Under the scorching sun, two knights, dressed in cotton armor and full-body chain mail and armor, clenched their shields and armed swords to each other.

"Ha-hu-ha-" Both sides were heavily equipped, with a ring of chain mail around the lower edge of the peaked nose guard helmet on top of their heads. Weighing nearly 6 kilograms, it was the third heaviest part of the armor, the heaviest being the chainmail with long slits and long sleeves, which still weighed 19 kilograms even with a tailored cut. Combined with the 6-kilogram chain leg covers, the heavily armed knights weighed 31 kilograms in chain mail alone - and this time they wore 7.5 kilograms of armor made up of strips of steel riveted to a leather vest.

Such a high load is actually more than the weight that can be worn in actual combat, and the full-body chain mail has fallen behind a bit over the years. Although it is composed of riveted iron rings, it is very effective against sharp objects, but it is ineffective against slashes and stabs, as well as blunt damage. The lack of rigidity of the chain mail will still cause bones to break when hit by a blunt object, even if there is a cushion of cotton armor underneath.

Facing enemies wearing chain mail on the battlefield and attacking various joint parts is the basic of basics. Therefore, in the intervening twenty or thirty years of evolution, people gradually developed additional reinforcements made of small steel plates, and then evolved chain mail jackets with armor plates.

The combination of two forms of protection of the super heavy protection, in addition to the fear of death, is only for the reason of competition.

And this is exactly the scene that the two are in.

The soft-soled shoes sit on dirt and have a smooth leather feel that allows the rider to feel the ground in its entirety and maintain an excellent grip for power.

The battle has been going on for 15 minutes.

Unlike unarmored civilians, the battle between hoplites is always decided in tens of seconds, and because both sides are well protected, it is likely to turn into a physical contest in the end. In addition, this is a competition between peers rather than a life-and-death fight, and some overly dangerous skills are limited, so it has evolved into a competition of cool heads and physical fitness.

The "......." knight captain and other members of the regiment dressed in aristocratic attire gathered around, silently watching the field.

"Asseo is going to lose. One of the tall knights said, and it was the comparatively short knight he called Asio. Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, Asio rushed forward with his shield and sword in hand.

"Snap —— Boom—" The Padrossi knight's sword and shield stance is not a shield attached to the chest, though this was a common technique in the Laman legions in the distant past when using large shields to form arrays. However, the knight class is different from the infantry, and in the case of foot combat, they are more concerned about fighting alone.

The knight's shield was shorter than the infantry's tear shield, and only half of his body and thighs and knees could be protected on a horse. This shield with a smaller protective area requires active blocking rather than passive protection, so the standard posture for both sides is to lower the center of gravity and lean forward, pointing the shield and armed sword diagonally outward.

The left hand is a shield and the right hand is an armed sword, both of which are almost at eye level to protect the left and right, while in the middle is a wide field of vision.

Asseo tried to bypass the more well-protected left side as he rushed in front of his opponent, and he sprinted again with a change of move to get around the shield and attack the right, knocking the wielder's disarming sword to the ground.

But the tall opponent only spun around on his heel, shifted his position, blocked his sword with his flis, and attacked in succession, forcing Asseo to regain his distance.

"Well, the newcomer is doing well. The tall knight who spoke earlier continued to speak, and the other red-haired knight next to him also nodded: "Calm headed, don't rush back because the opponent charged." Not only is the foundation of swordsmanship good, but he is also quite experienced in the physical control of armor fighting. ”

"It's Assio. The red-haired knight cupped his forehead and sighed.

"Anyway, he's an old qualification, can't he give us some face? He said this, and the knight leader, who had been silent, spoke slowly: "You two didn't see the first half. ”

"What? We're a little late. The red-haired knight was stunned for a moment.

This is the fourth match for the newcomers, and before Assio, he has beaten three newcomers who also came in this year. ”

“....... How long is each game?" The red-haired knight's expression became serious, as did the tall knight with a blank face.

"15 minutes. ”

"So far—" "It's been 15 minutes. The regimental commander half-squinted his eyes and stared at the field with emerald blue eyes, but his eyes ignored that Asio was only focused on the newcomer in the white burqa of the junior knight.

"Ho, did this guy calculate and let the opponent consume his physical strength and patience first by delaying, so as to win. The red-haired knight folded his arms and smiled playfully.

In the middle of the field, Asio, who was wearing heavy armor but charging indiscriminately, began to breathe a little chaotic, and although the breathing and vision of the nose helmet were excellent, he could not withstand his own impulses.

