Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

Only Xiaomei had started to smile.

Chapter 623: You've really angered me!

"Ha ha……"

Beneath his armor, sweating profusely, Imond had lost his balance and tumbled from his horse. Though seemingly unharmed, it was far from easy. As the adrenaline subsided, pain and fatigue surged back.

Only now did the audience realize what an ingenious design the paper armor was.

"I see. Look, Imond is wearing such heavy armor, he can't cut through it in no time."

"That's right. When he was riding on horseback, he definitely wouldn't feel the weight, since the horse was carrying him! Once he got off the ground, he had to switch to two legs, and with such heavy armor, he had to keep running and thrusting. It would be strange if he didn't get exhausted."

"In comparison, the paper armor is much lighter."

"That guy is really smart; he thought of that already!"

……

"Actually, it's just that we don't have the money to make iron..." Jenny muttered softly.

Xiaomei sat there silently watching the game, but she couldn't help but laugh whenever she thought about what would happen next.

----

"This...this is impossible..."

Each time he was just a hair's breadth away from his opponent, but the sword always slipped past him. Imond was like an exhausted donkey trying to reach the carrot in front of him. Each failure left him parched, increasingly anxious, and beginning to doubt himself.

"Did you learn your swordsmanship from your master's wife?" Zhang Renfeng couldn't help but ask.

"What did you say?" The cultural gap prevented Imond from understanding the meaning of these words, but he knew it couldn't be anything good. After catching his breath, he said angrily, "My swordsmanship teacher is the grandmaster of the [Imond Royal Palace Style Swordsmanship]. Someone like you, a self-taught amateur, has no right to ever be his teacher!"

"Why would I need to pay homage to him?" Zhang Renfeng frowned. "Let's not talk about who your teacher is yet. I just want to ask you one thing..."

"Have you ever been hit by a sword while practicing?"

“Ha, of course not,” Imond said coldly. “I started learning swordsmanship when I was seven years old, and two months later I surpassed my first swordsmanship teacher. My father found me several other teachers, but I was surpassed by them all. Finally, I began learning the Royal Style swordsmanship from a grandmaster, and so far, I have never been defeated.”

“Ah, that explains it,” Zhang Renfeng said calmly.

"What's the wonder?"

"No wonder your swordsmanship is so bad." He shook his head with a smile. "You can't tell that you have a problem with distance control. I can only assume that during training, your 'teachers' didn't practice with you seriously at all. When you thrust, they didn't even dodge. They just kept feeding you the moves."

This statement shocked everyone present.

William's expression changed, and he stood up abruptly from the audience.

However, it was no use. The words had already been spoken, like a time bomb thrown into the crowd of ordinary spectators, and the discussion immediately became more heated than ever before.

Imond's expression shifted again, and even through his helmet, it was easy to see that he was now filled with a mixture of anger and rage. His face turned pale and then purple, and his teeth were grinding together. "You bastard... do you know what you're saying?"

"You paid him a lot of money, didn't you?" Zhang Renfeng's tone was full of disdain. "That makes sense, you're the sugar daddy."

"They treat you like a child; a little coaxing will do the trick. Even if you claim to be the greatest swordsman on Earth, they'll believe you."

……

"Ahhhhhhh!!!" Imond roared, raising his sword and thrusting it towards Zhang Renfeng's heart.

Zhang Renfeng turned to the side, letting the sword pass in front of him. He reached out and used his wrist to block Imond's right wrist, drew a circle on the inside of Imond's wrist, grabbed the hilt, and directly took the sword from him!

This move was so exquisite that it was impossible to understand without replaying it several times. In Imond's view, it was as if he had magically taken the sword from his hand. Everything that had just happened, related to the swordsmanship genius, seemed to have become a joke.

He had to raise his shield, but Zhang Renfeng did not attack with his sword; instead, he threw it far away.

As a result, he lifted his right foot.

"Boom————!!!"

With a kick, most of the shield was shattered, and Imond flew through the air, armor and all, crashing heavily to the ground once more.

The hard touch on his back calmed him down from his anger, and Imond suddenly realized something.

According to the rules, once you dismount and start fighting, it becomes a life-or-death struggle, and you can fight until one of you is dead.

"You...what do you want to..."

Imond struggled to his feet, hesitating whether to slap the ground in defeat. He even extended his left hand as if to stop him, "Wait..."

