Chapter 448: Close-Combat Training: Heavy Cleave and Adaptability of the Axe

Jier walked over holding a steel Single-handed Axe, raised the weapon in his hand, and said to the young Warrior who wanted a Spirit weapon: "Look, if you want a Spirit weapon, you must at least have a weapon made of steel like this one."

This Warrior looked at the weapon in the Knight's hand with envy, then looked at the Iron Axe he was using that he was accustomed to, feeling very regretful.

Jier shrugged: "Fight hard, and after you capture a good axe, use your battle merits to trade for one!"

"Understood, Sir Knight! I will definitely be able to do it." The Warrior promised heavily.

Another Warrior nearby who used an axe had a different opinion; he felt his companion's goal was too lofty and too distant. Compared to those mysterious so-called Spirit weapons, this Warrior felt it was more important and practical to replace the Single-handed Axe in their hands with a more powerful Two-handed Heavy Axe and obtain a set of Leather Armor or Iron Armor!

Afterward, Jier stood in front of the two and pointed to the Single-handed Axe in his hand, saying: "Speaking of Heavy Cleave, what are your insights?"

"Isn't it just holding the axe with both hands and hacking down with force?" one person replied.

The other Warrior incorporated some basic techniques Jier had just taught other Warriors and tentatively answered: "Is it that there are requirements for body posture when hacking? Are there also techniques for footwork?"

Jier nodded and then shook his head: "What you said has some relation, but neither is quite right."

"The Single-handed Axe, the reason it is called a Single-handed Axe, is because its primary combat method only requires one hand to use. Holding it with both hands is not impossible, but compared to the combat power increase gained from holding a Single-handed Axe with both hands, it is far less effective than holding one Single-handed Axe in each hand."

Jier's words made the eyes of the two axe-using Warriors light up, but looking at the reality that they and their companions had only one axe each, their gazes dimmed again.

Jier saw the change in their expressions and joked: "Pay attention, the usage method for a Single-handed Axe, the usage method for a Two-handed Axe, and the usage method for dual-wielding two axes are significantly different. Don't eat your meal while eyeing the food in the chef's iron pot. For a Warrior, mastering one skill is enough."

"Understood, Knight Jier." The two responded reluctantly.

"Our team's conditions are limited, and each of you only has one Single-handed Axe, so I will teach you the combat methods for the Single-handed Axe, especially the Heavy Cleave combat method."

Jier briefly explained the combat stance of the axe to them; unlike using a Long Sword, even for a Single-handed Axe, the weight and fighting style of the axe are significantly different from a Long Sword, so the combat stance is also different.

The main difference is that when using an axe, the body faces the enemy more directly, and both feet are spread apart to stand firm, while the Single-handed Axe is held in the right hand and rested backward on the right shoulder.

Seeing Knight Jier assume this combat stance, the two axe-wielding Warriors with some combat experience also slightly adjusted their own combat stances and immediately assumed the same posture on the spot.

"Very good, I won't explain the combat stance too much; you should all be able to understand the advantages and disadvantages within it. If you don't understand, you can go down and communicate with each other or ponder and study it on your own."

Jier then demonstrated the movement and footwork during attacks when using a Single-handed Axe, letting the two Warriors learn quickly. It was not that they did not know these things Jier was teaching, but most were movements they had figured out themselves or learned from enemies during combat.

They were not necessarily clear on why they did things this way or why it had to be done like this behind each movement. Jier then explained it to them clearly: "An axe is not as flexible as a Long Sword, but it has more force and is harder to block. Therefore, to bring out the force of the axe, the footwork must be somewhat different from when using a Long Sword."

Jier moved back and forth several times in the combat stance holding the axe, showing the two Warriors: "Because you are facing the enemy head-on, general footwork movement is smaller, but the footwork movement when attacking should be larger. A large stride will put your position further forward, the axe's attack range will be further, and at the same time, you will have a longer distance to swing the axe, making the force on the axe more sufficient."

