Temple Sword

Chapter 118 Ire
1321, Month of Pentecost (May)
Eastern Dubica, Slavonia

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Elay held the training sword in both hands, and assumed the standard Pflug posture (Pflug): He raised the hilt of the sword by his waist, pointing the point of the sword at the person standing in front of him, roughly at neck height.The nine-year-old boy stood sideways in front of his opponent, his right knee constantly changing direction, and his left foot leaning back slightly.

His father's words kept echoing in his head: "A swordsman has to be constantly moving, nothing is more important than that! When you move, you are in momentum, and when you are in momentum, you The attack will be faster and the parry will be more flexible, so you can never stand still."

"Come on, attack!" he called to Sepuk and Corta who stood opposite him, sweating in the sun and holding spears twice their height. "What's wrong?"

"It's useless," Corta said, "you can't defend a spear with a sword!"

"Everyone knows that," Sepke nodded, weary under the weight of the spear, "why don't we all train with swords?"

"If one day I go to the battlefield," Ireh said confidently, "I will not only meet knights wielding swords, but also have to be prepared for spears that attack me. Attack!"

The twins have no choice, because they know that if they don't do what their master wants, he won't let them go.So they compromised, raised their spears to waist height, stepped forward, and thrust through.

Elay leaped back deftly, and they thrust forward again.Then, Antal Barto's son knocked Corta's spear aside with a curved and powerful slanted thrust, hitting Sepke's weapon right at the moment, and at this moment, Ireh stepped forward , stabbing Corta's chest with two quick steps.

"Ouch!" the little guy yelled angrily, "It hurts!"

"You should be wearing soft armor!" Elay said with a smile, and with another quick movement he placed the training sword on Sepuk's neck beside Corta.

"I didn't know you would use such force! It's just a game!"

"Yes, you can't play like that!" Sepke defended his brother, "If Captain Varos or any of his men had a spear, you couldn't beat the spear aside, but it's not good for us. It's still hard!"

"Let's fight with swords!" Corta grumbled.

"Or with a dagger," corrected the other twin, "with a lighter weapon!"

Yi Lei shook his head disapprovingly: these two people were several years older than him, and they treated this match as a game, but he wanted to take his training very seriously.

"This is not a game!" he told them. "Our task is to be able to use all weapons well, not when you have swords on you!"

"We'll have a good farmer's knife for sure," Corta complained.

"And we already have a dagger," Sepke pointed out, "I don't like spears, I'm going to train with daggers, whether you like it or not!"

"Okay, okay," Yi Lei agreed with rolling his eyes, "Then let's fight with a dagger!"

At last they came to an agreement, and the training sword and heavy spear were set aside, and the three short steel blades reflected the sun's rays.

The movements are fast and the steps are short. In the dagger training, they mainly practice how to block with empty hands when one person attacks, and then twist the opponent's dagger from his hand, or point the blade at the attacker.This keeps all three of them engaged enough not to notice the passage of time.

"No, no, children!" Mikolai's voice that came quietly startled them all.

The manor steward was dressed, as usual, in a striking velvet robe, the kind of delicate dress that other people only wear at festivals.The vain man watched the boys' every move and smiled softly.

"You'll cut yourself," he raised his chin toward the dagger, "why don't you play with something less dangerous?"

"It's not a game," Corta said proudly, while his brother laughed at him: "That's not what you said in the first place!"

"We're training," Ealy explained, as the twins started running after each other. "As my dad told me before he left: we shouldn't put off anything important and train like he was at home."

"Please," Mikolai smiled and waved his hands. "I'm his housekeeper. I know him well. I believe he doesn't want to see you get hurt. What's the point of children playing around with sharp weapons?"

Yi Lei never liked Mikolai's mocking tone and condescending expression, and Mikolai's words offended the three boys at the same time.

"We're not fooling around," Sepke said, frowning. "Maybe you should train too!"

"Everyone has to get their hands dirty with something at some point." Corta shrugged.

"Or clothes." His brother grinned.

