Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 77 - 77 60 Sharp-breaking

77: Chapter 60 Sharp-breaking 77: Chapter 60 Sharp-breaking “Do you think, if Mia could share some of her opportunistic personality with Eleanor, how great would that be?” Medea started chatting with Aske through mind communication, “Every time she grapples with moral issues, it just irritates me to no end.”

“She’s the type that believes in absolute good and evil,” Aske replied.

“In her world, the lines between good and evil are crystal clear.”

“People like that might be stubborn about certain things, but in the same team, you can at least trust them with your back, can’t you?”

“In comparison, I’m not quite that trustworthy, am I?” Medea countered, “Otherwise, you wouldn’t only have signed regular contracts with them and a soul contract with me.”

“That’s because we were temporary enemies before signing the contract, so I added an insurance,” Aske stated frankly.

“Actually, whether it’s a written contract or a soul contract, neither is the sole element that keeps the team together.”

“The most crucial thing is whether the team can bring enough benefits to everyone.”

“It seems you and I are cut from the same cloth,” Medea chuckled lightly, “Benefits are indeed the prerequisite for cooperation.

But, beyond that, are there really no other factors that can hold a team together?

Like, say, emotions?”

“Emotions are unreliable,” Aske shook his head, “Even brothers who start businesses together can become enemies once they get rich, not to mention just friends.”

“What if it’s a girlfriend?” Medea hinted meaningfully.

Aske: ?

?

?

“It’s just an example,” Medea said, “Like, a husband and wife team up to start a business; it’s safer and more stable than working with brothers.”

“It’s probably because spouses share common property, while brothers have separate estates after splitting the family assets, often leading to petty squabbles.”

“Now, you’re enticing everyone with extraordinary power just because everyone’s level is still low in the Mysterious Realm, and they temporarily need you to lead the way.

As rank increases later on, the magic potion recipes and materials needed will also become harder to find.”

“Even you can’t look after the leveling needs of seven girls at once; there’s always going to be a priority order.

Those who are looked after first naturally have no complaints, but won’t those whose turn is delayed feel resentful?”

Here, Medea sneered, continuing, “At that point, they’ll inevitably think, since the team prioritizes others for resource allocation, why can’t I just leave the team and go solo?”

“Working alone, they might even find magic potion ingredients more efficiently.”

“Then, what will you use to maintain the team?

Can you provide high-rank magic potion recipes or materials for everyone at the same time?”

“You mean…” Aske murmured thoughtfully.

“People get together for benefits, and they’ll split for benefits too,” Medea chuckled, “However, if it’s a naive girl like Nora, even if you stop managing her magic potion supply later, she would still follow you loyally, right?

This is the advantage of holding a team together with emotions.”

“My personal rule is never to bring emotions into the workplace,” Aske stated seriously, “Moreover, relying on manipulating emotions to maintain loyalty is even more unreliable than tying interests together.”

“You misunderstood me,” Medea said, “Although the Solomon Church advocates monogamy, the laws of the Mortal World don’t restrict the Transcendents.”

“Seljuk men can marry up to four wives.

If you try harder in that regard, our team might become a big family.

Then who’s first and who’s last wouldn’t matter anymore; everyone’s interests would be aligned.”

“Are you serious?” Aske, after a pause, asked.

“No, I’m just joking,” Medea’s voice echoed in mind communication, “I just think such a development would be amusing.”

“The situation of a harem only happens in novels,” Aske said, “It’s absolutely impossible in reality.

Even if it’s the secret mistresses of wealthy families, they would be jealous of each other, not to mention being openly acknowledged.”

“Exactly,” Medea expressed sentimentally, “If any woman dares to steal my husband, I would certainly kill those cheating bastards.”

“That’s assuming you have a husband,” Aske said.

Medea’s face darkened as she responded, “I will have one.

That prophet last time told me that my fate includes a lover.”

“He must not be afraid of getting burned then,” Aske joked, “Maybe he’s a blacksmith or a chef or something.”

“Aske, you damn jerk!” Medea shouted furiously, “Once I get over my fear of men, the first thing I’m going to do is strangle you!”

She gritted her teeth and severed the communication, stood coldly on the spot for a while, and then a smug smile appeared:

“So eager to end the conversation?

It seems I’ve found your weakness…”

About ten minutes later, the three girls who had taken the magic potion returned.

Eleanor appeared a bit exhausted, seemingly having used up much of her energy and spirituality in trying to control her powers.

Miel’s little face remained impassive, unemotional, while only Sigrdrifa was brimming with spirited vitality, as if she had just thrillingly battled, full of high spirits.

“Aske!” she waved her battle axe and shouted, “Come out and have a match with me!”

“Why?” Aske asked while leaning on his sword, “Did taking Strong X make you feel physically stronger?”

“My strength has at least tripled!” Sigrdrifa exclaimed dramatically, “You’re definitely no match for me now!”

“Then how about a duel to test it out?” Aske suggested.

“Should we stop them?” Eleanor asked weakly from the side.

“Forget it,” Nora shook her head, “Let her get a little overconfident… It’ll be good for her to learn a lesson.”

