Extraordinary Voyage

Chapter 19: Sword Technique Training

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Early the next morning, in the early hours of the morning to be precise, the training grounds were already packed with new recruits.

When Alvin arrived there half an hour earlier than normal, he was genuinely shocked by the scene in front of him. Apparently, having never really experienced struggling in poverty in two lifetimes, he had underestimated the recruits’ desire to learn swordplay and change their fates.

In fact, almost every country on the continent had their own military sword techniques, but each had their own focus beyond the commonality of being unpretentious and straightforward.

As a huge maritime nation, the military sword technique of Phaletis has been modified and improved upon based on the traits of its users, making it extremely suitable for fighting while at sea.

That was because the most suitable weapon for this kind of sword technique was the Phalatian naval saber, a long, straight blade with a sharp edge on one side. It could be used to stab and slash, and even new navy recruits could use it to great effect after just a short period of training.

Therefore, it would be more appropriate to call it the Phaletian Army Saber Technique instead of the Military Sword Technique.

After Alvin arrived, the recruits stared at him eagerly. He distributed a wooden training sword to each recruit and made them get into formation. The sword technique training had officially begun.

At this point, no one questioned whether Alvin, who had beenrecruited around the same time as them, was capable of teaching them. Although Eugene wanted to slack off, he did not want to shoot himself in the foot. Through the two days of open training with Alvin, while thoroughly conquering the new recruits with his exquisite swordsmanship, he also let them understand how far the gap between them was.

Naturally, no one questioned Alvin’s ability at this point in time.

The training began with teaching the recruits how to hold a sword properly.

It was then that Alvin realized that this task was not that difficult, nor was it as boring as he thought it would be.

“Hold your sword firmly, but don’t hold it too tightly or your arm will tire quickly. A firm grip is only needed when chopping and blocking. Learning how to relax your hand after completing a move is an art also known as the Gentle Hand.

“This is a necessary talent when learning sword techniques. It will make your hands more agile without fatiguing and stiffening.

“Loosen up a bit, loosen up a little more.

“Don’t keep your arms too stiff and don’t keep staring at your sword.”

Turning in a circle to make sure everyone could hold their swords correctly, Alvin continued to explain the three defensive stances of the Phaletian Army Saber Technique.

High guard, outside guard, and inside guard.

Out of some selfishness, Alvin simply called up Gary, who he had met the earliest and had the best relationship with, and asked him to work with him on the demonstration.

“Boss Alvin!” Walking to the front of the formation, Gary called out to Alvin, only to be somewhat overwhelmed by the many pairs of eyes staring at him.

Despite his rough and tall appearance, Gary was actually the same age as Alvin and even a month younger. After joining the navy with Alvin, it did not take long for him to be convinced by Alvin, who was much better than himself in every aspect, and he had become Alvin’s little sidekick.

However, to others, rather than calling Gary a sidekick, they should say that he was currying favour with and sucking up to Alvin.

The sincere, honest man had his survival wisdom too!

Because Gary called him “Boss”, Alvin was determined to get him to change his shy nature from now on.

Telling Gary not to be nervous, he started demonstrating and explaining move after move.

“The high guard can be used to deal with slashes to the body and arms, and the sword is also in just the perfect position to defend the head and feet. When the opponent’s sword comes in, it can be blocked by simply raising or lowering the hand a little.

“When the hand is on the right side, it is called the outer guard, and when the hand is on the left side of the body, it is called the inner guard. In both guards, although one side of the body will be exposed to the opponent, you cannot force the enemy to attack only when you are in the right position, so you must be proficient in each of these defensive moves!

“Gary, high guard…”

Smack–

Smack–

The wooden swords clashed continuously, and Alvin made Gary use each guard three times before stopping.

Then he finally explained the key to all the defensive stances he had taught. All the defensive stances had to be completed using the strong part of the sword—the blunt part near the handguard. That was normally known as his strong sword body. Meanwhile, the part corresponding to the sharp part at the tip of the sword was known as the weak sword body.

When Alvin fought Black Bear Billy, he had used the strong sword body to knock away Black Bear Billy’s machete while standing close to him.

He taught the recruits how to attack at the end of the training session as that was the simplest yet most complex thing about sword techniques.

Stabbing and slashing were the most basic moves, but they could only be memorized by the body through diligent practice day after day, and there were no shortcuts.

