在后人眼中,传说中的雇佣兵王艾米似乎拥有了太多有利的机会,才导致了他的大功伟绩.然而,这与事实相去甚远.在艾米流传的众多名言中,有一句他反复提及,但几乎所有的后世都刻意选择忘记:要获得一百倍,必须付出一千倍.很少有人知道年轻的艾米有多么鄙视这句话.记录在大陆历史学家艾米的第十二代后裔尼尔·哈珀 （Neil Harper） 的研究笔记中."孩子,醒醒."一个男人悦耳的声音再次回荡."叔叔,再多一会儿,我好累,"八岁的艾米恳求道."好冷——"一声可怜的哭声划破了黑夜.然而,哈珀家小屋周围的邻居已经习惯了这个奇特的闹钟.年轻的艾米迅速从积雪的被褥里跳了出来,恶作剧者在地上放了一大盆雪,悠闲地说:"要获得一百倍,必须付出一千倍.我必须训练你成为一个比你父亲更伟大的战士.随着东方的天空开始变亮,一大一小的身影从赫克村出发,沿着暖水河向雪月湖奔去.任何第一次见到赤寒风的人都会认为他是一位贵族.在艾米帝国,所有贵族家庭都有一个共同的特点:优雅和礼貌.迟寒峰最初给人留下了这样的印象,但和他相处的时间多了之后,人们发现了另一面:调皮捣蛋,喜欢恶作剧.在赫克村安顿下来不到两个月,所有熟悉赤寒风的人都被这个外人恶作剧了.他们最终相信了他的自我描述——一个拥有最低贵族头衔的士兵:骑士,一个既不能继承也不允许拥有土地的头衔.受苦最深的是可怜的小艾米.这位不拘一格的叔叔喜欢称呼年轻的艾米为"儿子".从这位非传统的叔叔到来的那天起,年轻的艾米就再也没有睡过一次;这家伙没有给他任何空闲时间.虽然他从不打或责骂年轻的艾米,但他的方法往往比体罚更可怕,比如早上把雪放在他的毯子里.不知道他在冰愿塔的处境,如果哈珀知道他把儿子托付给了这样一个人,人们想知道他的感受会是什么.最初,老哈珀不习惯这个年轻人以这种方式对待他的孙子,也不习惯他称呼年轻的艾米为"儿子".然而,在与这个年轻人相处了一段时间后,他接受了他作为家人.老爷子真的被迟寒风的举动打动了,比如晚上给艾米盖上衣服,在油灯旁备课,早起在外面挖雪.艾米的日常生活是这样的:体能训练:黎明前起床沿着暖水河跑到雪月湖,距离约 20 公里.虽然河水很温暖,但河岸上仍然覆盖着冰雪.为了方便跑步,迟寒峰坚持要穿极简的衣服——只穿一件薄皮衣.意志力训练:到达雪月湖后,艾米不得不脱衣并在湖中游泳.尽管湖名中带有"雪"字样,但从地下喷涌而出的湖水却非常热.即使只在岸边游泳,没有冒险进入中心,水的温度也足以煮雪蛋.从冰冷的湖中跃入滚烫的湖中,确实是对意志力的考验.事实上,和大多数温泉一样,雪月潭的水具有极好的治愈和恢复特性,所以无论艾米前一天遭受了什么折磨,他总是在雪月潭的帮助下恢复得很好.在湖中进行了一个小时的意志力训练后,我们又回到了体能训练——沿着温水河游回赫克村.这部分培训只持续了一年就停止了.有一次,艾米筋疲力尽,在游泳时睡着了.富含矿物质的温水河 （Warmwater River） 足够密集,人们无需游泳即可轻松漂浮.河流流向大海,方便地流向 Heck 村.发现这个秘密后,艾米经常利用这段时间多睡两个小时.直到有一天,他睡过头了,漂流到海里去了.迟寒风在村子里等了半个小时,没有看到艾米回来,就焦急地乘船出去.他在距离海岸线 5 公里的地方找到了熟睡的艾米.回到村子里,是时候进行战斗训练了,基本上就是砍柴.艾米对砍柴和战斗技能之间的联系感到困惑,他问他亲爱的池叔叔.答案一如既往地幽默黑暗."嗯,"Chi 挠了挠鼻子,"说实话,我也不知道.所有的训练都是我的主意,除了这个,这是你爸爸建议的.哈珀爷爷似乎很了解他儿子的意图.在 Amy 的砍柴技巧训练中,他细致地教他如何利用手部和腰部的力量,正确的姿势发力,如何阅读木纹,以及根据纹理进行砍伐的最佳方法,如何处理打结,以及如何处理分叉的木头.Ironically, the one listening with rapt attention was not little Amy, but Uncle Chi Hanfeng. "Oh, so that's the trick. No wonder he could strike the weakest spot on my spear with his first blow and stand so steadily in the snow, enduring my attacks," he murmured thoughtfully.From that day on, two figures, one large and one small, chopped wood in the dilapidated yard of the Harper home. Initially, Amy's wood-chopping speed was very slow, mainly due to a lack of strength and technique. Even when he had identified the wood grain, he couldn't hit it with the axe. Without Uncle Chi's help, the 200 families in Heck Village might have had to celebrate the Cold Food Festival.In the first year of skill training, Amy used the largest axe for the first half of the year, but switched to a medium-sized axe in the second half, even as the diameter of the logs increased.After dinner, despite being exhausted from the day's work, Amy still couldn't sleep. By the snow pig oil lamp, Chi Hanfeng began teaching Amy knowledge.In Amy's eyes, this was where Uncle Chi Hanfeng excelled the most. As an imperial noble, regardless of rank, they all had a thorough understanding of the empire's history. Likewise, as a former border guard captain, Uncle Chi had a deep understanding of military tactics and coordination, far beyond that of common villagers in Heck Village. So, every night alternated between military tactics classes and imperial history lessons.What intrigued Amy even more were the casual conversations after class, where Chi Hanfeng would talk about the customs and traditions of the imperial capital or share stories of mercenaries circulating among the people.Seeing Amy so engrossed, Chi Hanfeng once curiously asked why he was so interested in mercenaries.Amy answered honestly—because mercenaries could hunt snow wolves.Upon hearing this, Chi Hanfeng nearly fell off his chair, unable to comprehend how the son of an imperial infantry captain, and the disciple of an imperial cavalry captain, aspired to become a mercenary.Neither imperial soldiers nor the soldiers of the Hami Kingdom could casually kill snow wolves, just as Hami Kingdom soldiers couldn't kill imperial war horses.Only mercenaries were exempt. Mercenaries rarely stayed in one place for long, and the Hami Kingdom couldn't afford to issue a wanted notice through the Mercenary Guild for a few mercenaries who killed snow wolves for specific reasons.Despite his repeated persuasion, Amy, having confirmed from Chi Hanfeng that imperial soldiers couldn't kill snow wolves, held steadfast to his belief in his usual way—silence.Two days later, Chi Hanfeng came around: becoming a mercenary wouldn't be so bad. He could travel and, if strong enough, might even visit the Ice Wish Tower. Moreover, in terms of income, mercenaries of the same rank earned much more than soldiers, though their level of danger was also significantly higher.Set long-term goals, don't just make plans for the future—on this point, young Amy had already shown a prophetic talent at an early age.