In the small forest at night, in the distance, the flickering fires of the refugee camp and the undulating sounds of conversation can be seen.
Gerred looked up at a moon clearly visible among the tree crowns and said, "Let's do it here. The moonlight can still shine a bit. Other places are pitch-black."
Jess nodded and carefully took off his cloak and placed it aside, leaving only a small shirt. When the wind blew, it was a bit chilly.
"Reluctant to part with that new clothes from the king?" Gerred asked.
Hearing this, Jess glanced at Gerred, not knowing if he was making a joke here or really asking in the literal sense.
Is there the famous story "The Emperor's New Clothes" in Azeroth? After living here for nearly 20 years, he found himself starting to confuse the allusions of the two worlds.
"Of course I am reluctant." He picked up the wooden sword placed on the tree trunk and said, "If it gets damaged and needs repair, it will cost dozens of silver. It will directly make me bankrupt."
Gerred grinned and said, "Then we can come here to practice swordsmanship every day. Slowly train you into a master swordsman. The small characters here won't be able to touch you. Then you won't have to worry about the clothes being damaged. See? There are so many benefits to practicing swordsmanship. It can even save money."
"There are always people better than you. If the small characters here can't touch you, there are always those who can." Jess said, "But of course there are many benefits to practicing swordsmanship. Just dealing with the mage's affairs is tiring enough for a day. Plus some messy troubles. It's still more relaxing to come out and move around with you."
Gerred nodded and said, "Me too, Jess."
The dwarf also picked up his sword and said, "We haven't seen each other for so long. Let's have a real battle first and see if you have regressed."
As he said that, he slowly picked up his sword with both hands and aimed the tip at Jess.
His originally somewhat playful expression gradually cooled. Looking at him, although the dwarf was holding a wooden sword, he still had a considerable deterrence.
Those were eyes that had killed countless enemies.
Jess subconsciously avoided looking and shook his shoulders, holding the wooden sword firmly with both hands and getting ready.
Gerred said, "Come on, attack!"
Jess remembered the skills taught by Gerred. He held the sword firmly and aimed at the enemy, approaching step by step. The other party did not retreat or adjust his posture but just stared intently at this side.
Suddenly, he raised his sword and took a quick step forward, swinging down. The dwarf easily deflected this downward swing by turning his sword with his wrist.
This deflection didn't disrupt Jess's rhythm. He quickly made a reverse slash... Unexpectedly, Gerred was even faster. His sword thrust forward, wrapped around Jess's sword a few times on its path. Not only did it dissolve this quick slash but also continued forward with force, directly aiming at Jess's waist!
Jess hurriedly swung his sword to block and retreated. Amid the clanging sounds in disarray, the dwarf's sword tip had already hit his hand along his sword blade and guard.
This series of clashes only took two or three seconds.
"Ouch..."
Jess grimaced, switched the sword to his other hand, and slightly squeezed his right hand that was throbbing with pain.
If this were a real battle, his hand would probably be useless. He had thought his movements were fast and fierce enough, but they were limited in threat in front of the dwarf.
Gerred did not take the opportunity to pursue. He stopped his movements. There was no change in his expression, and he didn't say anything.
Jess took two steps back, thinking about how to break through the other's defense. However, the dwarf's confident and even faintly contemptuous eyes always made it impossible for him to concentrate on thinking about tactics.
To be honest, the bloody battle with that naga had boosted his confidence in close combat a lot. It made him not have any fear when facing thugs like Erlan.
But all the confidence he had gained during this period was somewhat diminished by Gerred's eyes in just a short while.
The strangest thing was that the dwarf didn't say a word, not a sound. He was just so silent and watching. This made his image drift further and further away from the Gerred that Jess was familiar with, who was used to drinking and eating meat. He became more and more like a completely strange Wildhammer dwarf.
In the end, he was no longer Gerred. Instead, he was a real elite from Aerie Peak, a meat grinder who had once fought freely in the army formation of the Amani. He was an aerial reaper who rode a gryphon and made trolls and orcs tremble in fear among the pine forests of Hinterlands.
It was just that he had lost an eye.
Jess tried his best to get rid of these increasingly divergent thoughts and focus his attention on the sword as much as possible.
Stay calm, be patient, and stay focused.
He told himself this while adjusting the tip of the sword and preparing for the next attack.
Jess approached step by step. When he was almost within attacking distance, his muscles tensed again as he prepared to thrust. This time, he wanted to make Gerred unable to parry and be forced to retreat in embarrassment. Then he would take the opportunity to thrust at the other's arm...
Unexpectedly, Gerred suddenly let out a loud shout without warning. Jess's rhythm was instantly disrupted. Not only was his thrust not powerful or fast enough, but even his footwork became messy. Gerred easily dodged this messy thrust by sidestepping and kicked Jess in the waist, knocking him to the ground.
Gerred laughed and said, "Get up and do it again."
Jess spat out the dirt and weeds in his mouth, stretched his waist, and stood still before looking at Gerred again.
Is this some kind of Demoralizing Shout?
But during the process of getting up, he had already thought of another strategy.
While attacking, use the Light spell to blind his remaining eye, and then directly charge at him. See if he can think of it. Jess took a quick step forward and raised his sword with one hand from a long distance. Gerred glanced at the tip of his sword and then at his arm. Seeing his expression change somewhat.
"Liuyusa!"
Jess suddenly released a burst of light from the palm of his left hand. However, in this pitch-black night, this light not only shone on the opposite side but also on himself.
His eyes were completely white. He could only estimate the approximate position of Gerred and swing his sword down forcefully, but he swung empty.
The light spell disappeared. Jess felt a strange force behind him and then flew forward. He fell on the mud and slid for a distance.
Before he could get up, his waist and butt started to ache.
"Want to use these little tricks against me, huh?" Gerred said with a smile, "But to be honest, you have made great progress, Jess. We started practicing swordsmanship only about a month ago, or at most half a month. I think you are more powerful than most of the people I saw in Stormwind who use swords to cut people. After all, your attacks are really threatening. I have to take it seriously and can't be as relaxed as at the beginning."
"So don't be discouraged." He pulled Jess up and said, "After all, you are dealing with a master!"
Jess wiped his mouth and asked, "How did you guess I was going to use magic?"
Gerred patted his stomach and said, "Ha! Compared to those elven mages and trolls, you are practically writing 'I'm going to use magic' on your forehead. Do you think when I told you in Redridge Mountains that I have rich experience in dealing with mages, I was joking with you?"
"But then again, if you plan to use your Fear spell against me, I might really have no good way, Jess Seso. However, since we are using practice swords, don't use those magic with too much destructive power against me. After all, our purpose is to improve skills, not to kill each other, right?"
"I didn't plan to use it in the first place."
Jess patted the dry grass leaves on his body. Thinking about the naga he killed on the coast of Westfall that day, he thought it was a pity that Gerred didn't see it.
Now thinking about it, Gerred might have killed countless monsters stronger than that little banshee. If he had been on the beach at that time, maybe the banshee wouldn't even be able to finish casting the first Weakness Curse before he smashed her head.
He still has a long way to go in practicing swordsmanship.