However, Alvin also imparted the insights of his own training in swordsmanship to the recruits with hopes that they would gain something from it.

“Remember, the key of offensive moves is: when attacking, never let your front foot hit the ground before the sword reaches its target, and never let the tip of the sword leave the best path for the attack!

“Only then can you stab your opponent faster than they can and save your own life.”

Holding the sword, attacking, defending. It did not even have the usual feints that a normal sword technique would have. The Military Sword Technique was that simple and straightforward!

Finally, Alvin held his sword in one hand as he showed the recruits how to stab and slash properly.

Sss–

With just a casual flick of his sword, the blade cut through the air, creating a vortex. Amidst the continued reverberations of shrill, howling wind, Alvin slowly walked off the high platform he used to demonstrate moves.

“So strong!”

“If he can have that much strength even though his body is not that muscular, can we reach that level too?”

“One day, I’ll be that strong too.”

Alvin no longer cared about the surging feelings of the recruits. He was prepared to teach these basics for three consecutive days. Then he would let them slowly turn these moves into their instincts during actual combat training.

After that, it would be possible to fill in the gaps based on their performance in actual combat, and Alvin was even prepared to use his Data Vision to give each recruit targeted corrections.

After being an *ss in his last life, and a down-and-out noble with an empty name in this life, Alvin also experienced the pain of being stuck in a certain social class. No matter if it was out of compassion or his duty as the acting instructor, Alvin was willing to help them in any way he could.

Of course, enriching the database by collecting data from every new recruit in his batch was definitely essential as well. ( ̄▽̄)/

…

Two weeks later, when Major Eugene suddenly appeared out of nowhere, he unexpectedly found that almost all the recruits in the recruit boot camp had already mastered the Phaletian Army Saber Technique.

Although their technique looked naive and dull from his knight-level perspective, and it was still too early for them to apply their skills to actual combat, he could already say that they had a solid foundation

It made Major Eugene look puzzled. “Are all the new recruits of this batch talented? Why didn’t I see it before?”

It was only after he took over the rest of the training again that he realized that it was all an illusion. They were still the same bunch of blockheads.

But it had nothing to do with Alvin anymore.

There was actually a subtle shift in Alvin’s attitude during the two weeks of substitute teaching, from slight impatience at first to full commitment later on. Because in the process of teaching the new recruits, besides gaining their sincere gratitude, he had finally learned what it meant to “learn while teaching”!

Everyone was different physically, perceived things differently, and thought differently. That required the instructor to truly comprehend his or her knowledge in order to solve each student’s problem.

In the process, Alvin found that his understanding of the two sword techniques he now mastered, the White Sail Sword Technique and the Military Sword Technique, had improved by leaps and bounds, and even his body constitution, which had not improved in a long time, had changed.

Name: Alvin Garriott

Gender: Male

Attributes: Constitution 0.9+0.01

Strength: 0.86+0.02

Agility: 0.93

Intelligence: 0.9

Abilities: White Sail Sword Technique (Proficient, contains breathing techniques, sword techniques and potions), Military Sword Technique (Proficient, contains breathing techniques, sword techniques and potions), Archery (Proficient), Writing (Proficient), Seafaring knowledge (Entry level), Pharmacology (Entry level)

His constitution had increased by 0.01 points and finally reached 0.91, and his strength had increased by 0.02 points to 0.88. Unlike the difficulty he faced to achieve a breakthrough in the White Sail Sword Technique, it was easy for him to break through to the Proficient level in the Military Sword Technique.

The Military Sword Technique that Eugene had taught Alvin included a full set of sword techniques, breathing techniques, and supporting potions, and in principle, it was an Extraordinary Sword Technique that could reach the Extraordinary level.

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This was also a hidden benefit for the “honorable trainees”.

However, after comparing them, Alvin found that although the Military Sword Technique was simple and easy to learn, it was more focused on the battlefield, and the most important effect of the Extraordinary Transformation was unsatisfactory.

In terms of the supporting breathing techniques, the Military Sword Technique with only five variations and the White Sail Sword Technique with 12 variations could be said to be worlds apart from their names alone.

Moreover, while Eugene had authorized Alvin to directly teach the new recruits the sword techniques, he was strictly forbidden from teaching the breathing techniques and potions.

These recruits only knew the “technique” but not the “art”. Hence, this policy of the navy’s upper echelons almost completely eliminated the possibility of the recruits becoming Extraordinaries using this technique.