Henry and Mira were placed temporarily by Prince Edward in a second-story courtyard in Vavasika.

The city of Vavasika, with a civilian population of only one-thousandth of a military population, is deserted, and the streets are lined with vacant houses, many of which are the assets of merchants who had heard that the merchants had come here a few years ago to make a fortune but had finally given up. And more of it was left behind by the ordinary residents of Avenella who had come here and left during this long time.

There is no other reason than peace.

The troops stationed in shifts were mostly recruited from the nearby villages, and the simple Yavennella peasants were able to return to their homes in just one or two days, so naturally there was not much need.

With no large army stationed, few merchants after the opening of the pass, and many of the nearby mountains that could not be cultivated, neither commerce nor agriculture could be maintained, and a day-and-a-half-day away was the prosperous city of Ashnir, and it was not surprising that Vavasika would decline to this point - let's get back to where we were.

Time passed quickly, and after a night and a half a day before the prince set out with his army, and after a good rest in a clean and tidy bed, Henry decided to fulfill his responsibilities as a qualified teacher.

The two-storey courtyard where the two temporarily lived had a small courtyard ten meters square, which had been the residence of knights and nobles before it was provided to them, so two or three wooden pillars were erected on the mud floor of the courtyard, which served as targets for knights and sergeants to practice their swords.

The sage rejected the presence of servants and the like, so the huge courtyard was filled with only him and Mira.

"Lean forward. ”

When the fog cleared, the air was quite warm, probably because the water vapor had washed away the dust, and the whole sky was clear and dazzling in the afternoon.

"No, you're too tense all over, it's not okay. Henry shook his head, Mira stood in front of the stake with a sword in both hands, they had been training like this for a short time, and the young Loan Lori was starting to look a little impatient.

"Smack-" She threw the one-handed sword-sized wooden sword in her hand to the ground, and then the whole person crouched down.

"Take a break. Henry looked at the grumpy Mira with some helplessness, then turned around and tinkered around the room for a while, and came out with two large wooden cups.

"Give. He crouched down and handed one of them to Mira.

"......" The girl glanced at him, then took it, took a big sip of the warm water in her cup, and then let out a long "ah-" breath, and then stared at Henry again.

"......" The unhappiness on Lori's face was unmistakable, and Henry understood the reason for the little guy's resentment, but he didn't say anything.

"If there is a problem, it should be raised. Only by bringing it up can it be solved. It wasn't until he had drunk the whole glass of water that Henry spoke unhurriedly. Mira is a well-understood child, and with the sage's own knowledge reserves, it is not difficult to judge the reason for her petty nature.

But he didn't take the initiative to explain, and the reason came from the girl herself.

- Mira is a stubborn and self-reliant child.

To a large extent, this makes her very sensible and mature in many cases, not like a child, but better than many adults, and at the same time, it also makes her have a bad habit.

That is, when encountering problems, I always want to go through it alone, and I refuse to tell it.

Henry had discovered this a few days earlier when she had stubbornly run to rummage through the dagger by herself, a personality that had come from the girl's previous life, and she was helpless, and even if she spoke out her difficulties and pains, she was still on her own.

These personalities have shaped Mira as a person, and Henry doesn't want her to lose her nature. But at the same time, if there is any problem, she is a person who wants to survive silently, it is not what the sage expects.

So he deliberately didn't talk about it, waiting for the girl to take the initiative herself.

And just as he wished, the petite white-haired loli got up from the ground with a "boom-" sound, and then stared at the tall sage with a small mouth.

"What I want to learn is how to fight, not how to duel, or win a joust!" she said in a resolute tone, and Henry responded by reaching out and touching her little head.

"......" Mira looked a little dazed, and Henry said in his usual gentle tone, "You see, don't you really have a problem that you want to be solved?" ”

"If you have a problem, you should ask it, don't think about going through it alone. He deliberately ruffled Mira's long hair with his hand, and the girl slapped him, then covered her little head and stared at him with disdain, while Henry walked to the side without paying any attention.

