Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 199 - 103: Weapon Master Ultimate Form

Chapter 199: Chapter 103: Weapon Master Ultimate Form

The snow in the sky had stopped.

The snow on the ground was also melting.

The Steel Cross Mercenaries stared blankly as the Snow Monsters ran in all directions; even as bullets pierced their bodies, the monsters didn’t look back.

The temperature began to rise noticeably, and some mercenaries even felt so warm they couldn’t help but take off their fur coats.

After a careful search in the vicinity, the mercenaries had to admit that if the Snow Monsters were determined to flee and hide, it would be very difficult for the Steel Cross to find them.

Some Snow Monsters hid in caves or crevices in the rocks—these were relatively easy to find. Others simply dug holes in the ground and buried themselves after digging—how could they be found? Surely the mercenaries weren’t expected to turn over all the surrounding soil?

After searching for four more hours and catching only two Snow Monsters, Andrea reluctantly declared that they could only call it a day.

When they returned to the entrance where they had started the mountain expedition, the Steel Cross Mercenary Group encountered the members of The Azure Longsword who had also returned.

"Eh, did you see it!?" Andrea asked upon meeting them, her face full of confusion, "This Mutant incident seemed to have ended out of nowhere! The Snow Monsters started to scatter and run."

"Indeed," Aske nodded, "But at least we can give an explanation to the people of Sparta."

Andrea was on the verge of tears: Who cares about the people of Sparta! What about the Snow Monsters? What about those piles of Spiritual Material? Is it all over now?

Back in Sparta City, it was only natural that the people of Sparta were... spectating.

It wasn’t a welcome, but a spectacle.

The Spartans had complex feelings—on one hand, they were glad that the Mutant was resolved, but at the same time, they felt shame that it had not been resolved by them.

The Azure Longsword was one thing, but the looks given to the Steel Cross were undisguisedly hostile.

The Spartans belonged to the Shiris Species, generally with brown eyes and black hair, while most of the Steel Cross Mercenaries were Franks, with blue eyes and blonde hair—and both ethnic groups were renowned for producing strong men.

If it weren’t for the need to maintain a facade of harmony, it might have been possible that some Spartans would challenge the Steel Cross Mercenaries to a duel to wash away the shame of previous defeats.

Within the Spartan Royal Court, the dual kings were very polite to the triumphant returnees, declaring them "Sparta’s eternal comrades-at-arms"... a somewhat useless honorary title.

Andrea greeted this with a full smile; no matter how disdainful she felt inside, she, as the Squad Leader, maintained a perfect facade.

Aske’s reaction was much more genuine: after all, he had cleared a level, fought a bunch of materials that could be sold for money, and even gained a silver-quality Divine Artifact, bringing him one step closer to his goal of equipping his entire team with god-tier gear.

Playing games, wasn’t it all about this sense of achievement? Aske felt like he was back to the time before he became a professional player, when he and a bunch of colleagues would play levels and level up under the pretext of "competitive monitoring" during work hours.

He gained an Advanced Axe and just handed it to a colleague who plays with axes, without any need to discuss the price.

Later, when he entered a club, various gains in the game were audited and monitored, and he could not dispose of them at will, so he gradually distanced himself from the gaming world and dedicated himself to the grind of electronic sports.

No matter how interesting things are, once they become professional, they are not far from being uninteresting.

After leaving the Spartan Royal Court, seeing the smiles on the girls’ faces, Aske suddenly felt that it was not too bad.

If he had been all alone in his original world, without any attachments, perhaps after crossing over he would have comfortably stayed in this world.

Adventure across the continent with teammates, collect materials to earn a hefty sum of money, and when older, retire from the world, buy an estate to live a self-sufficient life, and marry a wife who shared a deep connection with him...

He guessed he would likely find her among the girls in the group, after all, they were all beautiful, and the relationship was familiar; the real problem was deciding which one to marry...

He pondered all this wistfully, then smiled bitterly as he threw these jumbled thoughts out of his mind.

The group stopped in front of a blacksmith’s shop, where Aske told the girls to wait outside while he went in alone.

Ten minutes later, a fully armed Aske emerged, leaving the girls wide-eyed and speechless.

Armed to the teeth, he carried a Shield on his back and a Long Spear, hung an Axe to his left side, two Swords on his right side, a handgun holstered at his chest, a Short Knife strapped to his left forearm, and a row of Throwing Knives bound to his right arm.

