Mercenaries and Adventurers

Knight Crow swung the shining long sword held high in the air twice, but the long sword, which was just over one meter long, made a violent sound of cutting through the air. It was obvious that the knight himself was very powerful and fast.

Knight Ika had to re-recognize this famous knight whom he met for the first time.

He can do the same thing, but never so lightly and casually. This situation reminded him of an elder in his family, and a bad feeling came to his mind.

But then he hit his chest with his fist, seemingly respecting Knight Crow's attack, but in fact he was using this method to boost his confidence. After all, this first competition was the one he had chosen to be the best at. One ring.

When he usually wanders around after leaving a level, he will take away all kinds of beasts and monsters he encounters with a heavy blow just like he did just now. Especially powerful monsters can be easily defeated by using the Divine Prayer attack.

However, the person on the other side didn't seem to be the easy person he had found before.

-

Seeing the merchants accompanying the army pouring their gold coins over to praise him, Knight Crow smiled slightly, then pulled up the reins of the war horse, making the horseman stand up, and stepped down hard with his front hooves.

A shock wave invisible to the naked eye flashed under the hooves of the war horse, and its force range was extremely small. It simply stirred up the stones on the ground for ten to twenty centimeters and then fell down. However, the gold coins that the merchants had just popped up and landed were hit even more. The force poured into them, and they were miraculously blown away and then returned to their respective merchants.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I'd better save the money for later use."

After saying that, he kicked the horse's belly covered in steel armor with his heel, and the horse quickly accelerated towards the street.

Boom, boom, boom, boom.

The sound of horse hooves, which was far heavier than that of Knight Ika's horse just now, resounded through the streets. The people at the checkpoint on the street didn't know whether they should cheer for this knight from other places.

After all, although this knight is not young, and the armor on his body is mainly practical and not eye-catching. But after all, the local people are used to seeing people traveling from all walks of life, and they still have basic discernment.

The huge armored war horses and the knights in thick steel armor looked more powerful and powerful than the Ika knights.

This was the first time they had encountered the faint vibration coming from their feet.

It is not difficult to imagine that if a knight like this mounts his horse and charges, even a large local house built with wood and mud bricks will probably fall apart if hit.

Like a round boulder rolling on the street, when Knight Crow quickly ran through the street on horseback, no local residents on both sides dared to shout or say anything.

Pulling the reins to slow down, the knight then stood at the end of the street.

Looking from a distance, another cattle in the open space in front of the checkpoint was pulled over. No matter how the cattle resisted, the more than a dozen checkpoint soldiers still pulled the dishonest cattle. Tie in place with rope.

Moo, moo.

The cattle shook its head and tried to escape. The faint blood-red color on the surrounding ground made it feel very uneasy and panicked.

But as Knight Crow raised the long sword in his hand towards the cattle in the distance, the cattle immediately froze in place.

"What happened? What happened to quiet that cow?"

Portoris curiously asked the Ika knight who was wiping the plasma on his armor beside him.

While he was simply wiping his armor in his hands, Knight Ika squinted his eyes and replied to his elder: "It's the sense of destruction from the will that makes the restless cattle dare not make any more moves. That's not quiet. , but dare not move."

Portoris looked at the cattle carefully and found that indeed, the cattle was motionless. It was not that he found a comfortable position to calm down. If you look closely at its body, you will find that the whole body of the cattle was trembling slightly, but it did not dare to move. move.

The suffocating silence remained for a moment, and then Knight Crow roared, riding an armored horse and rushing towards the checkpoint quickly.

The sound of huge horse hooves running, the heavy breathing of war horses, the suspicious buzzing sound from Knight Crow's sword, and the feeling of oppression accompanying the pavement. The merchants and residents on both sides of the street couldn't help but scream in various ways.

The people in the open space facing the rushing towards them were even more pressured.

The Crow knights in the distance of the street quickly approached with the loud noise caused by the galloping horses. The militiamen sitting on the ground couldn't help but want to escape. The merchants even pushed and shoved backwards to hide in the carriages. The soldiers in the level also screamed and ran around.

