Chapter Seventy-Three: Legends Are All Deceitful

  This chapter wasn't careful and wrote more than 6,000 words. After checking the word count, I originally wanted to split it into two chapters and leave half for tomorrow's post. But after thinking about it, I decided to post it all at once instead of leaving a draft haha~~~

  At sea...

  The general's words immediately reminded Xia Ya that when he and Kevin rode north, they were blocked by a group of archers hiding on the mountain slope, who didn't seem to be from Odin.

  Those archers, in terms of individual quality, are clearly different from the Odins in appearance. They do not have the robust and tall physique common to the Odins, although they also appear very lean, but the difference in height is irreparable.

  It's not that the dwarves didn't have a slightly shorter stature - it's just that, compared to the dwarves, the equipment of those archers seemed a bit too "exquisite".

  Each of them was equipped with a lightweight and exquisite metal armor, the style of which was clearly not something that the Odins could have - not to say that the Odins did not have armored archers, but rather that the Odin Empire had always been far behind the Byzantine Empire in terms of metalworking and craftsmanship. Generally speaking, the equipment of Odin warriors only emphasized two characteristics: thickness and heaviness.

  The Odins' backward metal forging technology made them unable to equip large numbers of soldiers with fine steel armor, and only their elite troops were equipped with high-quality metal armor to enhance their defensive capabilities. Apart from this, most of the Odin army's warriors relied mainly on leather armor.

  There's also the matter of weapons. The enemies that Shia encountered, every single archer was using high-quality horn bows. These bows have threads on the bow tips, which can adjust the bowstring to assist the archer's arm strength with mechanical aids - such craftsmanship isn't something that the people of O'Din possess. Although it's possible to buy these weapons and equipment with money, the individual quality of those archers wasn't superior compared to O'Din warriors, so there's no reason to spend a large sum of money to equip an average-quality team with rare equipment from among the O'Din people.

  The most important thing is the close combat weapon of those archers, a uniform double-edged short sword, with a blade length of about one meter, light and sharp - the Odin people rarely use this short sword to fight. The tall and physically superior Odin people have always liked to show off their bravery, they prefer axes, iron hammers or giant swords that can be held in both hands and other heavy combat weapons. Most Odin people disdain to use such a short sword.

  Finally, there was the archers' shooting technique - hitting a running cavalry team was not something that could be achieved with just one or two months of practice! The training of archers was more difficult than that of ordinary soldiers. And the Odins were never good at archery...

  "Hmph, looks like it's that neighbor from the sea." Adrick's face was gloomy, the scars on his face seemed to be twisting, and his eyes were full of murderous intent: "Every time we fight against the Odin people, there are always shadows of these pirates present."

  What Adrick said about "pirates", Shaya was not unfamiliar with - on the contrary, he was very familiar!

  In the town of Wildfire, there was once a Sofia aunt who had been his dream lover for many years in Xia Ya's youth. Her husband, the one-eyed man who opened the wine house, was a guy from the sea.

  On the western sea of the mainland, there is a maritime island nation. The country's territory is only as large as one or two counties in Byzantium, but due to its unique geographical location, it often finds itself outside the conflicts between the two great empires.

  Pirate Nation, a nickname given by the Byzantines to this country, in fact, this country is not a pirate's lair, their civilization level is not inferior to that of the Byzantines. However, as a maritime nation, they are not good at land warfare, but are famous for their naval power. They have a vast sea power, countless fleets and warships, and can trade with both empires while avoiding most of the wars caused by continental hegemony. Maritime trade has brought them immense wealth, this is a country known for its cunning and adventurous spirit.

  Of course... the mainlanders are not fools either. This maritime kingdom has always played a role in fueling the flames of war between the two great empires on the continent, and sometimes even played the role of arms dealers during wartime... using the blood shed by the mainlanders as fertilizer for their own country.

  "Hmph, last time in the war, these pirates were still on our side, this time, they actually sent troops to help the Odinians directly." Adrick's eyebrows furrowed.

  Looking at the general's gloomy face, Xia Ya understood that this general seemed to be troubled by an important issue, but after all, Xia Ya was not a Byzantine, and he could not understand the troubles of the dark struggle between countries outside the war from Adric's position.

  After a while, Adrick came back to his senses and smiled casually: "Alright, go down and rest now, kid. You did extremely well this time. Your next task is to recover from your injuries. If you recover quickly, who knows, you might even be able to catch up with this war."

  ※※※

  Xia Ya was carried back from the big account, and he didn't think about any "sea" issues - these things are probably the worries of the generals.

  He, Sharlba and Kato were given the treatment of wounded soldiers. The three of them were seriously injured and temporarily lost their ability to continue fighting. That night, the three of them left the front line with the remnants of the third flag team and headed south. They will return to their garrison near Wildfire Town for repairs.

