Arts and Sciences

Chapter 369 Swordsmanship Contest ([-])

The Duke of Stoke was about to speak when Star Mark stood up from the opposite side. A pair of handsome eyes flickered on the extremely uncoordinated gutter nose, scanning the crowd opposite the Duke of Stoke, "I heard that the young Duke of Stoke Heroic, the master of swordsmanship, used to use the sword in his hand to defeat many masters in the previous Royal Fencing Conference and became a champion. Therefore, the Duke of Stoke's family still has a good reputation, which is called "sword" The violets fluttering on the tip', presumably the rising stars of the Stoke family have also inherited the Duke of Stoke's swordsmanship!?"

When it comes to fencing, Duke Stoke's expression suddenly sank. Selina looked at the Duke next to him. If it was about fencing, Duke Stoke hadn't used a sword for more than ten years. Knowing that the Duke of Stoke used to have superb sword skills, I thought he was a person who never held a sword. In fact, it is strange. Generally speaking, how can a person who can win the Royal Fencing Championship be not proud of the sword in his hand? , even some aristocrats who have participated in fencing competitions, they still never leave their swords, and they take out their swords to wipe them from time to time. For them, the sword is not only a weapon, but also their partner, but Si The Duke of Tok doesn't seem to regard the sword as a partner, but as an enemy on the contrary. For more than ten years, not only has he never touched a sword, but he has never touched a saber with his hand.

This also caused Richard to be a little puzzled. His sword skills were all learned while serving in the army. The Duke of Stoke himself did not teach him any sword skills. Less than a little bit of swordsmanship made Richard feel a little unspeakable.

Now that Star Mark said this, Duke Stoke's eyes dimmed, but he didn't speak.

"There are equestrian competitions and fencing competitions held by the royal family every year. Presumably this time, the Stoke family should also have participants. Our family of the Duke of Humington is here to participate. I would like to participate in the official competition. Before, I was able to compete with the Stoke family, which is famous for their swordsmanship. I don’t know if you dare to accept the competition. Of course, if you are worried that losing this game will destroy the glory of your entire family’s swordsmanship, then we will also Understandable!" Starmark continued to add fuel to the story, this time he and the Duke of Humington came here not only to find out about the current situation of the Stoke family, but also to take the opportunity to humiliate the Stoke family, which has always been The style of the Duke of Humington, he doesn't have many enemies, because the former enemies don't exist anymore, and he used all kinds of gap-finding and filthy methods to put blame one by one, one by one, Therefore, the Duke of Humington was regarded as a person who must not be messed with. Unfortunately, because of the fight for the right to operate the railway, the Duke of Stoke had an enmity with Humington. It can be seen from today's situation I realized how vengeful and arrogant this Duke of Humington was.

"Father." Richard was angry and angry, "You have already received the invitation letter for the swordsmanship competition, haven't you!?"

The Duke of Stoke is a master of swordsmanship. Richard also learned this later. When he was in the family, he had no idea that his father was actually the champion of the Royal Swordsmanship Competition. Until he learned fencing in the army At that time, he heard about and saw the photos of his father in the past. At that time, an inexplicable feeling of resentment rushed out of his heart. Learning swords is quite a temptation for any noble child. After all, who wouldn't want to wear an elegant sword and unsheath it for a beautiful girl?

It’s just that when he learned that the Duke of Stoke is a master of swordsmanship but never taught himself swordsmanship, although Richard harbored pimples and hatred, he never showed it. Can't help but burst out.

"You received the invitation, but you just kept it hidden, didn't you?" After returning from the army, the first thing Richard wanted to participate in was the Royal Fencing Competition. Nobles send invitations. As long as they are of noble origin, each family can send one person to participate in the competition. The Royal Fencing Competition is not only a confrontation of swordsmanship, but also the greatest opportunity for a noble family to stand out in the Great Eagle Empire!
So every time this opportunity comes up, everyone will actively prepare, but I have never seen someone as low-key and non-participating as the Duke of Stoke.