"Move with small steps when moving, but attack boldly when attacking, using larger swinging motions to swing the weapon in your hand, forcing back any counterattacks from the enemy; you must use attacks to respond to the enemy's attacks."

The two Warriors nodded repeatedly, feeling that it was indeed so. When they fought against Bandits, facing the Bandits' attacks, they only needed to swing their axes, and the enemy would automatically switch to a defensive stance, because if a Long Sword and an axe were exchanged, the enemy simply could not withstand it. One sword strike might not kill the opponent, but one axe strike from the opponent could 100% kill them.

Even a Single-handed Axe, after building up enough force, could easily split a Human's skull or hack into the interior of a Human's chest with one blow. Hacking off an enemy's limbs with one axe strike was even easier.

Even if the opponent was wearing Leather Armor, these pieces of Leather Armor that could resist cutting from blades would have their bones and muscles crushed when hit by an axe on the limbs, causing the enemy's limbs to lose function.

"As for the Heavy Cleave movement, come, look closely." Jier called out, letting the two walk closer, then Jier held the axe with one hand, took a large step forward, then quickly raised the axe that was originally on his shoulder over his head with his right hand, and then held it with both hands to Heavy Cleave straight toward the front.

Pfft!

Jier hacked the axe all the way into the ground, splitting the entire axe face into the soil, even stirring up vibrations in the soil at the point of impact.

"For a Heavy Cleave, you must use your full strength when using it; don't think about holding back to save your strength. Either don't use it, or use one axe strike to shatter the enemy's defense and resistance."

Jier said at this moment.

He lifted the axe and shook it, shaking off the soil particles stuck to it: "Therefore, choosing the right timing for a Heavy Cleave is far more important than learning the movement of this technique."

"When should you use it? What if the enemy retreats? What if the enemy's defense can block my offensive? What if the enemy chooses to trade lives with me when I Heavy Cleave?"

Jier counted the questions on his fingers, while the two Warriors listened until their heads ached. They were the kind of people with simple and direct minds, which was why they chose to use a simple and brutal weapon like an axe when weapons were distributed. As a result, they didn't expect that a single Heavy Cleave movement would require thinking about so much beforehand?

Is this the real gap between them, these ordinary Warriors, and a Knight?

Seeing the painful expressions on the two's faces, Jier sighed and answered his own questions: "When should you use it?"

"Facing this question, we should think about what it can bring? The axe's Heavy Cleave is full of power; even if an ordinary Shield and Long Sword block it, the enemy's defensive stance will suffer a significant impact. Before the opponent recovers from the impact, you can completely follow up with the next Heavy Cleave."

Jier spread his hands: "This leads to a result: the enemy is hit by our axe's Heavy Cleave; although they raise their Shield to defend, the impact of the force still makes them unable to move. Afterward, you keep heavily hacking at their Shield, and as a result, they can only shrink behind the Shield, being smashed by your axe, one strike after another, breaking the Shield, then breaking the Helmet, and dying in front of you. As long as your stamina can keep up, they are in a state of only being able to defend passively. Because if they want to counterattack, they cannot block your axe and will be hacked to death immediately."

"If they choose to keep defending, they can only pray that your stamina cannot keep up, or that others on the battlefield come to support and rescue them."

The two axe-wielding Warriors listened happily and immediately felt that the axe they chose was truly powerful.

"So, knowing what the axe's Heavy Cleave can bring, we know when we should use the means of a Heavy Cleave. That is, the enemy has no support; once they fall into a state of passive defense, the enemy can only choose to resist to the end; they have no other means to get rid of this situation. For such an enemy without support, you can rely on suppression during your attack to make the enemy enter a defensive state, and then use the Heavy Cleave means to keep the enemy firmly suppressed in this state destined for death!"

Jier paused, then continued to answer his own questions: "The second question, facing your Heavy Cleave, what if the enemy retreats?"