Knight Rumi scolded, and then the soldiers who wanted to flee stayed on the ground without causing any embarrassment.

In just one or two breaths, Knight Crow had already rushed over. The moment he was about to rush to the frightened cattle, he swung his long sword at the cattle twice very quickly, and disappeared behind him. There was a faint hum in the galloping sound of horse hooves, and two fleeting arc-shaped sword blades hit the cattle one step ahead of him.

Knight Ika opened his eyes wide, and he could see clearly that at that moment, the entire cattle was cut into multiple pieces from the beginning to the end by the arc-shaped sword blades that crossed left and right.

Then Knight Crow directly mounted his horse and collided with him.

Like a heavy fist hammering a melon, the cattle that was chopped up first was smashed into pieces by the war horses. Although it was not as showy and gorgeous as the Ika knight just now, the pieces of flesh and blood splashed out in a fan shape still left most of the space free. The clearings were covered with the flesh and blood of cattle.

The soldiers sitting in the front part were even covered in splattered flesh and blood.

Well, even the body tissues of larger cattle cannot be found.

At the moment of impact, Knight Crow controlled the horse to slow down and stopped before the horse hit the soldiers sitting on the ground.

"oh!!"

Unlike the situation with Knight Ika just now, Knight Crow was over in an instant. Many people just blinked and the knight's attack passed instantly.

Although Knight Crow covered most of the open space with flesh and blood, his movements were too fast. People could only see the knight rushing forward on horseback, and in an instant he knocked the cattle into flesh and blood all over the ground.

It seems to be very powerful, but it is far less understandable to ordinary people than the attacks of Ika Knight.

Even Kil could barely see Knight Crow attacking with his sword, but most people just felt that the knight rode his horse and knocked the cattle away.

Knight Crow raised his brows and listened to the whispers of the people around him, and snorted unconvinced.

He slapped the top of the war horse's head with his palm, and then he and the war horse dodged. The stained flesh and blood on the armors of himself and the war horse were directly knocked out, and they were all clean at once.

Knight Ika stopped wiping the armor with the cloth in his hand, was stunned, and then continued wiping it.

But the movement was obviously much faster.

-

After a simple wipe, he ignored the people cleaning the ground and walked out on horseback. He asked loudly to the people around him: "Everyone, tell us who is better in the competition just now."

Knight Crow also rode to the center of the open space and rode together with Knight Ika.

After a moment of pause, the names of Knight Ika and Knight Crow were shouted out from the mouths of the people around them. At first, the number of people shouting their names was almost the same, but then soon Knight Ika’s name was even better, repeatedly shouting out the names of the people around them. appeared in the sound.

"Ika Knight!"

"Ika Knight!"

"Ika Knight!"

"Ika Knight!"

Listening to people around him who he didn't know shouting his name, the young Knight Ika could no longer hold back his excitement. He glanced proudly at Knight Crow next to him, and then waved to the people around him.

"Hmph, young man, there are still two competitions left."

After saying a few words, Knight Crow drove his horse back to Baron Kendall.

"I'm sorry, sir, I couldn't beat that boy in the first game."

After Knight Crow came over, he first apologized to the Baron.

The Baron waved his hand indifferently: "It's okay, this is all as expected. After all, this is the territory of the Ika Knight. No matter how well you perform this time, he still has greater power and authority in the hearts of the local people. Trust. It’s good to have someone support you as soon as you open your mouth.”

"Don't worry, I will beat him in the next two games. In fact, your performance just now was already very good. Well, you just moved too fast. I almost didn't see your action clearly. Let alone ordinary people."

Shaking his head, the Baron even felt that Knight Crowe had lost just now because he acted too seriously. If this competition was changed from a simple display of force to a show of force, he might not lose.

After hearing this, Knight Crow rested his chin on his hand and began to think: "Are you taking it too seriously? I understand, you have to fight well."

Knight Rumi laughed loudly: "Yes, Crow, your actions just now were too fast. If you attack from a distance, the people will naturally see who is more powerful."

After speaking, Knight Crow turned to look at Kil. "Well, Kil, how many times did you see me attacking on the horse just now?"

"?"

