Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 90 - 69: Why Not Come with Me

Chapter 90: Chapter 69: Why Not Come with Me

Eleanor stood up straight, her right hand slowly gripping the handle of the spear as she slightly lifted her forearm.

She held an Eastern Solomon Knight Spear, about 3.6 meters long.

The spear shaft was straight and slender, made entirely of fine gold, emanating a faint dark golden hue under the sunlight.

The langet was carved with the ferocious head of a dragon, from whose mouth protruded a sharp and extremely thin spear blade.

Such a thin blade would be impossible with ordinary steel, for lack of strength, a slash from a longsword could easily sever it.

Only fine gold could concentrate the blade’s edge within such a narrow space, making it sturdy enough to pierce through three layers of iron armor with a single strike.

Aske stood opposite her, holding her original weapon—a long spear forged from refined steel, exceedingly heavy, not something a normal person could easily wield.

"Dragon Spear, Cloud Piercing, Spiral Charge, Iron Cutting," Aske spoke slowly, "these four Spear Skills you’ve learned form the foundation of a Spear Technique system, much like the Tactical Eight Forms are to swordsmanship."

"Dragon Spear is a grabbing technique, used to impale and throw enemies, achieving the aim of control."

"Cloud Piercing is an armor-piercing technique, targeting enemies with Heavy Armor and shields, it penetrates defenses with extreme force,"

"Spiral Charge is a defense-breaking technique, using the rotation of the spear shaft to shake open the enemy’s Block or Attack Block."

"Iron Cutting is your family’s Spear Skill, primarily aiming to repel enemies at close range."

"From a professional standpoint, you have completed the first step, mastering these four basic Spear Skills. Next, you must apply them flexibly to adapt to more complex combat requirements."

Aske turned around, aiming his Long Spear forward at four combat dummies planted in the dirt with wooden stakes.

"First is the Dragon Spear, as a grabbing technique, once the enemy is impaled, it inevitably creates a state of rigidity, ensuring any follow-up attack hits."

"Of course, enemies aren’t that foolish. If you understand the benefits of landing a hit with the Dragon Spear, naturally enemies will also prioritize defending against it."

"Simply using the Skill, any slightly experienced player would evade. Uh, you know what a player means, right?"

"I do, it means Martial Artist," Eleanor nodded in response.

"Right..." Aske hesitated, "let’s leave it at that. Then, the trick to landing the Dragon Spear on an enemy is quite a feat of skill."

He raised his Long Spear and thrust at the combat dummy before him. Eleanor watched clearly: it was a simple, straightforward thrust, and just as the spear was about to impale the dummy, the shaft suddenly flicked upward.

It turned into a Dragon Spear!

"Feinting. By definition, it is starting with one move, and at the moment of impact, suddenly switching to another move, preventing the enemy from responding," Aske explained, "Begin with a Straight Stab, then suddenly lift the shaft, transforming it into the Dragon Spear grab. There’s a professional term for this—’Dragon Transformation.’"

"The timing of Dragon Transformation should be as late as possible. I have an old friend who’s skilled with the spear who can transform into a dragon the instant he pierces an enemy."

"The enemy won’t even understand why they’ve been grabbed; they thought they were only hit by a Straight Stab, then suddenly their whole field of vision spins."

He sighed, thinking of his friends in the professional circle who were probably showing off their skills on the eSports stage, perhaps some had even progressed to the playoffs.

And here he was, stuck teaching basics to a bunch of rookie NPCs.

"Dragon Transformation, right." Eleanor nodded, indicating she had understood.

"The same holds true for Cloud Piercing," Aske continued, "do you think enemies with Heavy Armor will just stand there, waiting for you to pierce through their armor with Cloud Piercing? Of course not."

He turned to the second dummy, knees slightly bent, then suddenly leaped up, spear in hand, thrusting forward.

"You’re too far!" Eleanor cried out in a hurry. Aske’s spear thrust was spent, his arm fully extended, about five or six centimeters from the dummy.

Then the spear blade suddenly shot forward, piercing the dummy’s chest.

"How could..." Eleanor exclaimed incredulously.

"Watch my feet," Aske reminded.

Feet? Eleanor then noticed that Aske’s stepping seemed to have lengthened.

"Left foot at the rear, right foot in front, toes lightly touching the ground," Aske demonstrated again, "When you thrust with Cloud Piercing, the enemy will try to jump back, evading your attack range."

"Just as they think they’ve successfully evaded, then your right foot suddenly steps forward, extending the attack distance, hitting the target."

"This is called a two-stage attack. Whether it is Dragon Spear, Cloud Piercing, or Spiral Charge, all can use a two-stage attack to deceive the enemy."

"I see," Nora said, "grasping the enemy’s psychology is indeed a very important aspect."

Startled by her words, Aske and Eleanor turned to see Nora sitting on the grass beside them, both their faces revealing subtle expressions.

"Don’t look at me," Nora waved her hand, "continue."

