Iron Powder and Spellcasters

  Chapter 3 What is a spellcaster?

   "Is wrestling fun?" Winters asked.

   Winters and Ike, who walked off the arena, were helping each other take off their training armor.

  The weapon of criticism is obviously inferior to the criticism of the weapon, and Winters punches Ike hard in the back.

  Ike is Axel's nickname, and Axel's friends usually call him that.

The    fist hit Ike and made a muffled sound, but Ike didn't feel anything - he was still wearing training armor, and Winters was numb from the pain.

   "Hurry up and get rid of my burden, and wear it for a while, it will really kill you." Ike supported.

   The training armor they wear is essentially half of the cavalry's full body armor. This armor is difficult to wear alone, and it is even more troublesome to take off.

   So in the swordsmanship class, two people who fight each other help each other with armor and unarmor.

   After taking off their training armor, the two of them hurriedly took off their armored clothes. Their armored clothes were completely soaked as if they had just been fished out of the water.

   The reason why Xia Bijian is so painful is that this cotton-padded coat has as much responsibility as the sun.

  In the Gulf of Cenas, this cotton armor can be used as winter clothing, but wearing such a suit in summer becomes a kind of torture.

   "How did the knights wear this to fight in the summer? Do they have to wear chainmail again?" Ike sighed as he took it off.

   "Isn't it over if you don't fight in the summer? If you have to fight, the enemy has to wear such a full set anyway, so who can survive better." Winters continued to chat without content.

   They put their long swords and armor on the stone bench, ran **** to the large water tank in the corner of the training room, and began to pour fresh salt water.

  Where did the salt water come from? It was the swordsmanship instructor who had prepared a large tank in advance, enough for the people in the training room to drink it open.

   People in this era do not understand what ion balance is, nor what water poisoning is.

   But the instructors of Luyuan already know: You must not drink a lot of water after sweating violently, otherwise you will be in danger of life.

  This valuable experience, they paid two lives as tuition.

   The salty water of the swordsmanship class actually contains such a profound and simple truth: the use of a certain technology does not mean that you need to understand the deep principles of this technology.

  The bird doesn't know why it can fly, it just can fly.

   After a good drink, the two slowly walked away from the stone bench of the playback equipment.

  In the field of competition, the sound of the "ding ding ding ding ding" long swords stopped when they rang.

  Ike still remembered how an officer should behave, and Winters lay down on the ground, the icy cold touch of the slate made him very comfortable.

   As soon as the body relaxes, the pain comes again.

  The pain in his left shoulder reminded him all the time: You just dropped eight points in a row.

   He looked at his left shoulder, a large area had been smashed into cyan, and the bruise had spread all the way to the collarbone.

   "Seriously." Winters coughed: "I thought I was split in two by you just now."

  Ike also saw the bruise on Winters' shoulders, and he felt a little guilty: "I should have pulled back."

Does    Winters really have a grudge against Ike? of course not.

   He is very clear: it is normal to compare swords and bump into bumps. If there is no danger, why wear heavy armor?

  Ned Longsword has a special training sword, which is safer.

   But the instructor insisted that the officers and students should compete with real swords without a sharp edge. If they were to get it, it would be unsafe, and if they were to get it, they would suffer some minor injuries from time to time.

   Winters didn't care about Ike's sword. He had nothing to say because he was nervous and subconsciously covered his next question.

   His throat moved, deliberately avoiding eye contact, pretending to be focused on the arena, and only showing Ike the back of his head.

   He took a nonchalant attitude and asked Ike casually: "I'm curious myself, how did I get 17 points? You let me in the first few rounds?"

   "No." Ike's tone was natural and sincere: "When you fight, you only want to win, how can you care about the handicap? I was also hit by you so impatiently that I couldn't even hold the sword in the end."

   Winters exhaled softly, the more he pretended not to care, the more he cared in his heart. To get match point in the hands of the master is an honor in itself.

   He suddenly had some regrets, because he really had a chance to win this game.

   No matter what you think in your heart, you must not show your timidity. Winters laughed: "Fart! I think you have already thought about the script. Let me get the match point first, and then come back."

  Ike laughed too.

  The swordsmen on the field played a wonderful round of offense and defense, and Winters and Ike also applauded.

   "You... actually need more practice." Ike said suddenly and earnestly: "Practice strength first, and then spend more time on swordsmanship. The one who won just now is you."

  The two shirtless people, Ike's muscles are obviously more linear than Winters.

   Winters' stature, which can only be politely called well-proportioned, is still a long way from being strong.

"You never do self-discipline training, and you don't practice more. You haven't lifted stone bells or pulled stone grinders, and you spend most of your time making up for sleep." Ike concluded: "This way you can also get 17 points. I think you're good enough."

