Chapter 178: The Paladin's Challenge
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
On the morning of the third day of the war outside Thunder City, the soldiers on the wall of Thunder City saw a strange scene.
A white horse galloped towards the city wall, from afar. A knight in an old and black armor was on the horse. The armor looked like it had been used for many years. The knight did not wear his helmet. His brown hair fluttered in the wind. As the knight gradually approached, his facial features became clearer. He looked like he was about forty years old. His facial hair1 was thick, making it hard to see his face.
The knight rode the horse and stopped about a hundred paces from the city wall. The knight dismounted, holding a sword. The sword also looked like it had been used for many years. Even the leather scabbard had lost its color from aging.
The knight stood by his horse and shouted towards the city wall, "I am Knight Fielding from the Roland Temple! I request to speak to the Duke of the Tulip Family!"
His voice transmitted very clearly from a hundred paces away from the wall. Although he had not shouted, all the soldiers on the wall could hear him clearly. Besides that, the voice actually transmitted through the wall and into the city.
At that moment, Rody was patrolling inside the wall. He quickly went up the wall when he suddenly heard that voice coming from outside.
Sieg looked at the Roland knight below the wall, and shouted, "Who are you?"
The knight raised his sword high and repeated, "I am Knight Fielding of the Roland Temple! I request to speak to the Duke of the Tulip Family!"
Rody frowned and shouted, "I am the Duke of the Tulip Family. Knight Fielding, what is the matter? If you came here to ask us to surrender, then my soldiers will start shooting arrows!"
Knight Fielding smiled faintly. "Your Excellency Duke of the Tulip Family, I did not come here to persuade you to surrender! I am a knight of the Holy Knight Regiment. I heard that you have captured one of us. As a knight, I respectfully challenge Your Excellency to a battle! That person is my subordinate. If I defeat you in battle, I want him released."
Before Rody could speak, Sieg had already shouted, "The Roland man below, who are you to challenge our Duke?"
Fielding lightly said, "In the name of a knight, I am challenging Your Excellency Duke of the Tulip Family! If he does not dare to accept the challenge, please release my comrade!"
Sieg sneered, "Nonsense! What do you mean by in the name of a knight? Your Roland army has hundreds of thousands of knights. If each one of you just come here and challenges Our Excellency the Duke, then he would not have time to eat or sleep!"
Those words made all the Empire soldiers on the wall laugh. Some of them even pointed at Knight Fielding and loudly cursed at him.
Knight Fielding’s expression remained the same. One could not tell whether he was angry or embarrassed. Instead, he still spoke in his calm tone, "Your Excellency Duke of the Tulip Family, I am Fielding, a Paladin2 from the Temple of the Roland Continent! Am I really not qualified to challenge you?"
Paladin?
Those words were very clear even though the people on the wall were still cursing and noisy.
When he said he was a Paladin, the derisive laughter immediately stopped.
A Paladin was the best among the masters of the Roland Continent; the best of the knights.
When Fielding realized that the noise on the wall had quietened down, he sneered, "Your Excellency Duke of the Tulip Family, do you dare accept my challenge? The two of us will fight down here below the wall. I wonder whether the bravest and the most renowned person on the Radiant Continent, dare accept my challenge?"
"Be quiet!"
Involuntarily, all the Empire soldiers on the wall turned to look at their hero, the great and handsome Duke of the Tulip Family.
It was already ingrained in the hearts of the soldiers that their Duke of the Tulip Family was a fierce and brave man. That was even more so for those who had witnessed the Duke leading his Lightning God's Whip to charge and fight their enemy on the battlefield. They admired their commander from the bottom of their hearts. They worshiped him as the God of the Battlefield.
Sieg, who was after all more experienced, could not help but whisper, "Your Excellency the Duke, that person claimed to be a Paladin. You are the commander of an army and you do not need to care about them. If they have the ability, they should just start a siege. A personal duel between the two of you holds no meaning. Besides that, your opponent is a Paladin. Even if you manage to defeat him, there is a chance that you might be injured. You are our Supreme Commander and you have a big responsibility."
Rody understood Sieg's reasoning. After all, Rody was then a Supreme Commander. A Paladin was also qualified enough to challenge him but could he defeat a Paladin?
A Paladin of the Roland Continent was equivalent to the Sacred Swordsman from the Radiant Continent. Even if he could defeat that Paladin, Rody knew he would definitely get injured. Moreover, the outcome was not certain.
Of course, if he were to win, it would be better. However, it would not be good to get injured especially since he still needed to fight a war and there were many more thing he needed to do. If he were to lose, the morale of the army would also drop.
It was not advisable to take such a risk.
Rody was silent when Knight Fielding spoke again.
"Your Excellency Duke of the Tulip Family, I was not here during the battle the day before yesterday. I heard that you were extremely valiant on the battlefield and it piqued my interest. At the Roland Continent, Miss Muse of the Temple talked about your valor. I am very fascinated by such rumor. Now you have also captured one of my comrades. So, I, as a Paladin of the Roland Continent, challenge you! I know you are the commander of the Lightning God’s Whip. Even though you might be doubtful of my identity, regardless whether you win or lose, I will order the Holy Knights of the Roland Continent not to interfere in this battle. Is this condition fair?"
Rody gritted his teeth. Seeing the surrounding soldiers looking at him, in anticipation and admiration, he felt excited. Besides that, the other party had just promised to temporarily withdraw the Holy Knights from battle. That could be considered fair.
The soldiers beside him could not help but started to clamor. They scolded Fielding, who was below the city wall, for being arrogant, for rating himself too highly and for being suicidal.
Sieg, who was still by Rody’s side, whispered, "Your Excellency. You don't need to care about him. Just order the soldiers to shoot some arrows and chase him away. These days, we need you for a lot of things. We will also need you to strategize."
