Lyn Corbray was stunned.
He was holding Ms. Kongji, the Valyria steel sword that had been with him for twenty years. It was the weapon that once killed Levin Martell.
I thought that when I showed this sword, Corleone would shrink back like those country bumpkins who have never seen the world, looking at this legendary weapon with awe.
But Corleone does not.
He just stood there, wearing a pure black armor, holding an extremely ordinary stainless steel sword, and then said this... Such a ridiculous thing.
"Interesting." Lyn sneered, his smile full of sarcasm, "It's really interesting."
He took a step forward, the tip of the sword still pointing diagonally at the ground, but the hand holding the sword tightened.
The sun shone on him, and the dark blue full-body plate armor reflected a cold luster. The lifelike eagle claws on the shoulder armor, the Corbray family coat of arms engraved on the chest, and the three flying crows on a white background, holding a blood-red heart under each claw, were particularly dazzling in the sunlight.
"How can a person who has never seen snow in his life have the nerve to talk about the coldness of winter?"
He raised his chin, with the unique pride of a valley knight in his voice. "Who do you think you are, Vito·Corleone, a Farmer who climbed out of the mud in the river, and you are worthy of me to teach you swordsmanship?"
With that said, Lyn lifted Ms. Kongji up so that the sunlight could better shine on the sword. Those rippled lines flowed in the sunlight, as if they were alive.
"We, Vale men, have been learning swords since we were born."
"It's not because we're aggressive, it's because we live in the mountains!"
"Do you know where the Vale of Arryn is?"
"There are mountains on all sides, and the shadow of the Mingyue Mountains shrouds every castle. Some of the mountains are descendants of the Shidong clan, and some are mountain clans. They will break into your castle while you are sleeping and cut your throat."
"So in the valley, the sword is not a weapon, it is life."
"A knight of the Vale, if his swordsmanship is not good enough, he will not live to be twenty years old."
His voice became louder and more confident. "And I, Lyn Corbray, started holding a sword at the age of six, swinging it thousands of times a day for ten years."
"I went to war at the age of sixteen. At the age of seventeen, I blocked seven rebel knights by myself on the wall of Seagull Town and killed four nineteen-year-olds. On Trident, I personally killed Lewin Martell, the first knight of the Kingsguard and the first knight of Dorne."
"So, I only know one thing in my life, if you use a fast sword, you will live; if you use a slow sword, you will die!"
He paused, and the sneer on his lips deepened.
"Now, tell me, it is the man who uses the sword, not the sword who uses the man?"
"Ha!" Lyn laughed, the laughter full of contempt. "Then let me see how good you are at using a sword!"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was no more nonsense.
He moved.
Lyn Corbray's sword is as fast as a black lightning.
He is fierce and cunning with the characteristics of the Valley Knight, but his skills are deadly.
The swordsmanship in the Valley is different from any other place in the Seven the Seven Kingdoms. The knights in the Riverlands like to open and close and use force to overwhelm their opponents. The knights in the West pay attention to technique and rhythm, and the swordsmen in Dorne prefer swiftness and deceit.
The North...the North There are very few knights.
But the valley is different.
The swordsmanship in the valley is honed among the mountains, in the narrow castle corridors and rugged mountain roads.
There is no extra space for you to wield the sword, and there is no time to slowly deal with enough audiences to give you the opportunity to show off.
The sword of the Valley Knight must be fast and accurate, and it must hit the opponent's vital point immediately, because if it misses, you may be stabbed from behind by the opponent in the next second.
So Lyn's first sword went straight to Corleone's throat.
That is the most vulnerable part of the human body. Once it is stabbed, the battle is over.
However, just when the tip of the sword was only three inches away from Corleone's throat, Corleone's body turned slightly to the left.
Just an inch.
The tip of Ms. Kongji's sword brushed against his neck, causing a sharp sword wind.
Seeing this, Lyn's eyes suddenly narrowed.
As expected of someone who has defeated the Demon Mountain, his reaction is really fast, but it doesn't matter, because his second sword has already followed up.
With a twist of her wrist, Ms. Kongji drew an arc in the air, changing from thorn to sharpening, slashing horizontally towards Corleone's neck.
This sword was faster and more ruthless, because the angle of the cut just blocked the space for Corleone to retreat.
But Corleone didn't retreat, it just leaned back slightly.
It was also only an inch, and the tip of the sword passed by the tip of his nose.
Then, Lyn frowned.
In previous battles, these two swords have been enough to defeat most opponents. Sure enough, this Vito·Corleone does have two punches.
In this case, I'm going to get serious.
Lyn thought to himself, then the third sword, the fourth sword, the fifth sword... one sword after another, one sword faster than the other, and one sword more cunning than the other.
The essence of Valley swordsmanship was brought into full play by him at this moment. Each sword was aimed at the vital point to seal off the retreat. Like the shadow lynx in the Mingyue Mountains, he pounced on the most vulnerable part of his prey.
