Category: The Azure Longsword

Chapter 53: Scientific and Mystical

After finalizing the team’s subsequent equipment upgrade plan with Hood in the morning, Asker set off for Hippocrates University in the afternoon to visit the girls studying there.

Medea’s “Fire,” Thira’s “Storm” and “Meteor,” and Sidlipha’s yet-to-be-taken but present in her later bloodline sequence “Frost” and “Thunder” all belonged to the classical Macedonian Arcane Sequence.

In addition, Mia’s “Shadow” and Peggy’s “Steal” were also sequences that leaned more towards the spiritual side.

Hippocrates University had corresponding lecturers and training grounds for these spiritual sequences, specifically designed to train the corresponding Transcendents.

Therefore, these five girls were arranged to study these (mystical) theories at the university. As for whether it would be beneficial to actual combat, Asker had to personally verify it.

After all, a greater war was imminent, and there weren’t many of these brief periods of calm before the war where they could seize the time to improve their strength.

Hippocrates University wasn’t the kind of full-time academic university Asker knew from his previous life, where dozens of students gathered in a classroom to listen to lectures. It was more like a practical training class.

The students stood on the training ground, taking turns using their supernatural abilities, while the lecturer explained the principles and corrected their mistakes.

“This student asked me, what happens when the Fire ability and the Frost ability meet? Now I’ll answer you, they annihilate each other.”

The lecturer summoned a fireball with his left hand and a frost ball with his right hand, then clapped them together.

Both the fireball and the frost ball disappeared.

“Let’s review what we’ve learned. The mass of a system depends on the mass particles within the isolated system; the temperature of a system depends on the energy particles within the isolated system.”

“Mass particles and energy particles can be converted into each other under certain conditions, the conversion formula is the mass-energy equation E=mc².”

“Energy particles are divided into high spin states and low spin states. The low spin state is absolute zero, while the high spin state is not zero. The temperature of an isolated system is related to the difference between the high and low spin state energy particles within the system. The conversion formula is the Dirac equation set, which is quite complex. You can go back and check your textbook, Quantum Mechanics, Chapter 5, ‘Energy Particle Spin State Equation.’”

“The mechanism of the Fire Sequence ability is to convert low spin state energy particles into high spin state, so the temperature within the system will increase rapidly; the Frost Sequence is the opposite, so once the two formulas meet, they will annihilate each other.”

“Then, teacher,” Thira raised her hand and asked, “If the Fire ability is stronger than the Frost ability, shouldn’t the Frost formula be annihilated, and the Fire formula remain?”

“Theoretically, yes.” The lecturer nodded and explained, “In fact, don’t forget the observation collapse of quantum mechanics.”

“When unobserved, the state of a quantum can be a superposition of high spin and low spin states. Once you observe it, the quantum must present one of the two spin states.”

“Only superposition states can be calculated. In a non-superposition state, the quantum has collapsed and cannot be superimposed.”

“To use a mathematical analogy, you can add and calculate two vectors, but once the vector collapses into a single point, you can’t calculate it anymore.”

Teacher, that’s not what I was asking… Thira wanted to say something more, but the lecturer looked down at his watch and said:

“That’s all for today, class dismissed.”

“How are you guys doing with your studies?” Asker greeted the three girls.

“What the teacher is talking about is difficult to understand, but he does have unique insights into the principles of spellcasting.” Thira replied.

“It’s a bit obscure, but it might be useful after understanding it.” Medea pondered.

“Hmm, hmm, I’m different from them, I understand everything completely!” Sidlipha said cheerfully with an innocent smile.

The other two girls immediately glanced at her, their expressions speechless.

No, you didn’t understand at all…

“I see.” Asker didn’t have any expectations for her intelligence and sighed, “Let’s go find the others.”

The other two, because they didn’t belong to the Arcane Sequence, were assigned to the training ground next door.

As soon as he entered the Shadow Sequence training ground, his vision went black.

Ah, the style of the Blind Team. Asker immediately felt a strong sense of déjà vu.

Then he raised his sword in reverse grip and tapped lightly to his front left. A crisp “ouch” sounded in the darkness.

Then the darkness disappeared, and Mia was squatting there, holding her bruised forehead, tears welling up in her eyes.

“How did you know I was going to sneak attack you!” She cried out, sobbing.

“I heard you.” Asker replied. “This darkness-creating ability of yours, is it the Shadow Tentacles skill?”

Shadow Tentacles attacked the enemy’s face, causing blindness. It was jokingly called “face-hugging shadow” in the professional circle. Logically, it required Shadow II to activate, but Mia only had Shadow I, which meant…

“It’s a new move I just learned, combined with the Weakness Sequence ability.” Mia said proudly.

Weakness I was a potion the team found in the Transcendental Market. After taking it, she had also advanced to level 4.

The ability of the Weakness Sequence itself was to capture the enemy’s momentary weaknesses and launch attacks, thus weakening the enemy’s resistance to attacks.

Shadow I could also manipulate darkness, but the effect was worse compared to Shadow II. Enemies attacked by Shadow I would usually only feel their vision dim, not completely obscured.

However, combined with the Weakness Sequence ability, Mia could weaken the enemy’s resistance to darkness, thus allowing Shadow I to also achieve the “face-hugging shadow” effect, blinding the opponent for a short time.

As for blindness, although it might be tricky for ordinary people, professional players naturally wouldn’t be so easily affected. Moreover, Mia didn’t even have the awareness of how to launch follow-up attacks…

“Face-hugging shadow isn’t used like this.” Asker couldn’t help but instruct her. “Think about it, the moment a normal person’s vision is plunged into darkness, the first thing they do is focus on their hearing. If you make even a slight sound, won’t you expose yourself?”

Mia looked confused: “Ah, is that so?”

Thira and Medea, listening behind him, were speechless: …

No, no, no, the first reaction of a normal person when plunged into darkness is definitely panic! Who do you think is a monster like you?!

“The simplest attack method is to quickly shoot after blinding them with face-hugging shadow.” Asker instructed her.

“Move while shooting, using the gunfire to cover your footsteps. The enemy will subconsciously mistake the location of the gunfire for your position.”

“At this time, you, having already repositioned yourself, can take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.”

Mia was stunned for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed, “That sounds very powerful, but I don’t have any firearms!”

“Firearms are just an example.” Asker knocked her head in exasperation. “Most ranged weapons will do, such as throwing weapons, wrist crossbows, etc. If all else fails, you can just throw a stone.”

“Well said.” Applause came from the side. The instructor on the training ground tore off the mask from his face, revealing a refined and handsome face.

“Rasul, I knew it was you.” Asker said helplessly.

Chapter 52: Gap Moe

The next morning.

The girls who focused on mental strength went to the Transcendental University, while the girls who focused on physical strength stayed on Furnace Island to continue honing their skills.

Only Asker, who had just advanced to level 5 (and temporarily had no need for potions), and Hood remained in the workshop of the barracks, researching something.

“I suddenly discovered a fatal flaw in your team.” Hood said suddenly, operating the machine.

“What flaw?” Asker asked, folding his arms.

“The girls under your command have no distinctive personalities.” Hood commented.

No distinctive personalities? Right, Asker immediately understood what he meant.

He had discovered and personally trained these girls from the rookie stage to their current level. The advantage was that they grew faster and wouldn’t take any detours. The disadvantage was naturally that their fighting styles also converged towards his own, lacking some individual characteristics.

No matter how arrogant Asker was, he didn’t dare to say that his fighting style was completely flawless. If the whole team had the same style, and then someone specifically targeted them… that would indeed be a tricky problem.

“It seems I need to give them more opportunities to explore on their own.” Asker pondered. “Let them freely develop and form their own personal fighting styles.”

Hood: ???

“I’m not talking about fighting styles, I’m talking about personalities!” Hood corrected him. “Don’t you think the girls under your command all lack distinctive personalities?”

“What do you mean by distinctive personalities?” Asker was completely baffled.

“For example, let me give you an example.” Hood said, “Eleanor, the righteous knight, can we add the personality tag of being old-fashioned and rigid?”

