Under the scorching sun, two knights wearing cotton armor, full-body mail armor, and coats of armor faced each other with shields and armed swords in hand.
"Hahu-haha-" The equipment of both sides was very heavy, and there was a chainmail scarf hanging from the lower edge of the pointed nose-protecting helmet worn on the head. With a total weight of nearly 6 kilograms, it is only the third heaviest component in the entire set of armor. The heaviest is the mail coat with slits, long hems and long sleeves. Even with its tailor-made tailoring, it still weighs 19 kilograms. Coupled with the 6 kilograms of chain leg gaiters, the fully-armed knights already weighed 31 kilograms just wearing mail armor - and this time not only that, they also wore 7.5 kilograms of leggings. An armor composed of steel slats riveted to a leather vest.
Such a high load actually exceeds the load that would be worn in actual combat, and full-body mail armor has become somewhat backward in this year. Although it is made of a riveted iron ring and is very effective against sharp cuts, it is ineffective against slashes and stabbings, as well as blunt force damage. Mail armor that lacks rigidity will still cause bones to break when hit by a blunt object, even with the cushioning of the cotton armor underneath.
When facing enemies wearing mail armor on the battlefield, attacking various joints is the most basic of basics. Therefore, during the past twenty or thirty years of evolution, people gradually developed additional reinforcements made of small pieces of steel plates, and then evolved into mail jackets with attached armor plates.
The super-heavy armor that combines two forms of protection has only one reason, apart from being particularly afraid of death, for competition.
And this is exactly the scene the two of them are in.
The soft-soled leather shoes step on the dirt ground, and the flat leather soles have a first-class feel, allowing the rider to fully feel the ground and maintain excellent grip for exerting force.
The battle has lasted for 15 minutes.
The battle between heavily armored knights is different from that of unarmored civilians, who always decide the winner in tens of seconds. Because both sides are well protected, it is likely to turn into a physical competition in the end. In addition, this is a competitive competition between companions rather than a life-and-death fight, and some overly dangerous techniques are restricted, so it becomes more of a competition of calm mind and physical fitness.
"..." The knight leader and other members in noble attire gathered around and looked at the venue in silence.
"Asio is going to lose." One of the tall knights said, and the one he called Asio was the relatively short knight. Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, Asio rushed forward with his shield and sword in hand.
"Crack! - Clang -" Padrosi's knightly sword-and-shield posture was not to put the shield against his chest, although this was a common technique used by the Lamanite legions in the distant past when they used large shields to form arrays. But the knight class is different from the infantry. In the case of infantry combat, they consider more of fighting alone.
The kite shield held by the knight is shorter than the tear shield of the infantry. It can only protect half of the body, thighs and knees when riding on horseback. This kind of shield with a smaller protective area requires the flexible use of active blocking rather than passive protection. Therefore, the standard posture of both sides is to lower the center of gravity and then tilt the body forward, pointing the shield and armed sword diagonally outward.
The left hand is a shield and the right hand is an armed sword. They are almost at eye level to protect the left and right, and the middle is a wide field of view.
When Asio rushed in front of the opponent, he tried to bypass the more well-protected left side. He used a change of moves and then sprinted again to bypass the shield and attack the right side. After hitting the weapon-wielding hand, the disarming sword fell to the ground. Even if it is his victory.
But the tall opponent just turned around on his heels and moved his position before blocking his sword with a kite shield, and launched attacks one after another, forcing Asio to regain the distance.
"Well, the newcomer performed well." The tall knight who spoke before continued, and the other red-haired knight next to him also nodded: "He is calm and did not retreat in a hurry because his opponent charged. Not only does he have a good foundation in swordsmanship, but he is also quite experienced in controlling his physical strength in armor-clad fighting."
"On the contrary, it's this guy Asio." The red-haired knight held his forehead and sighed.
"You are a veteran after all, can't you give us some face?" He said this, and the knight leader who had been silent now slowly spoke: "You two didn't see the first half."
"What? We are indeed a little late." The red-haired knight was stunned for a moment.
"This is already the rookie's fourth match. Before Asio, he defeated three newcomers who also just came in this year."
"...How long is each game?" The red-haired knight's expression became serious, as did the expressionless tall knight beside him.
"15 minutes."
"Then this fight has been going on for 15 minutes now -" "It's been 15 minutes." The leader half-squinted his eyes and looked at the venue with his emerald blue eyes, but his eyes ignored that Asio was only focused on the subordinates in uniform. Newcomer in knight's white robe.
"Hoho, this guy has calculated it well and will win by delaying it to make his opponent consume his energy and patience first." The red-haired knight crossed his arms and showed a playful smile.
