Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 56 - 56 46 Invitation for Leadership Inspection

56: Chapter 46: Invitation for Leadership Inspection 56: Chapter 46: Invitation for Leadership Inspection “Pleased to meet you,” Theodora said elegantly, “Aske, the leader of your mercenary group, it seems that the majority of its members are women?”

“Yes,” Aske replied.

“But it’s not the result of deliberate selection; it just so happened that the suitable candidates I encountered were all women.”

Whether you believe it or not, I believe it…

he added inwardly.

“By coincidence, they all happen to be beauties as well?” Theodora quipped playfully, her tone laced with a hint of amusement.

Hearing the compliment of “beauties,” the girls all brightened up with delighted smiles.

“Merely a coincidence,” Aske responded, “As you can see, gender is the only common factor among my team members; there is nothing else in common.”

“Their ethnic backgrounds are different, their appearances are distinct, and even their personalities and habits vary, which is evidence enough that I am not selecting members based on personal preferences.”

Maybe it’s just because your hunting menu is quite diverse…

Theodora thought warily, just as she heard Aske say:

“Let’s not dwell on this, shall we continue with the demonstration of our team’s strength instead?

It just so happens that we’re on to the second lesson of our teaching plan.

If you’re interested, you could listen in.”

“Alright,” Theodora nodded.

“Ladies!” Aske cleared his throat and addressed the women, “Last lesson, we covered the Tactical Eight Forms, and everyone should have practiced them.

This class, we’ll go over defense and evasion.”

“Peggy, step forward!”

Peggy came forward with a cold face, drawing the short sword strapped to the outside of her thigh.

“Attack me head-on,” Aske said.

Without a word, Peggy instantly disappeared from her spot.

The next second, she reappeared in front of Aske, her short sword thrusting straight at his chest—where it was blocked by Aske’s longsword.

“So fast!” Theodora’s eyes widened slightly as her pupils contracted.

Without a doubt, this Peggy must be a Transcendent, one whose Physical Power leans towards Explosive Power and Control Power.

If Theodora herself were receiving the attack, she would probably have been pierced through the heart by now…

Could Achilles really catch such a high-speed attack?

His strength must be much greater than I initially thought.

“Block, the most basic defensive move,” Aske maintained his posture while demonstrating, “You need to be aware that when the enemy’s attack is successfully blocked, their body will enter an abnormal state called ‘stiffness.’ In this state of stiffness, the enemy’s arm muscles become temporarily paralyzed due to the violent vibrations, rendering them immobile.”

“The normal duration of stiffness might not even last 0.1 second.

However, the heavier the enemy’s attack, the longer the stiffness will last after being successfully blocked.”

“If the duration is long enough, you can seize the opportunity to counterattack, and the enemy in stiffness won’t be able to respond,” Aske explained before instructing Peggy, “Attack me again.”

Peggy nodded and swung her short sword once more from the same spot.

Aske blocked it crosswise with his sword; at the moment of metal clashing against metal, he lifted his right knee violently, striking Peggy in the abdomen.

She flew backward, tumbling to the ground and rolling several times.

“That was intense,” Nora and Mia whispered to each other, “Is it because Peggy has the Flesh I’s quick recovery ability that Aske strikes her so hard?

I’m hurting just watching.”

“Normally, the duration of stiffness created by blocking isn’t enough to launch a counterattack,” Aske continued, “This is where the second type of defensive move comes in: the Counter-blade, also known as an Attack Block.

Using your attack to deflect the enemy’s strike can induce a longer period of stiffness.”

“Sigrdrifa, step forward!” he beckoned, “Hand me an axe.”

At his call, Sigrdrifa eagerly stepped forward and tossed him the battle axe hanging at her waist.

“Come, attack me,” Aske caught the battle axe.

“Alright!” Sigrdrifa let out a roar, raising the battle axe with both hands and chopping down, using the Lion’s Fang advanced technique she had been taught by Aske, the Mountain Crashing Strike.

As the axe blade descended, a flash of silver met it.

With a clang, Aske diverted the Mountain Crashing Strike with an upward slash of his axe, while simultaneously punching out with his left fist, hitting Sigrdrifa hard in the abdomen.

She screamed in pain, falling to her knees while clutching her belly, her face twisted in agony, and tears involuntarily streamed down her cheeks.

“I take back what I said earlier,” Nora and Mia murmured, “He’s harsh to everyone…

good thing we’re not in combat roles.”

“If blocking is a passive defense, reliable but with less opportunity to counter, then the Counter-blade is active retaliation, capable of causing longer periods of stiffness but with greater risk—if you fail at counter-blading, the enemy’s blade will cut you.

Have you all got it?”

“We’ve got it!” Watching Peggy and Sigrdrifa pitifully rise from the ground, the remaining girls hastily responded in unison, fearful he might pick another to demonstrate again.

“Good, let’s move on to evasion,” Aske acknowledged with a nod, “Evasion has four forms: Side-step, Jumping, Rolling, and Sliding.

Eleanor, step forward!”

Eleanor approached with a solemn expression, bracing herself for what was to come.

“Take this,” Aske tossed her his longsword, “Use the longsword to attack me consecutively.”

“Alright,” Eleanor caught the longsword and assumed a ready stance, then launched a Right Lion’s Teeth slash.

