Chapter 149: Chapter 149

“Oh-oh, what a brave fellow!”

“Impudent rascal! Just a country bumpkin from the plains, yet dare to act up in front of whom!”

“Lord Protector! Please teach that clueless youngster a lesson!”

“His Grace is far too high in rank to squabble with such an insignificant person! Kick him out!”

Upon hearing the jousting tournament winner’s words, the audience’s opinions split into two sides.

The first side consisted of those expecting the Lord Protector, reputed to be the strongest in the Arman Alliance, to show off his skills in person.

The second side was composed of those who believed that a mere knight from the distant western plains had no right to challenge the kingdom’s pride, demanding that he be kicked out.

Among the two, the former was far larger in number, which was because this place was none other than Pendia, the land of monsters.

A place where superior martial arts were revered and held as a value above all else.

Furthermore, most of the people who came to watch the jousting match were starved for spectacle, and surprisingly few among them had actually seen the famous Lord Protector’s martial prowess in person.

Because of the civil war, not many citizens remained who had seen the tournament Shan previously participated in.

They wished to witness with their own eyes the strength of the Lord Protector, which they had only heard about in stories.

Shan quietly looked down at his opponent standing below, then turned his head at the voice coming from beside him.

“What will you do?”

“I think it wouldn’t be bad to play along once.”

Shan was not of a disposition that disliked showing off his martial arts in front of others.

It was merely that such behavior went against the dignity of a high noble, so he refrained.

Moreover, if he backed out with everyone watching, wouldn’t it inevitably invite suspicion?

There was no better opportunity than this to prove that he was a warrior powerful enough to be betrothed to the Queen.

Reading Shan’s resolve, Cheryn smiled and held out her hand.

“Then off you go, my knight.”

After lightly kissing the back of the Queen’s hand, Shan immediately leaped down from the spectator stands.

“Whoa!”

When he dropped from a height of over four meters, people shrieked in shock, but they were stunned once more as he landed as lightly as a cat.

How on earth could a human be so agile?

As he leaped down several times in succession and landed in the arena, explosive cheers erupted from all around.

Even those who had thought this duel was absurd on the grounds of status differences and pride immediately pretended otherwise and joined in the excitement once a spectacle presented itself.

To confidently accept a challenge in such a manner was precisely the knightliness they pursued.

At a leisurely pace, Shan approached the ambitious knight who had challenged him.

Up close, the opponent was a young man who looked to be at most three or four years older than him.

Though not particularly tall, he possessed a solid build, thick eyebrows, and fierce eyes reminiscent of a bird of prey.

The armor he wore was ordinary metal plate armor, without any magical enchantments or even temporary reinforcement spells cast upon it.

If he took a lethal blow loaded with fighting spirit while wearing such armor, he could die from the impact, so it was impressive bravery.

“Hakan, was it?”

“That is correct, Your Grace.”

Fierce fighting spirit showed on the young man’s face as he answered with dignity, but tension could also be felt alongside it.

It seemed he only now realized what a monumental figure he had impulsively called out.

“If you are a Horaisian, you must have taken the test of the semi-horse archers.”

“I passed with the highest score in my tribe.”

“The people here regard the semi-horse archers merely as masters of mounted archery, but in truth, one must know how to handle all kinds of weapons, including spears and swords.”

“You know of it!”

When he revealed his deep familiarity with Horais culture, Hakan’s face brightened with delight.

In truth, the wealthiest and most powerful warriors on the plains were heavy cavalry clad in scale armor made of metal.

The reason people of other nations did not know this well was that when they went to raid, they did not wear armor in order to lighten their bodies, and even when hired as mercenaries, they were always hired as horse archers.

Frankly speaking, every country had heavy cavalry of its own, so why would they pay money to hire them?

“I used to have a Horaisian subordinate before. Ranta of the Lugan tribe. In fact, those working in the royal stables right now belong to his tribe as well.”

At Shan’s words, Hakan’s face hardened as he spoke.

“Elder Ranta is my father-in-law. In fact, the reason I came here was also due to his introduction.”

“Is that so? How has he been doing lately? It has been quite a while since I was able to contact him.”