"Hah-" Realizing that his physical strength was losing too quickly, he took a step back to find a respite, but his steps back were already a little shaky, and this detail was seen by several high-ranking knights, and was also grasped by the man opposite him.

"Whew-h

"You guy!" Realizing that the situation was not good, Asio frantically swung the round-tipped blunt sword in his hand, and the powerful blow slapped away the shield in his opponent's hand, but at this moment, he met the gray-blue eyes, and suddenly realized that he seemed to have made a wrong decision.

He released the grip on the front of the shield, leaving only the belt of his forearm, still hanging the shield in his hand, freeing his left hand, and at the same time approaching the handle, reaching into the crook of Asio's arm, and then keeping the low-angle armed sword smoothly stabbed upwards. "Wow-" After slapping Asseo in the side of the face with the face of his sword, he used the sword in his hand as a crowbar, and twisted it with the hand that reached into the crook of his arm.

"Wow it hurts!" "Smack-bang-" The sword in Asio's hand fell to the ground.

He was victorious.

"Not bad, not bad. The red-haired knight's face showed an expression of interest, but as soon as he turned to speak to the regimental commander, he saw the tall knight beside him grab a spear and say "I'm going down" and jumped into the middle of the field.

"Gedo, you guy is grabbing food!!!" the angry red-haired knight roared loudly, and the sound also turned the rookie knight who had won the game back.

"Alas......" Asceo ran out of the field exit on one side of the field with his head downcast, and the rookie knight looked a little hesitant to face Gedo, who was only lightly armed and holding a spear. He looked at the regimental commander and wondered if this was appropriate, as an unarmored opponent might be injured. But Gedo didn't give him the slightest chance to hesitate: "What are you looking at left and right?" After he finished speaking, he rushed straight towards him.

"Bang-knock!" the hard-roded spear charged, far into the range of the attack, and he hurriedly raised his shield a beat to react, but Gedo's spear had already pierced in front of him.

"Smack-" "Uh-" Gedo slammed into his shield-wielding forearm, but he gritted his teeth and didn't let go. This made a smile appear on Gedo's lips, but he then shook it hard, and the accurate and fierce attack hit the joint of his wrist directly, and even the hand that protected him with chain mail and padding weakened in an instant.

"Boom—smack—" Gedo moved like a stream, and he struck his opponent's armband with the tip of his spear.

"Bang-" The shield fell to the ground, and the rookie knight gritted his teeth, and after losing the shield, he naturally couldn't be as conservative as before, relying on his own armor He rushed forward first.

But before he could swing his sword, he was shot in the chest by the spear in Gedo's hand.

"Poof-a-"

The heavy attack made him feel a tightness in his chest through the armor, chain mail and padding, and the rookie knight took several steps back, but finally fell to one knee in a dazzled state.

The sound of footsteps sounded, and the sunlight in front of him was blocked by something, and he raised his head, and Gedo stood in front of him with his spear down.

"Are you alright?" the tall knight held out his hand.

"It's fine. The young man took the hand and stood up.

"Good qualifications, but also perseverance. But remember, your body is far more important than a weapon or armor, and you can fight back by keeping your arm, not by scrapping your hand so that you don't release your shield. It's too much to lose—but—" Gaido changed his tone before he could finish speaking, "The knight's shield is its own honor, and although it should be given up temporarily in order to keep oneself if it is absolutely necessary, it is also a dereliction of duty to let go easily." ”

"Master Xie advised. He hung his head in respect, and Gedo nodded, adding, "There is another problem, you are playing too conservatively because of the wrong choice of weapons. ”

"Attack distance is a very important thing, you just felt it. Since he is so tall, he should no longer use such a short standard-type armed sword. With these words, Gedo turned around and walked to the top of the field.

The rookie knight behind him took off his helmet, and only the gray-blue eyes on his still immature face had a shadow of the future.

"Hey, the cold noodle Gaido would actually say something for more than 10 seconds. The red-haired knight screamed and teased his companion, but Gadori ignored him and looked directly at the regimental commander: "What's his name?" ”

"Haimirin. The head tilted his head to look at the panting and somewhat stunned newcomer in the field: "Heimerning Heinzwörm." ”

"Meteor Lake?" Gaido furrowed his eyebrows, "What kind of ridiculous surname is this." ”

"It's not a surname, after all, I heard that it's an orphan, and I don't know why I took this name, and I didn't ask for details. The Knight Master shrugged his shoulders and said.

"Hey, is this interesting, orphan, you got in?" the red-haired knight also came over: "What a great newcomer, like a monster, so many fights in a row." Oh, you see his left arm seems to have recovered, is it possible for you to keep your hand?"

