Category: The Azure Longsword

Chapter 7: Azure Dragon Rapid Assault

Asker swiftly jumped back, dodging the monster’s pincer attack, and explained to Eleanor:

“The essence of the spear and shield style lies in suppressing the enemy’s positioning.”

He thrust his spear consecutively. The monster opposite him wanted to advance and pursue but feared the continuous spear thrusts. It could only stay outside Asker’s attack range, screeching restlessly, its eyes fierce.

“The maximum range of a spear is about 2 meters (arm length + grip to spear tip length), while the shield is 0.7 meters (arm length). This means the maximum attack range of the spear and shield style is 2 meters.”

Asker jumped back again, demonstratively thrusting his spear, but missed because the distance was too great. “Beyond this distance, you must change your grip to adjust the attack range, but this will cause the weapon’s center of gravity to shift forward, making it harder to control. It’s generally not recommended.”

The monster couldn’t understand what he was saying. It seemed that after realizing it was a monster, it had completely lost its human reason, leaving only the desire to hunt and attack.

Unable to break through Asker’s defense, it turned its blood-red eyes towards Eleanor beside him. Just as it was about to pounce on her, Asker elegantly spun and swung his spear, an Iron Cutter sending the airborne monster flying.

“Generally speaking, the attack range of the spear and shield style has two layers. The optimal range for the spear is between 1.7 and 2 meters. If the monster gets closer than 1.7 meters, it means you won’t have time to extend your arm and exert force, the spear will hit the opponent prematurely, lacking sufficient power.”

“At this point, you either retreat to increase the distance, maintaining the distance between you and the enemy at 1.7-2 meters,” Asker said calmly, as the monster he had sent flying scrambled up and charged again, its limbs thrashing wildly.

“Or, you close the distance further until the opponent is within 0.7 meters. That’s your second attack range, the range for shield attacks.”

He suddenly swung his left shield forward, smashing it into the charging monster’s face. The monster, as if hitting a wall, was knocked back again.

“The optimal attack range for the shield is 0.3 meters to 0.7 meters.” Asker didn’t continue attacking but explained to Eleanor, “Remember, the purpose of the shield is not to cause damage, but to forcefully displace the enemy with impact, making them return to the spear’s attack range, and then cause damage with the spear, understand?”

“Understood.” Eleanor nodded seriously.

“Spear for damage, shield for displacement, this is the basic principle of the spear and shield style.” Asker said, casually swinging his spear a few times. “Next, let’s talk about specific techniques.”

“We’ve talked about the four spear techniques before: the controlling ‘Dragon Spear,’ the armor-piercing ‘Cloud Piercer,’ the knockback ‘Iron Cutter,’ and the defense-breaking ‘Spiral Thrust’.” Asker calmly listed the moves while demonstrating all four techniques on the monster, beating it until it howled miserably. The scene was brutal and unbearable to watch.

“Through appropriate adjustments, variations, and combinations of the four spear techniques, you can create combos with fewer weaknesses and greater power, which are the so-called advanced techniques.”

As Asker spoke, he used another Iron Cutter, sending the monster flying again. At the same time, the spear tip half-spun and vibrated slightly, drawing a sharp white arc on the ground:

“Watch carefully, this move is called ‘Azure Dragon Rapid Assault’.”

Azure Dragon Rapid Assault, one of the signature moves created and popularized in the professional circle, didn’t exist in the original “Iron and Fire” game world.

Of course, if it did exist, it wouldn’t be called such a chuuni name. With the NPC’s Western naming conventions, it might be called something like “Spear of Paulus Hector Meyer,” definitely something long and hard to remember.

Asker quickly stepped forward and thrust his spear swiftly at the monster that had just gotten up from the ground.

“Is that, Dragon Spear?” Eleanor watched his movements intently. “No, the angle of the lift is wrong!”

A normal Dragon Spear should lift the enemy with the spear tip and then spin horizontally to throw them.

However, Asker, after lifting the enemy with the Dragon Spear, didn’t choose to spin and swing his spear, but forcefully lifted his arm upwards, swinging the impaled monster in a large circle over his head and smashing it onto the ground!

The monster’s large body actually bounced after hitting the ground, showing how enormous the force of the impact was.

However, Eleanor quickly noticed that Asker had already lowered his body, bent one knee, and then thrust his spear upwards rapidly.

Cloud Piercer! And it was three consecutive Cloud Piercers!

Using the force generated from his lower body bouncing up, three incredibly destructive Cloud Piercers instantly pierced through the monster’s body. Before the latter could even scream, the force of the three Cloud Piercers sent it flying.

Asker finally retracted his spear, simultaneously rushing to its side. He pulled his right spear to his leftmost side, like a batter in a baseball game, ready to unleash his full power:

Iron Cutter!

The monster, thrown into the air, took the full brunt of the Iron Cutter and was mercilessly sent flying.

“Did you see that clearly?” Asker turned around and asked Eleanor.

“Yes.” Eleanor nodded. “First, Dragon Spear to slam the enemy onto the ground, then three consecutive Cloud Piercers, and finally Iron Cutter to send them flying, right?”

“Correct.” Asker replied. “Want to give it a try?”

“Okay.” Eleanor replied in a deep voice, picking up her spear and shield and walking towards the monster.

The opponent, having taken a full combo from Asker, could actually still stand up shakily. Its HP was truly astonishing. Eleanor quickly charged forward, first using an extremely fast Dragon Spear, hitting the monster’s shattered chest plate.

Then, swing the spear over her head and smash it towards the ground!

“No!” Eleanor pulled out her spear, quickly jumped back, dodging the opponent’s counterattack. “What happened?”

“When smashing towards the ground, why didn’t the spear come out?”

“Did you notice?” Asker leaned on his spear beside her and said calmly. “Due to the weapon’s length, before you could swing the enemy down from above, your spear tip would hit the ground first.”

“In this situation, how can you optimize it? Think about it.”

“I understand!” Eleanor recalled the previous scene again, suddenly remembering a crucial detail.

So she blocked the monster’s pincer attack with her shield, thrust her spear again with her right hand, and lifted the monster entirely.

Then, while swinging it around, she jumped upwards forcefully!

Because her body leaped into the air, increasing the distance from the ground, when the monster was smashed towards the ground, the spear tip had already been withdrawn from its body.

The monster, hit by the huge force, bounced into the air. Eleanor had already landed back on the ground, then lowered her body, bent her knees, and thrust her spear upwards fiercely and consecutively.

Triple Cloud Piercer!

The first Cloud Piercer made the opponent scream; the second drew a large amount of green blood; with the third, the monster convulsed on the spear for a moment, its head lolling lifelessly to the side, dead.

“Eh?” Eleanor was quite frustrated. I hadn’t even used the final move yet, how could you just die?

Chapter 6: Squad Division and the Spear-Shield Style

“In the past, everyone stayed in the same team. Although this could promote tactical coordination and integration, it limited your individual development.” Asker said calmly. “Next, I plan to train your ability to operate independently and fight as separate units.”

“We will divide the team into A and B squads, acting and fighting separately.”

“Assault group: Sidlipha is in Team A, Eleanor is in Team B.”

“Scout group: Peggy is in Team A, Mia is in Team B.”

“Arcane group: Thira is in Team A, Medea is in Team B.”

“Ranged group: Miel is in Team A, I am in Team B.”

“Considering my strength, Nuo the healer will be assigned to Team A.” Asker concluded.

The girls looked thoughtful.

According to this arrangement, Team A had five members including a healer, while Team B only had four. It seemed Team A had a greater advantage.

However, the Captain was in Team B! Then Team B’s strength couldn’t be measured by numbers alone! Damn it, I really want to be in Team B with the Captain!

For a moment, the girls in Team B showed enigmatic smiles, while those in Team A groaned inwardly.

Seemingly noticing the obvious difference in morale between the two teams, Asker added:

“Don’t worry too much about the team assignments. I’m assigned to Team B this time, next time it will rotate to Team A, and the same goes for Nuo.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief… except for Nuo, who was crying silently in her heart: Asker, do you dislike me that much?

Soon, everyone stood in their respective teams according to Asker’s arrangement.

“After dividing into teams, act according to the roles assigned and the formations I taught you before.” Asker added, clearly reminding the girls in Team A. “The scout group will roam and scout nearby, maintaining mobility across the field; the assault group will be in the center, ready to support the surroundings at any time.”

