Temple Sword

Chapter 12 Black Robe
1301, St. Jacob's Month (July)
Two well-worn practice swords collided together with a distinctive thud.Antal assumes the Posta Longa stance, holding his sword in both hands, keeping the sword on the center line, with his arms outstretched, aimed at the opponent's face.

Laszlo, on the other hand, raised his sword haphazardly, and defended against Antal's attack in a completely wrong way. He barely avoided the first blow, but the second blow put him in his hands. The weapon flew off.

"I won!" Antar yelled.

"If I'm a squire, you can't win," Laszlo shouted. "Don't be so happy!"

"If you are a squire, you are just beginning to learn the most basic knowledge of swordsmanship." Antal said.

"If I were you, I'd be more careful with my words," Laszlo advised him. "They might hear that your training at home is not very formal."

Antal showed a cheeky smile, "Then I'll cut down everyone there!"

Laszlo shook his head, then suddenly attacked Antal.The squire Antar parried the blow with a light movement, and approached his friend to push him back.Laszlo staggered and sat down on the ground.

Antal pulled him up and seeing the pained expression on Laszlo's face, the boy decided to train his friend more.

"Let me see," he poked at the blunt wooden sword, "how to do Posta Breve?"

Laszlo stepped on the ground firmly with his left foot, and stepped back slightly with his right foot. He drew the hilt of the sword close to his chest with both hands, pointing the tip of the sword at Antal.

"Very good!" Antar said excitedly, unaware that he was instructing Laszlo in the same way William had taught him all those years ago. "Now let me see what a Posta di fenestra looks like!"

Laszlo didn't move his foot, but swung his sword back so that it was parallel to his right leg.

"No," Antar shook his head, he walked to Laszlo's side, guided his hand, and pointed the tip of the sword toward his right shoulder. "What you just did was Posta di coda longa."

"So much bloody Italian!" Laszlo complained. "I'll never remember them all."

"Don't be afraid, it's not that hard! You'll get the hang of them in no time. Come on, show me your basic poses now!"

However, Laszlo hesitated, and finally he shouted and attacked Antal.Antal was basically on the defensive, and he didn't want to let Laszlo lose interest in practice again.

"Your moves are good," he said with a smile as he dodged a blow that was aimed at him. "You can make a good swordsman."

"Shut your mouth and defend yourself!"

Laszlo came to the estate in the spring and was promoted from Stable Servant of the Knights Templar to William's Groom.Charles Robert had already captured Esztergom, and was then crowned king by Archbishop Gregory Bisquet, with the Pope's blessing, although it was only a temporary crown.

He took the name Karoly to please his subjects, but his power was far from consolidated.Although he is nominally the king of a country, the battle for the throne continues.Charles Robert had only the support of the southern nobility and the church, and there was fear that a new civil war would soon break out.

The ruler of Bohemia, Przemysl Wenceslas II, still did not give up on crowning his son as king, not to mention those lords who still coveted the crown although they had little chance of winning the throne. The peace of the kingdom is fragile.

William had visited the monastery frequently for the past six months, but in the discussions he was forced to participate in, almost all the debates went nowhere, and sloppiness seemed to have become a Hungarian custom.

Yet the cunning knight always knew when to seize an opportunity, so just as all eyes were turned north, he asked Laszlo to leave the monastery.He arranged for the boy to work in his house, although he wanted him to continue to be considered a servant of the church, but the abbot refused.

William knew that Antal needed a friend of his own age at the estate, and Maritis was no longer young.As the years passed, there was less and less work for this faithful servant, so the family needed a young helper.

In midsummer, Antal has passed his No. 14 name day, and according to the rules, he can finally take off his apprentice's cloak and become a servant.His uncle surprised him with a special gift on the day of his promotion: he gave him a Saracen sword with a short, slightly curved blade, which he used in a small battle in the East. Captured in battle.

The hilt and crossguards don’t have any decorations, but including this dagger, the swords forged in the holy land are never decorations. Even the steel in the east is different from the west. The crusader knight who came back alive from the desert They often say that.

Apprentice knights were often given a sword when they became squires, but such weapons were mostly a status symbol, a poor imitation of the real sword the knight held.

But in terms of swordsmanship, Antar was more skilled and superior than others of his age.He deserves a weapon of greater value and significance than the average man gets, and in practice he has been using only a leaden sword, which he has grown accustomed to, and which he has wielded in battles with Laszlo After a while, he didn't feel how tired he was.

"I'll hack you like a heathen dog!" Laszlo shouted.

"You can't even kill a dog with an attack like yours!" Antar countered, and knocked out the sword in Laszlo's hand again with a quick movement.This time Laszlo didn't stop there. He leaped forward, threw Antar to the ground, and punched everything he could reach.

