Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 122 - 26: Duel of the Twin Wheels

Chapter 122: Chapter 26: Duel of the Twin Wheels

Spartan Warrior Turulence, with both hands grasping the Execution Stick, held it horizontally in front of his chest.

Then a Straight Stab.

This Straight Stab was so swift and fierce that it almost exceeded the limit of what the naked eye could clearly see.

Eleanor raised her Shield to intercept, and as the stick collided with the shield, the shock of the force left her left hand feeling somewhat numb.

A word leaped into her mind.

Stiffness.

"There are two ways to create stiffness," Aske had said during the routine training on Fire Island, "One is an Attack Block and the other is a standard Block. Stiffness presents the best opportunity for a counterattack."

"But, according to what you’re saying, when the enemy’s weapon hits my shield, since the force is mutual, both of our arms should become stiff, so how then should we counterattack?" she asked.

"Idiot!" Aske knocked her on the head with the hilt of his sword, "He’s wielding his weapon with his right hand, and you’re holding your shield with your left. Isn’t it a good trade to exchange your left hand’s stiffness for his right hand’s, so you can take the opportunity to attack with your weapon in your right hand?"

Seize the stiffness, defend and counterattack.

Eleanor’s right hand thrust out violently, as the Execution Stick aimed straight for Turulence’s chest.

With both arms stiff, he couldn’t make a Block, he had no choice but to take the hit!

"If you judge that your opponent can only take the hit, then you need to consider how to turn the initial move into a combo," Aske’s voice seemed to echo beside her.

"A normal attack causes a momentary hold, which is different from stiffness and doesn’t act directly on the arms."

"Therefore, the enemy can still make a defensive movement. If they successfully perform an Attack Block or Block, then you’ve wasted your initial advantage."

"Don’t just focus on dealing damage, think more about using Control. Of course, the enemy will anticipate this too."

"So vary your attacks, deceive your opponent, your thinking must be flexible!"

Turgence’s pupils contracted sharply as he stared at the retaliatory strike coming at him.

The timing was too perfect, his arms were still numbed from the impact of the initial Block, unable to lift the Execution Stick to fend off the attack.

So should he Evasion, or take the hit?

If he chose to evade, his opponent would certainly seize the momentum to pursue.

How then could he end the battle quickly? And to the onlooking crowd, it would seem as if he were being overwhelmed by her!

He couldn’t evade! Considering his opponent a woman, her strength was undoubtedly limited.

He could endure her multiple attacks, but if he landed just one hit on her, the battle would be over!

Turgence didn’t dodge or evade, merely stepping back half a step, ready to take the oncoming assault.

And to counterattack.

The opponent’s Execution Stick was already thrusting towards his chest, and his arms were recovering from their numbness.

There was no time left to evade, his arms holding the stick now swept horizontally, aiming for the opposing fair neck.

If it hit, with his strength, he would surely knock her out immediately...

No, that’s wrong!

The stick, right below his chest, suddenly seemed to transform into a Long Spear.

Eleanor’s wrist twisted slightly, and the Long Spear lifted upward.

Dragon Spear!

Agonizing pain invaded his entire body from the abdomen as Turulence was sent flying straight up by the force on the stick.

The pain was not life-threatening to him, but the danger was that he was now lifted into the air, feet off the ground.

In a state of being airborne, unable to harness the strength of his waist and abdomen, the power of his counterattack would be greatly reduced!

Wait a minute!

His expression suddenly changed, as Eleanor had already thrown down her shield in her left hand, stepping forward with her right hand holding the stick.

With the Execution Stick dragging to the right side, and her waist and abdomen turning, she fiercely swung out the weapon.

Iron Cutting!

Turgence in the air had no way to dodge, and could only quickly raise his stick to Block.

This Iron Cutting swipe created a 90-degree arc, directly striking Turulence’s Block.

Two Execution Sticks clashed with a bang, instantly snapping into halves under the opposing force’s collision.

The broken end of the stick harshly hit Turulence in the abdomen, sending him flying mercilessly through the air.

The watching Spartan Warriors erupted in noise, and even the bald giant, who had remained as still as a mountain behind the recruitment desk, suddenly stood up.

