A Dragon's Curiosity

“With the basics out of the way, we can start with the individual styles.

Sword fighting is often a series of complex motions, you need keen senses and good reflexes to gauge the motions of your opponent and where they will lead them.

Nonetheless, the [Imperial Swordplay] breaks these complex motions down into basic styles that make up the overwhelming majority of all possible attacks.

First are the offensive stances. Second are the defensive styles. And last are the movement techniques.

While there are not many altogether, these fundamental moves capture the essence and then start from the beginning again to build an all encompassing system with different difficulty levels from weak to strong.

Do not underestimate these moves. There will be no further moves in the further stages of the [Imperial Swordplay]. You will have to depend on these styles for a long time, starting now.”

Knife Leader Tanya brought her wooden training sword back to the first stance she had showed the elf and stabilized the flow of her energy.

Only when the graceful military lady calmed her aura did she release a move.

Despite being a simple foundational move, it did not lack the charm of a high level action.

Raising the dull blade to her right shoulder, the training sword hacked down in an arc below the level of her left hip.

“The first style: [Slash].

As far as swords go, most of them mainly employ this style. It is used to inflict injury upon the opponent and can employ most of the user’s strength.”

Beginning from the standard stance again, the second demonstration soon started.

Tanya raised the sword higher than the first time, high above her head before bringing it down in a mighty thunderous movement.

Even the air released a slight humming sound as the wood sliced through it and produced a light gust.

“The second style: [Cleave].

Different from a slash, the cleaving move does not intend to cause injury in the same way, but rather separate the target in two halves. While the trajectory might look similar, it is important to note the difference.”

Once again, the weapon returned to the first stance and the aura radiating from the Knife Leader settled down before she made another move.

Rather than raising the sword again, Tanya pulled it back and executed a precise stab, impaling an illusory opponent in front of her. No sound rang out as she executed the style, the speed had been too high for any noise to catch up.

“The third style: [Stab].

Compared to the first two styles, it’s hard to fully employ a cultivator’s full strength with this move, yet it is still a basic key part that was included in the manual.

With decisive judgement and good fighting instincts, the results from a stab can be much more devastating than a slash or cleaving attack. It aims for the internal organs of an opponent and much practice is required before it can produce results in combat.”

The pretty woman did not pull back her sword this time and kept it in the [Stab] posture after impaling the imaginary opponent, this irregularity did not escape Nisha’s attention.

“The fourth style: [Twist]”

Instead of explaining further, Tanya twisted her wrist and the sword made half a rotation. If it were lodged in a living opponent right now, the additional damage to the flesh would be lethal, especially with the rapid speed at which the wooden sword moved.

“Compared to the first three, this style’s effect is not obvious from the start. I advise you to not slack on practicing all four, as none of them are useless.

Twist often does not deal direct damage, it is of a rather supportive nature.

Through the revolving force involved, the internal damage suffered by a Stab can be amplified. A cleaving strike can use the additional power to forcefully complete a split in the opponent’s armor or limbs and a slash can change trajectory more easily supported by this style.

Furthermore, different weapons also profit from these styles, so judge for yourself after practicing for a while.

These four styles make up the offensive portion.”

Knife Leader Tanya flicked her wrist and loosened the muscles in her arm that guided the sword through these seemingly simple postures.

Albeit these styles looked simple on the surface and only had one respective motion each, the elf noticed through her [Spirit Sight] that the officer did not take the exercise lightly and moved the entirety of her aura with each style. She would not want to take a hit from the training weapon, as the Knife Leader had already reached peak fourth rank and would probably break through to the fifth in the near future.

Furthermore, each style had a distinct feeling to it that the dragon instinctively picked up. Besides the simple explanation and execution, the [Basic Styles] truly held a fundamental essence in their practice.

“After the offensive moves are the defensive ones. Just as there are different styles meant for taking down enemies, the defensive styles are split into four different moves, too.

Depending on the strength of your opponent and yourself, these four defensive moves all have different uses. You will probably need a while to figure out which is best suited to each occasion.

The first style: [Block]

Using your weapon as reinforcement, the whole body exerts strength to defend from an aggressor.”

Tanya placed both hands on the handle of the wooden weapon and slightly bent her knees while she brought the blade in a parallel position to the ground in front of her chest.

This in turn made the officer look ready to take on all challengers.

“The second style: [Parry]

For this one, I need you to attack me, you can pick any of the basic styles. Go ahead.”

With elegance befitting her charming appearance, Knife Leader Tanya returned to the basic stance and nodded at the elf, signaling her to start the attack.

