Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 80 - 79 Swordsmanship

Chapter 80: Chapter 79 Swordsmanship

Stone hurried over to smooth things over, knowing that Little Knife was on good terms with everyone, particularly with Horse Soul and Lin Wu. He was worried that Little Knife might let something slip, so he took the initiative to explain to everyone that Little Knife had grasped a Brawler skill.

In the midst of everyone’s congratulations, the Four-Star Siege came to an end.

Lin Wu arrogantly addressed the night, "Don’t bother showing up if you’re not at least 100 stars."

Little Knife chimed in, "Bad luck’s not effective, good luck’s not effective, bad luck’s not effective, good luck’s effective."

stars? Stone shook his head. If a real 100-star siege were to happen, there’d be no need to defend. Everyone would just grab a resource pack and find someplace else to huddle together.

Dawn had its considerate side, as the overnight downpour hadn’t destroyed the farmland. But there was also an annoying side: despite the heavy rain, the water tanks were empty. For safety’s sake, Stone canceled Lin Wu’s and Little Knife’s water-fetching duties. Once everyone was ready, taking advantage of the thunderstorm for cover, they drove cars and motorcycles to apartments 4 and 5.

Snow Egg, Lin Wu, and Maya formed one team, while Shana, Little Knife, and Horse Soul made up another, each taking responsibility for buildings 4 and 5 respectively. Work in building 4 was more than halfway done. Starting from the 4th floor, Lin Wu’s group began to scavenge. Although the apartment building was dense with zombies, the narrow space meant that the number of zombies players faced at once was not too overwhelming.

This time, it was rare for Lin Wu to work with the team, and his style didn’t quite fit in. Entering a room, Lin Wu would first quickly scan it. While he was flipping through a book to check a sticky note, Snow Egg had already dismantled a bed and was carrying the materials downstairs to the pickup truck. Large materials needed to be taken to the workshop for disassembly. Smaller items like curtains could be directly torn into rags.

When Snow Egg returned, Maya was dismantling the bathing facilities while Lin Wu leaned against the bookshelf, engrossed in a book. Snow Egg approached to look and saw it was a book called Ancient Swordsmanship. Lin Wu handed the book to Snow Egg, "Take ten minutes to look at this book."

Snow Egg asked, "Why?"

"I’m resting for ten minutes, now it’s your turn to rest."

Snow Egg inquired, "Can I switch for another book?"

Lin Wu replied, "Trust me."

"So mysterious," Snow Egg murmured after reading two pages. The book spoke of several major schools of swordsmanship that were popular in Europe during the 16th century. Swordsmanship duels were widespread in Europe at the time, not only among nobility but also as a means of resolving disputes among commoners. This culture persisted until the invention of pistols in the 18th century.

You could spend ten years or more mastering the art to become an excellent swordsman, but anyone could easily pull a trigger.

Seeing Lin Wu carrying downstairs the bathroom fixtures Maya had taken apart, Snow Egg tossed the book to Maya, "Lin Wu said to read this for ten minutes."

Maya was taken aback, "Why?"

Snow Egg shrugged, "We don’t need the windows, right?"

Flipping through the book, Maya said, "It’s mainly precious metals, aluminum, copper, etc." These items could be processed into blocks but currently had little use, significantly less value than scrap iron, plastic, and rags. According to Su Shi’s opinion, only a certain amount needed to be stored.

Snow Egg announced, "I’ll dismantle the fridge first."

"Alright." As she flipped through the book, Maya asked, "Did Lin Wu say why we should read this book?"

Snow Egg replied, "No. Shana once said not to try to understand Lin Wu’s thoughts."

Maya disagreed, "That sounds like Shana is biased against Lin Wu."

Snow Egg explained, "No, don’t get me wrong, Shana meant it in a positive way. She said, for example, if Lin Wu tells you to drink water, you just drink it. As for why you should drink it, that’s something Lin Wu has his reasons for, and he won’t explain it due to some inexplicable reasons. If nothing happens after you drink, then it’s just water. If something does happen, he might tell you why he wanted you to drink."

Maya understood, "No harm in drinking; there might be something good... Oh!"

Maya’s eyes widened in shock as the book in her hands turned to ashes. Snow Egg was astonished, "What happened?"

