Blade and Poetry

"Not at all," Karajan said, looking down at me, putting his foot on my side. "You probably know that if a swordsman wants to beat you, he doesn't even need to draw the sword if you don't use magic."

I fell to the ground, drenched in sweat, trying to calm down and pant.This was the fifth time Karajan knocked me out, and each time it didn't take even 30 seconds.He does not use a knife, nor does he use his hands.Last time he almost made me think that I was going to sneak attack successfully, but the back of his foot kicked my knee, and when I fell towards him uncontrollably, he lifted his knee and hit my ribs, so I fell into the ground , and slid a short distance—I can still feel the dull pain in my ribs, and the burning of my back.I looked up at him through sweaty eyelids and noticed that he wasn't even breathing fast.

"I can already see your movements clearly." I propped myself up on the ground and sat up.

"That's a certain kind of progress. But your body can't keep up with your reaction." He said thoughtfully, "We should start here. This road can lead to the back mountain, and your running training will be in the future." Set it there."

"a mountain?"

"Haven't you been to the back mountain of the east courtyard?" He suddenly looked a little secretive.

"Yes. I'm very interested..." I guessed his intentions. "Then let's go! How do you practice today?"

"Today is a special case, let you familiarize yourself with the path first, go to the back mountain to pick a clematis leaf for me, and come back within 10 minutes." He took out his pocket watch and looked at it, then folded his arms and leaned against the On a misty cypress, it seems that it is only waiting for me to set off.

"What if I get lost?" I moved my joints and tried my best to put on a painful face to him.

"Don't worry, just go straight."

"The night road seems scary?"

"I seem to have caught someone in the woods at night before."

"Actually, I don't know clematis leaves."

"I remember you taking gardening, right?"

"Well, I think I've run out of excuses—I'm leaving, Karajan." I waved him resignedly and ran down the road.

"The timing can only start now!" I remembered something, ran for a while and turned back to look at him.His tree was already some distance away from me, and under the dim moonlight, I could only see a silhouette moving, as if it was waving at me.

Clematis is quite easy to find in the back mountain, and it is also easy to identify. I felt that when the flat bottom began to slope upwards, there were clumps of clematis appearing, and some of them had white flowers, forming a pale aroma.I broke off a flower and leaf directly, and ran back non-stop.The time has exceeded 10 minutes, but after getting familiar with the route this time, the return journey should be completed as soon as possible within 10 minutes.

This is not a time limit that can be achieved at an easy constant speed, but it is not extremely difficult.My ankle is already a little numb, so that my steps are a little light, so that the hardship of this process is reduced a little.

I can already see Karajan.He seemed to have been leaning against that tree, with his eyes half-opened, and he never changed his position.

"Here you are." I tried my best to breath and say these two words smoothly, and handed him the clematis with one hand.

"I took an extra flower..." He looked at the things in his hand, as if he thought it was funny, turned his eyes to me and said, "Don't you look very tired?"

"No, I'm actually very tired." I replied seriously, "But it didn't show because of the self-control I'm proud of."

"Very good. It seems that this training will be a double test of your body and self-control—you should be able to guess it? Its time limit will gradually decrease as you get used to it."

I was still rubbing my legs, and suddenly let out a miserable cry.

"Look at me first."

He put me on the spot to rest, and then spread his palms sideways.The pale golden knife appeared in his hand.

"What's its name?" My eyes were drawn to his knife.

"'Molten Fire'." He whispered, with an unusual, low-pitched pleasure in his voice, "the day it came to my hands, it actually had a very long name, roughly meaning 'roses melted into flames' ’, I ended up shortening it altogether.”

"Rose?—too bad it's not common anymore."

"Have you noticed its handle?"

"It seems to have a carved pattern on it. Is that a rose?"

"I think so," he said, turning sideways. "Chopping is a basic skill that every swordsman must learn. In each chop, while maximizing the strength, he must also try his best to reduce the rebound effect of this chop, so that the next blow can be completely defeated. Unhindered connection. It’s all about posture, control, and angle of attack. Watch my moves, and I’ll show you a demonstration.”