  The flag bearer of the Third Banner, Butler, also followed the team south to recover from his injuries. Although this silver-haired man was not willing to give up, the two arrows in his chest made it difficult for him to ride a horse. Under Adrick's strict orders, he had no choice but to retreat with the team.

  Because he couldn't ride a horse, Butler and Shayya lay in the carriage with other seriously wounded soldiers. This silver-haired man seemed very depressed because his own ambush had lost more than half of his troops.

  Xia Ya didn't really care - to be honest, until now, deep down in his heart, he hadn't had many thoughts about the outcome of this war: after all, he wasn't a Byzantine, and whether the Byzantine Empire or the Odin Empire won this war seemed to make little difference to him. The previous few times he had fought with all his might were purely because he was part of the 13th Cavalry Battalion and couldn't abandon his comrades, so courage burst forth from him.

  To be accurate, up until now, Xia Ya didn't have any sense of belonging to the Byzantine Empire; his sense of belonging was established solely within the 13th Cavalry Regiment itself.

  This injury made Xia Ya suffer a great deal, although the military doctor gave him medicine and treated his wound. But the arrow he was shot with was really too powerful - after experiencing so many things, it wasn't until the moment he was shot that Xia Ya seemed to truly smell the taste of death for the first time at such close range.

  That one arrow easily pierced the dragon scales that Xia Ya had thought were impenetrable! Such power left a deep shock in Xia Ya's heart! He reminded himself that dragon scales weren't invincible after all!

  The power of that arrow did not lie only in its ability to pierce the dragon scales, Xia Ya was very clear in his mind that this arrow had left a serious injury on his own body - in the past, his physique was so strong that it didn't seem human-like, and he hadn't been immune to injuries before, but every time he got injured, his wounds would heal at an incredible speed: for example, the burns from the wildfire plain had recovered in just two days.

  But this time, the wound on his chest was shot through, with blood and flesh mixed together, and the burst wound still showed no signs of healing after a night, only relying on medication to suppress the deterioration of the wound - as if Shaya's abnormal recovery ability had been suppressed.

  He carefully recalled every detail of the moment he was shot: at that moment, a chill seemed to pierce his chest completely, and then the chill spread across his chest. He could even clearly feel the chill wildly destroying his body's skills! When he came back for treatment, the doctor had to use a knife to cut away a large piece of frozen flesh from his chest! Moreover, at that time, the wound's flesh was already thoroughly dead, and a black mass with chill couldn't be driven out of the skin. It could only be forcibly cut off, and when cutting, those black chills still had a tendency to spread - if Xia Ya came back a little later or treated it a bit later, he might have really died.

  It wasn't until the third day on the road that Xia Ya felt his physical functions slowly recovering.

  It was as if the strong recovery ability of his own body had been suppressed by that strange chill that had invaded his body all along, and it wasn't until the chill gradually dissipated that his body's powerful recovery ability finally burst out.

  One night, Xia Ya lay awake all night, enduring the strange itch brought by the rapid growth of muscle healing wounds. The next morning, while his companions were still asleep, Xia Ya quietly opened the bandage to take a look at the wound. The color of the wound had returned to normal, and the degree of muscle healing was gradually recovering.

  He let out a sigh of relief...

  Turtleback is not a broad-minded person, although he can't be said to be vengeful, but the education he received from his old man since childhood was: if someone bullies you, you must bully them back!

  He was fifteen years old that year when he encountered a bear in the mountains, at which time the bear slapped him with one paw and shattered half of his shoulder. The young toad relied on his strong physique to escape. Later, after recovering from his injuries for several days, he bitterly practiced axe skills for half a year. In the winter of that year, he ran into the mountains, spent two days lurking in the bear's haunt, and finally beheaded the bear with his own hands!

  The money from selling that bear's gallbladder was enough for the father and son to drink wine for a month.

  No matter who that guy is, he shot me with this arrow, I'll remember it!

  ※※※

  Although Xia Ya tried to be low-key, on the sixth day, he was able to get up and move around. He couldn't bear the boredom of lying in the carriage every day, listening to the creaking wheels rolling by, although chatting with Sharlbatu next to him was quite interesting, but the turtle also felt like it was being suffocated and was about to rust away.

  On the sixth day, he got off the horse-drawn carriage.

  By the way, due to the glorious injury of the tortoise and its retreat to the second line, its accompanying Mordo magic also fortunately got the opportunity to leave the front line - originally as a magic accompanying, the magician was still worried for a while. The clever magician knew very well that with his own skills, he would definitely be cannon fodder on the battlefield. He had seen the terrifying combat power of the Odin warriors and did not think that his slender body could engage in close combat with such an enemy.

