Within Fighting Arena, the two stood again.
There was about ten steps between them, and the sun shone down from above, casting the shadows of the two people on the fine white sand.
One is generous and stocky, the other is slender and straight.
The spectators in the stands held their breath and stared in anticipation at the battle that was about to unfold in the field.
Gendry held the handle of the hammer with both hands and assumed the same posture as before.
But the old knight noticed that his center of gravity was lower than before, and the distance between his feet was wider. The embarrassing dodges and falls just now seemed to make this kid's body instinctively remember something.
"Interesting..." The corners of the old knight's mouth slightly raised, and he held the half-sword tightly with both hands.
The shape of this blade is between the ordinary Longsword and the giant sword. It can be thrust with one hand, or it can be held with both hands to chop and slash like a giant sword.
It can be used with both hands or with a shield. It can be said to be the most perfect type of blade for old knights.
The North The famous Valyria steel sword "Longclaw" of the Mormont family is this kind.
"Coming!" Just like before, Gendry roared loudly to remind his opponent before the battle, and then rushed forward with his hammer.
With the roar of the wind, the hammer head went straight to the old knight's chest.
There is still no fancy attack method, just like a blacksmith beating a red-hot iron billet, simple and direct.
The old knight dodged sideways while slashing the hammer handle from the side with his sword blade. This was a technique he had used countless times in previous battles.
But this time, Gendry's hammer changed direction in mid-air.
As if the hammer head had a will of its own, it suddenly changed from a horizontal sweep to an upward tilt, drawing an arc around the slashing blade...
"Cang!!!"
The Hammer hit the sword blade firmly.
The sound was not like iron colliding with iron, but more like the Hammer hitting a gong, causing the whole Ring of Order to buzz.
The old knight's sword was thrown back by the impact, and the huge force spread along the blade to his arms, shoulders, and even his entire body.
He stepped back uncontrollably, tripped on his heels, and leaned back violently.
There was a burst of exclamation in the stands.
But the old knight's feet stepped firmly on the sand at the last moment, and he exerted force on his back to stabilize his figure.
His chest rose and fell slightly, and the hem of his cloak fluttered gently in the wind.
"This kid..." he thought to himself, a trace of surprise flashed in his blue eyes. "He's really strong."
That moment just now almost made him fall!
The old knight raised his head and looked at Gendry.
The two people looked at each other for a moment.
"This time." His voice came out muffled from the helmet, with a simple and undisguised pride. "I'm just staring at your sword!"
The old knight was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
"Very smart."
His tone was gentle, but something seemed to be burning in his blue eyes, a long-lost excitement that could only be felt on the battlefield.
Hearing the old knight's approval, Gendry also grinned, as happy as when he hit his first qualified Longsword under the guidance of his master.
However, before he could be happy for too long, he saw the old knight on the opposite side holding the sword with both hands without any warning, stamping his feet on the ground and approaching quickly!
This time he took the initiative to attack, swinging his sword from diagonally below and heading straight for Gendry's ribs.
That is the gap in the armor, one of the weakest points in the body.
Gendry instinctively blocked with his hammer.
"Cang!!!"
There was another loud noise.
The hammer head hit the sword blade, causing sparks to fly.
But this time the old knight didn't even back down.
His sword held the hammer firmly, and there was a tooth-breaking friction sound between the sword blade and the hammer handle. The strength of the two men collided head-on at this moment, and neither one gave way to the other.
Gendry's eyes widened instantly.
"Impossible!" He was extremely shocked and spoke out in disbelief.
The strength he was so proud of was blocked by a gray-haired old man!
"Don't look at my old man who is over sixty years old."
The old knight's voice came from under the hood. It was still calm, but there was a hint of smile in it, without any sarcasm. On the contrary, it seemed very free and open-minded.
"In terms of strength, I'm still not inferior to young people like you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned his wrist and the sword blade slid down the hammer handle, forcing Gendry to retreat.
The old knight did not pursue him immediately, but to save his dignity, he warned Gendry loudly, "You'd better cheer up."
"Because the real battle is about to begin, boy!"
After saying that, the old knight took a step forward, and the sword blade drew a silver-white arc in the air and fell from above.
This sword carried the sound of howling wind, and was so fast that one could barely see the outline of the sword body.
"Cang!!!"
