Mercenaries and Adventurers

Just as Knight Crowe jumped towards the Wrath River accompanied by many onlookers exclaiming.

At the bottom of the rushing river of Angry River, a small piece of ground at the bottom of the originally quiet river that was not affected by the current suddenly shook. As a force originating from Crow Knight was projected along the ground onto the sandy soil at the bottom of the river, a small portion of the controlled river bottom suddenly surged upwards.

When Knight Crow and his horse began to fall in the middle of this seemingly failed jump, a large spray of water suddenly burst out on the Angry River, and from the spray, a tall ball made of river bottom mud quickly rose straight upward. Columns of loose soil composed of sand, pebbles, and rock.

This 'pillar' rose quickly, accompanied by a roaring sound and trembling feeling. It instantly rose from the river surface that was originally more than ten meters lower than the river bank, and then stretched directly upward from the river surface in less than half a second. It stopped after reaching a height of twenty meters.

This height is even a little higher than the river bank where Kiel and the others are standing at this time.

The columnar body was splashed with river water, fish, clams and other objects rising from the river, and the pebble plane at the top extended just under the hooves of Knight Crow's horse that was about to fall.

"impossible!"

The loudest one at the scene was naturally the Ika Knight who had just performed in front of the public. While he was shouting, he tightly grasped the reins in his hands and even broke the reins without noticing.

Of course, the people on both sides of the river did not expect that this knight, seemingly reckless and stupid, wearing heavy armor and riding a horse towards the river, would actually have earth pillars protruding from the river, giving him an unexpected surprise. support point.

Knight Rumi murmured something incredible, how he could do it, and so on. He watched Knight Crow fall on the earth pillar that was just supporting him, and then immediately used the momentum to jump forward on the spot, still following Just like before, he jumped towards the other side of the river.

-

The people on the north bank of the Angry River were even more excited. They watched as every time the knight leaped, earth pillars would rise from the river, supporting him to jump towards the north bank of the river.

However, after being used once, the mud pillars that were used by Knight Crow seemed to have lost their strength. They collapsed directly and piled up in the center of the river. They were then washed away by the fast-flowing Angry River.

The more Knight Crow's horse jumped, the shorter the distance of each jump. Therefore, the corresponding earth pillars supporting the ground under the horse's hooves appeared more frequently. When it was approaching the north bank, one after another continued to emerge from the river. Rise up until the Knight of Crow is finally sent to the north bank of the River Wrath.

At this moment, the north and south sides separated by the river were filled with cheers and shouts from the people. People were excited that they had just witnessed such a magical scene. Many people were incoherent and did not know what to say, so they had to shout Shouting can express their excitement at this time.

The businessmen from Kendall cheered together excitedly, and were ready to cheer together according to the timing of each jump of Knight Crow when he returned from the north shore.

That was a knight from their county. Did you see that he was no worse than the young men from the western provinces? He was even stronger and more magical.

After all, there are many things flying in the sky, not to mention various birds of prey that are larger than humans and often fly over distant mountains, which can be seen with the naked eye when the weather is good. It is the merchants of Kendall, as long as they have some time, most of them go through the entire Kendall County and go to the Imperial Frontier Knights station in the north of the county, watching the huge lions rising and falling on the stone tower where the tall griffins live. Vulture.

That kind of gryphon is much bigger than a carriage, and is much twice as big as the artificial wooden flying wings of the Ika knight and his horse.

On the north bank, when Knight Crow came to the river bank accompanied by the vibration of the ground and the deafening roar caused by the friction of the earth and rocks, some onlookers even knelt down in excitement towards Knight Crow, who was glowing with an earthy yellow color. .

Knight Crow gasped and scratched his head, wondering if he had gone too far.

But facing the excited people who waved their arms towards him and wanted to come over, he still waved in a friendly manner, and faintly activated his new power, causing the ground to vibrate to prevent the people from getting too close.

It would be bad if he got too close and was accidentally knocked down by his horse.

Feeling the ground shaking slightly, people subconsciously sat down on the ground to keep their balance. Naturally, no one could get close to Knight Crow.

The knight waved his hands and shouted to the people not to rush to the open space marked by flags on both sides.

He didn't stop and rushed forward a short distance to give his horse time to breathe and recover. His horse had to hold its breath to perform the continuous leaps just now.

Although it was different from feeling tired when he concentrated on controlling his ability, it was not easy for his horse either.

When he reached the end of the sprint distance marked by the flag, he slowed down and turned his horse's head. Then looking at the people cheering and shouting at him, Knight Crow became very excited. The many days of marching also made him feel bored. He had not been so lively in a long time. Maybe he could make it livelier.

With his mind turning, the knight mobilized more powerful power this time, not only his own power, but also a little power of pure element crystals hanging in the small leather bag on his chest. It was not absorbed and transformed by his own body, but by His changing life energy mixed with the escaping power of elemental crystals poured into the earth under his feet.

While causing the ground to shake even more, he shouted: "Everyone, watch out!"

After saying that, regardless of the surprise and shock of the people around him, he ran towards the south bank of the river.

