British hegemon

Chapter 78 Practicing Swordsmanship

The clanging and banging of metal instruments echoed all morning in the open space in front of the stables in the backyard of the Milk House Manor.

Roger is trying to learn swordsmanship under the guidance of Marne and Olaf.

"As you can see, there are fourteen combat stances in swordsmanship alone. Olaf just demonstrated the five most basic and practical defensive stances: middle, high, low, hanging, and rear. In addition, there are nine secondary defensive stances, such as the right hanging stance, the left inner stance, and the long and short point stance. As for offensive stances, they are even more varied and flexible."

As Ma En explained, he demonstrated the stances in slow motion, then sheathed his wooden fighting sword. "But these are pure swordsmanship techniques, not very practical in actual combat."

"In actual combat, we usually use a sword and shield together, with the right hand holding the sword to attack and the left hand holding the shield to defend." Ma En said, raising the small round shield in his left hand. "But when beginners face an attack from above, they are likely to instinctively raise their sword to block at the same time as they raise their shield to block. This will leave an opening in their lower body, and the enemy will immediately slash at their thigh or stab their abdomen."

Maren was demonstrating when he suddenly stopped and hesitated for a moment. “Sir, you might be better suited to using a battle axe. I just saw you swinging the battle axe. Although the technique is unknown and it wouldn’t be praised in the arena, your slashing movements are powerful and swift, which is suitable for battlefield combat.”

Olaf also very tactfully told Roger that he had no swordsmanship foundation and his movements and reactions were not flexible enough, so it was unrealistic for him to make a breakthrough in swordsmanship. Therefore, he suggested that Roger focus on practicing the battle axe, which was less difficult but more suitable for actual combat.

"You can try practicing with a shield and a battle axe together, using the axe for attack and the shield for defense. If you practice for three to five months, you will definitely achieve some success." Maren was not a sword master either. After teaching Roger for a whole morning, he felt that Roger was not cut out for swordsmanship. His arms were more suited to wielding an axe.

"My lord, swordsmanship is not something that can be mastered overnight. Young Master Colin started practicing swordsmanship at the age of seven, and I admit that I cannot beat him, but he was ultimately killed on the battlefield by a more powerful knight." Maren knew that if Roger were to force himself to take up a sword and go into battle, he would be riddled with holes by those knights who had practiced swordsmanship since childhood in less than two rounds.

After practicing all morning, Roger deeply understood why medieval knights could dominate the battlefield. Without day-to-day full-time training, swordsmanship is something that just anyone can learn by giving a farmer a sharp blade.

"Just tell me the truth. If I spend a whole morning practicing like this every day, how long will it take before I can kill enemies on the battlefield with my swordsmanship?" Roger was still somewhat unwilling to give up.

Olaf scratched his head with the hilt of his wooden fighting sword. "Sir, you have some talent. You have a good physique and strength. If you could find a master swordsman to teach you, you should be able to improve in two or three years."

Roger understood the subtle implication in Olaf's words, but he wasn't annoyed at all. "I can't wait two or three years."

Roger glanced at the knight's sword lying to the side, unwilling to let that divine weapon become nothing more than a decoration. "Do you guys have any quick training methods? The kind that can be mastered in three to five months? I don't want to be a sword master, nor do I need to show off in the arena. I just need to be able to defeat the enemy."

Marne and Olaf looked at each other, their faces full of difficulty.

"My lord, how about this? You should mainly practice with your axe and shield. If you're really set on that, then practice your knight's sword against the wooden stake three hundred times a day."

Ma En pointed to the thick wooden stake standing not far away, "I'll have someone replace it with a new one in a bit. If one day you can cut half a sword through someone's body with one blow, Olaf and I will teach you a few of the simplest and most practical offensive and defensive moves. You should be able to handle ordinary soldiers on the battlefield without any problem."

Roger glanced at the wooden stake covered in hacking marks, his hands still feeling a tingling sensation.

Just now, I swung the knight's sword that my uncle Jeffrey had given me and slashed fiercely. Swords and axes are completely different concepts. Roger could use that Viking battle axe to cut into a wooden stake in one blow, but when I swung the knight's sword, I was directly bounced away, my hand was numb from the shock, and the sword almost slipped from my hand.

Slightly disappointed, Roger knew that Rome wasn't built in a day, and he didn't dare to be reckless when it came to matters of life and death. So he readily agreed to the two professionals' suggestion to start by chopping down the wooden stakes.

The three sparred for a while longer, then the bald man led a thug to the backyard. "Sir, I've brought you the gray rat."

Roger put down his wooden sword, turned around and waved to the person standing under the courtyard wall, cowering and looking over.

A shifty-eyed gray squirrel trotted over, half-hunched over, and said, "Good day, young master Roger."

The bald man immediately gave the gray rat a light kick, and the gray rat quickly changed his address, "Good day, Lord Roger."

Roger waved his hand, indicating that the bald man didn't need to do that, and smiled at Gray Rat, saying, "Brother Lemon, it's been over a month since we last raided the bandits. I heard you've been in Glasgow making some money lately?"

The gray mouse was no longer naked; he was wearing a decent wool coat and leather boots, suggesting he had stolen a lot of money in Glasgow.

"Thank you for your concern. I've missed you very much too. This is a gift for you. Please don't find it offensive." As he spoke, Gray Rat held out an object with both hands to Roger.

He reached out and took it. It was a soft deerskin purse with exquisite patterns sewn on it with colorful silk threads. It must have been taken from the waist of a wealthy merchant or nobleman, but Roger didn't mind and happily accepted it.

Roger hung the money pouch on his belt and put his arm around Gray Rat's shoulder. This seemingly insignificant gesture surprised everyone present. "Brother Lemon, I called you here today to entrust you with a task."

Gray Rat had never been so close to a nobleman before. His extremely unnatural expression couldn't hide his immense pride. "Lord Roger, you said that as long as I can do something for you, I'm not afraid to go to my death."

Roger released Gray Rat and laughed, "Brother Gray Rat, you're not following me to your death."

"I heard from the bald guy that you frequently travel between Glasgow, Ayr, and Aylay, among other cities and towns?"

The gray mouse nodded. "Yes, sir. People in our line of work can't stay in one place all the time, so we have to travel to many different places."

"I am familiar with the market towns along the west coast of Scotland and the towns near Glasgow. I have been as far as Edinburgh, but I didn't stay there because I was unfamiliar with the place."

It really is a rat; it scurries around in so many places.

Roger thought to himself and continued, "You've traveled to many places and have a very good memory. I'd like to ask you to help me find out some information."

"Gathering information?" Gray Rat wondered. He often traveled to different places, and after stealing money, he would hang out in taverns and gambling shops all over the place. He could indeed hear all sorts of information.

"You've come to the right person. Those of us in this line of work need to be well-informed. We need to know before others which merchants are out and homeless; we need to know who sold wool at a high price in the market town today so we can go work for them tonight; we also need to know which market towns are currently conducting large-scale arrests, and which castles are neglecting night patrols..."

"As for memory, it absolutely can't be bad. We have to remember the faces of those wallet owners so we don't get caught red-handed on the street next time. We also have to remember which market towns and houses are easy to pickpocket, because we'll have to go back and do it again in a while..."

The gray mouse was actually quite proud, which made Maen and Olaf, who were standing next to him, speechless.