Aske, weren’t you just going to buy the lost longsword? Why does it look like you’ve just robbed a blacksmith’s shop?

Looking at the girls’ puzzled eyes, Aske cleared his throat and said,

"Indeed, I won’t hide it from you anymore—this is the ultimate form of a Weapon Master."

The girls: ..........

If the person saying this weren’t their wise and valiant squad leader, everyone would really think this person was making a joke.

However, Aske was not joking; this was indeed the ultimate form of a Weapon Master.

For a hardcore game without a BUG-level weapon like the "Thousand Mechanism Umbrella," the only way to fully utilize the advantages of a Weapon Master is to carry multiple weapons.

Close-quarters combat with a short knife, short-range with swords and axes, medium-range with a long spear, long-range with a handgun and throwing knives—although it seems a bit lowbrow, it’s unexpectedly powerful when actually fighting.

The benefit is that as long as the player’s operational skills are strong, they have a great advantage over a Physical Transcendent of the same level.

For example, if the enemy uses swords, taking into account the arm’s length, the attack range is 1-2 meters. The Weapon Master can hold a sword in one hand and a handgun in the other, frequently changing position, keeping the distance between the two sides fluctuating around 2 meters. At that point, the opponent will have a hard time.

The Weapon Master darts into your attack range, then out of it again, causing the opponent trouble whether they attack or not.

If the opponent tries to close in, the Weapon Master pulls away; if the opponent stays put, the Weapon Master subtly closes in; if the opponent makes a move, the Weapon Master again pulls away, easily dodging.

It’s the classic example of "they can’t hit me" vs. "I can hit them."

Players call it the "side-to-side hop" method, a classic signature move of the "sneaky" strategy.

(Readers who can’t imagine this can look into the Souls series of games)

Some novice players may think the solution is simple; I’ll just predict your movement, and when you close in, I’ll suddenly close in as well, or if you retreat, I’ll also retreat, doesn’t that break your control of the distance?

Unfortunately, within the Weapon Master bloodline is a sequence called "Evasion," specifically designed to enhance a Transcendent’s control over distance and movement...

Then there are novice players who say, well, what if I also hold a sword in one hand and a gun in the other, can’t I just ignore the changes in distance and attack you?

Even more unfortunate is that the "Sharp Weapons" and "Throwing" sequences in the Weapon Master bloodline make their swordsmanship and Spear Technique, respectively, stronger than those of a typical Physical Transcendent...

So, you’d be outperformed in a sword fight, outshot in a gunfight, and would have to frequently switch your attention between sword and gun, flustered and wishing for death.

If a Physical Transcendent can’t win, what about a Spiritual Transcendent?

Sorry, unless there is a large skill gap, facing a Weapon Master is just as difficult.

The reason is simple, Spiritual Transcendents often have weak physical power, while one of the Weapon Master’s commonly used weapons is a handgun.

Being a weapon with the fastest projectile speed in the air, as soon as the Arcane Mage manages to conjure a fireball or the Mind Mage is about to initiate control, a burst of bullets from the Weapon Master’s handgun swiftly puts an end to their head.

In the professional circle, there aren’t many ways to counter a Weapon Master. If it’s a Physical Transcendent, be prepared for a drawn-out battle, working hard to disrupt the Weapon Master’s distance control, whether it’s hand-to-hand combat with a Samurai or ranged combat with a gunman.

If it’s a Spiritual Transcendent, then guerrilla assassin tactics are a must. Do not act unless necessary; when you do act, you must control/eliminate the opponent in an instant.

Otherwise, any slight mistake or hesitation might result in getting shot in the head by a handgun.

Of course, there are many restrictions on a Weapon Master.

For instance, the player’s operational skills must be strong; they should be nimble with various combat methods. After all, the "Sharp Weapons" magic potion will only teach you how to use swords and knives, but it won’t tell you how to fight a Flame Mage with a sword.

Another problem is that carrying multiple weapons will greatly increase the Weapon Master’s own weight. Hence, only Weapon Masters who have reached Level 5, with sufficiently strong physical power, begin to try carrying multiple weapons in combat.

In a sense, Aske’s mention of the "ultimate form of a Weapon Master" wasn’t wrong.

At least that is the case within level 10.