Iron Powder and Spellcasters

  Chapter 2 The last sword fight

   557 years of the imperial calendar [26 years after the prologue]

   United Provincial Republic [Another name for the Piedmont Republic]

  Gui Tucheng

   It was a midsummer afternoon, cloudless.

  The sun turned the whole city into a steamer, killing all life.

   "Hold on, you will win." Winters, a third-year officer student at the Army Officers Academy, told himself.

   He bit his lip, trying desperately to restrain his instinct to breathe through his mouth.

  [Winters Montagne/WintersMontagne]

breathe! The key is to breathe!

   Winters tried his best to maintain abdominal breathing, actively controlling the rhythm, making each inhalation and exhalation as long as possible.

  The air with body temperature spewed out of the nose, hit the inner wall of the full-wrap helmet, and returned with a stinky smell of sweat.

   With the current temperature, it should be time to take a bath and enjoy the cool breeze.

   But it was this oven-like heat, but Winters was wrapped tightly all over his body.

   He was wearing a full set of cotton armor, and a training armor on the outside of the armor.

   This training armor is a cavalry plate armor that was removed from the corpses of nobles in the Sovereign War 30 years ago.

   Because the War Department wants to save as much teaching money as possible, only these second-hand goods are available for military students.

   Of course, what Winters used was not the armor of the great nobles. Those gorgeous and elegant high-end goods were taken home by the generals as decorations.

  The officers and students use the armor of those knights who really rush to the front line.

  These low-level nobles sold their ancestral property in exchange for war horses and armor, and brought their family spears and swords to follow their monarchs to Försland to make a fortune.

  [Forthland Mountain Front, which is today the United Provinces Republic]

   They thought the enemy was nothing more than a rebel army of traders, serfs, and artisans.

   But it was the traders, serfs and craftsmen who had the last laugh, and the knights could only bury their bones in a foreign land.

  No one remembers who they were or where they came from, except for this set of armor with bullet holes and scratches that proves they ever existed.

   These armors are plain looking with little decoration and mostly unpolished. But the advantage lies in the solid materials used, because its quality is related to the user's life.

  The people from the Army Ordnance Bureau took all the accessories below the skirt armor of these armors and distributed them to the cavalry units as brand new leg armors.

   A batch of left shoulder armors were removed from other captured armors and replaced the original right shoulder armors of these armors.

  The right shoulder armpit of the cavalry armor has a gap in order to facilitate the holding of the lance, and the Ordnance Bureau did not want to go to the trouble of building another batch of right shoulder armor.

   "There's no distinction between the shoulder armors anyway!" That's what they said.

   The Ordnance Bureau registered this batch of second-hand assembled goods as [Newly built high-quality three-quarters], and sent them to the Luyuan for the use of military students.

   In many of the armors, the gaps hit by the muskets were not repaired, but the gaps were hammered flat.

   A few more holes are not a big problem, after all, officers and students will not wear these armors on the battlefield.

   It is not the bullet holes on these armors, nor the weight of these armors, that torment officers and students, but the excellent thermal conductivity of iron armors.

  In winter, it will quickly take away your body temperature. In summer, the external heat is efficiently transferred to the inside of the armor.

  Winters looked like he had just been fished out of boiling water. The cotton armor under the armor was soaking up the heat and sweat, and it stuck to his back.

   Sweat flowed down from his forehead, and from time to time it would get into his eyes, so hot that the eyeballs hurt.

   He was wearing a helmet, so he couldn't reach out and rub it, so he could only endure it.

  Whenever wearing these training armors older than his age in midsummer, Winters sincerely thanked the bureaucrats of the Ordnance Bureau for not filling the holes in the armor.

   After all, with them, the ventilation can be better.

   In swordsmanship classes, the more holes in the training armor, the more sought-after it is for this reason.

  The officer in charge of the armor twenty years ago probably would not have imagined that his laziness would have done a good thing.

  These armors have been used for nearly 30 years since the establishment of the Army Officers Academy.

   In the foreseeable future, he will continue to torment Winters' apprentices.

   But Winters doesn't have any extra thoughts to pity the younger generation now.

   He just wanted to tear off the burden on his body and pour cold water in the end.

  Before this match, he had already fought two other swordsmen.

   He won and consumed a lot of stamina.

   Now this game is extra important and extra difficult.

   After more than 20 rounds of competition, the muscles in Winters' shoulders were as hot as red-hot iron blocks, as stiff as a door shaft that had not been oiled for decades.

  The muscles of his forearm are involuntarily causing the whole arm to tremble, and his hands are almost unsteady on the hilt of the sword.

