Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 253 - 51: Freestyle

Chapter 253: Chapter 51: Freestyle

"First, give me an axe," Aske said.

"Like this?" the narrator asked, and immediately, a giant axe appeared on Aske’s shoulder.

"Mmm," Aske said, "Alright, as a bandit leader, it’s unlikely that he would have received professional martial arts training. However, to climb to the position of leader, he should possess remarkable physical prowess and have participated in numerous life-and-death battles. Thus, his moves tend to be simple, direct, and brutal."

"For instance, the vertical slash. As the bandit leader’s trump card, his signature vertical slash should concentrate all his power, making it incredibly forceful. Even if his opponent attempts to block, his axe should easily cut through, splitting the opponent’s head."

He demonstrated by lifting the axe with one hand and heavily slashing it toward the ground in front of him.

"So, is that it?" Along with the narrator’s voice, the bandit leader also roared and lifted his battle axe to strike down forcefully, creating a dent in the ground.

As a writer who frequented mutant instance gathering materials while alive, Wilhelm might not understand martial arts, but he had witnessed quite a few battles. At this moment, following Aske’s moves, the bandit leader’s mimicked attack looked hauntingly lifelike.

"There are a few areas for improvement," Aske said. "First, the force should be even greater, strong enough to smash a big hole in the ground. Second, you lifted the axe too high before striking; it should be lower..."

He pointed out several improvement areas and explained in detail why these changes were necessary, using highly professional terminology. Wilhelm redesigned the character of the bandit leader according to Aske’s instructions, and the fighting indeed felt much more realistic.

"Alright, that will do," Aske said with satisfaction, somewhat reminiscent of his days discussing with the technical department’s product manager.

"Next, do we need to design fighting moves for the three main characters?" the narrator asked.

"No, we plan to improvise for the three main characters’ fight," Aske said.

Improvisation, of course, exists in acting, like Emperor Kangxi’s spontaneous slap in "Emperor Kangxi," or the Joker in "Batman" frantically pressing the unresponsive detonator only for it to suddenly explode and scare him into dropping it. These iconic scenes fundamentally involved the actors’ improvisation, stepping beyond the script.

Usually, filming crews dislike improvisation due to efficiency issues because a poor outcome might necessitate reshooting.

However, Wilhelm was different; as a dead man, he had plenty of time and could afford to wait.

Since Aske had said so, Wilhelm decided to let the actors improvise and see how it went. Thus, the adjusted bandit leader sprang into action, wielding his battle axe and striking fiercely at the three of them!

The three quickly jumped out of the attack range, with Eleanor even thrusting her magic wand instinctively while back-jumping.

"Dragon Spear!"

"NG!" The scene froze again, and the narrator reminded, "Miss Eleanor, the character Christina you portray is a mage. Please don’t use the magic wand as a long spear, okay?"

"Mr. Wilhelm," Aske intervened, "have you ever heard of the profession ’battle mage’?"

"Battle mage?" Wilhelm was puzzled. "I’ve only heard of Macedonia’s ’war mages’."

"Yes, battle mage is a profession derived from the ’war mages’, adept both in the Macedonian infantry formation’s spear technique and the destruction magic from Macedonia’s Arcane School," Aske promptly began bluffing, transferring the characteristics of a battle mage from DNF directly into his explanation, making it sound entirely credible.

"Well, I see," the narrator contemplated before saying, "Lord Aske, you truly are learned and talented."

Since there were similar transcendent professions historically, having Eleanor’s character, Christina, using spearing techniques wasn’t something exceptionally erroneous—just altering the setting to make her a ’battle mage’ would suffice.

Besides, from a visual perspective, a mage darting in and out of fights wielding a spear and casting devastating spells like flames and thunder had a far more impactful stage presence than a mage who merely cast spells.

Wilhelm wasn’t a purist either, and after all, the essence of The Azure Longsword lay in the forced emotional dilemmas requiring one to choose between two options. Weapon fighting wasn’t really the crux.

