Henry said it was two wolves fighting for the position of a shepherd dog, but he really didn't feel wronged at all.
The great swordsmen claimed to be loyal to Suomir, the royal family and the church. In fact, they should be convinced of it.
But in fact, what they are loyal to is not an actual Suomir.
Like themselves, they are the dead souls of the past that have been forgotten by the torrent of time, and even the people no longer accept them.
What these people want is restoration. After wandering for more than twenty years, they want to return the kingdom to its original appearance, and they think this is right.
Although it is not stated explicitly, six months after the attack on Parnira, anti-Ramanists are now ready to take action. These great swordsmen return and claim status, apparently to force a choice on the now pro-Lamanite queen and the entire kingdom.
"For the tradition that I adhere to, and for the Suomir who is right in my mind."
No matter how loud the slogans are, they actually ignore the current situation of the entire Suomir Kingdom. Single-minded.
I just want everything to go back.
So what about the Dragon Wing Knight?
They are the top of Suomir's military force today, the face of the kingdom, and the supreme existence that has replaced the traditional status of the Great Swordsman. In name, they are loyal to the queen, the church, and the country, but in reality?
The object these people are loyal to and want to defend is not the queen.
Rather, it is a symbol of the royal family.
Manisto was prepared to kill first and then play. Including the prime minister, these people loyal to the royal family even chose to prevent the queen from meeting when they received the letter. During his encounter with Henry and many times thereafter, the respectable and amiable leader of the Dragon Wings also ignored Her Majesty the Queen and did what he believed to be right on his own.
Everything comes from distrust of one's own master.
No matter how much they deceive themselves and brainwash themselves with how loyal they are, the fact is that none of them, including the Prime Minister and the entire Dragon Wing Knights, take Her Majesty the Queen seriously.
Just think of her as an idol, a symbol, a little girl who will never grow up and needs them to protect her.
Therefore, they would not give the great swordsman a chance to talk; so after the encounter with Henry, Manisto forcibly detained the three of them regardless of the queen's opinion.
Prevent the queen from meeting, and decide some things privately without telling her. It seems that they are protecting and protecting the queen, but in fact this behavior is not to protect their current status, to protect the Suomir society where they can enjoy the glory and wealth, and to prevent it from causing turmoil.
From the perspective of an indifferent observer, they are all selfish and one-sided.
Both sides claim to be loyal to the Queen, but no one has ever cared about Her Majesty's thoughts.
"Those who were once rich want to go back to the past, and those who are currently rich want to maintain it."
Both see themselves as sheepdogs, both see themselves as doing the right thing, and see the other as a wolf that threatens something. But in fact, as the sage said, they are all wolves.
"...."
'What a déjà vu scene. ' Henry sighed.
How long had passed? He couldn't remember the specific time. But these single-minded Suomir fools still only have such thoughts in their minds.
This is the inherent stubbornness that runs in the blood of this taciturn nation. As unbreakable as the permafrost of Suomir, their thinking is difficult to reverse, and they can only ever move in one direction that is extremely stupid and lacks tolerance.
He's fast.
Couldn't help it anymore.
Hymir drew his great sword from behind, and Menisto took a spear from his companion.
"Not Kramer?" He said to the mercenary wearing red plate armor with his short hair hanging in front of his eyes.
"No." Hemir raised the weapon in his hand, and the three Henrys at the rear noticed that this was not the brass-decorated Claymer he used in Porusaro. Some sages who had fought against each other carefully recalled that the sword was indeed scarred, but the style of the replaced sword seemed extremely out of place.
The Luoan girl who had stayed in Padrosi for a long time quickly made her own inferences from the design style, but faster than her, Menisdo recognized its origin.
"Montanti?" he said. This word is not the Suomir language, but the Lamani pronunciation of Padrosi.
Henry half-squinted his eyes, and Mira next to him also began to observe the weapon seriously.
The various detailed designs of weapons always have their own reasons. The sword held in Hemir's hand was even longer than Claymer's, almost one meter and sixty meters long. Its guard is not the typical inverted V of Kramer, but straight, and there are two side steel ring protections that make people unable to take their eyes away - this feature is very common on Padrosi-style swords. .
