Close Combat Mage

Chapter 212 – Invasion of Powerful Enemies Pt. 2

Just as Suo Jia had anticipated, the diagram clearly showed a type of footwork. However, someone had mistaken it as a construction outline, and used it to pave the road.

The central path’s overhead image was about 80% identical to the footwork’s diagram. However…the construction hadn’t been very strictly controlled, so there were some differences in subtle areas. Footwork was something where the slightest centimeter of difference was equivalent to 1000 li. This footwork diagram was the most accurate depiction, and was also the most powerful one.

However, although the effects of the overhead image’s depiction was slightly different, that didn’t mean it was completely useless. In addition, it wasn’t very complicated, and was suitable for anyone to learn. It wasn’t as difficult and profound as the original diagram, and would be much more appropriate to use as learning materials for the soldiers. It could be said that the overhead image was a simplified version of the footwork, and the ultimate profound essence!

Suo Jia gave the overhead image to Naifa Lian and told her to instruct everyone to immediately construct a central path according to it. From then on, everyone shipping stones or passing through the passage had to step on only the blue stones as they crossed. This would subtly integrate the footwork into their abilities.

Afterwards, Suo Jia began a closed door training to fully concentrate on studying this footwork. Suo Jia knew that this footwork would decide his evasive abilities in close combat. Its uses in his close ranged attacks and defenses were something that no amateur could possibly understand. If a suitable footwork wasn’t integrated, a person would never be able to display their fullest power. Defenses also wouldn’t reach their stablest state.

Suo Jia held the diagram in his hand and examined it closely. There were two words written on the paper: Rising Waves! Below the words was a complex series of blue dots. When he counted them closely, he realized that there were over a hundred of them!

After an entire week, Suo Jia completely memorized the entire footwork. He then began to train in it according to his memory. After practicing, Suo Jia immediately discovered the miraculous points of this footwork.

Actually, this footwork was a deceiving-type step. When it seemed one was going left, they were actually going right. While they’d step to their left, their body would actually be charging towards the right. Although they clearly seemed to be advancing, their body was actually retreating.

Of course, this footwork wasn’t as simple as using opposites. While one stepped right, they could move in an entirely different direction. Forwards, backwards, left, and right were all options. This was the footwork’s special ability.

The most miraculous part was that the footwork didn’t just deceive the eyes, but the ears and the mind as well. When one stepped out, whether the opposite party was using their eyes to watch or their ears to hear, it would seem that the person was heading towards the right. However, their body was actually moving in some other direction, a complete trick.

If the other party closed their eyes, it might prove to be somewhat of an improvement. But once they opened their eyes to watch, their entire mind and consciousness would fall into confusion. No matter what, the other party would think the person was moving forwards. Yet the person was moving backwards. How was one supposed to attack then? If the other party tried to attack while a person was retreating, the person would’ve long since moved away by the time the attack was initiated.

However, although this footwork was magical, and Suo Jia had memorized it all, he discovered that practicing and mastering this footwork was really too difficult. In fact, it was outrageous!

Suo Jia stood in the room, his right leg shifting as his left foot brushed the ground. He moved backwards, then his left foot stopped. Then his left leg shifted, and his right foot pushed off the ground. These alternating moves were the reverse moves for moving forwards and backwards. Although it sounded simple, doing it accurately was extremely hard.

Firstly, if he wanted to do it correctly, his actions had to be identical to if he were moving forwards. It was only the difference of which direction his foot exerted force in. On the outside, it looked like he was advancing, but his body was actually going backwards. This difficulty was so great that even if he trained for his entire lifetime, he couldn’t possibly achieve his ideal point. That required natural gift!

In addition, one step to the left while the leg secretly exerted force to push the body to the right seemed like he was drifting in the wind. It completely betrayed common sense, which made it impossible for people to judge his true trajectory.

