A person in American horror, wearing two versions of The Witcher

In the slightly open wooded area along the riverbank,

Against the backdrop of two water ghost corpses, with a German Shepherd Coffin as the audience, Roy Zhongping holds a gun and battles Geralt, a master swordsman.

The only goal is to break the shield and defeat Quen!

"bring it on!"

Geralt, wielding a cedar branch sword, shouted for Roy to attack.

However, several seconds passed, and Roy remained motionless.

Indeed, in the "Selected Secret Methods of Single-Blade Swords" compiled by Cheng Zongyou of the Ming Dynasty,

The first and second moves are for opening the blade, then the third move, the head-down blade stance, is to lure the enemy's spear into the ground, and then the hand strikes the blade; the fourth move, the entering-the-cave blade stance, is also to lure the enemy's spear into the ground, and then... the fifth move, the single-slash blade stance, is also to lure the enemy's spear into the ground...

In short, until the final "sheathing the sword" posture,

The "Single-Sword Techniques" section contains a total of 22 techniques, including 4 techniques for luring the opponent's spear into the ground and 11 techniques for waiting for the opponent's spear to penetrate...

The vast majority of these are manual cuts performed after the fact.

Why? Because while being the first to act offers an advantage, it also has its weaknesses!

In front of Geralt, a master swordsman...

Was Roy's first move an advantage, or a weakness?

Roy wouldn't even flinch if he used his ass!

The spear is an elder!

I will remain unmoved and wait for them to close in on me!

Geralt, on the other end, laughed at the sight. This kid isn't stupid after all!

Immediately, he stopped feigning and instead drew his sword to break through Roy's gunfire.

When he was within a meter of Roy's gun, Roy stepped forward and thrust his gun forward.

Just as he advanced, Geralt lightly touched the ground with the sole of his foot and sprang backward, completely avoiding his thrust and leaving plenty of room for maneuver.

He didn't even use the sword he was holding.

Seeing that his attack had missed, Roy immediately drew his gun and retreated.

Geralt waited for him to regain his footing, then charged forward again.

Roy dared not be careless, and fearing that he might miss and give Geralt an opportunity, he immediately used his waist as a pivot, turned the spear horizontally, and made the spearhead sweep across the area in front of him, and then changed position to thrust again!

Logically, if Geralt had advanced quickly enough after expanding the sweeping range, he would have had to raise his sword to block the spear tip from sweeping across his body. If he had blocked, his movement would have been momentarily halted, and Roy's repositioning and subsequent thrust would have been highly likely to succeed.

However, Geralt still did not draw his sword.

He leaned back to avoid Roy's sweeping attack.

At the same time, he took a step and jumped straight backward.

Roy's repositioning and subsequent shot hit the target squarely.

But the spear could not catch up with Geralt's body at all, and by the time the spear tip stopped moving, the spear was already worn out.

The tip of the spear was still about two fist-widths away from Geralt's chest.

Just then, as Roy's attack faltered and he had to withdraw his spear, Geralt moved with his sword.

He spun forward like a swallow in flight, his body chasing after the tip of Roy's gun as he pulled it back, aiming to completely break into Roy's gun encirclement before Roy could even finish pulling back his gun.

The panel's anchored buff attributes made Roy realize it instantly.

If he were to draw his spear and thrust again, he would inevitably be slower than Geralt's advance and thus be defeated.

As the gun was pulled back, Roy twisted his body and took a step back.

He pulled back his spear, causing the blade to retract, and then swung it at Geralt again.

Although the sweeping force wasn't great, if it hit Geralt, the Quen Shield would definitely shatter.

If Geralt didn't want his shield to break, he retreated.

Then Roy would still have a chance to adjust his position and reposition his gun.

However, Geralt, who had retreated twice, did not retreat again this time.

The sword was now held in his right hand in a reverse grip, with the back of his hand facing upwards, and the blade pointing slightly upwards.

Then he used his momentum to slash with his sword.

The sword slashed straight at Roy's spear tip, the two collided, causing the spearhead to bounce.

Taking advantage of this momentum, Geralt turned and charged forward.

He turned his body to the right, and in the blink of an eye, the downward-pointing branch of the sword slashed against the bottom of Roy's spear shaft.

Then, by sliding along the edge, you can completely shave off Roy's left hand that is holding the club.

At such a critical juncture,

It was too late for Roy to draw his gun, and letting go with his left hand would inevitably result in the gun being knocked away and defeat. The only way to break the deadlock was to use a grappling hook!

Roy gripped the gun barrel tightly with his right hand and used his waist as a fulcrum to make the gun barrel draw a clockwise circle, thus pressing, twisting, and wrapping the sword as it rotated clockwise.

The sword can be flipped, but the wrist cannot, which forces the swordsman to drop the sword.

However, the idea is good.

In fact, before Roy had even finished half a lap,

Geralt's backhand slash, aided by Roy's downward pressure,

He flipped his wrist again.

With palm facing up and blade on the left, draw a counter-clockwise circle with the branch sword, then with palm facing down and blade on the right.

And with a sweep,

It rested on Roy's neck.

At this moment, Roy, unable to stop his momentum, finally managed to strike Geralt's waist with his spear shaft, shattering the Quen shield.

But in the end, it was too late.

Moreover, even if the force of the gun barrel struck solidly, it would at most cause a bruise.