Zhang Renfeng flashed and appeared in front of him, his fist following instantly, striking the shield again with a loud bang.

"Your grip is weak, your counter-grip is feeble! Your steps are unsteady, your reactions are sluggish! Not a single movement is proper!"

"You think you can compete? Train for two years before you come back!"

Under the barrage of criticism, fists rained down on him, but none of them were aimed at his head; each blow landed on his shield.

Before long, Imond's wooden shield was reduced to only the upper half. Zhang Renfeng pierced through it with a palm strike, grabbed the crack with both hands, and with a tearing sound, ripped it apart like paper. Wood chips flew everywhere, and the shield was reduced to two useless pieces of firewood.

This "tearing" motion was undoubtedly full of power. It sent a jolt through the audience; apart from Xiaomei, none of the spectators were seeing this style of fighting for the first time, and they were instantly captivated, leading to even louder cheers. These cheers, however, became an invisible pressure in Imond's ears. He gritted his teeth and decided to make one last desperate attempt.

A short dagger was drawn from his waist, and Imond lunged forward, aiming for his heart.

……

"when!"

The dagger pierced through, but made a sound that didn't seem like it was striking the paper armor. At that moment, Imond froze. This wasn't what he wanted; however, no matter how hard he tried, the knife seemed to be stuck at his heart, unable to penetrate any further.

……

The world quieted down.

Zhang Renfeng glanced down, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes. He then slammed his large hand down on Imond's barrel helmet. With a slight pressure from his fingers, he pressed the metal sheet inward, making a creaking sound as it deformed.

“Click—!”

With a forceful grab, he tore a piece off the barrel helmet and ripped off Imond's visor with his finger strength.

His vision was instantly exposed, and he looked completely bewildered, still unaware of what had happened. Only when he saw the half-piece of the visor in the other man's hand did he mutter in a trembling voice, "No...no way...it's a lie, isn't it..."

"Boom————!!!"

A powerful kick told him that he wasn't lying, it was true.

Zhang Renfeng kicked out, denting the plate armor on his chest. The armor even floated in the air for a moment before crashing heavily to the ground. Mud splattered, and gravel flew everywhere. His armor couldn't withstand the force and disintegrated to some extent.

As he saw stars, he heard a soft sound. Imond strained to look up and saw Zhang Renfeng tear off a section of the wooden railing with his bare hands, bending it heavily at his knee to create a sharp wooden spear. Holding the spear in one hand, he strode towards him, each step heavy, like a deadly grim reaper.

"No...no no no..."

Imond was in a panic, but he couldn't back down—his legs were numb from the fall.

----

"Wait a moment!"

Henry's voice came from afar.

If he had been a second slower, the wooden spear would have pierced his brother's throat.

“…” Zhang Renfeng turned around.

“I… Henry Hysen, as the organizer of this competition, hereby announce…”

He took a deep breath. "This anonymous proxy knight has won the final victory in today's knightly tournament!"

Chapter 624: I feel like I've seen you somewhere before

A cheer and applause erupted from the crowd. The defeated Imond collapsed to the ground and was carried away by two servants.

William looked at his eldest son with mixed feelings. Everything had happened so fast. If he hadn't stopped the match at the last minute, the outcome would have been uncertain. The thought that his bloodline might be lost filled him with lingering fear.

But then he thought, if he hadn't organized some kind of knightly competition, how could things have escalated to this point? How could this savage have had any chance to get close to his second son? He was so close to losing the designated heir to the vast Haisen family business to some savage who had appeared out of nowhere. Thinking of this, he felt extremely resentful. He let out a cold snort, said nothing, and got up to leave.

With him gone, there's even less reason for the other organizers to stay.

Today's game was a complete defeat for the Cavaliers, and they no longer want to sponsor this kind of game.

Only Henry, sitting on the stage, watched from afar as the cardboard knight received blessings from the audience, his brows furrowed, as if deep in thought.

"Mr. Henry, Mr. Henry?" The host called him twice impatiently. According to the original plan, if the Hysen family won the competition, he, as the host, would at least earn some prize money. But now, everything was ruined, and he had no energy left to flatter this young master. "It's time to present the award. $800. You'd better hurry up."

"Did you see that just now?" Henry asked.

"What?" the host said impatiently.

"With that final strike, Imond did indeed stab it in... but... that sound... if it were paper armor, it shouldn't have made that sound..."