Though he had initially met Ranta of the Lugan tribe as an enemy, after subduing him with overwhelming force, Ranta faithfully fulfilled his role as a subordinate and mercenary.

Ranta had returned to his hometown after the Pendia civil war ended, carrying the magic weapon he received as compensation.

If this recent Ruman War had not been focused mainly on naval battles and sieges, Shan would likely have hired them.

On land, the mobility and lethality of the semi-horse archers were terrifying beyond measure.

Yet for some reason, at Shan’s question, a dark shadow fell over Hakan’s face.

“That is…”

When the opponent could not continue his words, instead of asking further, Shan looked at the official standing nearby and spoke.

“Right, this isn’t a place for us to chat among ourselves. At any rate, shall we test your skills? Bring a horse, armor, and a lance.”

Arwin was currently pregnant, and Shan had not brought armor or a lance with him.

In any case, since the opponent was not using an exceptional horse or gear, this side being equal would be fair.

As the official nearby scurried off in a hurry at Shan’s words, Hakan’s eyes, which had turned somewhat dim, flickered with sharpness once more.

Though he did not say it out of politeness, he seemed provoked by how Shan acted as if using any equipment would be fine.

*

A short while later, Shan mounted a horse while wearing armor provided by the arena.

It had been a long time since he wore such low-quality equipment, but that did not mean his skills were going anywhere.

From far away, the commentator’s shouting could be heard echoing.

[“Ah-ah: The great Lord Protector of Pendia has accepted the winner’s challenge! Please note that this is at the winner’s request and is a separate duel apart from the tournament!”]

Amidst the cheers that followed the commentary, Shan quietly gazed at Hakan standing across from him.

Standing in position, he inwardly felt that his body had been itching while looking down at the matches from above.

This game of knocking an opponent off their horse with a pole while receiving everyone’s cheers truly had a thrilling charm.

A moment later, as the flag fluttered and was raised high, the two men urged their horses forward and charged toward each other.

As the distance closed, Shan inwardly admired the opponent’s horsemanship.

Even though the saddle violently bounced up and down with the sprint, his body was absorbing the impact perfectly.

With that level of skill, provided he himself did not grow exhausted, he could switch horses and ride for three days and three nights straight.

However, apart from his outstanding horsemanship, his jousting skill itself, though first-rate, could hardly be considered top-tier.

Because the tip of the lance aimed at Shan was trembling back and forth.

Yet right before the collision, Hakan demonstrated why he was the tournament winner.

Using the reins and stirrups to manipulate the horse, he twisted its movement like a snake and adjusted the pace, subtly deceiving the sense of distance.

This was possible only if not only his horsemanship was superb, but his ability to train and communicate with the horse was also extraordinary.

Because no matter how great a technique was, if the horse did not know how to execute it, it was meaningless.

Knights whose vision was narrowed by wearing helmets mostly failed to notice the gap created by this and ended up swinging wide, suffering a disastrous defeat.

However, Shan’s senses were far too sharp to be fooled by such tricks.

His lance, extended with precision, struck cleanly not at the opponent’s head or torso, but directly on the tip of his lance.

BOOM! With a loud roar, the two wooden lances that met were shattered to pieces.

“They struck lance against lance!”

“Is it a draw?”

“Oh-oh, I heard the Lord Protector defeated every knight except the tall baron in a single bout during the last tournament…”

“Then doesn’t that mean that knight from the plains is even better than them?”

While the crowd rambled as they pleased, Hakan, whose lance had shattered, rode forward a bit further before coming to a halt and turning around.

Taking off his helmet, he asked with an incredulous expression.

“Just now, by any chance…?”

When asked if he had intended the draw, Shan nodded and replied.

“Because I didn’t want to injure Ranta’s relative. It would be troublesome if you fell and broke your neck, wouldn’t it?”

It might be different if there were at least magic spells applied to reduce impact, but falling from a horse while wearing ordinary steel armor like that could cause someone to die surprisingly easily.

Since one’s life was their own responsibility, it was not strictly forbidden by the rules, but unless a knight was truly impoverished, this was the reason most of them came out with defense magic cast on their armor.

If the opponent had been Lug, indulging in such leeway would have been utterly impossible, but fortunately, the young plains knight before his eyes had not reached that level of skill.