The hilt is more than 40 centimeters long and has a 120 centimeter blade. In front of the blade, there is another edgeless area that is very characteristic of Raman - that is, the part of the sword that is not edged to facilitate the use of half-sword techniques. There are also two protruding sharp corners at the intersection point with the bladed part.
This is a more advanced design than the Kramer.
The protection of the hand guard is more complete, and it is specially designed for close combat.
The Montanti is a weapon type that has only appeared in the past decade and is only popular on a small scale. Manisto also knew it by chance.
Part of the theory is that during the years of exchanges, the empire was also influenced and began to imitate the design of the Suomir Great Swordsman. But considering the time issue, the more reliable theory should be the second theory - this is a sword design improved by the exiled swordsmen based on Padrosi's popular style.
The extra ten centimeters in length will become an advantage in the hands of those who know how to use it. Manisto did not hold a suitable weapon. The most suitable weapon for armored combat should be heavy weapons such as axes and hammers. He also took off his helmet and gauntlets. Although this behavior was etiquette, it did seem a bit stupid.
The head and left hand are exposed and there is only a long spear with a wooden shaft. Facing the powerful Montanti sword, it is easy to accidentally lose the weapon. It is natural for him to have his left hand cut off or even his head split open.
But he's not entirely at a disadvantage.
Hemir on the opposite side is only wearing typical mercenary-style protection. In order to facilitate the flexibility of raising his legs, the brigand-style plate armor often only has a very short hem. In other words, except for the torso, his limbs, head and even throat are unprotected.
The 2.5-meter-long wooden spear might be cut off accidentally by a big sword, but if Mainisto was fast enough, if he stabbed any part of Hemir's body, he would be injured and bleed immediately.
——In terms of equipment, they are evenly matched. So of course, this turned into a technical confrontation.
"..." The first person to close the distance was Manisto. He was sweating a lot under the strong midday sun and was wearing full-body plate armor. Thinking that procrastination would be detrimental to him, the leader held a virtual hand with his front hand and grabbed the end of the spear with his other hand and approached.
The expressions on the faces of the people around are different. The great swordsman and the dragon-winged knight were both ready to intervene at any time, while the three queens looked on nervously. Our sage, the Luoan girl, and the young porter, who were obviously outsiders, looked at them in silence.
He closed the distance, and the armor without the burqa began to heat up when exposed to the sun. Mainister's hair began to stick to his scalp due to sweat seeping out. The leader controlled his breathing, spread his legs to maintain a standing position that would prevent him from falling to the ground, and moved forward with his front feet in small lunges.
"How conservative." Haimir glanced at him, then strode closer with his sword lowered.
His gesture of holding the sword was exactly the same as our Mr. Sage, causing the Luoan girl beside her to turn her head again and again.
"Tsk——" With the help of Long Yu, Manisto, whose armor had been greatly reduced in weight, was not slow to move even though he was wearing full plate armor. When he saw Heimir charging towards him, he stopped advancing and retreated for a moment. At the same time, he stabbed twice tentatively from a long distance - not fully extending the attack distance, but just tricking the opponent into blocking.
But this was obviously ineffective against the great swordsman, who continued to close the distance at an even speed without even raising his sword. This made Manisto a little anxious.
"Wha—" "Dang!" The first sound of gold and iron clashing came only two minutes after the duel began. Manisto hurriedly thrust out his spear in an attempt to drive back the charging Hymir. This approach was a correct judgment within the scope of understanding, but it made our Luoan girl frown.
The blade of the greatsword is more than 1 meter long, and the cutting part is very large. If you press it close to the skin and push and pull it, it will be enough to cause a terrible open wound. In contrast, a spear only has a tip less than 30 centimeters long, and the rest is a wooden pole. A spear can easily be cut when struck with steel at close range. Not to mention hitting someone with a spear pole, it is obviously not as good as stabbing someone with a spear tip. Came efficiently.
"Hiss—" "Dang Cang—" Two consecutive thrusts were struck by Heimir. When he blocked the second attack, he blocked the spearhead with his gauntlet, then switched his left and right hands and turned into his left hand. At the same time, he turned the entire sword vertically in a circle and tried to press the lower right side of the spearhead. This reaction was to prevent the opponent from stabbing forward after the exchange of blows, but Manisto withdrew the spear as early as the moment Hemir turned his sword.
His attack intention seemed to be just to block Hemir's approach, as if he had no consciousness of a life-and-death struggle.