  The sword in his hand is exactly why he has to wear plate armor in the sweltering heat.

  Sword, probably the most subspecies weapon in the world.

  The sword in Winters' hand has a relatively short history, probably less than two hundred years.

  It has a total length of 1.3 meters, which is about the distance from the armpits and four fingers of an adult man of 1.8 meters to the ground.

  The blade has no blade and is nearly 1 meter in length.

   Its sword grid is very large, two feet in length.

  The huge sword grid is the soul of this weapon, without it, many sword moves cannot be performed.

   This sword is very long, longer than most swords. Its center of gravity is in the front of the sword grid, and it must be used with both hands to exert its power.

   Compared to its length, its weight is surprisingly low. The sword that Winters is using weighs only 1.4 kilograms.

   In most cases, officers and students call it "sword".

  If other kinds of swords appear in the conversation, which leads to confusion, officers and students will call it "the sword we practiced".

   Or simply because it is longer than ordinary swords, it is called "long sword".

The    long sword is only 1.4 kilograms, but the force is enough to smash bones and split flesh.

   That's why Winters risked heatstroke on hot summer days and wore a full set of cavalry armor.

   Winters, as well as his opponents, use real guys with no edge.

   Winters was almost boiled in sweat, but he didn't care.

   All he wanted was to win this game, the man he hadn't beaten in six years.

   And now, it is the closest he has come to winning, and possibly his last chance.

   Through the grid viewing window on his helmet, he glanced at the scoreboard on the sidelines.

   He had 17 points, his opponent had 12, and he had never been more than 5 points ahead of his opponent.

   Whoever gets 20 first wins, and Winters now has match point.

   He repeatedly told himself: "Calm down, calm down, just three points."

   His brain quickly thought: "If Ike wants to catch up with the score, he must take the initiative to attack. I can wait for a flaw."

   Made up his mind, Winters entered the playing field from the waiting area.

   His right foot stretched out half a step, his lower body was firmly in a T-step, and his waist was straight. The right hand held the hilt in front of the left hand behind, both hands sunk to the height of the navel, and the tip of the sword pointed upwards towards the opponent's throat.

  The long sword skill practiced by Winters originated from the father of the country, the field marshal of the Union, and the master swordsman [Ned Smith]. One of the core contents of this sword skill is “stance”.

   Winters' stance at the moment is called "plough style", which is both offensive and defensive.

   And he prefers to keep his strong hand and strong side forward at the same time.

   He knew very well that his stamina had dried up, and his stiff posture must be funny to the onlookers, but he didn't want to lose face.

   The time in my mind always flies faster, and a lot of things go through my mind, but only a few seconds have passed in the real world.

   Winters' opponent was approaching him with a posture similar to Winters.

  As Winters expected, he had match point in his hands and his opponent decided to play more aggressively and aggressively.

  Otherwise, one of Winters' gambling raids could end the game in no time.

   The tip of the opponent's sword also pointed at Winters' head, but his feet moved toward Winters' right hand, trying to occupy Winters' sideways position.

   Winters naturally wouldn't let him do so, and he adjusted his pace accordingly.

   The two of them are like looking in a mirror, their stances are the same, their steps are the same, and even their breathing rhythm tends to be synchronized.

   circled a few steps, and the distance was getting closer, and their sword tips began to collide.

   Winters' eyes did not blink, and the tip of the sword began to collide, which meant that the two entered the attacking range of the other at the same time.

   The opponent confidently took the initiative to control the long sword and Winters' long sword, as if provocative.

   Blades clashed, making a crisp sound.

   This small bump will not bring any advantages, but it is an extremely effective psychological tactic.

   Aggressive attitude can put great psychological pressure on opponents.

   Winters has yet to notice that when he decides to take a defensive counterattack, his momentum is already a little short.

   He thinks that he is a sound and reasonable decision-making, which is an external manifestation of lack of self-confidence.

   Because Winters clearly knows that the opponent's hard power is better than him, and he still can't figure it out: how did he lead by 5 points?

   So he asked for stability.

   If his opponent had a 5-point lead, he would have hit him in the face long ago.

   Seeing Winters guarding the center line, his opponent began to adjust the attack direction.

   The opponent turned the blade around the weighted ball, and turned the tip of the blade, which was originally pointing to Winters' right, to the left.

   Winters immediately realized that the opponent's attack was coming!

  His opponents are incredibly strong, often able to knock Winters' longsword off the centerline with his steely arms.

   Immediately after, his opponent would quickly take a step forward, jammed his blade with a sword grid, and stabbed Winters in the chest with a high stab from top to bottom.

