Chapter 24 Level Push

"Third, when Eleanor was taking hits, she seemed to have a hard time staying stable," Aske turned his head to look at Eleanor again, "Don't you know how to redirect force with a shield?"

"Redirect force?" Eleanor's face showed an embarrassed and ashamed expression, "Could you explain in detail?"

"Hold up the shield," Aske said.

Eleanor did as instructed and raised her shield.

"Stand with one foot forward and one back, with your weight temporarily on your front foot, and the back foot lightly touching the ground," Aske instructed, "the moment my attack hits your shield, shift your weight to your back foot."

"So the shield will move slightly backward," Eleanor tried it and said.

"The essence of moving backward is to strengthen the buffering of your arms, thereby better dissipating the force on the shield," Aske added, "When moving back, if the point of impact is on the left side of the shield's centerline, then tilt the shield to the left; otherwise, tilt it to the right. Avoid taking the enemy's attack perpendicularly to your shield at a 90-degree angle; that way, you'll be forced to take the full force head-on. Do you understand?"

"I got it!" Nora raised her hand, "Assuming an attack with a force of N strikes perpendicularly, and Eleanor tilts her shield by an angle a. Then, according to the decomposition of force, Eleanor actually only needs to withstand a force of N*cos_a, and cos_a is less than one."

"I don't understand," Eleanor said, her face streaming with tears. Wasn't this knowledge of mathematics? But she had been raised in the castle since childhood. Both her literacy and martial arts were taught by private tutors—she had never attended a proper school.

"Close enough," Aske said, "If the tilt angle is greater than 45 degrees, the swords striking the shield will be more likely to slide off rather than be blocked. In Franknia, there is a type of small round shield that is barely larger than an adult's palm, and the Frank mercenaries can skillfully use these small shields to slide or deflect enemy attacks. As you are using a kite shield, Eleanor, it may not be as convenient to slide off attacks, but dissipating force is still possible."

"Alright," Eleanor tried tilting the shield.

"Let's keep moving," Aske finally stated, "Night visibility in the woods is quite low, everyone must stay alert, especially attentive to the sounds in our surroundings. The reason I could detect that dream tapir earlier was because I heard its subtle sounds."

People nodded. Suddenly, a nightingale's call sounded nearby. Eleanor shuddered and immediately raised her shield and spear, scanning her surroundings, while Peggy vanished on the spot. Only to see Nora took out a cellphone from her bag, apologetically saying:

"Sorry, everyone. That was my phone ringing."

"Turn off your ringtone!" Aske couldn't help but laugh and cry. Players turning on airplane mode when entering an instance had already become a professional habit; how could you all keep making such blunders?

"Hey, big sis," Nora walked to the side to answer the phone, "I'm working right now. Why are you still awake so late?"

"I'm pulling an all-nighter on a corporate acquisition," Kapaxilin, the eldest sister in Nora's family, complained after drinking a cup of coffee, "The Duke of Normandy is clinging to a price of 6 pounds per share and won't budge, my business negotiation team has been grinding him for three days… Let's not talk about this. What's the deal with that photo in your social circle? A dream tapir? You're quite capable, huh? Already becoming a Transcendent, which Sequence?"

"Life Sequence," Nora whispered.

"Oh, didn't you always want to be a doctor?" Kapaxilin sighed, "Becoming a doctor is fine, but you don't necessarily have to become a Transcendent. Don't you know fertility decreases for Transcendents? Mom's going to cry again if she finds out."

"Then don't tell her for now, sis," Nora said coquettishly, "We're currently exploring an uninhabited island in the Black Sea. Gotta go, bye."

"Wait! Don't hang up!" Kapaxilin sat up, "Are you with some team? Is it a reliable and legitimate one? Not one of those that scams money and takes advantage... What's the team's name?"

"I'm not a kid!" Nora said irritably, "Our Mercenary Group is called 'The Azure Longsword,' you know of them?"

"Never heard of them," Kapaxilin replied, "Instead of joining some unknown small Mercenary Group, I could arrange something for you. I know the Squad Leader of Steel Cross Mercenary Group from Divine Luo, they could recruit you!"

"Sis, I joined a Mercenary Group to become a Transcendent, not to find bodyguards for a tour, or to have a bunch of people running around serving me," Nora replied uncompromisingly, "Instead of worrying about your sister's issues, you should think about getting yourself married off sooner! I'm hanging up."

"You…" Kapaxilin's indignant voice came through, and then the call was cut off. Nora stomped her foot in frustration, returning with a glowering expression.

"Good," Aske nodded, "Everyone, set your phones to airplane mode..."

"Sorry," Medea took out her vibrating phone, "I also have a call to take."

"Hurry back," Aske said, his face darkening.

Medea stood still, glanced at the number, and answered the phone, saying directly:

"I'm done, I quit."

"Don't you understand what resign means? It means I'm not playing with you anymore!"

