At this time, the competition at the venue officially started. The two knights first raised their spears and rode horses to the middle of the venue, then raised their spears and greeted each other. This was standard etiquette. Then they returned to their starting point.
, officially preparing to enter the confrontation match.
Seeing that the game officially started, the spectators in the surrounding stands also became quiet. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the duel between the two knights.
When a trainee knight under Earl Gerry waved the flag in his hand upwards, the two men who received the signal spurred their horses to rush forward.
The distance of a hundred steps only takes a few breaths under the full sprint of the war horses. After the two knights on both sides of the barrier quickly approached each other, they put down the lances in their hands, held them levelly and stabbed forward, only to hear
There was a "bang" sound, and both lances hit the opponent's shield. The lances broke and pieces of wood flew everywhere.
After the two knights fought, they quickly put on the new lances prepared by the attendants, and then rushed over again. This time, the young knight from Upper Holy Lake County was obviously more impulsive. He had not waited for the middleman from Kawei County.
The young knight completed the turn and rushed over, hoping to gain a greater advantage for himself by sprinting ahead of time.
After the middle-aged knight turned around, he did not panic. Instead, he waited until the young knight was about to reach the middle position before he started to charge. By this time, the young knight had already lowered his lance.
"It seems that I am sure to win this first game. Brother Balian, that mountain knight can't pick up the speed at all now and will fall off the horse soon." Gamgee was a little proud.
said to Balian.
"His lance was released too early, and he will definitely lose." Balian simply replied to Gamgee.
Before Balian finished speaking, he saw the middle-aged knight put down his lance when he was five steps away from the young knight. He used the shield fixed on his left shoulder to take a solid blow from the young knight, but his shot
But it hit the young knight in the chest, knocking him off his horse. This sudden change made everyone onlookers scream in surprise.
The three attendants of the young knight quickly ran over to see their master's injury. After taking off the helmet, the young knight was still conscious, but he only vomited blood and his face was full of unwillingness. He just lost.
Well, in a best-of-three-game competition, it was so embarrassing to be knocked down in the second round.
Especially when he first entered the arena, the attendant gave a wonderful speech, which made everyone cheer and encourage him. However, he was defeated so easily by a middle-aged knight from the mountains. Not to mention that he could not get the bonus, this suit
The armor and the horse on his hip will also be lost to others.
While he was grieving, the audience around him made disdainful sounds. As expected, no matter how much they praise you at the beginning, they will step on you more when you fall from the altar. People have always been so realistic.
At this time, in the box in the noble area, Gamgee widened his eyes in disbelief and asked Balian: "How is this possible? He has obviously run so many steps ahead and has increased his speed, how can he be beaten by someone else?"
Knocked off the horse?"
"You all underestimated that mountain knight. He has rich combat experience." Balian said with a sigh, "The one from Upper Holy Lake County only thinks about speed. He is too young. He thinks that he can win if he speeds up first.
, but he did not consider the issue of reverse force.
Even if the middle-aged knight stood still and waited for him to hit him, he would be shot down because he was too fast and his inertia would cause him to fall down if he hit anything.
The mountain knight also saw through this. He caught the young knight's eagerness to win and deliberately sold this flaw to induce him to accelerate in advance, while he just waited for him.
Although this middle-aged knight is playing tricks, he is still really capable. He can shoot his opponent in the chest with one shot, and he can also withstand the blow with his shield and body without being injured. He is really capable.
"
After hearing Balian's analysis, Gamgee tore up the betting slip in his hand in annoyance, muttering as he tore it: "I really can't listen to what other people say about how good their armor and equipment are.
It’s just a show, whether you can win or not depends on your real ability. I’ll treat this hundred dinars as tuition, and I’ll bet on whoever you bet on next.”
While Balian and Gamgee were waiting for the start of the second round, the owner of the Central Tavern came over. As the bookmaker of the knight tourney, he came again, making Gamgee and Balian curious.
As soon as he entered the door and greeted him warmly, he took out Balian's betting slip and a money bag. He handed the money bag to Balian with a smile and said respectfully: "Dear Sir Balian,
You are the only one who bet on the mountain knight to win the race, this is three hundred dinars, congratulations to you, a wise knight."
After Balian took the money bag, he smiled and took out ten silver coins from it and handed it to the boss, "I can win so much money, but it's because of the boss. These ten dinars are my reward."
You paid for the drink."
Balian didn't know the rules of the casino in this time and space, but he had read a few novels about crooks in his previous life, and he knew that those who win money usually have to reward the casino with money. This is the rule.
After the boss took the ten dinars, his face became even more beaming, "Thank you Lord Balian, you not only have a pair of discerning eyes, but you are also so generous. In this way, I will treat you and Brother Gamgee to lunch later.
Let your subordinates bring it to you, and I will also send you a jug of Sarion wine to express my gratitude."
A bottle of Sarion wine is worth more than ten dinars. It seems that the owner of the tavern and casino is very generous, but Balian knows that his generosity lies in the fact that he is sure that Gamgee and Balian will still be together.