Gendry swung his hammer to block, his arm shook, and a stinging pain came from the tiger's mouth, but before he could adjust his breathing, the second sword had already arrived.
"Cang!!!"
There was another loud noise.
This time it came from the side. Gendry reluctantly turned the hammer handle to block it, but was shocked and staggered to the right.
Then came the third sword, the fourth sword...
The old knight's sword struck faster and harder, and struck harder and harder.
The ordinary hand-and-half sword seemed to have seven or eight swords swinging at the same time in his hand, striking from all angles. The power and angle of each sword forced Gendry to be extremely embarrassed, and he kept retreating.
Seeing this, everyone in the stands stood up and exclaimed in disbelief.
"How is this possible?"
"The Hammer was pressed and beaten! The Hammer was pressed and beaten by a level nine person!"
"Seven gods, I must be crazy!"
But their shouts could not change the situation. At this time, Gendry on the sand had retreated to the edge of the field.
The old knight's arms were shaking, and each sword of the old knight was like a the Hammer hitting the handle of his hammer, causing his jaw to crack and blood to flow down his fingers.
This blacksmith, who had been bullying his opponents with his strength all day long, finally felt what it was like for the knights he defeated.
His breathing was heavy and rapid, his chest heaved violently, and sweat dripped from his forehead, blurring his vision.
The handle of the hammer was covered in blood and sweat and was so slippery that it was almost impossible to hold it.
But the old knight still breathed steadily, his posture was calm, and he kept swinging the half-sword in his hand like an extension of his arm, and even said loudly with enough energy, "What?"
"Is it impossible to fight now?"
"You promised that you could fight with me like this all day?"
Hearing his opponent's continued taunting, Gendry just gritted his teeth and said nothing.
Because his mind was completely blank at this time, with only one thought left.
Can't fall, must not...
But my body doesn't obey its orders.
The muscles all over his body were extremely sore. The more Gendry fought, the more desperate he became. For the first time, he felt that the power he was proud of was nothing in front of this ordinary old man.
"Ah!!!!!"
Gendry roared angrily, and unleashed his last bit of strength to swing the hammer at the old knight. "Again!"
"Cang!!!"
The old knight took half a step back, and his sword barely managed to withstand this powerful and heavy blow.
At the same time, he secretly thought in his mind that this guy's strength was really outrageous. If his skills weren't stronger than his opponent's and his method of exerting force was smoother, he might have been defeated long ago.
Such terrifying strength even reminded him of his sworn brother who wore a white robe like him and could easily wield a giant sword with one hand.
It's great to be young.
I still remember that at that time, his strength was not inferior to that guy at all, but it was a pity that he didn't have a sword as good as the other guy.
But...
That's it for now!
"Haha!" The old knight's arm muscles tensed up, and he tried hard to block the hammer. The huge force made Gendry unsteady, and the middle door opened wide.
Immediately afterwards, a left kick!
Bang!
"Hmm!!!"
There was severe pain in the chest, and Gendry fell to his knees with a cry.
The hammer slipped weakly from his hand and hit the ground, splashing a cloud of sand and dust. His chest heaved violently, and sweat dripped from his forehead, blurring his vision.
The hammer was at his feet, but he didn't even have the strength to bend down and pick it up.
Seventeen consecutive wins.
It's over.
As the battle ended, the stands were quiet for a moment.
Then, a tsunami of applause sounded, and people stood up one after another and looked at the old knight Gray Cloak on the sand with respect.
They don't know who this person is.
But they knew that they and others had just witnessed an amazing battle.
An ordinary level nine old man defeated Level One Fighter head-on.
This has never happened in Ring of Order's battle!
Gendry knelt on the ground, and the applause reached his ears, but he felt that they were far away from him.
Lost..
Really lost.
It's not the kind of "almost winning" kind of loss, but being completely crushed.
Since the first blow, he has never really encountered this old man.
He lowered his head and looked at the hammer at his feet.
The hammer was lying on the sand. The hammer head was still stained with the sand and dust it had just smashed out. There were more than a dozen marks on the hammer handle made by the sword blade, some deep, some shallow, criss-crossing.
Suddenly, Gendry remembered what he had just said, "I can swing the hammer like this all day long without getting tired!"
How stupid.