“The arcane group and the ranged group are responsible for output, pay attention to maintaining distance and positioning relative to the assault group. That’s it, move out!”

So, the five girls of Team A entered the town first and quickly disappeared around the corner of the street opposite.

“So, how will we, Team B, fight?” Medea asked with a smile. “Are you really not planning to command this time, focusing solely on playing a ranged DPS role?”

“Of course. Otherwise, dividing into teams would be meaningless.” Asker said. “But before that, let’s stay here for a while. Eleanor, come with me, let’s find some mobs nearby. I’ll teach you the spear and shield style of the ‘Trinity Tactics’ first.”

Eleanor was a little surprised, she hadn’t told Asker about her future plans yet. Seeing that Asker wanted to teach her something new, she was speechless for a moment.

Asker took the spear from his back, held it in his right hand, held the shield in his left hand, and walked into the town with her.

“Asker,” Eleanor mustered up her courage and hurried forward. “I want to ask you a question.”

“What is it?” Asker asked.

“It’s like this,” Eleanor didn’t know how to start, so she said cautiously, “I have a friend, she ran away from home before…”

“You can just say it, there’s no one else here.” Asker said calmly. “Is this friend you’re talking about actually yourself?”

Eleanor: …

“Okay,” she said with a resigned expression, dejectedly, “I ran away from home before.”

“Continue.” Asker said.

“Then, the Duke of Carinthia we met this time knows my family… He has already sent someone to inform them.” Eleanor took a deep breath and continued, “If my family wants me to go home, I might not be able to continue being a mercenary.”

“Why?” Asker said in surprise.

Eleanor was speechless. Isn’t it obvious? If I could be a lord, why would I still be a mercenary?

“Because my family might give me a fief.” Eleanor said.

“Being a lord and being a mercenary are not mutually exclusive.” Asker said. “You can do both part-time.”

“Can I?!” Eleanor was shocked. How could she possibly do both part-time?

“Of course, look at Andrea.” Asker said. “Although he is the leader of the Iron Cross Eastern division, he also has a fief from his family and the status of a minor lord.”

“Then how does he manage his fief when he’s away all year round?” Eleanor asked puzzled.

“He leaves it to his cabinet.” Asker said. “As a lord, whether you are in your fief or not, most of the governance work is done by your cabinet members. Of course, if you are proficient in finance, management, taxation, public relations, and other professional knowledge, then disregard what I said.”

Eleanor was stunned for a long time before suddenly realizing that Asker seemed to be right.

For example, her father, the Duke of Bavaria, nominally ruled the entire Duchy of Bavaria.

In reality, most of the territory was enfeoffed to his vassals, and the remaining Weisbach family territory was also actually managed by cabinet members.

Her father would listen to the reports of his subordinates in the castle council hall for an hour every morning at 9:00, and then make decisions on important matters (just signing was enough).

The rest of his time was spent hunting, feasting, reading, or traveling around the territory inspecting (sightseeing).

In that case, lords didn’t really have to do much serious work, and it was boring…

What she really wanted wasn’t the status of a lord, but her father’s recognition. If she had to stay in her fief all day and couldn’t go out, that would be quite boring too.

It was better to stay with the team.

Eleanor let out a long breath and sighed: “As expected of the captain, any difficult problem can be easily solved by you.”

“Stop flattering me.” Asker said. “Get serious, what I’m going to teach you next is a unique tactic in this world.”

(Trinity Tactics was a tactical style optimized through countless matches in the professional circle, not something originally existing in the game world.)

As the two were chatting, a monster walked out from the street ahead.

It resembled a giant scorpion, with six hairy segmented legs on its lower body. Its upper body stood upright like a human, with huge pincers where its arms should be. Its face was hideous, with three pairs of compound eyes and insect-like mouthparts. The sight made Eleanor shudder, and she quickly raised her spear and shield to prepare for battle.

“Oh, a monster just happened to show up.” Asker was quite interested, picked up his spear and shield, and was about to step forward. “Watch carefully.”

“Who are you?” The monster, seeing Asker approaching fully armed, immediately became vigilant and said in a hoarse voice.

“And who are you?” Asker, experienced in dealing with anomalies, wouldn’t answer the other party’s question directly, but asked back.

“I am a resident of this town.” The monster said.

“Why does a normal resident look like you?” Asker pressed.

“Me? What’s wrong with me?” The monster said puzzled, then noticed the pincers on its body, as if realizing something, its voice trembled. “I, I am…”

“…a monster!”

It let out a sharp, ear-piercing roar, its pincers opening and closing violently, stabbing fiercely towards Asker!

Chapter 5: Preparations

“So, now we just wait for your family to arrive?” Nuo said thoughtfully.

“Yes.” Eleanor said confidently. “You know, the Church can’t restrict believers from absorbing supernatural power, but it strictly prohibits believers from taking potions to become Transcendents.”

“I just need to tell them that I’m already a Transcendental, and my family will definitely help me conceal my heretical identity. Then they won’t force me to risk exposure by marrying other nobles, nor can they force me into a monastery.”

“The best solution is naturally for me to inherit a piece of the family’s fief. This way, I can have my own income and not worry about exposing my Transcendental identity.”

“Is that so?” Nuo said slowly. “Then if your father allows you to inherit the fief…”

“Will you leave us then?”

Eleanor froze, seemingly not having thought about this before, then forced a smile:

“Yes. I am a Duke’s daughter, after all. I can’t… be a mercenary for my whole life, right?”

“Ellie.” Nuo hugged her gently, her voice choked with emotion. “I really hope you can achieve your dream, but I don’t want you to leave…”

“Nuo.” Eleanor patted her back comfortingly. “Even if I leave, I’ll still be a part of Azure Longsword. My fief will always welcome everyone back to rest.”

The two girls hugged each other and cried, the atmosphere thick with emotion. Medea watched from the side, feeling disgusted, and thought to herself:

As if you’ve already convinced your family and successfully obtained the fief.

She was calculating something when she saw Asker teleport beside her.

“It’s settled.” Asker said. “Gather everyone, we’re preparing to enter the town.”

“Wait.” Medea used her mental communication to report Eleanor’s situation.

“Oh.” Asker said.

“Not surprised?” Medea asked.

“Quite surprised.” Asker said.

“Not worried?” Medea asked again.

“Not worried.” Asker replied. “You know the historical trend for the next few years, right?”

Medea paused, then immediately understood.

The Holy Roman Civil War.

At that time, the Dukes would be fully preparing for war, conscripting troops everywhere in their vassals’ territories. Where would they find the time to grant additional territories to their children?

Give it to you, and you’ll handle the conscription? You’ve just become a lord, do you even understand the situation in your own territory?

“Old fox.” Medea commented with a smile. “Looks like I was worrying too much.”

“It has nothing to do with being an old fox.” Asker said. “There are tides in every era, and one cannot go against the tide.”

“In the next few years, being a mercenary will yield the greatest benefits, because they wander everywhere, participate in anomalies across the continent, seize supernatural power from them, and rapidly improve their level and strength.”

“On the contrary, the so-called lords and vassals are naturally bound to their own territories, perfectly missing all the opportunities brought by the rising magic tide.”

“As the overall strength comparison between feudal lords and mercenaries tilts, a new storm will soon be stirred up. Don’t look down on Eleanor now needing to consider her family’s attitude. In a few years, perhaps the entire family will rely on her existence to survive.”

“Is that so?” Medea was also a little tempted. “Then can I also…”

“As long as you reach the demigod level, no matter which country you serve in a few years, obtaining the status of a great noble is absolutely no problem.” Asker said. “Of course, by then, titles will no longer be important. What’s important is how to ensure your own level continues to grow and not fall behind in the competition among the world’s top Transcendents.”

“After all, strength is everything.”

“Understood.” Medea replied cheerfully. “Now, should I gather everyone?”

“Yes.” Asker said. “Let’s set off as soon as possible.”

…

In the previous meeting, the cabinet ministers representing the Duke of Carinthia had already reached a consensus with the mercenaries.

This anomaly would be handled by the mercenaries.

The reason was simple. Ordinary people were powerless against supernatural anomalies.

Asking the Church to send the Templar Order was the fastest way, followed by finding experienced Transcendents to resolve it.

