Chapter 297: Treacherous Sword (K)

Chapter 295 – Treacherous Sword (4K)

Above the stage, ten thousand people were watching.

Arthur and Bertrand took up a stance, the two of them drew their swords and lightly touched them, as the tips of the swords clashed, only a clang was heard, electricity exploded on both sides of the stage, and booming lightning almost turned the night theater into day.

Under the power of electricity, all the emotions of the audience were all hiding, joy, excitement, and even with a little horror, the adrenaline rush makes everyone’s face overflowing with intoxicating redness.

Almost at the same moment, Arthur and Bertrand jumped back with their swords, and the pre-duel salute was over.

For a moment, everyone in the room held their breath, the battle was about to start, and everyone was secretly guessing the ending of this duel.

Inside the box on the second floor, there were also countless pairs of eyes watching this place.

Miss Fiona Ivan, who was holding a red wine glass, was lying on the marble handrail of the balcony, lifting her tail finger and gently printing a little bit of shining gold powder in the dressing box in front of her, and smearing them onto her lips inch by inch.

Fiona pursed her lips gently, letting out a boop, using this to spread the lipstick, which was mixed with gold dust, a little more evenly.

With one arm propped up on the armrest, she reached down and grabbed a handful of tickets from the suitcase beside her, letting them slip through her fingers.

“Mr. Hastings, whether it’s out of business or affection, you’ve got to win, or I’m going to lose a lot of money on my handicap ……”

And just inside the next box, Dumas and a host of other Arthurian buddies were already jumping up and down and screaming.

“Arthur, fuck it! Although I missed today, I believe that you can still do it without blackjacking!”

“To the world, you are a person. But to someone, you are his whole world! Arthur, let him feel the weight of the world!”

“Men think of merit and women hope for love, now the merit is in front of your eyes, go ahead!”

“Fuck, the words are all over you guys, what do you want me to say?”

“Mr. Disraeli, if you don’t know what to say, why don’t you pray for him, like I did. We are in high heaven, O Heavenly Father who loves us! Please shelter Mr. Hastings, and let him return victorious in good health.”

“Do you mean it? Mr. Heine, do you believe in this?”

“Well …… at least the appearance of the obvious is still to be done.”

Just as the chickens were flying in the box, above the stage, there was a gradual change.

After briefly touching his sword in salute, Bertrand quickly resumed his signature foil stance, only to see the Parisian Sword Saint with both legs slightly bent at the knees, the knees of his legs kept flush with the tops of his feet, his upper body taut, his right arm holding the sword contracted and half-flexed, and the tip of the sword was almost level with the brow.

This was Bertrand’s unique special stance fighting style, meeting attacks with such a stance made his movements smooth and swift, and the stabbing-based fighting style also ensured that his center of gravity was stable in such a stance. He was like a poisonous snake curled up in a ball, his soft and slender foil seemed to be harmless, but only needed a simple break, he could pierce his opponent’s throat and eyes in a split second.

Inside the royal box, William IV softly inquired of Sir George Elliot beside him, “I remember you said earlier that this Scotland Yard lad was a very capable fighter, what kind of routine does he follow?”

Sir Elliot responded with a smile, “Your Majesty, according to Colonel Fitzroy, Mr. Hastings is a master of the swift sword.”

“Swift sword?”

Brother Angelo, the Britannian sword masters who were waiting beside the king, heard this and had a judgment in their hearts.

Big Angelo spoke, “If Mr. Hastings is a Swift Sword master, I judge that he will most likely meet the enemy with an Iron Gate stance in the early stages, which lacks aggressiveness but is superior in being able to solidly defend. Although it was my first time to witness Bertrand’s match, according to the members of the London Fencing Association, the French master’s offense was very sharp. Before figuring out the opponent’s sword path, the Iron Gate Stance, which is able to defend against stabbing attacks and disrupt the opponent’s sword path, is definitely a good choice for the trial period.”

Sir Elliot smiled at his words and replied, “If Mr. Hastings was an ordinary swift sword user, I would most likely think that he would use the Iron Gate Stance as well, but it’s just that he’s going with the Fiore Flow. As you know, Fiore’s followers have always been aggressive in their fighting style, and in order to seize the final victory, they even go so far as to perform the lurid swordsmanship of taking an empty hand for a white blade and exchanging a palm for a life.”