Gendry closed his eyes and felt something stuck in his throat, unable to swallow or spit it out.
This was his first real taste of failure, and he lost completely in front of thousands of people.
"Can't it still be done?" he asked himself in his mind.
After seventeen victories, he thought he was so strong that he even thought that no one could beat him except Godfather in this Fighting Arena.
But now he knows.
The reason why those opponents lost to him was not because he was too strong, but because they were too weak.
Bang.
Gendry lay down on the sand dejectedly, his back hitting the fine white sand with a dull sound.
He looked at the sky above his head. The afternoon sun stung his eyes, but he did not close them.
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from the sand.
Then, a shadow blocked the sunlight on Gendry's face.
The old knight stood beside him, looking down at him.
The shadow of the hood covered most of his face, and all he could see was the neatly trimmed gray beard on his chin, the faint arc at the corner of his mouth, and his right hand stretched out.
"Can't you accept a little failure, kid?"
Hearing the still calm voice of the other party, Gendry did not speak, but was silent for a few seconds, and then slowly took out something from his waist.
It was a wooden sign with the words "First Class" engraved on the front and his number on the back.
In Ring of Order, every fighter has a brand like this, and there are only a few first-level brands in the entire King's Landing.
He earned this with blood and sweat.
"You win."
Gendry calmly raised the wooden sign and handed it in the direction of the old knight. "Now, it belongs to you.
This is the rule of Ring of Order.
Once a low-level player successfully challenges a high-level player, the high-level wooden cards belong to the challenger.
The old knight looked down at the wooden sign in his hand and was silent for a moment. Suddenly he realized that this boy had misunderstood what he meant.
However, he did not explain, but took back his right hand and shook his head.
"I'm long past the age where I need these things to prove myself."
When he said this, there was no pride or humility in his tone, only a calmness that was naturally polished by time.
It's as if an old tree doesn't care about the new vines growing under its feet.
After saying that, he put the sword back into the scabbard on his waist, turned around neatly and walked towards the exit, ignoring Gendry who was stunned for a moment.
The footsteps gradually faded away, and Gendry turned his head slightly to look at the hammer in his hand, and then looked ahead again.
The sun shines from the side, coating the strong back with a layer of gold, and the gray-white cloak flutters gently in the wind, like a faded flag.
"If you drop the hammer, pick it up!"
"Just keep fighting next time."
As if aware that he was looking at him, the old knight stopped and did not look back. There was a hint of smile in his voice, as if he was remembering something long ago.
"The first time I participated in a martial arts tournament, I lost much more embarrassingly than you did, young man."
"Aren't you... here to challenge me and become Level One Fighter to make money and fame?"
Seeing that the other party was about to step into the exit of the passage, Gendry finally asked his doubts.
Hearing this, the old knight stopped in his steps, then turned his head slightly, half of his face revealed under the shadow of his hood.
"I'm just looking for someone."
"But someone told me that I could only see him if I defeated Level One Fighter, so I came."
As soon as these words came out, Gendry's mind immediately buzzed.
Looking for someone?
This old man registered as a fighter, spent 200 Gold Dragon to challenge him, and then beat himself to pieces on the sand, just to... find someone?
"Who to look for...
Gendry blurted out, but the old knight had already stepped into the darkness of the passage and disappeared.
The players' tunnel was dark, smelling of rust and sweat.
The old knight walked in the passage with a leisurely pace, as if this dark passage was no different to him than the sand under the sun.
At this time, there were rapid footsteps behind him, and it was obvious that someone was catching up.
The old knight did not look back, but slowed down slightly.
"You actually did it?"
The voice came from beside him, and his tone was extremely shocked.
The old knight turned his head.
He saw a lean man looking at him like he was sizing up a monster.
The man wore a gorgeous brown leather armor with gold thread on the collar and cuffs, and a Longsword with Ruby embedded on his waist.
The whole person exudes the aura of "I have money but I don't know how to spend it" from top to bottom.
But at this moment, the other person's face was filled with disbelief.
"You can even beat the Hammer. There is absolutely no way you are a nobody. Who the hell are you...?"
Hearing this, the old knight did not answer, but held his right hand on the hilt of his sword and demanded as he should. "It doesn't matter who I am."
"The important thing is that you should fulfill your promise and take me to Vito·Corleone.
6
.. Polon Earl.