I reforged the glory of the magic ring in Middle-earth

Chapter 46: Pray before the Fight

"Aren't there too many people?"

Bernard couldn't help but say as he looked at the bustling scene outside Stoneville City.

Tanes looked over and saw that Fili and Kili were waving and cheering him on along with the dwarves who had come with them.

He responded to the dwarves while answering Bernard's words: "It is indeed a bit beyond my expectations. It seems that except for those patrolling soldiers, everyone in the entire Golden Tree Territory has come here."

Bernard also noticed that Fili, Kili, and the others were noticeably shorter than the others around them, and asked, "Are they the 'dwarves' you were talking about? Are the students you assigned to me among them?"

Tanes said, "Yes, the two dwarves with the shortest beards, one with golden hair and the other with black hair, standing together in the front are them."

Bernard raised an eyebrow. "It's them, of course. The aura they exude is different from other dwarves, not to mention their striking looks. It's just a shame they're so short."

Tanes shrugged. "Don't underestimate dwarves. Although they're small, they're stronger than you might imagine. They also have excellent balance. They might seem short, but they're actually very agile. More importantly, they're incredibly stubborn and will always surprise you."

Bernard didn't continue the topic of the dwarf. Instead, he looked at the elves standing opposite the dwarf. "Are those with long ears elves? Their appearance is so pleasing to the eye that it's hard to tell whether they are male or female."

Tanes curled his lips and said, "Don't mention you. I'm the same way. I never know the true gender of elves until they speak. After all, they like to have long hair and dress themselves very elegantly and exquisitely."

Bernal paused, and Tanes took a few steps forward, then turned to face Bernal.

The crowd of onlookers consciously stepped back several steps, leaving enough space for the two of them to compete.

Bernard gently gripped the hilt of the sword, and the tip of the sword trembled slightly. The knight's sword, which a normal person would find difficult to wield with both hands, was easily lifted by him with one hand, and the tip of the sword was pointed at Tanes.

Tanes also kept his feet on the ground and adjusted his posture with ease. He also raised the identical knight's greatsword with one hand, and the tip of the sword touched the knight's greatsword raised by Bernal.

They seemed to have reached some kind of silent agreement and retreated four sword lengths backward almost in sync.

The crowd that was originally making all kinds of noise and discussion gradually quieted down, because the two people in the center of the venue exuded a silent sense of oppression. Some people even felt that if they spoke, the knight's swords in the hands of Tanes and Bernal would be aimed at them and chopped down.

The feeling of oppression forced the onlookers to retreat again and again, but they never felt that they had reached a safe distance.

The dwarves and elves were no exception and retreated with the crowd, but Fili and Kili stayed behind.

Because Neferi Lu told the two dwarf crown princes that the burly silver-armored warrior who confronted Tanes was their future combat skills instructor.

This made Fili and Qili not want to leave a weak impression when they first met Bernal.

Moreover, Tanes was already their teacher, and Fili and Kili did not want to retreat, even if it was just to support Tanes.

So the dwarf's stubborn character came out, and even though Fili and Kili's legs were shaking violently, they did not take a single step back.

"Hehe, I admit that your evaluation of the dwarves is correct. The performance of these two crown princes is indeed beyond my expectation. Even though their bodies are sending signals of fear and they are too nervous to speak, they are still unwilling to retreat. Looking at their looks, it seems that they want to cheer you up?" Bernard said to Tanes.

Tanes' eyes were unusually serious. Although he had defeated Bernal eight times, a quasi-king was still a quasi-king, and that would not change just because he defeated the other.

After hearing Bernal's pre-fight teasing, Tanes grinned and said, "Because I'm their teacher, isn't it normal for them to stay and cheer me on?"

Bernard narrowed his eyes. "Then I, the 'latecomer,' must demonstrate my abilities and let my future students know who of their two teachers is the most formidable."

At this moment, on the city wall above the main gate of Stonewell, two lost knights who had finished their patrol and rushed here after hearing the news were looking at the confrontation between Tanes and Bernal with shining eyes.

This is a very rare battle between the King of Elden and the Quasi-King, and the Lost Knight does not want to miss it.

Neferi Lu, the only person present who was not affected by the oppression of Tanes and Benar, also stayed where she was, and then stood in front of Fili and Kili, allowing the two dwarves' tense bodies to finally relax.

Fili and Qili were breathing heavily, and cold sweat kept coming out of their foreheads.

