Chapter 166 - Knight and Assassin Forming a Single Entity (III)
Chapter 166: Knight and Assassin Forming a Single Entity (III)
In the next three months, I will do my utmost to pass my experience onto you. The amount you will manage to learn and to display will depend on yourself. Now, I am going to make a personal analysis on everyone in this 1st soldier grade Demon Hunt Squad .
I have already told everything about Chen Ying’er; she is the most undeterminable element of the team. But since you are a team, in battle, it will be everyone’s duty to protect her. Once she is grown up in the future, she will inevitably become an important part of the team.”
When his look fell on the sole mage of the team, Gao Yingjie clearly revealed some interest, “Lin Xin, did you know that you are the most outstanding mage I’ve seen this year?”
“Eh?” Lin Xin started, feeling that this sudden praise was somewhat unbefitting of him. He originally believed that Gao Yingjie would look down upon him for not being able to attack.
Gao Yingjie continued in a deep voice, “Today was the first time you cooperated together, but in this collaboration, aside from Long Haochen’s magical beast, you were the one with the best coordination with him. When your total energy elemental shield as well as your elemental shields were used on him, the defensive support you gave Long Haochen was even greater than his magical beast’s!
If I am not mistaken, you relied on your control to improve the efficiency of your elemental shields, providing even greater results. The magical staff in your hand should be a pure fire cloud crystal, bringing you quite a decent amplification. However, if you didn’t naturally have outstanding talent, it wouldn’t have been possible for you to use your defensive spells with such speed.
Even though I should not ask of another’s secret, among all of you, the one I’m the most curious about is you; why can’t you use any offensive magic? I know that you are also an alchemist. Further adding to the fact that you possess this kind of double specialization, your defensive magic has great utility. If you wholeheartedly devote yourself on training your magic control, I can predict that you are bound to become the pride of the Mage Temple in the future.”
Hearing Gao Yingjie’s words, Lin Xin turned silent. This narcissistic, deep green-haired youth’s complexion darkened, but he didn’t say anything, only lowering his own head and sitting there.
Gao Yingjie gave him a deep look and said, “Okay, okay. Presently, we have assessed the utility of Lin Xin, who can only use defensive magic, to our battle strategy. In this team, Lin Xin’s utility is no less than a shield warrior’s, and thanks to the fact that he uses magic, he can be said to have an even greater utility compared to a shield warrior. Lin Xin, keep in mind that if you will forever be unable to use offensive magic, you will have to exert a lot of efforts on your fire control on defensive and assisting magic in the future. This way, when facing powerful foes, you will be able to assist Long Haochen’s defense, just like you did today. And the time you will shine the most in the team will be when facing numerous weak enemies; when someone meets danger or needs assistance, you will be the first to rush out to help them. This will require you to always keep an eye on the general situation.”
Lin Xin nodded in silence, “I will try my best.” Giving this short reply, he did not say any more, seemingly becoming somewhat irritated by the fact that Gao Yingjie raised the question on why he couldn’t use offensive magic.
Gao Yingjie declared, “I am placing Lin Xin in the rear, and Chen Ying’er, as the one who will need the most protection, is to be placed in the middle of the formation. Long Haochen, take note that your mount will have to assist them in moving during battles, using, for example, the ‘Float’ wind system technique and so on, and to carry them when it is necessary.”
Long Haochen paid serious attention to each word Gao Yingjie said. It was someone speaking based on real experience! In the field of cultivation and training, few could match Ye Hua’s research, but in the field of real combat experience, especially team battles, Ye Hua could hardly be compared to Gao Yingjie. Just like it could be seen from the scars on his body, his experience was based on lessons he learnt with his blood!
Gao Yingjie continued speaking, “Wang Yuanyuan, Sima Xian, from my eyes, you two are warriors, nothing more than an axe warrior and a holy warrior.”
Hearing him say so, Wang Yuanyuan and Sima Xian couldn’t help but reveal some embarrassment on their face.
A faint smile appeared on Gao Yingjie’s face, “You don’t have to feel embarrassed, this is not a problem of any kind. No one takes the same path of development, the most important thing is that this path is suited to the two of you. Without a doubt, your external spiritual energy outstrips most people. Wang Yuanyuan, I will not say much to you, but in battle, you have to pay attention in order to match your rhythm with the others. You have to take note of the situation Long Haochen is in, act in parallel with him, and help him in handling the defense. You cannot create a hole in the whole formation on an impulse. Also, your ultimate move is powerful, but the consumption of spiritual energy is just too great, don’t use it rashly.”
