Volume 1 Forest Knight Chapter 74 Trial by Combat (2)
To participate in a trial by combat, it would be impossible without good equipment. Balian happened to think of the Double Ring Arms Shop he had visited that day and thought their products were pretty good.
Moreover, the boss, Jed, is also a businessman who understands technology, so he can be found just in time to do it. Judging from the time, he and Bran should have their saddles ready, and they can just come and pick them up.
Jade was still very polite after seeing Balian. After Balian chose a fine iron-inlaid chainmail, he also bought a barrel helmet and a pair of greaves, as well as a suit that can weaken the impact of blunt objects.
Thick linen armor that hurts.
As for weapons, Balian chose a mace. Against a heavily armed knight, this blunt weapon could still cause enough damage.
In addition to ready-made weapons, Balian also customized some special equipment. With him, Balian believed that even if there was an imminent spearmanship competition, he would be sure to fight his opponent.
Although it is not certain at the moment whether there will be horse shooting or sword fighting in the tournament.
Balian is not afraid of fighting with swords. He has studied with the Dawn Sword for more than ten years. Although his martial arts skills cannot be said to be a top master, he is like Sir Sauger, the champion of three consecutive Northern Knights Tournament.
Everyone was easily defeated by him. Thinking about it, there shouldn't be many people in the Principality of Brick who can defeat him.
But if he were to fight with a gun on horseback, he would have no confidence, because the Dawn Sword was superb in foot combat and swordsmanship, but his fighting skills on horseback were average, otherwise he would not have been shot dead by the robbers on horseback.
However, in this era before plate armor appeared, horseback lance competitions placed particularly high demands on users. Competitors must be able to hold a competition lance weighing twenty kilograms with their right arm, and be able to race at high speeds.
Stay steady immediately, only in this way can you hit your opponent accurately.
This requires those who participate in lance competitions to undergo years of training, master the skills of using lances, and have amazing arm strength. Ordinary people would be exhausted after just one run with such a heavy lance, not to mention the participating knights.
They have to charge back and forth with their lances in hand.
In addition to the blunt head shaped like a fist, the lance used in horseback lance competition also has a hand guard at the back to protect the user's fingers. Behind the hand guard are the contestant's hands and the handle at the back.
As a cold weapon enthusiast in his previous life, Bellian knew that there was another part behind the hand guard of medieval competition lances, called the lance ring. This was a deliberately shaped ring, which was related to the name on the armor.
To match the position of the lance mount.
When the contestant impacts the opponent with a lot of force, it can prevent the lance from moving backwards. Because no matter how strong you are, when you rush the opponent with the lance, you cannot control it well. So the correct approach is to ride the lance.
The combination of the gun ring and the lance frame allows you to use your own body weight, the weight of the war horse, and the power of accelerating charge to knock down the opponent.
It was precisely for this reason that Balian gave the drawings to Jed, the owner of the Double Ring Armor Shop, and customized ten competition lances with lance rings, and also asked him to install a lance rack on his cloth armor.
In this way, Balian can put the lance into the lance rack during the competition, and no longer relies solely on arm strength to control the lance. This way, he can better hit his opponent, increase his probability of winning, and at the same time allow Jade to
Extend the distance of your spear by one punch.
This distance is an allowed error in a competition, but knights who are good at riding and riding a gun will not do this, because if it is longer, it will increase the difficulty of control. But Balian knows the principle of "one inch longer, one inch stronger", especially with his current skills.
If they are not as good as humans, let's make weapons stronger.
After purchasing so much equipment, a total of nearly three thousand dinars was spent. Balian had no shortage of money at the moment. If there were only one or two knights from small farms or ordinary villages, he would probably cry.
They may not be able to save so much money in a year. After all, in this era, the level of metal smelting is very low. Wanting a set of sophisticated armor is very time-consuming and the price is naturally expensive.
Boss Jed was very happy to receive such a large sum of money. He also presented Balian with a pair of iron-clad armor and five bucklers. He would have Balian's coat of arms painted on him. In addition, the chain armor was modified.
If you are more suitable for this service, there will be no charge, which can be regarded as his exclusive discount for big customers.
After everything was confirmed, both parties agreed to come and pick up all the things in three days, and then Balian took Bran away. It was already high in the sky, but because the knight's tourney had just passed, the lively atmosphere had not dissipated.
There are many people playing and hanging out in the street.
However, Balian didn't want to go shopping anymore. The most important thing now was to go back early to rest and prepare for training.
Three days later, in the morning, Jed, the owner of Shuanghuan Armor Shop, personally drove a carriage to deliver these things. Balian checked some briefly and found that they were all in good condition. His favorable impression of this boss increased again.
Some, if Norlandenburg was still a desolate place, Balian would definitely invite him to open a branch in Norlandenburg.
That night, Miss Jesses sent a gray-haired old servant over. The old man gave Balian the clothes that Miss Jesses had made for Balian, and told Balian: "Sir Balian, the lady asks you to put on these clothes."
He wants to put on his clothes and let me take a look at them to see if they fit him properly."
Balian nodded, and after going to the back room to change into new clothes, he found that the clothes made by the Earl's lady were quite fitting. The patterns on them were fine and exquisite, and there was a Balian double-headed eagle emblem on the chest.
The old servant of the Earl's Mansion looked around Balian, who was wearing new clothes, and said with a smile: "Our young lady has good craftsmanship and a better vision. Sir Balian, this is what our young lady gives to you."
The letters and information about the trial by combat are all in it, so I won’t interrupt you and take my leave.”