"Two-stage and feinting, Eleanor, why don’t you go practice for a bit," Aske cleared his throat.

"Okay," Eleanor quickly nodded, then hurriedly turned to flee.

"Cough cough," Aske coughed a few times, feeling embarrassed written all over his face.

And the sweet-looking lady sitting on the ground kept staring straight at him, her eyes seeming to bear some resentment.

"Aske," Nora murmured, "have you been avoiding me lately?"

"No, of course not." Aske sat down beside her, gazing into the distance. "Just been tied up with a lot of things."

He tried to laugh it off, seemingly feeling the distance between them was too great and shifted closer to Nora.

Coincidentally, Nora also cautiously moved a bit closer to him at the same time, resulting in both of them sitting directly beside each other.

Aske: ???

What kind of awkward situation is this? Why are we suddenly so close?

Nora was also instantly confused. The plan Medea had designed for her was to stay within arm’s reach, yet not to truly touch skin to skin, to entice with a ’so near yet so far’ approach... but she hadn’t been told what to do in this kind of situation!

"Goodness," the voice of Medea echoed in her head. "You’re so eager..."

"Save me, Medea!" Nora mentally cried for help. "What should I do now?"

"You could move away a bit," Medea suggested. "Pretend to be angry, then pout."

"Wouldn’t he dislike me for that!" Nora said anxiously. "If I move closer on my own and then get angry, he would definitely think I’m being unreasonable!"

"Then act as if nothing happened and keep chatting with him," Medea advised.

"Chat about what?" Nora’s voice was nearly tearful when Aske sniffed and said somewhat unnaturally, "What’s that scent?"

"Don’t say it’s perfume!" Medea instructed. "Say it’s either shower gel or shampoo!"

"Yes, it’s the smell of shower gel." Nora stammered, nervously fidgeting with her fingers. "It’s... it’s a new brand with milk and aloe essence..."

"Ask him if he likes it!" Medea hurriedly reminded.

"Do you..." Nora was as jittery as a frightened deer, barely managing to suppress the pounding of her heart and asked in a whisper, "Do you like it?"

"I think it smells quite nice." Aske nodded. "What brand is it? I might buy a bottle myself."

"Don’t answer him directly, get him to guess the brand!" Medea said excitedly. "He surely won’t be able to guess it! Then tell him to take a closer sniff and move in closer!"

"I, I, I can’t..." Nora said nervously, her face flushing red with shyness, the crimson spreading up her neck and nearly covering her entire cheeks. Finally, she gathered her courage and said:

"Have a guess..."

The words reached her throat but turned into a cry of astonishment—as a girl appeared out of thin air above them and fell heavily onto both their bodies.

"Who!" Aske quickly pushed her off him, rolled to his feet, and immediately positioned Nora behind him for protection.

Only then did he see the girl getting up from the ground—it was Theodora without her veil—his expression immediately turned odd.

That Mia! Aske was speechless. Hadn’t there been an agreement to immediately teleport back and notify me upon finding Theodora?

How did she end up being sent right here!?

"Princess Theodora, we meet again," he quickly regained his composure and said.

"Mr. Aske?" Theodora also swiftly calmed down, her gaze flickering to her surroundings, she realized that once again the situation had slipped from her control and began to smile ruefully:

"So you’ve recognized me from the start."

"Theodora?!" The girls in the distance, stirred by the noise, gathered around. When they recognized the visitor, their expressions ranged from odd to astonished.

People like Eleanor and Sigrdrifa, being foreigners, didn’t recognize "Theodora" and her associated status. As for Peggy and Mia, they almost blurted out "Your Majesty."

"Yes." Aske spoke frankly. "I not only know who you are, I even invited you to join us... Do you still have that contract with you?"

"I don’t have it with me," Theodora responded, her composure intact despite feeling slightly overwhelmed by the unexpected event. Her good upbringing allowed her to remain poised and proper.

That contract... She had quickly given it to the Chief Mage as soon as she returned to the palace, fearing there might be some sinister Extraordinary Power attached to it.

"No worries, I have another copy here." Aske produced another contract and handed it to Theodora.

Theodora took the contract almost speechlessly, her mind full of incredulous shock.

He transported me from the monastery where I was imprisoned, to this place, to inquire about the contract?

He can’t be serious, right? Knowing I am the Emperor of the Empire, he still invites me to be a mercenary?

Then she heard Aske continue:

"Look at the patterns on the edge of the contract. Are there letters in there?"

Theodora looked closely and saw that the decorative letters were indeed incorporated within the intricate border patterns. Nora peered over and read out: "Venice... Zoe... Betrayal..."

"So I did warn you, didn’t I?" Aske said. "It’s a shame you didn’t notice the little hint I hid in the contract."

Of course, even if Theodora had noticed it, it was unlikely that she would suspect her own sister or change her diplomatic plans on the whim of a hint from a stranger.

But now that he had mentioned it, it made him seem all the more prescient.