“Like, a mechanical idiot who can’t use a mobile phone at all; easily gets lost; will stand up for the weak when they are bullied; although tough, she also has a gentle side, especially fond of small animals…”

“And Peggy, we can give her the yandere attribute. For example, secretly stalking you every day, gritting her teeth when she sees you talking to other girls, hiding eighty kitchen knives in her clothes…”

“Are you writing a novel?” Asker interrupted him, exasperated. “Where did all these messy attributes come from?!”

“Without attributes, your harem is very boring!” Hood strongly protested.

“We are a mercenary group, not a harem group.” Asker emphasized. “A mercenary group doesn’t need to specifically collect people with distinct personalities, we only need potential seedlings, then train them into reliable fighting forces, and finally send them to the battlefield.”

“That’s so boring.” Hood complained.

“It doesn’t need to be interesting.” Asker said, “Winning is all that matters.”

“Keep winning.”

Hood was stunned for a moment, suddenly feeling that this guy was a bit scary in some ways, his stubbornness.

“And another thing.” Asker sighed helplessly. “Did you get those tags from novels and anime? Works of art use some distinct personality tags for expressive purposes.”

“But look at reality, do you see anyone like that around you? Easily gets lost, is this guy’s brain underdeveloped? Secretly hiding dozens of kitchen knives, is there really nothing wrong with this person’s psychology? Shouldn’t they be sent to a psychiatrist?”

“It’s precisely because reality is so bland and boring that we need to find some fun!” Hood cried out indignantly. “You sinful normie! You’ve already built a harem, and you still want to destroy the dreams of us harem fans! Can’t you give people some room for imagination?!”

“What does that have to do with me?!” Asker was also a little annoyed. “It’s not like I decided their personalities! And you keep accusing me of having a harem, do you want me to open a hole in your head first?”

“What’s wrong with men having a little imagination!” Hood hurriedly covered his head. “I’m just trying to make them more cute!”

“Sorry, then I’m really not cute enough.” Eleanor’s voice came from outside.

The two turned their heads stiffly and saw Eleanor leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed, a speechless “Look what you two are arguing about” expression on her face.

“When did you arrive?” Asker asked with a dry laugh.

“When you said ‘I have no distinctive personality’.” Eleanor said lightly.

“Uh… oh right, Hood is developing a new weapon for you!” Asker quickly changed the subject, winking at Hood. “Hood, quickly bring it out.”

“Huh? But that’s…” Hood hadn’t reacted yet.

“It’s the new weapon I developed for Eleanor.” Asker emphasized.

Hood was speechless and took out a streamlined sword from the workbench.

Hearing that there was a new weapon, Eleanor’s attention was immediately drawn.

Although it looked like a sword at first glance, its blade was extremely narrow, with a cold and chilling luster. The slight curve made it more like a knife, and the blade was covered with dense patterns.

“The Thermal Blade!” Hood held it up and said boastfully, “Made of ultra-high temperature resistant tantalum hafnium carbide alloy, with a three-dimensional network of hollow channels inside, powered and heated by a single-phase nuclear fusion battery, using a heat pump to circulate flame-retardant and thermally conductive oil in the channels, so that the edge of the sword can be directionally heated to over several thousand degrees Celsius, enough to cut through the steel structure of powered armor.”

Eleanor took the Thermal Blade and pressed the switch as Hood instructed. As expected, the blade turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the air began to become scorching hot.

She casually swung it and slashed at the pile of steel next to her. Like a hot knife through butter, the Thermal Blade easily cut the steel into two pieces, the cut slightly melting.

“It looks pretty powerful.” Eleanor commented. “But, this weapon wasn’t made for me, was it?”

Asker was silent upon hearing this. As expected, he couldn’t fool her.

As a tank, Eleanor’s main role was to draw enemy aggro, so what suited her was not a high-damage output weapon, but a control weapon with high durability and a wide attack range, such as a spear or a broadsword.

“Then I’ll take it to Peggy for you.” Eleanor put away the Thermal Blade and turned to leave. “Anyway, you two talked bad about her, I hope she can forgive you for the sake of this weapon.”

“Wait, Eleanor!” Asker hurriedly called out. “Don’t tell her, don’t!”

“Just kidding.” Eleanor turned around and winked.

“After all, I’m not always so rigid.” She said playfully, as if she had successfully pulled a prank.

The door closed again, and Asker finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Good, no misunderstandings.

He looked at Hood and found that the boy was staring blankly at the door, two streams of blood slowly flowing from his nose.

“Hood, are you alright?” Asker asked in surprise.

“Gap moe…” Hood murmured.

Chapter 51: Ascending to Level 5

The small talk with Quintus didn’t last long.

Asker keenly sensed that although the other party said he “wasn’t suspicious,” there still seemed to be some probing in his subtext.

After all, it was his father, not himself, who had made the judgment that “Azure Longsword couldn’t be a traitor.”

In addition, Quintus also showed great interest in the violent explosion that occurred in the center of the town, but he didn’t ask for some reason.

Since the other party didn’t ask, Asker was naturally happy to play dumb and pretend not to notice his curiosity.

So, after some polite probing, Quintus bid farewell to Asker and left, using the excuse of “going back to host the banquet.”

Asker watched him leave the balcony, recalling the previous events.

It was after he killed the White-Clad Assassin that he woke up in Hood’s room, and then this officer Quintus came in with a group of people, thanking him for saving Olympia.

In fact, according to Rasul, the Ilanian assassins and the city lord’s forces behind Quintus were actually in cahoots.

In other words, he had actually disrupted their plan? So that’s why they started investigating his team?

After he agreed to become an honorary member of the Ilanian Assassin organization, Rasul should have stopped providing intelligence in this regard, which was why Quintus of the city lord’s forces personally came to test him.

As for the theory that Azure Longsword was harmless, it wasn’t necessarily as Quintus said, based solely on a surname. Perhaps Rasul had vouched for them.

Various guesses, deductions, and clues went through his mind, and Asker caught sight of a petite figure standing at the edge of the crowd from the corner of his eye.

It was Thira, wearing a mask.

“What did he say to you?” Thira whispered, quietly walking to the edge of the balcony.

“He’s very interested in our strength.” Asker replied.

“That’s all?” Thira was a little surprised, and seemed relieved.

“The Medea incident was an accident.” Asker said lightly. “She displayed extraordinary strength in the battle, which increased our exposure to the authorities. As the city lord’s son, it’s natural for him to come and personally investigate and confirm.”

“I had a nightmare yesterday.” Thira clutched her forehead in pain, her brows furrowed. “I dreamed that my grandfather fiercely questioned me, asking why I abandoned my responsibilities and chose to become a wandering mercenary.”

“So when I saw him talking to you just now, I thought he had already discovered…”

She trailed off and gradually fell silent. “Maybe I’m just too nervous. I need a drink.”

“I’ll go back with you.” Asker said.

…

After the banquet, the slightly tipsy mages bid farewell to each other and left the palace. The Spartans and mercenaries almost all collapsed on the spot, drunk, and began to snore.

The girls of Azure Longsword were somewhere in between. Sidlipha and Mia were already completely drunk and wanted to cause a scene, but Nuo knocked them both out with a karate chop to the neck. Eleanor and Peggy helped them walk back.

Medea also drank quite a bit, her face flushed with a beautiful blush, but she hadn’t lost her mind. Before leaving, she even stuffed a few unopened bottles of red wine into her clothes.

Back at the barracks, it was already 11 pm. Hood, abandoned by everyone, was snoring loudly in the common sleeping area outside, the floor scattered with various strange mechanical parts, all useless gadgets he had tinkered with.

The girls entered the room, intending to teleport back to Furnace Island.

“Medea.” Asker called out to her. “You’re on watch duty outside tonight.”

“Huh?” Medea asked dizzily. “Is it my turn?”

“Yes.” Asker said.

So Medea found a bed, grabbed a book, and fell fast asleep.

Asker took Nuo and teleported back to Furnace Island.

The mountains of Furnace Island were shrouded in darkness, surrounded by the constantly lapping seawater. The girls slept in the wooden house, while Asker and Nuo quietly walked down the mountain, finding a secluded grove with a lake.

“Here?” Nuo asked.

“Yes.” Asker said calmly. “Do a sound check first?”

