Chapter 77 : Chapter 77
Chapter 77. And (4)
Fifteen days later.
Olinto and Liviano were leading the regular training of the Special Task Force Company.
"Everyone, focus and swing your swords!"
"Don't waste a single opportunity and train with all your heart!"
Originally, it was Chevalier who led the regular training.
The reason the two of them were able to lead this training now was none other than this.
They had now mastered the basics of the Broom Swordsmanship.
In fact, they had not only mastered the basics, but also almost all of the Broom Swordsmanship's secret techniques and methods.
As Roden had predicted, it was not a very difficult task for the two men, who had already mastered a swordsmanship once, to learn the Broom Swordsmanship anew.
Olinto, watching the soldiers of the Special Task Force Company training without any trouble, opened his mouth.
"Everyone seems to have gotten used to the basics now, don't you think?"
"It seems so. We'll have to impart the secret techniques and methods to them soon. Just as the Company Commander did for us."
"Yes. We'll have to."
In fact, when Roden first said he would impart the Broom Swordsmanship, the two men only half-believed him.
It wasn't that they thought he wouldn't impart the Broom Swordsmanship.
They just thought that while he would impart the swordsmanship, he would not teach them the secret techniques or methods.
But they were wrong.
Roden, as if it was no big deal, taught them all of the Broom Swordsmanship's secret techniques and methods.
As a result, Olinto and Liviano could not help but be greatly shocked.
This was because a Superior Swordsmanship was generally something so precious that it was treated as a family heirloom.
Olinto and Liviano also cherished the Superior Swordsmanship they had each learned in this way.
But to give something like this away so readily for his subordinates.
The two men could not help but be shocked, and at the same time, this feeling arose.
Respect.
A feeling that could only be named as such.
"Come to think of it, the Company Commander has always been like that. He has always been unsparing with what he has for his subordinates. Didn't he personally make and feed us elixirs twice a day to save us all?"
"Is that all? The bows and shields we use. Didn't he imbue all of them with special abilities? Pouring in his own personal time all evening. That must have been one of the secret techniques the Company Commander possessed."
"What kind of secret technique was that? When the enemy cavalry was chasing us, the Company Commander went out alone and repelled them several times."
"Wasn't it that the cavalry was intimidated by the Company Commander's presence and ran away in fear?"
"Hahaha. That was the soldiers' misconception. Anyway, the more I think about it, the more I realize how much we owe the Company Commander."
"Yes. Thanks to the Company Commander, everyone's lives were saved, and we are getting stronger much faster."
The soldiers were still training according to the training method they had been following before the rear disturbance operation.
Stretching, massage, cold water compress, and nine hours of deep sleep were the basics.
The person on meal duty was still making elixirs twice a day and distributing them to the company.
Previously, Roden, Chevalier, Olinto, and Liviano, who could sing the Aurasong, had to take turns on meal duty, but now that was no longer necessary.
This was because, besides the four of them, there were now many others who could sing the Aurasong.
For that reason, it was much easier to provide elixirs by appointing a person on meal duty than before.
In addition, as it became possible to gather high-density mana in one's vicinity, which was the original effect of the Aurasong, it became possible to reproduce the training of that time even without Roden.
For Roden, who needed his own time, it was a very fortunate thing.
Because they were following the training method so well, the soldiers' levels were rising rapidly.
The fact that the number of 1-star knights, which had previously been six, had increased again in fifteen days was proof of that.
In fact, it was not only the soldiers whose levels were rising rapidly.
The officers of the Special Task Force Company also felt the effectiveness of the training.
Since the officers had always been exceptionally talented, it was inevitable that they felt the effect even more keenly.
This was also the reason why Olinto and Liviano felt that they owed a particularly great debt to Roden.
"Is that why? I feel even more disappointed. That he is only imparting the new Superior Swordsmanship to the Infantry Platoon Leader."
"Me too. I know that the Infantry Platoon Leader has followed the Company Commander for a long time and that they have a special relationship where they share everything, but it feels like there's a wall between us."
The two men were not simply disappointed because they were not being taught the Variola Swordsmanship.
They were disappointed because they felt a sense of distance from Roden, a person they respected so much.
"……"
"……"
The two men fell silent for a moment, as if their minds were complicated.
And Olinto broke the silence and muttered.
"…Maybe I should also share the Superior Swordsmanship I have learned with the Company Commander."
Hearing Olinto's words, Liviano was startled.
That meant that he was willing to share his family heirloom with Roden.
"Are you serious?"
"I'm serious. I received the Broom Swordsmanship first, so what's the problem with sharing my Superior Swordsmanship?"
"That makes sense, but…"
"Above all, I also want our Special Task Force Company to become even stronger than it is now. So that no one dies, no matter what enemy we face."
"Ah…"
In fact, Liviano felt the same way.
He had a special affection for the Special Task Force Company that could not be simply described as camaraderie.