In the center of the field, Asio, who was wearing heavy armor but charging indiscriminately, began to breathe a little confused. Although the nose helmet provided excellent breathing and vision, he could not resist his own impulse.
"Ha--" Realizing that his physical strength was losing too quickly, he took a step back to find a chance to breathe, but his steps back were already shaky. This detail was seen by several high-level knights and was also noticed by him. Controlled by the person opposite.
"嚓-嚻-" He held the shield in front of him, but the tip of the one-handed sword hung down and pointed at the ground.
"You guy!" Asio realized that the situation was not good and waved the round-pointed blunt sword in his hand wildly. This powerful and heavy blow knocked away the shield in the opponent's hand. However, at this moment he faced He looked into those gray-blue eyes, but suddenly realized that he seemed to have made the wrong decision.
He loosened the grip on the front of the shield, leaving only the forearm strap and still hanging the shield on his hand. He freed his left hand and at the same time leaned closer and put the hand into Asio's arm, and then kept the low-angle armed sword smooth. The ground stabs upward. "Uh-huh -" After hitting the side of Asio's face with the sword, he used the sword in his hand as a crowbar and twisted it with the hand that he stretched into his arm.
"Wow, it hurts!" "Crack-clang-" The sword in Asio's hand fell to the ground.
He was victorious.
"Not bad, not bad." The red-haired knight's face showed an excited look, but as soon as he turned around and wanted to speak to the leader, he saw the tall knight next to him casually grabbing a spear and saying, "I'll go down." "He jumped into the field.
"Gedo, you are stealing food!!" The angry red-haired knight roared loudly, and this voice also made the rookie knight who had won the round turn his head.
"Alas..." Asio ran out of the exit from one side of the field dejectedly, while the new knight looked hesitant when facing Gedo, who was only wearing light clothing and holding a spear. He turned his eyes to the group leader and wanted to know if this was appropriate, because opponents without armor might be injured. But Gedo didn't give him any chance to hesitate: "What are you looking at?" He said and rushed towards him.
"Bang--bang!" The hard spear charged forward and entered the attack range from a long distance. He was a little slow to react and hurriedly raised his shield, but Gedo's spear had already pierced in front of him. .
"Pa—" "Uh—" Gedo hit his shield-holder's forearm with a heavy swing, but he gritted his teeth and did not let go. This made a smile appear on the corner of Gedo's mouth, but he then swung it hard again, and the precise and fierce attack directly hit the joint of the wrist, even though there was mail and padding to protect his hand. In an instant, he fell limp from exhaustion.
"Boom - bang -" Gedo's movements were smooth. He hooked the opponent's armband with the tip of his spear and then struck.
"Crack--" The shield fell to the ground, and the new knight gritted his teeth. Naturally, he couldn't play as conservatively as before without the shield. He rushed up first because he had armor.
But before he could reach the distance where he could swing his sword, he was hit in the chest by the spear in Gedo's hand.
“Pfft—cough cough cough—”
The powerful and heavy attack made him feel chest tightness through the armor and padding. The new knight took several steps back, but in the end he knelt down on one knee in dizziness.
"Tap tap tap -" footsteps sounded, and the sunlight in front of him was blocked by something. He raised his head, and Gedo stood in front of him with his spear hanging down.
"Are you okay?" The tall, high-ranking knight stretched out his hand.
"It's okay." The young man held the hand and stood up.
"You have good qualifications and perseverance. But remember, your body is far more important than weapons or armors. Only by keeping your arms can you fight back, rather than losing one hand just to keep from letting go of the shield. This is too much of a gain - but ——" Gedo changed his tone before he finished speaking: "The knight's shield is his own honor. Although he should give it up temporarily in order to save himself under unavoidable circumstances, letting go easily is also a dereliction of duty."
"Thank you for your advice, sir." He lowered his head to show respect, and Gedo nodded and added: "There is another problem. You played too conservatively because you chose the wrong weapon."
"Things like attack distance are very important. You may have felt it just now. Since you are so tall, you shouldn't use such a short standard armed sword." After leaving these words, Gedo turned around Went to the top of the field.
The rookie knight behind him took off his helmet, and on his still immature face, only his pair of gray-blue eyes had a hint of the future.
"Oh, the cold-faced Gedo can actually speak for more than 10 seconds." The red-haired knight yelled to tease his companion, but Gedo ignored him and looked directly at the leader: "What's his name. "
"Haimielning." The leader tilted his head and looked at the panting and dazed newcomer in the venue: "Haimielning Heinzwom."
"Meteor Lake?" Gedo frowned: "What a ridiculous last name."
"It's not a surname. After all, I heard that he was an orphan. I don't know why he got this name. I didn't ask for details." The knight leader shrugged and said.