Nuo was a little embarrassed, she nervously grabbed the corner of her clothes and carefully began to sing:

“I’m walking alone on the path outside the suburbs~ I’m bringing pastries to my grandma to try~”

This song, “Little Red Riding Hood,” was well-known in his previous life. The original foreign version seemed to be from Brazil and had been transplanted into the game by the development team. Hearing it sung by Nuo, Asker suddenly felt homesick.

Angel spirits materialized from the surrounding air, slowly descending along with Nuo’s childish and clear singing, humming along to the melody:

“When the sun sets~ When the stars ignite~ All things in the world cannot escape eternal sleep and death~”

Although the melody was the same, the lyrics were completely different. Nuo wanted to correct them, but the angel spirits sang louder and louder, their song eventually echoing throughout Furnace Island.

Angel’s Song, 60% reduction in the probability of spiritual loss of control.

Under the buff of Angel’s Song, Asker took out a potion, the Gladiator Sequence’s “Block I.”

He was going to advance to level 5 tonight.

After drinking the potion, his body almost immediately showed signs of losing control, but it was forcibly suppressed by the angels’ singing.

His arms began to thicken, his blood pressure almost tripled its normal value, so much so that the muscle fibers in his arms began to bleed, and the surface of his skin radiated a scorching heat.

His shoulder blades began to twist and deform, and the bones throughout his body screamed and roared, making pleading sounds as if they couldn’t bear the burden.

His heart beat rapidly in his chest, as if it would explode in the next second. His eardrums also vibrated incessantly, accompanied by intense dizziness and a sense of disorientation, making him almost faint.

Nuo’s hand gently rested on his back, her Transcendental power soothing his fluctuating spirituality.

It was like a small boat tossed about in a storm and huge waves, dropping a heavy anchor at a critical moment to avoid capsizing.

This dangerous situation of almost losing control but forcibly maintaining his spirituality lasted for nearly half an hour before gradually subsiding.

Asker, almost collapsing, barely managed to prop himself up. After regaining some strength, he nodded to Nuo:

“Okay.”

He had initially digested “Block I,” and a large amount of knowledge about defense, collision, and force deflection entered his mind.

Now, Asker possessed “Perfect Physique X,” “Sharp Weapon I,” “Blunt Weapon I,” “Dodge I,” and “Block I.”

In terms of physical qualities, he had finally reached the entry threshold for the Celestial Ninefold Strike.

As a Transcendental sword technique, the first three forms of Celestial Ninefold Strike were Sharp Break, Heavy Break, and Grazing Shot.

In addition to proficiency in the sword technique itself, there were also strict requirements for the user’s potion sequences.

The function of Sharp Break was to increase hit rate, requiring the potion sequences “Sharp Weapon I” and “Dodge I”;

The function of Heavy Break was to increase armor penetration rate, requiring the potion sequences “Blunt Weapon I” and “Block I.”

The function of Grazing Shot was to deflect ranged damage, requiring the potion sequence “Projectile I.”

If the potion requirements weren’t met, although the sword technique could still be used, it wouldn’t achieve the desired effect, and higher skills would be needed to compensate.

In the popular terminology of the forums, learning the sword technique first and then taking the potions was the “Sword Sect”; taking the potions first and then learning the sword technique was the “Qi Sect.”

The Qi Sect leveled up step by step, providing a good player experience; the Sword Sect’s strength increased quickly, but the requirements for operation were very high. If your operation wasn’t good, then you were just a noob.

Because he had a deep understanding of the Celestial Ninefold Strike from his previous life, Asker chose the “Sword Sect” path, learning the Celestial Ninefold Strike first, and then slowly completing the corresponding required potion sequences.

Now, four of the five Gladiator potions had been completed. Just like Linghu Chong in “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer,” after solving the internal strength problem by learning the Yi Jin Jing, he could truly unleash the power of the Dugu Nine Swords.

Asker stood up from the bed, slowly feeling the abundant spirituality welling up in his body.

At the same time, he also felt a sense of oppression, as if he was breathing on a plateau with insufficient oxygen, feeling a little weak.

Having advanced to level 5, he had reached the current magic tide level’s strength limit and couldn’t continue to advance to level 6.

Even if a level 6 potion was placed in front of him, he would inevitably lose control after drinking it due to insufficient spirituality.

On the other hand, having advanced to level 5, he had reached the current world’s allowed peak strength.

Level 5 physical strength could already withstand the damage from ordinary firearms. His powerful muscle density and self-healing ability meant that as long as he wasn’t hit in vital points such as the eyeballs, heart, or brain, Asker could charge forward while taking bullets.

As long as the bullets were removed in time after the battle.

Chapter 50: Return to the City

Azure Longsword?

The mercenaries were speechless.

This terrifying crater in the ground, as if it had been bombed, was caused by the people from Azure Longsword?

“I’m not quite sure about this.” Asker replied, facing the gazes of the Arcane Mages.

“Hehe.” Orlin smiled faintly and didn’t press further.

Whether it was done by your people or not, I’ll definitely write it as you in my report.

The group paused by the pit for a moment and was about to move on when a passing mercenary curiously touched the remains of the powered armor, trying to open it from the outside.

Of course, it wouldn’t open, the frame was twisted and deformed.

“My god.” The mercenary clicked his tongue. Such sturdy powered armor could actually be melted by this so-called high temperature. Just how terrifying was the fire ability that the Arcane Mages spoke of?!

And such a terrifying ability came from someone in the Azure Longsword mercenary group?!

Most of the remaining mercenaries also thought of this and immediately switched sides in their minds, discarding their previous hostility towards Azure Longsword.

Jealousy? Curses? How could that be, they were incredibly strong, okay? They couldn’t wait to worship them.

Many opportunists even cast sympathetic glances at Hogg, who had previously stepped forward to taunt them.

Those glances clearly said: You’re done for.

Having offended such a powerful mercenary group, you can start preparing for your funeral, find a priest and arrange your last rites!

Hogg’s face also turned pale.

If he had seen this “powered armor graveyard” earlier, how would he have dared to jump out and provoke them so arrogantly!

He would have tucked his tail between his legs and kept quiet in the crowd.

He even put himself in Asker’s shoes and thought with fear that the reason why Asker hadn’t attacked him might be because he was wary of the presence of Rudashius and the Spartans.

After returning to the city and disbanding for free time, the people from Azure Longsword might corner him in an alley, barbecue him with flames, and destroy the evidence.

A sense of terror climbed up from his heart like a vine.

No! I have to escape quickly, I can’t just sit here and wait for death!

He carefully slowed down his pace and gradually fell behind the group.

As he passed the members of Azure Longsword, his heart beat faster, as if it was about to jump out of his chest.

“Are you okay?” Nuo happened to pass by him and asked with concern, seeing how pale his face was.

“I’m fine, don’t burn me!” Hogg was so frightened that he ran away without thinking.

“Come back! Stop!” Rudashius, noticing someone running away from the team, immediately shouted at his back.

Hogg didn’t even look back, but ran even faster upon hearing this, until Rudashius took a spear from his companion, performed a standard one-handed spear throw, and impaled the unlucky mercenary in the back.

“Anyone who deserts without permission will be dealt with on the spot by military law!” He turned his cold gaze to the mercenaries and said in a chilling voice.

The mercenaries fell silent, all lowering their heads and continuing on their way.

Asker was lost in thought and looked at Medea again.

“I just wanted to teach him a lesson.” Medea shrugged. “Who told him to make you suspect me… But I was also startled by the decisiveness and ruthlessness of the Spartans.”

…

Upon returning to Olympia, the mercenaries were warmly welcomed by the city’s residents.

In a self-governing city-state like Olympia, the citizens had a strong sense of honor. After all, most of them had never left the mountain in their lives. If the city were to be breached by the Crusaders one day, they wouldn’t even know where to flee.

According to Siris custom, after winning a battle, there would naturally be a “celebratory banquet.” This term was written as “Συμπoσιον” in ancient Siris, but obviously, different ethnic groups had different understandings of its meaning.

The mages of Olympia believed that a banquet meant discussing academics together, while having a little wine to stay energized.

The Spartans and mercenaries believed that a banquet meant drinking together until everyone was either drunk or passed out.