After saying that, the old man turned around and left. Balian was about to ask him something, but then he thought about it, since it was all in the letter anyway, there was nothing more to ask.
But the old man walked out for two steps and then turned around. He said to Balian: "Sir Balian, just now I forgot something the lady asked me to bring you. My mind is old and confused, and it is easy to forget.
matter.
My lady asked me to tell you that she hopes that after you win the trial by combat, you will wear this dress to attend the dinner held for the winner at the Earl's Palace. She will wear a matching long dress and will be with you then.
Dance together.”
After the old man said these words, he turned around and left. He walked very quickly, and soon left the yard where Balian was, leaving Balian standing at the door blankly with the letter.
Bran came over and asked softly: "Sir, is this about trial by combat?"
Balian nodded, then went into the room and sat down, opening the letter. The letter was written in beautiful cursive handwriting, which made people look very comfortable. After reading the letter, Balian knew that Miss Jesses had already made arrangements with her father.
The Earl of Li won it and decided Puli's life or death through a trial by combat.
It will be two days later in the morning, and the list of trial by combat will be posted early tomorrow morning. It will probably be more lively than the knights' tournament, because there has not been a public trial by combat in Yangweixuo City for nearly ten years.
Suddenly there was a trial by combat, and it was not long after the Northern Knights Tournament ended. Many people who came to see the tournament had not left yet. No one would miss this great excitement.
For the next two days, Balian turned his back on the outside world and practiced his horsemanship and marksmanship every day at the farm outside the city that Gamgee helped find, because Jesses told him in his heart that Earl Grie hoped that this would happen.
A trial by combat is resolved by horsemanship, but of course this does not mean that the two knights participating in the trial by combat do not carry infantry weapons.
Gamgee told Balian that a trial by combat is a battle in which the outcome is determined by the life and death of both sides. Both sides will carry a full set of infantry and cavalry weapons in accordance with the wartime equipment plan to facilitate the response to any emergencies.
After all, this is not a martial arts competition. There is no chance that your opponent will stab your horse with a lance. If you don't prepare infantry combat weapons, you will have no choice but to wait for death.
Balian's hard training in the past two days has exhausted Bran, Broda and the guards. In order to help Balian train these two days, they took turns pulling the carriage to simulate a horseback sprint to let Balian feel better.
Balian held the lance on the carriage, put it into the lance rack, and then tried to stab the iron ring hanging there. Through these, he trained the accuracy of the thrust and the mastery of the lance.
After two days of arduous training, coupled with the foundation of his previous sword practice, Balian felt that he had the strength to fight. Although he was not very confident, there was nothing he could do at the moment, and he only had two days.
No matter how prepared he was, he had to go into battle. This competition would not only determine the life or death of the girl named Puli, but also his own life and death. He could only do it with all his strength.
On the morning of the competition day, Balian entered the competition ground early. This competition ground was the competition ground for the Northern Knights Tournament a few days ago. It had not been demolished at this time and was just in use.
Balian didn't wait long after entering the venue. Count Grie arrived with his family, and then all the dignitaries in the city of Yang Weixuo also arrived. After the big shots entered, the guards released the weapons blocking the door.
The civilians entered the competition venue, and the tidal flow of people quickly filled the terraced stands.
Balian looked up and saw that there were so many people. This scene was more lively than the day of the Knights' Tourney. But what he was most concerned about at the moment was not how many people came to watch the game, but who his opponent was.
According to the established rules, before the trial by combat begins, the names of the knights who agree to participate in the trial by combat cannot be known to everyone, especially the two knights participating in the trial. This is to avoid unforeseen changes before the trial.
But without knowing who his opponent was, Balian always felt a little uneasy. Maybe it was because he had been taught in his previous life that "know yourself, know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles." He always wanted to know information about his opponent in advance.
But how can reality allow you to clearly understand your opponent every time? People always have to face unknown things.
In fact, it is very exciting to have unknown results. You don’t know anyway, so you just go up and fight. If you try really hard and you still don’t get a good result, then you can only blame yourself for your fate.
Just when Balian was thinking wildly, his opponent also entered the scene. Although he was fully armed and wrapped in armor, Balian recognized his badge. After seeing the person coming, Balian's originally panicked mood calmed down.
Not because I was sure of defeating my opponent, but because I felt that I would definitely lose miserably in this competition.
Because today Balian's opponent is none other than the three-time champion of the Northern Knights Conference, Balian's former defeater, Sir Sogg, the lord of Bankside Town.
Although Sir Thorg lost to him in the sword fight, Balian knew that this did not mean that Sir Thorg could not defeat him, especially this time when he saw Sir Thorg defeat him with one blow in the third round of hedging.
After meeting the challenger, Balian knew that Sir Sogg's attainments in horseback shooting skills were definitely at the top level in Brick's country.
The expressions on the faces of Gamgee and Bran who were accompanying Balian were not very good at this time, because they had heard Balian's evaluation of Sir Thorg, and they also knew that Balian was really not good at shooting on horseback. If Balian competed like this, Balian would
You will probably lose your life. You are not as good as others, and your opponent hates you so much.
Gamgee quickly bent down and said to Balian who was sitting there: "If you quickly declare your abstention, it will only lose face, and you can still survive. If you fight Sir Sog in your current situation, there will be no good results.
Maybe my life is gone."
Balian shook his head. It was impossible for him to withdraw now, because if he launched a tournament now, it would first implicate Puli, who would be burned as a witch on the spot.