"...Are you looking down on me?" Haimir frowned and looked a little unhappy.
The people nearby didn't speak out for fear of interrupting their duel. Mira looked at the sage. She couldn't understand Suomir, so she didn't know what Hemir had said before. However, the girl made the same judgment as the great swordsman - Manisto was playing a little too conservatively. .
"..." The sage shrugged and said nothing. Mira could tell from his eyebrows that her teacher was a little unhappy. The last time she saw him like this was when he was in Thoradin. Obviously, these things related to his past can always touch Henry's heart.
"Ha--" Manisto didn't reply. He still distanced himself and stood firmly on the dirt, with the white dragon feathers behind him shining in the sun. He changed the position of holding the gun, with his left hand on his chest and his right hand slightly raised, pointing from above to downwards.
Controlling distance is a fundamental part of combat, and this is even more true when it comes to polearms. The 2.5-meter-long spear can be held longer than the 1.6-meter sword. It has the advantage of distance and can maintain its advantage and not be approached by stronger blade weapons. correct--
But this is.
How to fight without armor?
The Luoan girl seemed difficult to understand.
Wearing armor, especially full-body armor, will make a huge difference in the way you fight. Because most of the body is covered with metal, the pushing, pulling and cutting effect of the blade is extremely small. To achieve an effective attack, the opponent can only use a swing with a larger amplitude and easier to block.
"It's fear," Henry said in West Coast dialect.
The merciless words of the sage are not slander out of thin air. This was indeed the reason why Manisto played so conservatively and always wanted to control the distance. The great swordsmen were famous, and it was his first time to really fight against them.
"...Is that so?" Haimir also judged this. He closed his eyes and sighed: "After all, it was taught by the cowardly imperial people."
"Having the courage to challenge me, I thought you were really a great character. It seems that you are just the kind of hypocrite who talks about benevolence, justice and morality, and is well-dressed."
"You're just a coward -" "Whoops -" As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped on the ground with one foot, and then took a long step with his hands fully extended. His sprinting speed was so fast that it didn't look like he was waving a large weapon.
"But -" Hymir's sprint speed was too fast. It was not enough time for Manisto to react and distance himself. Instead of retreating, he took a lunge and then stabbed out with a spear.
"Disappeared!" Someone among the Dragon Wing Knights exclaimed. The Grand Commander's attack was smooth and swift, like a dragon coming out of the sea, but this spear hit nothing.
"Stagger the opponent's central line and attack from the side." Henry sighed on the side.
"It's the most basic of basics."
"Crack!!" The spear that was hurriedly raised to the side was cut into two pieces by the swing of the big sword in conjunction with the sprint. The vibration of the hardwood rod caused the entire Montanti sword blade in Hymir's hand to tremble. Shaking. Manisto hurriedly took several steps back. His footwork was disordered and he almost didn't fall. However, although his movements were ugly, he widened the distance between him and Heimir.
"Tsk——" The spear with the back half cut off was much shorter, and Mainisdo threw the severed piece on the ground. Then he grabbed the remaining spear.
Take a deep breath.
"Are you a coward..." He breathed out, then gritted his teeth.
"Axi——" Concerns were thrown away.
After becoming the grand leader, the various issues that need to be paid attention to at all times and the habit of thinking twice before acting are all left behind.
The fighting style of a knight wearing armor should not be so conservative.
He rushed forward, and the spear in his hand moved flexibly to take advantage of its lighter weight and thrust out one after another, forcing Heimir to withdraw his sword and block in various ways. He let go of the spear for a moment and slapped his breastplate hard.
"Boom!" Long Yu, who had not been used when he led his men to charge, released his magic power in an instant, and then Mainisdo rushed up and picked up Hymir with his breastplate against his body and his sword.
"This guy--"
"Oh ah ah ah -" "Boom!" The leader threw the mercenary to the ground.
"Dang-" The big sword made a clear sound as it hit the breastplate. "Oh..." Hemir, who fell heavily to the ground, felt a burst of pain in his internal organs, but the mercenary's habit of crawling around made him immediately pull out the dagger from behind and stabbed Manisto's exposed side of the neck.
"Dang - Clang - Whoosh! Whoosh!" The captain swung his right arm and used his arm armor to knock away the mercenary's dagger. Then he punched the mercenary in the face with his hand wearing the gauntlet. , but he avoided it.
