Is it the style of an empire or the style of an emperor?
"Now, do you understand?"
Mallos gently touched the hilt of the sword on his waist, his eyes complicated and difficult to distinguish.
"Imperial Style, what is the significance of this line of martial arts inherited from the imperial era to the Kingdom of Stars, to the Royal Family of Bright Star, and especially to you?"
There were only a few people on the training ground, and there was silence in the depths of the courtyard. Only the main stone hall behind him stood majestically, remaining unchanged under the gray sky.
Thales thought for a long time before speaking.
"So, 'Imperial Style' not only represents martial arts, but also represents history. It is of extraordinary significance and is equivalent to the ancestral school of the Bright Star Royal Family..."
So this is another story about reading history and world affairs, which made me "study hard"...
Thinking of this, Thales was choked up.
etc.
The family history of the Bright Star Royal Family...
Thales' expression changed slightly, while Mallos on the other side remained silent.
"Doyle of the Mirror River..."
The prince suddenly said this surname without thinking.
"Last night, the battle between d.d and Bailar..."
Thales looked at the watchman and spoke in surprise and doubt:
"Although the weapons and styles are different, I have the impression that d.d's swordsmanship style also belongs to the imperial style?"
Mallos narrowed his eyes slightly.
After a few seconds, the watchman nodded.
"Danny Doyle was the last squire accepted by Knight Joaquin. Before his death, Knight Joaquin was a private soldier hired by the Bright Star royal family for his own territory. The chief swordsmanship instructor hired by the Royal Family of the Bright Star was a master of imperial martial arts.
A master figure.”
Swordsmanship training for the private soldiers of Bright Star.
After his question was confirmed, Thales turned his eyes and asked:
"What about the others?"
"Besides Toledo and D.D. Glover Bastia? And you?"
Thales stared at Mallos steadily.
The watchman smiled faintly and confirmed his guess:
"Yes."
"Glover, Morgan, Flaten, Oscarson in the Pioneer Wing..."
"Bastia, Franzuk, Ferry, Custa in the guard wing..."
"Including Tang Xin and Trifanov under my command."
Marius' palm was still pressed on the hilt of the sword, as if he was sighing:
"More than that, most of the people in your Star Lake Guard, or to be precise, the entire Royal Guard, are practitioners of the Imperial Style."
Most of the Royal Guards.
Thales had a slight realization at first, then frowned and thought deeply.
"As for me, the teachers who taught me martial arts are also knights of the imperial style."
Just listen to the watchman slowly say:
"Thanks to the Brilliant Star private army, even the royal standing army, which has been organized for only a few decades, has been more or less affected by it. Many people, from officers to soldiers, practice it."
Thales was silent for a while.
He quietly thought about the rationale.
Marius did not rush him, but waited patiently for the prince's reaction.
"Marios."
A few seconds later, Thales spoke quietly, feeling a little dazed:
"Tell me, between the Temple and the Imperial Style, do people pay any attention to when choosing their own school?"
At that moment, Mallos' eyes were blank.
He gently released the hilt of his sword.
"I think that in an era when powerful people are on the rise and the world is in chaos, the skills taught by the Tower of the End will often become popular and spread, becoming a prominent science in the eyes of the world."
The watchman got rid of the confusion in his eyes and became calm again:
"But in times of peace and prosperity, when the country is peaceful and the people are safe, the orthodox imperial style has become a trend that people are chasing."
Mallos looked at Thales, as calm as before, only the pause between words was particularly different:
"Do you understand?"
Thales took a deep breath.
He sat upright, solemnly facing his personal guard captain and martial arts teacher.
"Marios."
"What exactly do you want to talk about in today's class?"
The arc of Mallos' mouth widened a bit, but he shrugged, looking innocent and helpless:
"Of course they are the two major representative schools in the world..."
But Thales interrupted him.
"You can be more straightforward, don't be so subtle and careful," Duke Xinghu stared at him seriously:
"I don't do keyword censorship."
Mallos hesitated slightly.
He scoffed softly.
"As smart as you are, what do you think I want to say?"
The two looked at each other quietly for a moment.
Until Thales took a deep breath, gently closed his eyes, and opened them again.
"Nan'an leader, that idiot from the Karabyan family... ahem, I mean, respected Master Cohen."