"Hey, this is interesting. Are you an orphan? Did you get in?" The red-haired knight also came over: "What an amazing newcomer. He's like a monster, fighting so many games in a row. Oh, look at his left arm. It seems that he has recovered, is it possible that you, Gedo, are holding back?"
"..." Gedo glanced at him silently. "That's right, how could an inhumane guy like you hold back." The red-haired knight shrugged, spread his hands and said helplessly: "It seems that this kid has good recovery ability, so we can also come back well." Give him some practice."
"But then again, even if he can pass the test, what did he say to the group leader in the final interview to let him in?" The lively red-haired knight turned back to look at his boss again.
"I asked him why he joined the Knights." The leader shrugged.
"He said it was for a full meal."
"...Wait a minute, is this the famous guy in the squire academy?" the red-haired knight said, looking a little confused when faced with the confused reactions of the two people: "Why haven't you heard of it? Well, the waiter academy cafeteria used to be self-service when we went there, right?"
"Yes." The leader nodded. "If you fart, hurry up." Gaido said without mercy.
"Now it's changed to rationing, it's because of this guy!" "..."
"And it is said that he is the only person who has read all the books in the college library."
"...."
"We won't go bankrupt." The red-haired knight turned around and asked with a serious expression.
"Recruit him for the recent escort mission." The leader directly ignored this funny guy and said this to Gedo, who was in charge of personnel. The latter also nodded: "If it is sharpened well, it will become a sharp sword for our knights."
"This is a gem." The leader said, got up and started walking inside.
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He was in his small room when he received the notice to join the escort mission.
Nine years have passed since that agreement under the sunset. After leaving the monastery, he saved money by working part-time jobs, and was admitted to the academy that trained attendants for the twelve royal knights.
Although what the academy actually does is basically help the knights maintain their armor, weapons and take care of their horses, the management and the library are free and open, and you can also observe the training of the knights up close. For him, Simply heaven.
His formerly malnourished short body had grown crazily in the past few years, and his physique ranked among the best in the academy. When he finally signed up to join the Knights, he successfully passed.
Getting closer to the dream.
Although the contact has been broken for many years, as long as we work in the right direction, we will eventually be able to meet again one day.
The scene during the interview came to mind again.
"——Apart from this?" Among the people who laughed because of his "full meal" statement, only the leader looked directly at him with calm emerald blue eyes. The look in his eyes was serious, sincere and pure.
"To fulfill an agreement, my lord!" He straightened his chest and answered loudly.
"Very good." The leader smiled.
"Moving forward step by step, I'm working hard, Sania. I'm working hard. Where are you now? No matter where you are, we will definitely meet again." He, who has grown into a young man, looked at own hand, and then clenched his fist.
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"Let me explain the outline of the mission, in case some of the newcomers don't know it. I am Knight Ricardo, your senior, the strongest person in the whole group-" The red-haired knight with a ponytail introduced himself first. , and then after seeing Gedo's cold face, he added in a low voice: "One."
"In short, this mission is very important. Therefore, all of you selected are the elites of our Silver Guard Knights -" "If you have any questions, hurry up." Gedo interrupted him mercilessly with a magnetic voice. .
"..." Liccardo frowned and was very depressed, but he still got to the point: "The mission is to be the personal guard of the royal family."
"The New Year is approaching, and the Golden Tour is about to begin. In order to ensure safety, the current Crown Prince Hermes Gesu Sexitutu will personally inspect the tour route before His Majesty the Emperor comes in person. Your Majesty's order is ours. mission. His Highness’s personal safety is of paramount importance, especially as we have recently received threatening letters.”
"The letter called His Highness a blasphemous person, and even made an appointment to take His Highness' life at a designated time."
"We are the personal guards of the royal family. Don't disgrace the name of the Silver Guard. Hold on to the shield in your hands!"
"Long live the Empire!"
"Long live the Empire!"
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"Don't be too nervous. The scouts have cleared the area in advance. There are light cavalry guards nearby. If you want to murder His Highness, you must first pass through the troops scattered within a few hundred meters. Just maintain normal vigilance. If you are too nervous, it will If there is an attack later, I won’t be able to react when I should react.” Gedo said this while riding a horse next to him. He obviously noticed Heimernin’s nervousness and stiffness, but the talkative Liccardo next to this opening began to use the topic again. .
"Wouldn't it only make him more nervous when you say something like this? What kind of murder, attack, reaction?" He said, and Haimirning deliberately said to interrupt the upcoming quarrel between the two: "I, I'm just curious. , Why does His Highness want to patrol in person? Isn't this kind of thing just something that ordinary knights can do?" He said, the way he changed the topic was so blunt that Ricardo was embarrassed to use the topic again. He noticed that the young knight did not want the two of them to quarrel. intention, and then glanced triumphantly at Gedo next to him. The latter ignored him, as usual.
