Chapter 63
The sound of the chatter of the crowd surrounded the arena. The round of thirty-two match wasn’t very popular, but given the sheer size of the capital, the crowd was still as big as an average gladiatorial match in an average city.
Kylios was being stimulated by the cheers of the crowd.
“Relax, Kylios. I know you. You’re a brave and resilient horse, just like me.”
Urich said in his chainmail. The armor that began at his neck protected him all the way down to the fingertips and buttocks, with an additional pair of iron shin guards to protect below the knees.
‘It might be cheap, but it still has the shape of an armor. There are no visible gaps.’
This was Urich’s first time wearing a full body iron armor, but it wasn’t as suffocating as he thought it would be. Instead, the rather strange stability it brought helped him calm his thoughts.
‘Metal armor. They render shallow attacks useless.’
Urich thought of the weapons of his tribe. Such crude iron weapons could not pierce this armor. Striking the armor would only cause them to crack and bend.
It was difficult to find a gap within the armor, and it was even more difficult to aim for that small target. Furthermore, the plate armor was even better than the chainmail.
‘Metal knights who are immune to swords and spears... what a terrifying thing to think about.’
Urich pictured an army of knights in full plate armor charging. There was no way to stop such an army. Fueled by state-of-the-art weaponry, the empire had conquered the world. The blueprint behind the Imperial steel and plate armor were still military secrets of the Imperial workshop.
Swish.
Urich smoothened his robe. The robes and cloaks of the knights carried the crest of their noble family or their master. Their shields were also emblazoned, and the knights used them to display their identity.
“I guess I’m a knight of Porcana, haha.”
Urich chuckled as he lightly tapped on his shield, a sturdy wooden structure covered in leather with iron trimming that gave it its solid form. The symbol of the herring and the fishing boat was vibrant from having the dye applied just the day before.
“I never thought I’d try being a knight. What a wonderful experience!” Urich said, tapping the side of Kylios. Urich and the horse trotted out of the passage and into the arena.
“Woah!!”
Cheers echoed. The crowd turned their eyes to Urich. His match had drawn a larger crowd than the other round-of-thirty-two matches thanks to his fame being spread far and wide in recent days.
“It’s the Armor Breaker!”
People shouted.
‘The man who broke an armor with his bare hands.’
People didn’t know the details of the source of the nickname, but all they cared about was the fact that he crushed a metal armor with his bare hands.
‘How incredibly powerful must he be to break armor with his bare hands?’
Urich looked around the arena through the gap in the visor.
“So, this is what it’s like to have people know your name.”
Urich vaguely understood the meaning of fame. He had gained fame twice: when he fought against the Silver Lion Mercenaries and when he crushed a helmet with his knee.
‘Fame is a useful thing.’
Civilization was vast, and one’s fame traveled faster than oneself and became the standard by which people judged them.
‘I got my first fame after slaying thirty men back in my tribe.’
With enough accumulation and reiteration, fame gets to the point where its truth becomes opaque, becoming a legend.
‘The Sword Demon Ferzen.’
Anyone in the civilized world knew that name. Even Urich had heard it several times.
“It’s amazing...” Urich muttered as his voice echoed inside his helmet, “...that just by saying his name, everyone in the world instantly recognizes him.”
Urich had participated in the jousting match for Pahell and Pahell only. It wasn’t because he wanted to joust.
“Let’s get a big win, Kylios.”
Winning this match, however, was completely his own desire. He wanted to be like the Sword Demon Ferzen; a man recognized by the world for his fame as a warrior.
“Armor Breaker? You really think he broke an armor with his bare hands? What kind of idiots believe such nonsense?”
Varof, Urich’s opponent, was in a bad mood. There wasn’t a single soul in the crowd who was screaming out the name Varof since Urich was the talk of the match.
“How would he have broken an armor with his bare hands? It’s utter nonsense,” Varof’s squire wagged his tail. Varof was a skilled and experienced knight who wasn’t satisfied with being a mere noble’s knight. He was a man with ambitions who wanted to become a knight of the Order of Imperial Steel.
The champion of the Hamel Jousting Tournament received a personal congratulation from the emperor himself. More often than not, they were recruited to join the Order of Imperial Steel.
‘The Order of Imperial Steel.’