With the vibration of the ground and the loud noise caused by the violent contact of the horse's hooves with the ground, all the people on the north shore stared closely at this strange knight who was wearing heavy steel armor.

The sturdy war horse galloped at high speed, its hooves flying, and the vibrations on the ground had no effect on it at all. It even knew that it was the ability of its master, but it was panting heavily and getting too excited.

Facing the river bank that was getting closer and closer, Knight Crow shouted loudly: "Be brave! My friend, be brave! Don't jump up, sprint! Rush forward towards the river bank!"

After receiving the master's order and trust, Knight Crow's horse no longer gathered strength to prepare for the jump like before, but accelerated and ran again, running straight towards the hanging place on the Angry River Bank.

People on both sides of the river were staring closely at Knight Crow. Seeing that he was still not ready to jump after approaching the river bank at this moment, but continued to rush forward, they all involuntarily exclaimed from their mouths.

But then something unimaginable happened.

Just on the river bank in front of Knight Crow, where they were originally suspended, large rocks and pebbles washed by the current at the bottom of the river bank suddenly flew into the air as if they had been pushed by someone, and they flew up as if they had lost gravity.

These extraordinarily heavy guys flew from the river bank and the river bottom to the same height as the river bank in less than a second. And in the loud collision with each other, they stuck together tightly. In the boom, boom, boom, the large rocks were broken and crushed into smaller scattered stones, and then they were spliced ​​together with other surrounding earth and rocks. .

In an instant, a narrow earth-and-stone bridge was formed in an instant, extending forward as Knight Crow's horses galloped forward.

The horses' hoofs galloped over the narrow earth-stone bridge that had just been formed, making a crisp sound. Obviously, the earth-stone bridge formed in this moment was much stronger than it seemed.

When the knight used his ability to build an earth and stone bridge from the river bank and rushed over the river for more than ten meters, something similar to the earth and stone pillar rose straight up in the river. These things protrude from the river and are firmly connected to the earth and stone bridge extending from the feet of the knight's horse.

Then the earth-stone bridge on the river bank collapsed directly after moving away from Knight Crow.

But the collapsed earth and stone materials did not fall to the river bank and the river at the bottom. Instead, they floated in the air and rubbed against each other at a faster speed along the earth and stone bridge to the feet of Knight Crow's horse.

As new materials help the knight continue to move forward in the sky.

-

"This is wrong! Is it cheating? Is it a foul?" The Ika knight on the south bank of the angry river muttered to himself in disbelief, but no one answered his question at this time.

Because even the elder who was related to him by blood, Mr. Portoris, was staring at the strange scene of stepping into the bridge as if by the help of a god.

Baron Kendall was also waving his arms wildly at this time, shouting and cheering for Knight Crow, completely forgetting the etiquette of the territorial nobles.

As the earth-and-stone bridge built in the sky came towards Knight Crow with such mighty speed, the people here in Angry Nanguan could feel the ground beneath their feet begin to tremble.

But this time they no longer thought that this was Mother Earth being angry. On the contrary, this was proof that this knight was particularly favored and loved by Mother Earth.

Those who can control the earth must be loved by the earth.

When Knight Crow approached the south bank of the river, a large number of gravels flew up from the steep river bank here, and they couldn't wait to connect with the earth-stone bridge extending under the feet of Knight Crow's horse.

When the two are connected together, it means that nothing can stop Knight Crow from returning on horseback.

Compared with the vigorous jump just now, although Knight Crowe who came back on horseback looked ordinary, he actually won the cheers and love of all the people present.

The horse's hooves stepped on the soft grass again, and everyone cheered to greet Knight Crow. Not only did the people on the south bank get angry, but even the people on the north bank, who had been staring at the knight's back, also cheered.

The sound of the collapse of the earth-stone bridge without the support of Knight Crow could not drown out the cheers of the people. No matter how the angry and angry river slapped the river bank with its current, it could not drown out the cheers of the people.

Knight Crow raised his hands to signal to the people surrounding him. At the same time, he lowered his palms to caress the ears exposed on the horse's visor, thanking this animal companion for its bravery and trust.

The knight raised his chin slightly, raised his head slightly towards the Ika knight who was standing on the horse, and asked: "How is it? Who wins and who loses in this competition?"

Hearing Knight Crow's question, before Knight Ika could say anything, the surrounding people cheered together: "Of course it's you! The knight loved by Mother Earth! The knight of us humans! Oh oh oh oh!! !!”

Knight Crow burst out laughing. Although he didn't know why people associated his ability with Mother Earth, he liked this title and even more so the atmosphere of cheers from these enthusiastic people.

He bent down, stretched out his palms downward, and touched the palms of the people who wanted to touch his palms.

He also took a child that a woman was holding up to him and placed the child on the neck of his horse.

This was so serious that all the children had to ride on a big horse with the knight, stretching out their hands and shouting to Knight Crow. The knight had to keep changing the children on the horse's neck one by one, so that the children who were angry at Nanguan had a good time.