"It's to create momentum, to create momentum."
"How old is your child this year?" Liccardo, who looked about 30 years old, said, but Heimernin hesitated for a while and answered: "19."
"Tsk, you are so young. Do you know how old His Highness is?" he asked, while Haimirning next to him shook his head.
"39." Liccardo shrugged: "He was appointed crown prince when he was your age, but after waiting for 20 years, he still hasn't ascended the throne."
"His Majesty is now 78 years old, but he is still very energetic. Some people even speculate that the throne will be passed directly to his grandson, the child of the eldest princess. Because His Majesty obviously loves this grandson very much, but he is very fond of the emperor. The prince seems a little indifferent."
"So, His Highness had to prove his existence, so there was this scene that was nominally a security check but was actually similar to a small-scale gold parade. Then for some reason the news leaked and someone warned of an attack. Time That's right - nothing smells so bad." Liccardo suddenly stopped talking.
"It's a corpse, haven't you heard? He was obviously giving a briefing but he didn't listen to the scout's report." Gedo said with a cold face: "A group of livestock died unexpectedly at a nearby herdsman's house, and then in order to prevent the lord from blaming him, he secretly Lost it in this forest."
"It's really stupid. As soon as the smell started to spread, everything was exposed. In the end, the whole family ended up being sold into slavery." Gedo said, while Liccardo grabbed his cloak and covered his mouth and nose. .
"If there are too many bones, please pass them." His words became slurred through the cloth, but Gaido did not do anything similar even though he frowned.
"It will pass in a while, just bear with it." He said this. The strong rancid smell and the "buzzing" sound of the flies made people upset. Hemelning resisted the urge to retching, and the knights guarding the left wing began to shrink towards the central formation because of the stench.
The young knight glanced over there. He just glanced casually, but saw a picture.
A scene that will last a lifetime.
Rotting carcasses of domestic animals that were haunted by flies.
Moved.
"What the hell-"
"Roar!!!!"
In the next few minutes, he seemed to have lost his memory, his mind was blank, and he was frozen in place.
"Haimernin!"
"Haimernin!" "Boom!" Gedo reached out and knocked on his helmet. The young man didn't wake up until this moment.
"Go and see His Highness, the team is completely in chaos. Damn it, is this done by the Necromancer!" The knights in front stabbed the rotting pig with their spears, but they screamed and moved forward. The pig rushed right through the spear. The spear tip struck nothing but rotting entrails.
"Ka--" the pig rushed up and bit the horse's leg: "neigh--" the horse began to neigh and try to escape in a panic, and the whole scene was in chaos.
"Your Highness—" "Neigh, wheeze—" Haimirning spurred the horse under him to turn around and start running toward the rear.
The carriage where the Crown Prince was sitting was located in the middle of the team, but the left wing had to shrink its formation due to the smell and was directly attacked. The knights separated from the guard, but due to the sudden attack, they were cut into small pieces and could not gather into formation.
"Your Highness!" "What the hell happened!" The crown prince with a big beard and a golden robe walked out from the second door of the three-story carriage. The accompanying ministers shouted loudly, but their actions to stop him were a step too late.
"Tap tap tap tap -" Haimirning, who was riding a horse and running wildly, held a spear in one hand.
"What's going on! Is that person trying to kill His Highness?" The confused knights looked at the direction of his charge and drew their swords one after another.
"Huh——" He breathed out, "Huh——"
"Take it!!!!" The thrown spear nailed a dead dog that had jumped onto the carriage and was about to pounce on the crown prince. Its ribs were nailed and its putrid body fluids flowed all over the carriage. The minister immediately began to hold on to the railing and vomited, and the crown prince turned around and his face became slightly pale.
"Idiots, you draw your swords at the person who saved his life. The enemy is on the other side!" He waved his hand vigorously, but remained quite calm under this situation.
"Qiang——" Haimirning pulled out the long sword from his waist: "Your Highness, please return to the carriage, and leave it to us." Although he was also in shock, he controlled himself well and focused on the battle.
"Good. Very good. Brave knight, please tell me your name. I will be heavily rewarded for saving my life." The crown prince said this, and the young man knocked his helmet on the forehead with his sword to show respect: "My humble name is Haimirning. This is our duty. Your Highness, please don't take it to heart and return to a safe place as soon as possible!"
He said: "Drive!" Then he waved his sword and rode his horse and started to rush in the direction of Gedo and the others to report.
"... Haimirning?" The crown prince, who was still there, stroked his beard and read the name, and finally returned to the carriage with the minister.