There was an iron sword that the two of them had bought together when the fog was still thick in the morning. When he was arrested, Henry still had the two gold coins given by Bernie, and the sage spent one gold coin to buy two ordinary-quality one-handed longswords and two wooden swords.

The materials used in this sword can only be considered ordinary, not even steel, but because it is made by excellent blacksmiths, the quality is not bad.

The standard West Coast style swords have a certain degree of versatility, and the main reason why the Sage chose the one-handed sword as a teaching weapon was Mira's age - apparently the only thing she could wield with both hands was the one-handed sword.

Henry came with his sword, and with his other hand a thigh-thick bundle of straw tied with twine, and the sage skipped the highest stake in the middle, and went to the shortest one, with a pole stuck in the middle, and threaded the bundle of straw over the pole.

"Look at me. He spun his one-handed sword around his head, adjusted to his center of gravity, and swung his sword out.

"Bang-bang. ”

Beautifully beveled, the top of the straw bale was perfectly cut by Henry, and the severed straw fell to the ground, but Mira was not thrilled by the wonderful blow, she just stared at the sage with disdain, and the two words "Showmanship" were clearly written in those bright blue eyes.

Henry smiled wryly, then beckoned her to come over and handed her the sword.

......Mira was not very comfortable with the slightly different feel of the wooden sword, but she shook it awkwardly like Henry, and after moving her arms a little, she also took a stance.

"And then?" Mira looked at the sage, and he nodded, "Chop that sheaf of straw." ”

He said, and the girl hesitated for a moment, then raised her sword high and slashed at it.

"Smack!" The scene she expected of a sword cutting did not appear, the long sword only cut into a third, and the broken wheat stalks were scattered in all directions, the girl was stunned for a moment, and then before Henry could speak, she drew her sword, and put on a bigger posture and used all her strength to slash out again.

This time she swung her sword more violently, but the increased force still did not produce the desired effect, and she only knocked the whole bundle of wheat stalks off the stake.

"Ahh

"That's what happens when you swing your sword wrong, Mira. Henry explained to her earnestly, and he took a few steps back to pick up another one-handed sword, and then swung it in the air a few times at random, "Woo-woo." The sound of breaking the air.

"If you want to split something with your sword, what part should you use to do it?" said the sage, barely thinking about the question, and as soon as he finished speaking, Mira replied, "Blade." ”

"There's nothing wrong with that. Henry nodded, then raised the sword in his hand and pressed his finger lightly on the blade.

"A sharpened blade is an excellent choice for splitting something, and most people understand this principle, and use the bladed side to attack the enemy. He said this, plain and plain, but Mira listened attentively, and weeks of spending time together had given her an understanding of the pattern of Henry's narrative, and she knew that the sage would then explain the real point.

"But ordinary people only pay attention to attacking the enemy with a blade, and never pay attention to what will happen afterward. ”

"They just focus on 'smashing' the bladed side at the enemy, like you're just doing, and then feel like they just need to push harder, and then split them apart. Henry said, and Mira nodded, she did, and she thought so.

"That's wrong. The sage took his finger off the blade and shook it.

"You can't split even a bundle of straw with brute force just by swinging your sword like this, no matter how much force you use, but if you swing your sword with more force, it will only end up like it was just now-" Henry said, pointing to the straw on the ground, "The target is knocked away, not cut." ”

"It's all the result of the wrong way of swinging the sword. Henry pointed to the blade of the long sword in his hand again and said, "If you want to inflict a perfect slash, then you must always make sure that the sword in your hand is aimed at the target. ”

"It's not just the moment you hit, you have to make sure it's the sharp blade of the sword that is facing the opponent during the whole process of 'hit-pass-go'. Henry said, and Mira nodded as if in understanding.

In other words, you have to make sure that the sword you swing is a smooth straight line, and in the middle of the straight line is the sharp blade. ”

"This line is called the 'blade line' among swordsmen. Henry waved the sword in his hand and continued, "Whether the blade line is straight or not is an important difference between the target you cut through and the one that gets stuck in it. ”

"The speed of swinging the sword, the posture, the way it is forced, can all affect your blade line, and once it is offset. Henry walked over and picked up the bales of straw from the ground, and then pointed to the half-cut mark on it and said to her.