Maya looked at Snow Egg in disbelief, "I’ve comprehended the basic swordsmanship skill. When wielding a Sharp Blade, attack speed increases by 100%, with a 50% chance of a combo attack. There’s a chance of Beheading, the lower the target’s life points, the higher the chance of beheading."

Just as Lin Wu returned, Snow Egg rushed to hug him, "Bro, pick another book for your brother, will you?"

Unexpectedly, Lin Wu looked shocked as he asked, "You didn’t actually learn a skill, did you?"

Snow Egg ran off in tears, "I don’t have it."

Maya said, "I’ve learned basic swordsmanship."

Lin Wu lamented, "That’s fate for you." As he flipped through the books, he realized that the swordsmanship books were very similar to the hunting books he had read before, both being very professional. He hadn’t heard of anyone in the base having swordsmanship skills, so Lin Wu gave the book to Snow Egg, but in the end, Maya was the one who grasped swordsmanship.

Maya asked, "Lin Wu, what’s going on here?"

Lin Wu answered, "I’ve also found similar professional books before, and the system notified me I couldn’t comprehend new skills."

Maya inquired further, "Why didn’t you share this discovery with everyone? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming you."

Lin Wu was at a loss for words. Because your intelligence is too low, you can’t grasp new skills. Maya hadn’t invested points in intelligence either, so why could she grasp them?

Lin Wu asked, "Did you really acquire a new skill?"

Maya nodded, countering, "Is there something wrong with that?"

Lin Wu asked, "Aren’t you focused on physical strength in your point allocation?"

Maya nodded again, "Yes, that’s right."

Lin Wu said helplessly, "The prompt I got was this: Because your intelligence is too low, you can’t grasp new skills. I didn’t mention it because it’s embarrassing. Dawn has gone too far, I accept that I can’t comprehend without investing in intelligence. But why can you, Maya, when you haven’t invested in intelligence either?"

Maya said, "I have a ’Studious’ trait, could it be related to this trait?"

Lin Wu threw up his hands, who knows.

Snow Egg asked, "What book should I look at then? Hammer Stone? Break Earth?"

Lin Wu thought for a moment, "If you haven’t invested in intelligence, just give up."

Maya noted, "So intelligence has this kind of use."

Lin Wu cocked his head to look at Maya.

Maya, normally serious and not one to joke lightly, earnestly said, "I’ve always been skeptical about the intelligence attribute. Intelligence is the only one of the five major attributes that doesn’t enhance combat directly. Now it seems, players with intelligence attribute have a broader space for learning skills."

Lin Wu said, "Or have the Studious trait."

Maya hastily said, "I didn’t mean to boast..."

"I know, I know." Maya’s serious attitude made Lin Wu somewhat embarrassed, and he changed the subject, "Let’s find some zombies to try out the new skill."

...

The first strike was normal, with a very quick draw. The double strike combo was beautiful, pulling off a dazzling sword flourish on the second strike that hit, triggering another combo, this time a beheading. The blade swept upward at an angle, and although the length didn’t seem enough to decapitate the zombie, a light clanging sound resounded as the blade’s light flashed across the zombie’s neck, sending the head flying. Perhaps to avoid being too gruesome, the head disappeared before it could hit the ground.

Maya’s use of Sharp Blade had been a delight to Lin Wu’s eyes even before the addition of swordsmanship, and now with the sword technique’s enhancement, the visual impact was even greater. In simple terms, it was impressively cool.

Maya faced three zombies with no pressure, her sword speed was very fast, and every time she stabbed or sliced a zombie, it would stiffen for a moment. Compared to blunt weapons, the stiffening from Sharp Blade lasted only half as long, but you can’t beat how fast Sharp Blade is; in a three-on-one situation, the zombies were continuously stiffened by her cuts. With the combo and Beheading in play, she decapitated all three zombies without them getting a chance to react.

The only downside was that the attack power was still rather low, with an average of four strikes required to activate Beheading. However, with her swordsmanship, Maya could potentially become the first person who could face a horde of zombies head-on. Of course, this assumes the horde doesn’t include Mutant Zombies like Frenzy and Exploding Carnage.

"Congratulations, congratulations," Snow Egg and Lin Wu offered their blessings.

After sheathing her sword, Maya responded with continued thanks, "Thank you, thank you." Unlike Lin Wu, Maya was restrained with her emotions, even when happy she wouldn’t show it.

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