Chapter 6: The Great Swordsman of Mettenheim
These muscled men hail from a remote land dotted with volcanoes - Mettenheim.
It was a former colony of the Barclay Empire. After Count Mettenheim led his troops to fight for independence a hundred years ago, it became a famous "mercenary camp".
There are many Mettenheim mercenaries who come to Pendor to make a living. They rarely use shields, but prefer to fight on foot with two-handed heavy swords.
They don't ride horses. There are rumors that this is because horse faces remind them of their own yellow-faced wives, but in fact it is because the rugged terrain of Mettenheim is not suitable for riding horses or forming a cavalry regiment, so none of them know how to ride.
Due to the volcanoes and iron mines throughout the country, Mettenheim's metallurgical technology is quite advanced. The heavy armor and two-handed swords they forge are top-notch products no matter where they are placed.
But in the eyes of the nobles of the continent of Pendor, the people of Mettenheim are still just a group of barbarians - although they are brave and fearless as mercenaries, these tall and rough men who fight on foot do not conform to the knight aesthetics of Pendor.
At this moment, these dozen strong men were staring at the black-haired young man in front of them, with contempt and mockery in their eyes.
Li Ang was 1.8 meters tall, and the training in the past six months had given him a strong body. He was already an outstanding strong man in Pande. But standing in front of this group of strong men, he was like a little chicken mixed in with a group of big geese.
"Guys, you are my people now ." Li Ang raised the parchment scroll in his hand: "Who is your leader?"
This group of strong men acted as if they didn't hear anything, and the mockery in their eyes became even more obvious.
"Ah ha? No one can speak? It seems that you prefer being slaves rather than being real warriors..." Leon didn't intend to waste words and directly called Andrew outside the door: "Let's go, lock the door, and then find a noble lady to sell them. I believe there will be a good price..."
A Mettenheim man pushed aside his companions, stood up, and stared at Leon fiercely.
Compared to the other big guys, this guy was not very tall, about 1.9 meters tall, which was considered short among the Mettenheim people.
But the muscles in his body were surging, making Li Ang, who was originally considered strong, look weak at this moment.
This sturdy man probably weighed twice as much as Li Ang, but the way he walked did not seem heavy, but rather light . He was obviously a master who had a good balance between strength and flexibility.
"What kind of warriors are we? If we fight as mercenaries, we will die without regrets. But if we fight against wild beasts in the arena for fun, we would rather die."
There was a scar on his forehead that ran diagonally across half of his face. His voice was as harsh as the friction of metal, but it was extremely clear, which was consistent with the characteristics of a grassroots captain who often gave orders on the battlefield.
This is obviously the leader of this group.
Well, if you can be reasonable, that's good. And if you have a sense of honor, that's even better.
"I bought you, of course, in order to have you fight for me as mercenaries. I will even pay you for it - of course, it may be slightly lower than the market price, until I can recover the cost of buying you."
Li Ang stared into the man's eyes and said seriously.
Scarface also stared into Leon's eyes and listened carefully, then nodded: "Of course you can be a mercenary. As long as you have food to eat, the reward doesn't matter... But I can't let my brothers fall into a life-threatening battle again - I won't let them follow a coward who is not worthy of your support. Unless you can prove your ability, Barkley."
It seemed that this group of people had followed an unreliable employer, which led to their current situation. In addition, their country's history made them have no .
Li Ang thought for a moment and looked at the scarred man: "Who is the best among you? We can decide in a fairer way."
Scarface remained expressionless: "A fair way? What do you mean?"
Leon grinned: "Swordsmanship. Let the two-handed sword, which is what you Mettenheim people are best at, decide. If I win, you will follow me and swear allegiance. If I lose, I will let you go and give you freedom. How about that?"
Scarface grinned, which was considered a smile, and the coldness in his eyes faded a lot: "Good idea... There are not many people on the mainland who can compete with the great swordsman of Mettenheim with two-handed swords..."
Li Ang turned to look at Andrew outside the door and said, "Please help me find a few two-handed swords."
The thing that is most abundant in the arena is weapons. Although they are all crudely made, most of them are very sturdy and durable, and are more than enough for use in competitions.
Not long after, several servants came over carrying several weapons.
Scarface tossed the swords one by one with his hands, selected the one with the right weight, nodded to Leon, raised his sword and saluted: "Mettenheim Great Swordsman, Klose."
"Leon, from Buckley."
Li Ang didn't even bother to choose, he just picked up a sword and saluted to indicate that he was ready.
In fact, Leon was secretly delighted in his heart. This guy turned out to be a great swordsman. He was a real elite!
The room was spacious, and large enough for the sword to be used. A group of people stood far away and formed a circle, leaving the open space in the middle for the two people who were about to duel.
The two men stood facing each other, about five steps apart, and at the same time lowered their center of gravity, holding swords in both hands and pointing them diagonally at the ground beside them.
Then they took a step forward at the same time, closing the distance.
Klose raised his sword and stabbed it lightly, but Leon didn't even blink, letting the sword stab in front of his eyes, and then watched Klose retract it like lightning.
This was a feint by Klose to lure him into attacking, but Leon did not take advantage of the opportunity to attack. Instead, he firmly held his position and took a small step forward.
He is much shorter than his opponent and his arm span is shorter than Klose, so he needs to get relatively closer to him first.
Klose also took a half step back. He was an experienced swordsman. The scar on his forehead, which ran diagonally across his face but was not fatal, proved that he was a master who was good at using his physical advantages.
But when he retreated, Leon suddenly leaned forward, swung his sword with his backhand to block Klose's attack, and then got within one step - this was no longer a distance suitable for using a big sword, but a dagger was very suitable.
Klose could not increase the distance any further because the two swords were crossing at the sides of their bodies, which was an awkward position where neither of them could exert any strength. Whoever retreated would lose the initiative.
But Leon suddenly turned sideways and raised his hands. After a short but teeth-grinding sound of sword friction, the hilt of the sword accurately hit Klose's chin.
All this happened in a flash. Andrew, who was standing a little further away, didn't even see the two men's movements clearly. He only saw that as soon as the two men made contact, Klose was knocked back a few steps.
Klose took a few steps back and nearly fell, then stood still, rubbed his chin with a grin, his face extremely gloomy.