It was the dream of every knight. The Order of Imperial Steel was the most powerful force in the world. The word ‘Steel’ alone stirred a knight’s heart.
Whoever this Armor Breaker liar is, he’ll be a sacrifice for my fame.”
Varof said, holding his lance that was more than twelve feet long. The jousting lance, designed to be firmly fixed under one’s armpit, was a symbol of the heavy cavalry. There were anecdotes where famous knights pierced two, or even three enemies at once with a lance.
“I wish you the best of luck, Sir Varof.”
The loyal and devoted squire said to his master. The knight’s success led to the squire’s success.
“Pour the wine into this cup right now. I will return before the scent is diffused, hyah!”
Varof said charismatically. He kicked the side of his horse and entered the arena.
“Woahhhh!”
Varof roared as he raised his lance high. He looked at Urich the Armor Breaker who had just emerged from the opposite end of the arena.
‘He’s big. He indeed looks strong,’ Varof thought to himself as he lowered his visor.
Armor had the effect of making its user seem bigger, but even with that taken into account, Urich’s size was above average. Thanks to his size, his armor and cloak swayed with swagger with his every movement.
‘I can’t beat him in strength, so I’ll take him down with technique.’
Varof had heard of Urich’s background. He was a barbarian, not a civilized man. He couldn’t possibly know the skills of a proper knight.
‘No matter how much better the world has become, a barbarian cannot be a knight—unless he joined the Sun Warriors, but that’s not the case with him.’
Even as he thought this, Varof nodded to greet Urich. Urich returned the greeting in the same manner.
The two knights stared at each other as they stood at the starting line.
“Look at the state of him, is that really Urich?”
“Judging by the size of his back, yeah, that’s him alright.”
A dozen of the mercenaries of ‘Urich’s Brotherhood’ had come to the arena after hearing the news of Urich’s participation.
“A barbarian knight? What a joke,” Donovan said as he struggled to take his seat. His injuries still weren’t healed, and it was impressive that he was walking around without help.
“It’s too serious to call it a joke. Look, he’s in full armor, too! He’s even wearing the crest of the Porcana Kingdom,” Bachman was getting excited.
Urich’s success meant Bachman’s success. He couldn’t hold his grin back.
“Is Urich really going to become a royal knight?”
“He probably has a good chance. He’s pretty close with that young master—I’d believe you if you told me they share their bed from time to time.”
The mercenaries chuckled. They spectated the jousting tournament as they chewed on their snacks. There wasn’t a hint of concern on their faces.
‘There’s no way Urich loses.’
It was a strong faith. The mercenaries had been with Urich for at least half a year, and a year at the most.
‘We know very well what kind of person Urich is.’
Urich’s Brotherhood didn’t have a single piece of doubt on their mind.
‘He’s the monster of all monsters, and the warrior of all warriors.’
Urich was a man who had been doing impossible things like they were nothing. If he were a civilized man instead of a barbarian, his fame would have already reached the skies.
‘And now, people are starting to recognize him. It was only a matter of time, after all.’
Bachman felt his heart thumping in his chest. He remembered the gladiator days when he witnessed Urich fighting for the very first time. The unusual strength and battle skills were enough to captivate Bachman and make him obsess over Urich.
‘I knew you were destined for bigger things. I didn’t think they’d be this big, but I knew you were not an ordinary man.’
The chest of the trumpeter puffed up.
Buuuuup!
The trumpet sounded, signaling the start.
Varof and Urich each reined their horses. Varof stared at Urich.
‘First, analyze.’
Varof’s plan was to stay on the defensive and win after two exchanges. A jousting match consisted of three exchanges before switching to a foot battle, so there was no need to rush into an aggressive start.
Clop.
The horses accelerated, and Kylios darted forward as he breathed a hot steam from his nostrils.
Horses were fearful herbivores by nature. To become a warhorse, they had to repress their natural instinct as much as possible to follow the order of their rider. Thoroughly bred warhorses were brave, clever, and friendly toward the human touch.
‘Kylios is surely from a good bloodline.’
Those were Pahell’s words. Kylios had all the sought-after traits of a fine warhorse. He was strong, and he was brave.
Urich liked Kylios. The horse reminded him of himself. For the very first time, they were fighting together.
