Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 174 - 78 Have You Heard of The Azure Longsword

Chapter 174: Chapter 78 Have You Heard of The Azure Longsword

In the center of the Spartan Royal Court and the Elder Council Hall was a huge circular sunken plaza.

It was used for the King and the Elders to give speeches, and of course, it could also be used for duels, such as when the two kings had a severe disagreement.

The blond mercenary, Herman, drew his longsword with his left hand, and with his right he took down the battle axe from his back. Both weapons hung low, pointing towards the ground as he indifferently faced the Spartan Warrior opposite him.

Left sword right axe—this was a dual-wielding fighting style popular in the northern region of Holstein. As the right hand was more powerful, it held the axe, suited for slashing, while the more dexterous left hand utilized the longsword, convenient for thrusting.

Agislaos, on the other hand, was equipped like a heavy Spartan infantryman, with a longsword in his right hand and a shield in his left.

The two faced off in their positions, and as the command to begin combat was given, their weapons rapidly clashed.

During the attack and block, Agislaos’s right arm burst forth with power, feeling the strength of his opponent also swiftly increasing—the two were evenly matched for a moment.

Agislaos let out a shout, his weapon pushing downward to misalign with his opponent’s, then stepping back as he felt a slight numbness in the base of his thumb, the hilt of his sword icy cold.

He lunged forward again, swinging his shield. Herman, in turn, took a leap back, dodging the shield strike while simultaneously chopping down with his axe.

Agislaos raised his shield with his left hand, blocking several slashes, while his right-hand longsword made a rapid, forceful stab, only to be parried by Herman’s sword.

The two exchanged dozens more moves, yet neither could gain a clear advantage.

"Is that..." a sharp-eyed Spartan Warrior suddenly noticed that Agislaos’s right arm was trembling.

His fingers curled slightly, seemingly trying to tighten his grip on the sword hilt.

On the other side, Herman’s expression remained sullen as if his face was shrouded in frost.

But no! It was actually frost!

The watching Spartans abruptly realized that Herman’s hands were soaked, not with perspiration from vigorous exertion, but rather with droplets that flowed down from his weapons.

Near his longsword and battle axe, a faint white vapor emitted—this was the vapor in the air rapidly condensing into droplets upon contact with the low temperatures.

Their weapons clashed again, Agislaos’s shield visibly shook, the hand holding it turning purple from the icy metal.

Herman swung his axe forcefully with his right hand, slashing repeatedly. Agislaos, shielding himself, countered one, two, three axe blows, until finally, the shield was knocked from his hand.

He quickly knelt on one knee, raising his longsword to block, but the next slash did not come down.

Herman just grimly stared at him, then withdrew his weapons.

Victory was evident.

Spartans around murmured in astonishment as they saw Agislaos’s hands were completely purplish-blue, covered with droplets and small frost particles.

"That’s witchcraft!" someone shouted.

"This is not witchcraft," Andrea said indifferently, "This is an Extraordinary Ability, with the same Sequence of Frost Ability as the Snow Monsters on Taigetes Mountain."

The Spartans fell silent. Even if you could accuse an opponent of using Extraordinary Ability in a duel, could you force the Snow Monsters on the mountain to refrain from using their abilities?

If you lost, you lost; there was no use in making excuses.

"Isn’t the Steel Cross Mercenary Group followers of the Western Catholic faith?" another Spartan King, Lysander, spoke up, "Are they now also allowed to become Transcendents?"

"Your Majesty Otto has already issued the ’Valpuga Decree’, declaring that as long as it is officially registered by the local Lord, the existence of a Transcendent can be reasonable and legal," Andrea’s reply was very tactful.

According to the Valpuga Decree, as long as Transcendents are registered, they are legal, but what about before the decree was issued?

Do you mean to say that the twenty Transcendents in your group only started collecting recipe materials and consuming potions after the decree? Were they all ordinary people before the decree?

The Spartan twin Kings were no fools, they clearly understood that this was the Steel Cross Mercenary Group secretly harboring Transcendent members, and only now, because of the Valpuga Decree, were they allowed to appear publicly.

Continuing this line of reasoning, their offer to "help" clear the Snow Monster from Taigetes Mountain might also have the goal of collecting "Frost" Sequence materials, and negotiating terms and signing contracts with the Spartans was just a way to extort more money.

Of course, such terms were unacceptable to the Spartans.

Even if they requested assistance from the mages of Olin City, they could use Spiritual Materials in place of hiring fees and thereby deepen diplomatic relations! These mercenaries come to Spartan territory to kill Spartan monsters, and yet the Spartans should pay them?

What a joke!

The faces of the Spartan twin Kings darkened like still water, ready to adopt a tougher stance to refuse, when Rudashus parted the crowd and walked in.

Rudashus, who was originally a mercenary from Cyprus and later joined the Sparta City State.

As he was not a local and had little to do with the Elders in the Elder Council, and given his decent strength and good character, naturally became a confidant of one of the twin Kings, Kapsos.

Thus, Kapsos gestured for him to come over.

Rudashus whispered a few words to the King, and Kapsos’s expression immediately underwent a subtle change.

The nearby King Lysander, standing a bit farther away, couldn’t hear clearly, only faintly catching three words.

Dragon Country.

Achilles.

Weapon Master.

Achilles, as a hero from the legends who bathed in the River Styx, was not an uncommon surname in Sirius.

In the Second Epoch’s Sparta City State, there was a royal family also named Achilles.

But speaking of "Achilles from the Dragon Country," it, of course, referred to that family of Weapon Masters with Eastern Bloodline.

"Steel Cross Mercenaries’ Andrea," Kapsos said gravely, "the Spartans can handle their own problems without needing your mercenary group to worry."

"Hehe," Andrea laughed.

Before coming here, the Steel Cross Mercenary Group had already investigated the situation of Transcendents within Sparta City, knowing that they had no Sequence capable of dealing with Snow Monsters.

Therefore, Kapsos’s statement was seen by Andrea as a kind of "face-saving rejection," a "paying back on the spot" for his "sky-high demands."

"Your Majesty, there is no need to refuse so quickly," Andrea continued, throwing out another bargaining chip, "As the most renowned mercenary group on the continent, our Steel Cross’s experience in handling mutants is incomparable to those mages of Olin City."

"The terms of the contract can be negotiated further, but of course, the most important thing right now is to first contain the Snow Monsters within Taigetes Mountain. Otherwise, even if we were to seek help from Olin City, it would take four days back and forth, and in that time, the Snow Monsters would wreak havoc on the Lagonia Plain, causing who knows how many Spartan casualties."

"Lord Andrea," Kapsos interrupted his endless chatter, "have you ever heard of the name ’The Azure Longsword’?"

The Azure Longsword? Andrea was taken aback.

That name sounded familiar—was it the name of some legendary weapon?