"If the enemy is an experienced Warrior and sees that your attack is to force them into a defensive state and then follow up with continuous Heavy Cleaves, and they choose to retreat directly, what should be done then?"

The two Warriors nodded repeatedly; they also really wanted to know what to do.

Jier shrugged: "Simple, then you just don't choose this method of attack. Change to another, change to a means that can defeat the enemy, and don't choose the Heavy Cleave method."

"Ah? Just like that?" The two were very surprised; they thought Knight Jier must have some high-level theory, but it was just this?

"Isn't this because you exposed your combat intent too early? When facing ordinary enemies, you can fight casually, as long as you can win. But when facing a well-trained enemy with rich combat experience, you must protect your combat intent! You can confront and entangle with the opponent more to understand the enemy's level, and then formulate a method to defeat the enemy. But you must not expose your combat intent and combat style to the opponent too early, letting the opponent avoid your winning method ahead of time."

So that was it. The two Warriors nodded, feeling that Knight Jier was very right. The way to defeat the enemy must be protected and hidden well; it cannot be leaked to the enemy in advance, otherwise, some moves will not be easy to use.

"Secondly, the choice of the battlefield is also very important. If the enemy's back is against a wall or other obstacles, then they cannot retreat, and won't they have to take your Heavy Cleave head-on? So when fighting, first choose the battlefield, let the enemy be in a position suitable for exerting the Heavy Cleave means, and then don't expose your winning means too early. First observe the enemy's level, and then when the situation is right, like thunder, the Heavy Cleave falls, and you achieve victory!"

"The Heavy Cleave falls!"

"Achieve victory!" The two Warriors listened happily and repeated Jier's last words.

After their emotions stabilized, Jier brought up the third question: "If the enemy's defense can block my offensive? What should be done at this time?"

The two Warriors did not interrupt this time and focused on waiting for Jier to answer.

Jier quickly gave the answer: "At this time, relying solely on Heavy Cleave won't work. Not only will it not work, but it is also very dangerous."

"Because if the enemy uses a large Wooden Shield or a sturdy iron Shield, then one or several axe strikes might not be able to crush the opponent's defense; instead, the enemy will find a good opportunity to counterattack. Because the Heavy Cleave movement is too large, from the hand recovering from the counter-shock force transmitted from the axe, to lifting the axe again, and then falling, as long as the enemy has not been beaten into a continuous defensive state by you, they can take advantage of this gap of your re-hacking to launch a fatal counterattack."

"How to deal with it? This brings us to another usage method of the axe that I will talk about later, which is the axe's Shield Breaking method."

Jier picked up the Simple Triangular Small Wooden Shield that had been placed aside, let one of the two hold it, and then Jier approached and used the hook blade of the axe to hook the lower edge of the Shield, exerted force upward, and opened the defensive Shield of the Warrior holding it.

At this time, Jier performed a fake axe hack, indicating that he had won.

He then said to the two: "Look, this is the way to deal with it; this is the Shield Breaking technique of the axe."

"When you use the Heavy Cleave method to heavily strike the large Shield of an enemy who is defending, if you cannot achieve any effective results after one or two strikes, then you must be careful, because the enemy might launch a counterattack at any time. At this time, you must immediately change to another method; do not repeat the ineffective Heavy Cleave, and do not think that if I hack a few more times, the enemy will be unable to hold on and fall or have their Shield broken or something."

Jier warned: "In combat, if you need to change your attack method, you must change your attack method as early as possible. Do not stubbornly use one method to the end; if you don't use it to the end, the only result is that you will be killed by the enemy at the end."

"When a Heavy Cleave is ineffective, immediately change your method and use the technique I just taught you to break through the enemy's shield defense. This method can only be used against larger and heavier shields; when an enemy uses a small shield or arm shield, they cannot defend against your Heavy Cleave. If you want to use it against an enemy defending with a weapon, I do not recommend it, because once a shield is pulled aside like that, it cannot easily return to a defensive state, and you can take the opportunity to defeat the enemy. But with a weapon, the enemy's weapon will always be faster than your axe."