   This is each other's forte - the two are so familiar with each other that they can understand what the other wants to do with just a small gesture.

   Winters reacted subconsciously, seeing that the opponent's sword turned to his right, he changed his posture and swiped to the right in advance.

   This will be a head-on collision, and whoever has the advantage in the ensuing sword wrap will score points.

   But the opponent's sword tip made a circle in the air and returned to its original position.

   This is actually a fake, Winters has cold hands and feet, and there is only one thought in his mind: "Oops!"

   There is never a "three hundred rounds of war".

   Armorless swordsmanship, one move can determine the winner.

   Eat the fake action and it's all over.

   Although Winters was too late to think, his swordsmanship instinct was still there.

  Instinct replaced thinking to control the muscles, he changed the sword to the left and tried to adjust the posture back.

   Too late, the opponent has attacked from the left of Winters.

   He did not directly take Winters' torso, but first used his strong sword to smash Winters' weak sword.

   Winters' long sword was knocked out of position.

   At the same time, the opponent's left leg muscles exploded with strong force like a spring, and his right foot strode forward.

   The long sword in his hand quickly circled back to the top, and the "Thunderbolt" was coming!

What   Winters will face is a brutal top-down slash.

  The blade drew an arc, and the speed was fast enough to make the sound of wind.

  This time, the long sword was aimed at the neck.

   Without the slightest pity, and without the slightest strength, the sword slammed firmly on Winters' left shoulder collarbone.

"when!!!"

   A loud noise that makes people unbearable to hear.

   Even the onlookers squinted their eyes subconsciously.

   Whistle!

   Valid score.

   Winters' opponent was not at all careless. He quickly drew back his long sword and used a horizontal sword posture to block Winters' possible counterattack direction.

   He doesn't give Winters any chance to "fight back".

  Backstroke, that is, a counterattack within one beat after losing a point. According to the competition rules of the Luyuan, once this happens, it will be regarded as the death of both parties, and neither side will score.

   Winters' opponent will never give Winters a chance to fight back.

   But the opponent actually thought too much, and he forced him to strike a "bold from the blue" with all his strength, just like being decapitated through the armor.

   Winters couldn't fight back, because he was so painful that he was close to suffocating.

   Winters' neck armor, shoulder armor and breastplate spread the force over his entire torso—if not, a single blow could shatter half of his shoulder, even with a dull sword.

   But the spot where his collarbone was hit still hurt like a toe squeezed by the door.

   The intense pain paralyzed Winters' muscles, and he could barely move for a while.

   His central nervous system responded to this intense stimulation, releasing a large amount of adrenaline and endorphins rapidly in his body.

   After a brief but severe pain, Winters was suddenly able to breathe again.

   He gasped heavily, pointed to his left neck armor, and signaled to the referee that he was hit here.

   The referee gave a decision of "3 points" without hesitation, and the scorer changed the score to [17:15].

There was thunderous applause from the    training room.

   This applause is not a humiliation to Winters, this is the tradition of Luyuan, officers and students will applaud for a wonderful battle.

   In fact, even Winters wanted to applaud the opponent's attack.

   is really wonderful: simple and effective fake moves, clean cuts, watertight back defenses, the whole set of moves is outrageously handsome.

   Of course, it would have been better if the backdrop wasn’t Winters himself.

   hit Winters from the tip of the two swords and was hit in less than two seconds.

   The winner was decided in a single breath, and many students on the sidelines were unable to see the movements of the two sides because of the bad angle.

   I only saw Winters slammed hard in the blink of an eye, and the whole person was smashed to the point of being unsteady.

   In addition to the pain, there was more depression in Winters' mind.

   Marshal Ned's swordsmanship emphasizes the first move, encourages simple and direct strikes, praises the rush to suppress the enemy, opposes flashy sword moves, and criticizes all unnecessary fakes.

  Because Marshal Ned believed that a qualified swordsman would never be easily deceived by fake moves, and an unqualified swordsman would never win against a qualified swordsman.

  When facing a skilled swordsman, using fake moves indiscriminately is like giving the opponent the opportunity to shoot.

   Eat fake moves, in Winters' eyes, is more shameful than standing still and being beaten.

   "Is something wrong? Let's call again after a break?"

   The opponent did not return to the waiting area in the corner of the arena. Seeing that Winters became swaying, he asked Winters with concern.

   The opponent's voice came out of the helmet and passed into the other helmet, which sounded muffled.

   Winters endured the pain and tentatively moved his shoulders a few times to make sure the bones were okay.

