The weapons that had been recovered from several of us were scattered to the ground, and Otto picked up a random handle to play with, looking at the brilliant blue steel mouth left behind after the blade was quenched.

"The Duke of Nijmegen is worthy of his wealth, and he has equipped his knights with all the best equipment, and this dagger alone costs a lot of money."

"But now, isn't it still in your hands?" I tried my best to pretend to be calm, even though there were a dozen spears pointed at me at the moment, and it was difficult for anyone to calm down.

"I like people who are straightforward and fast-talking, rest assured, one knight's hands will never be stained with the blood of another knight, this is a sacred contract."

Otto naturally pinned the dagger to his belt, and took it for himself: "Oh, your Duke is not a real knight, he is a renegade and a coward, just a knight who destroys his hands, let me think, there is not a hundred, but also fifty, right?" ”

"You're insulting the reputation of a nobleman and knight, bastard, I'm going to challenge you!"

Owen behind him roared, "Do you dare to duel me?" ”

Otto smiled disdainfully: "Duel? From the time I first picked up the sword at the age of thirteen, I had been dueling with people almost every day, and the people I spoke to had either become defeated or had gone to meet God, and I was a knight of great honor, and I was never afraid of a duel. ”

The baron walked slowly in front of Owen with his hands behind his back, and Sen Sen took out the dagger and slashed with lightning speed!

We stared at Owen with wide eyes, and he stared incredulously at the severed rope on his wrist, it all happened so suddenly:

"As I said, I am a knight of good will, and I have never been afraid of a duel, and since it is a duel, I have to be above board."

As he spoke, Otto stood up and threw the long sword to Owen: "My father once said that when a person only needs a reason to move forward, he often finds a hundred reasons for himself to retreat, and he can be a hero forward, but he is willing to retreat to be a coward, you are a hero." So, let's have a fair duel. ”

He took the other long sword from his squire and slowly retreated a few paces away.

Owen was confused with his sword in his hand, but he didn't expect the other party to really accept the challenge of the duel.

"If I win, you must retract the slander and insult you have made against the Duke, and swear in the honor of a knight that you will never spread rumors about the Duke again, can you do it?"

"I'm telling the truth, and you can't win."

With the help of his attendants, Otto took off his chain mail and cowhide lining, and wore only a thin linen shirt: "Now that we are fair, pray to God, and ask him to be a witness to this sacred duel, until one side voluntarily admits defeat or is incapacitated, and report your name, Nijmegen, I do not want to fight against a nameless and nameless." ”

"Well, God does not favor slanderers."

Owen stood in a T-shaped step forward with his right foot, raised his sword above his head with both hands, and made an attacking stance: "Listen! Your opponents are the most delicate flowers and the most benevolent saints of the North, the pearl of Nijmegen, the Knight of the Sunflower under Duchess Serena Genterena Hoffmann, the Ranger of the Holy Land, and Owen of Herclet. ”

"The top position, a common trick used by northerners, is just right for amplifying your strength advantage."

Otto lightly pointed the tip of his sword to the ground, as if he didn't care about Owen's attack, and his open horse was firmly rooted.

"It's a pity that all you can rely on is strength, Yankee."

Seeing that Otto easily exposed his entire front and did not defend it, I asked the people around me suspiciously, because we wanted to make room for the duel, and several of us were circled together by soldiers: "Is the other party ready to give up?" How can the posture of holding the sword be loose, Owen can catch him off guard with a single slash! ”

"This is a deception position, deliberately showing weakness to the opponent, making it seem that it is very easy to succeed, but once the opponent is deceived into attacking rashly, you can do a lot of actions on the basis of this defensive stance, such as suddenly raising the tip of the sword to launch a lunge, or quickly moving to the side, and then taking advantage of the downward slash to slash upwards into his chest, etc."

The knight who answered me frowned worriedly: "It seems that this Baron Otto is very skilled and has a deep knowledge of swordsmanship, I'm afraid Owen can't handle it." ”

I nodded suddenly, I used to think that the so-called duel in the West was nothing more than two muscular monsters slashing each other with knives, and whoever had the most strength would win, but I didn't expect that there would be so much exquisiteness.