  Besides, I am a noble magician, and noble magicians have never been good at close combat.

  Now that the tortoise master is injured, as a follower, Duoduo naturally has an excuse to leave the battlefield together: he is a follower and must follow his master's side to take care of him.

  (Gee, God bless, I hope this turtle gets hurt often in the future...)

  Todor sat on his horse praying devoutly.

  ※※※

  "Hello!"

  Taking advantage of the convoy stopping to rest, Xia Ya got off the horse cart and walked a few steps with difficulty. Although the wound was still painful, slow walking was no longer hindered. He immediately summoned his "loyal" attendants.

  Todoroki's face immediately filled with a humble and reverent smile: "Yes, my master."

  Xia Ya looked at him with a slanted gaze: "You've always said you're a magician, I have a question that needs someone to help me figure out..."

  "Of course, every magician is a polymath!"

  Xia Ya took a deep breath, steadied himself against the horse's back, and carefully recounted the process of being shot by the arrow. Then, lowering his voice, he said: "You've also seen that dragon! You should know how hard its scales are, but that cold arrow pierced through them with one hit! What's even more infuriating is that I didn't see any arrow shafts! I need someone to explain this situation to me - is this some kind of magic?"

  Dororo blinked twice, thought for a while, and just as Shuya was about to show impatience, the magician quickly searched his brain for some knowledge on this aspect.

  "Hmm, noble master, based on your account, I think that sneak attacker of yours might be a high-ranking warrior. I've heard that some powerful warriors can condense their fighting spirit into a physical form to harm their enemies when they reach a higher level. This isn't just a legend, it's actually true... I saw such an expert with my own eyes in Osgiliath back then. However... being able to materialize one's fighting spirit requires at least reaching the 8th rank of warrior..."

  "But what?" Xia Ya frowned.

  The magician swallowed his saliva, looking a bit unsightly: "However, even if it's an eighth-level warrior, who can condense the fighting energy into a tangible object to harm people, there is still a distance limit. I've seen high-level warriors in Osgilia who can materialize their fighting energy and turn it into a pure energy sword made of light, but once they leave their hand, that is to say, if they use throwing or other methods for long-range attacks, the maximum distance they can reach is only ten or so steps. If they go any further, the fighting energy will disperse..."

  Xia Ya stroked his chin, and his expression didn't change much, but a strange glint flashed in his eyes: "A dozen or so steps? You're saying that the arrow wasn't a real arrow, but was condensed from internal energy? But the place where that arrow shot from, the distance is definitely more than just a dozen or so steps... Could it be that the guy who shot me has even higher abilities?"

  Duoduo's face rarely showed a serious expression, shaking his head: "This is not necessarily the case, after all, high-ranking warriors of the martial arts family are good at close combat. Don't mention eight-level warriors, even nine-level warriors would find it difficult to materialize their aura and hurt people tens of meters away - perhaps they can do it, but I've never seen a nine-level warrior take action. However, thinking about it, even if a nine-level warrior could hurt someone with their aura tens of meters away, the aura would inevitably disperse and weaken after leaving the body's control at tens of meters away, reducing its power to an extent that wouldn't be able to pierce dragon scales."

  The magician thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "Perhaps only the legendary Saint-level warriors who can defeat thousands with one blow on this continent can achieve such a level."

  "Saint-level?" This turtle was clearly clueless about this aspect: "Could it be that the bastard who ambushed me is a Saint-level?"

  Tatara was disdainful in his heart: If the opponent is a Saint-level warrior, killing you would be as easy as killing a chicken, do you still need to ambush? However, Tatara dared not say such words to his face, and his expression on his face became more and more respectful: "The strong Saint-level warriors on the mainland can be counted on one hand, I'm afraid the bastard you met is unlikely to be a Saint-level. Moreover, every Saint-level warrior is an extremely proud person, probably... uh, probably..."

  "It's probably unlikely that you would do something like a sneak attack, right?" Xia Ya chuckled and patted Duoduo on the shoulder: "Just say what you want to say directly."

  He frowned: "But according to what you said, how can we explain this guy who ambushed me?"

  "This... " Dororo hastily explained: "I'm talking about a strong warrior, after all, warriors are good at close combat, so they can shoot an arrow through the dragon scales from tens of meters away. At this level, it seems that the person who ambushed you is probably not a pure warrior type. I think and think, most likely a magic master."

  "Mages and warriors are different, mages excel at long-range attacks. Condensing ki to form arrows that shoot out tens of meters is difficult for warriors, but for mages, it's achievable with magic. Hmm, based on the injuries you've sustained, which have a strange freezing effect, I can be even more certain that the opponent was a mage, because this attack had an ice-sealing effect added to it, which is clearly a magical attribute."

  "But... if a magician can shoot through my dragon scales from tens of meters away, doesn't that mean magicians are much stronger than warriors?"