‘I’ll show you what I can do. Watch, Kylios.’
Urich clutched his jousting spear firmly under his armpit. He recalled each of the tips and tricks he had learned from Phillion during their last-minute training sessions.
‘My body, the spear, and the horse, all becoming one.’
Urich focused every last drop of power that was created by the momentum of the galloping horse into the tip of his jousting spear.
The fifty-year history of the empire. The thousand-year history of recorded words. The five-thousand-year history of the origin of man that precedes all mythologies.
Man was made to fight. They fought and fought throughout history. There was no improvement in technology without war by its side.
Intelligence was made to create better, stronger weaponry. They modified and modified with the question ‘How will we fight next?’ Man never stopped wondering.
The present day was the pinnacle of the history of wars, and ‘knights’ were the greatest and strongest weapons in history.
‘I don’t need two exchanges to beat a scrub.’
Urich’s eyes widened, and his pupils shone like a lion’s.
Clop.
The sound of Kylios’ hooves was heard clearly. Every time his horseshoes pushed off the arena ground, the force traveled up Urich’s spine and pushed his body forward.
“W-woahhhhh!”
Urich let out an involuntary roar. This was different from the times he fought alone.
‘Kylios.’
The horse was supporting him from underneath. Its strength was delivered directly to Urich’s body.
‘We’re fighting together.’
Kylios’ breath was rough as if he was telling Urich to take down his enemy. It was the sensation of a man and his horse becoming synchronized—an exhilaration that only knights could feel. It gave Urich the confidence to destroy anyone who got in their way.
“Gallop away, Kylios. I’ll use every last drop of the strength you give me.”
Urich channeled all of Kylios’ power into his spear. Tilting his upper body, he faced his opponent boldly. Urich showed no signs of wanting to evade his opponent’s attack as he prepared for the collision as if he were made of steel.
‘A straightforward attack with no technique involved whatsoever.’
Varof smirked and raised his shield at an angle.
Clang!
Varof blocked Urich’s attack with his shield, and wood splinters scattered in all directions as the tip of Urich’s spear shattered against the shield.
He thought he had blocked it. Well, he did block it.
“Gugh.”
Varof groaned. A jousting lance, after facing a certain amount of impact, shatters to dampen its force.
Woosh.
Varof’s head spun. He fell off his horse.
‘But I blocked it?’
Despite the weapon being the jousting spear, Urich’s charge carried enormous force. Even with the dampening of the impact, he still blew a man away. His strength and size were a great advantage even in jousting, as he could embrace the full power of his horse.
Clang!
Varof quickly picked up his sword and shield. Then, he saw Urich who was turning his horse, headed straight back toward him.
“A-ah.”
Varof looked at Urich who was charging at him on his horse. He had his body tilted diagonally as he held onto the rein of his horse as he galloped toward him ferociously.
‘I’m going to die.’
It didn’t feel like a contest anymore. Varof felt like he was back on the real battlefield. Urich’s charge had the scent of war.
Thud.
Varof instantly dropped his sword and shield and forfeited the match. Urich’s sword grazed the top of Varof’s helmet.
Schring.
A chill ran down his spine as Varof’s helmet vibrated. Since becoming a knight, this was the first time that he felt like he was going to wet his pants. Even his first battle ever wasn’t this scary.
Prrr.
Urich turned his horse around and came up to Varof. He took his helmet off and tilted his head toward the loser.
“I wish you victory, Urich.”
Varof tilted his visor and returned the respect.
“Wooooow!”
The cheers were loud, despite it being a single-blow match. Urich was bigger than the other knights. The intimidation created by his large movements with no hesitation could be felt from a distance.
‘It’s doable.’
Phillion clenched his fist. A mounted charge was just as much about the knight’s mindset as it was about form and technique. A moment’s hesitation or fear could ruin one’s form. Those with unwavering courage, who believe in themselves as they hold their spear point high and proud, won.
“...amazing.”
Urich muttered as he took off his helmet. Sweat poured down his face like he’d been rained on, but his expression was as fresh as a freshly showered man. Even the beads of his sweat seemed to sparkle. He felt good. He had become one with the land and his horse, and he had poured out everything.
‘This is a problem. This is way too much fun.’
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