Section 9 Duel

At the end of the earth, there was a surging torrent of people and horses. The Jin Ge Iron Horse is rolling and boundless, which makes people feel "so much so much" in an instant.

The enemies seem to move slowly, slowly advancing across the ground like green worms crawling over leaves. But in reality, it didn't take them long to get to the city.

Thomas walked across the city walls with majestic and steady steps, greeting every soldier and encouraging their courage. As he approached the gates, he saw Ashruphat and Leo.

"Master Thomas......" Ashrufat greeted him. "You ......" he looked around nervously, but at last he still didn't say his doubt.

"Rest assured, I'm fine. Thomas looked outside, at the enemy. Ashrufat noticed that Thomas's gaze was not actually looking at the enemy army, but at the smoke and dust from the advance of the army in the distance.

"Fifty thousand...... Maybe more than ...... But not more than seventy thousand. Thomas's face showed an expression of joy or mockery. "The Paro people have really made a bloody investment!"

The first to arrive under the city were the cavalry troops. Because of their geography, the Paros were heavily influenced by the Central Seven Kingdoms, and their armies were different from those of the other countries of Stygia. This is manifested not only in terms of weapons and equipment, but also in terms of the establishment of the army. Their armies used a large number of gunpowder weapons, and they often organized their knights into fixed orders. Most of the knights of the Order did not have a fiefdom, but a fixed salary.

As is often said, this is because the knights are relieved of the complicated task of "managing the territory" and have more time to hone their combat skills and strengthen their overall combat strength. Others, however, believe that this simply turns the knights into mercenaries for money. Because in this way, the loss of the land will have no effect on the knights themselves, so they cannot be expected to sacrifice for their country in times of crisis.

There is enough historical evidence that the Knights of Paro have no advantage in fighting the knightly forces of the other countries of Stygian. Fortunately, there is no disadvantage.

The knights had blue shields flying over their heads, and Thomas recognized them as the elite Blue Shield Knights of the Paro people. This time, the Paro people not only invested enough money in quantity, but also did not make much concessions in quality.

The enemy's cavalry and infantry lined up in battle formation. But everyone knows that this is only a prologue to war, a bloodless ritual. Because the siege weapons of the Paros were not yet in place, and there were no camps. They are just demonstrating today.

A rider rushed out of the array and ran all the way to a short distance from the wall. The Paro shouted loudly, demanding an answer from the city commander.

Thomas peeked half of his head out of the wall.

"Are you the Count of Thomas of St. Jean?"

"It's me!" replied Thomas aloud.

"Our General Rudolph, I ask you for a duel! for you used to kill his father in the field by despicable means. If you, a coward of St. Jean, have the slightest honour, and if you still think of yourself as a knight, then come out and face to face with General Rudolph! He told you to say, 'Here I throw down my glove and let it prove that you have enough guts!'"

With that, the Paro man turned around and ran away. In the distance, in the army of Paro, a knight rushed to the front of the formation. The knight was dressed in golden armor, and the shield and breastplate had the crest of a great fist. He galloped back and forth from the range of his bow and arrows, shouting loudly. Although he couldn't hear what he was shouting, fools could understand that he was challenging the city.

At this time, behind the banner of the Blue Shield Knights, a man with a thick red beard about forty or fifty years old was carefully observing the movement in front of him. He wears a suit of white armor without any heraldic patterns, no helmet, and appears to be just an ordinary knight. However, everyone around him had a beautiful feather on his helmet that symbolized his status as an officer.

"General Rudolph, will Thomas do this?" asked one of the knights beside the man.

"He's a man of great honor...... It's very likely that you will be fooled. For people like Thomas, tactics such as marching and setting up ambushes are just small tricks. No one should expect to play any war tricks with him, otherwise they will be asking for their own death. But such a simple scam is likely to lure him into the bait. The real Rudolph replied.

"Thomas was the best general of the old era. It's a pity that times are different now. Thomas, what would you think if you knew that the man who wore my armor and wore my coat of arms was not me, but the best instructor and martial arts master in our army?" he whispered to himself.

"Probably you're going to die......"

At this time, in the city of Drake, Thomas was striding from the city wall to his room. His three lieutenants followed him closely, trying to persuade him to change his mind.

"Lord Thomas. Ignore their challenges. ”

"No, they're challenging me with knightly honor. I'm a commander of an army, but I'm also a knight......"