In the past, Richard figured it out. No one in the Stoke family learned swordsmanship, and naturally it was impossible to send someone out to participate. However, it has always been his dream to participate in the Royal Fencing Competition. Until he retired three years later, Richard De's first thought was to participate in this competition. Thinking of his success in fencing, his father should let him participate, but he did not expect that this time the Duke of Stoke would still confiscate the invitation letter for the fencing competition as usual. Let anyone know how to prevent Richard, who had high hopes, from falling into an ice cave.

"Our family has never had any superb swordsmanship, so we will not accept your challenge!" The Duke of Stoke didn't answer Richard, but just said to Star Mark opposite with a calm face.

Even the two elder brothers of Elton, Ireland, looked embarrassed. Although I don't know why the Duke of Stoke didn't participate in the swordsmanship competition, since he is the head of the family and the heir to the Duke of Stoke, he naturally has to do this The right to decide, although the elder wants the Stoke family to be more famous, but he is still too busy dealing with the internal affairs of the family, where did the energy come from.

Richard looked at his father in disbelief. Although the Duke of Stoke has always said that one is one in the family, his father has always known that his dream is to participate in the fencing competition. He still didn't allow himself to participate in the achievement, and even withheld the invitation letter of the swordsmanship competition. Could it be that he never cared about his dream? ?Richard bit his lip and stared at the Duke of Stoke, but the Duke didn't look back with his eyes.

"I can't think of a family that is famous for swordsmanship, but it is like a tortoise. No matter what, our Humington family is ready to win the swordsmanship competition this time! It's a pity that those days of gorgeous sword dancing, those shining Glory, it no longer exists in your Stoke family!" Starmark said with great regret, and glanced at Duke Stoke's expression from the corner of his eyes.

"Whoever said that the Stoke family is unprepared, I am one!" Richard stood up and looked at Starmark in front of him. The two people were in sharp contrast. One was dressed in pure white, with a gold chain hanging from his body. , The simple long sword equipped at the waist, just the decoration on the scabbard, is worth enough.In comparison, Richard is a little less glamorous. Although he is wearing noble clothes, the badge on his chest is still a silver knight, and the saber on his waist is just a damascus with almost no decoration. There are not many steel swords that can make Richard feel inferior just by wearing clothes, but this star mark is definitely one of them.

"Richard!" The Duke of Stoke looked sternly, looking at Richard who stood up.

"You don't understand! Father, you don't understand at all. I don't know what made you put down your sword, but for me, I want to pursue the current path! And keep going like this!" Richard There was a resolute light in his eyes, just looking at the Duke of Stoke, he had the stubborn taste of the Duke of Stoke in the past.

"Richard, put away your sword! Come back, the honor of our family does not need to be won by fencing!" Mrs. Selina looked at her child, her eyes were full of this loving seriousness, you must know that although the Eagle Empire Nobles are not allowed to duel privately, but this trend has never stopped. Some nobles went out in the morning and lost their lives because of the duel when they came back. They were brought back with a white cloth, and how many families were broken Heart.

Mrs. Selina naturally didn't want to see Richard. In order to show off the momentary confrontation with Star Mark, who had clearly challenged him, since the other party knew that the Duke of Stoke was skilled in swordsmanship and dared to come to provoke him, naturally he would It just shows that the other party has been prepared for a long time, so if Richard is irrationally provoked by others and stands up to a duel, he will probably be hurt.

"The higher you stand, the greater the risk. The Royal Fencing Competition is not as good as you imagined. You don't understand, Richard. I order you now, give me your sword back, and return to my Beside!" The Duke of Stoke began to exert pressure, and he was not angry and pretentious, and he really deserved to be a master.

"Father, everyone should have a path of their own choice. The path I take is my own, so please don't stop me!" Richard glanced at the Duke of Stoke and Lady Selina for the last time, and walked On the stage above.

"No one can stop a knight's duel!" Elton said softly, holding his pipe.

