Wolf-Face was knocked off balance and leaped into the nearby bushes. Norn quickly got to his feet, grabbing a weapon and standing on guard.
Baron Otto discarded his longsword and drew a dagger, stabbing the starving wolf on his left before rushing back to Norn's side. Despite remaining vigilant, Otto couldn't help but ask, "Are you alright, Norn?" After receiving an affirmative response, Otto fell silent.
The group dispatched their respective foes and regrouped into a defensive circle. The continuous losses finally made the wolf pack wary. They let out reluctant howls, prowled around for a while, and ultimately retreated.
Patrick and DeMol continued to keep watch, while the others laid the severely injured William and another sergeant beside the campfire. Norn hurried to his wagon and retrieved several rolls of linen to bandage their wounds.
William, unable to distinguish whether the blood was from the wolves or himself, nonchalantly grabbed the linen and began to bandage himself.
The sergeant, however, was seriously injured and had already fallen into a coma. After finishing the bandaging, Norn looked at the wounded with a worried expression.
"Will he be alright?"
"Child, all we can do now is pray."
Although they had driven off the wolf attack, the sergeant still passed away due to excessive blood loss.
The next morning, the group gathered in front of a grave. William, with his arm wrapped in bandages, placed a makeshift cross as a tombstone. Norn, the most knowledgeable among them, temporarily acted as a priest and recited from the Bible given by the abbot.
"May his soul rest forever in the Lord's embrace, Amen!"
"Amen," the group echoed together.
Norn remembered that the sergeant was named Frank, who had a wife and two children at home. He had greeted Norn just yesterday, but today he had passed on. It was the first time Norn felt how fragile life could be.
After a brief moment of remembrance, the group continued on their journey, but the atmosphere was no longer as lively as it had been a few days ago. For several consecutive nights, the sight of the wolves' gaping jaws jolted Norn awake from his sleep, making him realize that this dark age was far more dangerous than he had imagined.
Norn felt that, for the sake of his own life, it was necessary for him to learn how to protect himself. In the afternoon, when they made camp, Norn approached Otto and expressed his desire to learn swordsmanship. Otto smiled and led Norn to an open space, with the others gathering around to watch.
Otto picked up a stick with his left hand and gestured for Norn to attack.
"Um, don't we need to learn some theory or stances first?"
"There's no need. Learning through physical practice is faster."
"What should I use, then?"
"Whatever you want, including your sword."
"Are you sure we won't get hurt...?" Considering the difference in their combat abilities, Norn swallowed his words.
Norn drew his "sewing needle," recalling the movies and competitions he had seen in his previous life. He positioned himself in a half-lunge stance, with his left hand behind his back and his right hand holding the sword.
Seeing Norn's stance, Otto's smile grew wider.
"Although I don't know where you learned this from," Norn took a small leap and lunged at Baron Otto's right hand.
"the book clearly didn't mention the importance of understanding the characteristics of various weapons."
Otto simply shifted his body slightly, extending the stick. The long stick made contact with Norn's head before his sword could reach Otto.
With a "Duang" sound, Norn sat on the ground, seeing stars. It took Norn a moment to realize that Otto's stick was longer than his arm and sword combined.
Norn tried several more times, but no matter whether he tried to knock the stick away or close the distance quickly, Otto would maintain the gap and use the stick to block Norn's head preemptively.
"Your arm length plus the blade length of your weapon defines your range of attack. You need to learn to keep your opponent within your optimal range."
"When facing an opponent with a longer range, either increase your own range," Norn nodded and picked up a longer stick from the ground, running towards Otto to thrust at him.
"or reduce the distance." The baron drew his longsword with a flourish, and the sharp blade easily sliced off the front end of Norn's stick.
Norn stared in astonishment at his shortened stick.
"Snap!" Norn took another hit.
"Don't daydream! Try again!" Otto sheathed his sword.
This time, Norn chose a longer and thicker stick, cautiously approaching Otto.
"Longer weapons have their advantages, but shorter ones are more agile and easier to control."
Otto simply swung the back end of his stick against the front end of Norn's stick, causing Norn to stumble from the force.
"Snap!" Another hit.
Norn discarded the overly heavy stick and ran back to the wagon.
"Is this kid going to cry now?" someone mocked.
Ignoring the laughter, Norn returned with his frying pan (a shield was too heavy to lift). This time, Norn used the pan to shield his body, holding his dagger horizontally and cautiously circling around Otto.
"Learn to use both your hands effectively!" Otto smiled approvingly and swung his stick towards Norn's right side.
Norn crouched down, angling his shield to the right to block the stick.