"The result will be what you see, the sword you just swung is not straight enough, and after it hits the target, it is skewed because of the wrong way of your force, so that you are actually slapping the target with the spine of the sword. ”

"The sharp blade is skewed downwards, and you are actually using the side of the sword to try to cut through the sheaf of wheat stalks, so how can you succeed?" Henry shrugged, and Mira nodded abruptly.

"The correct line of the blade should be straight, you can't swing the sword without the slightest shaking, and the place where the target is cut must be an absolute straight line, and the center of the straight line is the sharp blade, only in this way can you cut the target perfectly. Henry lifted the stalk, and Mira looked at the place where he had first chopped, and sure enough, the sage's sword cut down and the entire section was flat.

"The slash must be fast, accurate, and ruthless, once one of them is missing, the force is not enough, or you are not decisive enough, then the sword will be crooked, and you are not using the blade to try to cut the opponent but a sword 'shoot' up. He said, and Mira finally nodded in understanding.

"Well, then back to the original question. Henry smiled slightly, and then continued: "The thing you are complaining about is why I don't let you use a real sword, but let you use a wooden sword, right?"

"......," Mira nodded.

"The two issues are actually linked, Mira. Henry put the straw bale back, then returned to the middle stake, and picked up the wooden sword that Mira had dropped.

"First of all, I want to tell you that there is no such thing as a genius when it comes to learning swordsmanship. He said.

"There may be differences in actual combat effectiveness between swordsmen and swordsmen due to gender, age, height, weight, etc., but in the learning of swordsmanship itself, everyone is equal. Henry put the steel sword back on the wooden table on the side of the courtyard, then took the steel sword from Mira's hand and handed it to her.

"Many self-righteous people may think that it seems very easy and very simple, and that they can easily fight by picking up a sword, but in reality such fools don't know what to do when they actually get the sword. Henry shrugged, and Mira glared at him for the implication that she seemed to be among the fools.

"Think, Mira, think. ”

"Skillfully master every movement, think about what to do in a particular situation, and then keep practicing, practicing, and practicing. ”

"Practice again and again until your body remembers all these things, and you don't even need to think about it to react correctly when you encounter the corresponding situation. ”

"That's the right way to do it. ”

"No one is a genius, in this matter, everyone is the same, only through constant practice to master them is the right way, as for those who feel that they can fight without much training, just let them also chop the straw bales will understand their powerlessness. He said, and Mira gave him a blank look: "You still haven't explained why you use a wooden sword." ”

"Oh, sorry. The sage shrugged his shoulders and continued, "Wooden swords and other wooden weapons are not just used as bloodless test tests or tools for dueling shows, they were originally invented to replace the more dangerous and expensive steel weapons for practice. ”

"Use the wooden sword to master the basic steps and movements, and when you can swing a smooth fast and hard slash with the wooden sword, then change to an iron sword to practice against the target, this is the plan I made for you. Henry said this, and Mira had already walked to the stake painted with brightly colored instructions in both hands as he spoke, and began to swing the sword.

Sweating probably, Luo An Da Lori had a serious expression on her little face, holding the wooden sword in both hands and waving it again and again.

Henry stood by, only occasionally making a correction.

The afternoon passed quickly, and after a period of practice in the evening by the light of torches, the two went to rest.

The next day, it was a full practice and study.

......

......

Postscript: The blade line mentioned in this chapter is called "edge-line" in English, and the domestic medieval fighting enthusiast circle generally follows the Japanese kendo method called "knife tendon", but this word is too Japanese, and it is a bit contrary to the style of Western fantasy, so I paraphrased it like this.

In addition, this chapter is more technical and touches on the basic points of real swordsmanship and fighting. I tried to make it as easy to understand as possible, because Mira in the story is also an ordinary person with no foundation.

But wouldn't it still be too difficult for most of the starting point readers......

After all, you are all used to watching the Dragon Slaying Treasure Knife click to send a full-level induction murderous aura, slapping a head a hundred times harder than steel with one palm, and exploding in mid-air......