"Thank you, Lord Neferi Lu." Fili thanked the other party.

Qili asked breathlessly, his eyes filled with fear and excitement. "Is this the true strength of Mr. Tanes? Just standing there makes me feel like an insurmountable mountain. If I get close, I'll be frozen by the icy wind from the top."

Neferi Lu simply nodded calmly, then looked at the two of them and asked loudly, "Do you need me to be the referee?"

Tanes had no intention of objecting and expressed his agreement directly.

Bernal also nodded to Neferi Lu and said, "Of course, there is no greater honor than having the respected new Storm King witness this duel between Tanes and me."

With both sides' permission, Neferi Lu said, "Given your strength, a decisive victory will inevitably result in casualties. In that case, let's see who knocks the other's knight's greatsword down first. The one whose knight's greatsword is knocked down will be declared the loser. Do you agree?"

Tanes replied without hesitation, "For a warrior, losing his weapon is equivalent to losing his life. I agree."

Bernard echoed, "I agree with Tanes. Having your weapon knocked off your body by the enemy is like being slaughtered."

Neferi Lu nodded and drew her battle axe from her waist. Golden lightning crackled and converged on the axe blade. "Then let the thunder strike as the signal to begin."

Tanes and Bernal nodded at the same time, and then focused all their attention on each other and Neferi Lu.

Fili and Kili subconsciously held their breath again. As dwarves, the two brothers were able to guess the weight of the knights' swords in Tanes and Bernal's hands.

The two of them were already imagining what kind of pleasant sound would be made and what kind of sparks would be produced when the two knights' swords collided with each other in a few seconds.

Teacher Tanes and Mr. Bernard, I wonder what kind of exciting battle these two warriors who are equally good at swordsmanship will bring me.

With this thought in mind, Fili and Qili tried to open their eyes wide, fearing to miss any details of the fight between the two sides.

"boom!"

Neferi Lu swung her battle axe downwards, and the golden lightning dragged a shadow in the air, but the roar of thunder appeared before the shadow and reached people's ears.

it has started!

Fili pressed his lips together, and Kili clenched his fists in excitement.

Was it Mr. Tanes who drew his sword first, or Mr. Bernal?

The dwarf brothers looked at the two people not far away in the field with their own expectations.

Then they widened their eyes, and the people watching not far behind them also opened their mouths slightly, showing surprised expressions.

Because the confrontation between swords and skills that they imagined did not occur, nor was there any sound of metal clashing with metal or the battle cries between men.

At the moment when Neferi Lu swung her battle axe with a thunderous sound, Tanes and Bernal did not charge with their swords raised. Instead, they bent down at the same time and knelt on one knee on the ground as if they had agreed.

Open the prayer!
Just as the others were at a loss for words about how to express their emotions at this ridiculous scene, Fili and Kili suddenly understood. They were both praying, and kneeling on one knee was the proper posture for prayer.

Golden light shone from the hands of both men at the same time, and then spread throughout their bodies.

At the same time, the golden tree serving as the background became brighter and brighter, with its branches and leaves swaying and golden light falling.

The Golden Tree Oath, a prayer of the Golden Tree faith, improves the user's physical abilities. This ancient prayer, passed down by the knights of Rodel City, is a tradition.

Then the two men stood up and looked at each other. Just when the onlookers thought they were going to charge at each other with swords raised, they squatted down again in tacit understanding.

Continue to pray.

The golden tree's light became brighter, which meant that the prayers Tanes and Bernal were performing at this time were even higher-level than before.

[Golden Tree Shelter] can provide considerable protection for the user.

By the time Tanes and Bernal stood up again, a rich golden light had already covered their bodies, armor, and weapons.

As someone who has fought with Bernal eight times, Tanes knows him too well. Bernal always does this before fighting with him.

If Tanes had a heavier weapon in his hand instead of a knight's broadsword, he would not have prayed with Bernard like this, but would have rushed forward directly.

Otherwise, if he rushed forward, Bernard, who had just finished praying, would use his beast-gathering armor to block the sword, and then be hit by the opponent's counterattack.

Bernard's silver-gray eyes reflected the golden light, and he said in surprise, "You didn't just throw away the sword this time. You took out a staff."

"After all, I want to come here once in a while...!?"

Tanes was just about to say that he wanted to have a head-on fight with Bernal this time, but before he could finish his words, Bernal suddenly used a New Year's Sword Technique to smash the knight's sword in his hand to the ground.