"Treason? Hell yeah, I committed treason, come bite me if you dare!"

She furiously hung up the call, dragging her entire contact list to the blacklist, then switched off her phone. When she looked up, she saw the others staring at her with gaping mouths.

"Miss Medea..." Eleanor began, her mouth agape.

"Don't ask." Medea said impatiently. "Personal matters. Not convenient to discuss."

"Alright then." Aske waved his hand dismissively. "Has everyone turned off their phones? Let's move out!"

The team set off again, and soon they discovered a clearing in the woods with three dream tapirs wandering about.

Out of a deep yearning in their spirituality, extraordinary creatures often launch attacks on Transcendents. The dream tapirs in question seemed not to have noticed the group's presence. Eleanor watched them intently and asked through the Mind Channel:

"Do we go around, or take them out?"

"Take them out," Aske responded. "They're all Experience Points. Peggy, you flank and stand by. See that big rock over there? Jump down from it to ambush. Eleanor, you charge with your shield up front, and I'll support from the side. Medea, keep up the Mind Suggestion; Nora, follow Medea."

"Got it," all the ladies replied in unison.

Peggy quickly completed her flanking maneuver and signaled through the channel, so Eleanor took the lead, charging out of the trees with her shield at the ready.

Starting Move: Shield Strike.

The classic tactic of the Centurion from Ancient Solomon involved charging with a shield to batter the opponent, followed by a Short Sword stabbing at the enemy's abdomen. The warfare tactics of the Holy Solomon Empire Knights that evolved up until now have substituted the Short Sword with a Long Spear, dubbed the "Dragon Spear" (Drachenlanze).

First, Eleanor charged full force, slamming her shield into the rightmost dream tapir, sending it flying. Then, with a thrust of her Long Spear, she impaled the body of the dream tapir while it was in mid-air and slammed it hard onto the ground.

The other two dream tapirs, startled, turned around. At that moment, a figure leaped down from the large rock behind. Peggy, with her Short Sword raised in the air, plunged gracefully downward, nailing one of the dream tapirs to the ground with the assistance of gravity. After landing, she rolled quickly, disappearing into the underbrush behind the trees.

With a clang, the last dream tapir's long beak snapped out, striking Eleanor's shield. She quickly angled her shield to deflect the force, flicking the dream tapir's beak to the side.

Aske, by her side, kept up the Burst Fire, chasing down the first dream tapir that had fallen. It rolled awkwardly on the ground, but was continuously hit by bullets. Coupled with the bleeding wound on its abdomen, it soon collapsed, pathetically exhausted.

The last dream tapir turned to flee, but Aske and Eleanor charged forward together, with a sword and a spear, blocking its escape routes from left to right. Swish, swish, swish—they swiftly killed the dream tapir on the spot and turned back to finish off the remaining two.

"Shall we debrief?" Eleanor asked as Peggy harvested the alchemy materials. She particularly enjoyed this post-battle analysis, which helped her quickly pinpoint her own weaknesses.

"Yeah," Aske said. "Who taught you that Dragon Spear move?"

"My father," Eleanor replied. "Is there a problem?"

"Your form was impeccable, and you had good rhythm," Aske commented. "The only problem is, why did you slam the target to the ground after impaling it on your spear instead of throwing it at another enemy?"

"You mean to use it as a temporary weapon?" pondered Eleanor.

"The Dragon Spear is not just an offensive technique; it's also a grappling technique. In professional circles, Control techniques are often more valued than simply attacking," Aske explained. "Imagine you're in a narrow environment, facing two enemies. You must rapidly defeat one to avoid the danger of being sandwiched. Would you risk it all to take out one with firepower, or would you control one first, taking the opportunity to kill the other?"

"I get it," Eleanor said, as if opening a door to a new world. "I'll first skewer one with the Dragon Spear and then throw it at the other enemy. If the other dodges, I can follow up with a strike; if they get knocked down, I can take them down with one spear against two."

"That's the idea," Aske confirmed. "If you delve deeper, it comes down to two different fighting styles. The former emphasizes a suppressive combo flow, while the latter is about actively creating opportunities for a killer blow. Including the depth of the Dragon Spear's impalement and the direction it's thrown, the tactics differ. But for now, let's nail down the basics. After this instance run, I'll conduct targeted training for you all."

"Okay," Eleanor nodded.

"Medea," Aske turned. "Is maintaining communication via Spirituality taxing? Can you simultaneously use your Flame I Ability for support?"

"Due to a reason you're aware of, my Flame I is somewhat Unstable," Medea mused. "If you wish, I can give it a try."

After harvesting the alchemy materials, the group set off again, consecutively dealing with dozens of dream tapirs along the way. These Extraordinary Creatures were essentially fragile assassin-type enemies; their only problematic Extraordinary Ability was invisibility. Once faced with someone like Aske who could see through their camouflage, they were nearly effortless to defeat.

Soon, the group reached the first boss.