Therefore, in the hall of the Truth Hotel in Olympia, the banquet guests were clearly divided into two groups:

One group held their wine glasses and talked non-stop, while the other group held their wine glasses and kept pouring the wine into their mouths.

The girls of Azure Longsword were lucky. On the one hand, they belonged to the mercenary camp, so no mages dragged them into academic discussions.

On the other hand, it wasn’t very interesting to force girls to drink, especially since there were underage girls among them.

Therefore, the Spartans didn’t try to persuade them to drink, but simply gave the girls a separate table, ordered some light and delicious dishes, and also ordered juice, honey, and milk.

Seeing this, the mercenaries naturally wouldn’t go over and make things awkward for themselves, especially since the Spartans had returned with a large vat of wine.

So another, even more intense battle began.

On the hotel balcony, Asker stood there with a wine glass in hand, taking small sips while looking at the scenery outside.

This hotel was actually built on the edge of the Olympus Tree’s trunk, so from the balcony, he could see the continuous mountains in the distance and the stars in the night sky.

“Mr. Asker.” The voice of Quintus, the city lord’s son and a young noble officer, came from behind. He also held a wine glass in his hand, his elbows resting leisurely on the railing.

“What are you looking at?” He asked with a smile.

“The scenery here is quite nice.” Asker said.

“Indeed, besides the Alps, the Olympus Tree growing on Mount Olympus is the highest point humans can reach on foot.” Quintus said eloquently. “In fact, Olympia is the highest city in the world, and also the city of hope for Transcendents.”

“I hope it won’t be destroyed by the Latin Crusaders.” Asker said.

“I hope it won’t be destroyed by the Latin Crusaders.” Quintus raised his glass and repeated his words. “You know, when the name Azure Longsword appeared in the battle report, our intelligence personnel were suspicious of you.”

“After all, your mercenary group wasn’t famous before, and the records in this battle report were too exaggerated. The Union Intelligence Agency even thought that you had colluded with the Latin Crusaders and deliberately put on a show to gain our trust.”

“But my father later dismissed their suspicions.” Quintus looked into the distance and said slowly, “After all, your surname is Achilles.”

“Can a surname explain anything?” Asker asked with a smile.

“A surname can’t explain anything, but it can explain a lot.” Quintus’ words seemed contradictory.

Then, he lightly patted the railing and said with a sigh:

“Achilles… your bloodline comes from the Dragon Kingdom, but your roots are in Siris. Since your ancestors chose to stay, the name Achilles has become the link between you and this land.”

“Every generation of Achilles has been a Transcendental, even of the ‘Weapon Master’ bloodline. You don’t seem to be affected by the negative impact of supernatural abilities on fertility, you have a natural advantage in endurance and agility, and the Weapon Master bloodline maximizes your physical qualities.”

Asker understood his implication: the Achilles family had always been of the Weapon Master bloodline, which meant that they were almost equivalent to a Transcendental family (although only he was left in the current generation).

Almost no Transcendental family with even a little fame would choose to cooperate with the Catholic Crusaders.

Because once the cooperative relationship was known by the Church, it would mean betrayal, capture, and the stake.

Chapter 49: Analysis of the Scene

“Orlin Gatusso, Third-Order Gravity Mage.” The man at the front introduced himself.

A Third-Order Gravity Mage meant that his main Sequence was “Meteor” and he had reached level III. This level of strength was the backbone of the mages in Olympia.

Asker greeted him with a smile: “Hello.”

“I noticed that there are also a few Transcendents of the Arcane Sequence in your team.” Orlin glanced at Thira and Medea and said with a smile, “A suggestion: if you’re interested, you can come to the Hippocrates University in the city. We teach young Transcendents there how to effectively use their supernatural powers. I believe it will be helpful to your team members.”

“Thank you.” Asker nodded.

He had also heard of Olympia’s Transcendental University in his previous life. It was said to be a place specifically for training NPC Transcendents.

Naturally, players didn’t need to go there. However, some players who were obsessed with lore and story settings would mingle there, looking up historical secrets and then writing popular science articles and making videos for everyone on the forums.

Within the Eastern Solomon Empire, Olympia was the only city with a Transcendental University. As for why this Transcendental training system hadn’t spread to the outside world, that was a historical issue.

Starting from the Fourth Age, on the ruins of the fallen Western Solomon Empire, the former Western Solomon Empire Academy of Sciences reorganized itself into the so-called “Solomon Church.”

Simply put, it was using theology to package science, to confuse the barbarians who invaded Solomon and preserve the fire of technological civilization for humanity.

This tactic was unexpectedly effective, because for the barbarians, if you talked to them about the “light of mathematics,” the “beauty of physics,” or the “power of chemistry,” they would just give you an axe blow. But if you told them “If you don’t believe in our Lord, you will go to hell,” they would be in awe and obey you.

Coupled with small experiments like “a needle floating on water” or “retrieving a coin from boiling oil,” which seemed magical to ordinary people, the barbarians who invaded Solomon quickly converted.

Fear of the unknown and death had always been the ultimate secret to ruling through faith.

After Emperor Chardys of Eastern Solomon occupied Italy, this method of packaging theology was also brought back to Eastern Solomon by him.

Following the emperor’s orders, the Eastern Solomon Empire Research Institute also changed its name to the so-called “Eastern Solomon Orthodox Church.”

Of course, without experiencing the pain of national subjugation like Western Solomon, the Eastern Solomon Empire’s high-ups had a very ambiguous attitude towards supernatural power.

They were both hostile to powerful high-ranking Transcendents and supportive of weak low-ranking Transcendental newcomers.

They wanted to make good use of supernatural power, but they were also afraid that the supernatural forces would one day become too powerful to control.

Olympia was a product of this period, similar to the concept of a free port or tax haven in the commercial field. The empire’s high-ups allowed the Transcendents of Olympia to govern themselves, as a kind of experimental field.

And after the “Iconoclasm” at the end of the Fourth Age, other cities’ universities withdrew their supernatural disciplines, so Olympia became the only city with a Transcendental University.

As the group walked towards the town, Asker was thinking about whether to let the girls attend this university.

For some supernatural sequences that focused heavily on mental strength, mastering some theoretical knowledge might be beneficial to their spellcasting.

He was lost in thought, while the three Arcane Mages took action, using alternating high-frequency gravity changes to simulate an earthquake and destroy the nearby buildings.

The mercenaries watched the mages casting spells with longing eyes, their eyes practically glowing.

Who wouldn’t want powerful supernatural combat abilities? However, the high price of transcendental materials and potion formulas was enough to keep most people out.

Only with money could one become stronger. Whether for free-to-play players or poor NPCs, this world was equally cruel.

“That’s!” An Arcane Mage exclaimed. Everyone saw a large, funnel-shaped pit in the ground ahead.

The surrounding buildings had collapsed, the cement had melted, and numerous powered armor remains stood around, the steel frames twisted into bizarre shapes by the high temperature, silently proclaiming the terrifying explosion that had occurred here.

It was like a scene from the apocalypse.

An Arcane Mage came to the edge of the pit and picked up a handful of soil.

The humus was basically carbonized, leaving only gravel and crystals… He stared at the soil in his hand, somewhat dazed.

Rudashius also thought of the earth-shattering explosion he had seen from afar when they came down the mountain, and couldn’t help but show an extremely awed expression.

“This must be the Crusaders’ ammunition and fusion batteries, piled up here and detonated all at once!” He said incredulously.

“No, it should be an ability of the Fire Sequence.” The Arcane Mage by the pit stood up and looked at the screen of the device in his hand. “The high-energy particle density here is abnormally high.”

“If it was a small nuclear explosion caused by a single-phase nuclear fusion battery, it would also increase the high-energy particle density in the environment, right?” Orlin, the Gravity Mage, said.

“Impossible.” The Arcane Mage said categorically. “Trust me, I have a doctorate in Arcane Theory.”

“If it was a nuclear explosion caused by nuclear fusion, then the surge of energy particles comes from the conversion of mass particles. According to E=mc², the spin state ratio can be calculated.”

“I just did a rough mental calculation. The calculated spin state ratio is less than one-thousandth of the actual environmental value.”