To prevent the two from doubting him, Jier switched back to a Training Wooden Sword and had them take turns using their own axes to hook the wooden sword Jier was using to defend.

With the wooden sword held in a blocking position in front of his chest, the two Axe Warriors hooked Jier's wooden sword with their Single-handed Axes and then pulled it away. Of course, Jier deliberately didn't use any strength here; otherwise, even with a wooden sword, the two would not have been able to budge it in the slightest.

The wooden sword was pulled away, and before the two warriors could even launch an attack, the next moment, Jier's wooden sword was resting against their necks, indicating that the two had already been defeated.

"How is it? Is it not feasible?" Jier asked.

The two warriors nodded; practicing it this way really let them know that it wouldn't work. If they hadn't practiced it specifically like this, they might have really tried to use the hook on their axes to pull aside an enemy's weapon in a future battle and been miserably killed because of it.

"One last question: if the enemy stops defending when I perform a Heavy Cleave and chooses to trade lives with me, what should I do?"

Jier asked the final question with a grin, and the two warriors honestly shook their heads to indicate they didn't know.

He gave the answer: "Of course you don't let them succeed in trading lives; how could you trade lives with an enemy? In a warrior's combat, the best outcome is that you are uninjured and the enemy is killed; the second best is that you are injured but kill the enemy."

"A bad outcome is that you and the enemy are both injured or killed at the same time, and an even worse outcome is that the enemy is only injured while you are killed. Finally, the worst outcome is that you die and the enemy is uninjured."

Jier said: "As warriors, we should strive for the former outcomes in battle as much as possible and discard the later, unfavorable ones."

The two nodded; everything Knight Jier said was the plain truth.

"So, facing an unfavorable outcome where both the enemy and we are injured or killed, that is unacceptable. As for even worse situations that result from a lack of Duanbing, those are not within the scope of consideration. Just speaking of the opponent trading lives with us, this result is something we cannot accept."

"No matter what, we must stay alive ourselves," Jier emphasized.

He then added softly: "Not everyone has the chance to start over after death."

"Lord Jier, where would anyone be able to stand up again after dying? Those who stand up after dying, aren't those just living corpses?" one Axe Warrior interjected bluntly.

Jier gave a wry smile: "Hard to say, this is really hard to say. The world is so big, any situation can occur."

"Let's not talk about this anymore, let's continue with the previous topic. Trading lives with the enemy is not okay, so when you are about to perform a Heavy Cleave and the enemy completely abandons defense and wants to trade lives directly, stop your attack. Force them back; do not try to dodge, but choose to force the opponent back."

Jier held an axe, gripping the end of the handle of the Single-handed Steel Axe with both hands, and performed a horizontal sweep while standing in place. It was powerful and heavy, and it was easy for anyone to understand that being hit by this axe sweep would not be as simple as just being forced back two steps.

With Jier's current strength, even without using Life Energy to enhance himself, just the strength of his physical body to perform a horizontal axe sweep was enough to easily cleave a person in two. Even a Metal Shield, if struck from the side by a steel axe with such force, it would be hard to say what the shield would look like.

"How is it? Do you two have more thoughts and insights on using an axe for Heavy Cleave attacks now?"

Jier tossed the Single-handed Steel Axe in his hand a short distance, caught it, and tossed it again.

The two Axe Warriors nodded, indicating that they were now impatient to practice the Heavy Cleave of the axe and the corresponding handling methods.

"Alright then, you've learned enough for tonight. Practice quickly and strive to incorporate these learned techniques and the principles behind them into your own martial arts before your memory fades."

After speaking, Jier gathered the Training Wooden Sword from the ground, the simple Small Triangular Wooden Shield, and the Single-handed Steel Axe he had been tossing around, handed them to Xueya Site, and walked empty-handed to the sword-wielding warrior waiting to the side.

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