Thales stared at Mallos and said in a solemn tone:
"As far as I know, he is a student of the Tower of the End."
"According to you, he is a disciple of the 'Temple'."
Mallos raised his eyebrows, noncommittal.
"Northland, Miss Miranda of the Allende family."
"And last night, Anke Bailar from Crow Cry Town in the Western Wasteland."
"And Nixi, as you said, he lived in Blade Territory before moving to Central Territory."
Thales' tone was affirmative and he advanced step by step:
"By the way, there are also Exeter people."
Thales remembered what Huaiya told him:
"As far as I know, the famous 'Earthshaker' Kaslan Lumba also learned his skills from the Tower of the End when he was young."
Hearing this name, Mallos moved slightly, thoughtfully.
He raised his head and responded leisurely to the prince:
"You do know a lot, Your Highness."
Thales frowned:
"And last night, when you said that the assassin's martial arts originated from the Tower of the End, your old enemy—sorry, I mean Lord Vogel, the deputy captain of the guard—first reaction was: Those are foreign nobles."
Teresa paused, but Mallos remained calm.
"As for Di Feng..."
Thales felt that he had caught the line and was pulling it tighter and tighter until he was close to the key:
"In my guard, D.D and Glover are both from the Central Territory. To be precise, they are the Seventh Attendant of the Brilliant Star."
"And you said that Toledo is a branch descendant of the Seventh Prince family."
"Even you yourself, Tormund Mallos, can be considered a descendant of the Seventh Attendant."
Mallos' breathing was stagnant.
"Also, 'most' other people in the royal guard."
Thales said seriously:
"Temple and Imperial Style."
"Is it a coincidence that their practitioners are so different?"
But Mallos still didn't answer his words and asked instead:
"what do you think?"
Thales frowned, thinking that this guy was so precious with his words right now, he was definitely seeking revenge for grabbing the words before the prince.
"I guess……"
Thales tried to deduce:
"At least in the Star Kingdom, local nobles tend to send their children to the Tower of the End to practice temple martial arts?"
"The central lords follow the imperial style inheritance more to be closer to the preferences of the Bright Star royal family?"
"is that so?"
Mallos smiled and was noncommittal.
Thales breathed out.
"Go deeper..."
The prince frowned and said:
"The skills of the Tower of the End are spread throughout the kingdom, especially the local families with a long history and are accustomed to division and rule."
"The imperial style is based in the center of the stars, with Yongxing City as its foundation, and is highly respected by the knights surrounding the throne."
Thales's eyes lit up.
"Temple and Imperial Style, martial arts schools, I seem to understand."
Thales no longer cared about Mallos's reaction and started thinking on his own:
For thousands of years, especially during the Imperial Age, the Temple and the Imperial Style have been at odds with each other.
But this is not the difference between different schools and the battle of swords in the previous martial arts.
"It's like the power of the end," Thales recalled what Ricky said in the dungeon and subconsciously repeated:
"They are not just themselves, they are warriors themselves."
Mallos frowned slightly.
Thales spoke faster and faster:
"The Temple of Knights originated in the ancient Northland. Its martial arts spread among knights and knights and spread throughout the world."
"Their opponent, Imperial Wind, started from the ancient empire, benefited from the imperial authority and orthodoxy, was inherited from the legion knights, and benefited from the central court."
"From the beginning, these two were born in different people, and they developed and grew in the struggle between these people."
Thales said in a daze:
"It wasn't until thousands of years passed that they changed their appearance and formed the two main mainstream martial arts in the realm of stars, surrounding the royal power inside and outside the throne."
"temple."
"Imperial style."
Marius stared closely at the prince.
Thales ignored him.
At this moment, he was immersed in thinking:
Yes, as Ricky said:
The power of termination is closely related to the warrior himself, reflecting each person's experience and character...
Martial arts schools are closely related to the real world, reflecting everyone's tendencies and choices.
Thales said in a daze:
"Because they are not just two major schools, their competition is not just a battle of honor and disgrace, a battle of fame, but also naked real politics."
"In ancient times, those who used them were entangled with the division between the central and local parts of the empire."
"In contemporary times, what practitioners of the two focus on is the difference between star kingship and vassal division."
