above the ring

Chapter 7 The Big Tree Guards Hogle

"Hey, brother! How are you!"

Under the light of the majestic golden tree, among the golden forests, on the looming path down from the church of Airey, a knight walked up. The knight was fully armed, holding a golden round shield, carrying a golden halberd on his shoulder. A strong horse with heavy and graceful steps.

Not far from him, just came down from the hillside, holding his own helmet, with a straight sword in his waist, and a shield in his back, the young man who was full of golden trees smiled and waved hello.

Because of the tattered attire, the young man showed a harmless appearance to humans and animals, and enthusiastically showed off his eight big white teeth.

The knight didn't blink or even glance at him.

At first glance, he looked like a tattered soldier, the proud guard of the big tree, how could he pay attention to a guy like him.

"Brother! Do you know where there is a resting place near here? I have been tired for two days and two nights."

The knight ignored him.

"Brother! I picked fresh Roya fruit, and there is only half a bag. I think your horse is quite tired from carrying you. Why don't we take a break?"

The knight still ignored it.

"Brother! I found this thing when I was picking Roya fruit. I don't know it, but you must know it!"

The knight stopped, and the heavy golden armor stopped and creaked.

"Whoo~"

The sound of the golden halberd piercing the air roared, and the tip of the halberd pointed at Lear.

The eyes under the golden helmet were fixed on Lear's hand.

In his hand, a seed that exudes golden light under the light of the golden tree affects the heart of the knight opposite.

"Where did you get this thing!" came a dull voice from under the heavy armor, with some surprise.

"On the hillside in front, it fell right next to the mummy!"

"The hillside outside the tomb?"

"correct."

"Okay, you can die!"

The tip of the halberd was lifted up, and the mighty halberd struck straight at Lear involuntarily!
"Hey, hey! My brother is so irritable!"

"boom!"

Lear took a step back, just avoiding the tip of the golden halberd, and the halberd hit the ground, splashing earth and rocks.

"Herod~~"

The armored horse raised its front hooves high and neighed. The knight on his back used the horsepower to drive the halberd. The halberd was raised high by the knight and drew a half-arc in the sky.

But seeing that Lear was not in a hurry, he dropped his helmet casually and didn't draw out his sword. He just stretched his right hand behind his left shoulder, grabbed the shield and hugged it forward, and it happened to be stuck on his left forearm. He kept walking, stepping backward step by step. Withdrew, right hand tightened the strap holding the shield.

The big tree guard in front of him was the first time that Lear actually played anti-heavy weapons in a dream.

Since ancient times, powerful heavy weapons have always been the most destructive ones on the battlefield.

Compared with the hidden assassin and the big tree guard wielding a golden halberd, every move and style is open and closed, which belongs to the standard battlefield technique, and it is a clean and neat killing technique.

The outlier tree guard of Ningmgfu is even more outstanding among them. His moves are rigid, neither fancy nor ostentatious, and his moves are all aimed at those fader players who are new to the junction. Poke in the pit of the heart.

But he is indeed the worst big tree guard. After leaving Ningmgfu, all the big tree guards he met from Wangcheng are stronger than the old tree guard in front of him.

After all, they are the guards of the golden tree. The closer they are to the golden tree, the more favors they receive, and the stronger their natural strength. On the contrary, the farther they are from the golden tree, the weaker the guards of the big tree will be.

The guard of the big tree in front of Lear should be an old man coming to retire. The origin is not clear, but it is indeed not a powerful character.

In the game, this big tree guard should be the first teacher for all Ring of Magic players. Playing against him is to let people understand the four basic gameplays of the Ring of Magic: horse fighting, long-range, rolling, and shield.

No matter which one you choose at the beginning, anyway, with the ability value of level 1, if you want to defeat this big tree guard boss, you must have these four.

Of course, those who bypass the big tree guards and run directly to level up are not included in this list.

It is relatively simple to deflect small characters and light weapons, as long as it is fast enough, in this regard, the artifact Buckler in the soul game has a combat skill called "Buckler Block", which is It has very obvious advantages. This combat technique is the fastest rebounding combat technique, bar none.

But repelling large enemies, especially when they wield heavy weapons, requires greater computing power and on-the-spot reflexes.

