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TWL Chapter 63: Dance of Blades - Struggles and Progress
🕑 Added 2023-12-17 20:26:13 +0000 UTC“What commission?” Geralt asked.
“I want to explore the ruins of a laboratory, but I am not at ease with the simple human soldiers. I am not at ease with how many people there are. The lives of soldiers are not meant to be wasted. So I need professional help.”
“What do you need from me... Guide?”
"More than that." Lann shook his head and thought about the troubles he might encounter in the laboratory. "It would be a hindrance to explore the ruins if I bring too many people. I want to bring as few people as possible. This will require some capable guys to make up for it. There are several vacancies due to the lack of capable manpower."
"Also, my aunt opened the royal treasury for me. So the first question is: How many recipes for alchemy bombs do you know? I would like you to help me make some for my soldiers."
The inventor of the alchemical bomb was not a witcher. Many mages, alchemists and even pharmacists knew a thing or two about its principles. Geralt had no need to keep these technologies secret.
"If you're interested, the Grapeshot, Dragon's Dream, and Dancing Star bombs should meet your requirements."
[Grapeshot Bomb]: Inflicts shrapnel damage to foes within its explosion radius. Deals a small amount of fire damage. Destroys monster nests..
[Dragon's Dream Bomb]: Releases a cloud of gas that explodes when ignited. Multiple Dragon Dream Bombs can ignite each other, causing a chain reaction that can damage a large number of enemies spread over a wide area.
[Dancing Star Bomb]: A bomb with huge destructive power, produces a fiery explosion that can cause nearby opponents to start burning. Destroys monster nests. It is especially effective against creatures that like group attacks and fear fire. Combined with the gas generated by the Dragon's Dream Bomb, it has a surprising effect.
Lann was overjoyed when he heard this. These are exactly what he needs: "Great, how many bombs do you usually carry with you?"
Geralt reached into his alchemy backpack and took out something: "This is a Grapeshot Bomb. I usually carry four of them with me. Dragon's Dream and Dancing Star Bombs can only be made in a targeted manner before special missions."
"Bombs are expensive, so most of the time I just rely on my sword."
Lann scratched his chin and demanded: "I've experienced the explosion of a Grapeshot Bomb before, and it's pretty powerful."
"You can make forty of them first. You can also make ten of each of the other two types of bombs to see their effectiveness. If the power is considerable, then you can make forty of each of them."
Geralt was stunned for a moment, then rubbed his ears and asked, "How...How many did you say?"
...
Half a month later at a military training camp for city guards. Lann and Geralt faced off, moving slowly, cautiously scanning their opponent.
After several clashes of swords, they began to spin in unison, movements that looked like a sword dance. Light and agile, sword sweeps like the wind.
[Clang! Clang! Clang!]
The sound of clashing swords resembled that of metal being forged. It rang continuously on the training ground. That harsh, shrill sound of steel friction tortured the ears and nerves of everyone watching the battle.
In the training ground, everyone watching the battle was whispering. Soldiers surrounded the two people in the center, and every collision of swords would bring out a burst of exclamations.
In the crowd, Swade said to Ace with a look of admiration: "It's really amazing. This is the first time I've seen someone who can be on par with the Earl."
Ace nodded: "Since he fought the griffin, I could see his abilities. Monsters hunt humans and witchers hunt monsters. They are really powerful. What's more, this is the famous 'White Wolf'."
He patted Swade on the shoulder and said: "Don't look at them. Half a month has passed. What can you learn? It's better to get familiar with those alchemy bombs during this time. This is related to the Earl's future plans."
After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the shooting range.
Swade turned around to look for his friends, but Ace went to shoot arrows, and House liked to be with Black Wind, and he couldn't get along with the city guards as well as Ace. He could only turn around and continue to enjoy the duel between the two superb swordsmen.
"Who said I can't learn? Observe something repeatedly..." Swade murmured, his eyes shining as he watched the repeated clashes between the two swordsmen on the training ground.
[Crack!]
Suddenly a small fragment detached from Lann's training sword. And before he could react and adjust his stance, the inertia of his attack did not give him time to stop.
After another five or six rounds of slashing like a storm, Lann's sword broke completely from the middle, and half of the blade spun and flew out.
Lann also staggered a few steps, and then quickly distanced himself from Geralt.
Geralt asked breathlessly: "Is this the end?"
Lann nodded and looked at the practice sword in his hand: "That's it. This sword that has been tortured for half a month can finally rest."
“It’s unimaginable that your power can reach this level.” Geralt sighed. “I even think that several guys in the Wolf School are inferior to you.”
Lann shook his head: "But I'm still far behind you in terms of skills."
In the past half month, Lann has been pulling Geralt to practice every day, as if he was a fully automatic sparring machine. The effect is also remarkable. Finally, Lann could apply his sword dance techniques in actual combat, offering him an effective response to multiple enemies.
Of course, [Whirl] in the system panel is still dim. Lann is looking forward to how much his sword skills will be strengthened when this skill is activated.
Lann and Geralt sat down to rest. Geralt, exhausted, closed his eyes to rest. He was sparring with Lann during the day, and he also had to find time to make alchemy bombs. This was a big burden for him.
Lann was watching the soldiers' training. He motioned to Ace and the attendant quickly ran over to him.
“Where’s Milva?”
Ace replied: "She doesn't like the military camp very much. She hasn't gone out this morning. She has been practicing at the mansion's shooting range these days."
Lann nodded and asked: "How is she?"
Ace hesitated for a moment: "My lord, with all due respect...she is a woman. She shouldn't be wielding a sword before the warriors sacrifice themselves."
Lann glared at him and sighed. "You dare to say such things in Cintra. It's really lucky that your family is still a knight."
What is the most striking feature that distinguishes Cintra from other Kingdoms?. The answer is 'Lioness'.
Ace blinked in astonishment, suddenly reacted, and looked around in a cold sweat.
Lann slapped him on the forehead to bring him back to his senses, and reprimanded: "Can your archery skills be better than Miss Ellie's? And you're saying this now?"
"Furthermore, the enemy will not look closely at whether it is a man, woman, old or young when holding a sword. I asked you how Milva is, so answer me now."
Rubbing his forehead, Ace muttered a few words such as 'chivalry' and 'etiquette’ and replied: "Her archery skills are astounding. She can defeat most of the city guards just with the ridiculous toy-like bow in her hand."
"If given a strong enough bow and, after a period of training, I even think she can be better than most dryads."
Lann nodded satisfied, her abilities were as he expected.
Ace then added: "But..."