Thales raised his head and looked at Mallos with certainty:
"This is more than just martial arts."
"It's more about politics and power, history and change."
"This is the truth and significance of the two major schools that have been passed down to this day."
"That's what you really want to tell me, right?"
Mallos smiled, very pleased.
He looked at the courtyard in the distance that was sparse and deserted due to the alternation of autumn and winter:
"To be honest, I'm not good at interpreting politics, and I don't want to mislead Your Highness..."
Thales shook his head and interrupted him:
"Nonsense, your heart is as bright as a mirror, very transparent."
The prince no longer looked at Mallos, his eyes were dark.
Thousands of years ago…
The general trend is rolling and gathering into a tide.
The human race will prosper, so the temple will shine on itself.
What is good at the top will be bad at the bottom.
The direction of imperial power is achieved by the imperial style.
Marius looked at the prince who was lost in thought and fell into silence.
Thales glanced into the distance. After the battle, Nixi and Toledo were wiping sweat and drinking water. The former seemed to be still worried about it, but the latter didn't care at all.
The sword exchange between the two of them just now seemed to ring in his mind again:
clang.
Thales was stunned.
Nexi's extremely fast sword light and Toledo's tenacious defense.
It was not just a duel between two people, or even a collision between two major schools.
In that battle, what he glimpsed was the scenery from a thousand years ago:
Emperors and princes.
Empire and Ranger.
Unity and chaos.
Iron blood and publicity.
And now, thousands of years have passed...
Thales' thoughts drifted away:
In troubled times, there is division and rule, and it is difficult to start a melee.
Then the pagoda was put up, and the land was filled with peaches and plums.
The stars are restored, and the king's power is spread.
There are knights to inherit it, and the imperial style will last forever.
The local nobles chose the Tower of Ending, and the Seven Brilliant Stars chose to stay close to the Imperial Wind.
Central and local.
Centralization and partition.
King and vassals.
Thales thought about all this in a daze, becoming more and more enlightened.
There is nothing in this world, it is nothingness, a castle in the air falling from the sky.
Even foreign objects or tools that seem innocent and independent, such as martial arts and swordsmanship, and are only related to personal choice of interests, are no exception.
The emergence of the temple and the imperial style is closely related to the times. Their competition is by no means isolated and static, but the result of the joint action of history and politics, reality and power.
The opposition between them is a faithful reflection of the relationship between people, the inheritance of martial arts and real violence.
Times have made them what they are.
They reflect the times.
Martial arts are like this, and people are even more like this.
Thinking of this, Thales sighed:
"It seems that Gray Sword Guard is right."
"A sword from ancient times cannot escape its sheath."
Gray Sword Guard?
Hearing this comment about the masters of the previous generation, Mallos was stunned and seemed puzzled.
But Thales just shook his head.
"For every kind of martial arts and every style, no matter how powerful, glorious, powerful or prominent it was..."
Thales breathed a sigh of relief:
“The background of the times, the soil of society, and even the people who use them are the ‘sheath’ from which they truly cannot escape.”
Mallos fell into deep thought and nodded slightly.
Speaking of this, Thales suddenly remembered what Bachelor Bona said in grammar class just now:
[Language is a tool and a result, but it is also the master and the cause. It is the best example of being anti-customer and profoundly affecting the users in the process of change...]
Thales was startled subconsciously.
Be it martial arts or language.
They are not just mindless tools.
On the contrary, they are put into the scabbard of the person who uses them, stamped with their own brand, and endowed with the characteristics of the era and society. From then on, they are integrated, indistinguishable, and even possess...human nature.
They are more anti-customer-oriented, influence more people in inheritance and practice, continue to strengthen, and promote the trend of the times.
[Theology, in the final analysis, is about people.]
Megan Priest’s words once sounded in his mind.
"Like Temple and Imperial Style."
Thales said subconsciously:
"Their opposing meanings have been passed down in the bodies of thousands of practitioners from ancient times to the present, taking root and sprouting, looking for opportunities to bloom, whether they are aware of it or not."
They are constantly changing and entangled in countless realities and political landscapes.
They made a clanging sound in every clash of weapons, with a melodious lingering sound.
At this second, Thales remembered the scene of the duel between Nexi and Toledo just now.