".......," Gedo glanced at him silently. "Also, how can an impersonal guy like you keep his hand. The red-haired knight shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands and said helplessly: "It seems that this kid has a good recovery ability, so we can also train him well." ”

"But then again, even if the grades can be passed, what did he say in the final interview before the head of the regiment let him in?" The red-haired knight with a lively personality looked back at his boss again.

I asked him what he had joined the Knights for. The regimental commander shrugged.

He said to have enough to eat. ”

“........ Wait, is this the guy who is quite famous in the Squire Academy? The red-haired knight said, looking a little puzzled in the face of the two people's puzzled reactions: "Why haven't you heard of it, the squire academy cafeteria used to be self-help when we used to go to the cafeteria, right?" ”

"Hmm. The regimental commander nodded. "There's a fart. Gedo showed no mercy.

"Now it's changed to rationing, that's because of this guy!" "......"

And it is said that he was the only one who had read all the books in the college library. ”

“.......”

"We're not going to go bankrupt. The red-haired knight turned his head and asked with a very serious expression.

"For the next security mission, let's recruit him. The head of the regiment directly ignored this funny guy and said this to Gedo, who was in charge of personnel. And the latter also nodded: "If it is sharpened well, it will become the sword of our knights." ”

"It's a gem. The head of the regiment said this, got up and began to walk inside.

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He was in his small room when he was notified to join the escort mission.

Nine years had passed since that sunset, and after leaving the monastery, he had saved money by doing odd jobs on his own, and he was admitted to the academy that trained squires for the twelve royal knights.

Although the academy actually helped the knights maintain their armor and weapons and take care of the horses, the fact that the kitchen and library were free and open, and that he could also observe the knights' training up close, was a paradise for him.

The short body that was previously malnourished has risen wildly in the past few years, and his physique ranks among the best in the academy, and he finally passed when he signed up for the Knights.

It's getting closer and closer to the dream.

Although the connection has been broken for many years, as long as the direction of the effort is right, we will be able to meet again one day.

The scene from the interview resurfaced in front of me.

"—Besides this?" Of the crowd laughing at his statement that he was "well fed," only the regimental commander looked directly at him with emerald blue calm eyes. The eyes were serious, sincere, and pure.

"To fulfill a promise, my lord!" he replied with a straight chest.

"Good. The regimental commander smiled.

"Step by step, I'm trying, Sanya. I'm working on it. Where are you now, no matter where you are, we will definitely meet again. Already a young man, he looked at his hands and clenched his fists.

————

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"I'll explain the outline of the mission, in case some of the newcomers don't know me, I'm Knight Licardo, your senior, the strongest person in the group-" The red-haired knight introduced himself in a ponytail, and then added in a whisper after seeing Gaido's cold face: "One." ”

"In short, this is a very important task. That's why you've chosen to be the best of our Silver Guard Knights—" "Fart, let it go. Gaido mercilessly interrupted him in a magnetic voice.

"......" Licardo frowned and was very depressed, but still got to the point: "The task is to be the personal guard of the royal family. ”

"The New Year is approaching, and the Golden Parade is about to begin. His Royal Highness Hermes Gaisu Seksiyutu, the current crown prince, in order to ensure his safety, personally inspects the route of the pilgrimage before His Majesty the Emperor arrives. The orders of the adults are our mission. Your Highness's personal safety is paramount, especially as we have recently received a threatening letter. ”

The letter called His Highness a blasphemous, and even made an appointment to take His Highness's life at a specified time. ”

"We are the guards of the royal family, don't insult the name of the silver guard, hold the shield in your hand!"

"Long live the Empire!"

"Long live the Empire!"

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"Don't be too nervous, the scouts have cleared the field in advance, and there are light cavalry guards nearby, if you want to kill Your Highness, you have to pass through this army scattered within a few hundred meters first. Just maintain a general vigilance, if you are too nervous, you will not be able to react when you should react if there is a real attack. Gedo said this as he rode his horse, and he noticeably noticed Hymirin's nervousness, but the poor-mouthed Licardo next to him began to play again.

"Isn't he only more nervous when you say this kind of thing, what kind of murder, attack, reaction. He said this, and Hamirinen deliberately spoke in order to interrupt the upcoming quarrel between the two: "I, I'm just curious, why does Your Highness personally inspect it, isn't this kind of thing just done by ordinary knights." He spoke, and the way he changed the subject was so stiff that Deliccardo was embarrassed to play on the topic again, he noticed the young knight's intention not to quarrel between the two, and then glanced smugly at Gado next to him. The latter ignored him, as always.