However, the relationship between Emperor Otto of the Holy Solomon Empire and the Church was already extremely hostile. The Duke of Carinthia chose not to report to the Church and bring the Templar Order into his territory to resolve the anomaly, which clearly showed his stance – he chose to support Emperor Otto.

Of course, this was just a subtle political statement, not enough for the Church to excommunicate him.

However, if the Duke of Carinthia let the Transcendents under his command appear publicly, the Church would inevitably see it as a challenge on the heretical level and break ties with the Duchy of Carinthia.

Therefore, the Duke of Carinthia neither planned to seek help from the Church nor could he use the Transcendental forces he had secretly cultivated. Seeking help from mercenaries was the fastest solution.

Mercenaries had no scruples. They had no ID, no household registration, and wandered between various countries. Even if the Transcendental identity of someone in the group was accidentally exposed, they could just start a chase with the local Templar Knights and Witch Hunters.

As long as I run fast enough, you can’t catch me.

Then they could flee to other countries, change their names, and live peacefully for a few years. The Church wouldn’t mobilize the entire continent’s forces to track down and capture a single minor Transcendental.

Therefore, the Duke of Carinthia provided the money, and the mercenaries resolved the anomaly while bearing the risk of exposing their own heresy. It was a win-win situation.

In addition to Azure Longsword and the Iron Cross, the mercenary groups participating in suppressing this anomaly included:

The West Frankish “Free Wind” mercenary group, whom they had encountered before.
The Venetian “Golden Bullet” mercenary group.
The Iberian “Bull” mercenary group.
The Kalmar “Viking” mercenary group.
The Britannian “Fleur-de-lis” mercenary group.

Besides these major mercenary groups, nearly a hundred small mercenary teams also signed up to participate in suppressing the anomaly. Of course, the price was incomparable to that of the major mercenary groups – the major groups negotiated a buyout price with the Duchy of Carinthia, while the small groups were simply offered a base price by the Duchy, take it or leave it.

As an unknown group, Azure Longsword was originally only eligible for the base price, but Andrea strongly advocated for them, relying on the reputation and guarantee of the Iron Cross, and secured a buyout price for Asker.

The remuneration was much higher than that of ordinary mercenary tasks, which only showed how wealthy the noble lords were.

So the mercenary groups began to enter the site of the anomaly, the small town of Runefield, from different directions.

The reason for entering separately was also for secrecy. After all, this was the territory of the Solomon Catholic Church. If the Transcendental identity of someone in the group was exposed in battle and reported anonymously to the Church by a competitor, it would be very troublesome.

Large mercenary groups, being high-profile, disdained such despicable acts, but small mercenary groups were unpredictable – there were all kinds of oddballs out there.

“Listen up.” Standing on the outskirts of Runefield, Asker announced to the girls, “This time we will split into two teams for combat.”

“Eh?!” The girls exclaimed in surprise.

Chapter 4: Running Away From Home

An hour later.

Eleanor stood in front of the Duke’s camp gate.

The guarding knight didn’t stop her, just bowed slightly, tapping his fist against his chest armor.

“Miss Eleanor, the Duke is waiting for you inside.”

“You recognize me?” Eleanor asked, surprised.

“I saw you once six years ago,” the knight replied humbly, then looked straight ahead again, his gaze unwavering.

Eleanor sighed and continued walking inside.

Patrolling knights on the road saw her. Some saluted solemnly, others looked puzzled but quickly bowed along with their companions.

Arriving in front of the temporary command post, the two guarding knights nodded at her, then lifted the tent flap.

“Please come in,” the Duke of Carinthia’s voice came from inside.

Eleanor stepped inside and forced a smile, “Your Grace…”

“Miss Eleanor,” the Duke of Carinthia was signing a document. “Please sit.”

Eleanor hesitated for a moment, then sat down in front of him.

“Your brother is on his way here,” the Duke of Carinthia said.

Eleanor paused upon hearing this, then smiled wryly.

“Let’s dispense with the pleasantries, after all, your father and I are old acquaintances,” the Duke of Carinthia put down the document and looked up. “Why did you run away from home?”

Eleanor: …

“Half a year ago, after you left without saying goodbye, the Weisbach family turned the entire territory upside down.” The Duke of Carinthia said lightly. “Not just Bavaria, but also Carinthia, Lombardy, Burgundy, Franconia… Your father’s envoys went almost everywhere adjacent to your family’s fief. Everyone knows that the second daughter of the Weisbach family ran away from home, leaving only a puzzling letter.”

Eleanor felt so ashamed she wished she could dig a hole and hide in it.

“Anyway, since you’re here, don’t go anywhere until your brother Ludwig comes to pick you up,” the Duke of Carinthia said.

Eleanor looked up: “But the anomaly in the town ahead…”

“That’s the job of mercenaries and vassal knights.” The Duke of Carinthia frowned. “In the Duchy of Carinthia, we have no custom of letting noble ladies go to the battlefield.”

“I’m not a noble lady!” Eleanor argued urgently. “I’m also a mercenary! A mercenary of the Azure Longsword mercenary group!”

“If you say that again, there won’t be an Azure Longsword mercenary group in this world anymore,” the Duke of Carinthia said indifferently.

Eleanor lowered her head, silent.

“Think from your father and brother’s perspective, the daughter of the Weisbach family, being a mercenary?” The Duke of Carinthia let out a low laugh, his tone hovering between wistful reminiscence and outright derision.. “Even if you ran away from home, you could have become a painter, a musician… find some refined work to make a living. What kind of dirty profession is a mercenary? Living on the edge, without honor, willing to do anything for money.”

“You misunderstand our mercenary group,” Eleanor said slowly.

“Save that for your brother,” the Duke of Carinthia lightly tapped the table. “Robert?”

A knight walked in from outside: “Your Grace.”

“Take Miss Eleanor to the inner camp quarters. Then find some daughters of local minor nobles in Löffelach to accompany her, those with good reputations, clean family backgrounds, and dignified appearances.” The Duke of Carinthia ordered. “We cannot neglect the Weisbachs.”

“Yes.” Robert nodded solemnly.

Eleanor remained silent and followed Robert to the noble camp area.

This area housed the Duke of Carinthia’s vassals, cabinet members, and their families. Robert summoned several quick-witted court attendants and had them tidy up the innermost tent.

Ten minutes later, Eleanor walked into the luxurious tent. It was comfortably furnished with velvet and carpets, with a large wooden bed in the center, covered with thick, soft mattresses and quilts.

Looking back, Robert was already standing outside the tent entrance, clearly intending to keep her confined here.

Eleanor sighed and lowered the curtains on both sides of the entrance.

Then she sat on the edge of the bed and whispered:

“Mia.”

Mia emerged halfway from the shadow at her feet and asked, “How did it go? Did you confirm?”

“Confirmed.” Eleanor nodded, then expanded her spirituality and teleported to Furnace Island.

Mia returned to the Shadow Realm, slipped through the gap under the tent flap, and entered Robert’s shadow.

The dutiful Knight Robert stood with his arms crossed, staring straight ahead, his gaze unwavering.

Unnoticed, his shadow on the ground slowly elongated, winding around the base of the tent to the back, then stretching out through a gap in the camp’s wooden fence.

After upgrading to “Shadow II,” Mia could freely manipulate the changes of nearby shadows and truly “dissolve” her body into the shadows.

As long as there was a shadow the size of a fingernail anywhere, she could hide in the corresponding Shadow Realm, unrestricted by her own body size.

As soon as the shadow stretched out from the gap, Mia jumped out of it and left casually.

The deformed shadow then snapped back like an elongated rubber band, returning to Robert’s feet.

On Furnace Island, Eleanor had just teleported in when Nuo, who had been waiting, rushed up to her.

“How did it go?” She asked with concern.

“It’s confirmed, the Duke of Carinthia has already informed my family.” Eleanor sighed.

Nuo also smiled wryly.

Just a few hours ago, Eleanor had confessed to her and Mia that she had actually run away from home.

The family values of the Franks were much more conservative than those of the Solomons. While daughters of minor nobles might be able to go out for business or study, those from major noble families basically stayed at home, taught by private tutors.

After coming of age, they would either marry into other noble families or enter a monastery to “serve God” or “study the truth.”

Eleanor was different from other girls. She neither wanted to marry like that, nor did she like doing research. Instead, she was particularly interested in inheriting the fief and becoming a knight lord.

