BXBX NOVEL Book 2: 311
Book 2: Chapter 311
“Stance is important.”
“…”
“In particular, the basic stance is the most important. There are several reasons for taking a stance, but the most fundamental reason is that it allows you to flexibly respond to your enemy’s attack. In that regard, your basic stance isn’t bad.”
Snow closed her eyes for a moment.
Lukas realised that she was reducing the strength she put in her left arm and right leg.
Just like his condition now.
“…I see.”
After nodding to herself, she then took the stance Lukas had shown.
No. It was different. Her stance was similar, but it felt more sophisticated than his.
This surprised him.
Snow had managed to replicate a physical condition similar to Lukas’ using nothing but her imagination, and she’d even found a more appropriate stance.
Her talent was astonishing.
“…”
Lukas copied Snow’s stance.
When he moved his body to match her, he immediately felt the difference between the two stances.
For one, the gap between his legs had been narrower. It felt a bit too close, but if he were to use his right leg as the focal point like Snow said, this stance would allow him to stand more firmly. (Note: Lukas has big balls remember)
Secondly, his left arm was no longer hanging without purpose.
It was necessary for a swordsman to focus their weight on the hand holding the sword. In Lukas’ case, it was his right. Nevertheless, because of his condition, he needed to focus his weight on his left side as well. In this new stance, his shoulders were level.
“Hmm.”
He could feel a gaze.
It was Snow. She was looking at him with narrowed eyes while rubbing her chin with her hand. In this strange pose, she circled around Lukas.
“…”
A moment later, her expression changed subtly, but she didn’t say anything and continued to circle, this time, much slower than before.
Then she stopped.
With one hand on her waist, Snow stared at Lukas contemplatively.
Swoosh!
Then, without any warning, she stabbed forward with the twig in her hand.
Lukas tilted his head, dodging the strike. Strangely, he felt a few strands of hair fall despite it being only an attack from a blunt stick.
Nevertheless, he had no time to think too deeply about it.
Without stopping, Snow continued to attack.
The twig appeared above his head before naturally falling down. The stab, which had enough force to pierce his eye, quickly changed to a slash. If he stood still, then he would probably get cut in half from forehead to groin. This was by no means a joke.
Whoosh!
Using his right foot as a pivot point, he rotated his body in a half circle. Although it was only a small margin, he’d managed to dodge the attack.
Snow’s eyes shone. A curious smile spread across her lips as she continued to attack.
Papapat!
Her attacks were no longer limited to the twig. At first, she just used her left hand, before following with elbows, knees, feet, and even her forehead.
Lukas had no chance to fight back.
In the first place, the purpose of this spar wasn’t to test Lukas’ offensive abilities. Lukas knew that she was focusing on the effectiveness of the defensive stance as well as his responsiveness.
So he simply focused on dodging her attacks.
Lukas’ body seemed to be moving more than ever, but in truth, the part of him that was being worked the most was his eyes.
He looked at Snow’s eyes, the branch in her hand, her shoulders, and her feet in order to read her next attack. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to dodge any of her attacks.
Swoosh!
Snow’s movements grew faster and more ferocious. She was gradually increasing the level of her attacks, as a result, sweat soon began pouring down Lukas’ entire body.
This spar lasted for more than 10 minutes.
“—ah.”
Snow let out a soft cry.
And Lukas’ body was sent flying.
Thud!
Soon after, he felt pain in his back. This was natural since he’d landed on the hard ground without any form of cushioning.
“Urk…”
He couldn’t stop the groan that leaked out.
As Lukas laid spread eagle on the ground, Snow looked at him with an embarrassed expression.
Suppressing the pain, Lukas squeezed out a few words.
“…that… is not a speed I could handle.”
He wasn’t exaggerating, it was the truth.
Snow had continuously increased the speed and strength of her attacks to see if Lukas could react to them.
She probably wanted to see how well he could respond instead of simply copying the stance, as well as how he would fare in a real battle.
But that last attack was different.
For some reason, she used a speed that was at least a few times faster to snatch Lukas by the collar before throwing him backward.
“Mm. It was this Queen’s mistake. Sorry. I was just getting really annoyed that you kept dodging everything.”
“…”
He never would have expected to hear such a ridiculous reason.
Snow walked over to him and held out a hand with an awkward expression. He felt that she was genuinely sorry, so he grabbed her hand.
It was cool. And firm. Without a doubt, it was the hand of a swordsman.
“In any case. You really surprised me.”
Snow tapped her chin and spoke with a hint of praise in her voice.
“Your memory and comprehension are extraordinary. You’re like a sponge. You were able to almost perfectly absorb this Queen’s stance… And there is something I just realised.”
Her eyes shifted to Lukas’ left arm.
“We can fix your left arm.”
“Really?”
“Right. There is an elixir that can heal nerves and regenerate tissue. It should work for you. I know a pretty good alchemist, so I’ll get it for you. As an apology for what just happened.”
Snow smiled as she brushed dust off of Lukas’ back.
“It might even be possible to fix your right leg too.”
In the current situation, there was nothing he wanted more than to fix his arm and leg.
Apart from that, he couldn’t help but pay attention to the ‘pretty good’ alchemist that Snow had mentioned.
By far, the best alchemist that Lukas knew was Schweiser.
Although he had died, Anastasia, who had inherited Schweiser’s memories and personality, still existed in this world.
‘Is she with Ivan? Or Iris?’
In all honesty, Schweiser had always been a bit of an idealist. In other words, Lukas expected that he would have joined Iris’ side. Another reason for that was their relationship which had been forged through life and death battles.
However, he wasn’t sure how much ‘Anastasia’ had changed over the past 10 years. It was possible that she had come to share Ivan’s ideologies, or she might have even joined the Anti Circle Alliance.
…Of course, it wasn’t like he could directly ask about her at this point.
“In any case, my miscalculation was a good thing. I can’t believe we managed to complete the first step in less than an hour.”
After making sure he was okay, Snow picked up the twig again.
“Now then, let’s head straight into the second step.”