Chapter 54 Falling Leaf Blitz

Listening intently as the newly arrived lecturing nun finished interpreting the first part of the sacred scripture, Eric was disappointed to find that he had not gained any attribute growth.

It seemed that not every interpretation yielded attribute bonuses, Eric thought. It most likely had to correspond to the content of the class quests from his past life in "Crown of Thorns."

Something was better than nothing... He could only comfort himself this way. Even just those fragments provided a fairly considerable sum of attributes when added together.

The scripture interpretation was the second class of the morning, and once it ended, it was already noon.

Taking advantage of the break, Eric made his way to the base of the Third Regiment of the Church Guardian Knights.

The Guardian Knights were the Holy See's sole armed force, permanently stationed in the Holy City. Their numbers were not large, but they were essentially all elites, with the lowest-ranking members being warriors of Tier 6 or above. However, it was said that the Church's knights were once far more numerous, and even the name "Guardian Knights" came about much later.

The Third Regiment, which belonged exclusively to the Saintess's Convent, was also known as the Convent Guardian Knights.

"Your Highness!"

As soon as Eric appeared, all the knights immediately saluted him. The clatter of their armor echoed in unison, giving him a sudden feeling of having returned to the Lord's Manor.

"Is Commander Edward around? I have something to discuss with him."

Edward emerged shortly after. He was in his early forties, with short hair, a resolute face, and clad in a set of lightweight silver armor. He walked quickly over to Eric and executed a solemn salute.

"Your Highness Eric."

Eric had come to discuss combat training with him.

Edward was initially surprised, seeming as though he wanted to say something, but upon hearing that the Saintess had already given her consent, he readily agreed on the spot.

"You shall decide the time. Whenever you require training, you may come at any moment. I will arrange for someone to guide and spar with you... Or perhaps you have any special requests?"

Since Edward put it that way, Eric did not stand on ceremony. "Aside from basic training, it would be best if you could arrange for some knights who possess unique skills... Uh, they don't need to be overwhelmingly powerful, as long as they have some special techniques, they can all come and give it a try."

Edward frowned. "You mean..."

Storm Footwork!

Eric lowered his stance slightly, instantly appearing on the other side, and looked back at him. "Something like this."

Edward understood immediately. "You are referring to battle arts."

"Correct." Eric walked back. "I learned this from my family's knights, and I wish to understand and learn more battle arts."

—Opportunities like this were rare; he intended to poach their techniques.

Edward pondered for a moment and said, "I can tell that you must have received training from quite a few warriors. As for now... you possess at least the strength of Tier 3."

The Knight Commander's gaze was quite sharp. Eric nodded. "That's right. Not long ago, I just broke through to Tier 3."

"For your age, that is already quite exceptional. However, please forgive your subordinate for offering a bold reminder: the battle arts mastered by each person are forged through continuous combat and exploration, the crystallization of one's own fighting skills and experience. Copying them is likely not so simple." Edward's words were both tactful and direct.

Eric did not refute him, as this was indeed the truth. "You're right, but since I am currently trapped in the Holy City with nowhere to accumulate combat experience, I'll just treat this as broadening my horizons regarding combat."

He desperately wanted to tell him straight out: *Bro has a cheat system, just make the arrangements.*

Treating Eric's remark about being "trapped in the Holy City" as if he hadn't heard it, Edward nodded and said, "In that case, I will make the arrangements for Your Highness."

"Why not arrange it right now?" Eric's hands were itching for action.

***

"...Understood."

Edward turned around, swept his gaze over the members of the knight regiment, and quickly found his target. "Craig, come over and spar with His Highness for a few moves."

"Yes, Commander!"

Craig trotted over, coming to a halt before executing another salute to Eric. "How would Your Highness like to train?"

Eric looked at Edward, who then spoke up, "You have a breakthrough battle art that is very difficult to defend against, don't you? Demonstrate it for His Highness."

"Commander, I can't demonstrate it all by myself," Craig said.

"I know. Come and try to attack me."

Edward bowed his head slightly to Eric, then drew his longsword, walked over to a nearby clearing, and assumed a defensive posture.

"Come," he said, looking at Craig.

Standing on the opposite side, Craig also drew his weapon and strode quickly toward Edward.

*Tump, tump, tump—*

Craig's pace was extremely fast, but Eric could tell that this was just a normal stride with nothing special about it. The part referred to as "difficult to defend against" probably did not include this phase.

The distance between the two rapidly closed. Edward maintained an ordinary defensive stance, and Craig raised his sword to strike at his opening.