So, after arguing with her father one day, she took some privately saved money and slipped out of the castle with an outgoing group.

Eleanor didn’t elaborate on how she slipped out. In short, she had wandered around Siris and Asia Minor for a while. After spending all her money, she came to Constantinople to make a living.

Finally, she met Asker.

The reason she chose to run away from home was partly because she didn’t want to stay at home and let her father arrange her life, and partly because she hoped to find an opportunity to prove herself.

Now that she had become a level 4 Transcendental, and her combat strength far exceeded that of ordinary people, she thought that even her strict father would look at her with new eyes.

Encountering the Duke of Carinthia this time was purely an accident. But since it was confirmed that the Duke had informed her family, her plan to confront her family needed to be brought forward.

She wanted to convince her father, as a newly promoted Transcendental.

If her father was willing to acknowledge her transformation and independence, and agree to let her inherit the fief, that would be best.

If not, then she would just run away again. Anyway, with the help of Furnace Island and Mia, Eleanor wasn’t worried about her father having any way to confine her.

Chapter 3: Azure Album

“Yes, it happens to have the same name as your mercenary group.” Hood said. “It’s adapted from a famous Northern dark fairy tale.”

“What’s the story about?” Mia asked, flipping through the pages. “Is it interesting?”

“It’s about the knight Solomon, the mage Christina, and the priestess Melinda, three childhood friends who bravely set out to defeat an evil dragon to save their hometown and kingdom.” Hood said.

“Sounds interesting.” Mia said and continued reading.

After a few minutes, she suddenly looked up and asked Hood:

“Christina and Melinda, do both heroines like the male protagonist, Solomon?”

“Yeah.” Hood stared at the manga in his hand and said without looking up. “It’s the season of White Album again.”

Mia: ???

“This is too much!” After reading for another half hour, Mia threw the manga down and complained angrily, “Wasn’t Christina the first one to fall in love with Solomon? Why is Melinda trying to steal him?!”

“Are you serious?!” Hood jumped down from the carriage in shock. “Get your facts straight, okay! It was the male protagonist, Solomon, who fell in love with Melinda first! What did Melinda do wrong? It was only after Solomon’s persistent pursuit that Melinda finally accepted his feelings!!”

“No!” Mia retorted excitedly. “Read it carefully, okay? In chapter sixty-two, Solomon confessed his feelings to Melinda, but due to a misunderstanding, Solomon thought Melinda rejected him, so he went to the riverbank dejectedly to polish his spear, and that’s when Christina confessed to him!”

“So Christina clearly came first! Melinda is just the third party!”

“Bullshit!” Hood was also furious. “That misunderstanding was Solomon’s misunderstanding, Melinda thought she had made herself clear! She liked Solomon too! It was Christina, knowing that Solomon liked Melinda, who deliberately took advantage of the situation after he thought he was rejected. Isn’t that green tea bitch behavior?”

“Say that again!” Mia was furious.

“I can say it as many times as you want!” Hood shouted, sticking his neck out. “Christina, green tea bitch!”

“What are they doing?” Eleanor, who was reading “The Song of Roland” nearby, looked up at Hood and Mia, who were still arguing, and asked puzzled.

“It seems they are arguing about the manga plot.” Nuo replied casually, gathered her skirt, and squatted down, looking at the small flowers growing among the weeds by the field.

“Manga?” Eleanor said in surprise. “Isn’t that something only children read?”

“Aren’t they both children?” Nuo said with a smile.

“Oh.” Eleanor finally realized and smiled wryly. “I always think of Mia as a comrade of my age, but I forgot she’s still a minor.”

She put down “The Song of Roland” in her hand and handed it to Nuo, saying: “It’s too boring sitting here, I’m going for a walk.”

Opposite them, the argument between Hood and Mia continued.

“Say that again!”

“I can say it as many times as you want! Green tea bitch, Christina!”

“Let me tell you! Don’t think I…”

“Green tea bitch, Christina!”

With a clang, Mia drew her sword. The cold glint of the blade made Hood’s legs tremble.

“Big sister, calm down, big sister.” Hood immediately knelt down and hugged her scabbard. “There must be a misunderstanding.”

“I told you it was a misunderstanding.” Mia said resentfully. “Since it was a misunderstanding, Solomon can’t be considered to have successfully confessed! There’s nothing wrong with Christina confessing to him, right?”

“Right, right, right.” Hood thought to himself, You’re right about everything, please put down the sword first, okay?

“And then!” Mia, still resentful, continued, “Knowing that Christina was already with Solomon, Melinda still tried to seduce Solomon, making Solomon eventually waver. Doesn’t that strongly prove that Melinda is the third party?”

“Well… you can’t say that.” Hood still had his principles on major issues. “Melinda also misunderstood, she thought Solomon understood her implicit meaning, and Melinda didn’t know that Christina had confessed to Solomon.”

“Tell me! Is Melinda the third party or not!” Mia threatened to put the sword to his neck.

Hood was tearful. Can’t we just talk without resorting to violence?

“Melinda is the third party! Say it!” Mia threatened him.

“You might as well kill me!” Hood wailed. He couldn’t betray his beliefs.

“So, isn’t the real scumbag Solomon alone?” A voice came from the top of the carriage.

The two looked up and saw Miel sitting cross-legged on the roof of the carriage, playing with a wild sparrow.

“He clearly liked Melinda, but accepted Christina’s confession. After realizing the misunderstanding, he wavered, hesitating between the two. Isn’t Solomon himself the cause of the conflict?”

Miel said seriously, gently stroking the sparrow’s head.

The two looked at her in astonishment.

“We knew that already,” Mia said. “Solomon was always a scumbag, the problem is that Christina is too pitiful!”

“The truly pitiful one is Melinda, okay?” Hood argued. “After Solomon married the imperial princess, she returned to the Holy Temple alone and became the Holy Maiden of Light, never falling in love with anyone else for the rest of her life!”

Mia stared at him blankly.

“You actually spoiled it for me?” She said incredulously.

“Sigh.” Hood also realized his slip of the tongue and hurriedly waved his hand. “It was an accident… Forget it, can you pretend you didn’t hear it?”

“What’s the final ending of the story?” Mia asked with a straight face.

“Uh.” Hood hesitated for a long time before saying.

“After defeating the evil dragon and pulling out the Azure Longsword, the three-person team fell apart.”

“Solomon returned to the empire and married the princess according to his previous agreement with the emperor. Christina was heartbroken and eventually sailed overseas to find the legendary mysterious island of mages, and was never heard from again.”

“Melinda returned to the Holy Temple, became the beloved Holy Maiden of Light by the people, never married, and lived until her death.”

Mia was silent for a long time, threw the manga to Hood, and stood up.

“What the heck!” She muttered dissatisfiedly. “The biggest scumbag male protagonist actually has the happiest ending among the three? Garbage story.”

Mia walked towards the girls in the distance, while Hood carefully put away the manga and retreated into the carriage.

Miel on the roof of the carriage regained her composure and continued playing with the sparrow in her hand, muttering to herself:

“The author who wrote this kind of stupid story must have something wrong with their brain.”

Chapter 2: Mutation

“Peggy,” Asker said.

Is it finally my turn? Peggy looked at him excitedly.

“Since you’ve already mastered the Undead Phantom Sword, I’ll teach you the ‘Punic Tactics’.”

“Punic tactics are the pinnacle of guerrilla warfare tactics. They emphasize maximizing the advantages of battlefield guerrilla warfare, actively choosing the location and timing to engage the enemy, thereby creating opportunities for a decisive blow.”

“Overall, it’s a tactic that relies heavily on battlefield intuition and demands strict requirements for awareness and positioning, but I believe it’s the most suitable tactic for you.”

“Mia,” Asker turned again, looking at the thief girl.

“I’ll teach you the ‘Twin Blade Assassination Technique.’ Although it also involves dual-wielding, its essence is completely different from Barbarian Tactics.”

“You must multitask, treating your left and right hands as separate entities, capable of freely executing two different fighting styles. To your enemies, it will be as if they are being attacked by two people simultaneously.”

After outlining the subsequent career paths for the four melee DPS members in the team, Asker looked at the remaining girls, pondered for a moment, and said:

“Let’s leave it at that for now, I’ll make further arrangements later.”