But Corleone is still dodging.
Just right.
I just missed it every time, just by an inch.
As time went by, Lyn's heart began to sink.
Every time, before he drew his sword, Corleone had already moved, as if he could see through the path of his sword and read his own mind.
It was as if this outsider knew the swordsmanship of the valley better than he did.
How is this possible?
He has never fought against Corleone, and Corleone has never met him.
Today is the first time they meet.
How did he do it?
Lyn gritted his teeth and made his sword more powerful.
He doesn't believe in evil.
He didn't believe that anyone in this world could see through his swordsmanship in the first fight.
Absolutely don't believe it.
"Impossible." Lyn gritted his teeth and his sword became even fiercer. "Absolutely impossible!"
He began to increase his strength and speed, exerting all his strength with every strike.
Ms. Kongji turned into a ball of flowing black light and shadow in the sunlight, and the ripples on the sword rotated crazily, as if she also felt the owner's anger.
But Corleone is still dodging, still so calm and effortless.
"Lyn·Corbray."
He even started to speak during the battle.
Corleone's voice sounded, as calm as chatting with an old friend. "Your swordsmanship is indeed very good."
"I have come into contact with some knights of the valley. Like them, you grew up in a castle in the mountains. You have known how to kill people in narrow spaces since you were a child. Your sword is as fast as the wind in the mountains. I have never seen a knight who is more accomplished in swordsmanship than you."
"But, do you know why you can't hit me?"
Hearing this, Lyn's heart tightened, but he didn't answer. He just kept drawing his sword even more crazily.
But this was still in vain. The sword he had always been proud of could not only cut through the Black-armored Knights in front of him, but could not even prevent the sound of Corleone from clearly reaching his ears.
"Because your sword has only one rhythm."
"From the first strike to now, you have made a total of thirty-seven strikes."
"Throat, neck, left and right ribs, and then you tried to block my escape route and force me into a corner."
"You repeated each attack more than three times."
"How stupid...Lyn Corbray, you are fighting, not practicing swordsmanship."
"Fighting depends on the reaction of the opponent, and as for you, you are just repeating what you have practiced for twenty years!"
As soon as he said these words, Lyn's face began to turn pale. If it weren't for wearing a helmet, cold sweat would have flowed down his face and his offensive would have stalled.
Seeing this, Corleone did not take the opportunity to attack, but stopped to dodge and stood there quietly looking at Lyn.
"You think that as long as you are fast enough, accurate enough, and ruthless enough, you can defeat everyone, but have you ever thought about what if your opponent knows your swordplay better than you do?"
"What if your opponent doesn't need to study you, but only needs to observe you in battle to see through your tactics?"
Listening to what Corleone said, Lyn looked up and saw the bottomless black eyes under the helmet, as if he could see everything about himself through the armor.
-[Insight Iv4]
Not only that, even if the other party was standing still, there was a real sense of oppression emanating from his body from beginning to end, so much so that he felt that his actions were starting to become a little sluggish.
1[Dignity Iv4]
"You know, Lyn Corbray."
Seemingly seeing through Lyn's wavering, Corleone smiled gently and said in a deep voice, "Your pride has betrayed yourself."
Hearing this, Lyn was stunned.
"Proud people have one characteristic in common."
Corleone's voice was still calm. "They like to solve problems in the way they are best at, because they believe that what they are good at is the best."
"And you...
He raised the sword in his hand and pointed at Lyn.
"What you are best at is this set of swordsmanship. You have used it to win countless battles for twenty years, so you take it for granted that this set of swordsmanship is invincible and does not need to be changed."
"So every time you draw your sword, you will unconsciously return to your most familiar routine."
As soon as these words came out, Lyn's breathing began to become rapid.
He wanted to retort, but he couldn't.
Because what Corleone said is right, he is indeed using the same set of swordsmanship, and he will indeed return to the most familiar routine every time.
He... is too proud.
He was so proud that he thought his swordsmanship was perfect and didn't even bother to think about how his opponent would respond.
"But that's not your most serious problem."
Just when Lyn began to doubt his swordsmanship, Corleone's voice sounded again, interrupting Lyn's thoughts. "Your most serious problem is another thing."
Lyn raised his head and looked at him.
"What is it?"
Corleone did not answer directly, but just raised the stainless steel sword in his hand and pointed it at Ms. Kongji in Lyn's hand.
"What is the name of this sword in your hand?"
Lyn was stunned for a moment.
"Ms. Kongji." He replied matter-of-factly.
"Good sword."
Corleone nodded. "It's a really good sword. Valyria steel is lighter, harder and sharper than ordinary steel. With this sword, you can easily cut off the opponent's weapons, cut through the armor, and fight one against ten on the battlefield."
"But do you know what that means?"
Lyn frowned and said nothing.
"It means you are too dependent on it." Corleone's voice was calm, but every word was like a nail piercing Lyn's heart.
