“You see, whether it’s attack, defense or movement, every style has a clear intent behind it.

The [Imperial Swordplay] comes from the history of the Terus Empire, and was revised countless times to improve it.

With the wisdom of many generations, the styles were eventually condensed into twelve, and each move has a clear intent behind it.

At least, that’s the case for eleven of them. The odd one out is [Free Flow], to the point where the manual does not even have specific instructions how to practice it.

Why do you think that is?”

Knife Leader Tanya lowered her voice and beamed at the girl next to her, her smug expression clearly telling that she was about to reveal a big secret.

Nisha doubted whether it was truly such an important piece of information, yet she still seriously pondered over the implications of those words.

In truth, it did stand out as odd once the elf examined the twelve different styles.

For the other eleven moves, the [Imperial Swordplay] had detailed instructions and pictures illustrated within, to the point that a volume of the manual was enough to practice alone to a somewhat proficient level without an experienced teacher.

When it came to [Free Flow], on the other hand, the scripture only vaguely outlined that the move tied together the disjointed after executing the others and how to integrate the surroundings into the fighting style.

There was neither a summary nor a single sketch how exactly the style was supposed to look like.

It definitely strayed from the others.

“By the way you are phrasing that question, I assume there’s something odd about the style. Can you tell me why?”

Rather than stumbling around blindly on her own, the dragon did not need to insist on guessing all on her own.

Studying the pretty woman next to her - who clearly could not wait to burst out with the answer - there was no real reason to insist on struggling alone either.

 

“Of course I can! You see, there are different levels of proficiency to the [Imperial Swordplay].

The first level are the stances, where the practitioner has to master the twelve different styles. Anyone can practice this level, it’s not considered hard at first.

Mastering them is a bit harder, but that true secret is [Free Flow].

Only by finding your own path and connecting the different styles can you increase your swordplay to the next level.

Many Legionnaires fall into the same trap and only endlessly polish their styles without paying attention to their movements.

Without any lucky encounters, it will be difficult for them to reach the next stage, the second level of proficiency.”

Tanya pulled Nisha up and retrieved one of the wooden training swords, stepping into the open space next to the training machine.

Closing her eyes, the soldier adjusted her condition and prepared to move.

The dragon was quite interested in a demonstration of the second proficiency level, something that was not mentioned at all in the copy of the [Imperial Swordplay] she owned.

Regarding the strict rules and discipline in the Terus empire army, her title as Knife Leader definitely was not for show but because of real ability.

As Nisha strained her eyes and [Spirit Sight] to capture every little movement, Tanya began to move.

Since she had the title of a minor officer, hence the beautiful woman had the corresponding skill in swordsmanship.

The person in question concluded her preparations and adjusted her mental state.

Starting with the [Slash] stance, Tanya stepped forward and displayed a beautiful sword dance.

Her blade danced left and right, twisted about and cleaved apart imaginary monsters.

Within her light steps, the beautiful soldier drew support from [Advance] to move around, yet the actual motions broke free from the rigid stance and easily surpassed the strength of the original move.

Despite not following the stances and only referencing them in her own attacks and movements, Nisha still recognized the principles from the twelf styles.

 

Knife Leader Tanya drew a big circle around the yard and finished demonstrating her second level proficiency once she returned back to the wooden weapon rack and the elf waiting for her.

Expelling a gust of breath, the officer tossed the weapon back on the rack and stretched her muscles, showing her familiarity with the training ground.

“Now, what do you think after seeing it?”

Apparently, moving around to flex her prowess and showing off her status at the same time satisfied the vanity of the officer and put her into a very good mood.

Nisha did not answer right away and recalled the sword dance she just witnessed.

While it was not the most dazzling or most powerful display of power the dragon had ever witnessed, the moves and their execution was impressively smooth and well connected.

No matter whether it was a high target or a low sweep, the Knife Leader demonstrated great flexibility and control over her own body.

Furthermore, in her own opinion, neither Legionar Fabio nor herself had the strength to resist in front of those sharp and swift strikes or had hopes of breaching the ever changing defense.

“I did not even imagine that it was possible to bring the [Imperial Swordplay] to such a level.

Rather than saying that you mastered the twelve styles, I think you managed to create your own version instead.”

Nisha revealed her thoughts honestly and did not compliment the beautiful women out of politeness.

She earnestly yearned to obtain a similar level of proficiency after seeing a single display.

“Haha, it’s a matter of course that there’s a transformation in quality after reaching the second level.

Pretty much anyone can do as much before they can be promoted as a Knife Leader, the really impressive people are the Generals and higher ranks.

Compared to my own skills, they are the sky and beyond, I can’t even guess if I will manage to catch up to them one day.

Still, your opinion actually struck rather close to the truth.”

 

Due to her good mood, Tanya was not shy with dishing out praise.