The four girls exchanged glances, disappointment evident on their faces.

It couldn’t be helped. Although Asker was a Weapon Master, his fighting style undoubtedly leaned towards melee combat, and teaching tactics in this area came more naturally to him.

Asker also knew some things about firearms, but he was somewhat lacking when it came to Arcane, Mind, and Healing. Even a Weapon Master couldn’t possibly dabble in so many fields at the same time…

“Captain!” Thira suddenly raised her hand. “I want to learn swordsmanship!”

Swordsmanship? Asker was a little surprised. For Thira’s “Matter Mage” bloodline, the four sequences she possessed were “Wisdom,” “Storm,” “Meteor,” and “Radiance,” making her a pure spellcasting profession without any abilities related to swordsmanship.

However, this could precisely achieve the element of surprise, couldn’t it?

Everyone would assume she was a mage, rushing forward through various spells, only for Thira to draw a sword…

“Okay,” Asker nodded. “Then I’ll teach you the Spellblade career path, sword in the right hand, spells in the left.”

It could be done like that? Nuo and Medea were also surprised. They originally thought the captain would let them off easy during this training session, but they didn’t expect they could take the initiative like Thira.

“Then I want to learn shooting!” Nuo raised her hand and exclaimed.

“Me too.” Medea said, not wanting to be outdone. “I want to learn swordsmanship and shooting.”

“All arranged.” Asker said, exasperated. “I’ll arrange it all for you.”

After saying that, he seemed to remember something, looked towards Hood lying under the tree reading manga outside, and asked:

“Hood, do you want to learn anything?”

“Noooooo!” Hood stretched out the sound, his eyes not leaving the manga at all.

This was also within Asker’s expectations. After all, given Hood’s lazy nature, asking him to learn swordsmanship was no less difficult than inviting a hardcore otaku to go out and play ball or pick up girls.

“Okay,” Asker said. “Then let’s start with the ‘Trinity’ tactics, in order…”

At this moment, an Iron Cross mercenary hurriedly walked over from the opposite direction and whispered something to Asker.

“There’s an anomaly up ahead?”

“Yes.”

After the magic tide, anomalies were indeed becoming more frequent.

Asker sighed inwardly, then called the girls to follow, just in time to use this anomaly as practical training.

…

When they arrived, they saw the members of the Iron Cross standing solemnly, facing armored knights on the other side, the two groups clearly distinct.

Andrea and Hermann were talking to an old nobleman. The latter looked up, his gaze calmly sweeping over the group.

Asker almost immediately recognized this NPC: a great noble within the Holy Solomon Empire, Duke Otto of Carinthia.

If the history of the Eastern Solomon Empire in the original “Iron and Fire” game world was relatively close to/inspired by reality, then the history of the Holy Solomon Empire was completely jumbled and chaotic. Various prominent families from different periods of the Holy Roman Empire were intertwined and arranged together in the game.

Furthermore, these Franks were accustomed to naming their children after revered ancestors, making the names of noble NPCs even harder to remember and distinguish. The most common names were various “Ottos,” “Henrys,” “Konrads,” and “Hermanns.”

For example, the current Emperor of the Holy Solomon Empire was named Otto, and his father was also named Otto. To distinguish them, people privately called his father Otto I, and the Emperor Otto II, meaning the “first/second Otto” in the family.

If the Emperor had a son in the future who was to inherit the glorious names of these three generations, he would be called Otto III.

The problem was that the name Otto wasn’t exclusively used by the royal family. Since there was no concept of “naming taboo,” other great nobles could also use it. For example, this Duke of Carinthia was also named Otto.

Since his own family hadn’t had an Otto before, the Duke himself was called Otto I…

So, how to distinguish this Duke Otto I from the current Emperor’s deceased father, Otto I?

People invented the “nickname method” and the “fief naming method.” For example, this Duke of Carinthia was customarily called “Otto of Worms,” but players couldn’t be bothered to remember these names and simply called him “Duke of Carinthia,” which solved the problem.

The Duke of Carinthia was a vigorous old man, about sixty years old, currently clad in armor and sword, his eyes sharp.

Under his seemingly scrutinizing gaze, the girls unnaturally averted their eyes, especially Eleanor, who wished she could dig a hole and hide in it.

Only Asker remained calm and smiled, even nodding slightly in acknowledgment when the Duke of Carinthia looked over.

“Then that’s settled, go and discuss the agreement with my cabinet ministers later.” The Duke of Carinthia’s gaze finally rested on Eleanor, then he withdrew his gaze and said to Andrea and Hermann, “I’ll go rest in the camp over there first.”

After the Duke left with his men, Andrea turned around and greeted Asker.

“What anomaly?” Asker asked.

“It’s hard to say, it’s too strange.” Andrea lowered his voice and said:

“Ahead is Runefield, a town with a population of over ten thousand. All the residents disappeared overnight.”

“I guess, besides the residents disappearing, monsters also appeared, right?” Asker said.

“Yes.” Andrea said, “All kinds of monsters. The most terrifying thing is that these monsters act like ordinary town residents, walking and talking normally on the town streets. Scouts even saw monsters going shopping and haggling with vendors who were also monsters.”

“Then we need to observe closely.” Asker said calmly. “Have you made close contact yet?”

“Not yet.” Andrea said, “His Grace the Duke of Carinthia is willing to offer the standard reward for anomaly missions and hire us to help resolve this anomaly. Therefore, we plan to discuss it with the Duke’s cabinet members first and negotiate a suitable price.”

This was clearly asking for Azure Longsword’s opinion. Asker smiled and said:

“I think the Duke’s offer will be satisfactory.”

Andrea laughed heartily, very pleased with the addition of Azure Longsword and the others, and pulled Asker to go meet with the Duke’s men.

After instructing the girls to stay put, Asker left with Andrea, Hermann, and the others.

The girls waited boredly, chatting among themselves.

“Hey, Hood,” Mia said, “Lend me some manga to read?”

“Okay.” Hood agreed, took his luggage from the carriage, quickly rummaged through it, and pulled out a manga.

“Here, take it.” Hood said.

“What manga is this?” Mia looked at the title on the cover in surprise. “Azure Longsword Special Edition?”

Volume Three: Blood Flows Under the Iron Throne

Chapter 1: New Career Paths

“Is the situation clear?”

“Not clear, it’s a mess.”

“All the major duchies are waiting and seeing, not rushing to take sides.”

“Rebelling against His Majesty the Emperor? Is Duke Wolf insane?”

“It’s said to be His Holiness the Pope’s instruction. There’s no choice, their family’s territory has too close ties with Italy. Once the Church withdraws its clergy, probably half of the Wolf family’s factories will have to shut down.”

“Then Burgundy and Lombardy must have rebelled. What about Bavaria? If the Weisbach family also joins the rebellion, how will we return to the Lübeck headquarters? Detour through Bohemia?”

“The Count of Saxony hasn’t taken a stance yet. However, even if Saxony joins the rebellion, the Hanseatic League will definitely declare neutrality.”

“What’s the use of declaring neutrality? If Bavaria joins the war, and forces our Iron Cross mercenaries to fight, it’s just a matter of a word from the Duke of Bavaria.”

“Sigh, what’s the point of discussing so much? Can you make the decision? Just wait for the commander’s orders.”

Entering Carinthia by carriage, the mercenaries in the group discussed anxiously along the way.

They were all mercenaries from the Iron Cross’s Eastern division, usually operating in Hungary, Siris, and Eastern Solomon. This time, having collected enough Frost materials, they planned to return to headquarters along the Bavaria-Franconia-Saxony route.

However, the sudden outbreak of the Imperial Civil War changed everything.

Normally, mercenaries liked war, because war brought more opportunities and profits – provided they were on the winning side.

Otherwise, forget about the pre-agreed commission, it would be lucky if they weren’t beheaded along with their defeated employer.

Choosing which side to take in a civil war required great strategic vision. However, the Iron Cross mercenary group was different. As a wholly-owned security company of the Hanseatic League, they had to obey the League’s directives.

The Hanseatic League, being a commercial alliance of cities in the northern part of the Empire, definitely had to align its will with the Count of Saxony.

So the Count of Saxony’s choice of faction was very delicate… Once the Count of Saxony took a stance, and it was contrary to the choice of the Duke of Bavaria or the Duke of Franconia, then their journey this time would definitely not be smooth.