The fight ended with a clatter of hooves, and the boys scrambled to their feet to watch the unexpected visitor.

A fine, sweaty horse with foamy faces and dark brown manes approached, with a tall rider in the saddle.The man has a short beard and hair just reaching the earlobe. The man is at least 40 years old. He has a red Templar cross on his chest, but the cape is black like ordinary sergeants.

"I'm Carlos of Barcelona," he introduced himself in Latin. "I'm looking for William Barto, son of Peter Barto, Lion of the East, that scar-faced son of a bitch."

The boys looked at him in shock, dumbfounded.They had never heard a knight mentioned so rudely, for such remarks could easily lead to public punishment.

"Did you hear what I said?" the man jumped off his horse. "Or have your tongues been taken by the Inquisition?"

He took off his gloves, smoothed back his sweaty tangled hair, and pressed the reins into Antar's hand.

"William Bartow!" he cried, "come out quickly! Your last hour has come, you vile murderer!"

At last William appeared in the doorway, blushing and raising his eyebrows, scanning the yard, wondering who had dared to address him with such insulting words.But when he saw the visitor, his expression suddenly changed.

"Carlos!" he yelled happily, and trotted toward the black-robed rider with his arms outstretched. "My God, Carlos! What are you doing here?"

"I said we will meet again," the man hugged him tightly, "Commander, I have been looking for you for almost two months."

William noticed the two children, who were still staring at the stranger in surprise.

"Children," he turned to them, "this is Carlos de Barcelo! Our family is family friends. Carlos, this is my nephew, my adopted son and student Antal, and this is my groom Laszlo."

"Nice to meet you." Carlos looked at Antal, snatched the rein from his hand, and shoved it into Laszlo's hand.

Regardless of how uninvited this man seemed to him, William seemed moved by the sudden encounter.For a moment he just watched him silently, with a dull smile on his face, and when he looked at himself again, William gestured to the door.

"Welcome, my friend!" He patted Carlos on the back, "Come in, it's like being at home! I didn't expect that we would meet again in this life..."

The two quickly disappeared into the house, the boys still watching their backs with puzzled faces.Finally, Laszlo led the horse to the stables, while Antal hurried into the house, trying to learn as much as possible about the stranger.

"Good boy," the man in black robe asked Antal in front of the door while drinking the wine from the big wooden cup, "Who is your father?"

"He's an orphan," William replied hastily. "I've been raising him since he was five years old. He's the son of my late sister. I took him with me when I came back from Cyprus."

"Like father, like son, as I see it. You want him to be a Templar, don't you?"

"He's going to be a Templar, Carlos," William announced, with a strange severity in his voice. "Also, he'll be the best knight ever, and if you've seen him swing his sword, you'll know he won't have a rival in a few years.

Of course, he's still too hot-headed now, but he's grown up familiar with all the basic poses, and I've used some of my own unusual methods, thanks to which one day he'll be able to improve his skills to Unmatched level.Just watch, he will have no rivals! "

Hearing what his uncle said, Antal blushed.He knew William had a preference for him, but he seldom heard him speak like that, and he stood at the door with trepidation, feeling both proud and responsible for his uncle's expectations.Then the wonder of the moment was suddenly destroyed by Carlos' mocking laugh.

"What are you talking about, William?"

"What do you mean?"

"You want to make the poor kid a perfect Templar?" He shook his head. "Why don't you let him live his own life?"

"Like you?" William retorted. "That's not going to work."

"You still say the same thing, William."

"Enough, Carlos!" William shouted in Spanish, but Antal couldn't understand what he was saying. "Just now I was delighted by your visit, but now I'm not sure if it's a good idea to welcome you into my home."

"Why did you make him a knight?" Carlos leaned closer, also speaking in Spanish. "Haven't you seen enough evil under the black and white flag? You've been a part of it, and so have I."

"The kid is going to be a Templar," William slapped the table. "He will take all three oaths, wear white robes, and obey the rules. I won't make him a murderer, but I won't make him like you either! It's time for the real Templars Reborn, we can still restore the honor of the Knights, Carlos!"

"But we can't save ourselves from hell." The man frowned.

"I know," William nodded, his tone no longer sharp. "I didn't mean to say those words."

"Very good," Carlos said in Latin, "then let's toast to the most powerful Templar!" As they said, both of them drank the wine in their glasses.

"What did you say, brothers in Christ?" Antal was curious.

"Nothing," William forced a smile at him, "we just mentioned a little bit about the past."

"but……"

"Go to training!" He waved his hand, "Let Carlos see how good you are."

(End of this chapter)