Chapter 6: The Duel
What Hess said was decided by Sardinia was the traditional etiquette of the Great Prus. Each of the two sides in dispute sends a knight (usually the person of the two sides of the dispute), and then engages in a "glorious duel", in which both sides beat each other with the same weapon, regardless of life or death. Because duels between two people are often more accidental in nature, it is called "decided by Sardinia".
In fact, Hess Zhenghao's words are still somewhat biased towards Notin, because Notin is only a minor crown prince, and usually in this case, he can designate a spokesperson to help him. Prus, on the other hand, was in the prime of his life, and it would be very dishonorable for him to call another knight to take his place.
Hearing this, the eyes of both sides lit up, Nordin knew that if he couldn't show any de facto deterrence to Pruss today, then his establishment of an empire would inevitably be useless, and whether he could hold Pruss or not was also discussed between him and the Greyfriar. As for Pruth, in the face of today's situation, he has long wanted to do it, but he has never had a reason to do it, and now it's good, a duel proposed by Hess Zhenghao is enough for anyone to find fault.
After seeing the war in the eyes of both sides, Hess Zhenghao and Tian Sen glanced at each other, Tian Sen's eyes seemed to be asking him, what are you doing, while Hess Zhenghao looked very innocent, looking like I was just playing soy sauce and didn't accept you to bite me.
Pruss clenched the sword in his hand, although he was still weak in terms of his leadership ability on the battlefield, but if he only relied on his ability to fight alone, there were really not many people who were confident that Prous could beat him.
Pruss looked at the guards of the palace of Abbasquia with a look of disdain in his eyes. Although the shadow of the royal court guard can still be seen on them, there are obviously not many people who are really good at martial arts. After all, most of the bloody people had already gone to the southern continent on the other side of the sea with Felipe, and the people who flowed in the royal court were either old people or hairy boys who had not fought a few battles.
Thinking of this, Prus turned his head to the queue of veterans, this is the enemy in his eyes, he has found a former member of the forbidden sergeant corps who is still able-bodied (because they have just been canonized knights, and the members of the sergeant corps and the knighthood are not allowed to have private fiefs at the moment), this former sergeant is also staring at him with fiery eyes, as long as Nordin gives the order, this veteran will probably not hesitate to pull out his weapon to fight the victory.
At this moment, a tall man suddenly stepped forward, blocking the view between the two, only to see the man turn to the sergeant just now and shout: "Watch your manners, Jose!
Looking at the man's strong and piercing gaze, José lowered his head. This was one of the men he admired most in his life, second only to the Emperor to whom he was loyal, and without this man, perhaps he would still be wandering the streets of some small castle in the North Sea, or farming day after day in a small village, and he would have saved his life on the battlefield many times. Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with the fact that he could not go to war, he decided to follow the teachings.
However, what the knight of José didn't know was that a serpent and scorpion-like gaze standing in the crowd slowly moved away from him from the moment he lowered his head.
Seeing the man on display, Pruss couldn't help frowning, in fact, this man was no more difficult to deal with than José in his eyes, but it made him vaguely feel a little uneasy, among the living people, I am afraid that this is the man he is the least willing to face.
"Notting, are you sure you're going to let this half-buried old man deal with me?" asked Prus, looking at Gaisat, who had only one arm left, and asked with an unkind look. "Although you used to be called the first warrior of Great Prus, but you are old, and you lost an arm over there, you are not my opponent, let's change to a young man!" After that, Pruss even pointed the knight's sword in his hand and put his hand on the ground, expressing his unwillingness to be his enemy.
Gesat bowed slightly to Nordin, gently stroked his chest with his remaining arm, and said, "Your Majesty, allow me to call you so abruptly before you ascend the throne, but in my eyes, since your speech on the high platform, you have proved that your future is not weaker than that of the previous emperor. I have served the emperor for more than 20 years, and my sword can be said to have fought to defend the honor of the royal family all my life. I have sworn in my heart that whoever challenges your authority will fight with my sword. ”
Nordin's mood is very contradictory at this time, although Prus's duel with himself is a part of his very much expectation, but how to win Pruss is indeed a problem, from the eyes of those royal guards just now, Nordin has found that Pruss is not good at his generation, compared to his ridiculous political wisdom, he is likely to be a very powerful knight, which is what he and the Grey Friar lack in their considerations, Nordin has lived in the royal court since he was a child, and he does not know much about the prestige of the knights outside, and the Grey Priest's impression of Pruss is just a young man with a relatively strong body, he was not known for being good at swordsmanship at that time。
Of course, Nordin has feelings for the old knight who has defended his father for many years, and is naturally unwilling to entrust such a dangerous task to someone so close to him, but he is indeed the most suitable candidate to represent the royal family - he has served the royal family for many years, and has a high honor and prestige, he is indeed the only one who can be called equal to Prus, and the other guards are either too old or too low-status. As for the value of force, his uncle has been fighting for many years, and his combat has always been known for his calmness and fierceness, and he has been fighting all year round and on the front line, if he is not enough to be the opponent of Pruus, it can only mean that Sardin really does not favor him.
Seeing the worry in Notting's eyes, Gaisat stepped forward and said, "I just know that I have been a sword player all my life, and this may be my last chance to use a sword." ”
Nordin read the resoluteness in Gaisate's eyes and nodded slightly.
The two sides of the duel were King Prus of the Rhine Kingdom and the old knight Gaisat, who represented the Great Purus Empire.