For that reason, Olinto's words could not help but resonate with him even more.
In the end, Liviano, as if he had also made up his mind, opened his mouth.
"Then I'll have to share my Superior Swordsmanship with the Company Commander as well. So that our entire company can use it."
This time, it was Olinto's turn to be surprised to hear Liviano's words.
"You too, really?"
"Did you think I was someone who didn't know how to repay a favor?"
"To be honest, I didn't think you knew very well."
"What? You bastard?"
"Hahaha. It's a joke."
The two men burst into hearty laughter that seemed to shake the training ground.
The soldiers, who were engrossed in their training, belatedly discovered them and tilted their heads.
For some reason, looking at the two men's smiles, they felt as if a long-standing burden had been lifted.
***
Meanwhile.
Roden and Chevalier were practicing separately in a suitable open space outside the earthen fortress.
This was because they needed separate time like this to impart the Variola Swordsmanship quickly.
Of course, today,
Clang! Chaeng! Chaeng! Clang!
They were sparring, not imparting swordsmanship.
"Hah!"
Chevalier, who had been exchanging blows with Roden, took the offensive with a shout.
At the same time, Chevalier's sword multiplied into three.
It was the secret technique of the Variola Swordsmanship.
"Not bad!"
But Chevalier was not the only one who had learned the Variola Swordsmanship.
Roden, who had also learned the same swordsmanship, also created afterimages.
However, the number of afterimages was different.
While Chevalier mixed one real sword and two afterimages, Roden faced him with only three afterimages.
This was possible because Roden's aura level was higher than Chevalier's.
Swoosh. Swoosh. Chwaak!
As a result, two pairs of afterimages clashed and disappeared, and the remaining real sword cut through the afterimage and was swung at Roden.
However, Roden, who had located the real sword thanks to the afterimage, had no difficulty in receiving Chevalier's attack.
Chaeng!
Chevalier looked disappointed at the sight.
"Tsk."
But there was no time to be disappointed.
Roden, not missing this opportunity, used the secret technique of the Incapie Swordsmanship.
Vwoom! Vwoom! Vwoom!
Roden had only swung his sword once.
But even though he had only swung it once, the sword was swung two more times along the same path.
The reason was none other than this.
It was because he had given a stacking effect to the aura with the secret technique of the Incapie Swordsmanship.
Moreover, the Incapie Swordsmanship did not create afterimages to deceive the enemy.
It was possible to stack real attacks, and thanks to that, it was possible to attack the enemy with tremendous power.
Chevalier, startled, thrust his sword forward to block Roden's sword.
But,
Chaeng! Whir! Thud!
Due to the enormous power, Chevalier's sword slipped from his hand, spun in the air, and was embedded in the ground.
Chevalier stared blankly at the sight and then declared his surrender.
"I have lost."
"You've worked hard."
Roden nodded and stepped back.
At that, Chevalier walked to the back, pulled out the sword that was embedded in the ground, and spoke.
"You seem to have gotten stronger in just a few days."
"I'm researching how to get stronger. It seems to be working. I'll share it with the Infantry Platoon Leader soon."
Although he did not specify when "soon" was, Chevalier obediently nodded his head.
He showed no doubt that Roden would break his promise.
Certainly, Roden's aura absorption rate had increased significantly these days.
This was because, in addition to the aura storage of the Sesuran Swordsmanship, he had also obtained the rapid deep sleep of the Incapie Swordsmanship.
As expected, the effect of rapid deep sleep was just as its name suggested.
It was a secret method that helped one fall into a deep sleep in a short amount of time.
The founder of the Incapie Swordsmanship had known that deep sleep helped to increase the aura absorption rate.
However, in Roden's case, he was already the type to fall asleep as soon as his head hit the bed.
For that reason, rapid deep sleep might not have been very helpful.
But fortunately, the effect of rapid deep sleep was not simply to fall into a deep sleep early.
It improved the quality of sleep itself, greatly increasing the aura absorption rate along with rapid recovery.
Moreover, there was no need to get nine hours of deep sleep as before.
Sleeping for just three hours could produce the same effect as sleeping for nine hours.
If he slept for six hours, with an additional three hours, his aura absorption rate would increase by 6%.
However, from seven hours onwards, the recovery seemed to be complete, and the aura absorption rate barely increased.
In conclusion, the maximum effect of rapid deep sleep could be seen for up to six hours.
'Thanks to that, I was able to secure an additional three hours of time, which I already had little of, while still increasing my aura absorption rate by 6%.'
And in the time he had secured, Roden worked on the Juzerje plate armor he had received as a reward from Tobias last time.
He had carved defense magic on all parts of the Juzerje plate armor.
Thus, Roden was able to gain an extra life.
"Anyway, let's end the sparring here and move on to training. We have to finish today's training... huh?"
It was as Roden was talking.
A scout on horseback was approaching from a distance.
The scout shouted urgently.
"Enemy! The Imperial Army has invaded!"