"So it's the legendary 'Otherslayer', I've heard so much about you!" Oberyn casually twirled his spear, then stopped and leaned on it with a smile, sizing up the new opponent pushed into the circle: "Oh, it seems the rumors aren't entirely false, you're indeed not from Westeros, are you?"
"I am from west of the Sunset Sea, a place called China." Since I was pushed out, there's no reason to turn around and hide back in the crowd. Losing to Oberyn isn't shameful, but if I don't even have the courage to compete, the Night's Watch's reputation will be even worse. After quickly considering, Aegon decided to state his position first: "The Dorne spear technique is the best in the world, I have no objection! But since I'm on the field, I naturally want to experience it… Do you have a blunt sword, the lighter the better!"
"Blunt sword?" Immediately, some Dorne soldiers thought Aegon was showing off: "Let's see if you can even touch our Prince's clothes first!"
Oberyn was close to middle age and didn't have the fiery temper of younger men. He shook his head: "You can choose weapons and armor that suit you. If there are none suitable, you can ask the boy with you to go back and get your own, no need to find a blunt sword."
Forget it, Aegon did bring a sword, but for a half-baked swordsman like himself, there wasn't much difference between a sword used a few times and a standard practice sword: "The Prince may not know, the Night's Watch's main opponents are the Wildlings. In terms of martial arts, they are actually no different from ordinary farmers, the only troublesome thing is their numbers."
…
The mind is always more agile the more it is used. After leaving The Wall with Tyrion to start a business in King's Landing, Aegon had developed the habit of warming up his thinking organ and keeping it in optimal condition at all times, completely avoiding panic or even a blank mind when unexpected situations arose. He had only stood in the circle for a few seconds before thinking of several ways to end this unexpected situation gracefully.
"A thousand Night's Watchmen, yet they have to defend against nearly two hundred thousand Wildlings Beyond the Wall. On average, one Night's Watchman has to face two hundred opponents." Aegon slightly exaggerated the numbers: "Almost every encounter between the Night's Watch and the Wildlings takes place with the enemy outnumbering us. Therefore, the training we receive is all offense and no defense—only by quickly eliminating the enemy in front of us can we immediately go to relieve a comrade or deal with the next one, to avoid falling into a surrounded predicament."
It wasn't entirely a lie, but in fact, Wildlings who encountered Rangers rarely dared to surround and attack, unless they had set up an ambush, otherwise they would basically flee as soon as they saw them from afar. As long as they didn't get too close to The Wall, the Night's Watch wouldn't be bored enough to go looking for trouble and do things like village massacres—usually, the two sides kept to themselves, rather than being in a state of constant war as the people of the Seven Kingdoms imagined, and sometimes they would even trade necessities.
"So?" Oberyn nodded, he actually knew nothing about the Night's Watch either, after all, no one from the Martell family was forced to take the black.
"So, the Night's Watch's fighting style is generally more unrestrained. We are in a constant state of war, there is no concept of dueling, we only think about how to kill people." Aegon was talking nonsense with a straight face, he didn't believe there would be anyone among the soldiers present who knew about the Night's Watch: "The Prince's martial arts are unmatched in the world, after all, they are different from the Wildlings we usually face, and I am a Quartermaster… Using a real sword, I dare not boast about whether I will injure you, what I fear is that I am too weak, and if I get flustered during a match with the Prince, I might injure myself, and then I won't be able to do the important business His Majesty assigned."
One does not strike a smiling face, and Aegon was both flattering and admitting his inferiority. Oberyn had no grudge against the Night's Watch, so he naturally wouldn't make things too difficult for him. With a slight smile, he tacitly agreed to Aegon's request: "Get him a blunt sword."
…
After speaking, Oberyn himself also threw his spear to the Dorne soldiers in the crowd and made a gesture. Soon, a blunt-tipped spear without a point was also thrown back—the unwritten rule of dueling is that if one side chooses a weapon that is not sharpened, the other side cannot pretend to be ignorant, this can also be considered a form of chivalry in the era of cold weapons.
Although there was war at the moment, it was basically a time of peace, and everyone was still willing to abide by morality.
Aegon took the sword, declined the kind offer of armor from the dueling organizers, and only took a small shield that could protect vital points, and stood in the center of the field.
