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.
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