"Let’s settle for that," the narrator agreed with Aske’s suggestion, "And as for Miss Miel who plays Miranda..."

"Of course, a priest should also have a weapon for self-defense," Aske said. "I think giving her a handgun by the Church Court wouldn’t be excessive."

"Very well, but her primary function should still be healing," the narrator said. Immediately, a handgun appeared on Miel’s belt, hanging next to her injection gun.

The two girls listened in bafflement, unable to grasp how Aske had convinced Wilhelm with just a few words, even managing to change the script’s characters.

However, revising their current roles to reflect their true selves was naturally beneficial for them. Thus, Eleanor and Miel simply remained silent.

The filming resumed, with the towering, three-meter-tall bandit leader raising his giant axe and swiftly striking at everyone.

According to the script, Solomon and Christina lacked the ability to fight the bandit leader alone, and Miranda, being a non-combatant, even more so. However, the trio combined their efforts in an unexpectedly coordinated attack and barely managed to kill the bandit leader.

Coordination was, after all, the strong suit of the girls of The Azure Longsword.

"Scatter!" Aske reminded them, and in unison, the three jumped back, narrowly avoiding the bandit leader’s axe slash and the subsequent shockwave.

"Lines! Lines!" the narrator reminded, "Even if improvising, you cannot omit dialogue!"

The actors had no choice but to continue, singing along with the background music.

Eleanor: "This villain before us is so fearsome, how should we confront him?"

Aske: "Miranda, shoot his eyes with your handgun when he raises his axe. I will sever his left ankle with my longsword while you stab his right wrist with your long spear. Once he’s in pain and drops the giant axe, Flame Thunder will blast him to ashes."

Though sung, the two girls quickly understood the commands. The moment the bandit leader raised his giant axe, Miel had already aimed her handgun, firing twice, striking his eyeballs perfectly.

For someone devoid of Extraordinary Power, these bullets would have drilled straight through his brain, guaranteeing a fatal outcome—but Aske had already agreed with Wilhelm to design the bandit leader such that only a heart-shot could kill him, to make the fight scene more exciting (deliberately dragging out the fight).

That meant the bandit leader in front of them was essentially a Transcendent with Physical Power level 5 or above.

As Miel’s gun fired, Eleanor instantly dashed to his right side, her magic wand describing a fierce arc upwards!

Cloud Piercing!

The sharp end of her wand stabbed through his wrist, preventing the bandit leader from gripping his giant axe. As the weapon hit the ground, flames and thunder emerged from Eleanor’s left hand, piercing through the bandit leader’s chest in an instant.

"An elegant strike!" the narrator exclaimed, as the sounds of applause also erupted in the background music.

From Wilhelm’s perspective, this lightning-fast exchange demonstrated their beautiful coordination and was filled with theatrical thrill:

If Miel’s shots had missed the eyes, the bandit leader could have simply turned his wrist and struck Eleanor, who had rushed forward.

If Eleanor had not hit the wrist, the blinded bandit leader could still have wildly swung his axe and potentially hit her.

Thus, the audience was on edge throughout the fight, only releasing their held breaths when the bandit leader’s weapon fell and Eleanor’s Flame Thunder pierced his chest, shifting them into the victorious rhythm of the battle and giving them a profound sense of triumph and satisfaction.

From an artistic standpoint, this fight was impeccable!

"Brilliant! Brilliant!" the narrator clapped and said, "Alright, while everyone’s still inspired, let’s quickly move onto the next scene!"

"Wait!" Aske raised his hand, "There were flaws in the fight we just filmed."

"Flaws?" Wilhelm thought, unable to see any himself, but as a perfectionist playwright, he patiently waited for Aske to explain.

"Good, let’s review it," Aske said, causing the two girls to shudder slightly, instantly understanding something.

A review, such a familiar tone!

Was Aske planning to use this Wilhelm to craft various battlefields and monsters to meet his demands, essentially to facilitate practical training for us?

On the surface, were we working for this Wilhelm to make a movie, or was he providing us with practice targets and venues?

Squad Leader, you’re incredibly cunning!