“Yeah.” Wang Yuanyuan nodded. She had a straightforward personality, so she would listen to the only party’s guidance only if she acknowledged them as being more powerful than her.
Gao Yingjie turned towards Sima Xian and said, “As for you, there’s more in what I need to tell to you. You are a priest, but chose a path close to a warrior’s. In itself, there’s nothing wrong in that. As I see it, you can take the path of a Discipline Priest.”
“A Discipline Priest?” Sima Xian started, staring at him blankly. It was the first time he had heard of this.
Gao Yingjie explained, “It is something that hasn’t appeared for many years already. A so called Discipline Priest is a kind of priest that mostly relies on combat. But you have to bear in mind that it is a priest and not a warrior. Thus, he must learn priest abilities, and not only offensive ones, but also the support skills. Choosing the path of a Discipline Priest implies the abandonment of healing, but you have to know that a Discipline Priest will rely on the bursting power of his sacred magic. Your combined use of Madness with Sacred Hammer is good, but from what I saw, your combination of sacred magic and close combat is still not good enough. On this side, you may ask Long Haochen for guidance. If you train well as a Discipline Priest, you will have the possibility of becoming a powerhouse uniting magic and combat arts.
As for your positions in the team’s formation, Sima Xian and Wang Yuanyuan, you will be both behind Long Haochen, covering the left and right sides to alleviate a part of Long Haochen’s burden while protecting Chen Ying’er and Lin Xin if it is needed.”
“Yes.” Listening Gao Yingjie’s detailed analysis, everyone paid deep attention. Gao Yingjie was not only guiding everyone in their future development, but also their role in the formation, their accurate positioning. In the future, when cooperating to fight together, their coordination would be better this way.
“Han Yu, your position will be at the back of the formation. I know that you are a Guardian Knight, but to a team, the rear is also extremely important. Your 1st soldier grade Demon Hunt Squad ‘s best advantage over the others is that you have one more Guardian Knight. Holding a good defense at the rear will lighten your teammates’ worries. At the same time, the Demonic Eye you have as a magical beast companion will also provide good support. In case a rather powerful enemy appears, you will have to make your Demonic Eye intimidate it through spiritual magic to earn some time for your comrades to prepare themselves.”
Han Yu spoke, “Captain, I have something to say.”
Gao Yingjie replied in response, “Speak.”
Han Yu said, “At the present time, the biggest problem of our team is that it doesn’t have access to the healing spells of a priest, which will affect our ability to sustain in combat. Thus, my future training path will be inclined toward the defense and healing aspects; this will make up for the deficiency of our team.”
A trace of astonishment immediately flashed in Gao Yingjie’s eyes and he said, full of appreciation, “Very good. This is something I wanted to mention. The fact you had this kind of awareness is a fortunate thing.”
Sima Xian sat at Han Yu’s side, and hearing Gao Yingjie that he immediately stretched his hand, putting it on Han Yu’s shoulder, “Good brother, in the future, I hope to share my contribution points with you.”
Han Yu felt somewhat helpless as he cast him a glance aside, “Don’t stick to me with your flesh, I rather prefer the soft body of a young woman.”
Sima Xian laughed out loudly, blinked his eyes, and did some flirtatious glances, “Are you not okay with me?”
“Shut up…”
The others couldn’t help but laugh at this scene.
Sima Xian felt guilty because of the fact that he couldn’t carry on the duty of the healer for his team, but seeing that Han Yu took the initiative of assuming this responsibility, deep inside, he felt extremely grateful. What a great initiative!
In the carriage, the atmosphere had lightened because of this episode, turning friendlier.
Gao Yingjie’s look finally fell on Long Haochen and Cai’er.
“Cai’er, your offensive power is extremely great. You can be said to be the team’s sharpest blade: within this squad, your attack is the greatest. Thus, your duty is even greater. I know that your relationship with Long Haochen is good, but don’t forget that you are both members of this squad, and there will be a lot of times when you should not let your emotions affect you. Otherwise, you will not be helping him but harming him instead. He is the captain so, if you want to help him, help him in fulfilling his role as the captain.”
Gao Yingjie’s tone had become once again stern and serious. Cai’er slightly raised her head; although she was blind, it could be seen from this motion that she was carefully listening. “Wah, Banzai, Yipiie!
Uncle, you’re so handsome!” At that instant, a foolish and lovable voice interrupted Gao Yingjie in his serious talk. Shi Xiaoxue grabbed his arm while crying out.
Gao Yingjie’s face turned a little red and he furiously said, “Let go of me and look at yourself. Don’t interrupt me!”