I shrugged my nose in embarrassment, and the words that came to mind when the bull had taught me martial arts skills: "Fighting is so simple, faster!" More accurate! More ruthless! Other than that, there is no essential, as for the moves or something, it's all bluff showmanship, you give the opponent a fight to vomit blood, see if he can hold Rausch's messy moves. ”

The two stood facing each other, motionless as if the picture was frozen, everyone held their breath, for fear of missing any moment of lightning and fire, and the mystery and oppression of the master's moves surged out of their bodies, forming an invisible but real aura that affected the surrounding environment.

Owen moved first! He unleashed a powerful slash, stepped away with his left foot, and replaced his right foot to form a T-shaped step again.

"Ho!"

Otto dodged the attack like lightning as the knight who had answered me just said, and at the same time raised his sword and swept at Owen's waist and abdomen, and a powerful cry burst out of his mouth.

Owen also showed no weakness, and quickly turned his wrist back to the long sword that was splitting downward, and the two weapons collided fiercely together, making a crisp sound of bells.

"Angry strikes are exchanged in succession, and the first place in Nijmegen fighting is well deserved!" Several Nijmegen knights cheered, as if they were in their hands on victory.

The two separated after a little wrestling, their expressions were very relaxed, and the first round of the fight was just a test of reality, and the next thing was the real move.

"Every move is combined, and the reaction is fast enough, I haven't met an opponent like you for a long time, happy!"

Otto smiled with a curled face, but I didn't see any appreciation from his opponent in this expression.

"Hehe, Nijmegen people, your strengths are as obvious as your weaknesses, I will not be humble anymore!"

"Your cowhide is as lame as slander, Lord Baron, it's taboo for swordsmanship to say big things before the victory or defeat is decided." Owen shot back sharply.

Otto chuckled: "This sentence is back to you, Owen of Herclet." ”

Before the words fell, his body had already activated, and he was almost in place, leaving only an afterimage!

"Bell!"

"Bell!"

"Bell!"

With just three explosions of metal strikes, the situation on the field took a turn, Owen changed from a calm response at the beginning to a tired response now, Otto's attack gradually picked up, and the blade never left the vital point, forcing the former to be forced to defend, but fortunately, the square inch was not yet chaotic.

"Oh my God, what a quick bull strike!"

The knowledgeable knight was so shocked that his mouth was stammered, and his forehead was wrinkled, probably sweating for Owen.

"Look at the opponent's long sword, no matter how it dodges and moves, the tip of the sword remains in the air, and the trajectory of the sword point is connected to a smooth arc, this is the famous bull-style exchange, which is known for its fierce and fast attack like a raging bull!"

With a little bit of his touch, I could see a bit of a doorway that was hidden under Otto's agility, and the so-called bull exchange was actually focused on the exchange rather than the strike, through a series of smooth slashes like mercury and combined with thrust attacks, breaking down the opponent's defense, disrupting his rhythm, forcing him to change his steady T-step, and then look for flaws to exploit.

I have figured it out, whether it is personal swordsmanship or commanding thousands of troops, the truth is all touch-by-side, first test the truth, then deceive the enemy's carelessness, and finally concentrate on the advantage to attack its weakness, and win with one blow.

By the time I was thinking about it, Otto had already launched a second round of attacks non-stop, dancing with his sword in both hands, constantly threatening Owen's vital points, turning sporadic attacks into all-out defense, and the initiative of the battle was slowly grasped by him, or Owen lost his familiar rhythm and was forced to adapt to the opponent's style of play.

"Yikes!"

Owen once again opened the sword that Otto had stabbed, and staggered on his left and right feet in a parallel position:

"Not good, dangerous!"

The knight who was proficient in swordsmanship suddenly shouted, accompanied by his hoarse exclamation, Otto used his remaining strength to slash at Owen's waist from top to bottom with a backhand, the latter didn't have time to think about it, and subconsciously dodged to the left side, revealing a flaw in the defense of the upper plate, Otto's face flashed a fleeting weird smile, and his left wrist shook and hit Owen's face with a punch, and the strength of the "Sunflower Knight" hit the nosebleed and fell down.

I closed my eyes in despair, and even sensitively smelled the smell of blood in the air, and the nervous crowd of onlookers reacted and cheered excitedly: "Your Excellency Baron! Long live the Baron! ”

"Herclet's Owen, you're losing."