In a battle, a missed attack could lead to an extremely grim outcome. Attacks needed energy; the more energy was exerted, the more destructive the attack became. But once an attack missed, a cooldown period was necessary to retract one’s energy and relaunch another attack. This cooldown period was enough time for the enemy to successfully evade, then send a fatal attack to the defenseless person!

For an entire week, Suo Jia stayed in closed door training. He quietly trained in the footwork every day, and his entire person began to seem more and more like a ghost. His movements were barely discernible, almost unfathomable. When he seemed to go left, he would suddenly be on the right. His feet didn’t seem to stick to the ground, and it gave an eerie and frightening feeling.

One could say for certain that Suo Jia had already learned the footwork. However, its strength was in deceiving others, so if he wanted to utilize its full might, he needed to maximize its duping abilities. This was also precisely why it was so difficult. Even after spending his entire lifetime, Suo Jia would never master it to completion.

Fortunately, Suo Jia was still young. Although the initial learning process had been very hard, he had improved quickly. In reality, it was basically a dance. However, it was extremely strange, a dance routine that nobody had ever seen.

“Dong, dong, dong…” While Suo Jia was completely immersed in training, a heavy sound of knocking came from outside. He suddenly stopped, and shouted, “Come in, the door is unlocked!”

The door was quickly pushed open, and Naifa Lian rushed in with a grave expression, “Bad news, Young Master. The Thief Alliance’s armies seemed to have come together with the intention of harming us! Right now…our purchases have already been blockaded off!”

“What!” Suo Jia’s body shook as he looked over at Naifa Lian in shock. After all this time, Suo Jia had pretty much forgotten the matter about the Thief Alliance armies. Only now after suddenly hearing Naifa Lian’s reminder did he abruptly realize that he had been too careless.

At the moment, the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes were still out on a mission. The 5,000 Mengas hadn’t yet finished evolving, so the Knights couldn’t fight at the moment. As Knights, leaving their mounts meant handicapping themselves so that they couldn’t fight at all.

The most critical part was that the slave soldiers’ armors and weapons hadn’t yet arrived. This was the most headache-inducing part. Suo Jia couldn’t deny the fact that he had made a huge mistake in his arrangements. He shouldn’t have rushed to dispatch the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes when the Mengmas were evolving.

However, it was already too late to be considering this. Fortunately…Dawn City finally had a fixed defensive power. The 5,000 pike users, in addition to the 10,000 slave pike users, 10,000 long-ranged archers, 10,000 swordsmen, and 10,000 Knights, were all fully equipped, and could go out into battle at any moment. However, the slave soldiers’ trainings hadn’t really completed yet, so it was hard to say exactly how powerful they were.

Suo Jia loudly declared, “Immediately spread my orders. The 40,000 regular slave soldiers are to temporarily stop their labor and focus entirely on preparing for battle. The 5,000 regular pike users are to go to their stations on the walls, and be prepared to defend against the Thief Alliance army’s attacks at any moment!”

Suo Jia paused for a moment before continuing, “Also, the 60,000 slave soldiers are to temporarily stop their construction on the city border’s walls, and instead turn their concentration onto excavating more stones to improve the city walls in the direction of Holy Light!”

At the moment the city border walls had 100 meter long walls that were already over 20 meters high. However, the walls facing Holy Light were only 4 meters long, and only around 2 stories tall. Although this wasn’t short either, it was still not enough. After all…walls made from stacking stones had an extremely large slant to them, and the enemies could easily follow the stones to run up.

Actually, the gathered stones were now using the original 2 meter tall walls as the central point and being piled on either side of it. This didn’t require any specialized artisan; it was merely stacking rocks on top of each other. The taller the rock stacks were, the taller the city walls became. Eventually, they’d become like small mountains, and this would make the wall construction complete.

All the slave soldiers knew that these walls were their lifeline. Thus, nobody dared to slack off, and labored day and night. Finally…after the fifth layer, the Thief Alliance’s army finally appeared in the distant plains.