The Discourse on Spears
Spears, only spears, adhere to the principle: kill with the first strike, never turn back.
Whether it's a knight's lance or a heavy infantryman's spear, both lack defensive capabilities and must deliver a lethal blow on the first attack.
The most common spear is the cavalry lance, typically 252 meters long, composed of a spearhead, guard, and shaft. Among conventional cavalry, the most powerful is the Earth Dragon Knight's lance, weighing 20 kilograms and measuring 375 meters. With the immense impact force of the Earth Dragon, it can easily pierce through two heavily armored knights. However, none of these compare to the lance of the Dragon Knight, ranging from 55 to 8 meters in length, secured to the dragon's backbone with a mechanical pulley. The Dragon Knight merely needs to adjust the spearhead's direction while the dragon absorbs the immense impact from the lance.
The longest spears are used by infantry. Whether specialized against cavalry knights or slow-moving heavy spearmen, these spears are at least 5 meters long. In a legendary battle commanded by the mercenary king, spears as long as 10 meters were used, requiring ten heavily armored soldiers to wield together.
The world's most renowned spear is the "Golden Phoenix," said to be a gift from the Dragon God Pilot to the Holy Dragon Knight Da Qing Shan. Throughout Da Qing Shan's life, this Golden Phoenix was rarely used, but whenever it appeared, a celestial being would inevitably fall. After Da Qing Shan's demise, the spear was lost.
In the forest, which had gradually darkened, torches suddenly lit up.
A young boy, holding a torch, walked slowly across the snow to the front of a tripwire. He looked up at the phantom beast knight and waved: "Come down, let's have a proper chat." He spoke as casually as if having a drink with a friend.
The phantom beast knight hesitated for a moment, and the dark horse landed in front of Amy.
"I don't want to waste any more effort," Amy said lazily. "I challenge you to a duel. If you win, I promise to give you one of the young snow wolves we've captured. But if you lose, I hope you'll leave us immediately, like a true knight, and stop bothering us. Oh, and for all the trouble you've caused us, I expect you to leave some money behind as compensation."
Amy's voice echoed through the dark forest, leaving Lin Yutang and others deeply troubled by Amy's audacity in such a diplomatic setting.
"Why?" As expected of a phantom beast knight, despite the sudden turn of events, he quickly regained his composure. "Even if you don't have horses, we can kill you all, and then all the snow wolves will be..."
"Hmph." Amy let out a cold laugh. "Not all our people are here. Yesterday a small team left us, heading straight north. You've recalled all your men, haven't you? They'll reach Snow Field City safely by tomorrow, carrying all the diplomatic letters and tokens. When they return to the Amy Empire, they'll certainly request an escort of snow wolf riders, and you won't get another chance."
The black knight's body trembled slightly.
Amy continued, "So, you can't enter as an embassy, or it's a death sentence. Secondly, why do you need so many young snow wolves? Without the sacred baptism of the Phantom Beast Circle, no snow wolf will become a phantom beast. The key issue is that all known paths to the Phantom Beast Sanctuary are controlled by a few countries, including the Amy Empire. How do you plan to get in?"
The black knight's steed pawed the ground gently.
"You must be a private army of some powerful noble, acting behind the king's back to seek personal gain," Amy's voice suddenly turned icy.
The phantom beast knight and his men were visibly startled. The ink-black steed raised its forelegs high and stomped down heavily. "How do you know? Who are you?"
Everyone watched the tall ink-black steed in front of the white-clad boy. He held a torch, a long sword strapped to his back, chin slightly raised, the straight nose highlighted sharply by the firelight, lips tightly pressed. The scene was silent, save for the occasional crackling of the pine torch.
Amy exhaled softly. "I'm just a small mercenary. Anyone with a brain can figure out your origin. Any king has the right to appoint specific people to complete the Phantom Beast mission, and only three countries have access to the path leading to the Phantom Beast Sanctuary—Sacred Snow Mountain. Refer to Chapter Five for more details." Amy paused. "Besides the known paths, there are rumored secret passages within Sacred Snow Mountain, known only to a few nobles. It's not hard to deduce that a noble, unable to obtain a phantom beast through regular means, knows of a secret passage..."
"Enough," the phantom beast knight interrupted.
"One secret passage per family is more than enough, so no matter how many phantom beasts you have, they're useless to you." Amy ignored the interruption and continued, "As an A-rank mercenary, I challenge you. If I lose, we'll give you a young snow wolf. If you win, fulfill my conditions."
The Ice Blade sprang from Amy's back, laughing joyously.
"Sigh—" The phantom beast knight sighed deeply, dismounted, and drew a double-edged sword from his waist. "If we hadn't met you on this trip, everything would've gone smoothly. Fine, the wager is on."
Amy tossed the torch onto a small, dry shrub, and flames leapt high. Grasping his sword with both hands, he saluted the knight in the traditional manner.
