This was probably a considerable understatement.
What Richard wanted was precisely this effect.
When it comes to comparing strengths, what does it depend on, if not equipment? Richard knew from first-hand experience that rifles would never prevail over rocket launchers, and bayonets couldn’t compete with machine guns.
Despite having been cursed by the "Blood Sacrifice" of the magical beast, and despite his loud insistence on mastering combat skills, Richard retained a special fondness for his Shaman identity.
These feelings were now being transferred to Helen.
Cui Beixi, intelligent as she was, immediately noticed Richard’s painstaking efforts on behalf of Helen. Sighing, she stopped pressuring him to learn the art of spiritual singing.
"Being skilled in both singing and fighting is actually a joke!" Cui Beixi gave up on her viewpoint. "Richard, instead of stagnating in your singing skills, why not focus on improving your combat techniques? After all, the temple doesn’t expect a born Soul Singer like you to make any major breakthroughs in war songs."
Richard harbored his own plans. He hounded Cui Beixi with ongoing questions about the higher-level war songs such as the "Patience Song of Ginger".
Every Scepter Shaman in the temple had learned to sing the War Songs imbued with the aura of evil. Cui Beixi found Richard, who stammered even while using the basic Spirit Communication War Song, amusing.
"War Shamans are currently only permitted to learn War Songs imbued with the ’Aura of Blessing’. Songs like the ’Patience Song of Ginger’ belong to the category of ’Aura of Necromancy’ and are attacking songs. They consume a substantial amount of spiritual energy. Not to mention you, even I could only use them once or twice with the help of a magic crystal. I won’t blindly instruct you, and you don’t need to make such a futile request!" The snake-woman’s eyes, which seemed capable of piercing into the depths of one’s soul, scrutinized Richard from top to bottom.
"There’s no need for your teaching to use it. What’s there to be arrogant about...." Richard tried to hide his disappointment, concealing his frustration. Apparently, he would never be able to utilize the Bimon War Song in a dignified manner in this lifetime.
The past few days of training in the war songs only increased Gortani’s disdain for Richard. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel★fire.net
That kind of gaze made Richard secretly swear that he would get back at her when the opportunity arose.
However, on the surface Richard maintained an enthusiastic demeanor, disregarding her attitude and maintaining his respectful dealings with Gortani, as though the incident with Gude had chastened him.
The Swan Tribe was known for being the most arrogant of species. Once someone lost their favor, they were forever dismissed with contempt.
Thus, Gortani’s gaze towards Richard became one of complete disdain. Initially, she used to exchange a few words with Richard, but then she chose to completely ignore him.
She also expressed complete disdain for the training that Richard provided his subordinates. The so-called swift and lethal strikes that Richard explained seemed to her like vulgar scuffles utterly lacking in rhythm, elegance or any sense of nobility - completely unbefitting for a knight.
Even things like training with tree logs, practicing forward rolls, and striking thick piles of bark were utterly dismissed as trifles by Gortani, being an orthodox knight herself.
Every time Richard finished his training and left, Gortani would challenge some of the volunteers, defeating them with impeccable knightly swordsmanship.
Indeed, Gortani’s strength was admirable. Possessing Dou Qi, she could hold her ground against the colossal strength of the pandas and the mastiff people for a few moves. Of course, she wouldn’t be so foolish as to try to resist the brute strength of the hippo poets and mammoth warriors outright.
Her skillful swordsmanship was imbued with a noble aura. Combined with her silver-hued Dou Qi, and her golden hair flowing in the wind during battle, she was a sight to behold.
Under the explicit instruction of the Overlord, even the strongest mammoth warrior, Korina, was powerless against her and would frequently find himself at the mercy of her cross-sword after just a few moves.
Gortani was quite knowledgeable about many weapons. She provided guidance on how the pandas could employ their corner spears when serving as cavalry. As for the weapons of the mastiff people, her commentary provoked much laughter. After two battles, the mastiff people had completely given up on using the thigh bones of Larza beasts. At the Overlord’s behest, they had replaced their weapons and now uniformly carried wooden staffs.
"Those are but kids’ toys." That’s how Gortani dismissed the wooden staffs, suggesting that the mastiff people might be better suited to flails, given their stature.
The mammoth warriors’ blade techniques were now being refined by several Goblin monks and drew her disapproving gaze. It wasn’t that the blade techniques of the Blade Saints were subpar; it was the ivory long-blades of the mammoths that looked somewhat silly to her.
"They lack any sense of elegance." That’s how Gortani critiqued the ivory long-blades.
The hippo poets had also enlisted to serve as volunteers, picking up the massive nail-headed bats left behind by the Bear Goblin bandits. The region ruled by the Fei Leng Cui tribe was simply too desolate and poor; there wasn’t any money to outfit them with other weapons.
Gortani, unusually, offered no comment on the nail-headed bats. According to the hippo volunteers themselves, she likely found the weapon so inelegant that she couldn’t even be bothered to look at it.