Rody sighed. He reluctantly suppressed his impulse and was about to refuse...
Fielding then sneered from below the city wall. "Your Excellency Duke of the Tulip Family, Are you really afraid to accept the challenge? You dare not accept the challenge from a warrior? Is your bravery just a rumor? It looks like my fiancée, Miss Muse, is wrong."
In the Imperial Palace, Andy’s eyes were closed as he ‘watched’ the scene at Thunder City. His expression changed when he heard the knight’s last few words.
"This is bad. Whatever it is, that boy has to fight now!"
The words 'fiancée' was like a great blow to Rody’s heart. His intention to kill grew stronger and his eyes turned cold.
Rody had just suppressed his impulsive intentions but now his impulse had turned to anger.
Fiancee?
Fiancee!
Fiancee?
Rody then squeezed out the next few words from his throat, "What did you say?"
Fielding laughed and replied, "I just said that, when I was in Roland Continent, my fiancée Miss Muse had mentioned of your bravery many times. However, I did not expect you to be afraid of accepting a challenge from a warrior!"
"Prepare the horse!" Before Fielding had finished speaking, Rody shouted, turned around and walked towards the wall, behind him.
"You Excellency the Duke…" Sieg followed closely behind Rody and still wanted to discourage him. Rody glared at Sieg. "I said, prepare the horse!"
Sieg saw Rody's glare and trembled. He immediately became alerted. Rody's eyes were sharp and his look was like a knife stabbing into a person's body. His eyes were so cold that Sieg could not help but step back and subconsciously swallowed all that he wanted to say.
Rody stormed down the wall feeling extremely angry. It felt like his blood was boiling... Fiancee?
Rody’s hands trembled as he tightly held the Dragon Fang Sword. His aura became more and more violent with every step he took. Finally, he reached the bottom of the wall and mounted his horse, Garros. He looked at the gate slowly opening in front of him.
On both sides, the soldiers looked at their great commander with respect. They moved aside to create a path.
Although Fielding had a smile on his face, his eyes were cold. He watched the gate open and the Duke of the Tulip Family cantered out in a black horse.
Fielding smiled and jumped on his horse. Instead of going up to Rody, he shouted, "This place is too close to your city wall. Since this is a fair duel, I request we fight in the middle of the battlefield!"
Having said that, he turned his horse around and started to move back.
Rody followed him closely, from behind. The two men on their horses trotted to the middle of the battlefield. When the distance from the city wall and the distance from the barracks of the Roland coalition forces were about equal, Rody coldly said, "Is this far enough?"
Feeling the sharp glare, Fielding could not help but frown and coldly replied, "Fine! Let us fight here!"
Rody slowly picked up a spear from the horse and looked at Fielding. He asked coldly, "Did you say Mouse is your fiancée?"
"Mouse…" Fielding lightly muttered and then he said, "It seems like she really thinks highly of you to even tell you her real name… Yes, Mouse is indeed my fiancée. I believe this is what you are currently most concerned about. If it was not because of this, I believe you might not have accepted my challenge."
Rody gloomily gritted his teeth and replied, "Yes, did you deliberately use this to provoke me, to get me out?"
Fielding said bravely, "I am a Paladin of the Temple! Mouse is my fiancée. However, when she returned from the grasslands, she started to ignore me. Because of you, she also opposed the crusade and angered the Elders of the Temple. If it was not because of me, she would have been executed long ago! I found out that she got acquainted with you as she occasionally spoke of you! Your Excellency Duke of the Tulip Family, as a knight and as a man, I challenge you! I will prove to Mouse who is the real hero!"
At the moment, Rody could not understand his own emotions. After such a long experience, he was also aware of his subtle feelings for the Black Veil Saint. If there was another woman in this world other than Nicole that Rody would care about, then that person would definitely be Mouse from the Roland Continent.
Rody’s heart ached when he recalled the day Mouse parted with him in the wilderness of the Northwest Region. They had waved to each other from their horses and then she said, "If you do not forget me, I will not forget you!" Subconsciously, Rody asked, "How is she?"
Fielding coldly replied, "She is not good! Duke of the Tulip Family, Mouse is the holiest girl in the Temple! She is the favorite goddess of the Holy Knights! She is my fiancée! However, because of you, she was arrested by the Elders for being disloyal to her faith!"
Rody gritted his teeth and slowly said, "So, do you want to kill me, because of Mouse?"
Fielding lightly said, "Yes, Your Excellency Duke of the Tulip Family, whatever it is, I must kill you! This is not only for my Temple, my faith but also for my love! Before she went to the grasslands, she promised to marry me! However, when she returned, everything changed! I have seen her cry several times at the corner of the Temple. Your Excellency Duke of the Tulip Family, This is all your fault! You used a devilish trick to steal her heart!"
Having said that, Fielding then took up his spear and shouted. "Your Excellency Duke of the Tulip Family, pick up your spear! Let us duel! As long as you can kill me, Mouse is yours!"
Rody coldly looked at the Paladin of the Roland Continent. He then spoke in a low voice, "You are wrong! It does not matter if I kill you or not. Mouse is still mine!"
Translator Notes:
1. Huxu 胡须 can mean mustache, beard or even whiskers.
2. 神圣骑士 Shensheng qishi for Holy Knights and 圣骑士 sheng qishi for Paladin. These two Chinese names are similar, causing the confusion. 剑圣武士 Jiansheng wushi is Sacred Swordsman. Paladin can also mean Holy Knight but it would fit an individual more, compared to Holy Knights which sounds better on groups. I apologize for the earlier chapter when Muse described Holy Knights as the equivalent to Sacred Swordsman.