Lin Yutang, deeply concerned, jumped off the sled and slowly made his way behind Amy.
The phantom beast knight's curved sword rose slowly. The sword, 15 meters long and weighing 45 kilograms, gleamed with a blue sheen in the shape of a crescent moon.
The black knight suddenly attacked, his curved sword slicing through the night, reflecting the fire's light like red lightning. Amy's long sword rose to meet it with a clang, the curved sword sliding down the blade as Amy stepped back. The black knight's momentum surged, his curved sword swinging again as he charged at Amy. Amy's face showed surprise as he staggered back two steps to dodge.
The black knight's sword missed, and his left foot kicked forward, sending snow flying toward Amy. Amy desperately swung his sword in the snow, trying to prevent the black knight from closing in.
The black knight smirked disdainfully, his curved sword changing from broad swings to precise stabs, its tip trembling as it slipped past Amy's frantic defense, aiming for Amy behind the swirling snow.
"Ah—" A girl's cry came from behind the battlefield. Apart from Amy and the black knight, everyone turned toward the source: Lin Yushuang's eyes were wide, her small hands covering her mouth, her face full of worry.
Amy suddenly noticed the curved sword coming through the snow, too late to block. His expression changed dramatically as he leaned back, his head leading his body. The black knight closed in, elbow striking toward Amy's abdomen. Amy was forced to somersault backward, failing to land steadily and flipping again into the forest.
The black knight's curved sword slashed through the air, kicking up snow to prevent Amy from pausing.
Amy rolled twice in the snow, dodging the black knight's heavy kicks.
Lin Yutang clutched her hands tightly, biting her lower lip as she watched Amy struggle. She anxiously shouted, "Stop fighting, Amy, we surrender."
Amy's laughter echoed from the forest, "The show has just begun, how can it end now?"
All the flying snow quickly settled, revealing Amy standing in the forest, holding the Ice Blade at an angle.
"Using magic to defeat you would lack knightly honor. Come, let's duel with swords."
The long sword seemed weightless, disappearing and reappearing among the dense branches, launching countless attacks at the black knight. The black knight parried frantically, but the long sword lightly tapped and sprang back with each contact, ready to strike again.
What's happening?
Everyone watched in amazement. In such a dense forest, no one could swing a weapon so quickly. Branches would hinder most attacks, and weapons could easily get stuck in tree trunks. Yet here, Amy's long sword—no, Amy himself—moved like a ghost, weaving through branches and trunks, attacking swiftly and relentlessly.
The black knight clearly couldn't match Amy's agility, moving cautiously to avoid tripping.
After rapid sword movements, four semi-transparent swords seemed to materialize out of thin air, appearing suddenly in the eyes of the onlookers, floating to stab the black knight from four directions.
"Sword Mirage"
Both sides murmured in astonishment. The Sword Mirage, mastered only by advanced swordsmen, appeared in the hands of a young boy, and with four mirages, reaching a high level.
Finding no room to retreat, the black knight rolled to dodge the Sword Mirage. Amy followed swiftly, his long sword whistling through the air, slashing heavily at the black knight on the ground.
"Watch out!" Other knights on the ink-black steed exclaimed.
The silver sword halted abruptly on the black knight's back.
"Few can beat me in forest combat," Amy smiled, withdrawing his sword. "But you're really good. I think most knights can't compare to you." After delivering a heavy blow to the black knight, Amy casually offered a date, perhaps to prevent the black knight from retaliating with his men.
The black knight got up, summoned his phantom beast, and hesitated. "Everyone, drop your money bags and return immediately." He tossed his money bag to the ground after speaking.
Money bags fell one by one as black-clad knights, some riding, some leading injured horses, left dejectedly.
Imperial soldiers gradually surrounded Amy, and Yutang ran over, her fair face aglow with firelight, eyes filled with admiration and excitement. She patted her chest with her small hand. "You scared me to death earlier. You could've won easily, but you made us worry so much. You're annoying."
Watching Lin Yutang's bashful display, several seasoned soldiers wore knowing smiles.
Only Amy remained impassive. "I fight better in the forest; otherwise, I doubt I could win in half a day." He then took a torch from an old soldier and walked away.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"To pick up the money bags."
"Uh—tomorrow will do."
"No, what if someone comes back to pick them up? What if a wild animal takes them? What if they're buried under snow? I won't sleep well if I don't."
"Then, wait for me. I should get a share too."
Watching the little girl bounce away, the old soldiers laughed.
"Didn't expect the earl's daughter to fancy our captain's son."
"Heh, truth be told, the captain's son is quite exceptional, just a bit money-hungry."
"The captain isn't like this. Seems more like that miserly cavalry captain."
"Shh—" Another soldier hastily covered his comrade's mouth. "I heard the captain entrusted his son to that man before leaving."
The soldiers' faces simultaneously displayed expressions of realization, incredulity, and a sense of being let down.