Continue to place bets. Gamji lost a hundred dinars just now, and his current generosity is completely spent on Gamji's money.
However, Balian and Gamgee still expressed their gratitude. After all, they would not hit the smiling man, not to mention that such local snakes depended on this for their livelihood, so it was necessary to maintain a friendly relationship with them.
Next, there were two more games in the morning. Gamgee followed Balian to place a bet, and all bets were won. For such a professional matter, with a master like Balian, it is of course a sure thing to judge who loses and who wins.
Winning three games in a row, Balian's one hundred dinars used as gambling capital had already brought in a profit of two thousand dinars, and Gamji also won eight hundred dinars.
Looking at the money in his hand, Balian couldn't help but sigh. Gambling is indeed exciting. The ecstasy after winning, the pain after losing, and the desire to win back the money he lost all push people to hell step by step.
.
During the lunch break, the owner of the Central Tavern came to deliver drinks and food in person. Although he was still eager, Balian could feel the indifference beneath his smile. After all, Balian had won so much money in the morning. Of course he was not happy. After all,
If everyone was like Balian, how much money would the people who organized this gambling game earn?
After enjoying the sumptuous food and wine sent by others, Balian gave Bran two silver coins and asked him to go out and buy something to come back and eat something with Gamgee's guards.
When Gamgee saw Balian's move, he felt very emotional. The young knight, who was less than twenty years old, was so meticulous in his work and cared so much for his two servants. It's no wonder that his subordinates were loyal to him.
At noon, the two of them took a nap on the deck chairs. The box in this stand has curtains. If you close the curtains, you can block out the sun. Gamgee also brought a blanket. After drinking a bottle of Sarion wine, the two of them were tipsy.
I took a nice nap, and when I woke up, the afternoon game was about to begin.
There was nothing special about the afternoon game. The process was the same as the first game. There were no particularly powerful knights on the first day. The middle-aged knight who won the first game was the third game in the afternoon.
At that time, he was knocked down by another knight who also came from the mountains. However, the opponent did not ask for his armor and horse as a ransom. This was regarded as a friendship between mountain knights, which received warm applause from the audience.
In the four games in the afternoon, Balian won half and half, and one of them was indeed lost due to his own misjudgment. This time, he lost one thousand dinars, and Gamghi also lost five hundred dinars.
There was another game that he lost on purpose. He and Gamgee lost a total of 600 dinars, which was considered as a favor to the casino owner. But even if he only won two games, Bellion still made a net profit of 100 dinars in the afternoon.
Fifteen hundred dinars, Gamghi also made six hundred dinars.
In the next day and a half, after all the miscellaneous fish were eliminated, there was a fierce battle between the elite knights. This day and a half of competition allowed Bellion to truly see the terror of this group of steel monsters. On average, there was one person every half day.
A brave knight died.
Balian could see clearly that a young knight from the Crevaux Hills was very good in martial arts and equipment. However, due to his carelessness, in the third game, he was hit directly in the face by his opponent and fell off his horse.
.
When his attendants took off his helmet, they found that his face was covered in blood and that he had died with his face broken.
Not only did the audience around him feel sorry for him, but Balian also felt sorry for him, because this young knight was very skilled in martial arts and very brave. If he had not died accidentally in battle, he would definitely have become a great knight.
But the knight's tourney is so cruel. If you are careless in the slightest, you will lose the game or even lose your life.
This also made Balian very lucky that he did not participate in the competition, otherwise the fate of the young knight might be his own. After all, Balian could not guarantee that his luck would be better than his.
Because the knights who competed for a day and a half were basically evenly matched, Balian's betting accuracy was not that high. Because of this, he lowered his betting chips and only bet three hundred dinars at a time.
I bet a lot. After this day and a half, I lost a lot, but overall, I still made a net profit of 600 dinars. It is true that it was not as much as the first day, but it was still an income after all.
Moreover, after watching these two and a half days of competition, Balian's interest in having a heavy cavalry department has greatly increased. Watching these knights covered in armor on the field, with horses weighing more than 800 pounds, charging at full speed.
appearance.
Balian could imagine the scene of a heavy cavalry unit composed of these steel monsters charging towards the enemy. Unless they were particularly elite infantry units with spears as their main weapons, it would be absolutely impossible to fight against these heavy cavalry units.
In this time and space, Balian saw most of the lord's peasant troops and the county soldiers who neglected to drill. If they saw such a heavy cavalry unit rushing into battle, they would immediately drop their weapons and run away. Even if they didn't run away, they would
Like hot knives and butter, the heavy cavalry troops broke their formation and were slaughtered crazily.
But it is too expensive to raise these heavy cavalry. It is quite good for a baron to have ten knights. In addition to the viscount, baron, and baron, the entire Yangwei Shuo province only has fifty or sixty leading knights.
Their knight attendants can only form a heavy cavalry force of about two hundred people at most.
Because war horses and armor alone are not something that ordinary people can afford. In this time and space, there is a saying that "a village of three hundred people can afford one knight." This is true, because war horses and armor are simply too expensive.
As mentioned above, this does not include the cost of training a knight from a young age, which lasts for more than ten years.