They might be surrounded by the Duke’s army as soon as they entered the duchy.

Therefore, the Iron Cross mercenaries could only pray that the old Count of Saxony would hesitate a little longer, or that the people at headquarters wouldn’t rush to take sides… at least wait until we return to Lübeck!

As high-ranking members of the Eastern division, Andrea and Hermann naturally received more information from headquarters and weren’t as panicked as the low-level mercenaries.

The original route through Bavaria remained unchanged, but judging from their expressions, they seemed to have many worries about it – as for what those worries were, the members of Azure Longsword didn’t know.

However, the girls weren’t worried at all. Even if it was a huge matter, let the captain worry about it.

It was better for him to worry more than to train them.

Currently, in the team, Asker had reached level 6; followed by Mia, who had reached level 5.

There were 4 people at level 4: Eleanor, Sidlipha, Medea, and Thira.

Peggy and Miel were level 3; the lowest level Nuo was only level 2.

On average, the Azure Longsword team’s level was around level 4. Compared to the level of players at the beginning of the server in his previous life, this progress was considered average.

Of course, it was far inferior to professional players and professional guilds.

However, body level was one thing, tactical awareness was another.

In terms of the girls’ current “software strength,” they were undoubtedly approaching the peak level of players, barely reaching the entry threshold for professional club training camps.

In other words, they could start learning some professional-level tactics and moves.

“I have designed the subsequent combat career paths for you.” During a break, the members of Azure Longsword sat in a circle in a nearby field, and Asker announced in the center.

(In the “Iron and Fire” game world, a career path, or Build, was a classification and subdivision of a character’s overall combat style.)

“I originally wanted to ask for your opinions, but then I realized that you don’t understand the various high-end career paths at all, so letting you choose would be pointless.” Asker said lightly. “So just follow what I teach you for now, and if you find it unsuitable later, we can discuss it. Any objections?”

The girls looked at each other.

Isn’t that obvious? Since we don’t understand, how can we raise objections?

Whatever you teach, we’ll learn.

“Good.” Asker made the final decision. “Eleanor, I will teach you the ‘Trinity’ tactics.”

“The so-called Trinity tactics involve combining the spear, sword, and shield in pairs to form three tactical styles, hence Trinity.” Asker pushed aside the weapons on the ground and said, “In other words, you must master all three types of equipment simultaneously, and then choose two of them to fight with according to different tactical needs.”

“The shield is usually held in the left hand. If the right hand holds a spear, then it’s the ‘spear and shield style.’ Its characteristic is focusing on defense and crowd control.”

“Keeping the shield in the left hand and switching the right-hand weapon to a sword is called the ‘sword and shield style.’ Its characteristic is balanced offense and defense, and strong mobility.”

“The last, less common tactical style is holding a spear in the right hand and a sword in the left hand.” As Asker said this, Mia immediately raised her hand cleverly and answered:

“I know! Right hand spear, left hand sword, it’s naturally called spear…”

“Right! It’s called the ‘Ashina Style’.” Asker immediately interrupted her.

What are you trying to say, little kid!

Mia: ???

“Why isn’t it called spear…” Mia was still trying to say her answer, but Asker interrupted impatiently again:

“Don’t ask me why, the name is just a name, the essence lies in the nature of the tactic!”

“What are the characteristics of this, Ashina Style?” Eleanor asked.

“All offense, no defense.” Asker said, “Suitable for extremely disadvantageous situations, fighting to the death.”

“Of course, I’ll teach you how to fight with each style specifically later.”

So Eleanor nodded and stared blankly at the spear, sword, and shield on the ground.

“Sidlipha.” Asker turned to the second person. “Since you already have the Axe of the North Wind, I will teach you ‘Barbarian Tactics’.”

“The characteristic of Barbarian Tactics lies in dual-wielding. You need a main weapon and an off-hand weapon. If you use the Axe of the North Wind as your main weapon, then the off-hand weapon can be an axe or a sword.”

“Most importantly, all weapons can be thrown to cause huge damage. Agilely switching between melee and throwing attacks is the essence of Barbarian Tactics.”

“After throwing the weapon, you need to retrieve it in time, or grab a new weapon from the battlefield. Because of the returning characteristic of the Axe of the North Wind, you have a natural advantage in this regard.”

“I have a question.” Sidlipha raised her hand. “Does this Barbarian Tactic you mentioned have anything to do with Vikings?”

“No relation whatsoever.” Asker said.

“But!” Sidlipha tried to argue with him. “This tactic of throwing weapons sounds like the ancient Vikings…”

“If you really have to talk about the relationship, if you master this tactic, you can easily beat seven or eight Viking warriors of the same level.” Asker said expressionlessly.

Volume Two Epilogue: Pravda Issue 535 Special Edition

Special Contributor: Oreliano

Yesterday, the internet in Solomon City was finally restored.

This means that the three major disasters brought by the recent magic tide surge – water outage, power outage, and internet outage – have all been resolved.

On the day the internet was restored, a netizen from Aquileia asked me why, despite his daily devout prayers, God still punished him, leaving him thirsty without water during this period, unable to go online, without electricity, and standing by while monsters attacked his town and harmed his compatriots.

Here, I would like to share a story, hoping that believers can understand its meaning:

A long, long time ago, humans walked freely and multiplied on this land, living happily.

One day, all the angels gathered before God, and the devil was also among them.

God said, “Devil, where have you come from?”

The devil said, “I have come from Purgatory.”

God said, “Have you passed through the main plane? Have you seen the humans I created? Do they still love me, respect me, and honor me?”

The devil said, “How can humans believe in God without reason? Isn’t it because you protect them and their families, protect everything they have, and their happiness is granted by you? I bet that if you destroy everything they have, they will immediately turn around and curse you.”

God said, “Of course. You may do as you please, but if you lose, I will punish you.”

Having received God’s permission, the devil began to weave his conspiracies. He first released all kinds of terrifying supernatural monsters from the planes, letting them freely invade humanity.

In the blink of an eye, countless people lost their families, relatives, and property.

Then, at God’s signal, the Archangel Michael descended to the human world. He found the emperor at that time, Constantine I, and told him how to build factories, organize armies, and fight against the supernatural monsters.

The believers, organized by the Solomon emperor and officials, began to diligently build city walls, deploy weapons, resist the invasion of supernatural monsters, and pray day and night to God for protection.

God said, “Look, although you brought disaster upon them, they still revere me.”

The devil said, “Of course, they are just following inertia, like a flock of sheep blindly following the lead sheep. If there were no emperor and empire, would they still believe in you as always?”

God said, “You may do as you please, but if you lose, I will punish you.”

Having received God’s permission, the devil began to bring disaster upon the Solomon Empire.

So Emperor Constantine’s will was blinded. He disbanded the loyal Solomon Praetorian Guard and instead recruited cheaper, godless foreign mercenaries, filling the army with all kinds of evil thoughts.

He also expanded the bureaucracy, making them greedy and persecuting the people. Crowds of people, in order to escape taxes, even abandoned their hometowns and fled to the wilderness.

So the Solomon Empire gradually weakened. However, the devil’s tricks didn’t stop there. He cunningly realized that the strength of the empire came from its advanced technology and powerful industrial productivity.

He opened the entrances to the three sub-planes, allowing the evil magic tides within to spread, destroying almost all of the empire’s scientific research data and production materials.

Finally, a hundred years later, the weakened Western Solomon Empire collapsed. It was destroyed by rebellious foreign mercenaries, and also died from the breakdown of its own industrial production chain and the loss of its technological civilization.

Countless churches were destroyed, believers were massacred, and the survivors could only sit in the ruins, digging for wild vegetables and earthworms in the dirt to eat.

“Lord, why have you forsaken us…” Cries of sorrow echoed endlessly throughout the ruins of the empire.

At this time, the Archangel Gabriel descended to the world. He guided the few remaining scholars to establish the Church, preserve the embers of civilization, and teach the unbelievers with God’s doctrines, making the barbarians convert to civilization, and spreading God’s glory throughout the world again.

Although the once glorious empire was destroyed, countless nations were established on its ruins. More churches were built all the way from the south of the continent to the far north, spreading the will of God.

God said, “Look, even if you destroyed human nations, churches, and faith, humans can still rebuild them, keeping the light of faith and civilization alive.”