Kil didn't expect that there would be a test at this time, and immediately turned his mind to remember the memory just now.

He vaguely saw Knight Crow swinging his sword, but the movement was so fast that he couldn't see clearly. But you can’t say you didn’t see it clearly, right? So Kiel turned his memories to the slain cattle.

He patted his forehead and thought about the state of the cattle just before it was crushed by a war horse.

"Uh, it seems like two or three blows." He remembered that the farm cow seemed to be chopped into several pieces through the air. The degree of fragmentation was obviously not achieved by one blow. If it was hit more than four times, it seemed that it would be too broken. Obviously not.

The end result is two or three hits.

Listening to Kil's answer, Knight Crow nodded reluctantly: "Just barely, you guessed it right."

Knight Rumi gave Kil support: "This is not bad. Even if it is a guess, it shows that his reaction is faster than that of ordinary people."

Then they discussed the next two competitions.

Baron Kendall decided to put their designated competition last, and let the other party propose the second competition first.

-

"The second competition will test the knight's ability to control the horse."

Mr. Portoris shouted loudly to everyone. He stretched out a hand, and then pointed heavily at the Angry River where Angry Nanguan was leaning.

"The competition is about a knight jumping across the Angry River on horseback!!! This is a competition that is truly beyond ordinary people's strength. Whether you can pass it or not, you will know the outcome at a glance."

The people started making noises. No one expected that there would be such a competition.

Although the Angu River is not a big river, it is still a dangerous situation that can block communication between the two places. A huge stone bridge must be built to communicate between the two neighboring provinces in the north and south.

The competition turned out to be to cross the Angry River on horseback. Obviously this did not mean that the knight should pass through the stone bridge, but that the knight should jump on horseback across a river bank dozens of meters wide. It was simply impossible!

The people were talking a lot, and the Baron was here too.

"They must have a trap. This is no longer something ordinary knights can do."

The Baron frowned and gently twirled the slender beard beside his lips.

Knight Rumi stretched out his hand to indicate the width of the river banks at both ends: "It's about sixty-five meters. The banks of the Angry River are basically this wide, at least in this area. It's the closest place nearby, and other places It’s just getting wider.”

Both of them looked at Knight Crow, obviously neither of them thought they could do it to this extent.

Knight Crow crossed his arms and said, "If I don't ride a horse, I can almost sprint over with one leap."

"Um?"

Knight Rumi was dumbfounded, obviously he couldn't do it.

"But if you add a war horse, it won't work. Although it is a brave boy, it can fight on the battlefield, but jumping is not its specialty. If I use ordinary methods, I guess it can only fall in with me. Swimming in the river.”

The baron tapped his forehead with his finger: "If you can't do it, how did that young knight do it with confidence?"

While he was talking, the baron's attendants invited several priests from various families who were meditating in the carriage.

"Sir, please find us."

An old priest in front of him greeted the baron on behalf of the others.

Baron Kendall was overjoyed and immediately told the whole story about what had just happened, asking the priests to judge which god the Ika knight just prayed to and what move he used.

Several priests immediately sat cross-legged on the ground after hearing the words of God's name that the Ika knight had just shouted when he fired the bull, recited by the baron himself.

Since they don't know it themselves, they can only ask the gods behind them if they know.

Of course the gods know, but the trouble is whether the priests can contact the gods at this time, that is another matter.

But unexpectedly, a priest from the Church of the Sun God only sat down for a moment before he stood up and walked towards the baron.

The priest whispered something to the baron, and the baron was surprised: "It turned out to be the name of the God of the Sky, and he prayed for strength to the God of Wind, a subordinate of the God of the Sky?"

The two knights looked at each other and it became clear. Not to mention the first competition, the second competition was about to begin. The other side would obviously use this method to cross the dozens of meters wide of the Angry River with both men and horses. .

"Now that I know what that kid is doing, I already have a way to win the third game. But what about the competition later?"

The baron said to the two knights.

Knight Crow frowned: "I just said that ordinary means will not work on my side, but I am still sure that I can get through extraordinary means. I just don't know if it complies with the competition regulations."