Compared with swords and daggers, which are used to recruit swords with uplift and slant, for heavy heavy weapons, downward slash and sweep are often their most damaging moves. Therefore, the moves of heavy weapons have always been open and aboveboard. The thief is big, but the moment the move is completed, it will still explode at an extremely fast speed.

This is the "fast and slow knife" that makes players complain incessantly in soul games. Many bosses move like this, with an extremely long forward swing. He never falls, but the moment he makes a shot is like taking a fake drug, the speed is extremely fast, which makes many people roll too early and get stuck in the last roll frame and get hit, or simply don't react was hit directly.

The golden halberd used by the big tree guard is one of the heavy weapons in this game. The golden halberd's moves are nothing more than chopping, sweeping and piercing. It is simple and straightforward, but effective. The best choice for counterattack tactics, but in the horse battles commonly used by the big tree guards, there will only be more action moves such as mopping the ground to charge upwards and jumping downwards.

Therefore, although this big tree guard doesn't have any fancy skills, and his fighting style is very rigid and standard, he is indeed the best combat teacher for players when they first enter the ring.

The big tree guard in front of him must be a brave old knight. After the halberd drew a half-arc in the air, within a few seconds, the golden halberd, which weighed as much as a thousand pounds, struck down again. This time, the opponent used the power of the horse's front hooves on the ground, which was even worse than before!

The big tree guard's move is to step forward and slash vertically. In the game, Lear only needs to press the corresponding button at the right time, but in the dream, Lear feels that simply throwing the shield is not enough. It's a real counterattack.

After having a strong reaction ability and observation ability, the angle and strength of the shield to block are also necessary conditions for a successful rebound. The four are indispensable. Only by doing all of them can you complete the "see through" of heavy weapons!
In just a split second, Lear's brain quickly made a judgment—find his center of gravity!
Yes, no matter how strong a person or a demigod is, as long as they use their body to make moves, there must be a center of gravity, and this center of gravity is the key point of countless people's combat skills, and it is also their biggest flaw!

The moment he became clear about this goal, Lear suddenly found that the opponent's movements slowed down, just like the bullet time or the eye of death in some games, the tree guard's downward movement was slowed down countless times. You have enough time to think about where the opponent's center of gravity is!
This is divine power?

Lear didn't have time to think about it. He regarded the big tree guard and the armored horse as a whole. During the vertical chopping process, all his strength was on the golden halberd, thus forming a short-lived balance fulcrum. , this fulcrum must be the side of the opponent's body leaning against the golden halberd, and at this time the opponent's overall center of gravity must be outside the body.

At this time, the opponent is like a compass, with two sharp corners as the point of force, but if Lear takes one of the points where the pencil is hanging and is about to force downward, the compass will be pulled bigger, drawing If the circle is too big, it will not be complete, just like if the steps are too big, the egg will be pulled!
It was too late, but soon, the tip of the golden halberd was about to fall on the shield that Lear raised!
In an instant, the time of the bullet passed, and the whole process of rebounding that had been rehearsed in Lear's mind was now thrillingly staged: he turned his body slightly, changed the angle of the shield, and swung the shield from the upper right to the lower left, sticking the shield on the With the tip of the golden halberd, with four or two strokes of a thousand catties, he led the guards of the big tree and headed towards the outside!

"Dang!"

Sparks splashed everywhere, and there was a loud roar!
The guard of the big tree was pulled and staggered. Even the knight who had experienced many battles almost fell down. Fortunately, the horse was tough enough, and the guard of the big tree reacted quickly enough. With the strength of his wrist, the golden halberd temporarily He changed direction and slapped the ground before he stabilized his figure.

As for Lear, he took a lunge lightly, and the recoil force from the golden halberd caused him to slide back more than half a meter. He danced wildly, his black hair fluttering, and the golden leaves swirled behind him.

The iron-shaped shield with broken patterns gradually moved down, revealing a pair of resolute black eyes—at that moment, golden light shone by the side!At that time, it should be extremely domineering!
"Bounce against people, never roll over."

Lear whispered the creed he had always adhered to.

"I don't know where you come from, and you are somewhere outside the junction, but your combat skills impress me, and you deserve my respect."