While she was often in charge of overseeing the training of the Legionnaires and similarly performed at a satisfactory level, the army did not have a suitable environment where the soldiers and officers cheered each other on.

Having the admiration of a junior put her into a pleasant rush, hence she eagerly explained small secrets of the [Imperial Swordplay] to the girl.

“The first level of proficiency is all about practicing the styles to gain more experience, while [Free Flow] is needed to tie them together.

If a practitioner is either fixated on only mastering the different moves or strays too far from the outline in the manual, that will make it hard to take the step to the next level.

Only by raising the two pillars at the same time will the foundation for the second level exist.”

The officer worked her pretty head really hard to find the appropriate description for the method needed for a breakthrough.

Her own experience hardly applied to everyone. During a routine mission issued to the legion when they had previously been stationed near the outskirts of the Terus empire, the team under her leadership had run into a large congregation of monsters of unusually high cultivation level.

Cut off from reinforcements, the troop had nearly perished before the savagery of the great number of enemies.

Driven beyond the limit, Tanya - who was still a regular legionar leading a small team - had erupted with all of her potential and inadvertently stepped into the second proficiency level due to the threat on the life of her team and herself.

Slaughtering a way out of the siege, barely less than half of the unit had made it back to the border city and warned them of the threat, which also subsequently yielded the merit needed for her promotion to Knife Leader.

Although the breakthrough had advanced her career and saved the little remaining men under her command, it had been still a close shave and Tanya lacked some experience to make the jump on her own.

 

“Since you know the method and can tell me about it, shouldn’t it be rather easy to allow more soldiers to enter the second level?

According to Lance Corporal Hale, there are very few Legionnaires that manage to become officers and get promoted to Knife Leader.”

Although it sounded nice to have a direction to focus on and improve her strength, the dragon was sceptical whether or not the explanation she heard could be taken at face value.

And indeed, the bright grin on Knife Leader Tanya’s face turned awkward when the elf picked her great advertisement apart.

“Well, it’s one thing to tell someone where the door is and that you need a key.

The way the door is opened and the shape of the key is different for everyone.

Fortunately, the second level has the most people that have passed it, and from the collective wisdom of our predecessors, the empire has figured out a few tricks and tips to help our warriors make progress.”

The Knife Leader was helpless in that regard as well. She had her breakthrough in a moment of emergency, hence it was hard for her to shore up her foundation and advance in a short period of time.

Fortunately, she still attained the second level of proficiency and got the corresponding title after going through a test.

Thinking how that had led her to be assigned under Lance Corporal Hale and allowed them to be together, a faint blush crept on her face and she turned away from the elf to hide her feelings.

Nisha wondered what exactly happened to have the other woman avoid her but it only lasted for a few breaths before Tanya turned back and continued on like normal.

It puzzled the dragon what had just transpired but she was not given the time to hone in on the situation.

“The wisdom of the previous generations gave us a rather solid method to advance, at least for the first jump from the first to the second level.

Train your stances and master them as much as you can to understand the underlying principles - why is a [Slash] used like it is and what’s the best situation to use it.

Similarly, think outside of the box to apply the [Imperial Swordplay] in combat and come up with a personal method to use them well, that is the essence of the twelfth style, [Free Flow].

Perhaps with a spark of inspiration or a moment of need, the door to the second level of proficiency will not hinder your path at all and you will attain a breakthrough naturally.

That’s the advice given to all Legionnaires training in the Terus Empire Army.”

 

Her words strung a chord with the dragon and she entered a moment of contemplation.

Now that she was aware of the method to advance to the next level of the [Imperial Swordplay] and was aware why there were interruptions in her combat method, she actually appreciated the manual a lot more.

Obviously, the sword style was quite high level since the promotion of soldiers was dependent on their mastery of the styles.

Nisha really looked forward to seeing Lance Corporal Hale executing her own mastery to the highest level, or even a General in the future.

“Did I manage to clear up your doubts?”

Seeing that the girl no longer spoke, Tanya saw through her contemplative mood and considered the issue closed.

Not really expecting a verbal response, the Knife Leader disassembled the training device and waved a training Legionar over to have the equipment returned to the storage room.

Grabbing the girl by the shoulder and walking forward together with her, Tanya accompanied her all the way to the exit of the encampment and sent her off with a smile.

Truth to be told, it was already very impressive to practice the different styles to the elf’s level in a short period of time.

Not many among her subordinates and men she trained could match the girl’s speed.

Tanya predicted that the girl had a bright future ahead of her, a bright light that was just about to begin being uncovered.

She watched until the elf entered the city gates and then returned to the military compound.

In a good mood, the Knife Leader decided to tell Lance Corporal Hale about the visit and praise the girl in front of her.

Perhaps, the Terus empire would be interested to poach such a good prospect and talent in the future.