“If it were nuclear fusion, it would have to be a strategic-level hydrogen bomb. How could there still be intact buildings around? Only a high-sequence Fire ability can transform a huge amount of low-spin-state energy particles into high-spin-state within such a small-scale system.”

The Arcane Mages engaged in academic exchanges, while the rest of the people were dumbfounded, even Asker himself had a puzzled expression.

“Then let’s assume it’s a Fire Sequence for now.” Mage Orlin said, “Based on this energy particle density, what sequence level do you estimate it to be?”

The Arcane Mage immediately showed a constipated expression:

“Probably Fire VI or Fire VII.”

“Where would such a high sequence come from… You’re saying, Law Rank?” Orlin was shocked. “Impossible, the current magic tide cap is still level 5! The user would be drained dry!”

“You’re talking about the upper limit of an isolated system. What if it’s not an isolated system?” Another Arcane Mage joined the argument. “For example, Purgatory overlapping with the main plane, spatial string oscillation causing leakage…”

“Then there should be an anomaly.” Orlin retorted. “Where’s the Purgatory aura? Where are the devils? Did you measure the hydrogen sulfide content?”

“Don’t be so rigid, Orlin.” The Arcane Mage persuaded him. “Science is about making infinite hypotheses in the face of limited evidence…”

“Hypothesize my ass!” Orlin said, almost crying. “If you submit this report, the Union will issue an order tomorrow for me to find this Law Rank Fire Sequence Transcendental, where am I going to find such a person?!”

The Arcane Mages looked at each other and suddenly remembered that, according to Rudashius, before they came down the mountain, only the Azure Longsword mercenary group was fighting the Crusaders in the center of the town.

The three of them immediately turned their burning gazes towards Asker.

Chapter 48: A Sour Taste

Azure Longsword ultimately joined the battle.

Of course, only after the tide had turned.

Soon, this clearly disadvantaged vanguard of the Latin Crusaders could only desperately retrieve their two commanders, Alfred and Joel, and retreat in defeat towards the northeast.

The blood-soaked Spartans pursued them for two full hours before slowly returning with various spoils of war, rejoining Azure Longsword.

Although Asker disdained bragging about his achievements, this didn’t stop the Spartans from showering the Azure Longsword mercenary group with praise.

After all, venturing deep into an enemy-occupied town, causing a massive explosion, and ultimately forcing the enemy commander to flee in disarray was something everyone had only seen the result of, but they could imagine the process.

Captain Asker, you and your girls are invincible!

It was a pity that the Spartans were not eloquent. No matter how much they praised them, they could only utter bland phrases like “Well done,” “Excellent,” and “A wonderful battle,” making the girls drowsy.

And the mercenaries under their command had long been impatient with these pleasantries.

“Azure Longsword? What mercenary group? Never heard of it.”

“See? They’re all women.”

“How are they all women? Am I seeing things?”

“You’re not seeing things, look at that red-haired one, that figure, tsk tsk tsk.”

The mercenaries whispered among themselves, their voices gradually growing louder.

Rudashius coughed unhappily, his face darkening.

The mercenaries, who had been harshly trained by the Spartans, immediately fell silent in embarrassment.

However, after a few minutes, their discussions gradually grew louder again.

These guys still haven’t been beaten up enough!

Rudashius was greatly embarrassed and hurriedly looked at Asker and the others.

Asker turned to Medea and asked, “Did you do it?”

Medea: ???

“I don’t know.” Medea said in confusion.

“You did it, right?” Asker said suspiciously. “It must have been you.”

“It really wasn’t me!” Medea pulled her hair in exasperation. “Why would I make them provoke you? What’s the point?!”

“After all, you have a history of this, and you have a wicked sense of humor…” Asker sighed. “Forget it.”

Medea was on the verge of tears.

“Asker, these people…” Rudashius was about to say “I will give you an explanation,” when Asker smiled and said:

“It’s okay, it doesn’t matter.”

His magnanimous statement made some of the mercenaries feel ashamed, while others took it as a sign of guilt and became even more arrogant.

A mercenary who looked like a troublemaker walked up to Asker and raised his chin arrogantly:

“You said your people defeated powered armor knights in the town center?”

“The fight is over, shouldn’t we go back now?” Asker asked Rudashius.

“Of course.” Rudashius replied. “After we collect the remains of our fallen warriors, we’ll go back.”

“Hey, don’t ignore me!” The mercenary immediately flew into a rage.

“Who are you?” Asker asked, as if he had just noticed him.

“Hogg.” The mercenary replied with a sneer.

“Hogger?” Asker said in surprise.

Hogg: …

(Hogger, an NPC from the famous online game World of Warcraft)

“What’s a Hogger?” The corner of Hogg’s eye twitched.

“Oh, it’s a strange creature with a wolf’s upper body and a wolf’s lower body, but it walks and talks like a human.” Asker explained.

“Pfft!” The girls burst into laughter. They naturally took Asker’s description as a clever metaphor and mockery of Mr. Hogg.

“You…” Hogg was about to curse, but he stopped.

Because in mercenary culture, wolves weren’t considered lowly creatures, but rather a symbol of strength.

Even some famous mercenaries had nicknames related to “wolf,” such as “White Wolf” or “Mad Wolf,” symbolizing coldness, cunning, and bravery.

You dare call me a wolf? This sounded strange to the mercenaries. How could this be considered an insult? Wolf was a very imposing nickname, okay?

However, the girls’ laughter sounded harsh and unpleasant to Hogg’s ears.

He, of course, knew that the girls were laughing at him for being uneducated, rude, and barbaric. These qualities, which were considered “typical masculinity” and excellent qualities among mercenaries, were worthless in the girls’ eyes.

Hogg finally realized why he disliked this Captain Asker.

They, mercenaries, lived with their heads on the line, fighting bravely, just so that one day they could save enough money, retire, return home, and marry a wife they liked.

But look at how this guy was living as a mercenary, his team full of beautiful girls, each more beautiful than the last.

The end point of his dream career was just the starting point for others…

Who could stand this! Hogg wished he could throw a fireball and burn all the members of this sinful mercenary group to death.

“Azure Longsword, what kind of mercenary group is that? I’ve never heard of it.” Hogg crossed his thick arms and deliberately laughed loudly.

“Hey, Hogg! They are the famous all-female mercenary group! It’s normal that you haven’t heard of them.” Someone immediately echoed behind him, obviously sharing Hogg’s sentiment.

Rudashius was furious and was about to reprimand these mercenaries when he heard Asker turn to Medea and ask again:

“You really didn’t do it?”

“No!” Medea said angrily. “You’re just being envied! It has nothing to do with me!”

Asker suddenly realized, waved his hand helplessly at Rudashius, and smiled wryly:

“Sigh, being envied.”

#￥%￥… All kinds of dialect curses popped up in the minds of the mercenaries present, along with an unpleasant sour feeling.

It was a real sour feeling, as if they had just bitten into a famous Menton lemon from West Francia, so sour that their teeth almost fell out.

Some mercenaries even thought of their childhood sweethearts, their gentle smiles and graceful figures, who were eventually married off by their hateful fathers to the fat miller at the village entrance.

Burn him! Burn this sinful heretic! The mercenaries shouted in their hearts.

Of course, they only shouted in their hearts. If they really showed their resentment on their faces, wouldn’t it confirm that they were jealous?

Therefore, they could only smile (stiffly) with tears in their eyes (holding back), looking at the leader of Azure Longsword with disdain.

We’re not jealous of you, we just look down on you! Understand?

Asker ignored them, watching the Spartans wrap the bodies of their fallen comrades in red cloaks, and said:

“Then let’s go.”

“We need to destroy the town of Olympia.” Rudashius said. “We can’t leave it as a base for the Crusaders to attack.”

“After all, this kind of urban environment with many buildings is full of natural cover against spellcasting.”

“Did you bring high explosives?” Asker asked.

“No need, we’ll leave the destruction of buildings to our Arcane Mages.” Several people wearing mage robes walked out, their arms, necks, and faces covered with dense mithril circuits.

Chapter 47: Gravity Trap

“This stairwell is too narrow.” The lead knight led his companions, charging up the stairs. Due to the bulky size of the powered armor, the knights could only go through one after the other.

“I have a bad feeling.”