The reorganized big tree guard stood under the light of the golden tree, he said in a muffled voice, and took off his helmet with his left hand.

When the golden helmet with the big green tree-like tassel fell to the ground, an old man with white hair, dark skin, firm and vicissitudes eyes, and wrinkled face appeared in front of Lear.

"I, Hogel, the captain of the first guard of the Golden Tree, my king Radagon once awarded me the reputation of 'Golden Shield', and now, I am very old, so I have to be here to guard the cemetery of the heroes of the border, guard the The path to the tree for heroes." (Note 1)

"However, life is endless, and fighting is endless. On the land of Ningmgfu, I have not met an opponent as skilled in combat as you for a long time. Wandering knight, I am willing to fight with you here. It has nothing to do with life or death!"

He raised the golden tree shield that had never been moved, and raised his arm on the other side, aiming the tip of the golden halberd at Lear.

The war horse under his crotch panted silently, and it was also staring at Lear.

The overwhelming fighting spirit of one man and one horse also made Lear's heart surge. He took a deep breath, pushed the shield back with his left hand, straightened up, took a step forward, and put on a Wing Chun posture with his right hand.

"Fall against man, Lear, here we go to fight."

"You don't draw your sword?"

"You are not yet qualified to draw my sword."

"Hmph, arrogance! If that's the case, then I'll take another halberd from this old man!"

In an instant, the horse stepped on its front hooves and jumped straight out. The guard of the old tree used the horse's charge method without any martial arts ethics. The golden halberd dragged along the ground, drawing a long dirt mark. Rushed in front of Lear, the upward sling coming forward with momentum, wrapped in a terrifying impact, attacked head-on!

"Oh, it's interesting!"

Lear shouted, at that moment, it was as if divine power came into the world again, and it was still a short bullet time, allowing Lear to accurately find the flaw of the opponent's move.

The left foot that was forward before retreated, and the shield was raised horizontally, covering most of the face, only the top edge of the shield exposed Lear's eyes.

The halberd is raised upwards, not vertically upwards, but inclined towards the inside of the horse. This is the best way to exert force. The opponent is indeed an old rider. The grasp is also perfect.

Therefore, Lear chose the technique of throwing the shield from the bottom right to the top left. This time the force to be used is much higher than the previous one, but this time Lear is hiding his tricks!

"Dangdang!"

The golden halberd and the shield touched again, sparks splashed again, the power of the halberd was destroyed, and even the horse's front hooves were raised high, but the horse actually adjusted its direction slightly in the air, and stepped directly towards Lear !

This is the killer move of the big tree guard!Every big tree guard is not only proficient in martial arts, but also proficient in riding skills. When he and the horse under his crotch are connected with each other, he can perform this extremely powerful killer!

However, Lear had expected it a long time ago. The opponent already knew that his counterattack was the most powerful skill, so how could he not respond?
So, after being prepared, Lear was not complacent after flying the golden halberd. Instead, he quickly turned around with the strength beyond the limit, and turned around with his left hand. On the top, the momentum brought by the rotation can not reduce the strength of the shield much, and it is thrown from the upper right to the lower left, just hitting the horse's hoof that is stepping down!
"collapse!"

The horseshoe's counter-shock force was originally downward, but it was deflected by Lear's rebounding skills, and Lear also took advantage of the downward force of the shield after being hit hard, and punched back, directly hitting the horse's leg. head on!
Immediately, the horse's head was hit sideways, dizziness ensued, and the guard of the old tree was also led by the horse and couldn't stabilize his position.

The old tree guard was shocked: "What a beautiful combination of combat skills!"

Two consecutive rebounds, use your strength to fight!

Shoot people first, shoot horses, capture thieves first capture kings!
They are all blocking combat skills, but after Lear used them, this move is handsome and powerful!

"If, what he holds in his right hand is a sword."

But even if Lear didn't hold the sword, this punch still hit the big tree guard with an eighth of his blood.

Yes, the blood bar displayed by the guard of the big tree is shared by the horse and the horse. It is the same whether it is hit on a horse or a human.

In this punch to the horse's head, Lear thought that he had used all his strength, but he was really shocked to be able to achieve such an effect.

