Chapter 253: Accelerated Thinking

Staves fear nodding, and spears fear circles. It was said that once an expert’s spear started to tremble, the spear tip would swing wildly, making it difficult even for gods to defend against. The filling of isinglass glue greatly alleviated the problem of the spear shaft having no elasticity under the original craftsmanship. With a flick of the wrist, the spear tip slightly bypassed the weapon blocking in the opponent’s hand, sliding in along the back of the opponent’s long blade.

It clearly felt like a light tap on the opponent’s Chainmail, but it actually pierced right in. After that, using his left hand as a fulcrum to pry, he immediately shrank the spear in his hand with ease, and then swept it towards another Black Skin nearby who was trying to launch a sneak attack.

As the saying goes, a horse trampling through a camp fears no crowd. Facing these Black Skins before his eyes. He wielded his spear like a giant python coiling around a tree, protecting himself and his horse from front to back and left to right. He advanced and retreated forcefully; wherever the spear tip went, a touch meant injury, and a brush meant a fall.

Rumor had it that one needed to develop “listening power” with a large spear to duel against experts, but George had not developed any fancy tricks over these years. It was said that a large spear in the hands of a strong expert was a living Divine Artifact; the spear had its own logic of Yin and Yang. If it bent, it had to straighten; if it straightened, it had to bend; if it stabbed left, it went right; if it chopped forward, it would naturally block the back. To put it plainly, it was just the conversion between kinetic and potential energy, and guiding the force with quick eyes and hands.

Of course, the spear shaft, which was much harder than a wax-white pole, vibrated so intensely under such drastic changes that George’s arms felt slightly painful. Because of the lack of elasticity, a large part of the changes in kinetic and potential energy within the spear was actually borne by George’s arms. Before the battle was even finished, George’s arms reacted, seemingly protesting against doing such hard labor.

However, with the charge of horse and rider as one, those cold glints were like falling pear blossoms. Immediately after, clumps of blood flowers burst out among the enemies who were squeezed together by the charge.

Suddenly, George felt the force on his spear loosen, and then he realized he had pierced through the enemy’s formation. Looking back, the short gap was closing rapidly, and both sides were piled with corpses of men and horses, some even cut into several pieces. Most of these were Black Skins from the Underground, but since some people had fallen off their horses, it showed that the attacking side also had casualties.

Seeing the cavalry not far away still fighting fiercely with the Black Skins, George immediately kicked his horse’s belly, urged his horse forward, and attacked with his spear. Perhaps because of the “Break Army” entering his destiny earlier, George could be said to be fighting more and more smoothly. He was seen in high spirits, bursting with strength, and his arms swung like surging waves. He attacked the heavy black shadows before him with his spear. In an instant, the atmosphere changed, and booming sounds rang out. In the eyes of those Black Skins, there were only arrays of spear shadows, and then they lost consciousness.

Unlike the Dark Elves who came to the Surface lightly equipped, the heavy armor of the riders from the Duchy of Nohan protected them well as they were besieged. After knocking away a group of Black Skins in the initial charge, the cavalry, having lost their speed advantage, drew their sharp blades and waved them skillfully. They were still able to take away an enemy who showed a flaw from time to time, not looking embarrassed at all in the melee.

Although the number of Black Skins was six or seven times that of the cavalry, they had no long weapons and could not form a phalanx to counter the cavalry. Moreover, judging by their previous performance, George also doubted whether they had ever received relevant training as phalanx infantry.

Whether it was the agile and swift dual-wielding crescent war blades or the light infantry with sword and shield combined for offense and defense, under the impact of the heavy cavalry, they were torn open like a hot knife cutting through butter.

In fact, George’s previous performance was not particularly eye-catching. Although among the Squire class, his performance in this battle was noteworthy. However, to strike the enemy to a greater extent and preserve their own viable forces.

