Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 148 Knight Tournament
The night before the martial arts tournament.

In the royal palace hall, dozens of whale oil candles burned brightly, illuminating the entire space as if it were daytime. Ragnar was looking at the list of participants when he suddenly became very interested and asked the clerk to add his own name.

"It's been a long time since I've had a martial arts match. Haha, let me personally test the skills of these young men."

Upon hearing the king's words, the nobles standing on the right side of the hall reacted in various ways. Ivar whistled loudly, "Father, if we meet, don't expect me to show mercy."

Prime Minister Pascal openly advised: "What knight would dare to draw his sword against the king? Even if you win the tournament, the title will be questioned by the outside world and will have no credibility."

Upon hearing these blunt and discouraging words, the king downed several glasses of wine and, fueled by the alcohol, said resentfully, "In that case, you nobles should not participate either, and give the opportunity to those eager-to-stand-up knights."

March 851, 10 AD.

On a bright and sunny morning, the first tournament of the Londinium was held.

Under the watchful eyes of many, the King, his two Queens, and their five children (Bjorn was in Greenland) emerged from the carriage and stepped onto the south stand, their bodies covered in scarlet wool carpets.

Next came Prime Minister Pascal, several cabinet members, and powerful nobles. Once they were all seated, five trumpeters on the right side of the stands sounded their horns, signaling the contestants to enter in turn.

Four years ago, Eise Wolfe held the first jousting tournament in Oxford. The event was enthusiastically received by the West Frankish nobles, and six more tournaments were held since then, with some changes to the rules.

The most obvious feature is that the spears used in the competition were wrapped in soft felt, which greatly reduced their lethality.

Ta-ta, tap-ta.

The horseshoes struck the ground with a crisp sound as hundreds of participating knights marched into the arena, clad in chainmail and brightly colored cloaks, riding tall and magnificent Frankish warhorses.

A knighthood, armor, and a warhorse are the necessary conditions for participating in jousting. Most knights did not bring their warhorses when they came to court, so they were not even qualified to participate.

Upon reaching the front of the stands, the group bowed slightly from their horses as a sign of respect for the royal authority.

After the mounted warriors left, an equal number of foot warriors entered, mainly lower-ranking soldiers and civilians, as well as a small number of knights who did not bring warhorses.

As flower petals were tossed from above the stands, the entrance ceremony ended, and the first round of competition officially began.

As the horn sounded, the two knights charged towards each other from the east and west ends of the arena. At the moment when their horses reached their maximum speed, both knights lowered their lances.

The thunderous hooves thundered as the knight on the east side struck his opponent's oak shield with deadly precision. A sharp crack was heard as the lance snapped, releasing a cloud of pale yellow wood chips. Immediately afterward, the two horses galloped past each other, and the knight on the west side fell to the ground.

Instantly, cheers from the audience resounded through the sky. Vig frowned, staring intently at the smug victor.
"This man has no martial ethics. He deliberately increased the length of his spear by half a meter so that he could hit his opponent earlier."

Soon, the attendants rushed into the arena, carried the injured knight away on a plank for treatment, and two servants swept up the debris. Once everything was ready, the second round of the duel began.

As a newly emerging sport, the rules of rifle combat have many loopholes.

Someone used a pointed lance, piercing through their opponent's body like a sharp blade into butter, drawing boos from the arena. Ragnar, utterly humiliated, immediately ordered the man arrested and handed over to the judge for trial. "Sneaky tactics! This is a disgrace to the kingdom! If anyone uses a pointed lance again, I'll make them eat that iron spearhead alive!"

Vig remained expressionless as he listened to the king's roar. Human desires are endless. Despite being knighted, they had not lost their ambition to climb higher. If they won the tournament, they would surely be entrusted with important responsibilities and one day join the ranks of the great nobles.

Next, the audience witnessed even more speculative behavior.

Besides replacing their spears with pointed ones and increasing their length, some knights took full advantage of their warhorses' size, charging and ramming their opponents. Another clever knight covered his oak shield with a thin layer of silver to reflect sunlight and confuse his opponents' vision.

“It’s boring, really boring.” Ivar turned to Gunnar and complained, “Is this the same kind of thing you hold in your tournaments?”

"Yes, but trickery can only deal with knights of average skill; those who remain are masters like Morris."

When the match reached noon, Ragnar convened the senior management for lunch in a luxurious and spacious tent, seeking their advice.

Pascal: "The organizers should provide the shields and lances. I think the lances for the competition should be made of softer wood to reduce casualties."

Vig: "A barrier was set up in the center of the competition field. When jousting took place, the two knights charged at each other through the wooden fence to prevent their horses from colliding."

Accepting everyone's advice, Ragnar postponed the immediate competition and squeezed out two days to adjust the rules. During this period, he had the foot fighters fight one-on-one.

Compared to the tense and exciting equestrian duels, foot combat is relatively less appealing. Generally, taller and stronger competitors have an advantage, making the outcome of the match almost predictable; the audience can usually guess who will win as soon as the two enter the arena.

At the banquet, Vig reflected on the day's competition and felt utterly bored. "I guess I have no chance this year. I hope that after the rules are improved, future martial arts tournaments will be more exciting."

"The future?" Ivar mumbled, tearing open a honey-preserved pigeon.

“I just asked the steward, and the cost of this tournament is expected to exceed eight hundred pounds. The old man’s original intention was to select talent and demonstrate the majesty of the royal family, but it has turned into a farce. I don’t think he will consider such an event for the next few years.”

The next moment, Ivar thought of the football matches popular in the North and suddenly realized.

"You're organizing football matches just to save money?"

Knowing Vig, Ivar understood that the man had been poor since childhood and always paid attention to cost in everything he did.

Knightly jousting was extremely expensive and could easily result in injuries to both the warhorse and the knight.

In contrast, a football match is a perfect alternative, requiring only a flat lawn, a leather ball, and a group of energetic, bored young men. As a grassroots activity, the prize money doesn't need to be much; a few pounds of silver is enough to appease the winning team.

With this in mind, Ivar became interested in introducing football. After all, he was short of money and could not afford to hold a martial arts tournament. Trying something new would be nice.

(End of this chapter)