The married and unmarried women looked at the children angrily because they also wanted to ride on a war horse with such a powerful and brave middle-aged knight, even if it was only for a short moment.

As for the Ika Knight they were cheering for just now, only a few girls who didn't like their uncle's behavior were still surrounding the Ika Knight.

They looked at the young knight expectantly and hoped to ride on the same horse as the knight.

It would be best if the knight could take them flying in the sky alone.

However, Knight Ika frowned and let out a breath, having to admit that he lost this round of competition. But it doesn't matter. There will be a third competition later. Now let's see what competition items the other party will propose in the third competition.

He had a bad feeling that these Kendal people from the north might not be bad at it. After a while, it is estimated that the items in the competition will be ones that the other party is extremely good at, just like the items he proposed are all areas where he thinks he can definitely win and has an advantage.

-

After the crowd dispersed a little, Baron Kendall and the two knights gathered together with Knight Ika and the others again to decide on the third key knightly competition event.

"What it is, tell me."

Knight Ika said angrily, obviously still feeling unhappy that his popularity was suppressed by Knight Crow just now. Knight Crow didn't care, and looked at Knight Ika with his arms folded, waiting for the other's expression after the baron said the third test item.

The baron took a cup of refreshing honey flower tea from the attendant next to him. After sipping it, he pointed with the cup at the hundreds of militiamen who were still resting in the open space in front of the checkpoint.

"The third test is that."

As soon as he finished speaking, Knight Rumi came forward with a simple crossbow carried by the militia. In front of the angry people in Nanguan, he filled a crossbow arrow into the groove where the crossbow arrow was placed, and then raised the crossbow casually. Shoot towards a stone not far away.

Whoosh - ding.

The metal arrowhead of the crossbow made a collision sound and sparks with the surface of the stone, and then the entire crossbow got stuck on it.

Knight Ika frowned and looked at the crossbow in Knight Rumi's hand: "Try this? Isn't it too simple and child's play? I stopped playing with this thing when I was eight years old."

The Baron smiled slightly, and at the same time, Knight Crowe and Knight Rumi also laughed.

"Of course it won't be like this. After all, with the skills of the knights, nothing can compare to this. But."

The Baron paused for a moment, then sipped the honey flower tea in his hand, and then made an imaginary circle with his other hand: "But what if instead of shooting an arrow, we were hit by an arrow?"

"Being shot?"

Knight Ika frowned, suddenly noticing what he was wearing at this time and what Knight Crow was wearing.

The Baron nodded: "Not only that, he was shot by a whole team of soldiers with crossbows at once. This round of competition is about the knight's courage and defense!"

He continued: "My army is a team of ten people. Starting from one team, you two stand together at the same time and receive arrows at the same time. Then each wave will be stronger than the last wave. Each time I will add a team of people until All my soldiers shoot at the same time. Whoever can't stand it, whoever is afraid, and flees from the attack first, loses. How about that?"

After hearing this, Knight Ika not only frowned, but his entire face was slightly distorted.

"Are you crazy? You actually came up with this kind of competition! And it's not fair." He pointed at Knight Crow who was looking at his expression: "The knight's armor on his body is so thick, he obviously has the upper hand in this competition. Advantage!"

But Baron Kendall just put down his tea cup and clapped lightly: "That's right, but how can the first two competitions be fair? This is not a knight's competition, there are fair and just competitions. A simple but interesting quick competition, This will naturally be the result. Didn’t we raise no objections to the first two items?”

After saying that, the baron sat on the chair brought by the attendant, drinking tea quietly, waiting for Knight Ika's statement.

With a serious look on his face, Mr. Portoris approached Knight Ika and whispered, "Is this dangerous? This competition."

Knight Ika pursed his lips and exhaled: "It's not bad. But the opponent has many advantages."

But Mr. Portoris rolled his eyes: "Calm down, the crossbow is a flying weapon, is it possible?"

The words were not spoken clearly, but Knight Ika's eyes lit up and he reacted.

He raised his brows, raised his head again, and said to Baron Kendall: "My lord, we have no objections here. I agree. Please prepare your men. However, this competition should be like the previous two competitions. Likewise, the knight's skills should be part of the content."

"Of course, you flying across the Angry River, or Crow building a bridge are part of your own ability. This is the excitement of the knight competition, you have to taste it." The baron shook his head and finished, letting the waiting people Knight Rumi on the side went down to prepare.

On the checkpoint side, the Ika Knight also arranged for Mr. Portoris to follow and prepare.

-

The third test event spread quickly, immediately attracting the curiosity of the people who were looking forward to it.

This time, not only the people from Angry Nanguan and the passing businessmen came to watch, but the people from Angry Beiguan and the temporary businessmen on the other side of the bridge also rushed over and gathered on the open grass outside the checkpoint, waiting for a rare opportunity. See the climax of the knight's competition.

Even the Knight Pota, the garrison knight in Beiguan, rushed over on his giant foot.

This guy was throwing the luminous gem that Baron Kendall gave him with his hand in a very arrogant manner.

The baron quickly asked the attendant to open the sunshade umbrella to block the eyes of the rogue knight who held him.