The World of Mercenaries

Chapter 6: Recklessly Bold

“Amy, I’ve always thought of you as my own son. I hope that someday you’ll become a noble too—only those with an imperial noble title have a real chance to compete to become a phantom beast knight.” Sitting atop the snow wolf, Chi Hanfeng stroked its chin as it blissfully closed its eyes, purring despite just being smacked.

"Son, let me give you a secret tip: if you want to befriend a snow wolf or any other phantom beast quickly, scratch under its chin. These big brutes can reach every part of their body—except under their chin. If you’re willing to help with that, they’ll love you for it,” Chi added with a wicked grin.

“But what does that have to do with what weapon I use?” Amy, now calm, asked coolly, seeing through Chi Hanfeng’s intentions.

"i***t,” Chi said, slapping Amy on the head. “The six principles of two-handed swordsmanship are strength, ferocity, accuracy, agility, speed, and finesse. This requires a swordsman to be nimble. However, none of the known phantom beasts can provide the speed needed to complement a two-handed sword. If you choose this path, you’ll never become a knight.”

A sly grin crossed Chi’s face. “My plan is to train you in the lance. In five years, when you’re fifteen, the Black Sun and White Sun will align. The Amy Empire traditionally requests six snow wolf spirit beasts from the Hamir Kingdom during this time, and I’ll try to borrow one for you. Then I’ll take you to the base of the Phantom Beast Sanctuary mountains and teach you how to transform the spirit beast into a phantom beast, making you a phantom beast knight.”

“With only six spirit beasts, they’re not going to lend us one. You’re probably planning to steal or snatch it, aren’t you?” Amy shot back, well aware of his uncle’s devious tendencies.

“Heh, those snow wolves would just go to that worthless Redstone Emperor anyway. If I pick one out for him, don’t you think he’d be grateful?” Chi patted his chest confidently. “If it weren’t for wanting you to become a noble knight, I wouldn’t care if you used a lance or a sword.”

“Han Feng, do you know of a bird called the savage vulture on the Amy Empire’s coast?” asked an elderly voice.

“Hey, Uncle Harper, when did you get here?” Chi and Amy turned to see Grandpa Harper standing in the yard.

“I’ve been here for a while. You two seemed deep in conversation, so I didn’t interrupt,” he said solemnly. “Savage vultures are known for their speed and agility. One of our ancestors once tamed a large one, and it could match the speed required for a greatsword wielder. They’re spirit beasts and, supposedly, could also enter the Phantom Beast Sanctuary for refinement.”

“Hmm? Uncle Harper, how do you know so much about phantom beast training?” Chi was surprised that anyone in a remote village would know this.

“Ha! The imperial nobility doesn’t begin and end with the Chi family. My ancestors were once part of it too, though for various reasons, we left the empire,” Grandpa Harper replied, unwilling to elaborate further.

With a two-to-one vote, Amy officially chose the two-handed sword as his main weapon, though Chi successfully lobbied for the lance and shield as secondary options.

Future greatswordsmen would likely breathe a sigh of relief—without Grandpa Harper’s intervention, Amy might indeed have been swayed by Chi Hanfeng’s influence.

Training in two-handed swordsmanship was grueling and dangerous—or so Chi Hanfeng claimed. According to him, everything but the grip on a two-handed sword was perilous, and its powerful swings could harm small creatures like Whitey or Chi himself. So, at Chi’s insistence, Amy trained with a blunt iron sword forged by the village blacksmith, weighing thirty kilograms and similar to a large axe. However, in the afternoons, he used a genuine sword to chop firewood.

Red Moon Year 196

At just eleven, Amy had already made remarkable progress in two-handed swordsmanship, especially in strength, ferocity, and accuracy. Chi estimated that Amy was nearing his father, Lake Harper’s, skill level. Without Whitey’s assistance, Chi found it challenging to penetrate Amy’s reach with his lance. In a duel using a single-handed sword, Chi had to rely on his agility; otherwise, his light ten-pound sword would easily be knocked aside.

Faced with this dilemma, Chi couldn’t help but laugh, saying, “How ironic—someone supposedly known for agility and speed as a greatswordsman is now using brute strength to make a knight of charge and power look like a fool.”

Of course, Chi didn’t take this lightly. Inspired, he devised a new training regimen for Amy that some might call devilish.

Red Moon Year 196, Summer

After four years, the morning runs finally ended, replaced by what Amy would later call “three years of demonic hardship.”

Each morning, Amy had to rise early, dive into the dense Ice Forest, strip down to his shorts under Chi’s supervision, and walk or run barefoot through the trees. The forest was deserted at this hour, sparing Amy any embarrassment.

All the trees in the Ice Forest were covered with thick, waxy needles to withstand the ten-month winter. The sharp needles and biting winds inflicted pain, itching, and numbness that defied description.

To avoid getting scratched, Amy could move slowly but would suffer from the extreme cold, or he could run to stay warm but endure the constant pricks and cuts. For the first year, his skin was a mess, especially the soles of his feet. His shoulder was often cut by branches, at times even revealing bone. If not for Snowmoon Lake’s healing properties, Amy might not have survived.

Every night, Grandpa Harper was torn seeing his grandson in such a state, but watching Chi Hanfeng clean and bandage Amy’s wounds with great care, he said nothing.

Over time, Amy’s body seemed to develop a sixth sense, instinctively avoiding branches, allowing him to start running through the forest.

After two years, Amy could even ride Whitey at high speeds through the Ice Forest, dodging branches and leaves with ease.

By then, Chi stopped training Amy on foot, saying, “You’ve graduated from land combat.”

Whether that meant he’d surpassed his teacher remained a mystery.

The ten years following Red Moon Year 193 were a unique period of growth for grand mages, especially those specializing in ice magic. According to confidential records of the Magic Guild, the sudden surge of thirty grand mages from the Ice Tower of Wishes in less than a decade—a number a hundred times greater than usual—was largely due to the involvement of one man with no magical ability.

That man was the legendary Lake Harper.

—Chronicles of Millennium Magi