This seemingly ridiculous action made Tanes swallow his unfinished words and quickly move to the side to avoid it.

"—!"

The ground between Tanes and Bernal cracked silently, and the invisible sharp blade cut two wounds in the ground, making Tanes' eyes more serious.

【Combat Skill: Vacuum Slash】

It was this attack that made Fili and Qili exclaim in surprise. They simply couldn't believe that this was a fighting technique that a human could use.

The elves in the back looked at each other in bewilderment when they saw this scene, and were speechless.

Merthin, who had learned magic, pondered and asked the elven brother and sister, Kelson and Irene, beside him, "You two are also masters of swordsmanship in the valley, having been immersed in it for hundreds of years. Did you see the human's movements clearly?"

Kelson and his sister Irene looked at each other and saw the tremor in each other's pupils.

The former was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "I'm not sure what I saw was real, Mr. Merthin. It's precisely because Irene and I saw it clearly that it felt so dreamy. The moment the silver-armored warrior raised his sword and slashed it down, the air around it suddenly vanished, transforming into two invisible blades."

Irene also spoke up to add on behalf of her brother, "As for more, my brother and I can't tell. Perhaps we should ask Lord Tanes, who accurately dodged the attack."

Kelson hesitated for a few seconds, then finally said with a wry smile, "I think the question we should ask is, are Tanes and his compatriots truly the humans we know them to be? We've seen those human heroes fight bravely, but to be able to unleash such a terrifying slash..."

He didn't finish his words, but Mersin and Irene knew what Kelson meant.

Irene suddenly thought of something. She blinked her beautiful eyes and said, "Ah, come to think of it, I remember Tanes always calling his compatriots 'People of Gold'."

"The Golden People," Merthin repeated. He then looked up at the twin golden trees radiating a bright glow within the city of Stonewell and smiled faintly. "What a fitting name for them."

Kelsen then uttered another short exclamation: "Look!"

In the field, Bernal had already taken advantage of the time when Tanes was dodging his vacuum slash and approached him.

A distance of about ten meters is no different from standing in front of each other for both parties.

【Combat Skill: Broken Steps】

Even though Bernal was wearing heavy beast-gathering armor, his figure still came to Tanes' side like a ghost, stepped heavily on the ground with his right foot, twisted his body with the force of his waist to slash back, and the knight's sword in his hand showed a cold edge, pointing directly at Tanes.

【Combat Skill: Spinning Slash】

A nimble swordsman can spin his body dramatically and strike his enemy unexpectedly.

"when!"

But the feeling of the knight's sword hitting Tanes' waist that Bernard had imagined did not come true. Instead, the recoil from the sword almost made him lose his grip on the hilt, and almost made Bernard lose his balance.

Tanes's voice sounded somewhat unhappy: "Your beast armor is really heavy. It didn't even make you fall down."

Bernal nimbly jumped back a step, just avoiding the sword that was about to come from Tanes, causing Tanes to let out a "tsk" sound.

He looked at Tanes's free hand and smiled. "I see. No wonder I almost dropped my weapon just now. You didn't use those strange spells, but used the skills I taught you to deal with me. I really didn't expect that."

A small silver metal round shield appeared in Tanes' other hand at some point. Just now, it was this seemingly inconspicuous small shield that perfectly blocked Bernal's unexpected attack at the critical moment.

[Combat Skill: Block]

Tanes' eyes were filled with fighting spirit. This close combat confrontation made him feel his heart beating for the first time in a long time.

He grinned happily and said, "I'm not a fool. You saw through my magic patterns during our eight exchanges. If you can't figure out a way to break them, I'll doubt the value of your title of Quasi-King."

If Tanes had chosen to use magic just now, he would definitely have been hit by Bernal's unexpected [Vacuum Slash].

Bernard also saw the fighting spirit in Tanes' eyes and couldn't help but say, "You fighting madman."

Tanes responded bluntly, "How dare you call me crazy? Even you're laughing so recklessly, Bernard."

Bernard was slightly stunned, subconsciously raised his head and touched his mouth, and finally tightly gripped the knight's sword. When he looked up again, he showed the same expression as Tanes.

He raised his sword and used broken steps to quickly approach again, while shouting: "That's because I can finally catch you, a guy who likes to run around and throw spells around, and give you a good beating!"

The swords collided again.

　A player you often encounter who runs around with a ball suddenly wants to fight you in close combat.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)