On the battlefield, the Vacuum Blade used by the Gothic Knights really shined brilliantly. The vacuum gap formed by the high-speed waving of the thin and tough blades created a strong airflow that easily cut through the lives within it.

It was a bit like a strengthened version of the Kamaitachi from Japanese mythology. From a modern scientific perspective, it was actually a small whirlwind. Because it created a vacuum state, the skin would show wounds cut by small knives.

However, the effect of this move by the Gothic Knights was not as simple as just cutting the skin. It was like a high-pressure water jet that could easily cut through human bodies and light armor.

In fact, for the battlefield, this kind of damage could not effectively improve his attack, because the damage that the Vacuum Blade could do could also be done by ordinary weapons. But the most critical thing was that it increased the attack range of the Gothic Knights, which allowed the short weapons in their hands to make attacks and defenses like long weapons.

Just before, the area around him was like a typhoon passing through, and a large patch of Black Skins were cleared out, stumbling here and there. Unlike George, most of the guys who fell down this time would never stand up again.

‘No wonder Knight Val and the others don’t think highly of this spear technique! Compared with the Vacuum Blade, this is really like chicken ribs, tasteless to eat but a pity to discard. Or maybe it would have some use in duels between experts! But who knows if we’ll find a better choice by then.’ Watching the performance of the Gothic Knights, George mocked himself, ‘Speaking of which, the Vacuum Blade seems to be a common commodity among Knight Techniques! According to Knight Val, if there is no unique secret technique, the occasion where this Knight Technique can exert its maximum effect is this kind of battlefield with a huge disparity in strength. The performance before my eyes, like a harvester cutting wheat, is indeed a bit boring!’

But busy dealing with the Black Skins coming up, George quickly threw his earlier emotions to the back of his mind. No wonder some people say that a man’s hot blood should be shed for the battlefield. After this excitement that surpassed everything else, George realized that the battle was already over.

Naturally, someone else accepted the task of cleaning the battlefield. As Nobles, the Knights, having completed their tasks, naturally rode back to the camp to rest and reorganize. When George stepped into the tent, to his surprise, hot water for washing was already prepared inside.

‘Even this is prepared; this is not just a matter of the servants being well-prepared. It shows that they have full confidence in the victory of this battle!’ George thought and looked at his two forearms where bruises had appeared under the skin. ‘Should I give up using the spear for mounted combat! Or should I find an Alchemist who specializes in Artifacts to get a good spear shaft as soon as possible.’

In fact, George, who had no master, was already able to pierce the hole of a copper coin during the day and the tip of an incense stick at night with his own strength. Practicing the spear in front of a mirror, he reached the realm of touching without hurting. As for piercing a mosquito to death without tearing the tissue paper behind it, he could do it with a little care.

But the legendary performance where a shake of the spear made the tip draw a circle more than a meter in diameter like a flash of lightning, its momentum like the water of the Yangtze River, majestic for a thousand miles; and when stabbing, like a meteor chasing the moon, frightening ghosts and gods, he had been stuck on the problem of the spear shaft and had never achieved it.

Of course, this did not mean that George’s current spear skills had reached the realm of those grandmasters before his transmigration. He was able to do this entirely relying on his physical quality, which was inhuman compared to his previous life.

If those grandmasters relied on the keys in their hands to open the door to this level, then George was a brute who smashed the door open directly with a sledgehammer. Although the two looked the same, there were obvious differences in the details. Who told George that he hadn’t received the true transmission and relied only on the knowledge obtained from boxing manuals and books, and mostly his own guessed unorthodox methods!

George did not start washing immediately but soaked his two forearms in the slightly hot water. Accompanied by the rhythmic humming from his nose, the muscles all over his body made quite regular movements. At the same time, George mobilized his own Qi and blood to flow slowly.

Immediately, traces of blood seeped out from the pores of his forearms, and soon the basin of hot water turned dark red. Feeling much more comfortable, George raised his hands. Sure enough, the bruises under the skin were gone, and the swelling between the two arms had also subsided a lot.