   Winters was speechless: "I really don't know if you're complimenting me or mocking me..."

   "Of course it's a compliment! The highest level of compliment!" Ike stood up suddenly, drew his sword, and made three empty swings.

   Every time, the blade swept the same trajectory and stopped at the same position, exactly the same.

  Iger leaned on the long sword and said to Winters: "The power of a musket relies on gunpowder, but the power of swordsmanship relies on muscles. Skill cannot replace strength. You don't practice strength...

   "Stop talking." Winters interrupted Ike: "Go away, I'm looking for something."

"what?"

   "Ground seam, I'm going to get in."

   "I'm really complimenting you."

   Winters changed to a more comfortable lying position and said lazily: "The truth hurts more than a lie. Just spare me, Master."

  The [Master] in Winters' mouth is the abbreviation of [FencingMaster].

   In the Senus Alliance, this is not a title that can be used casually.

   is an official title that needs to be certified by the blacksmith guild before it can be crowned.

   Only those who have widely recognized and learned swordsmanship theories are eligible to be selected as swordsmen masters.

   So far, no living person has received this honor.

  Ike has a waist, wide shoulders and a long body. The most powerful thing is that he can always carry his brain when he competes with swords. He is a natural swordsman.

   He only started to learn Ned's swordsmanship when he entered the pre-school, and he quickly became an invincible player in the same class. Even someone like Winters who had practiced Ned's swordsmanship since childhood was no match for him.

   After Ike's strength grows, he will be upgraded to an invincible player of all ages.

   Officers from the Luyuan Academy, all of them have learned Ned's swordsmanship. But no matter who comes, he can't get 20 points in Ike's hands.

   It can be said that Lu Yuan has now been unable to test the depth of Ike.

   His level is one level higher than everyone here, he is the uncrowned king, the chief swordsman without a title.

   So I don't know when it started, Ike had a nickname of [Master of Swordsmanship], which was quickly shortened to [Master].

   When the chat atmosphere is pleasant, even the teacher will call him [Master] jokingly.

   A year ago, General Taylor, Minister of Army of the Union Province, came to inspect the Luyuan Institute. He learned that the officer and student in front of him was called Axel, and he blurted out, "Are you that master?"

   Since then, this nickname has spread farther.

   But Winters seldom uses the nickname, as it carries a hint of curse—no living person has been able to hold the title.

   "You... I guess when you come back next year, your old foundation will be lost." Ike said bitterly to Winters.

  Winters is still lazy: "In my opinion, for a military commander, a smart mind is more important than a developed muscle. It is my duty to keep enough sleep."

   "And think about it, if I practice hard, I still can't win against you, what should I do? Isn't that a bad loss?" Winters calculated an account: "So if you don't practice, you won't lose."

   "Veneta people." Ike couldn't help laughing: "Veneta people!"

Winters turned over: "I was sent to the United Province to study preparatory school at the age of thirteen. You said that I am a Veneta, and the Veneta may still regard me as a United Province. If I am a Venetian If there is any problem with the people of the tower, it must be because of being nurtured in the federal province."

   The sound of sword fighting stopped, and another group of officers and students were replaced.

"Sometimes I can't help thinking." Ike suddenly felt sad: "The owners of these armors, they practiced using weapons longer than me, and wore thicker armor than me. In the end, they were not dragged off their horses and killed. Death? Does personal bravery really mean anything to war?"

   "You're a bit immoral." Winters laughed: "Grab my lines. After all, you have to lose before you are qualified to make such remarks."

Ike was serious: "I have had this idea for a long time, and I understand why you don't practice swordsmanship. You are a spellcaster, and I can compete with swordsmanship. If you are on a real battlefield, you can kill with one spell. I."

  …

   It is not a secret that there are spellcasters among the officers and students. Even if it is a secret, it cannot be concealed from the classmates who get along with each other day and night.

  For most people—including years-educated para-officers like Ike—the caster image is forever associated with pointed hats, towers, old men with white beards, and outlandish folklore.

   If it weren't for military school, Ike would never have seen a spellcaster who could breathe in his life—and certainly not one who couldn't.

   People with a talent for magic are inherently rare.

   Compared with giving birth to a child with a talent for magic, it is more difficult to screen out the gifted from the vast crowd and train them to become magicians.

  It's so difficult that people who aren't magicians don't even know where to start.

  The known magicians in this world are all the royal magicians/court magicians of the feudal monarchs.

   They were scholars, advisors, bodyguards, and thugs to emperors, khans, sultans, and great nobles, serving only at the very top of the feudal clique.

  Magicians walk in the courts of feudal monarchs, and the common people have no chance to see them at all—and they should pray themselves not to see the magicians.

   Who are the court mages who use pseudonyms? Are they really human? At what age were they selected? How were they trained to be magicians?