"It's a momentum, a momentum. ”

"How old is your child?" said Licardo, who looked to be in his mid-30s, and Hymirin, who hesitated for a moment, replied, "19." ”

"Tsk, that's so young. Do you know how old Your Highness is? He asked, and Hemirin, who was next to him, shook his head.

"39. Licardo shrugged: "He was made crown prince when he was your age, but he waited 20 years before he could ascend to the throne. ”

"His Majesty is now 78 years old, but he is still full of energy. Some people even speculate that the throne will be passed directly to their grandson, that is, the child of the eldest princess. Because His Majesty obviously loves this grandson very much, but he seems to ignore the crown prince a little. ”

"As a result, His Highness had to prove his existence, and this was the result of this show, which was nominally a security check, but was actually similar to a small-scale gold parade. Then I don't know why the news leaked, and I was told that I was going to attack. The timing was not the same - something stinks. Licardo's words stopped abruptly.

"It's a corpse, haven't you heard. Obviously he was doing a briefing, but he didn't listen to the scout's report. Gedo said with a cold face: "A group of livestock in the nearby herdsman's house died inexplicably, and then secretly dumped them in this forest to prevent the lord from blaming them. ”

"It's stupid, everything is exposed as soon as the stench comes out. In the end, it was not the end of the whole family being sold into slavery. Gedo spoke, and Licardo grabbed his cloak and covered his mouth and nose.

"If there is much of this bone, it will be passed through. He spoke slurred through the fabric, and despite frowning, Gado did nothing like that.

"It's gone in a while, bear with me. As he spoke, the strong rancid smell and the "buzzing" of flies upset people. Hymirnin resisted the urge to retch, and the knights on the left flank began to shrink towards the central formation because of the smell.

The young knight glanced over there, and he saw one, which he had just glanced at casually.

A scene to remember.

Rotting and entwined flies carcasses of domestic animals.

Moved.

"What the hell—"

"Roaring !!!"

For the next few minutes, his mind went blank as if he had lost his memory.

"Haimirin!"

"Hamirin!" "Knock!" Gedo tapped his hand and tapped his helmet, and the young man did not come to his senses until this time.

"Go and see His Highness's side, the team is completely chaotic. Fuck, is this what a necromancer did!" the knights in front of them stabbed their spears into the rotting pig, but the pig that screamed and rushed forward went straight through the spear. The tip of the spear did not hit anything but rotting entrails.

"Click-" The pig that rushed up bit the horse's leg: "Shh

"Your Highness—" "Hiss-" Hymirning stimulated his horse with his spurs, turning around and running towards the rear.

The carriage in which the crown prince was in the middle of the line, but the left flank was directly attacked because of the smell of shrinking formation. The knights separated from the guards, but due to the sudden attack, they were all cut into small pieces and could not gather in formation.

"Your Highness!" "What the hell is going on!" the crown prince, bearded and dressed in golden robes, stepped out of the second gate of the three-story carriage, and the ministers accompanying him shouted loudly, but stopped him a step too late.

"Stampede, stride, stride—" Hermilin, galloping on horseback, held a spear in one hand.

"What's going on!, is that man going to murder His Highness!" The chaotic knights watched in the direction of his charge and drew their swords.

"Whew-" he exhaled, "Whew-"

The spear thrown by the "!!! snatcher" nailed the dead dog that jumped onto the carriage and was about to pounce on the crown prince, and its rotten bodily fluids were strewn all over the carriage. The Chancellor immediately began to vomit as he leaned against the railing, and the Crown Prince turned slightly pale.

"Fool, you draw your sword at the man who saved the rest of your life, and the enemy is on the other end!" he waved his hand vigorously, still maintaining considerable composure in this situation.

"Qiang-" Hamirnin drew the long sword at his waist: "Your Highness, please go back to the carriage, and leave it to us here." Despite the same scarcity, he managed to keep himself focused on the fight well.

"Good. Very good. Brave knight, please tell Yu your name, and this life-saving grace will be rewarded. The crown prince opened his mouth to say this, and the young man smacked the forehead of his helmet with his sword in respect: "The humble name is Hamirin, this is my duty, Your Highness, please don't take it to heart, return to a safe place as soon as possible!"

He said, "Drive!" and then waved his sword and rode his horse in the direction of Gedo and them, and went to report.

“....... Hamilin. The crown prince, who was in the same place, stroked his beard and said the name, and finally returned to the carriage with the minister.