“We can’t take the elevator, can we?” His companion behind him said.

Not to mention whether there was even power, the elevator’s weight limit alone couldn’t bear the weight of multiple powered armors, and the knights couldn’t possibly have the elevator slowly send them up one by one.

Rushing to the corner of the fifth floor, the knights saw a masked girl sitting on the stair railing above.

She was small, seemingly not yet an adult, with straight black hair falling past her shoulders. She wore an ordinary mage robe, her left leg bent and resting on the railing, her right leg dangling idly.

“Hmm?” Her masked face looked over.

“Get out of the way!” The lead knight drew his broadsword.

“There are no heretics up there.” The girl’s voice was clear and pleasant, but her tone seemed to be sneering.

The knights froze for a moment. The solemn oath they had taken to defend their faith when they first joined the Crusaders seemed to flash through their minds.

However, those remaining traces of fervor and sense of justice were quickly swallowed by the cold reality and a faint sense of guilt.

“We are only loyal to our monarch.” The lead knight pointed his broadsword at the girl. “God is our witness, may He bear witness to our loyalty and honor.”

“Then if God sends your monarch to hell, will you follow him down there too?” The girl said coldly.

Inside the powered armor helmet, the knight’s expression changed slightly, and then he immediately chose to thrust his sword forward.

Even if he really had to go to hell one day, at least he would drag this woman down with him!

Before the sword reached her, Thira remained seated, a low sneer coming from under her mask.

“Heh.”

The hand resting on her knee quickly flipped over.

Gravity Amplification.

The knight’s sword continued forward, but his body sank downwards strangely.

No! The ground was sinking!

The stairs beneath their feet were collapsing!

The stairs, already under a heavy load, couldn’t bear the suddenly doubled weight of several powered armor knights and instantly crumbled.

The knights, encased in steel exoskeletons, crashed through the stairs of the fifth, fourth, third, second, and first floors, landing heavily on the ground.

The violent shockwave transmitted through the armor made the knights cough up blood.

Thira waved her hand, and a pile of stones, prepared beforehand, levitated from the corner of the stairs.

These stones floated in the air and gathered into a pile. The surrounding air pressure began to drop rapidly, causing the outside air to rush in, compressing each stone tightly.

Then, she suddenly erased the air pressure below the pile of stones and doubled their gravity.

Under the influence of the atmospheric pressure above and the amplified gravity, this “cannonball” formed by numerous stones instantly passed through the holes in the stairs and smashed onto the knights’ powered armor.

The violent physical collision shattered the air pressure formula. The next second, the compressed air between the stones suddenly expanded, sending the stones shooting out in all directions.

All the powered armors were instantly pockmarked, as if they had been hit head-on by an extremely powerful shotgun.

“They’re not dead yet?” Thira clicked her tongue in wonder, looking at the knights below who couldn’t get up but were still slightly moving. “Is powered armor really that tough? Or are their bodies more resistant?”

She sighed and summoned another pile of stones – twice as many as before.

“Squad One! Please respond, Squad One!”

In the distant street, the knight shouted in vain into his helmet communicator, but only crackling noises like firecrackers came from the other side.

After a moment, the communication was forcibly cut off, and he couldn’t connect anymore.

“Squad One is silent.” The knight hurriedly reported.

“Go! Retreat!” Alfred was silent for a moment and could only give the order reluctantly.

Under the continuous suppressive fire of the sniper, the knights quickly stood up, shielding the unsuspecting knight squires and the two commanders in the center, not giving the sniper any opportunity.

Only a sniper can deal with a sniper. At this moment, Alfred deeply understood this saying.

However, Joel thought of another weapon: mortars.

If they couldn’t precisely eliminate the sniper at long range, then eliminating the entire cover where the sniper was located might be a more cost-effective and direct approach.

And it was said that the current Holy Solomon Empire, after Emperor Otto’s unreserved development of the military industry, could already produce mortars.

Not just building the shell and frame like with powered armor, and having to smuggle the internal control chips through Venetian channels, but from raw material casting to finalization, the entire production chain and supply chain had been opened up, and they were fully capable of independently producing mortars.

After returning, he must suggest to His Majesty to import a batch of mortars from the Holy Roman Empire to deal with the mages and snipers of Olympia.

Otherwise, being attacked from a long distance like this, even powered armor knights couldn’t withstand it.

“They are retreating, should we pursue?” Mia, staring at the fleeing knight squad from the shadows, asked on the radio.

“No need for us to intervene.” Asker said.

“Who?” Mia asked curiously.

“I see them.” Miel on the rooftop stared through her sniper rifle scope, looking towards the outskirts of the town.

“The Spartans are here.” She whispered into the communicator.

…

The army led by the Spartans, composed of a large number of mercenaries, arrived neither too early nor too late.

Just as they finished forming up and exited the tunnel, they were stunned by the violent explosion in the town below the mountain.

After observing for a few minutes and finding no further movement, they cautiously advanced down the mountain road.

As soon as they approached the town, they saw Alfred and the others, along with more than twenty knights, hurriedly withdrawing from the center of the town, fleeing towards another Crusader base not far to the northeast.

The Spartans tried to intercept them, while a large number of Crusader warriors also rushed out of the base to try and provide cover.

So a chaotic battle broke out near the outskirts of the town.

Frankly, Asker hated chaotic battles the most.

Once the number of people reached hundreds or thousands, even professional players couldn’t guarantee their survival.

The most important advantage that professional players had over ordinary players was their ability to read the battlefield.

However, once the battlefield became too complex, even professional players couldn’t grasp the overall situation.

On an extremely chaotic battlefield, a stray arrow or a stray bullet from a blind spot could take your life.

The most typical example was the “Unjust Crusade” in Version 3 and its expansion. The Holy Roman Empire fought against the Church alliance. The scene was grand and chaotic, with battles every day, a bunch of players dying in each battle, and corpses piling up like mountains.

Asker didn’t want his team to lose members for such a ridiculous reason before the storyline reached the “Unjust Crusade.”

Of course, even if the members of Azure Longsword didn’t participate in the battle, the Spartans wouldn’t lose easily for a while.

Chapter 46: A Series of Schemes

Two powered armor knights staggered back, their damaged vision filled with cracks.

Eleanor pressed her attack. The second squad of knights behind her charged forward, covering the retreat of the two knights with damaged helmets.

The two knights whose attacks had been blocked on the left also completed their flanking maneuver.

“I’m here too!” A roar came from behind Eleanor. Sidlipha, wielding two battle axes, also charged out, unleashing a Whirlwind Slash at the knights in front of her.

Whirlwind Slash, nicknamed the battlefield meat grinder, an ultimate move. The knights naturally weren’t foolish enough to take it head-on, so they immediately retreated.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out.

A sniper rifle bullet, fired from afar, hit one of the knights with a damaged helmet. The bullet entered through the cracked military-grade glass, stopped by the exoskeleton lining inside, and the force of the impact almost stunned the knight.

The next second, Sidlipha, stopping her Whirlwind Slash, aimed at him and unleashed a Jump Slash.

Her jump was very short, her feet barely leaving the ground, and her axe slammed into the opponent’s head, splitting the powered armor helmet open, the head inside almost split in two.

After reviewing Asker’s battle against the Black Knight and realizing that powered armor knights were not invincible, the girls had established that “the most effective way to deal with powered armor is to focus fire on the same spot repeatedly.”

And this unlucky powered armor knight, who happened to be the closest, became the first victim of their new tactic.

After taking down this knight, the two girls didn’t pursue the attack, but turned and ran.

The knights were prepared for a counterattack and siege, but seeing the enemy flee instead of attacking, they were stunned.

“Don’t rush in, it might be a trap!” Alfred gritted his teeth, but didn’t lose his judgment. He waved his hand. “First squad, advance cautiously, second squad, cover, third squad, stay back and watch the surroundings, prevent being ambushed! All squires, disperse and scout, report any situation immediately!”

So the knights cautiously advanced slowly, and the squires dispersed, staying within a circle of about 20 meters from the team, vigilantly searching the surrounding debris piles, blind corners of walls, and cover.

Suddenly, a squire’s scream came from the right. The nearest knight hurriedly rushed over and saw their squire lying in a pool of blood in the dark alley, his throat slit.