But the next moment, what he saw was the banquet hall last night, the angry fight between D.D and Anke.
No, it's not just them.
Marius, Doyle, Glover...
Kaslan, Cohen, Miranda...
"They live in every warrior, every weapon, and every battle."
Thales said in a daze:
"One comes after another, competing for thousands of years without success."
"Until now."
Never left, never diminished, never declined.
It's just people being in it.
Use it every day without realizing it.
As time goes by, I don’t know.
Can't escape its sheath.
Mallos savored it for a moment and suddenly laughed:
"It seems that I don't need to say anything more."
Thales also laughed.
He looked at the weapon racks on the training ground, then raised his head and looked at the gloomy sky.
At that moment, he just felt like everything in the air was enveloped in it.
Perhaps, this is the string of the times.
Thales sighed sincerely:
It is the syllable it plays in every detail of history.
Tiny and traceless, but with endless shadows.
It seems to be there, but it is hard to bear.
"Marios, those schools you mentioned before..."
Thales sighed slowly.
"I went back and checked the information."
Mallos looked at Duke Xinghu and felt the latter's heaviness.
Just listen to Thales slowly say:
"The Offensive and Defensive Faction, or the Northern Faction, originated from the successive conflicts between Stars and Exeter on the border."
"The martial arts sect is inherited from the church armed forces that were very prosperous in the empire era. They were once the defenders of the temple of faith."
"New trend, it is reflected in modern mercenaries and adventurers."
"These martial arts have their own origins, right?"
Thales looked at Mallos steadily:
"As we said today, the temple and the imperial style."
Mallos looked back at him for a long time, and then said quietly:
"War and chaos, peace and prosperity, can all give birth to different martial arts and warriors, some are colorful and incredible, or some are orthodox and uniform."
The watchman looked towards the distant sky:
"I heard that in the foreign lands of the Eastern Continent, the farther away we are, the more different the martial arts are."
Thales chuckled, feeling somewhat relieved.
"The changes and influence of the times have shaped everything," the prince said with emotion:
"Cause and effect are connected one after another, behind and back, no one can escape, and nothing can escape."
As for those technological means that transcend history and can develop smoothly...
A skill and secret book that transcends the times and can kill everyone...
Thales sighed.
Sure enough, it can only appear in rebirth and time travel.
"But no matter what, one thing will never change."
Mallos stood up, his face serious and his tone cold.
"All martial arts, in the final analysis, are violence."
"All violence, if the mask is lifted, can kill."
The watchman said profoundly:
"Your Highness, it's better to be careful."
Thales frowned.
Power comes from violence.
Is it?
"Why?"
Thales lowered his eyes:
"Why are you telling me this and demonstrating teaching?"
Mallos took a breath and exhaled slowly.
"Because, this is the class you are going to take today."
He looked at the main building of the Mindis Hall, his eyes gloomy, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
"Are you ready?"
Are you ready?
Thales did not answer immediately.
What he was thinking about at the moment was something else.
Since the style of martial arts is like this, the power of ending is also like this. They all bear the mark of people, are engraved with the traces of the times, and reflect the changes in power in reality.
So……
Thales' eyes became sharp.
In the era when the magic tower has not yet collapsed, before the mages have become extinct, in the era when knowledge has not yet been classified as taboo, it is still the supreme knowledge in the world...
What does magic look like?
How does it intersect with people, is closely related to the times, and is entangled with reality?
When Thales was in trance.
"Sir, Your Highness!"
In the distance, following the footsteps, came the nervous and thick voice of the guard officer Bastia, which resounded throughout the training ground:
"Someone is coming from Fuxing Palace!"
At that moment, Thales and Mallos were silent together.
Bastia's strong body stepped onto the ground of the training ground, stirring up endless sand and dust:
"His Majesty the King personally ordered!"
"Urgently summon the Duke of Xinghu and come to the palace immediately to see him!"
Thales was silent for a while.
Marius remained motionless.
They turned a blind eye to the guard's anxiety.
Finally, when Bastia couldn't help but repeat it again, Thales slowly stood up.
coming.
"Yes, Mallos."
Thales took a deep breath.
He smiled slightly and answered the watchman's question: "Warm-up completed."