   So the young male's aggressive nature overcomes pain.

  Although he really wanted to sit on the sidelines and rest for a while, he couldn't let go of his self-esteem.

   "It's okay, continue." He leaned on his shoulders and said through gritted teeth.

   "Let them fight first, we'll come back later." The opponent was still worried.

   Winters repeated: "It's okay, go on."

After   , he walked back to the waiting area with heavy steps.

   The opponent sighed and walked back to his waiting area.

The    whistle sounded again, a new round began, and the two entered the field again.

   Blood rushes in Winters' chest, and the fire in his bones gradually suppresses reason.

  The defense will be passive, he thought, and the passive will eat fake moves.

   Be sure to attack! attack! attack! A vicious thrust into the head wins.

   So in the new round, as soon as the two sides exchanged swords, Winters immediately launched a surprise attack.

   A decisive big step and a high level stab, straight to the opposite door.

   The sword principle of this thrust is to raise the body of the sword after the sword is crossed, use the sword grid to block the enemy's attack line, and at the same time threaten the opponent's head.

   Not to mention, Winters' fierce and reckless thrust really surprised his opponent.

  Because before this, Winters' playing style was exceptionally stable, so stable that he was almost unplayable, and so stable that he rarely fell behind by five points.

   However, the instinct of the opponent's top swordsman was still there, and the swordsmanship instinct covered the panic caused by Winters' thrust.

When    Winters stepped forward, the opponent also took a quick step back.

   Blades intersected, sparks scattered, making a crisp sound.

   Immediately afterwards, the opponent pushed his strong blade to the tip of Winters' sword when the blades scraped against each other. With another strong force, Winters' blade was pressed down.

   A strong blade has a natural advantage in torque over a weak blade, and Winters could not effectively fight against it in terms of strength. His blade was lowered, and the tip of the blade was detached from the opponent and pointed to the ground.

   At the same time, the opponent twisted the long sword and blocked Winters' possible slashing route with the sword grid, not giving Winters a chance to change his moves.

   Beyond that, the opponent did only one thing.

   He moved his wrist slightly, keeping the tip of his sword pointed at Winters' stomach.

   In the next instant, Winters himself bumped up.

   Whistle!

   It was thunderous applause and applause again, because it was another round of wonderful performances, still less than two seconds.

   The winner is decided in one breath.

   The opponent seemed to easily hit Winters' torso and scored two points, but how many people knew about the tactical game?

   Winters pointed to the poked position on the training armor, and walked quickly back to the waiting area.

  The score became 17:17, tied.

   The referee and the opponent looked at each other, and both shook their heads helplessly.

  During six years of being together, both of them could see that Winters' fiery temper was coming back.

   Winters in this state is completely two people in peacetime. He is no longer the gentle, casual, always wanting to yawn Mr. Montagne.

   He is now irrational, and his mentality is close to collapse.

   But the game has to go on.

   When the two returned to the waiting area, the opponent began to seriously think about a question: "Want to let Winters once... After all, it may be the last time."

   Another new round, Winters kept his "furious style" when he entered the field.

  Rage is an energy-storing stance, just as withdrawing the fist can make it more powerful, so is swordsmanship.

  The swordsman will bring the hilt to the shoulder, hold the long sword high, and launch a top-down slash at any time.

The    angry slashing power is amazing and the slashing stroke is long, but the intention and direction of the attack are too obvious.

   At this moment, Winters' mind has been occupied by a thought: "Attack."

  The two sides have drawn, and Winters is not as good as his opponent in physical strength, skill and patience. If he wants to win, he has to rely on audacious offense - at least that's how he convinces himself, and there's some truth to it.

  When everyone thinks that someone has lost his mind, he actually has a crooked reason that can convince himself, and maybe it is very convincing.

The idea of ​​   attack itself is right.

   But Winters failed to realize that his intent to attack was too obvious to pretend to be invisible.

   The next second, the opponent also put on an angry pose.

   The two were once again looking in a mirror, their movements were exactly the same, and they stood face to face.

   Winters understood the other party's thoughts. [Angry style] was the posture of Winters handing over to the other party when they first met.

   In the six years of swordsmanship lessons, the two of them always cooperated with a few swordsmanships in contact with Fury.

  Yes, Winters has practiced Ned's longsword since childhood, and the other party only started six years ago.

   But now, the friend standing opposite him is better than blue.

   When the opponent puts on an angry pose, he is telling him that he can choose a flat jab to get the three points, because a straight jab is always faster than a strong slash - this is what Winters told the opponent.

   He is handicap.