“With my current recovery ability, the remaining injuries should return to normal by tomorrow morning.” Looking at his arms, George muttered to himself.

Finally having time, he turned his attention to the previous System prompt sound.

“Alien energy loaded, host’s combat style has been corrected…”

Seeming to think of something, George immediately dismissed his attendants and entered a state of Visualization.

George was a bit hesitant: “It really is the Break Army Star! I don’t know if this result is good or bad!”

The Break Army Star was one of the 14 main stars of Purple Star Astrology and belonged to the pioneering type. Like the Seven Killings Star, the Break Army Star sounded full of destructive power, making it easy for people to have a preconceived notion that this star was bad; but this was also the purpose of the original inventors, to point out the distinct characteristics of the Break Army Star’s personality.

Ancient books called the “Break Army Star” the “Star of Consumption”. This “consumption” represented destructive power and consuming power. Among the fourteen main stars, it had the most impulsive personality and the strongest variability.

Because Break Army possessed the characteristic of “consumption”, life was naturally full of changes, and success or failure was hard to predict.

People with Break Army in their destiny were like those with Seven Killings in their destiny, quite difficult to manage. Near vermilion, one gets stained red; near ink, one gets stained black. Meeting bad friends or superiors, they could easily go bad; but meeting good friends or superiors, they could often bring their strengths into play.

However, because Break Army possessed huge destructive power, it was good talent for being a vanguard. The so-called vanguard, on the battlefield, advances bravely, and in career, seeks innovation and change.

After recalling his knowledge about this constellation, George finally felt relieved: “Fortunately, the combination of Purple Star and Break Army—combining grace and authority, daring to bear the criticism—is still quite good. Purple Star is the monarch, and Break Army is the general; it looks like I won’t be like some people who are too rigid and easily broken!”

This kind of thing not under his own control was always what George hated the most. Although the “Doumu Yuanjun Visualization Method” had taken a small step forward because of this, this sudden change made him feel uneasy.

Slightly relieved, he recalled the scene where everything around him seemed to have slowed down: ‘It seems to be Accelerated Thinking. It looks like the cultivation of the Steel Soul Style is quite effective! To reach this level so quickly, according to the description in there, it seems to be the prerequisite for High-speed Counter, Godspeed Instant, Shrinking Earth, Godspeed Body, and even the final Time Stop!’

George began to recall those Steel Soul Style martial skills he hadn’t started researching yet. Before this, he had learned the introductory martial arts recorded in it. Through spiritual cultivation, his mind became tougher, his reaction to threats more sensitive, and it was easier to discover the opponent’s flaws. In the battle just now, he found that he could finally learn the essence of the Steel Soul Style.

High-speed Counter—you launch an attack, your weapon is just an afterimage, heavily striking the slightest gap in the opponent’s defense.

This move could allow George to easily see through the flaws in a reckless opponent’s attack, thus launching a counter-move unscathed. The previous Nightmare Sword series could often only find flaws when the opponent was not attacking. Based on previous experiments, it was basically miraculously effective against opponents whose strength was inferior to or equal to his own.

But for those opponents whose strength was steadily above his own, the previous moves were useless under suppression. And the High-speed Counter move gave George a glimmer of hope to defeat the enemy. Because as long as the opponent made a move, it was impossible to have no flaws; if that were the case, George might as well just surrender, which would be easier.

Godspeed Instant—you act again in the gap between heartbeats, while your opponents have not even recovered from the previous attack. To put it plainly, it allowed the user to change moves and retract moves in an instant. However, this kind of behavior that ignored physical inertia and human physiological limits could really only be classified as a supernatural ability.

With it, situations like moves becoming old or releasing one and keeping three became history. All-out attack and all-out defense was no longer a dream. With this alone, George’s direct combat power would have at least a twenty percent increase. Thinking of this, George had the impulse to start cultivating immediately.

