Faerûn: Lord of the Eternal Sun

The Shieldmeet is a special festival held every four years, and it is also the most ceremonial public covenant and competition day in the entire continent.

By divine decree, Shahram held a gladiatorial contest in the arena, with the rule that young warriors under the age of 30 could participate.

The winners receive honor and rewards, while the losers suffer bloodshed or death.

Isaac won a runner-up prize of 50 gold coins in the previous tournament, which also served as the start-up capital for opening a blacksmith shop.

The festival day arrived quickly, and the arena, which could hold tens of thousands of spectators, was packed with people dressed in revealing clothing, bursting into cheers.

Meanwhile, many nobles from the upper city also came here to watch the rare and exciting battle.

The lower stands were spacious and served as the stands for the nobles, while commoners watched from stands at different heights according to their social class.

The top stands, reaching a height of twenty or thirty meters, are reserved for the descendants of the Earth Craftsmen. Only civilians with excellent eyesight can clearly see the details of the battle from a distance of several dozen meters.

As for the Shadowborn, they are not qualified to enter the arena at all.

The greatest favor they received was a day off granted by the senators, sparing them from the scorching sun and the arduous labor of panning for gold in the desert.

In the preparation chamber, Isaac knelt on one knee facing the sun and prayed. He felt very calm and had no tension about the upcoming battle.

"By the sun god Amannatha, your faithful follower Isaac Simonster prays for your protection and help me to become the 'Son of the Sun' and be illuminated by your supreme glory."

He kissed the gold pendant on his chest, which was the emblem of Amannatha, featuring a sun disc with legal text.

The emblem is the size of three sun coins combined and weighs approximately 30 grams.

In the simple and rugged stone chamber, many young soldiers were also performing prayers.

Isaac rose and put away the holy emblem, his gaze resolute, his years of adventure and military service giving him extensive combat experience.

The duel had begun, and Isaac stood by the stone window looking out over the arena.

Because there were quite a few hundred people who signed up, the spacious arena was divided into eight smaller arenas, each of which was several hundred square meters.

The competition takes place simultaneously in 8 venues, and new contestants enter the arena once a winner is determined.

……

"Isaac, Field 1."

The guards standing at the door gave the announcement.

Isaac stood up, picked up the water bag at his waist before going on stage, untied the wooden plug, and took a swig of camel milk wine.

The fiery liquor burned my entire chest.

Before the competition, Isaac shaved his black hair into a buzz cut and trimmed his beard with a dagger. His radiant appearance made him unrecognizable to any of the blacksmith's neighbors.

Is this still the same middle-aged blacksmith who loves to boast and joke around? He looks much younger, like a handsome young warrior.

After putting down the water bag, Isaac took off his shirt, picked up the round shield, drew his sharp heavy scimitar, and walked out of the stone chamber.

This heavy scimitar is my old companion. It is 86 centimeters long and weighs about 13 pounds. The back of the blade is thick and the center of gravity is slightly forward, which increases the power when chopping. It once chopped off the head of a large sand lizard with one stroke.

As for the shield, it was an ordinary round iron shield, of fairly good quality, which he had made himself.

Upon reaching court number 1, cheers erupted from the stands, as many spectators remembered the runner-up from four years ago.

On the lower stands, which were only four meters high, noble ladies dressed in exquisite silk and adorned with gold jewelry pointed and whispered about him.

Especially the ladies, who secretly swallowed their saliva as they looked at Isaac's muscular physique, quickly picked up the drinks on the table to cover it up.

Isaac's opponent was a young soldier, whose slightly immature appearance made him look only about twenty years old. He reminded Isaac of the recruits he used to train in the army.

"Young warrior, surrendering to me is not an act of cowardice; the sun will forgive your actions."

"If you remain obstinate, death will be merciful to you; I will show no mercy."

Before the fight officially began, Isaac sized up his opponent, spewing trash talk and trying to provoke him with words. This was also a kind of fighting art, which he had learned over many years.

The young opponent remained calm, seemingly unaffected.

He appeared to be less than 1.8 meters tall, with well-defined muscles, and was significantly smaller than Isaac in comparison. He was carrying a shield and a short sword.

"Old man, did you secretly bribe the clerk to successfully register? I don't know how many big guys like you I've killed."

When his opponent retaliated with words, Isaac was not angry; instead, he looked at him with admiration.

He's very talented! It seems we can spare his life.

The arbitrator, dressed in a plain robe, struck a gong to signal the start of the contest.

The two sides began to close in, maintaining a fighting distance of about 3 meters.

Isaac adopted an offensive stance, raising his shield and closing in on his opponent.

Once in battle, Isaac's eyes sharpened as he stared intently at his opponent, his killing intent affecting the latter.

A powerful, sweeping strike!

The sudden and fierce attack caught the opponent off guard. Although the opponent managed to block with a shield, the opponent was sent flying two or three meters by the enormous force of the slash.

A huge gap appeared in the middle of the shield, which was destroyed by Isaac's attack.

As if struck by a giant desert lizard, the young warrior felt dizzy and disoriented, his shield-wielding arm aching and numb.

He hurriedly got up, but before he could react, Isaac kicked him away.

The kick struck the young soldier in the abdomen, sending him flying four or five meters away. His internal organs suffered severe impact damage, and he coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

"I give up!!"

The young warrior clutched his stomach, threw down his weapon and shield, and surrendered, which finally made Isaac give up on the next attack.

If I hadn't held back, I could have killed him with a single blow when he got up. It's fair that he knew what was good for him.

"You're quite capable, but unfortunately you've run into me."

Isaac smiled proudly and turned to walk towards the preparation chamber.

A soft round of applause rang out from the stands. The difference in strength between the two fighters was too great, and the fight ended in just a few moves, so there was really nothing to see.

Isaac returned to the stone chamber and sat down to rest. Less than 20 minutes later, it was his turn to play again.

This time, the opponent looked more mature, but his strength was still inferior to that of the young warrior from before, and he was quickly defeated.

This made Isaac feel quite bored, but most of his opponents in the first two or three days were like that.

Only in the last two days, after continuous elimination, will the strength of the opponents increase significantly, and even many strong opponents will emerge.

However, with the help of these young warriors, Isaac can hone his combat skills again. After all, during his years as a blacksmith, Isaac's combat frequency has decreased significantly compared to his adventures.