Of course there is no way. The Eagle Empire forbids nobles to duel with each other, but it does not stipulate that between two knights, a duel cannot be used to determine the outcome. For a knight of the Eagle Empire, there are no restrictions on these aspects. In such a duel, life and death are the responsibility of oneself, and no one can intervene. This is why Mrs. Selina prevented Richard from playing. Richard is a silver knight, and the opponent is a gold knight. The duel between the two knights , Outsiders cannot interfere, and even if it is life and death, they are each responsible. The moment the two duel, they have already signed the life and death certificate.

Seeing Richard walking on the stage, Mark Star also grinned. This Richard is more impulsive than his father, the Duke of Stoke, and such an impulsive , Enough to leave behind the greatest regret in life.

Starmark also stepped onto the stage one step at a time, looking at Richard at the same level, the eyes on the hooked nose of the whole person were immersed in an inexplicable and strange state, which made Richard's heart tense, as if there was nothing in this world, only Under the star mark in front of him, the people around gradually disappeared, and there were only two people left in the whole venue, but in Richard's eyes, the star mark in front of him was as powerful as a mountain.

What a master the Duke of Stoke is. Judging from the imposing manner and self-confidence of this Star Mark, he is a first-class swordsman. His hands are slender and handsome, and he is obviously a person who is good at using swords. His eyes are condensed There is a god, I am afraid that swordsmanship has also been immersed in the realm of a master. Just looking at Star Mark's posture, Duke Stoke's expression has become dignified.

And the people on the Duke of Humington's side are naturally extremely relaxed. Although Gree, the captain of the Silver Eagle Guard, had a gloomy expression for a while because of the defeat of his proud general Rand just now, when Star Mark walked onto the stage, His complexion also began to clear up, obviously he had a lot of confidence in Xingmao, just looking at the complacent look of the Duke of Humington with his beard, he knew that they had a chance to win.

Richard was in the army, the reason why he was able to win the Knight Medal was certainly not because of luck. He himself participated in a lot of battles. Of course, his swordsmanship also inherited the fierce attacking style of the army, and he himself encountered countless masters , facing Star Mark at this moment, although he was temporarily forced by the opponent's aura, he still stood tall, and the aura exuded from his body was comparable to that of Star Mark.

Richard was able to advance to the state in the shortest time, which is quite rare in itself. The Duke of Humington, who was still worried about Richard, felt a little relieved after seeing this situation. For a moment, when facing the enemy, don't be impetuous. Fortunately, the current Richard is still quite good. Although he still needs to practice in terms of stability, it is quite rare to be able to reach such a state at this age. up.

Richard and Starmark stood motionless, staring at each other, with a distance of five meters between them. The space was already full of hurricane momentum. Even the Duke of Stoke and the Duke of Humington could feel that kind of aura. oppressive feeling.

The two were not standing and posing, but both were trying to suppress each other with their aura. Once the other showed any flaws, it was almost guaranteed that either side's sword would be unsheathed immediately, and the opponent would be defeated like a storm.

Richard's silver badge and Starmark's gold badge correspond to each other at a distance, reflecting the luster of the metal.

When Star Mark was looking at Richard, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, his eyes were bright, and his momentum suddenly climbed to a new peak. If the confrontation between the two sides just now was like two evenly matched and furious Tornado, now Richard seems to be facing the opponent's storm, gradually failing.

From the outside, it seemed that the two were just standing there, looking at each other. Neither of them drew their swords, but just looked at each other. The Duke of Stoke knew the danger, and it was no less than a direct sword confrontation. You must know that duels between masters are often judged between several rounds, which includes many factors such as personal wisdom, strength, and surrounding environment. The outcome of a battle is closely related to these things, and The most important thing is to attack the opponent's spirit. Once the opponent's spiritual flaw is found, or the opponent's spiritual defense line is destroyed, then there will be a terrifying attack that can determine the outcome of both parties!

(End of this chapter)