Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 264 - 62 Wedding Invitations

Chapter 264: Chapter 62 Wedding Invitations

The news from the training ground quickly reached Ludwig’s ears.

Since last time Meyer "accidentally encountered" Richarter’s swordsmen in the palace, Ludwig had scolded his subordinates thoroughly, vexed that they couldn’t even track someone living in their own royal palace—what was he feeding them for?

Since then, the servants of the Weisbach family kept a tight watch on Meyer and his group, even secretly following them to the restroom, fearing they might seize an opportunity to slip away.

Now, learning that Meyer’s disciple was taunting Sigrdrifa, Ludwig immediately became frantic—if that man seriously injured Sigrdrifa, Eleanor would hate him to the bone. Besides, the man was an envoy sent by the Wolf Family, and they couldn’t punish him lightly...

The only option for now was to rush there before they engaged in combat and separate them, to prevent the situation from escalating to an uncontrollable point.

Ludwig, accompanied by two knight squires and John, the Knight Captain, hurried to the training ground, suddenly feeling a sense of déjà vu...

Never mind, better hurry there first.

Upon arriving at the training ground, he saw a young man rapidly spinning and wielding a longsword, furiously attacking Sigrdrifa.

Meyer’s so-called "Square Swordsmanship" targeted the opponent’s chest as the center of the square, utilizing the square’s two diagonals to conduct a blend of rotating, alternating full and half sword circles forcing the opponent to constantly block and defend, steadily closing the range of their blocking until breaking through their defense and executing the kill.

The knack of this sword technique was to maintain the sword circles, so Meyer had marked numbers along the two diagonals of the square, teaching his disciples how to follow these numbers from smallest to largest to draw the sword circles.

However, the man had not even completed one cycle when Sigrdrifa swung her battle axe—Attack Block!

In the next second of clashing metal, the young man’s longsword flew out of his hand!

People present: ...

This isn’t how the script was supposed to go, is it? The swordsman on the field also appeared clearly confused.

As the teacher, Meyer, when creating this Square Swordsmanship, naturally anticipated the enemy’s counter moves within the sword circle.

If he blocks to the left, your sword circle should do this. If he dodges and counters, your sword circle should turn like so... According to the opponent’s different reactions, Square Swordsmanship had various counter measures, aiming to trap the opponent’s weapon within an ever-shrinking square until their defenses were completely breached.

However, Meyer had never taught what to do if your weapon was knocked out of your hand at the first encounter.

Precisely, even a swordsmanship genius like Meyer himself hadn’t considered the possibility of losing one’s weapon due to being struck by the opponent during the design of the Square Swordsmanship. If there’s such a discrepancy in power between both sides that a direct yield is necessary because you can’t even block a single strike, then what’s the point in fighting? Just concede!

"I say, your strength is a bit lacking," Sigrdrifa said as she hoisted her battle axe and shook her head, "Go back and practice some more."

The swordsman stayed silently.

It wasn’t really appropriate for him to admit that he was quite strong among Meyer’s students, as that would simply bring shame upon his teacher. So, he silently picked up his longsword and hastily left the field, covering his face in embarrassment.

"John," Ludwig said gazing at the man’s retreating figure, "if it were you..."

"I wouldn’t win," John, the Knight Captain, shook his head, "I’ve never won against Miss Sigrdrifa. And by observing the recent combat, it’s clear she had been holding back against me and hadn’t used her full strength."

"Hmm," Ludwig pondered.

The knight fighting event a few days later wasn’t just a one-off match but a series of three contests.

Ludwig’s original plan had been for John, the Knight Captain, to attend the first contest, and his brother Henry the second, leaving the swordsman of Richarter for the final contest.

Seeing as Lord Aske would supervise the last round, it seemed the slot for the first round could also be delegated to someone from their Azure Longsword Team... and if even a young lady could easily defeat the high-end warrior sent by the Wolf Family, wouldn’t that greatly inspire his own knights?

Look at me deploying a woman to easily thrash the Wolf pups!

With this thought, Ludwig had already made his decision.

Switch out the participant!

——————

In Aske’s past life, mastering a unique high-rank fighting style like the "Dual-Handed Assassination Technique" or "Barbarian Tactics" was the dividing line between ordinary players and professional gamers.

Because these tactics were often extremely complicated and systematized, they required hundreds of hours of practice and a high level of gaming talent.

When the girls chose and started to develop their unique styles of play, it meant they were truly entering the realm of professional gaming. In other words, if this were Aske’s past world, other teams would have already tried to scout them.

High-level characters were a dime a dozen, but the difference in skill and awareness among players was vast. Those with potential for sufficient growth were like gold sifted from the riverbed, worth extensive efforts to discover and cultivate.

However, in this world, there was no one like Bole to compete with Aske. He was not only the squad leader but also the owner and the investor. He held absolute power, and the whole team listened to him and trained the way he wanted.

Aske was very pleased with this.

He had already set up the subsequent growth and training plans for Eleanor, Sigrdrifa, Peggy, and Mia. His next task was to consider the training programs for the remaining four girls.

As Aske pondered various possibilities in his mind, he left the Weisbach Palace and casually found a tavern to dine in.

After ordering pasta, pork knuckle, and wine, he sat alone by the window and had already mused over seven or eight plans when he saw Hood and his female colleague chatting and laughing as they walked in.

"Hey, Squad Leader!" Hood exclaimed upon seeing Aske sitting alone in the corner, "You’re still alive?"

"So, what have you been doing behind my back again?" Aske opened a beer.

"Hahaha, come on, you overthink too much," Hood said as he and his female colleague sat down across the table, "This is my fiancée, Maria."

"You’re not even of age yet, a fiancée?" Aske glanced at him sideways.

"According to the local customs, I’m already of a marriageable age!" Hood protested.

Maria was a sweet-looking Frankish girl with golden curly hair softly cascading to her shoulders and a smattering of freckles on her face. Aske studied her face, which also appeared quite young, could it be?

"The reason you are rushing to get married," Aske mused, "couldn’t be because..."

"Hey, you got me." Hood said with a wry smile, "We originally planned to marry in two or three years, but the baby in her belly couldn’t wait."

"It’s all your fault!" Maria playfully punched him, causing his face to immediately swell up. Yet, he didn’t mind and just laughed heartily.

Aske: ...

Such a young girl and already so violent; she would definitely grow up to be one of those strong, muscular Frankish aunties.

"When are you planning the wedding?" Aske casually asked.

"Next month," Hood replied earnestly, "Speaking of which, I really should thank you, Squad Leader."

"If you hadn’t taken me away from Olympia, I wouldn’t have met my Maria."

The young man placed the wedding invitation on the table and put his arm around his fiancée, while Maria snuggled happily into his embrace.

"Alright, I’ll definitely come," Aske took the invitation and sighed.

To think this guy was actually getting married— I’m so much older and still a bachelor... He shook his head dejectedly and continued drinking his beer to himself.

"Squad Leader, that’s the lonely glare of a bachelor," Hood teased with a grin, "even though so many beautiful girls like you..."

"Still calling me Squad Leader?" Aske interrupted him.

"Old leader!" Hood quickly toasted, "Old leader, drink up!"