Ultimately:

"I lost, old man. I couldn't even break the Quinn on your body!" Roy said dejectedly.

He had just killed two water ghosts and felt incredibly powerful, but in the blink of an eye, Geralt had put his sword to his neck without taking any damage in a single exchange.

Geralt hadn't even used the Signs yet, and hadn't even had his adrenaline surge!

It's so... infuriating!

I'm so unwilling to accept this!

Hey, Deep Blue, add some more for me!

Although he knew that failure was actually the norm...

"At least Quen is already broken, and you even made me change a few moves." Geralt laughed as he moved the branch sword aside.

He then placed the sword against Roy's gun barrel and said:

"Your twisting move just now..."

Roy slowed his movements and began to twist the gun barrel. Geralt didn't move his wrist, and his grip loosened slightly. Under the pressure of the gun barrel, the sword was also twisted clockwise, then once, then twice.

The wrist couldn't keep up with the twisting of the branch sword, and the branch sword was twisted and slipped from the hand.

Geralt flicked his toe, kicking up the sword, thinking...

If he had reacted any slower, he might have had his sword snatched from his hand.

"Interesting! A very clever use of the term," he exclaimed.

Roy's expression recovered somewhat.

Geralt continued:

"Your spear technique is exquisite, and your strength is actually quite good, but your reaction time is too slow, and you lack combat experience."

"To be able to fight like that... is not bad."

Roy sheathed his gun and said:

"It sounds like a village woman telling her husband that three breaths is actually quite good, even though the village woman hadn't even realized that it was all over before she could react."

Geralt instantly understood what Roy was talking about, and he slapped Roy on the shoulder and laughed loudly:

"Yeah, kid, you're doing pretty well to last three breaths!"

Roy's face darkened further.

"Alright, let's get serious, kid."

"The spear technique system you rely on is very sophisticated, and your long arms and legs are also suitable for using long weapons like spears. I don't intend to change that about you."

"However, you've slightly changed the proportion of your training."

"Your reaction was too slow. Just now, when my sword was slashing down on your spear shaft, if you had immediately twisted the spear to swirl it, perhaps my sword wouldn't have been on your neck so quickly."

"So should I practice some predictive skills? Like, figuring out how the opponent will attack and simulating how to counter it?" Roy asked seriously.

"No! What you should practice is stepping back, retreating, and then stepping back again."

"You should give yourself room to adjust your movements every time you miss, instead of letting your opponent seize the opportunity to get close to your gun barrel and then having to consider changing tactics."

"Remember, the moment you start considering a different strategy, you're already dead!"

"And you should learn the Aard sign."

"I've been hesitating about which of the three seals I should teach you first."

"But now, I think the first thing you should learn is Alder."

"When you are holding a spear, you can retreat, control the distance, and thrust. When you are helplessly surrounded by the enemy, you can fire an Aard at him to knock him back, so that you can control the distance and thrust again!"

"Like this!"

Geralt gripped the branch sword in both hands, just as Roy gripped a gun.

Then his left hand suddenly left the stick, and his five fingers abruptly clenched into a grasping motion in the air.

But unlike ordinary people grabbing at something in the air,

A pale blue halo appeared at his fingertips as he gripped the object tightly, and with his subsequent palm thrust, it condensed into a translucent blue wave.

"Aard Sign!"

As the incantation rang out, the ripples that surged towards his palm quickly transformed into icy blue shockwaves, spreading and exploding like ripples on water, shaking the airspace in front of his palm.

And it will blast away any fallen leaves, or even any enemies that might try to sneak in!

Roy's eyes lit up immediately.

The essential tactic for using short weapons against long weapons is "single-handed sword against spear".

Here, "single-edged sword" refers to any short weapon, whether it is a mace, axe, halberd, knife, or sword.

"Get inside the gun" refers to closing in, like Geralt just did, by getting inside or to the side of the gun barrel.

Geralt's targeted solution to this is...

You're going for a one-man attack? Well then, you come at me! I'll just control the distance and thrust, keep thrusting!

And if you go through all that trouble, even taking a beating to get in, then I'll blast you out with the Aard sign.

Let you try again!

It is a practical strategy that allows him to maximize the long-range kite-like capabilities of long weapons.

It's also a cesspool strategy that can make close-combat soldiers feel so frustrated they want to vomit blood.

"I'll listen to you, uncle!" Roy said directly; he liked this kind of ridiculous approach!

"As for the remaining two seals..."

"Hmm, Arden, it is a trap sign used to bind demons. Given your Clear Spring spell... well, it can also be engraved on your light silver to form a solid, activatable trap array stone."

"Kun, what I should really teach you is how to protect yourself, but..."

"Forget it, your Clear Spring Technique..."

Roy's face darkened. He understood. Because his Clear Spring spell was not working, Geralt had lost confidence in teaching him the three signs!

From making firm promises to hesitating and doubting!

No!

"Sir, please wait a moment!"

Roy immediately summoned his control panel. He had just killed the water demon, and since the Witcher's Bond had anchored his senses, then the water demon's Bond...

Sure enough, Roy smiled and said:

"Uncle, I think I've gained some additional insights into my Clear Spring Technique."

On the panel in front of him, it was clearly written:

[The extraordinary creature Water Ghost has been defeated, granting Water Ghost Bond +3] *2

[Anchor existing bonds?] (Total 6, waiting for 6; can obtain a trace amount of water element affinity!)