Aske side-stepped to evade the longsword’s slash, explaining, “Side-step, the quickest evasion move, each movement ranging from half a step to a full step.”

Eleanor continued her barrage of attacks while Aske repeatedly evaded using side-steps.

Each time he dodged just when the blade was about to make contact, an action so measured and close that it caused the girls watching to be on tenterhooks.

Theodora sat watching as well, her eyes behind the veil shimmering with fascination.

This guy named Aske is so strong!

Though she doesn’t understand Martial Arts, she could tell that Eleanor’s attacks were full-force, without holding back.

The fact that Aske could easily evade all of her attacks only proved that they were on completely different levels in terms of awareness and skill.

“Sometimes, when the enemy’s weapon is longer, or the attack range is greater, you’ll need to use other Evasion methods,” Aske said as he hopped back, avoiding Eleanor’s Eagle Cut slash.

“A small hop, moving one to two steps each time.”

“Rolling, for when you need to move more than two steps.” He suddenly leaned to the left, rolling away a good distance before getting back up.

Eleanor was speechless, stopping her actions.

Aske stood up, and continued, “Both the small hop and rolling have their advantages and disadvantages.

A hop is quicker to initiate, but during the jump you are airborne, and unable to evade if attacked in that state.”

“Rolling requires tucking and standing up, which is slower to start, but it lowers your profile, reducing the area that can be hit.”

“Finally, there’s the Slide.” As he said this, Aske charged forward a few steps into a low-to-the-ground slide, ending up right under Eleanor’s feet, before springing back up.

“Sliding lowers your body even more than rolling, making it even harder to be hit.”

“The issue with sliding is that it requires a lead-up movement, meaning you need to be already moving to slide.

Also, you’ll have to spring back up after finishing, which involves the strength of your core muscles and requires corresponding exercise to train.”

“That’s all for the basic course,” Aske concluded.

“Next…”

“Do every action a thousand times,” the girls chorused.

“Right, it seems everyone is quite self-disciplined,” Aske said with satisfaction, waving them off.

“Go on, then!”

The girls left to practice with tears streaming down their faces.

Approaching Theodora, Aske asked with a smile:

“What do you think of our team?”

“Your teaching methods and content…” Theodora pondered for a while before saying slowly, “are indeed eye-opening.”

“Is that so?” Aske shook his head.

“But all of that is publicly recorded in ‘Tactics’; it’s not some unseen secret.”

Theodora fell silent, feeling puzzled.

The author of “Tactics,” Emperor Leo III, was historically nicknamed “The Wise” because even though he claimed to be well-versed in War, every campaign he directed personally was a resounding defeat.

The citizens of Constantinople sarcastically called him “The Wise,” the biting sarcasm clearly implied.

His work “Tactics” also had a reputation within the Empire as the “Bookish Art of War.”

For example, Leo III claimed in “Tactics” that “The ultimate display of Lion’s Fang is that even if the enemy uses an upper Block or meets blade with blade, Lion’s Fang can still powerfully cut through the opponent’s weapon and slay them cleanly.”

“To cut through a weapon, you must hit the center of gravity of the blocking weapon.”

“Taking a Longsword for instance, the blade is divided into two areas: the part closer to the hilt is the ‘strong’ section, and the part near the tip is the ‘weak’ section.”

“If your Lion’s Fang strikes the ‘weak’ section, that is where the blade most easily diffuses force; if you hit the ‘strong’ section, that is where the spine of the sword is thickest and toughest.”

“You can only chop off a weapon by striking right between the ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ sections, because that’s the most fragile part of the entire Longsword.”

It’s possible that a reader, upon reaching this point, might think that there’s some sense to the writings, looking seemingly flawless.

But you’ll only realize during actual combat — damn it, the enemy’s Longsword isn’t marked with a center of gravity for you to target, and in the heat of battle, where is there time to identify the center of gravity of a weapon?

If you pause for even a moment, the enemy’s Longsword will already have counter-attacked!

Like most people, Theodora also thought that Leo III’s “Tactics” was rather out of touch with reality.

Some theories could be learned, such as that there are four vital points on the human body.

As for those overly detailed, even numerically based conclusions, like “chopping at a 35-degree angle” or “striking between the shoulder blade and triceps,” they seemed like pure armchair strategy…

Yet, according to Aske, was it possible that those seemingly fantastical theories in “Tactics” were actually achievable?

Theodora took a mental note to study this at some point in the future.

“Well, let’s conclude for today.” After exchanging polite pleasantries, Aske said with a smile, “Please allow me to see you out.”

“What, is Mr.

Aske trying to dismiss me?” Theodora teased.

“Of course not, we would naturally welcome your presence here even more.” As Aske said this, he presented a common mercenary contract, handing it to Theodora, “If you ever decide, just come to me with the contract.”

Saying so, he activated “Absurd Dream” with Spirituality, and the surrounding scenery changed abruptly, returning them to the tavern.

All around, tables and chairs were a mess, and Michael, accompanied by two guards, was frantically searching everywhere, clearly displaying worry and panic.

“Lord Michael,” Theodora called softly.

Michael started, hurriedly turning around, only to see Empress Theodora standing behind him alone — Aske’s figure was long gone.