Swords, magic, and martial arts

Rhodes and his companions entered the town next to the castle, and with Baron and Hammer, who looked exactly like Nords, not a single soldier came to question them.

The castle is called White Deer Castle, while the town next to it has no name and is usually called White Deer Town.

The town was bustling with activity, and the taverns were filled with mercenaries eager to profit from the war. In a few months, the Roman Empire would surely send troops to reclaim this land, and the first battle would take place at White Deer Fortress. Nord was prepared to defend the town to the death, hoping to force them to return empty-handed.

The land south of Winterfell Fortress was incorporated into the Province of Winterfell, and the Duke of Lawrence of the Province of Winterfell had already divided the seven castles south of Winterfell Fortress among the fiefs. As a result, the Province of Winterfell gained two more earls, five viscounts, and a large number of barons and knights.

However, many territories are sparsely populated, and some places are completely deserted.

At Baron's suggestion, they decided to rest in the town for a few days, as traveling on horseback every day was unbearable for both the people and the horses.

The previously plump and healthy traveling horses have all lost a lot of weight.

After wandering around the town, Rhodes found a place to practice the White Rainbow Sword Technique, eager to improve his skills.

After each practice session, he would stop to reflect and try to grasp the essence of the White Rainbow Sword Technique, but by the end of the day, he hadn't learned anything and had even slowed down the acquisition of skill proficiency. This contradictory problem made him a little irritable.

He returned to the tavern with his sword on his back and found that the atmosphere inside was very strange. The seats in the tavern were divided into two sides, and no one was sitting in the middle.

"What happened here?" Rod walked toward Baron, who was drinking from a wine glass.

"That's a whole mercenary group sitting over there. They got into a fight with other casual mercenaries as soon as they came in, so nobody wants to sit next to them," Baron said, holding his wine glass and looking at the group of mercenaries sitting opposite him.

"What's the name of their mercenary group?" Rhodes asked.

"The Blood Ravens, it's said they've been hired by the current lord of White Deer Castle to participate in the upcoming war," Baron explained, taking another sip of his drink. "The Blood Ravens are an ancient mercenary group with over a hundred years of history, having participated in countless wars. Every time they appear, they bring blood and crows. Although the Blood Ravens have declined in their current state, they still wield some influence."

Looking at the chaotic Blood Raven mercenaries, Rhode didn't think they were particularly formidable.

"The Blood Ravens have been able to exist for nearly a thousand years only because they are good at changing their stance according to the wind," Hammer said dismissively.

An adventurer nearby, who was listening intently to their conversation, couldn't help but interject, "But they do have some commendable qualities, such as never leaking information beforehand when they change employers, unlike our mercenary group."

"Which mercenary group are you from?" Hammer asked.

"You've never heard of this before. We used to be a small mercenary group of only eight people. In the end, someone betrayed us, and I was the only one who survived," the mercenary said.

Rod looked at him with pity. "You killed that traitor?"

"No." The man shook his head, then suddenly grinned foolishly. "Because that traitor is me."

After he finished speaking, he left his seat, ran to the tavern entrance, turned back and grinned foolishly at them, then ran out, waving his arms and legs excitedly.

Rhodes: "..."

"Are there many mentally ill people like this nowadays?" asked another mercenary who was listening to their conversation. He was blind in one eye, but he didn't cover the necrotic eye with a black eye patch.

The necrotic eye made him look somewhat frightening.

Rod glanced at him, not wanting to speak, fearing this man might become as insane as the one from before.

"I don't know." Weber finally responded to him.

"There are many, like me." The man chuckled.

"Just kidding," he said. "I know that guy. The traitor he was talking about is his own brother. He let his brother go in the end, but then he felt guilty for his dead brother, so he went mad."

"You're not going to say you're his brother next, are you?" Rod suddenly asked.

"You actually figured it out?" the man said. "Yes, that's me."

"Are you kidding me again?" Weber asked.

"Isn't joking fine?" the man laughed. "I'm not joking with you guys anymore, I'm going back to sleep now." After saying that, he went upstairs to the second floor.

"I know them," Baron, who hadn't spoken before, said. "I know them. They really are brothers. The one who was talking to you just now, the one who used to be called 'Kind-hearted' Eden, the last time I saw them, they were surrounded by many companions. And Jori's eye isn't blind yet; it was probably caused by the companion he betrayed last time."

"Have you ever been a mercenary at the border before?" Hammer asked.

"No, this is my first time at the border. He had been to the Nord interior before, and we met in a tavern," Baron replied.

……

After quickly filling his stomach, Rhodes rested for a bit before taking his sword out to practice the White Rainbow Sword Technique again. The White Rainbow Sword Technique is more defensive, and Rhodes felt that it would be more effective to find someone to practice with.

He remembered Weber, who had learned the art of "Embracing the Origin and Guarding the One" from him. He thought that Weber would be very willing to learn the White Rainbow Sword Technique, since Weber used a one-handed short sword and could also use the White Rainbow Sword Technique.

Rod ran back to the tavern and dragged Webber to the open space where he had previously trained.

"Then you take the sword and attack me," Rhodes said to Webber.

"My attacks aren't very powerful, but my sword speed is very fast, so you have to be careful," Webber said.

"It's alright, I'm wearing dragon scale armor, so come on in," Rhodes said.

Weber nodded, his short sword flashing like lightning. Rhodes instinctively used the White Rainbow Sword Technique to parry the attack and knock Weber's short sword to the ground. However, he was then struck by the dagger in Weber's other hand.

Rhodes forgot that Webber was dual-wielding. Webber had anticipated this outcome; he didn't use the incredibly sharp dagger of the Death God priest, but instead used an ordinary iron dagger.

"Again," Rod said, getting into position.

This time, Rhodes was hit by Webber more than ten seconds later.

"Let's continue," Rod said again.

……

After practicing for half a night, Rhodes was able to use the White Rainbow Sword Technique to withstand two minutes of attacks from Webber without being hit.

Webber saw that it was getting late and was in a hurry to go back to practice Yuan Shouyi. He told Rod about it and left, saying he would practice with him again tomorrow.

Practicing with Webber in the martial arts section will increase his proficiency in the White Rainbow Sword Technique and basic sword techniques, but the rate of increase is the same as when Rhodes practices against thin air. However, he has begun to understand the White Rainbow Sword Technique, and after a few more practice sessions, he should be able to grasp its essence.

After thinking for a moment, Rod realized that continuing to practice would be worse than going back to cultivate the Divine Illumination Technique. If only he could grasp the essence of the Divine Illumination Technique, since the Divine Illumination Technique's skill level couldn't be upgraded through proficiency, but only through a lottery.

He jogged back to his room in the tavern, ate, took a shower, and then sat on the bed to begin practicing the Divine Illumination Technique.

Just as he was getting into the swing of things, it became noisy outside. He stopped practicing and thought about the beast tide in Frostwood Town, but since there was no forest nearby, such a thing shouldn't happen here.

But could it be that the Roman Empire launched an attack ahead of schedule?

That's quite possible. They might take advantage of the fact that the Nord Kingdom's forces haven't been deployed yet to launch a surprise attack.

Rod stepped out of the room to find out what was happening outside...