Heart of the Castle

Chapter 252 Knight Qualification Examination Begins

Grunwalm was awakened by the clanging of steel, and the former stable boy sat up from the bed. The shabby furnishings in front of him made him think for a moment that he was still working in the Sober Tom Hotel in North Orla, but The sword fighting outside was caused by two or more drunk guests.

But soon the young man came to his senses, thinking that he had once disregarded the boss's persuasion, riding alone to catch up with the two heroes who saved North Orla, and then he was allowed to become a follower. "What's going on?" Grunworm muttered to himself. Not far away, there was only a faint light coming in from the blinded window of the cow's bladder. It even looked a little scary in the low light.

But the other three beds were already empty.

It is common for the singer Rist to stay out at night. This charming and handsome bard can always find a bed that is warmer and softer than fern grass. At the time, the singer's answer even made the young man want to pull out the "thorn" and give it to him.

"Servi, Rebecca, Emile...ah, there are so many beauties, how can I make a quick decision?"

There were also two beds, which belonged to the two heroic knights who saved North Orla. One was called Levi Ston. Grunwalm found that he was not even much older than himself, but he was already a man with fighting spirit. The other is Lord Will, whom Grunworm wants to follow. This knight is obviously more majestic and powerful than his young companion, but he seems to obey Li Weiyan.

There was another rapid clanging of swords and swords, and Grunwalm hurriedly dressed and ran out with his belt on.In the courtyard at dawn, he saw two men in thin shirts fighting fiercely.

There has just been a thin snow in the past few days, and the weather is already quite cold, but Li Wei and Wilps didn't care about this. The shirts on their bodies were already soaked in sweat and steaming, The sabers slashed and slashed at each other in the air, as if they were not fighting each other, but were engaged in a life-and-death duel.

The steel blade collided with a series of dazzling sparks, Li Wei pulled back and retreated, and Wilps pursued closely, the blade brushed the young knight's cheek and chest several times, but was always blocked at the last moment .Wilps' offensives continued like pouring rain, but Li Wei's guards were also solid as a rock. The knight's sword drew small circles one by one, skillfully parrying the incoming slashes, thrusts and chops one by one. go out.

The young knight tenaciously withstood Wilps' onslaught with a patience that was hard to see at his age, retreating from time to time, every retreat interrupted the offensive organized by Wilps, although the big knight Chang used his rich experience to immediately make up for these omissions, but after all, there was still a small mistake.

Li Wei seized this opportunity keenly, and immediately kicked off the counterattack with a violent backhand slash.Then it was Wilps' turn to parry Levi's onslaught.However, the performance of the Grand Knight Commander was more stable. He stood motionless with his legs crossed, swung his sword with one hand to parry every attack from Li Wei, and within every three parries, he would definitely be able to fight back.

The sword lights intersected with each other, hacking and hacking exchanged hacking and chopping, and the sound of sharp blades clashing was as urgent as a shower, which made Grunwalm dazzled.

However, even Glenn Worm could see that although this sparring match seemed extremely fierce, neither of them had the slightest bit of vindictiveness blooming on them, which minimized the possibility of accidents.

There was a strange sound of swordsmanship, and Wilpus stepped back suddenly, then waved his hand with a wry smile and said, "Master Li Wei, let's go here, we still have to take part in the knight qualification examination today." Looking at the edge of his saber with heartache, he sighed and said: "And if I continue to fight, my saber may have to be sent to a blacksmith to be remade."

"Sorry, Mr. Will, I didn't notice just now." Li Wei's apology made Wilpus' wry smile more obvious. He looked at the sword with several obvious gaps in his hand, shook his head and said: "My last sword was damaged when I was dealing with that Trien. I don't want to change it in such a short time."

"After returning to the territory, I will get Mr. Will a better sword, the long sword carefully crafted by the master dwarf blacksmith, how about it?" Levi said, his eyes fell on Glenn Worm standing at the door On the body, "If Mr. Will finally admits your identity, I will get you one too."

"That's great!" Grunwalm said happily.

Just as he was talking, Old Bacon, the owner of the inn, appeared outside the courtyard gate with a lantern. "You two knights," he said with a few teeth missing, "breakfast is ready, and according to Will According to the master's order, I prepared a few extra sausages, roasted pork legs, and some black bread for you to take on the road."

The location of the knight qualification examination is not in Dirk City, but in Longlance Town about one kilometer away from Dirk City. This place belongs to the territory of a lord who loves martial arts. Surrounded by solid wooden fences, an arena was formed that could accommodate dozens of knights galloping side by side.This Sir, nicknamed "Fat Sean", obtained the honorary title of knight by virtue of providing a venue for the monthly knight assessment and his continuous donations to the Knights Association, and his title was used The name of the town.

When Li Wei and others, led by Aaron, the guard of the Temple of Storms, arrived outside Longlance Town, it had already become a sea of ​​colorful costumes.Whether it was the poor or the rich, commoners or nobles, they were all very interested in the monthly knight qualification examination, and this time since many big names from Firmeyer came, this interest was inflated even more.Even if the residents of Dirk City are poor and have no money to eat and drink, they still have to try their best to go to the arena in Longlance Town to watch the excitement.Not even illness or work can stop them from going to see the grand occasion.

In order to welcome the big shots from the City of Glory, Lord Sean spent a lot of money to renovate the arena. Solid wooden doors were built on all sides of the arena, which can accommodate two fully armed knights riding horses side by side. admission.A small group of soldiers stood next to each door to maintain order, and a high-ranking knight from the Knights Association took a few entourages to check the identities of those who participated in the qualification examination.

