Cold weapons are a man's romance

Alex never believed in genius.

"Roman attacked! He was defended by Alex! But because Roman was too fast, Alex couldn't accurately catch his sword with the strong blade, and couldn't continue to stab!"

It was the first time for Alex to block in such a clumsy way.The red griffin, who has always been majestic, was beaten so embarrassingly. Those who were defeated by him in the previous rounds were inconceivable, right?

He lowered the hilt, and the blade slid down along Roman's blade until it reached the position close to the gauntlet, and then the tip of the sword pointed towards Roman, stabbing forward.

"Alex used the 'hanging' pose! Roman... was not stabbed! He dodged the stab with his sword! Alex also rolled his sword at the same time, switched to the bull pose, and stabbed Roman's elbow again, Roman The blade of the sword also stabbed at Alex... it was a 'joint hanging'!"

Both sides hit at the same time, get the same score, the referee called a timeout.And so they parted, panting, ready to fight again.

After a while, Roman's technology has improved again.Altogether Alex had fought him three times.The first time was in the Aurora Club. At that time, Roman was still a beginner who didn't even know what a soldier was, but with his quick response and impromptu performance, he beat him back with a saber.At that time, Alex was a little injured, not only physically, but also mentally.He has been learning swordsmanship for many years, but he was almost defeated by a newcomer. Could it be that there is such a huge gap in talent between people?

The second match was a friendly match between Griffin vs Aurora.Under Lucinda's guidance, Alex discovered Roman's weakness, that is, he was still inexperienced and couldn't deal with the slanted moves of the sword.Alex thought he was certain to win, but Roman grew up rapidly in the actual combat, and he comprehended the half-sword technique and the sword-grabbing technique by himself with just a few observations.There was no so-called "result" in that game, because Roman's old injury broke out and finally retired.Alex lost a precious chance to defeat him, or--Alex could not help thinking horribly at times--fortunately took the humiliation of a defeat.

Then for the third time, in the semi-finals of the Silver Memorial Tournament, he met this fateful opponent again.Since the end of the friendly match, Alex has been honing his skills, like a sponge, eagerly absorbing more knowledge and experience.He has never been so active in training himself, compared to the past few years he has been fishing in troubled waters.

Having a competitor can really grow a person very quickly.But Alex felt that what helped him grow was not so much a sense of competition as a visceral fear.

Afraid of being overtaken by others, afraid of being surpassed by others, and afraid of everything I once believed in collapsing and destroying.

When people are in fear, they often do things that even they can't believe.

And Alex seems to have never come out of this fear in his life.His life was always accompanied by restlessness and anxiety.He never felt safe.

He once believed that there are no natural geniuses in the world, but this view has been denied time and time again, by Nolan, by Cesar, by Roman...

Alex is not reconciled to just being a mediocre mortal.

He was eager to prove what he was capable of and what he had always believed in.He also boasted that he wanted to vent his anger on Nolan.How could he stop at this place?

"There is less than 1 minute left in the round, the score between the two sides stays at 4:3, Alex temporarily leads! This time he attacked first and was defended by Roman! Roman seems to have changed his strategy and no longer took the initiative to attack, but It is mainly defensive. This is not like Cesar's style, he always likes to take the initiative instead of passive defense. Is this Roman's strategy, or is he also afraid of Alex's fierce offensive?"

Alex had the same question in mind as the narrator Dmitry.Is this Roman's strategy, or has he lost his will to attack?In any case, he can't follow the rhythm of his opponent, he has to dance with his rhythm.He doesn't care about Roman's mentality at all, he just needs to break through this defense!

But Roman's defense was far more solid than he imagined.German-style swordsmanship pays attention to the integration of offense and defense, and often prepares for the next attack while blocking, but Roman does the opposite.He was beaten back again and again, but he was not in a hurry to fight back. He obviously had many opportunities, but he pretended not to see them.

Alex's offensive became more and more violent and impatient.Once unable to break through the opponent, his rhythm gradually became chaotic.He gradually realized that Roman was not using traditional German swordsmanship, but was fighting him with British swordsmanship-that is, the Silver school of swordsmanship that Lucinda was good at!

"A sure defense is more important than an effective attack." This is the principle of the Silver school.Focus on defense and focus on safety first. Once the attack fails, quickly back away to prevent the opponent from counterattacking.The Silver School's philosophy of focusing on defense is quite different from other European martial arts schools.

This kid Roman actually used their griffin's strengths to deal with the griffin players!This is fucking deliberate provocation!

Alex was almost furious.But no matter how fierce his anger was, he still couldn't penetrate Roman's impenetrable defense, and instead made himself full of loopholes.

The blades collided again.

Amidst the crisp sound of metal clashing, Alex faintly heard a slight smile.

—Who is laughing?

Alex thought that Roman would still be defending this time, but Roman suddenly switched sides with his sword, and slashed at Alex's head with a wide-open and closed slash.The red-haired young man didn't expect him to suddenly change his sword style, and he didn't even have time to back off!

The blade hit his mask.He wanted to fight back, but Roman's gauntlet was firmly stuck on his sword, and he couldn't launch an effective offensive at all.

"time up!"

The score on the screen changed from 4:3 to 4:6.The audience cheered in unison, applauding Roman's stunt in the final seconds.

Alex hung down the tip of his sword in a daze, not even hearing the referee's order to salute his opponent.

——It turned out that Roman was laughing.

It was his only thought.

***

"I lost."

Alex stood at the end of the isolation line at the backstage entrance, and said to Nolan who was separated by the line.