"For twenty years, you have held this sword and fought countless battles. You won, and you thought it was because of your strength, but have you ever thought about how many of those who lost to you lost to you, and how many lost to this sword?"
Hearing this, Lyn's lips began to tremble, but Corleone's questioning continued.
"If you were holding an ordinary sword, could you still win?"
"If this sword was not in your hand, would you still be Lyn Corbray?"
"Do you believe in your own swordsmanship or in this sword?"
Lyn's breath froze and he pursed his lips.
Twenty years ago, on Trident, when he faced Levin Martell, he held Ms. Kongji in his hand.
He won that battle, and he thought he had won.
But what if he didn't have this sword in his hand at that time, but had an ordinary sword?
Can he still win?
He doesn't know.
What's even more frightening is that in twenty years, he has never thought about this problem.
"Look." Corleone's voice sounded again, like a mirror, reflecting the deepest fear in Lyn's heart. "You've never thought about it, right?"
"Because you believe in this sword too much."
"You regard it as a part of you, as your pride, as the meaning of your existence."
"But you forgot what I said before."
As he spoke, Corleone took a step forward and repeated, "It is the man who uses the sword, not the sword who uses the man."
As soon as he finished speaking, he moved.
This was the first time he took the initiative in this duel.
The ordinary stainless steel sword was raised diagonally from bottom to top, very slowly, so slowly that Lyn could clearly see the trajectory of the sword.
Lyn subconsciously raised his sword to block.
Ms. Kongji faced the fine steel sword. The moment the two swords were about to collide, Lyn's eyes lit up for a moment.
As long as it touches, as long as it touches... that stainless steel sword will break!
But he thought too much.
At the moment when the two swords were about to collide, Corleone's sword bypassed Ms. Kongji, slid up along the blade, and then gently picked it up.
Ding~~~~
There was a crisp sound of metal collision, and Lyn felt a light move on his right hand.
He looked down.
I saw that the Valyria steel sword passed down from generation to generation by the Corbray family was flying high at the moment, drawing a beautiful black arc in the sun, and then inserted into the sand.
The sword body trembled slightly and made a buzzing resonance sound.
Like crying, sighing, and saying goodbye.
Within Ring of Order, cheers finally broke out.
"Ser Corleone!"
"Ser Corleone!"
"Ser Corleone!"
The sound was like a tide, one wave higher than the other, making the whole Fighting Arena tremble.
Bang!
Amid the cheers of the crowd, Lyn Corbray fell to his knees weakly.
His knees hit the sand with a dull sound, his hands hung by his sides, his head was lowered and his shoulders were shaking violently.
He lost.
Total defeat.
I don't even have the courage to look up at Corleone.
Because every word Corleone just said was like a knife piercing his heart.
Corleone defeated him with just an ordinary Longsword.
Along with his pride, honor, and fame.
Lyn thought that Corleone would sarcastically humiliate him, or say something that would make him miserable.
However, as a pair of black armor boots came into view, Lyn raised his head and saw that Corleone had taken off his helmet at some point. Those dark eyes were looking at him quietly, looking a bit... sincere?
"You know, Lyn Corbray."
Corleone's voice sounded again. This time, there was a hint of gentleness in his voice, like an elder teaching the younger generation. "I know a man. He was once the proudest knight in the Seven Kingdoms. He joined the Kingsguard at the age of sixteen. He thought he was invincible."
"Then he lost a hand."
Lyn was stunned because he knew who Corleone was talking about.
"What do you think he is like now?" Corleone continued to tell, "He is in the North, in the Wall, and he is looking for a person named Coldhands Colin to learn from Left-hand sword."
"Because he understands that real strength does not come from the sword or the hand, but from here."
Corleone raised his hand and pointed at his head.
"And here."
He pointed to his heart again.
"You lost to me not because your swordsmanship is not good. Your swordsmanship is really good. It's so good that even among the seven the Seven Kingdomss, you can't find anyone better than you."
"You lost because you were too proud."
"Too proud to be unwilling to change or learn, and pin all hopes on a sword."
"And pride... is never invincible."
As soon as these words came out, Lyn's eyes seemed a little dull.
He remembered many years ago when he first picked up Longsword to practice with his father.
Father, that's what he looks like.
How strange.
Obviously Corleone is only half his age.
However, Corleone ignored Lyn's reaction, but turned around and walked a few steps, came to Ms. Kongji and pulled it up.
Good steel.
Corleone couldn't help but admire in his heart, and then without looking back, he spoke again, "According to the bet, I will accept this lady."
"Remember what I said today, Lyn Corbray, it is the man who uses the sword, not the sword who uses the man.
"When will you figure it out, stop being proud, and stop relying on external things...
"Come to House of Order and find me."
"I'll teach you."
After saying that, he continued to walk forward.
He walked through the sand, walked toward the iron door leading to the preparation room, and then disappeared from everyone's sight.