   Winters' rival, classmate and closest friend, wants him to win once.

   But Winters suddenly didn't have such a strong desire to win. It wasn't that he was angry. Instead, his sanity is gradually returning.

   This is the last time the two will compete in swordsmanship class, and it may even be the last time.

  Because the so-called graduation means that the partners who get along with each other day and night realize that they may never meet again in the future.

   Win or lose, it doesn't matter, Winters suddenly doesn't care.

   So this round, the two didn't play any tricks.

   The opponent forcibly opened the center line with stronger strength, stabbed straight, and hit.

   This was the expected result, Winters threw away the long sword and walked towards the opponent with outstretched arms.

   Whistle!

   He gradually realized that something was wrong, not 3 points, but 2 points!

   The opponent did not attack the head, and Winters was hit in the chest.

   Now the score is 17:19, and there is one point left to end the game.

   Winters coughed violently as his shoulder, which had been relieved, started to hurt again. He wanted to end the game decently with a warm hug, but suddenly found that he had another round to play.

   The embarrassment is comparable to crying at the funeral next door.

  Fortunately, he hadn't picked it up yet, otherwise he would have been embarrassed.

   Winters picked up his sword and paced back to the waiting area.

   is another new round, and it’s still an angry start.

   The opponent slashes diagonally, and Winters uses his sword to block;

   The opponent drew his sword and switched sides, and Winters also switched directions to block;

   The opponent drew his sword again to switch sides, and Winters subconsciously continued to block with the blade.

   In the blink of an eye, the two sides fought three swords against each other, and it seemed to be a play of lightning.

   Winters is now relying on instinct to fight the sword, but he has vaguely sensed the taste of conspiracy.

   So when he realized that the distance between the other party and him was rapidly shortening, he fell into a great panic.

   He understood all at once.

   He yelled in a hurry: "[Vicious swearing]! You want...[more vicious swearing]..."

  It was too late, his personal attack was not well conveyed to the opponent.

   The other party could only hear the vague wailing from his helmet.

   The opponent changed to holding a sword with one hand, the left hand cooperated with the sword grid to control the body of Winters' sword, and the right hand grabbed Winters' shoulder suddenly.

   At the same time, he stumbled under his feet.

   A simple fall from the leg, plus a top push with full body weight.

  Poor Winters was knocked down again with a man and armor, and was pressed down by the other side.

   The opponent smiled and tapped Winters' helmet with the hilt of his sword.

The    training room burst into thunderous applause and laughter for the third time.

  Since it is a swordsmanship competition, then of course boxing cannot score, and wrestling cannot score.

   But after knocking down and controlling the opponent, use the blade to damage the target.

efficient! get a point.

  Wrestling is also a part of swordsmanship - Marshal Ned Smith.

The    whistle blew, and the referee shouted: "Victor, Axel of Orange!"

   That's it, the last swordsmanship match ended with a wrestling.

   Winters collapsed to the ground, panting with a wry smile, and he didn't even have the strength to move his fingers.

   [Q: Isn't it not like carving a boat to seek swords when practicing swordsmanship without armor? 】

   [A: The swordsmanship that Winters and his friends learned is armorless swordsmanship, but because they don't have today's lightweight composite protective gear, they still have to wear armor when practicing for safety]

   [Q: The military academy does not teach fighting, but does teach swordsmanship? Are you kidding? 】

   [A: No kidding, the military academy also teaches dancing. The curriculum at the Brienne Military Academy, with two dance lessons a week, two reading lessons, and two hours of entertainment—all in the nineteenth century. Brienne Military Academy has two famous graduates: Napoleon and Davout]

   [The swordsmanship course of the Alliance Army Academy should be regarded as a sport rather than practicality]

   [and: wrestling is really part of swordsmanship]

   [Strong sword body/weak sword body, strong sword body refers to the part of the long sword close to the hilt, and weak sword body refers to the part of the long sword close to the tip of the sword. When your strong sword body hits the opponent's weak sword body, we can know through the principle of leverage and the theorem of impulse that your strength will be proportionally amplified, making it easier for the opponent's long sword to lose its original position. At the same time, there is also a distinction between real blade and fake blade in long sword art, so I won't go into details here]

   [The rear strike is designed to simulate the possible perishing situation that may occur in actual combat. A large number of records show that people will not be instantly disabled when they encounter fatal injuries. They still have a chance to make a final counterattack]

   [Therefore, according to the rules of the swordsmanship competition of the Alliance Army Officers Academy, if the hit player can successfully counterattack within one shot, neither of them will score points]

   (end of this chapter)