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?”
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