He continued: "But since the other boy can't really rely on strength to jump across the river, then although my method is inappropriate, it is okay."

After he finished speaking, he smiled and added: "And it will definitely look better than that kid's method."

The baron punched his palm: "That's fine. After all, this competition is not a knight's competition. The rules are very rough. As long as it is not obviously wrong and the people agree, it will be fine."

"Besides, if it really doesn't work, we can still mess around. If the competition gets muddled, I won't give them a chance to collect taxes. The worst I can do is get the matter involved with the local earl, and we'll all have gone south by then. "

In this way, they finished their discussion and followed the movement of the crowd towards the river bank next to the checkpoint.

The soldiers were asked to stay where they were. There was nothing they could do about it. It was impossible for them to move around at will, so they had to stay where they were.

-

On the river bank next to the checkpoint, two rows of flagpoles leading out of the walkway were urgently erected on the steep river bank. These flags that were originally fluttering in the wind on the level were urgently moved here.

The other side of the river also notified the other side and set up a flag to anger Beiguan.

Obviously, everyone understood that this was for the knights to speed up and run from here, and then jump to the designated place on the other side.

"Everyone, not only do you have to go over, the competition also requires the knight to come back from the opposite side!"

Mr. Portoris announced loudly, and the people even talked about it.

A large number of onlookers did not think that anyone could ride a horse across such a wide river bank.

And more than that, the bank of the Angry River is not a gentle slope, but a steep rock wall that goes straight up and down. If you can't jump to the other side accurately, if you fall in the middle, unless you fall into the river, just falling will kill the horse. .

There is a height distance of more than ten meters above and below the river bank. If an ordinary person falls, he will die directly on the river beach below.

Knight Ika looked confidently at Kendall and his group.

"How about it? You can still retain your dignity by admitting defeat now. If you lose, it will be ugly."

He was so proud, but he didn't know that his methods had been seen through by the Kendall people.

The baron smiled and did not answer, but stretched out his hand to signal you to come first.

Seeing Baron Kendall's appearance, the businessmen accompanying the army regained their confidence even though they had just lost a large sum of money.

Knight Ika looked at the expressionless Knight Crow, sneered, and then walked towards a tent that had just been erected next to him. Everyone is curious, what is he going to do now? You have to go to the tent that blocks your view.

Kil thought for a while and guessed: "Is it possible that he needs to change his armor?"

"What do you mean?" The baron turned to look at Keir.

Keir expressed his thoughts: "Since the other party is praying to the God of Wind for strength to fly over, but he doesn't look like a devout believer, and there are no traces of a church on his body or in the level. It means that he is either a kind of person like this." Blessed by divine magic, or the ability passed down from family."

Kil patted his long sword.

Both the baron and the knight knew that Kil's long sword was blessed by the divine magic of the Church of the Sun God. Although it was just a strong flash of ordinary church magic, it was obvious that Kil's combat strength had improved a lot as a result.

"No matter which one he is, he is not a priest who specifically believes in that god, nor is he a powerful divine knight in the story. Naturally, it would be better if he could replace the heavy armor on his body."

Knight Crow nodded, agreeing with Keir's inference.

Although it would be natural to know the other party's plan later, but Kil's ability to guess it in advance at least shows that this young man is not a reckless guy.

-

Keir was right.

Even what Kil said was quite light. Not only did the Ika knight who walked out of the tent change his steel armor and put on a gorgeous and bright knight's uniform. And even his war horse is a surprise.

A pair of artificial flying wings with wooden frames and leather wings were added to both sides of the saddle.

The people shouted loudly. Some businessmen seemed to have figured out the clue, and the women present were fascinated by the flying-winged war horses and the Ika knights in light and gorgeous clothes.

They shouted the name of Knight Ika loudly, begging the young knight who had not yet married and started a family to look at them one more time.

On Kendall's side, the baron and the two knights looked at each other, and then chuckled.

Knight Crow pointed at the artificial flying wings on the war horse and talked about a secret fighting method of the Imperial Border Knights.

But as soon as he said a few words, he immediately realized that he shouldn't say this, so he stopped.