magic used by Horno.
The hood on her head was blown down, and her blond hair was flying freely, while several wind blades followed by a blue light rushed towards the ghoul at high speed.
"Bang!! Click!" The sharpness is not inferior to that of a steel sword. The attack performed by the elves who are good at elemental magic directly killed a dozen ghouls with tough skin in an instant.
This is a height that is difficult for human magicians to reach, and after casting the spell, there was a faint flash of lightning around Horno's blue-glowing eyes.
"Yeah -" The black-haired elf held her head, turned around and ran away, closely followed by the ghouls accompanying her.
Henry stayed silent and captured all these manifestations in his eyes.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa," The black armor was full of holes and holes, and Constantine panted after spending a lot of energy to deal with several ghouls.
"Haaah——" Also panting were the rest of the people who woke up from their sleep the moment the witch left.
Most of them broke out in a cold sweat first, then came back to their senses and sat there feeling lost.
Stand up, neither standing, nor sitting.
There was a mess all around, and a lot of food had been spilled on their clothes because they had fallen asleep instantly, but no one had the intention to clean it up at this time.
Very irritable, very irritable.
This cold weather, this thick fog, this day of running around in the wilderness hungry for a meal, this world full of threats to life.
It's not comfortable to stand, nor is it comfortable to sit.
But even if you lie down, there is no way to go back.
An Imperial Knight's hands were trembling. Even though he knew he shouldn't be doing this, he couldn't help but speak.
Asking.
He asked tremblingly: "Can I go back to dream again?"
Mira held Margaret, who was still shaking, while Horno put the hood back on. Constantine stood up panting and glanced at Henry, who had re-wrapped Kramer at a very high speed.
The sage looked at the group of merchants, villagers, mercenaries and even noble knights who felt lost. It was obvious that some vulnerable part of their hearts had been attacked.
"This is the first time I've seen the horror of a witch." Constantine sighed beside him.
Henry was silent.