"But Master Thomas, you are so old that you are still in good health...... They did it on purpose. That Rudolph was no more than forty years old. He challenged you, who were over eighty, to show that he was uneasy and kind, and that there was no fairness at all! Ignore the idiot, let the idiot run back and forth, and run until the horse is lame. It doesn't hurt us. ”

"Very harmful," Thomas replied. "When two armies meet, it is not only by sword and spear, but also by the sword and spear, and by the morale of Ashrufat, there will always be one side that will collapse and flee first, while the other side will support the most rear. Rudolph's move planted courage in his own hearts and sowed the seeds of doubt in our troops. He must have decided that I didn't dare to fight!"

"Mistress Thomas, if you are unfortunate enough to be defeated......

"You can't win by fear of battle, Leo. ”

"I didn't discuss the fight at all...... I just advise you not to risk your life for no reason!"

"Leo, I'm not for nothing, it's for honor. From the time we put on our armor and went to battle, we already had this awareness...... If I have three long and two short, Ashrufat, you will take over the command. It is important to know that one of the important duties of the lieutenant general on the battlefield is to take over the position of the main general after his death. ”

As they spoke, they had already walked down the walls and had walked a long way forward.

Leo looked at his two companions. "We must have someone on the city wall in charge. Even if the people of Zhilu Daoparo don't attack the city now. ”

"I'll go. William Daly replied. "You must convince Master Thomas not to be stupid. ”

With that, he hurried back to the wall.

"Master Thomas......" Ashruphat and Leo chased after them again, but as soon as they spoke, Thomas scolded them back.

"Say no more! Eshurufat, Leo. As long as I'm a knight, as long as I can move, I can't turn a blind eye to this challenge!"

Ashrufat bit his lip. He stopped abruptly and grabbed Leo. "Leo, leave it to me, and you go back to the wall. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. With that, he left Leo behind and hurried after Thomas.

"Ashrufat, I told you not to persuade him again!" Thomas turned into the hallway, and his room was already in front of him. There are his meeting rooms and private living room. His armor is inside.

"Master Thomas, since you've made up your mind, let me at least help you put on your armor. Ashrufat said.

Thomas walked into the room, and Ashrufat followed, closing the door with his hand. Thomas walked over to the bed, where his armor hung on. It was very fine special armor, and his flying snake coat of arms was delicately engraved on the breastplate.

Ashrufat suddenly stepped forward and slammed his palm into Thomas's neck as he reached for his armor.

The old man's body shook, and then he went limp. Eshurufat grabbed Thomas in time and placed him on the bed.

"Master Thomas, I can't watch you die no matter what!" Ashrufat whispered to the old man's ear. "To me, even the honor of a knight is not as important as yours!"

He quickly took off the armor of the Blood Dragon Crest on his body and replaced it with the armor of the Thomas Flying Serpent Crest.

After a short time, "Thomas" appeared at the gate of the city on a horse, dressed in his full armor. At this time, it was Leo who was guarding the gates here.

"Watch out for the city, open the little door, lower the drawbridge!" ordered Leo as he ran to Thomas's horse. "Master Thomas, I wish you a victorious start!" he said loudly.

"Ashrufat, I knew you would do it. Don't worry, I'll leave it to me, and no one else will find out. As the gates opened, he spoke in a soft, quick voice to the man in the armor of the Thomas Flying Serpent on horseback.

"Be careful!" shouted Leo from behind as Thomas galloped out of the field.

Just under the city walls, in front of tens of thousands of eyes of the soldiers of the two armies, Thomas Thomas, the commander of the St. Jean's expeditionary force, rushed out of the city gate on his own and rushed straight to Rudolph, the general of the Paro army who was challenging in front.

Both generals were heavily armed and armed with spears. Their respective armor and shields are depicted with their coats of arms. Suddenly, under the city, the soldiers on both sides cheered for their respective generals.

Rudolph didn't seem to have expected such a solo challenge. For when Thomas rushed out of the gate, he was in a hollow. He tried to grab the high position, but it was too late, and Thomas galloped in, his spear aimed at his chest. He had no choice but to charge on horseback while aiming his spear at the other.

The two of them sped forward at lightning speed, crashing into each other with a thunderous force. The result looked the same, with both spears crashing into each other's shields and shattering into several pieces. And the end of the shield was no better than the spear - one shield was deformed and twisted into a strange shape, and the other was broken in half.

It was as if both knights had fallen, for the force of the impact was so great that both horses took a few steps backwards and stood upright. But they controlled the horse with great skill, relying on the reins and kicking spurs.

The cheers rang out again, and the soldiers of both armies who were watching the battle shouted with all their might, sounding like heaven and earth were shaken. In the midst of this cheer, the two generals each dropped their useless shields and spears and drew their swords instead.