   These secrets are probably only known to the magicians and rulers themselves.

   The screening technology of potential candidates, the training plan of magicians, and the method of implementing spells are all secrets strictly kept by the top level of the ruling group.

   Ordinary people's perception of magicians is basically between "the witch will take you away and eat you if you cry again" and "the brave prince won an empire from the reclusive magician who won a sword".

The   Senus Alliance, a country established by the common people to overthrow the emperor and nobles, certainly cannot have magicians.

   Not only is there no magician, the Alliance is also the main victim of the feudal ruling class's monopoly on magical power.

   Countless officers and soldiers died at the hands of the court mages raised by Richard IV in the sovereign war of the Union army to win the country's independence.

   Every time the mad emperor puts the court wizard on the battlefield, it will cause a **** storm.

   And until the emperor withdrew, the Union militia failed to capture or kill any of the court mages.

The    Alliance's magical warfare power was born after the war.

After the    emperor retreated, the alliance was established.

   "Magician without Spell Talent", Army Major General, Scholar [Antoine Laurent] summed up his experience of facing court mages many times in war, and finally figured out how to identify humans with spell talent.

   General Antoine Laurent immediately invented a matching detection tool.

  The Alliance Army has been screening children and adolescents with a talent for magic in the Alliance every year from this moment on.

   Then they "convinced" the parents of these children by reasoning, bribing, intimidation, etc., to bring all these children into military schools at all levels.

  The seedlings are there, but new problems come one after another.

  How to train a child with a talent for magic into a magician like a court wizard? Everyone in the alliance has a black eye.

  The training system of magicians is one of the core competitiveness of the ruling group, and it has always been a secret that has not been passed down, and there is no external experience to learn from.

   It was also General Antoine Laurent who led the formation of the Army Magic Warfare Bureau and began to cross the river by feeling the stones.

  The Magic Warfare Bureau started from a blank sheet of paper, and struggled to explore how to train spellcasters and how to implement spells.

  To this day, the Magic Warfare Bureau has been established for 25 years, and finally has made some achievements.

  The war bureau initially divided magic into two major disciplines: magic and alchemy, and initially divided spells into three categories: fire, acceleration, and sound.

   Twelve spells have been reproduced, and a spellcaster training system with "independent intellectual property rights" has been initially formed.

  Because in the traditional sense, a magician is equivalent to a court mage.

   In order to show the difference, the Alliance did not continue to use the term "magician", but called its own spell capable person "caster".

   In fact, even the Magic Warfare Bureau doesn't know whether he is going the right way or the wrong way.

   The top leaders of the republics generally believed that although the Magic Warfare Bureau claimed to be cultivating magicians, the level of spellcasters was too far from the court mages they had seen back then.

  The intuitive feeling is also a little different - maybe standing too close to the lack of mystery.

   But Alliance spellcasters can indeed reproduce some of the spell effects seen on the battlefield back then.

   As the saying goes: "Have you never eaten pork, haven't you seen a pig run?"

   But this situation is very special now. The Alliance Army has only been hit by pigs, not only did not eat pork, but also did not see how the pigs ran.

Although the    Republics did not know whether the route opened by General Antoine Laurent was right or wrong, they still firmly supported the Magic Warfare Bureau in the simple thinking of "something is better than nothing".

   Winters is a spellcaster, but he was only identified as having a talent for spells after he entered the Army Infant School.

   Among the 171 cadets in his current year, 21 cadets are spellcasters.

   This is a pretty staggering proportion, with nearly half of the casters in the Gulf Alliance who are the same age as Winters.

   And the other half of the casters are mainly women, and a small number of men who are not physically fit to be officers.

   All spellcasters studied in Infantry and Cavalry, but none in Artillery (the Military Academy only has these three subjects).

   This is because one of the design goals of the Army spellcaster training system is to produce as many line officers as possible with spell abilities.

   The late General Antoine Laurent believed that the Confederates would not be able to cultivate top-level magicians at the court wizard level for a long time.

  Since it is impossible to take the elite line like a feudal country, it can only win by quantity.

  Compared to the madman Richard IV's cautious use of magicians in the war, the strategy of the Alliance military is to deploy magic warfare forces to the front line of the battlefield and train as many officers with magic abilities as possible.

   However, there were some deviations in the implementation of this policy...

  …

   Winters originally thought that the students in the military school would at least have a basic understanding of the spell caster, but he did not expect that even Ike thought that he could kill with a single spell.

   He reluctantly denied: "I don't practice swordsmanship because I'm lazy, and it has nothing to do with the caster. What about the caster? Don't you still beat me?"

   "But if you use spells, I can't beat you." Ike took it for granted.

   "How do you want me to explain it to you?" Winters covered his face and let out a long sigh.

   (end of this chapter)