If the duel is won by King Prussia, then Nordin will promise never to be emperor.
And if Gaisat wins, King Pruss must swear never to be an enemy of Notin.
The chiefs who stood by watched the battle with interest, knowing that it would determine the political situation of Grand Pruss for decades to come.
And Tian Sen and Hess Zhenghao also watched this battle, and in their eyes, this is likely to be a battle that divides the direction of the new era and the old era. From the perspective of their own interests, it would be better for them to win the Pruss, after all, they had also learned the ways of the Notting reforms, and when they returned to their own countries, they could also learn from them, and in a few decades, perhaps their heirs would be favored by the throne. But they have a very subtle desire in their hearts, that is, to let Gaisyat win, because they know that yes, maybe Gaisyat will not win today, but he will win sooner or later, this is the replacement of the old and new eras, and it is not something that can be changed by man, and the victory of Pruth may prolong the process, but it can never change it.
The weather-hardened Gaisyat actually knew this in his heart, he was a hero of the old times, and he was already old, and there was no place for him in the new era. Knight Jose is different, he is the best and youngest lad in the Expeditionary Legion, and he deserves a better life of his own in the new era.
Thinking of this, he raised the knight's sword with his remaining right arm, signaling that Prus could attack him.
Pruth didn't have any concept of the times in his mind, he only knew that if he won this battle, he could get his face back, and in the records of historians many years later, he would at least retain a rather wise and martial image, and if he won this for a while, he might be glorious for a lifetime.
Seeing that Gaisat wanted to make a gesture for instructions, Pruss took a deep breath and pounced on Gaisat.
With a loud sound of "bell", the blades of Gaisat and Pruss collided violently for the first time, the blades of the two sharp swords trembled, and after the two men completed the first temptation, they had a rough estimate of their enemies, Gesya took two steps back, while Prus took three steps back.
But anyone with a discerning eye can see that when the two sides were fencing, Gaisate's body shook slightly, but although Pruss retreated more, his pace was more steady. If Pruss can grasp the opportunity to attack, perhaps Gaisate will suffer a dark loss.
Nordin couldn't help but clench his fists, secretly cheering for his uncle. If his uncle hadn't lost that arm, maybe Prus would have been lying on the ground by now.
Pruss took a small bargain, and couldn't help but feel a burst of secret joy in his heart, he just showed eight points of strength, and the veteran was already a little too strong to support, if he split it with all his strength, maybe in just a few rounds, the two sides would be able to divide the winner and loser, thinking of this, Pruss did not give Gaisyat time to breathe, and rushed forward with another lunge. It's just that this attack is even more powerful than the last one, stabbing straight at the face of Gaisat.
Gaisat, on the other hand, interrupted Prus's attack with his sword unhurriedly, and Gasyat observed that although Prus's attack was fast and powerful, he was a few points shorter than himself, and he didn't care much about his defense, if he could master this, it should be a chance to win with one blow.
So in the eyes of everyone, the duel between Pruss and Gayat has become Prous's aggressive attack and Gesyat's constantly retreating defense, and the battle seems to have been decided in advance, and Gaisat is just struggling to support it.
Some of the chiefs began to shout: "Gaisat, you are old, admit defeat, it is better to be alive than anything else." None of us will doubt your honor, Satin above, you did your best. You and Pruss are both knights of the first rank, it's just that you're old. ”
Hearing this, Pruss deliberately slowed down his attack, and then raised his sword to signal Gaisya to surrender. Although he hates to admit it now, when he was very young, the story of Gaisyat and Felipe was what he always longed for, and his dream as a child was to be able to become a man like Gaisat, and this dream continued for many years, until this dream was known to his father, and he was beaten up.
If he can win his idol in such a glorious way, it is actually a beautiful thing in Prus's own heart, and it will also make a deep impression on the knights in his territory.
Just as Prouss began to imagine his victory, little Nordin conceded defeat to himself with a painful face, and he returned to his hometown with the glory of victory, and deserved to be the bravest knight of the whole of Grand Prous.
However, the opponent in front of him simply brandished the iron sword in his hand and motioned for him to continue attacking.
As a man who also knows how to use a sword, Tian Sen can see a little bit of scrutiny. Gasyat retains a lot of battlefield habits, and these habits are not very suitable for competition, although duels are life and death, but if Gasyat really misses and kills Prus, the so-called contract between the Rhine Kingdom and the Great Prus will no longer exist - after all, the people who signed the contract are dead, and of course it cannot be continued.
By the time Prus swung his sword again to attack, many people noticed that Gaisate's skills had changed a lot, and if the fencing just now made everyone standing on the field see his exquisite skills, then this time, everyone saw his indomitable spirit when he was strong and persistent on the battlefield.
Where has Pruss fought such an injury-for-life fight, looking at the sword blade that was constantly approaching his face, Rao is that he has such rich combat experience, and he always has an indescribable feeling of fright, and the speed of the sword swing in his hand can't help but slow down.
In fact, it was not that Gaisyat's momentum overshadowed Pruss, but because his previous fierce offensive had caused his muscles to fall into a state of exhaustion, and the experienced Gaisyat had been collecting three points before, and he had always been very clear about what the timing of the decisive victory was, and when the decisive time came, he would never be soft because he couldn't hold the sword, which was also one of the years of experience he had accumulated on the battlefield.
Looking at Prus, whose eyes were already becoming more and more flustered, he already understood that the time for a decisive victory was in front of him.