Hearing this, little Angelo couldn’t help but shake his head, “If it’s a Fiore-ryu swordsman, coupled with a youthful young man, then I guess most likely he would start with a bull stance and go straight for the enemy’s face or throat, that’s the kind of fighting style that the Italians like. Unfortunately, if Fiore’s swift sword is not well practiced, it is easy to be cut down in the first round by the opponent who catches a break in the pace. I hope this Arthur Hastings will try not to fight too aggressively. The fact that Bertrand was able to win 49 consecutive matches in London shows that he does have some strength.”

Hearing this, Lionel on the side just smiled as he stepped forward to explain, “As far as I know, although the Swift Sword is his specialty, in this duel today, he doesn’t intend to bring out his crushing skills right off the bat.”

“Holding out in front of a master swordsman?”

Big Angelo frowned as he listened, “This young man has taken life too lightly, when facing a true master, the only way to survive is to go all out at the beginning. Swords have no eyes, they won’t give you a chance to do it again.”

William IV was a bit curious: “Are you saying that this Mr. Hastings also knows other schools of swordsmanship?”

“Not surprising.” Talleyrand took a sip of champagne, “This kid knows more than a dozen ways to play poker alone, and knowing all the sword sets in one hand is nothing new.”

The Duke of Wellington also joked, “At least he should know a handful of basic training swordsmanship for the Scotland Yard police.”

Lionel sniffed and followed suit, “It is true as you said, Arthur told me before that his swordsmanship is based on the police officer’s swordsmanship that he slowly researched with his own interest.”

Hearing this, little Angelo’s attitude, which had just been a bit dissatisfied with Arthur, suddenly changed. There was no other reason, Little Angelo’s sword stance was exactly where the stances in the Scotland Yard Police Officer’s Basic Swordsmanship Training Manual came from as an important source.

He complimented, “Is that so? Then this young man is quite hardworking.”

William IV also smiled broadly and spoke, “This makes you guys talk, I’m really getting more and more excited, what kind of routine will he have?”

And just as the group was speculating, suddenly, bursts of thick white smoke began to diffuse above the stage.

The mist instantly covered Arthur all the way down to his calves, and amidst a chorus of gasps, he could only be seen dragging the 48-inch English short sword behind him, the blade pointing forward while the tip of the sword was submerged in this mist, and the ratio of man to sword presented a perfect forty-five degrees.

“Long tail potential? This lad isn’t kidding, is he?”

“Heh, I have to say, it really does have the style of a Fiorelai stream swordsman, this young man is not treating Bertrand as a human being!”

“Looks like he’s unusually confident in his pace! Directly using the long tail momentum to release the middle and lure Bertrand into attacking. I have to say, this move does tend to get people’s heads up when it’s used, especially against sword masters. If Bertrand doesn’t attack in this situation, it would be like letting this lad step on his face.”

And before the sound of the group’s discussion had completely died down, suddenly, everyone heard that low chanting voice that came from underneath Arthur’s mask, hoarse and magnetic, like a church choir chanting a hymn.

“Young knight, listen to my teachings. Honor the Lady and fear your God.

In this way, your reputation will grow.

Practice chivalry and refine your skills.

So that your noble art of dueling.
Bring you honor in war.

Be the best gladiator in a duel.

The lance, the spear, the sword and the hammer.

Whatever the weapon, handle it with courage and calm.
And in a single duel, you’ll crush them to the bone.

Advance, step, move, move with purpose.
Charge and strike. Or, perhaps, defy his scant martial arts.

That’s why, those wise swordsmen.

Are so honored and envied by all.

As I said, you should master.
“All arts have a length, a measure.
This is the general outline, common to long swords ……”

As Arthur read this, thanks to the liquid carbon dioxide he had gotten from Mr. Faraday, the already thick white fog rose and tumbled in gusts from behind him, and a huge smoke screen swept right up to the height of a three-story building.

Under the light of the lamp, Arthur’s figure was almost completely wrapped in the white fog, everyone could only see a blurred figure lurking in the mist, but no longer able to determine his movements.

And the royal box inside the size of Angelo saw this scene, even the two masters also had to tsk tsk to this scene.