The devil said, “Of course, because they instinctively gather together in the face of natural disasters, like a scattered herd of zebras, eventually choosing a new leader and establishing a new nation. If I make them suspect and betray each other, will they still maintain their faith?”

God said, “This is your last chance. If you lose, I will punish you.”

So the devil used his trump card: he spread evil secret knowledge, teaching humans how to collect transcendental materials from supernatural monsters, how to make supernatural potions, and how to consume them to obtain supernatural abilities.

Therefore, a large number of Transcendents were born. They first began to annihilate the supernatural monsters, but these monsters were quickly wiped out.

The desire to become stronger and the craving for supernatural power dominated their will. They began to kill each other, plundering each other’s supernatural power and characteristics.

People gradually became suspicious of each other. Ordinary humans feared the power of Transcendents, while Transcendents regarded ordinary people as insignificant. In order to obtain power and status commensurate with their strength, Transcendents began to interfere in the upper echelons of politics in various countries, causing widespread instability and power reshuffles.

This system of dominance based on supernatural strength was unstable because the promotion speed of the Transcendental group was too fast. Often, last month, a Transcendental assassinated the local lord and seized power, and this month, he was killed by a stronger newly promoted Transcendental.

So wars raged endlessly, dynasties fell, crowns tumbled, towns were slaughtered, and bones littered the fields.

At this time, the Archangel Raphael descended to the world. He taught the Church how to use the anti-magic magnetic field to restrain the use of supernatural abilities. He let the Church educate the people, letting them know that supernatural power was harmful and evil.

He told the kings, princes, and nobles of various countries how Transcendents were destroying the world we knew:

Transcendents did not produce, only plundered. They pursued constant upgrades and power, wanting more and more. This process consumed vast amounts of manpower and resources. When they died, these resources were completely wasted, with none returning to the people.

With a mere gesture, they caused destruction, obliterating towns, leveling villages, and showing no mercy. They lost human empathy, no longer even considered themselves human, but rather saw themselves as part of the devil, willingly degenerating without remorse.

Under God’s teachings, the Church began to prohibit supernatural power. Templar Knights and Witch Hunters patrolled the nations, capturing chaotic Transcendents, judging and eliminating them. Countries also began to govern their people with order, teaching them to abandon evil and turn towards the light.

Thus, the devil’s three schemes failed. He bowed his head under God’s glory, still trying to argue, when the Archangel Uriel descended with a flaming sword and struck the devil down into Purgatory, never to rise again.

Dear readers, please think carefully: which trial in life is not a test sent by God?

If you yield under hardship, then the devil’s will prevails; however, if you strive unceasingly, then God will bless you and deliver you from suffering. All that you have lost will be returned a hundredfold.

Chapter 105: Civil War

They were tired after wandering through the city market.

Looking around, most of the surrounding shops sold Spartan-style weapons, armor, and fitness equipment. There were almost no clothing stores or dessert shops that girls particularly liked.

So Medea became a little listless and found a restaurant to sit down in.

In Spartan restaurants, apart from some dark dishes, the only edible options were probably roasted lamb ribs, cheese balls, and wine.

Ordering one of each, Medea put down the menu and looked at Asker with narrowed eyes.

Staring.

“Is there something on my face?” Asker asked, “Why are you looking at me?”

Medea said, “Be quiet, I’m reading your mind.”

Asker: …

“Did you read the answer you wanted?” After a moment, Asker asked boredly.

“I did.” Medea said with a grin.

“Ah! They’re eating together!” On the street outside the restaurant, Peggy stared at the two people sitting by the window, so angry that she almost broke her teeth.

“Stop making noise!” Nuo hurriedly reminded her, “The passers-by are looking over!”

“No!” Peggy said and was about to rush out, but was stopped by Nuo. “Look.”

The two girls looked closely and saw that the intimate scene at the table inside the restaurant that made them feel so uncomfortable was over.

“Haha, Captain Asker, I didn’t expect to see you here again.” Andrea, who had walked over from the opposite table, laughed heartily, followed by Hermann. “We just ordered too, mind if we share a table?”

Medea really wanted to say “mind,” but Asker had already spoken:

“No problem.”

So Andrea and Hermann sat down at the table, while Medea moved her seat closer to Asker with a cold expression.

“Captain Asker,” Andrea flattered, “You’ve really returned fully loaded this time. Although Azure Longsword only has nine people, each one is an elite. To achieve such a beautiful battle record in this anomaly, even we Iron Cross are deeply impressed.”

As expected of a leader, this guy really knows how to talk. Asker thought to himself, knowing that the other party could say such nice things because, firstly, he no longer held any grudges, and secondly, he needed something from him.

“Then 340 silver marks.” Asker said bluntly.

Andrea and Hermann were stunned for a moment, then realized that he was quoting a price for the Snow Monster materials.

Wait, didn’t we already agree on 380 silver marks per piece when you saved us from the avalanche?

Of course, both were veterans in negotiations and wouldn’t be tactless enough to ask why he lowered the price. Andrea sighed inwardly and said with a smile:

“Good! Captain Asker is indeed straightforward. We Iron Cross will remember this favor!”

“It’s nothing.” Asker waved his hand. “Just making friends.”

Pfft! Medea, who had been struggling to keep a straight face, finally couldn’t help but laugh.

This laugh suddenly startled Hermann, and he quickly nudged Andrea under the table.

Andrea originally wanted to offer a few more enthusiastic compliments, praising the other party’s straightforwardness and generosity in lowering the price. But after being nudged by Hermann, he immediately realized something was wrong.

After thinking carefully for a moment, his heart began to churn:

Damn it! 340 silver marks, isn’t that the highest price we were originally willing to pay for the Snow Monster materials?

Buying the materials from them at the highest price, and I still have to thank them for lowering the price? What kind of logic is this!

Before Andrea could recover, Hermann had already figured it out.

It was a fact that the girls of Azure Longsword had saved everyone from the avalanche, so Andrea raising the price to 380 silver marks, the premium was naturally to repay their life-saving grace.

But now that they said no premium was needed, then the favor of saving their lives wasn’t repaid. Perhaps the other party had other requests for the Iron Cross and wanted to use this favor to exchange for something else, so they took the initiative to say no price increase was needed.

As for Andrea’s subsequent flattery, it was purely because his brain hadn’t caught up.

The price of 340 marks was ridiculously expensive, okay? In the normal black market, Frost I materials usually only cost around 200 marks.

This guy actually took the other party’s price reduction as a favor, his reaction time was really a bit long.

Andrea realized his mistake and was so embarrassed that he could barely speak. Hermann saw this and took the initiative to smooth things over.

“To be honest, 340 marks isn’t cheap either. If it weren’t for the fact that we Iron Cross urgently need it, we definitely wouldn’t agree to this price.”

“Captain Asker, if I’m not mistaken, you actually know our purpose for collecting this batch of materials, right?” He asked with a hint of probing, smiling. “I’m personally curious, how did you obtain this information?”

Asker didn’t speak, just casually pointed at Medea.

Hermann was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears inwardly.

This mind-reading ability is too unfair!

The food was served by the waiter, and Asker began to focus on enjoying the roasted meat.

Medea was angry and didn’t speak, just fiercely cut the meat and bones on her plate with her knife and fork, as if it were Asker’s face.

Andrea and Hermann had also ordered. At this time, in front of them were a plate of grilled goat meat, a bowl of goat milk, and a plate of mysterious black liquid.

“Did you order this?” Andrea pointed at the plate of black liquid.

“No, I remember I didn’t order this.” Hermann was a little curious, scooped up a spoonful with a soup spoon, and put it in his mouth.

The moment it entered his mouth, his expression almost contorted.

The fishy smell of pig’s blood, the sour taste of aged vinegar, mixed with the thick saltiness of who knows how much salt, made him immediately feel the urge to vomit.

However, he endured it and didn’t spit it out, just gritted his teeth and held it in his mouth, trying to raise his eyebrows and relax his cheeks, putting on a satisfied expression of “very delicious” and “makes me feel warm all over,” and pretended to scoop a second spoonful.

“Is it that good?!” Andrea observed his expression and immediately became interested. He took another bowl, filled it halfway for himself, and then brought it to his lips.

Seeing him raise the soup bowl, Hermann quickly spat out the liquid in his mouth, grabbed the goat milk on the table, and began to rinse his mouth.