“It’s a throat cut.” Joel walked to the body and examined the cause of death. “And it’s a throat cut from behind. The killer’s technique was very fast, the wound is clean without any torn flesh, and the depth is just right.”

“So?” Alfred asked. “What’s the significance of the wound depth? I can directly decapitate with a sword.”

“It’s different.” Joel said. “Someone with greater strength would usually choose a clean decapitation, but that can easily damage the blade.”

“If you don’t decapitate, but just slit the throat, then too little force won’t achieve the purpose of killing, and too much force will cause the weapon to get stuck in the cervical vertebrae. This killer’s technique is the most efficient way.”

“So it’s a real assassin, huh?” Alfred sneered and redeployed his tactics. “All squires, from now on, operate in pairs, watching each other’s backs to prevent sneak attacks!”

The team advanced for a while, and screams, roars, and intense gunfire came from the rear left.

When the knights rushed to the scene, they found two squires, one lying on the ground and the other sitting against the wall, both dead.

“So it’s multiple assassins working together?” Alfred pondered.

“No, if it were multiple people, there wouldn’t be any gunfire.” Joel picked up the rifle on the ground and found a deep cut from a sharp weapon on it.

“The assassin first assassinated the squire in the alley and was discovered by the squire standing outside. So the squire roared and aimed at him and fired.”

“However, he didn’t hit, otherwise, there would be more bloodstains on the ground. In any case, the assassin dodged the shot in some strange way and rushed to the squire who fired, the first slash shattering the rifle, the second stab piercing the squire’s chest and heart.”

“The two bodies are more than 8 meters apart.” Alfred frowned. “There’s no cover around, how did the assassin cross this distance unharmed? Or was the squire’s marksmanship really that bad?”

“I don’t know.” Joel shook his head. “Anyway, let’s call back the squires from each squad first. At this rate, we’ll just be picked off one by one. Don’t forget the enemy also has a sniper.”

Alfred nodded and ordered the scattered squires to regroup via communicator.

So the knight squires who were searching around left the buildings they were in and returned to the knight squad in the middle of the street.

Suddenly, intense gunfire erupted. The knight squires who returned first fell like wheat, and the Crusaders on the scene were thrown into chaos.

“Don’t regroup! Roll and find cover!” Joel, finally realizing what was happening, shouted with all his might, so regretful that he almost bit off his teeth.

He had finally understood: the other side did have a sniper, but from the beginning until now, they hadn’t fired a single shot, just waiting for the moment of maximum damage.

When the squires were scattered and searching nearby earlier, because everyone’s positions were dispersed, and the environment was relatively complex, once the opponent fired and killed anyone, the others could easily find cover nearby.

Therefore, the opponent deliberately sent out assassins to assassinate the nearby lone knight squires, making the Crusaders think that this dispersed search tactic was being specifically targeted.

In order to reduce unnecessary losses, the Crusaders naturally ordered the squires to regroup.

And once the squires emerged from the cover of alleys, walls, and buildings and re-entered the open environment, that was the moment when the sniper could calmly and quickly eliminate these targets.

Damn it! This is a series of schemes! Joel was gritting his teeth when he heard Alfred, hiding behind the knights, also roar:

“Where’s the gunman? Determine the location!”

A knight immediately responded: “I saw the muzzle flash, on the roof of the six-story building at 11 o’clock, 400 meters!”

“First squad! Go and take out that sniper!” Alfred roared.

“Wait!” Joel’s heart sank. This series of schemes couldn’t only have two steps, could it?

“What if they’ve set up a trap there?!” He hurriedly shouted.

“Then what do you suggest we do!?” Alfred roared back. “Are we just going to stay here and get shot?”

Joel was speechless.

He wanted to say that maybe the other party had limited bullets and couldn’t keep shooting forever.

But when everyone was being shot at, saying something like “Hold on a little longer, comrades” would attract a lot of hatred.

Besides, he couldn’t guarantee that the sniper wasn’t lying next to a pile of ammo boxes, firing leisurely.

While Joel was hesitating, the first squad of Crusader knights had quickly approached the building.

The loud gunshots from the rooftop seemed to be calmly announcing the sniper’s location to them.

Or perhaps it was a kind of silent contempt.

Chapter 45: Search and Rescue and Counterattack

“Everyone, run a self-check, report any injuries immediately.”

“Nuo, use your Life Sequence ability to check for any anti-life radioactive dust.”

“Thira, work with Nuo and use a gentle breeze to wash away the radioactive dust.”

Following a series of commands, the members of Azure Longsword began to clean the dust off their bodies.

Although everyone was shocked, after lying on the ground for so long, their emotions had subsided.

“Where are we going next?” Eleanor asked. “To find Medea?”

If it were the game map of his previous life, Asker would definitely say “no.”

After all, such a large AOE animation could be seen by enemies from afar.

If the other party arrived first and set up an ambush, wouldn’t they be screwed?

However, in this world, Asker couldn’t give such an order, because “leaving someone to die” would have a much more negative impact on the team than being ambushed by the enemy.

So he could only order everyone to be aware of the surrounding dangers and cautiously advance towards the center of the explosion.

The further they went, the more clearly they could see the power of the explosion.

The soil had been melted into an asphalt-like substance, and the originally flat concrete wall was like a melted block of butter, covered with bumps of various sizes.

The remains of a powered armor knight lay nearby, the lower body completely melted and fused with the black ground beneath it. The exoskeleton armor of the upper body was also twisted, radiating a reddish-gold glow, like hot steel freshly taken out of a furnace.

They continued forward, reaching the center of the explosion, and saw more remains of powered armor knights, standing silently around the center of the explosion. The knight squires, without armor protection, were completely gone.

Below the collapsed building was a downward, funnel-shaped cavity, emitting a foul smell of charcoal and pale cyan smoke.

“She… couldn’t have died, right?” Eleanor stared at the center of the cavity and said in shock.

Asker didn’t answer, just stared at the cavity, silent.

After a while, a difficult cough came from below:

“I won’t die even if you die! Persian cat!”

A head with red hair, covered in sewage, struggled to pull itself out of the cavity, breathing heavily.

Medea.

There seemed to be a sewer directly below her. By immersing herself in the sewage, she had survived the chain explosions and high temperatures.

Sidlipha and Eleanor hurriedly jumped down into the funnel-shaped pit and pulled her out from both sides.

“How do you feel?” Asker squatted beside her and asked.

“Can’t you say something comforting besides that?” Medea lay flat on the ground, letting Nuo heal her, her chest heaving slightly.

“I mean, your perverted sub-personality should have communicated with you this time, right?” Asker continued to ask. “How did you get along? How did she feel to you?”

Medea looked a little dazed upon hearing this, staring blankly at the sky.

“Terrible.” She said.

…

“She can’t have gone far!” Alfred, his face livid, said in the marching Crusader knight squad. “That kind of flame… must have greatly overdrawn her spirituality! She must be in a very bad state now!”

“We received intelligence that another small squad infiltrated from the north.” Viscount Joel Crawford, King Boniface’s sword-bearer, said. “Perhaps they came to rescue her.”

“So what!” Alfred sneered. “We’ll just catch them all in one net!”

What if they are all monsters like that mage, then we’ll be wiped out… This thought flashed through Joel’s mind.

However, he quickly shook his head with a wry smile. If that were the case, this squad would have been deployed into the battlefield from the beginning, not waiting until after that mage desperately unleashed her ultimate move and was half-dead before rushing in.

Besides, that squad seemed to have less than ten people, while the Crusaders had three times their number, all battle-hardened powered armor knights. Naturally, there was no reason to be afraid of the other party before the battle.

Alfred was still urging impatiently. Joel echoed his words while ordering everyone to speed up their march. He knew the reason for Alfred’s urgency was that more than ten elite knights had been lost in the sea of fire.

In the Crusader kingdom, human lives were the cheapest, after all, there was a constant stream of Western pilgrims to replenish them. However, more than ten sets of powered armor was a considerable sum of money.

Alfred was destined to pay for this out of his own pocket, compensating the king’s coffers.

“Enemy ahead!” Following the loud warning from the knight squire, the Crusader warriors saw a tall knight standing in the middle of the street ahead.