To the north of the arena is a natural highland, on which Lord Sean has set up many colorful half-open tents, with curtains hanging and carpets inside, for the big men and Dirk from the city of glory, Firmeyer. The rich and nobles in the city rest here, and they can also watch the performance of the knights who participated in the assessment from a condescending height.In order to make it easier for those big people to go up and down the high ground, Lord Sean sent someone to build a four-meter-wide ramp with wood and stones, and built solid guardrails on both sides, and there were a few soldiers standing at the exit leading to the high ground. Serve as a vigilante.

In other directions of the arena, there are no good facilities like this high ground, but a temporary stand is still built, and some curtains to block the sun are also hung on it, but it looks relatively thin, not as valuable as the curtains on the high ground.There is no carpet on the stands, but some cushions are prepared for people to use.These stands are prepared for those who have a certain status or wealth, but are not qualified to be compared with the rich and nobles.Some soldiers stood guard next to the stands, on the one hand to maintain order, and on the other hand to collect money from those who climbed into the stands.

Of course, those who don’t want to pay will not be turned away. There is a lot of grass under the stands. Stand or lie on it. As long as there is a place, no one will care.Freedmen, artisans' apprentices, peddlers, rednecks, and all manner of people flocked to claim positions closer to the arena.There were, of course, many quarrels about who had the right to which position, some of which were less violent and settled after a few words;At this time, it is necessary for the soldiers who maintain order to come to persuade them, or make a menacing look to intimidate them.

Li Wei had never seen so many people gather together, so he couldn't help but be a little curious, looking around from the horseback.They were all on horseback, but none of them wore knightly armor, so before approaching the arena, they were stopped by a small patrol of soldiers.

"Wait a minute, guys." The soldiers said to Li Wei and the others, because these people didn't look rich, and there was a short man with a wretched appearance and a singer holding a lute, so the soldiers' tone It also became less polite. "Except for those participating in the assessment, no one is allowed to approach the arena on horseback."

"We are the knights participating in the assessment." Wilps replied, pointing at the double sword badge on his belt at the same time.The soldiers looked at Wilps, who was plainly dressed and looked no different from an ordinary traveler, in disbelief. Then a man with the appearance of a captain took a step forward, lowered his head with a wide-brimmed helmet and said, : "I'm sorry, my lord knight, please come with me for the assessment."

Led by the captain of the soldiers, Li Wei and Wilps came to an empty field surrounded by fences next to the arena. Several tents were set up here. There are also blacksmiths who can repair armor and weapons, craftsmen who shoehorn horses, and other miscellaneous servants in the tent. Once the people who take the assessment need anything, these people can provide immediate help.

The sun had gradually climbed into the sky, and the figures of wealthy and noble families also appeared on the high platform to the north of the arena. These people were all dressed in luxurious clothes, but compared with the female relatives around them, they inevitably paled in comparison.The gowns and jewelry of those female relatives are like colorful clouds, adorning the entire high platform colorfully.

The wealthy nobles brought a large number of guards, attendants, and servants. These people could not even stand on the entire high platform. Some people with lower status had to stand under the high platform, ready to listen to the master's orders at any time.

The horns from the four gates of the arena suddenly blared, suppressing all the noise around them, and then a tall, well-armed knight appeared on the arena riding a tall horse, holding a long handle in his hand. The sledgehammer looked heavy, and under the sunlight, the sledgehammer glowed with a dark blue light.

After riding a horse around the arena for a week, the knight lifted off the visor of his helmet, revealing a pale and old but majestic face. "I am the long hammer of the Knights Association? Nicholas!" The knight shouted loudly, his voice was as loud as a bronze bell, "I will preside over the knight qualification examination today!"

Waves of applause and loud cheers sounded from all around the arena, and the trumpeters standing beside the four gates immediately raised their horns and blew a few majestic and heroic notes.Elder Nicholas stood quietly in the arena, enjoying the cheers, and waited for the voices to subside, before he raised the sledgehammer in his hand again and shouted.

"Quiet, everyone! It's getting late, and the youngsters who want to obtain the qualifications of knights are impatient. Now let us cheer for all the rich and nobles who are here today, and cheers for the nobles from the royal capital of Fermeyer, Hail to our great Northern Sheriff, Lord of Dirk, and Sword Dancer, His Excellency Earl Ricardo von Ansair!"

Every time Elder Nicholas said a word, the soldiers who maintained order raised their arms and shouted, and the atmosphere immediately became heated. The country bumpkins and the citizens of Dirk City who came from all directions shouted loudly, especially when Ansai was mentioned at the end. When I was the city lord of Er, the cry was like a huge wave, fiercely hitting everyone's eardrums.

"Everyone, now I announce that the qualification examination for knights has officially started! The first thing to do is the equestrian assessment. Ordinary knights have to ride unfamiliar horses for a circle, while high-level knights also have to ride unfamiliar horses without saddles. And the wild horse with the reins! Then there is the combat skills assessment, the knight will send examiners of corresponding level to compete with the examiners, and those who can defeat the examiners, or show enough strength in front of the examiners, will be qualified as knights!"

The last words of Elder Nicholas were drowned in the thunderous cheers and shouts, and then the four gates of the arena opened at the same time, and the examiners of the Knights Association rode in in full armor.Most of them are ordinary knights, wearing iron armor and gray cloaks; there are also some high-ranking knights, all wearing exquisite armors of silver or black enamel, and the cloaks behind them are as red as a ball of flames.

Longhammer Elder Nicholas put on his mask and rode his horse to join them. These knights showed their superb riding skills, maneuvering their horses around the arena with graceful steps, and then came out through the four gates.

The horns sounded again, which means that the knight qualification examination has officially started!

(End of this chapter)