The Knight's Path [Please Read On]

Cloudy days were common in Braavos, packed one after another.

In the courtyard of the House with the Red Door, Viserys Targaryen, his short silver-white hair damp with sweat, picked up a blunted iron sword and wiped his brow.

He was a tall, lean swordsman.

Across from Viserys, his instructor, Ser Roland Lake, appeared shorter and sturdier.

Ser Roland wore a warhammer coat and wielded a blunted spear as he sparred with Viserys.

Moro, Syrio, and the others stood with their arms folded, watching this clash between knights. It lacked the dazzling danger of the Water Dancers; this was an iron storm of knights.

"Your Majesty, we are conducting simplified knightly training. It mainly consists of sword-and-shield combat on foot, training with various weapons, and archery," Ser Roland said.

"Come on." Viserys nodded.

An instructor did not need to be an especially powerful warrior. He only needed to be capable of training an apprentice professionally.

A strong knightly apprentice could only become strong through training, Talent, and hard work.

Robert and Eddard had trained together at the Eyrie for many years, yet Eddard was, at best, barely among the first-rate.

A knight needed to specialize in one thing while being skilled at many others. Besides the longsword and lance, he had to be familiar with at least several other weapons.

That would prevent him from being unable to make temporary use of different weapons amid the chaos of a battlefield melee.

Proper knightly training also included training hunting hounds and warhorses, handling falcons, hunting everywhere, entering jousts, and playing the harp.

However, Roland and Viserys had limited conditions in Braavos. They could only undergo a stripped-down version of the training, without all those fancy extras. The main focus was fighting.

Duels on foot took up most of their time. Horses were too scarce in Braavos, and there was little use for them anyway.

Still, that did not matter much. Viserys was very confident in his horsemanship, and he was quite good at riding.

Horses were transportation for nobles, not merely mounts for knights. Men and women, young and old, all learned to ride. Even noble girls had to learn horsemanship.

"Strength, endurance, and speed—these are the soul of a knight. The knight's path is exceedingly arduous. Victory belongs to those who are toughest and most cunning!" Roland Lake shouted, then urged Viserys to use faster and fiercer moves.

Water Dancers were swift and deadly, emphasizing rapid, graceful movement, stealth, and balance.

In battles without armor, Water Dancers prized speed and accuracy above all else.

Knightly combat was different. Knights clad in iron cans had high defense and bore heavy loads. Such combat required more strength and lasted longer.

Viserys began swinging his blunted sword, with a shield in his other hand. A knight's sword-and-shield combat was never easy.

A full suit of armor and blunt weapons carried considerable weight on their own, greatly draining a knight's stamina and reducing his speed.

Roland Lake could no longer suppress Viserys with a sword. Now, he was using a lance.

Relying on the lance's superior reach and its elusive attacks, Ser Roland still gave Viserys plenty of trouble.

Viserys felt that he took about as many hits as he landed in return. The fewer blows he took and the more he struck back, the more it showed that his technique had risen to another level.

Left, right, thrust upward, slash upward, or strike from the side.

When the spear struck the blunted sword, armor, or shield, it produced a pleasant ring of steel.

Every time he finished training against Roland's lance, Viserys felt stiff and sore, his bruises turning purple and blue. But he recovered quickly. Perhaps that was another benefit of spending so much on his attributes.

This was precisely the effect Viserys wanted. He had to use each day as though it were three; only then could he make up for his late start in training.

Others had begun combat training far earlier than Viserys. At Winterfell or other castles, noble children trained together every morning from the moment they learned to walk.

"Faster! Faster!" Syrio shouted. "Be like flowing water. Even in armor, you must dance!"

Viserys retreated at top speed, weaving left and right like a kite with its string cut. Ser Roland's lance could not catch his fleeting figure.

Viserys swung his blunted sword. "Way of Insight, through my five senses."

What he needed to rely on was himself, using every sense to catch his enemy's movements.

His keen five senses gradually allowed Viserys to move after his opponent yet arrive first, using Insight to follow the rhythm of his enemy's attacks.

"Boom!" Roland's spearhead thrust to the left, while Viserys defended on the right. Viserys had already seen through it as a feint.

"Besides Insight, there should also be balance." Viserys had long found his advantage: his attributes were comprehensive and balanced, giving him a great edge.

Ordinary Water Dancers or knights found it difficult to raise their attributes to such balance. They always lacked something.

But Viserys could use Tian Ji's horse-racing strategy—surpassing Water Dancers in strength and knights in speed.

Viserys began defending and counterattacking, luring Ser Roland's lance into attacking.

Roland's lance darted out like a venomous snake. Most of its thrusts became openings, while the occasional strike against the shield produced a clanging ring of steel.

Viserys dodged and shifted his footing, then spun around nimbly, waiting for Roland's stamina to slowly decline.

Once Ser Roland's relentless attack speed began to fall, Viserys's spinning slashes quickened one after another, his offensive becoming a raging storm.

"Crack!" Ser Roland retreated step by step, while Viserys instead charged with his shield. Cracks appeared across it, and splinters flew.

The scales of victory quickly tipped in Viserys's favor. His arms were growing sore as well, and even the edgeless iron sword had become heavy.

But Ser Roland was in worse condition. Viserys dodged a dangerous side thrust from him.

Viserys slipped past the lance, then delivered a fierce forehand chop into Ser Roland's chest and abdomen.

Roland Lake fell onto the ground, his lance flying from his grasp.

Roland sat there, dizzy and disoriented. He removed his visor, his ears still ringing from the blow.

"The Warrior bless us." Roland grinned. "Next time I can't win, I'll have to surrender early."

Though he was only a second-rate knight, he could at least personally train a first-rate warrior.

Only after a while did Ser Roland get up and rest on a bench.

"Well done, Your Majesty," Roland said. "With a build like yours, you should not possess such strength. The Warrior has also granted you excellent endurance and speed. Knightly combat has always been this exhausting. Victory often belongs to the one who lasts longest. Fight cautiously. Preserve your strength while draining your enemy's, and lure him in. Knights will underestimate you because you look like a handsome young man, not some burly brute."

"A beautiful dance," Syrio said. "A storm of steel. But tomorrow, you will continue, Viserys."

"Tomorrow, let us bring out attacks that are faster and fiercer." Viserys tossed aside his blunted sword and shattered shield.

Roland and Syrio were both satisfied with Viserys's progress.

Nothing could overcome speed. That was the theory of the Water Dancers.

To be unstoppable was the realm demanded of knights.

"Do not think. Your observation will give you the answer. Thought comes after Insight," Syrio said.

"I am the sum of my senses," Viserys said. "My eyes, nose, tongue, skin, and ears."

"That is right." Syrio nodded. "The sword is part of your arm. Use the senses in every part of your body to observe what surrounds you. Observation is faster than thought."

"You have great Talent, but you must do better, Your Majesty. Humility and self-improvement are both part of the knight's path," Ser Roland added.

"Every knight has flaws. I have witnessed dozens of tournaments and heard of far more wars. No matter which knight it is, no matter how strong, swift, or precise he may be, as long as he is human, he will ultimately have limits."

"There are always limits, but I will surpass them." Viserys nodded. He still needed to spend, train without pause, review, recover, and through that, push his attributes beyond their limits.

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