"Oh well, who cares? How would I know?" The host shrugged. "Maybe he was wearing chainmail?"

“No, if it were chainmail, it wouldn’t sound like that.” Henry’s tone was very certain, and he gradually fell into his memories. “I heard that sound elsewhere…”

The host rolled his eyes and walked away nonchalantly.

"It's Qigong!"

----

"Woo..."

Henry wanted to touch his throbbing forehead, but suddenly he heard the sound of chains on his hands. Looking down, he saw that his hands were already chained to the wall.

The damp, dark basement reeked of a pungent odor. Several ragged, emaciated men huddled together, hunched over. Like him, they were chained to the wall. Henry's heart leaped into his throat. He remembered being struck on the forehead with a club, and instinctively reached for his waist, only to find his holster empty.

"Stop looking, kid."

An old man with white hair and beard yawned and leisurely rolled over in the haystack. Although his wrists were also chained, his expression at this moment was as if he was here for a relaxing vacation, creating a discordant contrast with the numbness of those around him.

"Now that we're here, they've definitely taken all our weapons. Do you really expect them to leave you a couple of bullets?"

"Ha...ha..." Henry's breathing became rapid. He looked around and saw a pile of stark white bones at the far end of the spacious basement, which made his heart race instantly. "Where...where is this place?"

"Where else could it be?" the old man shrugged. "Slave sellers, of course."

"However, judging from your clothes, you don't seem to be a slave, do you?"

"..." Henry closed his eyes in despair, sighed, and murmured, "It's all over..."

……

On his journey, he saw a missionary pleading for help on the road. He dismounted and asked him what was wrong. The missionary told him that a black market nearby was secretly buying and selling slaves. Henry crept over, and just as he reached the door, intending to scout out what was happening inside, he was struck with a stick. When he awoke, he was already chained and had become one of the slaves.

"Hahahaha—!!"

Upon hearing his description, the old man burst into laughter, even laughing until tears streamed down his face. "You, are you stupid?"

“It’s not my fault. Who knew he’d hit me from behind?” Henry complained. “I don’t have eyes in the back of my head.”

The old man paused, then said, "What's it to you? You stop just because a missionary on the street calls to you? He's not going to give you any reward, so why bother with him?"

"...I am a knight." Henry's tone was somewhat stubborn.

"Roar~~~ Knight..." The old man looked at him meaningfully, then suddenly stretched out his hand and beckoned to him, "What's your name?"

"Henry Hysen, and you?"

“My surname is Lu, and my name is Lu Aniu.” The old man scratched the star-shaped burn scar on his neck and casually gave his name. “My name means ‘cow’. Isn’t that unoriginal? But in our area, people with lowly lives like me are given animal names because they say it’s good for raising children and they won’t die young.”

"Where are you being despicable?" Henry frowned.

“Heh…” Lu Aniu shook his head, offering no explanation, and raised his hand. “In your words, I am a Huang Fan. Look, look at my face, my nose, my eyes. They are subtly different from yours, aren’t they? Can’t you tell?”

"To be honest, I think you're a bit of a chatterbox," Henry said with a hint of helplessness. "We all have one nose and two eyes, right? I don't see you having any extra parts compared to me."

"Good lad," Lu Aniu sighed. "It's a pity that the people who arrested me don't think the same way."

How were you arrested? Do you have any relatives?

"I don't have any relatives, but I do have a few good-for-nothing sons and daughters, haha, let's not talk about them." Lu Aniu shook his head with a laugh. "I went to the president's daughter's wedding banquet. There were a few bottles of wine at the banquet that were alright, so I drank too much. Actually, I have a pretty low alcohol tolerance. When I drink too much, I can't fly anymore, I can only walk on the ground. I haven't walked in a long time... When I came back, I stumbled and swayed, thud!"

"As soon as the alcohol hit, I passed out there. When I woke up, I was right here, with a few unlucky guys tied to me. Nobody wanted to talk to me, that's all."

……

Henry was stunned.

"Hahahaha!" Lu Aniu laughed heartily again, "Silly boy, I was just teasing you."

"Ha..." Henry chuckled dryly, "You have such good mental fortitude. Even at a time like this, you can still make jokes like this."

“What else can we do but joke around?” Lu Aniu shook the chains on his hands. “These slave traders have gone to sell their stolen goods. They probably won’t be back for half a day. Let’s worry about them then.”