The Eleventh Chapter: The Banquet and the Martial Competition

  Robert's sarcasm was intelligible to all, and Sir Wendel's good breeding could not endure it. True, his own banquet had been a little meager, but that was the best he could do for his guests under his own roof; and here, in his own house, a guest dared to criticize his hospitality, which was not according to German custom.

  "Robert, Brother, we are servants of God, how can you be so meticulous about enjoyment." Hof. Hannes rebuked loudly and stared at Robert with his deep blue eyes.

  Robert saw the threat in Hofhannes' gaze and knew that this was not the time to attack him, his goal was only to humiliate Hofhannes, undermine his authority, now that his purpose had been achieved, he said no more.

  It seems that within the high walls of St. Fonsa's monastery, the struggle for power is also extremely fierce. Robert from another prominent family is threatening Hoff's position, but Hoff can temporarily suppress this threat with his own personal prestige. However, without the support of a powerful family, he doesn't know how long this suppression can last, which is why he came to the Windel family seeking solid support.

  "I apologize for the delay, but as a knightly family of Windel, we have something more suitable for a banquet. Bring your shield and sword, If." Sir Windel, being well-versed in etiquette, naturally saw through this and immediately signaled to his two sons that he was going to show these arrogant monks the martial tradition of the Windel family.

  "Yes, father." Although Yifu envied the rich lives of these monks, he would not let anyone who threatened his family go easily. He took a sharp-bottomed kite shield from the weapon rack beside the hall with his left hand, drew his waist sword, and jumped in front of everyone. His right-hand sword slashed fiercely in the air several times, the sharp sword cutting through the air making a whistling sound. Yifu's tall, strong physique added to the intimidation.

  "Ah." The monks who had been spending their days peacefully in the monastery had seen this kind of formation before, and they exchanged fearful glances. Brother Robert's face turned slightly pale, and his right hand trembled slightly under his monk's robe as he involuntarily glanced at Hof, Hannis, who was sitting with Wendel. It was not uncommon for nobles to kill each other in banquets during these chaotic times, but Hof, Hannis, the abbot of the monastery, seemed to be watching Eif's sword skills performance with a normal expression, just like everyone else.

  Yi Fu swung his sword and split a thick wooden block in two, his strength was so powerful, his speed and skill with the sword were also very impressive. The crowd thought to themselves that if he were to swing it at a person, what would happen? The banquet fell into silence, no one dared to say a word. Yi Fu looked at these timid cultivators with a smug expression, just then a voice came from outside the gate.

  "How boring it must be for you to be alone, let me be your opponent." A knight wearing a suit of plate armor walked in with big strides. The knight was of medium build, with slightly long cheekbones, and had soft golden hair that fell to his shoulders. His beard was neatly trimmed, and he bowed deeply before Robert, then stood up straight and placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist.

  "Ah, it's you, Woodrow the Knight. My dear Wendel introduces to you this Robert, a knight of the Robert family, the brave Sir Woodrow who won the swordsmanship championship at the Knights' Tournament in Cologne and is currently studying at my monastery." Hof. Hannes smiled as he raised his cup in a toast to Woodrow, then went on to tell the story of Woodrow's background in detail. Iver's mouth twitched slightly - what was the point of being a swordsmanship champion in Cologne? If it weren't for his father asking him to take care of the family business, he would have long since wandered the world spreading his own fame.

  "If you're interested, then go ask Lord Woodlow for guidance." Sir Wendel was no pushover either. He wouldn't let someone tarnish his family's reputation on his own turf, especially when he had confidence in his eldest son's martial skills, which were the result of his careful teaching from a young age.

  Arvad was somewhat tongue-tied, never expecting a family dinner to turn into a thrilling sword fight, only wondering who among them was Liu Bang and who was Xiang Yu. As he pondered, two warriors had already begun clashing swords. Medieval warriors often employed various schools of sword techniques, mostly passed down through families until the 14th century when Richard Turnier formed his own school of German swordsmanship. Many Teutonic knights favored using half-swords and greatswords, a coarse yet effective style that spread widely among medieval warriors, shattering Arvad's impression that Westerners' sword techniques lacked finesse.

  "Clang~~~." Woodrow's sword struck Eve's shield, and this church knight was actually using dual swords, a longsword and a slightly shorter sword. The longsword attacked, the short sword defended, or simultaneously crossed like scissors to attack, leaving everyone dazzled by his agility and skill, in comparison, Eve seemed to be retreating step by step, only able to use his own shield to block between them, taking every blow from his opponent.

