The Greece Antagonist

After some recollection, Altria finally remembered the identity of the man in front of her.

Merlin, the great mage who had always guarded Britain, the one who issued the prophecy.

Altria frowned, looking skeptically at Luo En:

"Aren't you a mage? You also practice swordsmanship?"

"I know a bit, enough to teach you."

Luo En smiled humbly, blinking,

"If you don't believe it, you can attack and try."

Altria had intended to do so, gripping her wooden sword with both hands and assuming an offensive stance:

"Be careful!"

As soon as her words fell, Altria charged forward, delivering a standard thrust.

"Too slow..."

Luo En easily dodged, casually breaking off a branch, tapping Altria on the back of her hand.

Pain surged up, and the young girl couldn't help but frown, but she quickly pressed on, attacking at a faster pace.

"The speed is good, but the accuracy is a bit off."

Luo En continued to comment, the branch in his hand moved in a fluid sword motion, parrying and countering all of Altria's attacks.

"Again!"

Unconvinced, the girl poured her magic power into the wooden sword, treating the man before her as a real opponent.

However, after a hundred consecutive strong attacks, not only did she fail to touch the hem of his clothes, but she also exhausted herself, panting heavily.

Clearly, their understanding and mastery of swordsmanship were not on the same level.

"My turn."

A deep voice came, and before Altria could react, a branch descending from above struck her heavily on the forehead.

The young girl's vision went dark, her consciousness plunged into endless chaos.

Knocked out already?

It seems that after being stripped of authority and divinity, she was no different from an ordinary human girl.

The training work is going to be arduous...

Luo En shook his head, discarded the branch, and shouldered his former opponent, now his student, heading toward the distant manor.

~~

The next day.

Feeling the morning sunlight streaming in through the crack in the door on her eyelids, Altria awoke.

The surroundings were still dim. A blanket, carelessly thrown over her to prevent her body from catching a cold...

The girl sniffed, the scent of flowers mixed with the aroma of alcohol... she had smelled it on a certain someone.

It seemed, it wasn't a dream.

Teacher?

Altria muttered to herself.

She then inadvertently saw the sun already high in the sky outside the window, secretly thinking it was bad.

A whole day? She had been unconscious for so long!

Altria quickly yet meticulously tidied up the blanket, arranged her clothing, washed with water, and proceeded to the stable to prepare hay for the horses one by one.

With the daily care task completed, she went to the backyard of the house, where her adoptive father Hector usually awaited her.

In the morning, starting sword practice on an empty stomach and having breakfast after was a habit she and Hector maintained.

The old knight waited in the backyard.

His strict demeanor ready to impart swordsmanship theory to her remained unchanged.

Sincere teachings continued every day, from the years since she could hold a sword until the last of these days.

That was the real demeanor, unchanged to the end.

To her, her adoptive father Hector should be a stronger, more resilient knight.

He did not achieve notable fame on the battlefield and was not someone who pursued fame or profit, thus he wasn't widely known, but if she had to speak of an 'ideal knight,' it would be Hector.

Humble, gentle, courteous, and full of a sense of justice.

However, he was too old, almost too frail to lift a sword.

Now, he could only replace practical training with verbal instruction.

And this, no doubt, was why Hector found her a new swordsmanship teacher.

Altria's gaze swept over a certain white-haired creature drinking wine in the yard early in the morning, frowning, and then headed straight for her adoptive father:

"Sir, I'm late, sorry."

"It's okay, you can sleep a bit more."

Hector chuckled, his eyes filled with a father's tenderness, and a mix of joy and reluctance at seeing his children grow up.

After a brief pause, the old knight formally introduced:

"Altria, I don't have much more to teach you. From now on, let this Lord Merlin be your teacher and teach you new lessons."

Looking at that white-haired drunkard already drinking early in the morning, Altria felt the other person wasn't reliable.

But recalling yesterday's duel result, she eventually stepped forward to the steps, bowed her head to the great mage, officially establishing the teacher-student relationship.

Luo En smiled and accepted, feeling quite sentimental.

Goddess Danu, once almost annihilating him and all the Nordic Gods during the Nordic and Celtic Divine War, now was obediently bowing to her former opponent.

What a fascinating destiny.

So, to ignite your humanity, to awaken your emotions, I will surely double my efforts.

Gazing at his newly accepted disciple, Luo En's lips curled up, eyes gleaming with a trace of mischief, filled with anticipation for that interesting future.