After exiting the field, the icy aura exuding from his body made both friends and foes daunted.Lucinda comforted him a few words before he was scared away.He was sitting alone in a corner of the locker room and was sulking. At this time, the volunteer came up tremblingly and told him that your brother is looking for you again.Alex glared at him, and he scrambled away.

What is Nolan doing again?Come to admire his dejected appearance after losing a battle?Or to teach him a lesson for his unworthy brother?

Alex had no desire to see Nolan at all.Just imagining that mocking smile on Nolan's face made his stomach hurt.But sooner or later he was going to see his stepbrother.You can't hide from each other for the rest of your life, can you?They lived under the same roof, bowed their heads all day long and didn't look up to see each other. It would be better to accept the baptism of ridicule from their stepbrother earlier, die sooner and be reborn sooner.

He dragged his heavy steps to the separation line.Nolan had already been waiting on the other side.

He didn't look as happy as Alex imagined, but he didn't look pissed off by his brother's fiasco, either.He was calm, neither angry nor mocking, even painfully calm.For a moment Alex thought Nolan was grieving for him, and then he dismissed the idea.how can that be possible?Expecting Nolan to gain empathy is worse than expecting baboons to evolve into intelligent life.

"I lost." Alex pursed his lips, "I let you down."

"Disappointed?" Nolan was slightly taken aback, "Well, it's a little bit, but I've expected such a result a long time ago."

"You thought I would lose?! I thought you had high hopes for me!"

"...Alex, as an older brother, of course I support you, but let's be realistic, shall we?"

Alex scratched his red hair frantically.Even if this guy is discouraged by Roman, does he still think Roman is stronger than him?

"Are you upset, Alex?"

"Bullshit! I just lost a game! Should I celebrate my loss with joy?"

"Then you want to..." Nolan paused, considering his words, "Do you want to give up swordsmanship?"

"What did I say to give up?! Have you finally lost your mind and have auditory hallucinations?"

"Because you have always been like this before. Once you fall behind in any aspect—mainly behind me—you will choose to give up and find another hobby. I was wondering, is it the same in swordsmanship?"

Alex wanted to jump forward and grab Nolan by the neck and shake him violently to wake him up, but the isolation wire prevented him from moving.He pressed the thin strip, gritted his teeth and said, "This is the new way you came up with to mock me?"

"It's the truth. But I'm relieved to hear you say you won't give up. You're still young, and you'll have plenty of time to hone your skills in the future, so there's no need to be in a hurry."

Nolan actually comforted him!Now Alex suspects that he is the one who is hallucinating.Had he been brain-damaged by the sword?Roman's last shot was quite heavy.If he is so crazy, will Roman pay for the medical expenses?

"You... are you comforting me?"

"...Shouldn't I say that?"

"Damn it, it's true, I'm not crazy!"

Alex is really starting to get annoyed now.He actually fell to the point where he was going to be comforted by Nolan, isn't it too miserable?

"Of course it's true. You still have a lot of room for improvement, and I believe Lucinda can help you improve. Besides...it doesn't matter if you don't get the first place, Alex."

Alex laughed angrily. "Because you are always the first, you can say such flimsy words!"

"You can have a hobby, you can experience the fun from it, enjoy the competitive life, live a happy and fulfilling life, and that's enough."

That was really bad luck.Alex thought.My pleasure is to beat others.

Nolan didn't understand the cruelty of competitive sports at all.A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier. Similarly, in the arena, everyone has only one goal.Everyone is working towards that goal like never before.This is competition - a war without gunpowder, a fight without bloodshed.People who are in a leisurely mood cannot survive in troubled times.Nolan will probably never understand this.

A proud man like him can't understand how painful it is for people who can't climb to the top.He can enjoy life to his heart's content because he already has what others dream of.

Alex knew it from the very beginning, but he stubbornly refused to admit it...

He is different from Nolan.Maybe there really are geniuses in the world.

Again and again he's come to this brutal truth, and he's trying to prove it wrong, only to end up disproving his own beliefs.

Now he will be comforted by Nolan.What a great irony is this?

"Have you finished?" He glared at his stepbrother gloomily, "I'll go back after I finish."

Before Nolan could answer, he turned around and left.

"Alex!"

He quickened his pace.

"Alex, come back!"

He didn't look back.

"Alex!"

Hasty footsteps came from behind.

Nolan crossed that dividing line.He caught up to Alex and hugged his brother from behind.

"It's not like you to be so self-destructive."

"Get the fuck out of me!" Alex struggled.But Nolan hugged him tightly, as if trying to force the air out of his lungs.

"You don't have to always compare yourself to other people. You don't have to compare yourself to Roman, and you don't have to...me. You just have to be the best version of yourself."

"You don't know anything at all!"

"Then how much do you understand?" Nolan's voice suddenly became gloomy and severe, "What do you understand about me?!"

Alex ducked his head, then slammed back hard into Nolan's jaw.He felt like his skull was about to crack, but Nolan wasn't much better.He clutched his chin and staggered away.He was lucky he didn't knock him out and dislocate his jaw.

"Stay away from me!" Alex said, pointing to the tip of Nolan's nose.

In the next second, Nolan grabbed his wrist and threw him to the ground with an overhand fall.Alex now feels that Roman is showing mercy to him.

Nolan's prosthetic blade stepped on the concrete floor, and the sound of metal icy collision was chilling.Alex tried to get up, but Nolan knelt on top of him, suppressing his movements.

"How much do you know about me, Alex?"

The stepbrother looked down at him, those gold-green, cat-like eyes that had never been so cold...no, so hot.

then.

Nolan grabbed his red hair, forced him to lift his upper body, and unquestionably blocked his ability to curse with his own lips.