  "Oh wow~~~~." Yifu knew that his advantage was his strength, but he had chosen the wrong weapon at first. The single-handed sword and shield limited his usual heavy blows. If it were a heavy two-handed sword, he would have suppressed his opponent from the start. Unfortunately, now he could only use his shield to protect himself and wait for an opportunity to attack. Finally, in the gap of Woodrow's attack, he raised his shield to block the long sword coming from above, and then crouched down to stab upwards from the lower right side.

  "Did he win?" Arwade also became tense, he didn't understand what was going on. According to reason, Yifu had always been causing trouble for himself after entering this era, and in his bones, he extremely disliked this guy who relied on his own strength to bully the weak. However, now he was worried about Yifu, which seemed to be the influence of Arwade's soul regarding family loyalty.

  "Clang~~~." Unfortunately, Woodrow was not an easy opponent. His left hand's short sword stretched down instantly, blocking If's attack from below. What's worse, at some unknown time, there was a puddle of water under If's feet. If stepped on it and his foot slipped, almost falling over. To maintain balance, he had to abandon the shield in his hand, the only thing that could protect his body, and the kite shield made a dull sound as it fell to the ground near the gate.

  "Damn it." Eve cursed and retreated a few steps back, while Woodrow smiled with great chivalry and also retreated a few steps without taking the opportunity to launch an attack on Eve.

  "Terrible." Arwade said in a low voice, he involuntarily glanced at his father and uncle. Sir Wendel's face was solemn with furrowed brows, tightly closed mouth, and eyes fixed on the two dueling men, while Uncle Hoffmannis' face turned iron-green, the smile that had been hanging from the corner of his mouth had long since melted away like summer snow.

  "Don't worry, if you lose like this, how can you be a descendant of the Wendel family?" Just then, Arrod felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he smelled a familiar scent. He turned around to see his mother, Eva, looking at him with a warm smile. She raised her head and looked at her son who was competing in the arena with a firm gaze, comforting her other son, Arrod, with a soft tone. Arrod's heart felt a surge of emotion, and he lowered his head, afraid that tears would burst out of his eyes.

  Arvind's past life soul was an orphan who wasn't really an orphan, his parents struggled in the economic society but both ended up failing and their marriage also came to an end. Perhaps for a couple that didn't put family first, this was the best outcome. After he started school, he grew up with his grandparents, the kindness and selflessness of the elderly people more or less made up for his shortcomings, but what his parents could give, the elderly were also powerless to do anything about it, which also created his introverted personality defect that made him unable to communicate with others. However, unexpectedly after he reincarnated in this different country and era, he was still able to feel the warmth and care of a family.

  Just as Aruth was moved, Eifel in the martial arts arena did not seem to be so relaxed, but after losing his shield he seemed to have lost some burden, only to see him holding his own sword with both hands, as if holding a two-handed sword, his body slightly tilted backwards, holding the sword flat at his eyebrow height, the tip of the sword pointing at Woodrow.

  "It's about to begin." Mrs. Eva patted her second son, Arwade, on the shoulder with confidence, and whispered in his ear, while Sir Wendel's expression also relaxed, his eyes not leaving the two who were about to fight, but he had already picked up his wine glass and took a small sip.

  "For the honor of the family." Yifu took a deep breath, and from his chest cavity, he fiercely shouted out the motto of the Windel family. His feet moved quickly towards Woodrow, and the sword in his hand stabbed violently at his opponent. Woodrow's eyes widened as he raised his twin swords to chop down from above. He knew that Yifu's stab was powerful and fierce, and only by counterattacking could he dissolve it.

  "Clang~~~." Again, the sound of metal colliding, the crowd almost covered their ears, these two warriors' powers were extremely astonishing. They saw Yifu change his thrust to a horizontal block, deflecting the dual swords coming from above. Yifu's body slightly lowered, the hilt of his sword raised, Woodrow's dual swords slid off to the right side of the blade. The inertia caused Woodrow's body to unconsciously lean forward, and Yifu took advantage of the momentum to place the sharp front part of the hilt on Woodrow's neck. All this happened so fast, like a flash of lightning, in one swift motion. To the crowd, it seemed as if Woodrow had stretched his neck and placed his own head on Yifu's blade.

  "It's a success," said Mrs. Eva and Sir Wendel almost simultaneously in low tones.