“Unexpected! What an unexpected!”

William IV couldn’t help but inquire, “What exactly was that poem just now? How come it doesn’t sound like English or French to me, but rather like German.”

Little Angelo slightly curtsied and complimented, “Your Majesty, you are indeed a discerning eye. As you said, what Mr. Hastings has just recited is exactly German, not only German, but also medieval Old German, that is the martial art poem – ‘Zettel’!”

“The Zettel?” William IV couldn’t help but marvel, “So that poem is the famous ‘Zettel’? In that case, the sword stance this Scotland Yard lad used today?”

Little Angelo smiled and nodded, “That’s right, you must have guessed it already.”

Bertrand scanned the stage in front of him with minimal visibility, his eyes searching around but never daring to make a move.

However, along with the sounds of the audience shouting and cheering, Bertrand finally had to move.

He moved his feet forward, then jabbed forward with a clean bow and thrust his sword forward.

Almost at the same time, the fog in front of him broke open in a large, dark gash, and the 48-inch English short sword slashed upward like a moon under the sea, directly carrying Bertrand’s blade along with it and deflecting it, causing Bertrand to lose his balance slightly, but without waiting for him to stabilize his footing, Arthur’s second-in-command arrived in front of him in a split second.

Steeply, the blower laid under the stage turned violently, and the gust of wind blew violently out from between the specially reserved brick cracks, suddenly blowing away the thick smoke screen on the stage, and almost all of the audience instantly locked their eyes on this classic image that could almost be used as a stop-motion oil painting.

A foil sword and an English shortsword frozen in mid-air in a tug-of-war, while the blade of Arthur’s vice was pressed against a half-inch of Bertrand’s throat, and the Parisian swordsman, with cold sweat pouring down his forehead, locked Arthur’s arm in a death grip with his left arm just moments before he was about to fall for his life.

Bertrand slammed his foot into Arthur’s chest, the mutual force forcing both men to back up to where they were before the move.

Bertrand pinned his foil between the cracks of the bricks as he half-kneeled, breathing heavily.

Judging from the soybean-sized beads of sweat on his forehead, even though it was an act, it still took a lot of effort for the Parisian Sword Saint to catch the move just right.

This kind of stage with a complex environment was no longer comparable to a simple dueling stage.

Bertrand looked at Arthur and tugged at the corner of his mouth and whispered, “If I had known, I wouldn’t have taken this job, the risk is indeed a bit high.”

No one could see Arthur’s expression under the mask, but Bertrand knew that he was definitely smiling, “Mr. Bertrand, it’s too late for you to regret now. After receiving this money, you will obediently accompany me to put on this show. Big deal, I’ll raise your bonus a little more.”

Bertrand sniffed, and after resting for a moment, the Parisian Sword Saint reared up again as he loosened his arms and neck, “It seems like it won’t be possible if I don’t bring out some real skills today.”

Arthur also raised the tip of his sword and turned his long tail stance into a bull stance, “Good cooperation, Mr. Bertrand.”

The audience was still filled with a thin mist, and in the midst of a misty night, I don’t know who shouted from the audience that was still in silence over the shocking image just now, “That misty Sword Saint from Germany, German Long Sword Ancient Martial Arts, Lichtenauer Ryu?”

When Arthur heard this shout, he just smiled and nodded his head at the audience member who shouted, “Sir, not only swiftness, but also the moves of the German martial arts. As we all know, swordsmanship is about versatility.”

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, the audience immediately erupted into a burst of cheers.

In the box, Angelo the Great and Small also smiled and clapped, “Pragmatic young man, knowing that treating foils with swift swords won’t work. Switching to a longsword fighting style is not unwise, Your Majesty, as you can see, this is indeed the Lichtenauer flow.”

And across from Arthur, Bertrand lifted his dueling jacket, revealing it hanging from his belt and pulled out his secondary weapons, which were three authentic French short swords.

Bertrand said in a loud voice, “That’s right, swordsmanship is going to have to change up a bit.”

“Three swords?” Arthur asked with a smile, “Are you going to use the four sword stream?”

“Guess what …… Look at the swords!”

In a flash of lightning, three short swords were thrown out, and in a flash they were already close to Arthur’s eyes!

(End of chapter)