Before going to bed, Lear was still playing against the Valkyrie, thinking that he would lose 25 or 30 points of blood when he hit the Valkyrie with his fists, and now he hammered the tree guard, it was about one-eighth, this is for Lear In terms of difficulty, the difficulty has been reduced too much!
Is this big tree guard too good, or is he too strong?
Of course, there is no time for Lear to think about it now, the reorganized Big Tree Guard is ready to challenge Lear's combat skills like the hand of God again.

At that time, Rodel, the royal city of the Golden Clan, under the leadership of Lord Radagon, was fighting with the Kalia royal family, which is famous for its magic, in the east of Lienia on the lake. In order to restrain Kalia's full moon magic, The guards of the big tree bathed in the grace of the golden tree, and under the guidance of Radagon, they created a powerful shield combat technique, "golden return".

"Golden return", when receiving damage from the enemy, the large shield can launch a golden comet with prayer effects to attack the enemy.

Later, "golden return" became a battle skill that all the guards of the big tree must know, and it was also engraved in the form of battle ashes on the golden tree shields held by the guards of the big tree.

The tree guard Hogger, who has the title of "Golden Shield" awarded by the hero Radagon, actually has the most famous combat skills in his life on this shield.

However, time flies, he is far away from the royal city of Rodel, and he no longer accepts the grace of the golden tree at close range. Now it is difficult for him to display those powerful combat skills back then.

But he and his warhorse still know how to use a shield skill together - "Big Shield Slam", commonly known as "Shield Slam".

Hogger's shield is very proficient in using the shield. It is often after a few rounds of halberd swinging, followed by a horse jumping downward shield attack, because the shield surface of the golden tree shield is wide and thick, and the area it hits is only small. Bigger, compared to the golden halberd, the shield is one of the most difficult moves to counter except for various long-range spells.

But Lear didn't even think about rebounding the shield fiercely. What is the most basic technology of the shield?Of course it's defense. Isn't this the easiest and most effective way to raise the shield to defend against the enemy's attack?

Sure enough, Hogel saw that his golden halberd combat skill failed to break through Lear's rebounding technique, so he directly switched to shield fierce, one man and one horse regrouped, charging towards Lear, the horse jumped to the right, Hogel raised the shield with his left hand and smashed it down with all his strength!
"boom!"

In an instant, earth and rocks splattered, and Lear, who raised his shield to defend, was pushed horizontally for several meters. Hogel cooperated with the horse's jumping shield, which was really hard to catch.

But not only did he take over the shield, but he also found that he still had enough strength, kicked his feet, and jumped high, his right hand turned into a fist, and hit the horse's head with a super big punch!

"Damn it again!"

At this moment, both the man and the horse staggered, the horse wailed, its front hooves bowed, and it fell to its knees.

This hit the horse's vitals twice in a row, and it couldn't hold on anymore.

Only then did Lear finally realize that the strength of his body seemed to be amazing!

"Hey!"

The golden halberd pierced into the soil, and Hogel used the halberd to support himself off the horse, with the big shield covering half of his body.

"Hey, I was defeated. I had to submit to my old age. You can surpass me in terms of skills. Young man, you are considered talented. If it weren't for my lack of physical strength, some powerful combat skills could not be used, haha, It's like everyone's ears."

"Okay, okay, who hasn't thought about the past, when I was young, I played the King of Fighters arcade, which was invincible to all the children in the village. I never lost in junior high school, but I lost to my mother. Now, I can only Play a simple bounce."

"King of Fighters? Oh, no wonder you have strong fists and full strength. It must be a kind of powerful combat skill blessing. I am defeated. I am in a life-and-death battle. Let others take my life. However, I only hope For one thing, I also ask the knight to spare the life of the horse, it is still young."

"Aw~" The war horse has a spirit, and whines softly, perhaps it has sensed something.

The golden fallen leaves fluttered and fell on the sides of the old knight and Lear.

Hogel knelt on one knee, let go of the golden halberd with his right hand, stroked his chest, bowed slightly, and performed the final knight salute to Lear.

He has reached his twilight years, and now that he dies, it can be regarded as a glorious death in battle.