Shrinking Earth—in the blink of an eye, you have already moved. Your speed, reaction, and confidence allow you to move quickly and bravely, catching the opponent off guard. Exploding the energy in your body, you can move forward to launch an attack, take out items from your backpack, or perform other movement actions. Your training, mental power, and speed allow you to move faster and more confidently than other warriors.

The homonymous Shrinking Earth to an Inch was said to be a skill of a Daoist sect. Those who mastered it could shrink a distance of ten thousand miles into an inch, so just taking one step could surpass Sun Wukong’s somersault. It earliest appeared in the “Biography of the Immortal Hugong” by Ge Hong of the Jin Dynasty: “Fei Changfang had divine arts and could shrink the earth veins; a thousand miles existed right before his eyes, and when released, it stretched back to normal.”

However, the Shrinking Earth here certainly could not be such a divine art; it was more like a lightness skill footwork. But it was not the common kind of leaping and jumping technique, but more like the “Divine Movement Hundred Changes” in Jin Yong’s novels. It was absolutely top-notch for traveling or sprinting.

Godspeed Body—your spirit and flesh merge into one, allowing you to be highly concentrated in battle. Because of confidence, rigorous training, and a clear mind, your movements are slightly faster than normal. And this concentration increases with every movement.

On the battlefield, your sharp spirit can be reflected in your flesh. You can always maintain a tense spirit, allowing you to better face attacks and threats. Most warriors cannot cope with threats from all directions in a short time. And this ability allowed you to do this.

To put it plainly, after activating this stance, the user could make his physical movements keep up with his rapid thinking within a small range. The Steel Soul Style before only accelerated the speed of his thinking, allowing people to have more ample time to choose, analyze, and deal with enemies on the battlefield.

But in many cases, if only the thinking was fast but the movements could not keep up, then the room for choice was much smaller. However, once one could influence one’s own material changes in a small range, the effect that could be achieved would be worlds apart. Just like a certain Magician Killer’s Fixed Time Control.

Time Stop—in front of your thinking speed, raindrops are suspended in the air. You move like an afterimage, completing complex actions in an instant, leaving your opponents dumbfounded. With unparalleled speed, skill, and determination, your movements are too fast for the naked eye to catch, and the series of actions of drawing the sword and sheathing it cannot be seen clearly at all.

To put it plainly, there was no need to introduce much about this extraordinary power that transcended the timeline for a short period. In a sense, even the Mage’s ninth-circle spell of the same name, Time Stop, might not be comparable to it.

Because this spell looked like it made everyone else except the Spellcaster enter a state of stillness. But in fact, it also made the Spellcaster’s speed become very fast, making other creatures look completely still, although they could actually still move normally.

The Spellcaster could act freely for 12 to 30 seconds. Ordinary or magical fire, cold, poison gas, etc., would still hurt him. During the duration of Time Stop, other creatures would not be hurt by your attacks or spells, and you could not target those creatures with physical attacks or spells.

If the duration of an area spell was longer than the remaining time of Time Stop, it would continue to take effect after Time Stop ended. Most Spellcasters used this extra time to strengthen defenses, summon allies, or escape combat. If items were held, carried, or worn by other creatures, the Spellcaster could not move or damage them, but the Spellcaster could affect unowned items.

During the duration of Time Stop, the Spellcaster could not be detected. Under the effect of Time Stop, the Spellcaster could not enter areas protected by anti-magic fields.

This spell had many inherent restrictions, feeling like letting someone adjust in another dimension and then join the battle again. The most important thing was that one could not directly harm others during this period. Perhaps there were more tactical changes for a Mage, but for a combatant, it was basically useless.

But the Time Stop of the Steel Soul Style did not have these restrictions. Just being able to affect others made it clearly superior.

“I didn’t expect to reach the level that I thought would take at least a year or two right now. The battlefield is indeed the best way for Knights to advance!” A smile appeared on George’s face for the first time that night.