"Wipe-" Haimir held the sword handle with both hands vertically and then turned the entire sword. "Axi——" He pushed forward the big sword that was pressed by Manisto, and the sharp blade cut open the inner side of the regimental commander's cavalry thigh plate, which was only protected by leather, and blood began to flow wildly. And taking this opportunity, Haimir kicked him in the abdomen.
"Bang -" Mainisto fell to the ground, and he used his strength to roll on the spot to distance himself again. "Cough cough - cough -" He was thrown by the accelerated charge of wind magic. Even through the armor and plate armor, he still felt some internal injuries. After pulling away from each other, Hemir stood up with Montanti on his back. On the other side, Mainisto wanted to stand up, but suddenly felt a weakness on the inner side of his injured right leg.
His face turned pale and he almost fell to the ground before he could stand still.
"Has the artery been severed? Your Excellency, Captain!" Sig, who had always been on the verge of moving, finally couldn't help but rush forward to help him.
"What do you want to do!" The great swordsmen reacted immediately and raised their great swords to close the distance. The dragon-winged knights on the side saw this and raised their spears accordingly.
"What the coward Laman taught is indeed a virtue, and he actually interfered in the duel." "What are you talking about? If you want to die, let's all die together!" Cursing voices came one after another, and Heimir, who had breathed his last breath, held his hand again. Got the big sword. Mainisto checked the wound and found that although it was deep, it did not damage the artery. He simply bandaged it with cloth and stood up again.
"Quiet--"
"Go back, everyone."
"The battle is not over yet." The leader, who was covered in cold sweat and pale, said limpingly. He pulled out the sword from his waist with a clang, and then pointed at the other party. Side of Heimir.
"But -" "Your Majesty the Head -" "You hypocrites!" Noisy voices kept ringing on the field. Mira noticed the corners of Henry's eyes twitching one after another, and then took a step forward.
"Ah, I can't stand it anymore." The sage shook his head and deliberately said loudly in Laman language that they could understand.
"You bunch of idiots, what the hell is this? A special holiday celebration for Ghost Festival? Some kind of monkey show?" He was sarcastic and showed no mercy to them at all.
Everyone became quiet and turned to look this way.
"What the hell are you talking about, you mercenary!" Sig turned back with a face filled with rage.
"Mercenary?" Haimir frowned, took a few steps forward and looked through the crowd. Only after the Dragon Wing Knights rushed up to protect their leader, they were able to see the scene behind them.
"What if this isn't a monkey show?"
"Two people are pretending to have a duel. Both sides claim that they want to defend the Queen and Suomir, but who has asked your noble Majesty the Queen for her opinion?" The sage glanced out of the corner of his eye. The Queen, who was a little dazed because of the accident, cast her eyes at Henry after hearing this.
"Ritualized affectation."
"What can be distinguished from this duel? What can it be proved?"
"If the leader of Longyi over there dies later, will these people retreat in a sensible way?"
"Probably not."
"Of course, what's the point of being polite to these guys? Of course we will avenge the leader!" They roared loudly and were proud of it.
"What the hell do you mean by honor?" This answer made the great swordsmen look full of indignation.
"So."
"I can't bear to see you single-minded idiots." The sage sighed again.
At this time, Haimir recognized him as the mercenary he had met in Porusaro that day. He frowned and said, "It may seem so to you, but I would like to ask, as a mercenary, what do you think of him?" Who are we Suomir people to interfere in matters between us?"
"You are just a lackey of the Lamanites, even worse than these people." Hemir walked towards this side with a big sword in his hand, and the Dragon Wing Knights had no intention of protecting Henry because they were offended by his words. .
They moved out of the way, allowing the great swordsman with a ponytail to walk in front of the sage.
"If you are qualified." Mira looked at Henry, and Galeva looked at Henry.
The queen, princess and Archbishop Roman all looked at Henry.
Then came the people from the Dragon Wing Knights and the great swordsmen.
"If you are qualified." The sage took off his horse clothes.
Haimir's eyes widened for a moment.
"Oh my God -" Archbishop Roman covered his mouth.
"this."
"Is that enough?" The sage turned around and looked directly at him with his calm gray-blue eyes.
Kramer.
Unsheath.