I stood a little away from him and stared at him.He was still playing with the clematis with one hand before, and now he raised the other hand holding the knife a little higher, and the smooth lines of his whole body tensed up at this moment, like a sword full of strength. bowstring.I suddenly and briefly comprehended the descriptions of "oppression" and "unapproachable" by Lando and others; but at this moment, I didn't feel any sense of fear or distance, only a slightly trembling nervous longing , it is calling me to become such a person - a person like Karajan.

I know that he has slowed down relatively, but it actually took the blink of an eye to raise the knife and drop it.Wubai is worthy of the name of toughness, and under such strength, it only left a scratch that was too shallow.

"Did the line of sight catch up?"

I nod.He put the knife in my hand, "You have a try."

I carefully recalled the details of his swinging the knife just now, drew the key points in my mind, and made a downward chop.He pointed out to me a few times from a distance, frowning slightly, as if he was thinking about my remaining shortcomings.

"Good strength. How does your hand feel now?"

"The tiger's mouth is a little numb." I admitted.

"There was something wrong with your power path at the end." He came over and stood beside me, his right hand clasped on the back of my knife-holding hand. "Feel it again this time."

After he led me to demonstrate like this once, I can vaguely feel the direction of the force, and it really saves a lot of effort when I swing the knife alone.

"You pick up skills at a good speed." He said behind me, "but your body couldn't keep up with these skills during your wasted time. I won't teach you until your body strength reaches the standard." You really regulate your knife technique."

"I won't let you wait for me for too long." I answered him while swinging the knife.

"I understand." His hand on my shoulder sank. "But regarding my teaching you, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, I hope you can keep it a secret for the time being."

In addition to the most basic strength training every day, Karajan also threw me a few basic magic books and told me to memorize them by heart.

"In fact, there is no need for swords and magic to be completely divided into two fields." He said. "Whether it is a swordsman or a magician, the trajectory of the magic power in their body is unique, but the two are vaguely related everywhere. Consolidating the foundation of magic will also help you learn the sword."

So Mr. Lane was pleasantly surprised to find that I began to read magic textbooks in class.

The days moved on unexpectedly peacefully, and only one episode deserves mention.

At that time, Ord and I continued to discuss the design of the defensive array in the corridor, and we were trying to imagine another possibility—combining the ideas of the two people, merging the patterns, and using a brand new foundation that can support the operation of the array texture.A familiar face came to meet us.

"Vicente of the West Court." The black-haired man stopped me, with a long knife behind his back.

"Coleman. How are you?" I greeted. "Come to see Lan Duo? By the way, if you don't come to see me, I almost forgot that we have a bet—even if it seems that there is nothing to bet on. Although I really want to say that I bet on my dignity." with..."

He interrupted me. "Looking at the results, you have won."

I waited for his next words.

His facial muscles seemed to tighten.

"But I don't understand," he said. "So I want to see your understanding of knives."

"Can I compete with you for writing more words?" I caught a glimpse of his expression, "—just kidding."

"Be serious," Ordgo whispered, elbowing me on the back.

Coleman frowned: "I want to make another bet with you. I hope it is a formal duel."

"I don't have my own knife now. As a half-baked magician, I can only fight you with magic spells and formations." I replied.

Odgo only joined our conversation at this time, and seemed to be sternly humorous: "If you want to fight his half-wizard magician, you might as well come with me. It will make the scene better."

Coleman directly ignored Ord's response.

"Vincent Xiao, you know that even ordinary people can practice swords, even if they can't reach the heights of real swordsmen. If you can get the approval of the East Court consultant, I will assume that you have some kind of knowledge about swordsmanship." persistent."

"Yes. I have."

"I'll wait until you get your knife."

"I'll go get one. I'm still a beginner. Please wait for me to arrive within a year, and I will send you a letter to inform you of the specific time for the duel."

He showed no contempt for the delay,

"I am waiting."

He reached out his hand and shook me firmly.

After he walked away, Odego glanced at me: "You were actually learning knives during the club time when you disappeared every night?"

"As a hobby." I admitted. "Someone has been teaching me."

Odego didn't press for the rest of the details.

"Few magicians chose such a path before, right?"

"Wizards are generally less interested in knives, and it's not easy to learn well. Think about ordinary people who don't have magical power in their bodies who learn knives. Their experience is probably even more difficult."

"That being said, I also have expectations of you." Odego said. "Come on. When the day you finish your studies, I want to fight you too."

"It's a deal." I gave him a high five.