Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 228 - 26: Illegitimate Child

Chapter 228: Chapter 26: Illegitimate Child

Underground Research Facility, Main Hall.

At this moment, Aske, with his vast gaming experience, had analyzed the rough outline of the anomaly.

It was a classic large-scale mutant instance, with a three-layer structure:

The outermost layer, which was situated in the main plane world, was a virtual town constructed by the consciousness of the inhabitants, filled with all kinds of "nightmare monsters."

In this layer, not only did players have to deal with the attacks of the monsters, but they also had to be wary of clones created by the mind mutations infiltrating the group.

If they failed to find a way to identify the clones, the only way for the players to clear the instance was to kill all the monsters before their team fell apart.

As long as all the monsters were killed, the townspeople would awaken—of course, they would still be trapped in the subconscious ocean. And in the real world, the town would just become an empty, deserted ghost town.

Thus, it was an imperfect way to clear the instance, and players could ultimately only harvest a bunch of Wizard Stone Fragments to sell for money.

The second layer was the real Lunfield town, which had been swapped out by the anomaly and was situated in the mist of the subconscious ocean.

If the players cracked the clones’ ruse, the anomaly, via some algorithm, would "teleport" these "clever players" to the second layer.

Here, players could find the sleeping inhabitants and thus learn part of the truth about the formation of the anomaly.

As the players on the outermost layer killed more and more monsters, the sleeping residents of the second layer would also gradually awaken.

Aske guessed that once a certain proportion of the townspeople woke up, the real town would face a monster attack—after all, the subconscious ocean was home to many strange and extraordinary mind-type creatures.

If the players on this layer were all wiped out, then they could only hope that the players outside would kill all the monsters and proceed towards the first method of clearing the instance.

If the players withstood the monster attacks, then they could look for ways to return the real town to the main plane.

For example, among the awakened townspeople, there might be a seasoned Mind Sequence Extraordinary Scholar who mentioned a method of reversing the mutation, but this method would require a large amount of Spiritual Material.

Players could obtain enough Spiritual Material by killing the mind-type extraordinary creatures in the subconscious ocean and then swap the real town with the virtual town, allowing the townspeople to return unharmed. The players would also receive more generous rewards from Duke Carinthia.

As a veteran of the gaming industry, a long-time player, and a professional competitor, Aske’s guess, although speculative, was pretty close to the mark.

Of course, this still did not reveal the true nature of the anomaly; therefore, the instance had another core layer, which was the source of the mutation—the ancient research ruins of the Solomon Empire.

This was equivalent to the instance’s EX hidden difficulty map. If players were sufficiently skilled to crush extraordinary creatures or had a strong desire to explore and were attentive enough, or simply had good luck, they could find the entrance to the underground in a remote warehouse.

As you can imagine, there were definitely higher-level monsters that were more difficult to deal with in the research facility, as well as richer rewards—Magic Potions or Extraordinary Equipment.

Objectively speaking, this instance had clear levels, catering to the martial arts players who loved combat, the intelligence faction players who liked to analyze and deduce the plot, and the RPG players who enjoyed thorough investigation. Put up on gaming forums in my former life, it would be a quality instance that could score over 8 points.

"Chief Aske!" Hans called out, "What do we do next?"

Aske came back to reality, looked at the Swordsmen with faces full of discontent, and said lightly:

"This should be the entrance hall of the research facility; let’s continue to move forward, maintain combat formation, and be ready to deal with the surrounding anomalies and monster attacks at any time."

"What kind of formation specifically?" asked Hans.

"It’s simple," Aske said. "Each squad is composed of three members: a swordsman practicing the Anger Sword Flow is in the center, with the Cross Sword Flow and the Split Sword Flow on either flank. Outside of the squads, the Curved Sword Flow takes the front to engage first, while the Glance Sword Flow is scattered across the team, maintaining free mobility."

"All squads will advance in an arc formation, with magicians and doctors positioned in the center for protection."

Isn’t this basically going without saying? The swordsmen grumbled to themselves because this was essentially how they usually formed up.

According to the theory behind the five schools of Richartnal swordsmanship, every swordsman should learn the moves from all schools. However, depending on their school, swordsmen would have their own trump cards and combat styles.

The Anger Sword Flow focused on the "Mountain Crashing Strike," emphasizing offensive suppression, with an onslaught as fierce as anger, swiftly cutting down enemies.

The Cross Sword Flow specialized in "Throat Slash," valuing the convergence of weapons, attack blocks, and favoring defense with the capability to counter-attack.

The Split Sword Flow’s primary move was "Crescent Moon Slash," which involved evasion and striking back after an enemy’s attack.

Thus, having the Anger Sword Flow at the core for output, with the Cross Sword Flow and Split Sword Flow on the wings for support, was the most orthodox tactical formation.

The Curved Sword Flow emphasized footwork and attacking swiftly; quick movements to evade following an enemy’s attack and then a "Half Moon Slash" to counter, very effective against surprise assaults.

The Glance Sword Flow was the pure assassin’s swordsmanship, excelling in "Stepping Rush." During battle, it involved sidelong glances to provoke an attack, using defense and parries to create opportunities, then ending the fight with an unexpected slash or thrust.

In summary, the characteristics of each swordsmanship school already determined the role their swordsmen would play in a formation. Aske’s tactical arrangement was... very standard, utterly lacking any distinctiveness, prompting collective snickering among the swordsmen.

However, Hans fell into deep thought, as his mind wasn’t as simple as the other swordsmen’s. In fact, from the moment Aske effortlessly arranged this formation, Hans realized the crux of the matter:

This Chief Aske, who had never before been in contact with our Richartnal Swordsman Squad, knew perfectly well the style and characteristics of each swordsmanship school!

How did he manage that? Hmm? Right! Could it be that he’s the teacher’s bastard child secretly raised outside?

Suddenly, all the clues rapidly connected in Hans’s brain.

Why did the usually reticent teacher recite a few extra lines of poetry today—"Father and son reunite, with the old heart much comforted"?

Why could Aske withstand the teacher’s Sonic Boom Attack—a demi-bloodline is extraordinary.

Why did the teacher forcefully bestow upon Aske the title of Chief—to inherit property, to continue glory.

Damn it! Doesn’t that mean this Aske will eventually become the leader of the Richartnal Swordsman Squad?

While the teacher was already at a demi level, and had a surprising lifespan, who could say he wouldn’t one day hand over worldly duties to Aske in pursuit of a higher realm? If that day really came...

Better to latch onto him early!

"Hans." A call jolted Hans out of his wild imaginings. Turning his head, he saw Martin from the fifteenth seat sidle up sneakily:

"It’s like this, everyone thinks this Aske guy is unreliable, and it’d be better if you took charge, Hans. Otherwise, if he starts commanding blindly..."

"How do you know he will definitely command blindly?" Hans glared, losing his temper.

"Isn’t it obvious?" Martin chuckled. "Look at the formation he set up, plain and uninspiring..."

"What plain and uninspiring, it’s called being steady! Do you understand steady?" Hans scolded him. "Stop thinking about all that useless nonsense and make it clear to those troublemakers behind you. Anyone who fails to show proper respect to Chief Aske is showing me, Hans, disrespect! Dare to disrespect me, and I’ll kill them in training!"

Martin: ...