Nisha did not mind either and picked up her training weapon. Imitating the basic styles still felt strange to her, as the dragon had always fought in a wild manner and brandished the [Taurith Short Swords] she liked with savage abandon. She also had the mindset of a student and did her best to copy the same movement for her own cleaving attack as she had been shown earlier.

The elf rushed forward and showed no hesitation as her wooden sword hacked at Tanya’s head.

On the other side, the Knife Leader calmly assessed her charge. Besides being surprised by the high amount of strength behind that seemingly fragile pair of hands coming at her, everything else was in her calculations.

Tanya brought up her sword and clashed against the attacking one, off-setting the power behind the cleaving attack and rebounding both of their training equipment in the air.

“[Parry] does not intend to offset all the incoming energy like a [Block] would. On the contrary, if the counter force is too strong then it will waste energy when you are not in a position to perform a reprisal and too weak to ward off the incoming attack, resulting in injury.

Only a suitable response will open a window of opportunity.”

Nisha experienced this effect first hand, the retaliation had just enough aura concentrated in the sword to ward off her blow and leave the elf’s sword hanging in the air. The Knife Leader suffered no shock from her [Parry] and promptly returned to the standard posture, ready to initiate any of the attacking styles while the dragon still stood with her weapon uselessly moving through the air.

Nisha could see how this style relied on timing to break the attack on the other side. Even the strongest god proficient in aura in the world would have to deal with the rebound of their own strength, provided that the defender manages to execute a [Parry].

“The third style: [Deflect].

Attack me again.”

Due to the defensive nature of these stances, Knife Leader Tanya could only demonstrate them when she was attacked by someone else.

The dragon brought up her sword from the regular stance and slashed at the pretty military lady again.

Tanya, on the other hand, concentrated on the strike that would hit her from the right shoulder to the left hip.

Following that, she used her own wooden sword to move in exactly the opposite direction and guided it from the top left against the incoming blade.

Instead of clashing directly, the soft force in her strike [Deflected] the elf’s attack by a good margin and harmlessly went past her right arm instead of hitting the Knife Leader.

“Following the possible scenarios, [Block] is suitable to defend if your strength is on par with the attacker, [Parry] can be used even if you are slightly weaker since you only need to match the weak point of an attack with your maximum power, and [Deflect] is meant to increase your survivability against foes that are significantly stronger than you.

Compared to humans and elves, monsters usually have a higher inborn strength and the war club of an orc can easily smash metal armor and shields.

Hence, the principle of [Deflect] allows you to use their own strength against them and guide a fatal blow away from your body.

In combat against a human opponent, it is also a suitable tool to open the chance for a reversal when a skill or similar ultimate move is executed.”

Although Nisha experienced all of these different moves for the first time, she recognized the logic behind the explanation and memorized everything closely.

Thankfully, her mana was on par with her aura and the enhanced mental faculties that came with training the soul allowed her to easily remember even the minor movements the Knife Leader made when going through the styles.

“The fourth style: [Intercept].

If you rank each of the defensive moves by their strength requirement, [Block] demands the highest. You need to fully offset the power behind an opponent’s attack without the chance to gather any momentum.

[Parry] needs at least close to eight tenths of the incoming blow to neutralize the force and open a possible window for a counterattack.

With the least requirements on physical force yet the highest on technical understanding and good instincts, using [Deflect], a small push can generate a big effect.

[Intercept] is different compared to all of these three. While the defensive techniques so far aimed to protect oneself from harm, the fourth style intends to prevent the harm before it can occur.

The requirements on the combat instincts and proficiency are also the highest. Attack me.”

Once again, Tanya readied herself and beckoned the elf to attack her.

When Nisha raised her sword to execute a [Cleave], the Knife Leader moved like thunder and stepped in with a [Stab] hitting her blade near the hilt.

Due to the accumulating force being scattered, the dragon staggered back and almost dropped her wooden sword.

“Every attack needs to gather force or follow a path if you intend to harm the other side. Hence, [Intercept] looks for the weak points during the gathering phase before the actual attack and uses a much weaker, but fast and decisive blow to disperse the attack before it can even form.

Without practicing thousands of time and failing hundreds of times, it is near impossible to get an accurate grasp on the fourth style. Just a word of warning, don’t expect instant success while practicing. Many new recruits grow frustrated and complain in the process.”

Throughout the display so far, Tanya had not showed any concern about the results from her demonstration, or concern for Nisha when she used her as a living target.

While the instructor explained the theory behind her performance of the fourth style, the elf took the time to readjust her bearing and get back in stance.