Chapter 18
A moment later, Lin Sheng sat in the kitchen, carefully examining the black sword that he had severed off the rotten swordsman’s arm .
At the length of an arm and width of a palm, the black sword had a smooth glass-like coating on its surface . Its hilt had a black crossguard, and just like the silver sword earlier, it was a cross-shaped sword . On the blade near the grip was the mark of a vertical eye identical to the one on the silver sword .
“It looks like Ravel’s the rotten swordsman . ” Lin Sheng could make out the identity of the swordsman once he saw the fragmented memories in his mind’s eye .
“The most unbelievable thing is that I can absorb his memories!” He reached for the hilt of the black sword and gently lifted the sword .
The black sword was a tad heavier—about one and a half times—than the previous silver sword . Waving the sword in his hand, Lin Sheng found it surprisingly handy . With that sense of familiarity, he planted his feet on the floor as energy began to rise from his legs to his waist, then to the shoulders and arms . With the aid of this new strength, he accurately thrust the sword forward in a straight line, leaving behind a black trail along with a faint airburst .
“What just happened?” Lin Sheng was startled . The smooth thrusting move was completely instinctual without any hesitation as if he had practiced the move many times before .
After a pause, Lin Sheng waved the sword again to try out other moves . The other moves did not feel the same as the thrust earlier, no matter how many times he tried . So, he may as well just practice the thrusting move .
His repeated practice of the move produced airbursts in the kitchen . Lin Sheng found the move absolutely awesome .
“Wait a minute! This seems similar to the move that the rotten swordsman used before . ” It was this very move that killed Lin Sheng the last time, and he had only begun to notice the familiarity as he practiced it .
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He stabbed the sword forward again . As simple as it may have seemed, the basic move became more potent than it appeared with limb and body coordination .
“The attack point is the same—the heart on the left side of the chest . ” Recalling the fragmented memories that he had seen, Lin Sheng could vaguely deduce that they were the last memories of the rotten swordsman .
“There’s nothing wrong with acquiring the rotten swordsman’s fragmented memories . After all, anything can happen in dreams . ” Once he calmed down, Lin Sheng began to enjoy his newfound strength .
Taking the black sword and leaving the kitchen, Lin Sheng went to examine the body of the rotten swordsman in the hall and made sure that everything was all right . After that, he grabbed the body by its clothes to drag and toss it outside through the doorway . He then closed the door and snapped the latches on .
Since there was no water in the manor, Lin Sheng wiped the black blood off his hands, using the curtain as a rag . Then he returned to the study room and sat down, wanting to continue his memorization of the swordsmanship notes . Very quickly, Lin Sheng was surprised to find that he could understand some of the words in the handbook . With the combination of context and illustrations, he could roughly make out the meaning .
“This must be the result of acquiring Ravel’s memory!” Lin Sheng was overjoyed . He could not believe that killing a monster in his dream had given him such an advantage .
He quickly scanned the Handbook of Swordsmanship and finished it in its entirety . Just as he had expected, content on the swordsmanship was only a tiny part of the handbook . Only a few pages with illustrations mentioned Ravel’s famous sword technique: Furious Blow .
Lin Sheng gave it a quick read in combination with the previous and latter pages .
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“Furious Blow isn’t so much Ravel’s famous sword technique but a kind of conventional long sword technique . It’s just that Ravel really mastered it so it became famous . ”
He flipped the pages, his eyes scanning the text . “Unlike what the book title suggests, most parts of the book talk about Ravel’s travels, battles, experiences, and stuff like that; nothing more than blowing his own horn . ”
Shaking his head, Lin Sheng put the book down . After he acquired some of Ravel’s memories, he could recognize quite a number of new words when he reread the books, which he had difficulty understanding earlier .
Lin Sheng stood up, scanned the bookshelf, and quickly found another book that he could read . This book was different from the other large books; its cover was blank, there was content only in the first half of the book, and the writing was all scribbled .
“It looks like a notepad . ” Lin Sheng began to carefully read the text at the top of the first page .
The sky has turned dark again . Dunn comes again .
He is leaving to seek help, but things have become irreparable . Leaving will only bring a more horrible outcome .
As the subsequent line was illegible, Lin Sheng simply turned to the next page .
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The nights are getting longer, and the winds colder . Dunn has left . My last best friend, I wish you a safe journey .
Lin Sheng found it surprisingly easy to read since the text was written in simple language . So, he continued to browse through the pages .
I am old, and my physical strength has declined dramatically . Polly has also grown up . She struck down my sword for the first time today . I am very pleased .
Many chickens and ducks have gone missing from the manor lately . I do not know if they are dead or something else .
The wind is freezing…
I hope everything can go back to the beginning .
Except for the parts that he could not understand, Lin Sheng found page after page of the author’s daily life—they were bits and pieces about Ravel and his granddaughter, Polly . But Ravel’s words contained a faint sense of despair and depression as if some grave danger was looming in the world outside .
Lin Sheng kept flipping and soon found these on the last few legible pages:
Did something also happen to Blackfeather City’s patrol troop? Even the last shield has… It is hopeless now . It looks like I will have to go to Lhasabelle and get my new sword . The old sword can no longer hold up .
With the protection of my armor, Polly will be all right . She will be able to make it out safely .
Lin Sheng knitted his brows together as at that point, the text got blurry . But he had learned a few essential things .
First, there was probably a place called Blackfeather City .
Second, the place where Ravel went to collect his sword was called Lhasabelle . It was likely a place for buying and selling weapons . Perhaps he could find some protective gear there .
After spending a week in the club, Lin Sheng was no longer totally clueless about such weapons . He had learned online that a full set of body armor was absolutely vital for improving survival in the cold weapon era .
‘Blackfeather City… Lhasabelle…’ Lin Sheng repeated the names in his mind, feeling that his dream was getting as real as it was interesting . He could not wait to find out what happened to Blackfeather City and why Ravel, a Class II swordsman, had turned into a rotten monster .