Chapter 789 Weapon Techniques

Chapter 789: Weapon Techniques

Seeing that Lily was interested, both Alena and Jialou’s eyes sparkled.

"Countess, I have mastered swords, greatswords, spears, daggers, and short blades. The last one is axe techniques, though I’ve only been practising them for a few months," Jialou explained.

Lily was genuinely impressed. That was a lot, considering Jialou had been at the academy for only 6 years.

"Is your talent somehow involved in it?"

Jialou nodded.

Lily didn’t press further because revealing talent information was dangerous. Both Alena and Jialou sighed in relief and continued.

"Except for the axe, which has Novice mastery, I have Intermediate mastery in all the other weapons."

Lily raised her brow. Now, this was even more impressive. Jialou was clearly saying he had achieved Novice mastery in axe techniques in just a few months, even while practising the other weapons to maintain his proficiency.

A talent comparable to Veronica’s? Hmm, maybe a bit less...

Veronica had a 5-star alchemist talent, which she had revealed to Lily after confirming that Leo and Lily were good people. This meant it was an intuition talent ranked higher than 1 star.

People with these talents were extremely rare and could even be considered the gateways to new generations.

This was because such talents could tap into the unknown and bring new inventions to civilisation.

"Interesting... What about the techniques?" Lily asked.

Jialou nodded.

"For swords, I’ve learned 4 techniques: [Mooncleaver Slash], [Phantom Sword Dance], [Armor-Piercing Thrust], and [Crosswind Execution]."

"All at Intermediate mastery?" Lily asked, raising both her brows.

Jialou scratched his head sheepishly.

"Hehe, not all. Only [Mooncleaver Slash] and [Phantom Sword Dance] are at Intermediate mastery. The other two are at Low and Amateur mastery, respectively."

Even 2 are unexpected... Lily thought. She expected Jialou to have mastered only 1 technique per weapon.

After that, Jialou listed 2 techniques specifically for greatswords, 4 for spears, 4 for daggers and throwing knives, and 2 for axes.

After hearing that, Lily nodded.

"What about elements?" she asked.

Jialou shook his head.

"My main applications are Mana Force and Aura. I cannot utilise elements unless my weapon is special spirit equipment."

Lily nodded. That was acceptable.

Mana Force meant Jialou forced mana out of his body in its raw form to achieve attribute-less effects, while Aura strengthened things enough to withstand Mana Force.

Mana Force application was similar to Sylrael’s [Moonveil Bow], which Cyrandel had given her which allowed her to deal magic damage.

After that, Lily looked toward the remaining 28 people.

"What about them?"

Alena explained on their behalf.

"Countess Lily, the 28 of them are divided into 4 groups of 7 members each. Jialou specifically trained each group in swords, greatswords, spears, and daggers. Some of them have elemental affinities, making them quite versatile overall."

"You all look like a mercenary team..." Lily muttered unconsciously.

"That’s correct. None of them is students. We personally recruited them from various cities based on their personal drives and abilities. We mainly perform mercenary missions posted in Aurelius Hall."

Lily looked at Alena.

"Not students? Did your territory only have outsiders?"

"No, we did have many... but they slowly left us for other, better territories."

"Not even 1 was tempted to follow you when coming to our territory?" Lily asked.

Alena shook her head again.

"There were many, but we didn’t allow them to follow us. We didn’t want them to leave Sir Leo’s territory the same way they left ours. If, through your and Count Leo’s grace, we managed to join the territory, we would feel guilty about bringing such people here."

Lily’s lips curved into a smile.

"In other words, these people are your personally loyal followers?"

Jialou nodded.

"Yes."

After hearing all that, Lily leaned back in her chair and began thinking things through.

Jialou would undoubtedly be invaluable, considering Leo planned to bring many ordinary people into the territory in the future for manpower.

Not to mention, James had Advanced mastery in only gauntlets and hand-to-hand combat, along with preliminary knowledge of other weapons. That meant Jialou was filling an important gap.

As for Alena, the way she spoke alone told Lily she would make a great diplomat kind of person in due time.

Then there were the people. Since they were loyal followers and not academy students, they would be wholly dedicated to the territory.

Tap!

Lily tapped her fingers on the table as two contract papers shimmered into existence in front of Jialou and Alena.

Both of them looked down at the papers with frowns.

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High-Level Mana Contract Clauses

1. Absolute Non-Betrayal Clause — Members must never knowingly betray the territory, its ruler, or its inhabitants.

2. Confidentiality Clause — Members cannot disclose the territory’s location, secrets, defenses, internal structure, or special resources to outsiders without authorization.

3. No Unauthorized Entry Clause — Members cannot enter restricted areas, tamper with protected structures, or approach the territory’s core and vital mechanisms without permission.

4. Non-Aggression Clause — Members cannot deliberately attack, poison, sabotage, or otherwise harm another territory member without legitimate cause.

5. No Theft Clause — Resources, treasures, beast cores, mana crystals, and other property belonging to the territory cannot be stolen, concealed, or misappropriated.

6. Loyalty and Allegiance Clause — Members must acknowledge the territory’s authority and obey its legitimate rules. However, they aren’t required to follow orders that directly violate the contract’s fundamental protections.

7. Resource Contribution Clause — Members must fulfill any agreed-upon duties, taxes, resource contributions, or service obligations in exchange for the protection and benefits provided by the territory.

8. Extended Allegiance Clause — Upon completing the 20-year academy curriculum, the signatory shall remain bound to the territory for an additional 20 years, upholding its laws, duties, and obligations throughout this period.

9. Right of Annulment Clause — Should the territory or its ruler subject the signatory to unjust treatment, deliberate exploitation, or a breach of the contract’s protections, the signatory shall have the right to annul the contract and depart without penalty.

10. Protection of Territory Clause — Members must not knowingly assist enemies...

11. Prohibition of Unauthorized Disclosure Clause — ...

12. Right to Refuse Unlawful Orders Clause — ...

13. Non-Coercion Clause — ...

14. Contract Integrity Clause — ...

...

..

.

Note: All necessary clauses shall remain in effect even after the signatory has left the territory.

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"High-level?!" Jialou and Alena exclaimed simultaneously.

This simply meant that if the clauses were violated, a fatal backlash could occur, potentially even leading to death.