As Shan spoke with abundant composure, Hakan hesitated for a moment before asking.

“…May I request… just one more time?”

“As many times as you like.”

A short while later, having received new lances, the two men once again drew far apart before charging and clashing into each other.

When the tips of the lances collided and shattered this time as well, the spectators also finally felt something strange.

“Huh?”

“What, again?”

While lance colliding with lance happened once in a while during a jousting match, usually it was the shafts colliding, and it was rare for it to occur consecutively.

Even when they tried once more after that, the lance tips collided with exact precision and shattered, causing the crowd to finally realize that this was no coincidence.

Even if twice could be attributed to tremendous odds, by the third time, it had to be inevitable.

“Intercepting by intentionally stabbing lance against lance? What kind of absurd…”

“He isn’t called Pendia’s God of War for nothing.”

“If His Grace had entered, winning wouldn’t have even been a laughing matter.”

The knights who had been eliminated from the tournament, as well as the knights watching from the stood (all those skilled in jousting) marvelled in admiration.

Intentionally stabbing the opponent’s lance tip was a realm they could barely even imagine.

If one considered how difficult it would be to block a thrust with a thrust in a sword duel, one could roughly grasp the difficulty.

Hakan, whose lance had been shattered three times in a row, dismounted from his horse with a dazed expression.

Staggering as he approached Shan, he bowed his head.

“I have lost, Your Grace. Your Grace is truly the strongest knight in the Arman Alliance, no, the strongest in history. Even if the Great Emperor Baren were to come back to life, he would not dare be a match for Your Grace.”

If he had lost in a normal contest of skill, he might have made excuses like his handling of the lance being somewhat lacking, but after witnessing such a massive gap, no such words came out.

The praise, which might seem like mockery at a glance, stemmed not from sarcasm, but from deep sincerity.

Truly, he lacked the confidence to defeat the boy before his eyes no matter how many times he were reborn.

“Good work. If you have no other business, let’s talk after this is over. I’d like to hear about your relative as well.”

Shan spoke thus as he patted Hakan on the shoulder.

It was because he knew from experience that no matter what comforting words he offered here, it would not make him feel any better.

When the announcer proclaimed that the match was over with Hakan’s surrender, the audience buzzed with noisy conversation.

“What’s this, isn’t it ultimately a draw then?”

“Stop talking nonsense. It wasn’t a draw, but a demonstration of an overwhelming gap. Meaning it wasn’t even worth striking his head directly to knock him off.”

“I bet even if this is recorded, people won’t believe it.”

Those who had simply come to watch and did not know much were puzzled by the fact that the Lord Protector and the winner ended in a virtual draw, but those with some knowledge explained it to them.

The day when the story of subduing the plains knight with three draws would be added to the tales of bards was not far off.

*

After the jousting tournament with the surprise event concluded, Hakan visited the Velakar mansion upon Shan’s invitation.

He came together with three warriors of his tribe who had accompanied him as his squires.

The first impression he had upon entering was that, for the residence of Pendia’s highest noble, it was unexpectedly modest.

Of course, it was far more splendid than the tents of poor Horais nobles, but compared to something owned by a person who had plundered all sorts of wealth accumulated by the kings and nobles of the South Sea, it was somewhat austere.

This was because Shan’s aesthetic taste was far from anything flashy.

Of course, while it might not look flashy on the surface, thanks to the butler’s efforts, the mansion’s facilities and furniture displayed a subtle yet elegant charm.

“This way, Sir Hakan.”

Following the guidance of the middle-aged butler, he was able to wash up and change into clean clothes.

Before long, Shan, who had returned to the mansion, welcomed him into the reception room.

“I apologize for being late after inviting a guest. I had to escort Her Majesty the Queen back to the royal palace.”

“Not at all. More importantly, the person behind you is…”

“This is Roden. You know who he is, right?”

“Yes.”

Roden the Brave… though it was a somewhat sarcastic moniker, he was renowned in Pendia as one of its top commanders.

Wasn’t it said that while Shan Barendil displayed his martial prowess on the battlefield, Roden was the invisible hand behind him directing his soldiers?

However, contrary to his reputation, judging by his appearance alone, he looked like an even more powerful and brutish warrior than Shan.