Sigrdrifa’s eyes burned with fervent fighting spirit, left axe held horizontally at chest height, right axe dragged behind, as she steadily stepped closer to Aske.

“Lower the left axe a bit, keep the stance more deceptive,” Aske advised as he leaned on his sword.

“Oh,” Sigrdrifa subconsciously responded, her left arm sinking slightly…

then she suddenly realized, and exclaimed,

“No, wait!

We are dueling, not training!”

“To me, it’s all the same,” Aske said.

The girls around them burst into laughter.

Sigrdrifa immediately became furious, surged forward half a step with a small jump, and fiercely chopped down with her battle axe.

Aske merely retreated half a step lightly, dodging her leaping chop, and said,

“Miscalculated the distance, have you?”

“Mind your own business!” Sigrdrifa slashed horizontally with both arms, Tornado Slash!

Aske rolled backward hastily, then suddenly rose with a thrust aimed right between Sigrdrifa’s eyes.

His swordplay was too high, Tornado Slash couldn’t stop it, and she would be hit!

In a flash of thought, Sigrdrifa halted the Tornado Slash, lifting her left axe in an attempt to block.

Aske’s thrust momentarily hesitated, dodging the battle axe with some bizarre change of speed, and continued to thrust rapidly towards Sigrdrifa.

Sigrdrifa hurriedly retreated, trying once again to block with her right-hand axe.

Aske’s wrist vibrated slightly, and the angle of his longsword shifted, narrowly sliding over from the top of the axe handle and thrusting again towards her eyes.

“God above, what sort of strange swordsmanship is this!” Sigrdrifa thought in shock, hastily leaping back to dodge.

Aske stepped forward to chase, his longsword thrusting straight at Sigrdrifa’s throat in midair.

She immediately swung her axe downward, only to see Aske’s longsword bizarrely shift sideways again, narrowly missing the descending axe and stabbing into her left shoulder.

“What swordsmanship is that?” Ellie, completely engrossed, heard Peggy ask beside her, her tone grave.

“You don’t know either?” Ellie asked in surprise.

“Never seen it before,” Peggy shook her head.

Being one of Aske’s earliest followers and most familiar with his fighting techniques, she was sure she had never seen him use this style before.

“The sword style is very simple, all straight stabs, and the speed isn’t very fast.

But why couldn’t Sigrdrifa successfully block a single attack?

It’s as though she was deliberately letting him win.”

“It’s not about the speed of the sword, it’s about the timing,” Ellie observed carefully and remarked, “His every thrust changes at the very last moment of Sigrdrifa’s parry, such that she can’t keep up with his reaction speed.”

“Can a human even perform this sort of swordsmanship?” Peggy stared for a long time before suddenly shuddering with shock.

Sigrdrifa staggered back several steps, blood pouring from her shoulder.

Aske’s longsword had hit between the gaps of her breastplate and shoulder plate, the pain spreading from the wound and surprisingly invigorating her fighting spirit.

“You have already died once,” Aske said calmly.

That last thrust, if it had moved a bit lower, would have hit Sigrdrifa’s heart—if one didn’t consider the protection of the armor.

“Again!” Sigrdrifa roared.

She charged fiercely, her axes crisscrossing in swift succession.

This move, “Mantis Slash,” had recently been taught to her by Aske.

She had taken a long time to learn it and never quite mastered it, yet now in her rage, she fluently executed it.

Mantis Slash, with dual weapons, completely offset the attack rhythm.

When the left-hand weapon swung halfway, the right hand weapon only just began to swing, resulting in a frequency twice the normal attack speed.

Anybody else present would have been flustered against the speed of Mantis Slash, but Aske was the only exception.

He held his swords horizontally, a simple thrust hitting Sigrdrifa’s right hand holding the axe.

Then the two of them passed by each other, and Sigrdrifa stumbled forward, falling to the ground with a long, narrow wound opening on her abdomen.

“Nora, heal her up,” Aske sheathed his sword.

“It’s too dangerous!” Nora anxiously supported Sigrdrifa, pressing Healing Touch on the wound on her waist, “How could you strike so hard?”

“The injury in my hands is better than one from the enemy coming up,” Aske said indifferently, “At least I hold back.”

“But…” Nora trembled, looking at her blood-covered hands.

“Though there’s a lot of bleeding, no organs were harmed; I controlled it,” Aske assured, “She should be clear-headed now.”

Sigrdrifa groaned, opening her eyes, and looked confusedly at Nora treating her, “What happened to me?”

“You took a dose of Strong X magic potion, influenced by the foreign emotions within,” Aske explained, “Becoming extremely belligerent and aggressive.

Such emotions need to be vented promptly, or they’ll linger in the mind and cause a permanent shift in personality.

Medea?”

“I’m checking,” Medea, the first to notice Sigrdrifa’s altered consciousness, quickly informed Aske through private communication, “Seems there’s still a bit of impact deep in the mind.”

“Then let’s draw it out cleanly,” Aske said.

“Aske,” Peggy and Ellie approached hesitantly, “That sword technique you just used, what was it?”

“Star Nine Forms, Sharp-breaking,” Aske smiled, “Want to learn?

I’ll teach you.”