"But be careful, your enemy will do the same!" Otto, holding his scabbard in his right hand, took advantage of Norn's block and struck him again.
"I think you just want to hit me," Norn thought, wincing.
The day's training ended with a one-sided beating. Although Otto held back, Norn still felt sore all over.
At dinner, Norn stirred the ladle in the pot, where the capon, carrots, and olives bubbled enticingly, releasing a mouth-watering aroma. William, as usual, stood first in line with his plate, eagerly eyeing the pot.
Norn put on an innocent and adorable smile, deliberately ladling a large portion of chicken into William's bowl and speaking in a sweet voice, "Dear Uncle William!"
William started, "What for? Let's get this straight, I only have 12 silver denarii."
"Who cares about your measly money!" Although Norn inwardly scoffed, he maintained his innocent smile. "Little Norn just wanted to ask, are there any, you know, killer moves or something really powerful?"
"Huh?" William looked at Norn as if he were a fool. "How could there be such a thing?"
"But I saw it in... books," Norn almost said "movies" but quickly corrected himself. "Two knights were exchanging moves, and in the end, the hero used a special move to defeat the villain."
"That's all nonsense for kids like you!" William dismissed it casually. "Those fops just like to use fancy moves to trick children."
"A real duel is over quickly," William said, taking a fierce bite of chicken. "He strikes, and if you block successfully, you can kill him. If you fail, he kills you, and vice versa. It's that simple."
"Is there no secret or anything?"
"There is! Just be strong enough!" William recalled a so-called swordmaster he had encountered before. "He looked impressive, but I still killed him with one axe swing. So, real men rely on strength."
Seeing their conversation, Patrick walked over. "Don't talk nonsense. That guy was a fraud. A real swordmaster wouldn't be so easily defeated."
Norn looked at the handsome Patrick. "Uncle Patrick, is there any trick to using a sword?"
Patrick drew his longsword and held it in front of him. "Do you know your sword?"
Norn looked puzzled. Was there something like "becoming one with the sword"?
Patrick casually twirled the sword and explained, "The tip is fast, and the blade is stable. So, use the blade for defense and the tip for attack. It's that simple!"
Seeing Norn's even more confused expression, Patrick continued, "Remember this afternoon? Didn't the baron always use the back end of the stick to hit the front end of yours?"
Norn recalled and realized it was true. He understood now—it was the principle of leverage.
"So, if I just use the back end of my weapon to knock away the front end of the enemy's weapon, I'll win, right?"
"Not necessarily," Patrick glanced at William. "If you face that brute, even if you block with the blade, you'll probably still get chopped down."
"Hey, who's the one with the cold gun here?" William mumbled with a mouthful of chicken.
Ignoring William, Patrick gestured for Norn to come over. "Can you draw a circle?"
"Draw a circle?"
Without saying anything, Patrick gestured for Norn to attack. Norn drew his sword, took a deep breath, raised it high above his head, and swung it down at Patrick.
At that moment, as if time had stood still again, Norn finally saw it clearly. His sword struck Patrick's blade and slid down along it. Patrick then deflected the sword to the side and smoothly followed up with a silver arc of light.
The blade stopped just 1 centimeter above Norn's head, but Norn's mind was still filled with that fleeting yet magnificent strike.
Norn finally understood what Patrick meant: using the point of contact on the blade as a pivot to deflect the opponent's attack, and then using the tip of the sword to draw a deadly circle.
"I get it! I finally get it!" Norn shouted, running towards Otto.
"What on earth did you tell him?" William asked, finally finished with his chicken and picking his teeth.
Patrick, unwilling to argue with a fool, turned and walked away.
On the other side, Norn found Otto.
"Let's do it again!" Norn held his sword horizontally with both hands, the tip slightly lower than the hilt.
Otto looked at Norn with interest, got up, picked up a stick, and assumed the same stance Norn had started with. He stepped forward and swung the stick down at Norn's head.
Norn seemed to enter a strange state where everything around him slowed down. He could clearly hear the chirping of the forest insects and see the slowly falling stick, even the mottled bark on it.
This time, I can win! Norn thought.
"Clang!" A not-so-heavy force came from the blade, and the stick slid down along it. Norn immediately raised his sword hilt, ready to parry the stick and then strike forward.
At that moment, Norn suddenly noticed a slight upturn at the corner of Otto's mouth. A powerful force struck him, sending his body flying backward.
It turned out that after Otto's stick was deflected, he quickly stepped forward and directly knocked Norn flying with his body.
"Child! You still have much to learn!" A faint smile appeared on Otto's face.