“Pfft!” As soon as the dark soup entered his mouth, Andrea sprayed it out violently. Asker reacted quickly, moving his and Medea’s plates away, so they weren’t hit by the mysterious liquid.

“Sorry!” Andrea coughed and said, then immediately looked at the table, searching eagerly as if looking for an antidote. “Where’s the goat milk? Where’s that big bowl of goat milk?”

“Ah, I finished it.” Hermann put down the bowl expressionlessly, it was already empty.

“I’ll fucking kill you!” Andrea lost his temper for a moment, grabbed his collar and stood up, but couldn’t help but turn his head and gag again.

“After this anomaly ends, does Iron Cross have any plans?” Asker interrupted the two’s farce.

Andrea, unable to bear the urge to vomit, rushed to the toilet. Hermann, having recovered, thought for a moment and explained slowly:

“After purchasing your Snow Monster materials, we will immediately head to Lübeck and hand these materials over to the Iron Cross headquarters.”

“Ah, that’s great.” Asker said with a smile. “The next destination for our Azure Longsword is also the Holy Solomon Empire. Why don’t we travel together? After all, the Holy Roman Empire is a bit chaotic right now. With two mercenary groups together, we can look out for each other.”

Hermann immediately understood, this was to use the reputation of the Iron Cross mercenary group to reduce the risks they might encounter on the journey. But he hadn’t heard of any chaos in the country…

Just as he was puzzled, he saw an Iron Cross mercenary hurriedly enter the restaurant, quickly scanning the room. Seeing Hermann here, he quickly ran over and whispered urgently to Hermann:

“Vice-Captain Hermann, a civil war is about to break out in the Empire!”

Chapter 104: Promotion and Respite

After the battle, since most of the team had nearly digested their potions, the next pressing matter was leveling up.

Asker took “Projectile I” and advanced to level 6;
Eleanor took “Resilience I” and advanced to level 4;
Miel took “Vision I” and advanced to level 3;
Thira took “Radiance I” and advanced to level 4;
And Mia, the thief girl, having already acquired all the Sequence I abilities in her bloodline, took “Shadow II” this time, becoming the first in the team to possess a level II supernatural ability.

If this were happening outside, the sight of an entire team collectively advancing would be enough to make any Transcendental’s jaw drop, evoking intense envy and resentment.

However, compared to the players in his previous life, this pace was still considered slow.

The reason for this discrepancy was undoubtedly information asymmetry.

Most Transcendental NPCs weren’t even clear about the bloodline combinations available to them; even if they knew, they wouldn’t know where to find the corresponding formulas; and even if they found the formulas, they wouldn’t know how to obtain the required transcendental materials.

In this regard, Asker, with his information advantage, was countless times more efficient in terms of advancement.

After officially advancing to level 6, Asker tried using “Grazing Shot” with his sword and indeed found that his control over this Celestial Ninefold Strike move had greatly improved.

The girls back on Furnace Island were still queuing up for promotion, waiting for Nuo to sing for them (activate Angel’s Song).

Asker took a stroll around the island and saw Sidlipha by the lake in the small woods at the foot of the mountain. She was holding her hair with her left hand and a dagger with her right.

“What are you doing?” Asker asked.

Sidlipha turned her head. Seeing it was the captain, she hummed in acknowledgment and said:

“My hair’s a bit long, I’m planning to trim it.”

“Long?” Asker was surprised. Your hair barely touched your shoulders, okay? Why shave your head, classmate?

“Do you like short hair?” Asker asked casually.

Sidlipha fell silent.

Huh, this one has worries too? It was the first time Asker had seen the usually carefree Sidlipha show such an introverted and contemplative expression.

“I actually think long hair suits you better,” Asker said honestly.

“A true Viking shouldn’t make themselves too pretty,” Sidlipha said.

“Even Viking women?” Asker asked.

Sidlipha: ???

Wait, are there women among the Vikings?

“Even Viking men like beautiful women, right?” Asker said. “Are Viking women not allowed to dress up?”

Sidlipha argued, “Being a Viking isn’t about bloodline, it’s a spirit.”

“And the Viking spirit prohibits looking good?” Asker asked.

Sidlipha: …

Of course not. Huh, then why did I want short hair?

“If my hair is long, wouldn’t it be easy for someone to grab it during a fight, making me vulnerable?” Sidlipha finally remembered why she had cut her long hair back then.

“You’re overthinking it,” Asker said. “If the enemy can grab your hair, then at the same distance, they could cut your neck with a sword.”

“In other words, even if you have short hair, if your skills are inferior, you’ll die anyway. Instead of focusing on your hair, why not think about how to dodge attacks more efficiently?”

Sidlipha was speechless.

“I was just saying,” Asker laughed. “Do whatever you want, whatever you like.”

“Tsk,” Medea’s voice came from behind. “I didn’t expect the captain to have a normal sense of aesthetics.”

“Why wouldn’t I have a sense of aesthetics?” Asker turned around, exasperated.

“Look, all the girls in the team are so beautiful, yet you’re indifferent to everyone. I thought you had some aesthetic deficiency and couldn’t tell beauty from ugliness,” Medea said, smiling as she clung to his arm.

Asker awkwardly pulled his arm out of her embrace and said with a frown:

“Medea.”

“Hmm?” Medea hummed sweetly through her nose.

“Do you want to go for a run?” Asker asked.

Medea’s expression changed, and she turned her head away. “You don’t even know how to appreciate a favor. Your personality really is terrible.”

“Eh?!” Sidlipha finally noticed something was wrong. “Medea, is your androphobia cured?”

“Not cured,” Medea giggled. “I was just moved by the captain’s love, so I’m not afraid of him anymore~”

Moved by love, my ass! This red-crowned crane is full of nonsense!

Seeing Sidlipha’s confused gaze, Asker had no choice but to explain helplessly:

“It was that time she was swept away by the avalanche…”

“Hmm, a life-saving grace should indeed be repaid diligently.” Sidlipha said seriously. Medea’s eyes lit up, and she grabbed Asker’s arm, shaking it back and forth, batting her eyes coquettishly:

“That’s right. Captain, I want to go into the city to buy some equipment, come with me, please, please…”

Her combination of coquettishness and pleading was too powerful. Even the shrewd Asker couldn’t resist and was half-dragged, half-pulled away.

Sidlipha watched the two of them teleport away, stunned for a moment, then touched the ends of her hair thoughtfully.

Hmm, would long hair suit me better?

…

“I want that, the cheese and vanilla bean ice cream ball,” Medea said. “With extra nuts and sesame seeds.”

“Wait a minute! Why is there ice cream in Sparta?” Asker was shocked. Wasn’t Sparta the city of warriors?

“I’m Cypriot,” the shop owner replied, handing an ice cream cone to Medea.

“Can you actually stay in business here?” Asker asked doubtfully. Would Spartans eat ice cream?

“They buy a lot,” the owner shrugged. “But not to eat, for training.”

“Training?”

“It seems they smear it on the boys’ bodies, then make them lie on the grass for hours, letting ants crawl all over them, to train the Spartan boys’ willpower,” the owner said.

Asker and Medea looked at each other.

“This…” Medea looked at the black sesame seeds on the surface of the ice cream, suddenly feeling nauseous. “You eat it.”

“Hehe.” Asker didn’t mind. What haven’t I seen before? He took the ice cream and started eating.

After a few bites, Medea suddenly reached out and snatched the ice cream back from Asker.

“What?”

“You licked the sesame seeds clean, now I can eat it,” Medea said matter-of-factly, starting to lick it delicately, her eyes narrowed like a fox.

“Wow, that woman is so annoying!” From the corner behind them, Peggy’s hands gripped the edge of the wall, her pretty face pale with jealousy.

“So, why did I follow you out…” Beside her, Nuo covered her eyes speechlessly.

“Aren’t you jealous?” Peggy glared at her.

“I do feel a little uncomfortable,” Nuo said honestly. “But, it’s nothing serious.”

“Anyway, Asker definitely won’t choose her.”

“Why?” Peggy asked suspiciously.

“Ah, nothing.” Nuo realized she had misspoken. “You can ask him yourself.”

Peggy’s eyes widened, a thousand grievances welling up in her heart.

Why, why do you know his secrets too?! Even I don’t know!

I was here first!