"I don't believe in spears," the man replied, and as usual he ran his hands through his clothes, brushing a bit of dust from his left shoulder. "You guys would be better off spending your time studying."

"Whether you believe in spears or not, a good spear can pierce you!" Sepke laughed.

"And a mace can crush your skull at will," Corta laughed with him. "A good sword..."

"Or a barbed arrow!"

"You disrespectful little bastards!" Mikolaj yelled angrily. "I don't think anyone has taught you manners. Put down your daggers! Now!"

"But, Uncle Mikolai!" Ire stepped forward, "If we don't train..."

"Go inside!" ordered the offended steward, "weapons are not for children!"

"According to Lord Antal..." Sepke tentatively said, he was no longer in the mood to laugh, but Mikolai immediately choked back his words.

"But Master Antar is not here now," he said with a blink of an eye, "and when he is not here, you have to listen to me, I say you can't play with weapons, you just..."

"This is not a game."

Mikolai turned around, startled.Varos stood less than two steps behind him, leaning on a spear, stroking his long goatee with his right hand, and seemed to have been observing them for some time.

"Maybe it's not a game to you," the butler smoothed his velvet sleeves again, "but they're still children, and this is a game to them!"

"They are the master's servants," Varos said calmly. "They are 13 years old, not babies anymore. Their responsibility is to be good servants, to protect their master, his family and his estate. Don't you Don't you want them to do their jobs?"

"I...I just..." Mikolai stammered nervously, "I'm worried about Ire, he's not even ten years old yet!"

"You know," the captain approached, "I sent them. The master asked me to take care of his son's training. Maybe you have forgotten it, so I will help you remember. The little master will become a knight one day .”

"but……"

"What kind of world do you live in, Steward?" Varos walked closer, face to face, "Children can't use weapons, apprentices can't practice fighting, because you don't like weapons?

Outside, beyond this wall, there are many wicked people, in the forest, in the city, in the high walls of the castle, even in the church... And the world will expel those who are not strong enough, not even an eye will blink. "

Mikolai listened to the captain with his head down, and snorted.He didn't look up until the other party finished the last sentence.

"There is another power," he said with a sly smile on his face, "you and all brute warriors like you will learn it someday."

"I don't know what Master Barto will think when he hears this," the captain replied with a smile, "Go back to your little room and count your money now! I'll take care of these children..."

They looked at each other for a while without saying a word, and the three children looked at them without daring to speak.Finally, with a mocking sneer, Mikolaj left Varos and the three boys.

The captain watched his leaving back for a long time.In fact, he didn't know why he hated this man so much, Mikolai never had any specific reason for his disgust.But he didn't like the butler since they first met.

Antal was pleased with the man, saying he could do his job efficiently and without error, but Varos still hated him instinctively after all these years.

"Old fox bastard," he said, frowning, not realizing he was speaking out loud, "glib son of a bitch..."

"He doesn't even believe in weapons," Sepke was as displeased as he was. "You should teach him a lesson, don't you think, Captain?"

"Be careful, I will teach you a lesson!" Varos waved his hand, "Mikolai is the steward of the manor, don't think about disrespecting him, understand?"

"But..." Sepke looked innocent.

"...you just said..." Corta answered for his brother.

"What I said has nothing to do with you, don't worry about it!" Varos pointed at the two of them with his index finger, cursing himself for throwing a tantrum in front of the children. "Let's start training, it seems that you have already practiced daggers, now pick up spears!"

Sepuk and Corta started howling at the same time, but Varos pointed at the spear sternly, with the expression on the boys' faces all too familiar, and there was no room for discussion.

"These adults," Corta shook his head after seeing the captain walk away, "I really don't understand their thinking."

"Maybe they don't understand it themselves," Sepke concluded.

"Enough!" Elay ended their complaints, "Attack!"

After all, he held the training sword in his hand, and the other two little guys sighed helplessly and launched an attack.

　① Farmer's knife: bauernwehr, a single-edged knife
　　
　
(End of this chapter)