Only mercenaries are an exception. By their nature, mercenaries rarely stay in one place for long. The Kingdom of Hami does not yet have the resources to issue a wanted notice through the Mercenary Guild just to punish one or two mercenaries who, for some reason, killed a snow wolf.

Despite all kinds of persuasion, after learning from Ethan Brooks that imperial soldiers are forbidden to kill snow wolves, Amy, true to her usual way, stubbornly held to her beliefs—by remaining silent.

Two days later, it was Ethan Brooks who came around: being a mercenary isn’t so bad; you can travel around, and if you become strong enough, maybe you can even visit the Ice Wishing Tower. And in terms of income, mercenaries of the same rank earn much more than soldiers—of course, the danger is also much greater.

Set long-term ambitions, not just make ambitious plans—on this point, Amy already possessed a precocious sense of foresight from a very young age.

Volume One: Friendship of Ice and Snow

Chapter Four: Spirit Beast Warrior

Before the birth of the legendary Mercenary King, the two-handed swordsman was a very low-ranking class in the army, and only occasionally appeared on the battlefield. There was hardly any commander who would use them as a main force. They were mostly seen as a supplement to the main troops.

But under the dazzling light of the legendary Mercenary King, not only did more and more battlefield commanders and professional mercenaries begin to use two-handed swords, but the two-handed swordsman class also developed into a formal system, and four entirely new classes appeared in regular armies.

The greatsword units, whose ability to break through on the plains rivaled that of the battle-axe warriors.

The ambush two-handed swordsman units, the best class for ambushes and surprise attacks in any combat environment.

The most terrifying and most feared advanced class of two-handed swordsmen—the "Battlefield Phantom" known as the Berserker Vulture Greatsword Warrior.

Of course, the special swordsman class directly passed down from the legendary Mercenary King himself became the core of both offensive and defensive forces in the armies of various nations.

The core of long-range attack units.

—Recorded on the title page of the modern military scholar Ethan Brooks Jr.'s famous work "A Comprehensive Guide to Swordsmen"

※ ※ ※

In the spring of Red Moon Year 195, at the southern end of a small natural village called Haike near the mouth of the Warmwater River on the Frozen Continent, there was a rundown little courtyard. Although the yard was dilapidated, the log cabin built from raw timber looked very new. Piles of primitive logs were stacked like small mountains against the four walls of the yard.

"Hey... ka-da... hey... ka-da..."

From the middle of the logs came the rhythmic voice of a young boy. If you walked into the yard, you would see a boy chopping firewood.

Humans really are a rather wretched race. Living in a warm village, eating the best nutritional supplements, yet not necessarily healthy, and certainly unable to raise a boy as robust as a mountain. The boy before your eyes is a perfect example. For three years, he had been relentlessly put through hardship day and night by Uncle Brooks, who claimed to be an imperial noble but whose origins were unclear. He never got any nutritional supplements, but with every swing of his arms, muscles symbolizing strength would ripple like mercury—disappearing from his waist and then appearing on his arms, then vanishing again.

Early spring by the Warmwater River is extremely cold. In this region, only in midsummer can you see the green like on the continent of Aiminor. Most people wear thick snow beast furs from head to toe in spring, but this boy of about ten was only wearing a pair of leather shorts. Sweat poured from his forehead and body, quickly turning into ice crystals on the ground, while white mist rose from his body.

He spat into his callused palm, picked up a medium-sized axe, swung it in a circle, and brought it down. The large log in front of him, thirty centimeters high and half a meter in diameter, was split in two with a single chop. Then he picked up a machete, braced it on the ground, and quickly shaved the wood into suitable firewood.

He... was using... a machete...?

Even the strongest lumberjacks on the Frozen Continent, when facing the hard coniferous wood, must use an axe if they want to chop firewood effortlessly. If you use a machete, the thin blade will get stuck as soon as it enters the wood, making it impossible to continue chopping. Usually, it takes five or six chops to get through, and the blade gets damaged very quickly.

How much strength does it take to use a machete as an axe?

"Son, come here for a moment." The person in the house shamelessly continued to take advantage.

"Okay, Uncle Brooks, I'll be right there." Amy neatly stacked the firewood, then walked into the small log cabin that had just been built last summer.

"Starting today, you need to learn how to use weapons. From now on, you don't have to chop so much firewood in the afternoons. After all, the people in the village can't use that much. Spend half your afternoons learning weapons." Ethan Brooks rarely spoke so seriously.