Turlence flew seven or eight meters before hitting the ground, rolling awkwardly a few times to dissipate the force before shakily getting to his feet.

His abdomen was full of bloodstains from the broken stick, which looked terrifying, but he wasn’t seriously injured.

However, in the eyes of the onlookers, within those fewer than five brief moments, Turulence had already been defeated thoroughly.

"Turulence, are you alright?" the bald giant asked coldly.

Turlence’s face reddened at the question.

Just a swipe from a broken stick, what harm could it do? The bald giant asking this was clearly mocking him.

Spartans despise the weak. Turulence, having lost to a woman, was undoubtedly branded as a weakling.

"This lady’s combat strength has passed our approval," the bald giant stated expressionlessly, "Next, Bition, you’re up."

Bition stepped forward, picking up a wooden sword from the side.

"Sigrdrifa, it’s your turn," Aske said.

"Alright!" Sigrdrifa eagerly stepped out and, seeing the wooden sword in her opponent’s hand, said, "Since you’re not using a real sword, I’ll switch to a wooden sabre to make it fair, so no one accuses me of bullying you southerners."

A northerner? Bition stared at her pale golden hair, squinting without a word.

Sigrdrifa picked up two wooden sabres and had just straightened up when Bition had already rushed to her, his wooden sword chopping down heavily.

"Aha!" Sigrdrifa shouted, her right sabre already swinging in a backhand motion.

Swords clashed, and Bition stepped back to absorb the force, only to see Sigrdrifa’s left sabre striking again.

Bition immediately raised his wooden sword to block, his arms numb for a moment, and just as he was about to counterattack, her right hand sabre followed swiftly.

"That’s not right," the watching bald giant suddenly said.

"Is he being suppressed?" another Spartan Warrior asked.

"No, he’s been fooled," the bald giant said, shaking his head.

"Previously, when Turulence faced the spear-shield warrior, he chose to take her Straight Stab directly, but she changed her move at the last moment, catching him off guard and sending him flying."

"This gave Bition the illusion that this northern woman might also be a tactician, so he focused too much on defense, not giving her the chance to switch moves in the attack."

"There’s nothing wrong with emphasizing defense," said the Spartan Warrior, "As long as he can’t break through his defense, the attacker will undoubtedly consume more Physical Power. Plus, since she’s a woman, she will ultimately fall into a disadvantage before Bition."

"What if her Physical Power is even more formidable?" the bald giant said coldly, "What if this northerner’s Physical Power exceeds Bition’s?"

If he couldn’t match her strength and still maintained a purely defensive stance... The Spartans shuddered at the thought.

Wouldn’t that be being suppressed to death?

"Why don’t you launch an attack?" Sigrdrifa asked, puzzled as her dual sabres fell.

It was a trap to lure the enemy... Bition thought to himself, focusing more on Block and Evasion, looking for a possible counterattack opportunity.

"If you don’t attack, I’m going to have to speed up!" Sigrdrifa declared.

Speed up? What, she could go faster?

Bition hesitated for a moment, only to suddenly realize that the frequency of hits on his sword had doubled.

Mantis Slash!

Sigrdrifa alternated attacks with her left and right sabres, the rhythms completely out of sync, doubling the attack speed with her high-frequency swings.

Bition felt the base of his hands howling in pain, his wooden sword shaking uncontrollably as if it was about to splinter any second.

"Tornado Slash!" Sigrdrifa roared as she twisted her waist, causing her arms to rotate the sabres at high speed.

Bition hastily jumped back to avoid her attack range.

Sigrdrifa suddenly came to a halt in her spin, her left sabre forcefully thrown and whistling toward Bition.

He managed to deflect the incoming sabre with an upwards swing of his wooden sword, just as Sigrdrifa had already charged forward, slashing at his abdomen.

Caught off guard, Bition could only strike downward with his sword’s hilt. Before he could reach her head, a sharp pain erupted from his abdomen, his stomach convulsing.

Involuntarily, he dropped the wooden sword and clutched his belly, retching out a mouthful of sour bile.