Casting a heavy gaze, Roden sat across from him and asked.

“Captain Ranta worked as a mercenary during the civil war and was an acquaintance of mine as well. I couldn’t hear the details, but it seems his situation is not very good.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

After taking a moment to catch his breath, Hakan shared his story.

“To be frank, I do not even know if Elder Ranta is alive right now.”

After finishing his mercenary life in Pendia, Ranta had successfully returned home and succeeded in taking control of the tribe.

It was thanks to the magic bow he brought back as payment, which exerted immense influence both symbolically and practically.

Having successfully ousted his older brother, who was the tribal chief, and seized control of the tribe, he did not rest content there.

Since he himself was merely from a distant branch line and could hardly aim for it directly, he strove to make a political leap forward by finding a talent among his relatives who could aim for the position of head of the Golden Clan.

The one chosen in that process was precisely Hakan.

“Then…”

“Yes. I am a descendant of the Golden Clan.”

Although his mother’s side of the tribe was relatively weak, Hakan was a talented individual renowned for his outstanding martial skills and popularity at a young age.

Ranta had approached Hakan and given him his daughter in marriage, promising to become his backing.

It was out of an ambition to later raise him to head of the Golden Clan and become a maternal relative to the king of the plains.

Of course, as things in the world rarely went as planned, Ranta’s Lugan tribe was crushed before long, caught in the secret feuds of several powerful tribes checking the rising faction.

Thereupon, Ranta sent Hakan, who was facing mortal danger, to Pendia.

Telling him to seek out Shan, the powerful noble he had become acquainted with during his time as a mercenary.

Since crossing over by sea was already out of the question, Hakan, along with a few subordinates, mounted the horses with the best endurance and rode east, on and on.

After riding for about two months, he arrived in Pendia only to hear that the Lord Protector was away on the Ruman expedition, so he stayed quietly; then, hearing that prize money was offered in the jousting tournament of this festival, he entered the competition both to earn money and to contact Shan.

Upon hearing the story, Roden grimaced and spoke.

“So, should I call you Prince Hakan… surely you are not asking us to mobilize the Pendia army to reclaim the position of head of the Golden Clan based on that past relationship, are you?”

Would it not be troublesome to suddenly cling to us like this when all trades between us had already been sufficiently fulfilled?

At Roden’s question, Hakan shook his head.

“You may speak to me comfortably. In any case, there are dozens of successors to the Golden Clan, so it is a different concept from princes of other countries. Nor do I shamelessly hope for such a thing. I completed the test of the semi-horse archers at the age of fifteen, and I am a horseman and archer superior to anyone in the tribe, as well as trained in how to command cavalry. If you permit, I wish to serve under His Grace the Duke and display these capabilities.”

What he desired first and foremost was to become Shan’s knight and secure his personal safety.

Because Horaisians would not be able to come all the way to Eastern Pendia to assassinate him.

Furthermore, his goal was to hone himself beside the strongest knight in the world to reach a higher realm as a warrior, earn a salary to accumulate wealth, and eventually return to the plains in the future.

If only to take responsibility for his tribal members scattered by the secret feuds in the plains, he had to return someday.

When Hakan let out a tired sigh after finishing his story, Roden spoke to him.

“I have heard your story… well. First, please go inside and rest. We would like to discuss this amongst ourselves.”

Though he told him to speak comfortably, dropping honorifics entirely felt awkward, so Roden sent Hakan off with somewhat ambiguous formal speech before speaking to Shan.

“This is quite a daunting story. Though it might actually be an opportunity.”

“An opportunity?”

“Why do you think Mr. Ranta took such a risk? It’s because gaining the favor of the Golden Clan is such a big deal.”

Though Horais was a desolate and poor nation of the plains, it possessed a treasure that all other nations coveted.

Namely, the Horais warhorses of the same breed as Arwin… the toughest, fastest, and most durable warhorses in the world.

Only the King of the Plains possessed the authority to export them to other countries.

Upon hearing the story, Shan let out a small groan and nodded.

“Then for now, shall we consult with Her Majesty the Queen as well?”

Even while saying this, Shan also thought that the ambitious Cheryn would hardly let such an opportunity slip by.