Otto threw away his sword, did not take his weapon aggressively like the victor and pointed it at his defeated generals, showing a very elegant knightly demeanor.

"Now that you are my captive, and will not be released until a ransom befitting your identity and bravery is paid, I will accept all the challenges of those who will later restore your honor, a sacred oath witnessed by God!"

"Hooray! Banzai! ”

There was still a tsunami around him, in stark contrast to the frustration of several of us, and Owen covered his face in annoyance, and did not answer.

"I'm patient and waiting for the moment when you will truly throw in the towel, Herclet's Owen."

Otto crouched down and patted his opponent on the shoulder, turned his head and instructed his men: "Although this knight is still honored, he has won my respect, so he will be treated with courtesy and leniency, as for the rest...... Throw them all into the dungeon! ”

How many times have you been in a cell?

I leaned against the dark, damp walls of the dungeon overgrown with slimy and inexplicable plants, stared at the only crack in the door outside the fence that let in the light, and began to think seriously about this serious question, the second time? The third time? Or the fourth?

It doesn't matter anymore, the important thing is that I have gradually become accustomed to and adapted to the tension and oppression brought by the closed space, overcome the fear of unknown darkness in my heart, and even ignore the rotting and deterioration of the wet white bones buried in the straw in the corner, and happily greet the red-eyed rats who came out to feed.

That's it!

Prison allows me to meditate and think, and it is said that the eyes are the windows of the soul, but sometimes the windows are open, and the temptation of the colorful world is too great, and it is easy to forget to tidy up the room.

How long have we been in? I don't know, because it's always in the dark, except for the fat man who was the jailer in the prison cell, who had a candle that was about to burn out, and the worse thing was that the only lightmaker, the dead fat man, who had a bunch of broken keys hanging from his waist and always clanged when he walked, probably tired of teasing his prey, kicked the wooden door at the junction, and stopped the faint light of the candle behind it.

Owen should be sitting on pins and needles on it at this moment, right? Even if we stayed in a warm room, enjoyed delicious food, and maybe had a plump maid to accompany us, unfortunately we were separated, or the initial plan failed, and in the face of the crisis, we had to make changes.

If I think about it carefully, my plan was not too hasty, only considering that the golden cicada would avoid potential opponents and take a hidden path back home, but I ignored the new problems brought about by the new choice, as for the backup plan after the setback, the next step after the pass, how to distinguish allies, how to rely on five hundred Nijmegen warriors, and deal with the unknown number of enemies that are about to appear, etc., there is no careful plan, so it is equivalent to no plan.

Even if I had a way to escape from the dungeon and continue with my original plan, what if Baron Otto refused to cooperate? Kill him? This is tantamount to an open declaration of war on the Duke of Burgundy, and given the present situation, as vassals of the King of Paris, we are in a state of de facto war in name.

"Nerve-wracking......"

I rubbed my forehead, and the dirt that had not been washed for a few days slowly condensed into mud, and I was assimilated into a thousand years of hygienic habits that far surpassed those of people in the Middle Ages.

"Last time I took a shower...... Or in the warm pools of Rome, right? ”

A few of the hapless bastards who had been imprisoned like me were curled up in a corner with their heads down, filling the town's only cells, and the small cells where the peddlers who had no money to pay their taxes, the pickpockets who had committed adulterers, and the shepherds who had stolen the lord's belongings finally welcomed the highest-ranking prisoners ever made.

Some of them faced the wall praying and crying about their tragic encounters, some were nervously muttering to themselves, and some were simply lying on their backs and pretending to be dead, all in all, an atmosphere of despair enveloped everyone, and the atmosphere became heavier and heavier by sharply lowering the already low air pressure.

"It's over, there's no chance!"

A voice suddenly broke the silence, and he jerked to his feet, roaring madly, shoving away several of his companions who tried to hold him.

"How are we here! How here! Why! ”

"Press down on the guy and give two mouths to keep him awake."

I ordered the two people sitting next to me.

"It must be a young knight who is usually pampered, and he has never experienced such a situation in his smooth life, and the cold contrast has led to a mental breakdown."

I shook my head, closed my eyes and ignored the commotion in the cell, it would be nice if there was a special way for them to vent anyway.

(End of chapter)