Chapter 13: This Wine Is Not Bad

Ironflesh is a skill in the Mount and Blade interface, which can add two points of health per level.

And this interface of Arthur's, while lacking health, still possesses Ironflesh.

Calculating based on the forty-plus health points every character starts with in Mount and Blade, the effect of each point of Ironflesh is roughly an increase of five percent in health.

After the battle where he captured Brynden, Arthur added two points of Ironflesh to himself.

If he could avoid vital spots and take a hit head-on to turn around a passive situation, Arthur felt it was not out of the question.

With his mind made up, he took advantage of the moment Dilun thrust forward to puff out his chest and receive the sword, turning slightly to let the curve of his ribs slide Dilun's sword away.

Dilun had forced Arthur to the edge of the wooden fence of the arena, intending to make his opponent dodge along the edge so he could seize an opportunity to attack.

He had not expected Arthur to be so reckless as to take a sword strike head-on.

Dilun had thrust casually with little force, and since Arthur was wearing Plate Armor, Dilun had inserted the tip of his sword along the gap between two plates to land the hit.

Such gaps usually have cowhide padded inside, which is enough to reduce some of the impact, and Arthur had turned, avoiding his vitals, so it did not cause any substantial damage.

It merely broke a layer of skin.

At this moment, Dilun's sword was caught by Arthur's armor, and Arthur and Dilun were only an arm's length apart.

Arthur did not use his sword, instead swinging his empty left fist directly upward.

A left hook struck the right eye of his opponent, who had been greedy for success and advanced too far.

The cowhide glove hitting the steel visor made Arthur's finger bones ache in waves.

But Dilun was in even more pain; his right eye went numb, and he could not see clearly.

Arthur's second punch followed immediately, striking the right side of Dilun's chin directly.

After taking two punches head-on, Dilun finally pulled back his sword and then stepped back to create distance before Arthur's third punch could arrive.

Arthur did not pursue, instead keeping his sword in front of him.

Only then did he understand what that middle-aged bandit had said.

A sword in front of the chest is the fighting stance; otherwise, it is easy for someone to drive straight in.

In this round, a piece of Arthur's armor was broken and he suffered a minor injury, while Dilun had taken two punches and his steps were somewhat unsteady.

It looked like Arthur was at a slightly greater disadvantage.

"Get him, Dilun, get him."

"Well done, that's it, he's big and his reactions aren't as fast as yours, two punches for one sword strike, not a bad trade."

"Arthur, don't just stand there, go up and hack him."

Outside the arena, various voices rose and fell.

The bit of blood flowing from Arthur's chest greatly stimulated the spectators, making them even more fanatical.

The two closed the distance to two or three steps again and began to probe.

"Boy, you will pay the price for those two punches." Dilun pressed his right eye through his visor.

"Hey, Bastard of King's Landing, you have to call me my lord." Arthur corrected his words.

Weishui is the surname for bastards of the Crownlands, just as all bastards of The North are surnamed Snow.

"So what if I'm a bastard, I can still easily defeat you, my lord."

Arthur responded to Dilun with action.

He held his Dawn Sword with both hands, hunched his body, took a step forward, and first slashed horizontally from the left.

If he hacked from top to bottom, the opponent could block with his sword, which would not be very effective.

But by slashing horizontally from the side, Dilun would be unable to exert force and would have to either take it head-on or retreat.

Dilun indeed held his sword vertically to block.

Arthur was delighted and was just preparing to exert force when his vision blurred.

His vision blurred, but the spectators outside the arena saw it clearly.

As the two swords collided, Dilun changed his footwork and actually slid to Arthur's side.

Then, with another kick, he struck the back of Arthur's right knee.

Arthur immediately lost his balance, and his right knee hit the ground.

Damn it, playing dirty!

This was Arthur's first reaction.

To avoid falling forward, he had to retract his Greatsword and lean it on the ground to dissipate the force.

Dilun did not stay idle, taking a step back and thrusting directly toward Arthur's right back.

Although Arthur could not see what was happening behind him, he knew it was bad and immediately rolled forward once before standing up and turning around.

Dilun's attack followed like a shadow, thrusting straight at Arthur's jaw.

Because Arthur was only wearing a helmet and had no protective gear like a mask or visor, not even a gorget, and had no time to block, he could only retreat.

The two fell back into a situation of one chasing and one retreating.

The main seat of the spectator stand.

"Arthur is having a very hard time this time." Kalier Fansi said with a smile.

Dilun was a Free Knight temporarily loyal to him, and such a performance naturally brought him face.

He was even thinking about taking Dilun on as his own Sworn Knight after this.

A Free Knight is also called a wandering knight. In the eyes of the nobility, they are mercenaries with the title of Knight.

But a Sworn Knight is different.

Knights swear to be loyal to their lord, never to betray or leave.

The lord naturally must also pay a corresponding price; besides covering living expenses and a certain commission, they must also be responsible for the knights' old age and their descendants.

Ma Ke, however, did not think so, "Dilun abandoning his advantage of agility to engage in close-quarters combat with Arthur is truly stupid."

"It's because you bet ten Gold Dragons on Arthur that you're defending him like this, isn't it?" Kalier felt he had discovered the truth.

"Don't use your own petty thoughts to speculate on the ideas of a noble person like me." Ma Ke picked up the wine glass handed over by a servant, "Arthur is fighting for his own subjects; such a lord deserves to be respected."

Then he turned his head to say to Hendry: "Why don't you send someone to make peace with Blackwood House, and I will send someone too; the combined face of our two houses is enough to bring peace to a tiny territory with only nine villages."

Hendry also took a glass of wine.

"Hmm, quite good." He raised his voice, trying to change the subject, "This is the wine you brought; it's much better than the horse piss along the Red Fork."

Seeing him feign ignorance, Ma Ke snorted, stopped speaking, and turned his head to focus intently on watching the fight.

After a few more rounds, the Plate Armor on Arthur's body had lost the pieces on his chest and right leg, and several streaks of blood flowed down his silver greaves.

Dilun was not doing well either; his faceplate had already been knocked off by Arthur, and half of his face was swollen high.

He was still fighting in close quarters, but his speed had visibly slowed down.

Arthur, however, was as clumsy as ever.

Outside the arena, the voices supporting Dilun grew louder.

Because Dilun was still in one piece, while Arthur had already started bleeding.

The two were not far apart; Dilun continued to press in, swinging his Dawn Sword to thrust directly at Arthur's chest.

The armor here had fallen off, and if it were pierced, his life would be over.

Arthur leaned back while swinging his Dawn Sword with one hand to counterattack.

Yet his foot slipped, and he actually fell down.

Dilun was overjoyed; after dodging Arthur's Dawn Sword, he took a large step forward and thrust forcefully at his neck.

The tip of the Dawn Sword was only an arm's length away from reaching Arthur, and it seemed he had already seized the winning chance.

Dilun had intended to show mercy, but since Arthur never called for surrender, he thrust straight down.

Several people outside the arena gasped, feeling pity for Arthur.

Ma Ke even stood up.

"Could it be that Arthur has been defeated just like this?"

And more people began to applaud, evidently convinced that Dilun had won.

Just at this critical moment, the situation changed abruptly.

Arthur kicked at Dilun's leg while using his right hand, covered by a leather glove, to grasp the blade of the Dawn Sword, pushing it away from himself.

Dilun lost his balance and actually lunged onto Arthur's body, and the Dawn Sword, with both of them exerting force, was pushed aside to Arthur's right.

PS: New author, new book, seeking recommendation tickets and monthly votes.

(End of chapter)