She was wearing thick orange-yellow plate armor, a shiny shield with a double-headed eagle emblem in her left hand.

In her right hand, she held a dark golden spear, its head carved in the shape of a dragon, with a blade as thin as a cicada’s wing.

“Just one person?” Alfred laughed. “What a crude decoy and trap! Do you think we’ll fall for it so easily?”

“Grenades! Aim at the buildings on both sides, blast all the ambushing troops inside!”

Several knight squires immediately stepped forward with their guns, quickly kneeling on one knee to load grenades onto their rifles.

These assault rifles and grenade launchers were the latest batch of supplies provided by the Church to the Latin Empire, which Alfred happened to have on hand.

Several grenades, trailing white smoke, roared and shot into the buildings on both sides, followed by the loud boom of gunpowder explosions and collapsing walls.

“There seems to be no one there.” Joel frowned.

“They just died before they could scream!” Alfred said coldly. “First squad, attack! Second squad, cover and attack, watch out for her back!”

Four armored knights stepped forward, launching a rapid charge and thrust with their spears. Eleanor calmly stepped forward, blocked the attack from the left with her shield, and swung her spear horizontally with force.

The adamantine spear collided with the spears of the two knights on the right. With a sudden, violent spin, she knocked both spears away.

“Spiral Thrust?” Joel, who was staring at her from behind, was stunned.

As the signature spear technique of the West Frankish knights, Spiral Thrust was a widespread technique and not complicated to use.

When the weapons of both sides were locked in a struggle, they would rotate the spear shaft vigorously, forcing the opponent’s weapon to vibrate uncontrollably and be deflected, demonstrating the knight’s merciful style of “stopping violence without killing.”

However, the technique used by the tall knight in front of them was undoubtedly much more advanced than that of the chivalrous knights.

She first swung her spear horizontally, as if it were just an ordinary parry, and only rotated the spear shaft at the moment of impact. The force of the spear itself, coupled with the force of the rotation, could undoubtedly knock the armored knights’ weapons even further away.

So, creating a larger opening was naturally for…

“Careful!” Joel shouted immediately.

However, his warning was too late. The next second, Eleanor spun and swung her spear, a powerful Iron Cutter hitting the visors of the two knights simultaneously.

Chapter 44: A Chain Reaction

“You’re cornered, mage assassin.”

Medusa, after her continuous escapes, finally found herself completely surrounded.

The enemy seemed to have been lying in wait nearby. And her last blast of cyan flames had exposed her presence.

Now, even the slow-witted Medusa finally realized that the villa was a complete decoy.

“Your men have surrounded me, but you still don’t dare to show your face?” Medusa said with a smile, looking at the Crusader knights standing guard.

“I don’t dare.” Alfred’s voice came from a communicator carried by one of the knights. “After all, you are a mage assassin with high-sequence Fire abilities. What if you shoot a fireball at me and we both die?”

“So you’re letting your subordinates die?” Medusa retorted.

“Trying to sow discord is useless.” Alfred replied. “My position is not suitable for frontal assault, and these brave Crusader knights are all wearing fireproof asbestos cloth specifically to counter you. I’m curious, how much of your fire ability’s destructive power can you still exert under these circumstances?”

“Asbestos cloth is not a panacea.” Medusa sneered.

“But it’s enough to deal with you, respected mage.” Alfred asked, “How about it? Want to cooperate with me?”

“Cooperate?”

“If I’m not mistaken, you should have reached level 5, your abilities are ‘Fire IV’ + ‘Mind I’, correct?” Alfred said leisurely. “You understand what that means, don’t you? The Steep Path, the existence of Fire IV, makes the probability of losing control when you take heterologous potions extremely high, your path of advancement will become narrower and narrower.”

“This is not surprising, of course. Olympia is training you as a suicide weapon, naturally, they don’t care about your future.”

“But we are different. The nascent Kingdom of Thessaloniki urgently needs the help of Transcendents. Even if you develop along the Fire and Mind sequences and can only reach level 8 at most, you can still get a very generous reward here, enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life.”

The more Medusa listened, the more she felt something was wrong. The current magic tide level cap was only level 5. If she could reach level 5, that was already the limit. Why did this person speak as if it was a pity she couldn’t reach level 10?

Did this guy know that the magic tide was about to rise again? That the level cap would be raised again?

“So, what can you offer?” Medusa asked tentatively. “Don’t talk to me about money, I don’t believe you are richer than Olympia.”

“And you believe in Solomon Catholicism, how can I trust that you won’t capture me and burn me as a heretic and a witch?”

“Isn’t the evidence right here?” Alfred sneered. “You are surrounded now, with no escape. We have the absolute advantage, but we didn’t kill you immediately, doesn’t this prove our goodwill?”

“The Church hasn’t sent a bishop to Thessaloniki yet. The one responsible for spreading the faith in the diocese is our Crusader chaplain, and he will turn a blind eye to you.”

“What we can offer you is a title. Your fief will be in Serres, on the plains east of the Struma River valley. The land is fertile and rich in products, enough for you to establish a profitable manor.”

“That’s tempting.” Medusa said with a coquettish smile.

A little tempted meant she wasn’t fully convinced.

Pretending to think for a moment, Medusa continued to ask:

“Besides the title and fief, don’t you have anything more valuable? Like transcendental materials? Potion formulas? Supernatural items that can reduce the probability of losing control?”

“You’re joking. We are devout Crusader warriors, how could we collect those heretical and evil things? It took us a lot of effort to persuade the chaplain to turn a blind eye to you.”

Alfred said with a smile, “Please think again. On one side of the scale of fate is death, and on the other side is a title and fief, what are you still hesitating about?”

Alfred, sitting in the room, paused and asked the communicator next to him, “Why is there so much noise in this call?”

“It’s not a communication quality issue, it’s the sound coming from the other side.” The communicator picked up the communication device. “Sir Stekar, your breathing is too loud, it’s affecting the communication quality.”

“Sorry.” The powered armor knight wearing the communicator said, panting slightly. “It’s too hot.”

Too hot? Alfred froze for a moment, then immediately jumped up from his seat and roared:

“Fire! Kill her immediately!”

“Too late!” While the knights were stunned, extremely hot flames had already erupted from around Medusa.

She laughed hysterically amidst the flames, almost to the point of tears.

The teardrops at the corners of her eyes quickly evaporated, turning into steam.

“You think you don’t have to be afraid of flames just because you have asbestos cloth!” Her laughter stopped abruptly, replaced by a ferocious and crazed smile. “With a high enough temperature, I can even burn the air clean!!!”

An even stronger light shone from her, and a torrential heatwave spread in all directions.

The knights covered their visors with their left hands and fired blindly ahead with their right hands. A moment later, the sounds of guns exploding one after another rang out.

Because the muzzles had melted and violently collided with the ejected bullets.

Then, with the rapidly increasing brightness, even hotter flames erupted from around her.

The asbestos cloth exploded from the surface of the armor, the air contained within rapidly expanding due to the heat, and then the heat-insulating coating on the surface of the powered armor melted.

Some of the knights tried to escape, but their feet seemed to be stuck to the ground – the weight of the powered armor caused them to sink into the melting earth.

Then the single-phase nuclear fusion batteries inside their armor also malfunctioned and broke down in the extreme heat. A chain of explosions briefly suppressed the central light source, mushroom clouds rising one after another, forming a huge and strange black cloud in the air.

“Close your eyes and ears, lie down!” Guided by Mia, the Azure Longsword team, who had just entered the city, suddenly saw the dazzling light erupting ahead, and Asker quickly issued a warning.

The girls immediately lay down on the ground without thinking (from this, one could see the effect of their usual training). Then the huge shockwave of the explosion arrived, the entire ground shaking violently as if in an earthquake, causing some of the girls’ chests to ache.

Although they covered their ears with their hands, everyone was deafened for a moment, their heads buzzing.

They vaguely heard Asker shout: “Hold your breath!”

Then the shockwave of the explosion, mixed with a hurricane of radioactive dust, swept over them. Everyone hurriedly closed their eyes, pinched their noses, and lay on the ground, feeling as if they were being washed by an endless gale, sand and small stones hitting their foreheads.