But Lear did not draw his sword, but put the shield behind his back, took a step forward, and said, "This is not a battlefield, and you and I haven't really fought to the death, so why risk your own life like this?"

"This is the honor of the knight, and it is also my honor as the guard of the big tree."

"Then it's an honor for you to fight with that guy Greg?"

"Oh, I know your words, but in the battle of the storm level more than ten years ago, I was defeated by the three "supreme knights" alone. I should have spilled blood on the battlefield, but the goddess still remembers me and called me back then." The title of "Golden Shield" spared my life. Since that day, I have never entered Stonewell, only here, thirsty for nectar, hungry for wild fruits, in order to survive and guard the former Frontier hero."

The old man's voice was low, as if he was recalling an unbearable past.

"Do you still want to say next, because you felt so guilty about what happened back then, you wanted to die, but you didn't get the blessing and guidance of the golden tree, so you dare not return to the tree directly, hey, you want to be decent The purpose of dying is to wait for this moment, to be defeated by a foreigner, to die safely and honorably, isn't that what you think?"

The corners of Lear's mouth curled up. Although the tone of his words seemed to be mocking, there was no hint of irony on his face, instead, there was a gentleness like a golden tree.

"You are just an outsider, or maybe a Faded."

"Let me tell you first, I'm not a fading person, I'm just a foreigner who came to travel. As for challenging the local demigods, hey~ Is that just a matter of convenience? You can't have the same virtue as you in the famous borderlands, right? It’s not too much of a joke to claim to be a demigod but not even have anyone who can do it!”

"You! Humph, on the thick soil of Gaelid in the east, there is also the great General Lataen, who is the strongest demigod since ancient times! In the land of the sacred tree in the north, the Scarlet Valkyrie went all the way south to fight, invincible My king Mengget is the hero of the world! In the second battle to defend the king city, he faced the heroes of the world alone outside the king city, beheaded the demigod, defeated Lataen, who can match him! You are so big outsider Tone, even if your skills are superb, how dare you look down on the heroes of the world at my border?"

The old man became agitated by what Lear said, and changed his previous look of begging for death. He opened his hands and raised them above his head, full of passion, as if the enumerated demigod achievements belonged to him.

Oh, that's right, after all, what Lear said just now was a mockery of the entire borderland.

"Haha, okay, okay, they're all very powerful, just an old coward like Greg." Lear shook his head and smiled, and felt that he had made a mistake. After all, he still respected some of the powerful half God.

"King Greg was once the direct bloodline of the royal family in the royal city. He is also the only descendant who can inherit the title of 'Golden'. Well, I am loyal to Lord Radagon and the 'Golden' family."

"Okay, okay, I don't want to listen to your nagging, old man, don't you want to die in battle? Let me point you to a chance, you know Moen City on the Weeping Peninsula in the south, it is going through Terrible war, go, go there to fight, die there, it is also the home of a hero."

"Moen City?"

"Yes, Moen City."

"Is it the southernmost place where the early king fought?"

"Well, let's go."

"I know, let me rest for a while, I will take my war horse, all the way south, follow the home of 'gold'"

"Here, put these on. I've been picking these Roa fruits for a long time. Don't be shy, have a good trip!"

The old knight Hogger reached out and took the half bag of Roya fruit, remembering the young man's words when he first met him.

"That... golden tree seed."

"Have you heard of it? At the end of the last era, there was a saying in the borderlands, 'Where the golden tree takes root is the place where the hero is born', please go all the way south and talk to those soldiers Ah, dignitaries, let’s popularize this sentence, although it may not be useful, but the seeds of the golden tree have indeed germinated in Ningmgfu, and maybe it can inspire some people to cheer up.”

Hogel stood up tremblingly, pointing at Lear with a trembling hand:

"You, you are."

"Well, the passer-by, the outsider, the rebellious person, it's all me."

Lear responded with a smile.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not a hero. The word hero is too heavy. I just want to tell you that everyone in this world, everyone, should be their own hero."

PS: Change first and then change.

Note 1: I made up my own character and adapted it reasonably. Anyway, the big tree guard appeared here very abruptly and said, give him a more reasonable plot~
Hogger, a medieval Western European work, a legendary knight recorded in the knight epic "Song of Roland".

(End of this chapter)