*Clang!*

This was likewise a thoroughly ordinary strike; if it were Eric, he would have been able to complete the parry just like Edward was doing now.

In the very next instant, however, a sudden change occurred.

Craig seemed to instantly transform into a weightless fallen leaf; his body suddenly drifted to the side, bypassing Edward's defense, and then abruptly accelerated, the blade in his hand thrusting directly toward Edward's body.

*Ting!*

Even against such an eerie and bizarre strike, Edward still managed to deflect it with his sword, and from his expression, it did not even seem to take much effort.

Seeing the ambush fail, Craig stopped as propriety dictated, though the frustration on his face was quite evident.

Ignoring him, Edward looked toward Eric. "Your Highness, this is Craig's unique skill, the 'Fallen Leaf Flash Strike.'"

"It is indeed difficult to defend against." Eric's eyes lit up as he watched. That bizarre flash and thrust just now—with its drifting momentum and extreme speed—was something he would have been completely unable to defend against. "Demonstrate it for me a few more times."

Since he had nothing better to do, Edward was quite willing to act as the target for Craig's demonstration of battle arts, instructing him to continue the attack.

*Ting! Ting! Ting!*

Craig launched continuous attacks, while Edward stood as steady as a mountain, his feet barely moving from the spot. The longsword in his hand turned into an airtight shield, blocking every single one of Craig's onslaughts without exception.

After launching a dense flurry of attacks for a while, Craig finally stopped, gasping for breath.

"Commander, didn't you say I was just supposed to spar with His Highness for a few moves?"

"Talk fewer nonsense." Edward knew that Craig had gotten heated from the fight and was eager to prove himself, but could the future Saintess be the object for him to show off his unique skills?

"—Then let's try it," Eric suddenly spoke up. "However, I will be the one attacking."

***

Edward looked at Craig. Even though Craig was supposed to be the one defending, Edward felt compelled to warn him, "Don't injure His Highness."

"Yes!" Craig immediately perked up.

Though he couldn't counterattack, if he defended and dodged skillfully, he could still prove to the Prince that he wasn't entirely useless, right?

He shouldn't have demonstrated his trump card to the Commander in the first place!

Even if they had randomly picked any other regiment member, he wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state.

Taking the longsword handed over by Edward, Eric swung it a few times to test its feel.

The longsword was slightly longer and heavier than the straight sword he usually favored, but it could still be wielded with one hand. Having practiced with various types of swords since childhood, he adapted to it quickly.

"Good enough." Eric assumed an offensive stance.

"I am ready as well, Your Highness!" Craig was even more impatient than he was.

With a push of his foot, Eric sprinted forward, lifting his sword as he charged toward Craig.

*Quite fast, indeed...*

The observing Edward thought to himself that while such speed was no different from crawling compared to his own abilities, for a prince who had just reached Tier 3, having this kind of speed was already quite commendable.

If the focus was solely on speed, however, his power and stamina would inevitably be lacking... Should he arrange corresponding training for His Highness?

...Still, what on earth was the future Saintess doing running over to their Guardian Knight regiment to train his combat skills anyway?

While evaluating Eric's strength, Edward couldn't help but inwardly complain, only for his eyes to widen abruptly in the next second.

A Storm Footwork instantly closed the distance, forcing Eric right in front of Craig. The feinted slash he threw out didn't use any force at all, pulling back even faster than it had been exerted.

Fallen Leaf Flash Strike!

In the very next instant, he drifted like a fallen leaf right to Craig's side, and amidst Craig's dumbfounded expression, he thrust his sword against the armor at Craig's waist.

"..."

Eric hadn't used much strength, so naturally, he didn't pierce through; Craig didn't even feel the impact. But the mental shock he felt was far greater than if he had taken a direct sword strike head-on.

"Y-Your Highness... What you just used..."

"Fallen Leaf Flash Strike." Eric returned the sword to Edward, who walked over with a similar trace of astonishment on his face.

"I have underestimated Your Highness."

Edward lowered his head in a salute. "Only a born warrior possesses such keen observation and the ability to replicate techniques. Please forgive my clumsy eyes; you are a warrior just as exceptional as your ancestors."

Eric merely smiled, casting his gaze toward the newly acquired skill on his interface.

*'Fallen Leaf Flash Strike': Battle art. Causes the body to drift unpredictably like a fallen leaf, swiftly stepping forward to bypass the target's frontal defense and strike from a blind spot. Execution requirement: Agility 65.*

Other people's skills really were wonderful to use.