“Oh…” Feeling aggrieved, Shi Xiaoxue lowered her head, but was still grabbing his sleeve with her hand. In regard to this young girl, Gao Yingjie indeed felt completely helpless.
Sima Xian, Han Yu, Chen Ying’er, and Wang Yuanyuan couldn’t help but secretly laugh. At that time, Lin Xin, who was quietly pouting, seemed to also ease up by quite a bit, dubiously looking at Gao Yingjie before looking at Shi Xiaoxue and thinking to himself, Could it be that this is the so called old cow that eats light grass?
“Cough cough.” Gao Yingjie coughed a few times, trying to mask his embarrassment. Firmly looking at Cai’er, he spoke, “There are three points you have to keep in mind in regard to your duty. First, relying on your formidable offensive power, you will have to kill the enemies; be sure to be the one who kills the most of them. When there is no especially formidable existence among them, you will have to do your utmost to wipe them all out. This will lighten the pressure on your comrades.
Next is to break the enemy formation. In the presence of enemies that are also organised well, you will have to break the enemy ranks’ stability so as to provide an opening for your teammates to attack.
Last is to provide support when facing the most powerful foes. Cai’er, tell me: as an assassin fighting in team, in which context would you use your most powerful blow?”
Cai’er coldly answered, “When killing the enemies.”
Gao Yingjie shook his head and said, “No, you are wrong. That way, you will only display your own force, and while under the restrictions you will face in battle, your own firepower will have no chance to come out completely. When facing enemies more powerful than yourself, acting this way will be of no help to the team.
You should know that the Knight Temple and the Assassin Temple have the closest relationship among all. The reason for this is not because that these two great Temples both specialize in close quarter combat, but more importantly, it is because of the nature of the abilities of a knight and an assassin naturally complementing each other. A knight is the shield of an assassin, and an assassin is the sharpest weapon a knight can have.”
Hearing him speak, everyone could not help but feel moved. It was especially the case for Long Haochen, who seemed to have realized something.
Gao Yingjie said, “When facing a single enemy with strength completely surpassing yours, what you will have to do is not to act by yourself, but to act jointly with Long Haochen. You are the concealed existence that spreads Long Haochen’s shadow everywhere. The moment he is blocking the ultimate enemy’s move is the moment when your offensive power can burst out. This is the so called ‘Knight and Assassin Forming a Single Entity’.”
“In front of powerful foes, the assassin has to be a sure-kill weapon directed against them, but will also have to assist the knight in defending against the attacks he can’t block completely, ensuring his survival. Hence, I wish for Long Haochen and you to most rapidly comprehend each other’s capabilities and limits. Only this way, will you both unite so as to become the heart of the team.”
Cai’er nodded calmly, slightly bowing at Gao Yingjie’s direction, “Thank you.”
To make her speak out the two words of submission, ‘thank you’, was not an easy feat to accomplish. Everything Gao Yingjie had just said was for Cai’er to finally realize her real duty as a member of the squad. Obviously, the part that had impacted her the most was the expression ‘Knight and Assassin Forming a Single Entity’, the assassin helping the knight’s survival. In the previous battle, Cai’er was always trying her best to help Long Haochen, but she didn’t know what was the best method for her to do so at all. But with these directions given by Gao Yingjie, given her intelligence, she had already begun to realize a great deal more.
Gao Yingjie revealed a gratified look. As long as these youths listened to him, him taking the role of leader this time would not be for naught.
The Temple Alliance attached extensive priority to the Demon Hunt Squads. And it was precisely for the sake of increasing these Newcomer Demon Hunt Squad’s probability of survival and letting them have a better chance to meet the standards, that they had these formidable Temple Knight of the seventh step to guide them for these three months. These three months were a period of assessment and also a period of refinement, and these ten Temple Knights headed by Gao Yingjie were all among the elites of elites in achieving favorable results.
“Long Haochen, the last person I have to speak of is you. In the previous battle, you were the one I was the most satisfied with among all of you, and the one I have the most expectations for. The Saint Spiritual Stove is among the best choices, but the fact that you possess one doesn’t imply that you will become an outstanding knight for sure. In your capacity as the heart of the team, you did not renounce; you did not give up. You faced danger despite everything, using your firm defense to give your companions the opportunity to move forward. You did very well.
Your position is at the center and at the front of the formation. When facing powerful foes, you will always be the first one to welcome them. That is what a knight is. The ten great standards of a knight: modesty, honesty, compassion, courage, fairness, sacrifice, honor, perseverance, charity, and justice, are the most crucial for a team. You will have to combine attack and defense as a whole, leading the whole team. You carry the most important duty, and each of your choices will decide the fate of your team.”