  Todor naturally thought of nodding, he had always been proud of his identity as a magician, and in his heart, it was deeply rooted that magicians were far superior to warriors - at least in terms of nobility.

  Just as he was about to nod, however, he suddenly caught sight of the master's ambiguous smile and his heart skipped a beat: this master was a standard warrior! If he dared to answer like that, wouldn't it be equivalent to saying that his attendant was more noble than the master himself? If he really dared to say so, he would probably have to suffer the consequences afterwards.

  He hastily shook his head, thought for a moment, and smiled bitterly: "This is not what I meant to say. The defensive ability of your dragon scales itself may be relatively single-minded, although very hard, but this only explains that its physical defense is very strong, and swords can't cut through it. However, the magic defense is quite ordinary. If it were a living dragon, then the dragon scales on its body would naturally have magical resistance, but these peeled-off dragon scales only retain their own hardness and do not possess magical resistance. After all, you are not a dragon... Perhaps ordinary aura can't penetrate your dragon scales, but it's possible that an intermediate-level magician could use magic to directly pierce through it, because it no longer has much magical defensive ability."

  "In other words, you think the one who hurt me is a magician from Odin?" Xia Ya rubbed his chin.

  "Hmm... In the Odin Empire, they're not called magicians, but rather shrine maidens..." Doro let out a sigh.

  Xia Ya thought for a moment and looked at Dodo's eyes, which were much more gentle.

  "Hmm, it seems this guy is still somewhat useful and not a complete waste who can't even work for his food."

  ※※※

  On the seventh day's afternoon, I finally returned to the garrison in the north of Wildfire Town. At this moment, the garrison had basically emptied out, leaving only a supporting guard battalion and a logistics transport team.

  The main battle flag of the 13th Legion had set out four days ago, including the strongest second flag of the 13th Cavalry Legion - a full two thousand heavy armored cavalry!

  Of course, there was another important person who stayed in the garrison under the pretext of guarding the camp - that beautiful observer envoy from Osgilia, Sir Bonfret.

  It is said that the observer envoy suddenly fell ill on the eve of the main force's departure to the north, and naturally stayed behind to take charge of the garrison work.

  However, it is said that on the second day after the northern army set out, this gentleman brought his guards from Tokyo to hunt in the surrounding woods...

  Of course, these things have nothing to do with Xia Ya for the time being. After he returned to his post, the only thing he did was to calm down and cultivate himself. The front line is hundreds of miles away from here, and for now, the war seems very far away from Tu Jue...

  The bald man didn't come back, and Xia Ya lived alone in the tent. The tortoise who had gone through a life-and-death test began to rack his brains.

  The first problem he needed to solve in his mind was that powerful "Crimson Killing Intent"!

  No matter what, the two accidental uses of the Scarlet Killing Intent had a shocking and terrifying power that left Xia Ya's heart shaken! Such a powerful ultimate move, if he could fully grasp and master it, wouldn't his own strength be...

  Next time I meet a mage who ambushes me, I'll cut that bastard in half!

  A person sat in a tent, Xia Ya pinched that crystal stone, fell into deep thought...

  Can't help but say, our Tuo is not a fool, although he doesn't know how to use this magic crystal correctly, at least...he has heard many stories.

  The tavern in Ye Huo Town would often have some wandering bards and the like, who seemed to be good for nothing but would always tell legendary stories that sounded like nonsense, just to swindle some wine.

  In those stories, legendary heroic characters would also unintentionally obtain some strange treasures, such as divine artifacts, magical equipment, holy swords, and magical gems.

  Haven't eaten pork, haven't seen a pig run either?

  At least, the experiences of legendary heroes in those stories provided Xia Ya with a lot of valuable references.

  Staring at this dull gray stone, Xia Ya had been holding her breath for half a day, and an idea suddenly popped up in her mind...

  Do I have to eat this thing?

  Damn! Won't it cause indigestion or choke me to death?

  Pinching this stone, Xia Ya hesitated for half a day and finally gave up on this too dangerous idea.

  "Hmm... Is it supposed to be a blood fusion?" Xia Ya didn't hesitate, pricking her own finger and letting the fresh blood drip onto the stone...

  A moment of effort has passed...

  Another moment of time has passed...

  Another moment of effort has passed...

  Xia Ya angrily wrapped her fingers together...

  "My god, all those rumors were lies!! If this continues, I'll die from excessive blood loss first!!"

  ※※※

  Xia Ya stared at the stone with his eyes wide open, and when his eyes started to ache, he pulled out a fire fork.

  (If all else fails, shall we cut it open and take a look?)

  At this moment, suddenly, a completely emotionless and dry voice echoed in his mind.

  "Idiot!"

  `

  `