To deal with a highly agile opponent like the "Red Viper", when one's own skills are inferior, wearing heavy armor is simply asking for abuse. And as for Oberyn… he looked like a frivolous and unconventional person, but as one of the de facto rulers of Dorne, he was actually a very clear-headed person. I didn't rape and kill his sister, and I was also the only "Night's Watchman with the army" in the allied camp. He should not be so reckless as to cause trouble in such an informal dueling match.
If Oberyn wanted to injure me, nothing I wore would be useful. Conversely, a small shield was perfectly sufficient. Of course, judgment is judgment, and for safety, Aegon still took some effort to have both sides switch to blunt weapons first, and then explained in advance to set expectations, actively telling the other party that he would only attack and not defend… Now, he could go all out.
The Night's Watch has offense but no defense, only kills people and doesn't duel? Of course, that was nonsense, but facing a master of martial arts like the Red Viper, trying to fight him with the most common and basic defensive counterattack techniques taught by Ser Alliser and Gared would likely result in being beaten so badly that you couldn't find your teeth—if you can't defend, simply don't defend, the gamble is that a master like Oberyn is extremely arrogant and proud, and will not use the deliberate openings I, a novice, expose to attack me.
"I just want to experience the Dorne spear technique, please be merciful, Prince!" Aegon gripped the sword, stood opposite Oberyn, and said something that seemed polite, but was actually the only sincere truth.
***
(Admit defeat, then exchange a few blows with him using my most practiced offensive moves, find an opportunity to deliberately lose or surrender quickly, to avoid suffering.) — This was Aegon's entire plan.
It sounds simple, but doing it is truly daunting… After confronting the "Red Viper" with a sword for a few seconds, Aegon found that he actually didn't know how to make a move: the Prince just stood there, with a relaxed and casual expression, his hands still busy occasionally spinning his spear like a golden staff and twirling it, seemingly full of openings and flaws everywhere, but in reality, he didn't give any opportunity to attack at all.
Aegon was almost certain that no matter what angle or movement he used to attack, he would instantly be met with a storm-like counterattack and taunting—at that time, he would probably find it a bit difficult to deliberately lose, and Brienne, the beauty who stood in his position a few minutes ago, probably felt the same way.
This was a true top master. After confronting him for less than ten seconds, Aegon felt like a villainous henchman facing the protagonist in a martial arts film, and even had the illusion that "making a move would mean death, and not making a move would also mean death." He wished the small shield in his hand could be several times larger to completely cover himself, and cold sweat unconsciously broke out on his back. It should be known that the weather in the Vale was still summer at this moment!
…
"Otherslayer, go!" — This is typical of people who enjoy watching the excitement and aren't afraid of things getting bigger.
"Beat him up, let this Southerner see how powerful Northerners are!" — The speaker was clearly from the North, and Northern soldiers always habitually considered those wearing black as their own.
"Stop dawdling, you're wasting everyone's time!" — This was a hot-tempered person, and highly likely completely ignorant of martial arts. Only a complete layman would consider the stage of mutual observation and probing before making a move as a waste of time.
After confronting Aegon for a few seconds, Oberyn had a rough idea of the Night's Watchman's skill level: he had received training, not entirely for show, but only at the level of a qualified mercenary. The only interesting thing was that—with his extensive experience wandering all over the world, he thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out where this Night's Watchman was from. Could it be true, as this guy himself said, that he was from somewhere west of the Sunset Sea?
Hmm… he looks quite clean and refreshing. I wonder what people think about being bisexual in that so-called "China".
This guy in front of me looks quite clean and refreshing, I wonder if he's straight? Oberyn smiled evilly with interest, gripping his spear, and opened his arms as if to give his opponent a hug: "Come on, you go first."
Aegon had no idea that the Prince of Dorne in front of him had suddenly developed a strange interest in him. He only saw that his opponent's chest was wide open at this moment. This was finally a real opening. If he didn't make a move now, what if Oberyn became impatient, he would probably suffer later!
I'm here to lose, not to win, never mind all that, go!
His left leg heavily stomped on the ground, kicking up dust, and Aegon charged out.
Thanks to the dueling organizer outside the field, Aegon was given a sword that was indeed light enough; thanks to the tailored high-quality lightweight black clothes he was wearing, they didn't hinder or slow down the wearer's movements at all… Without even a piece of leather armor on his body, this thrust actually made Aegon feel as fast as lightning.
…
Three parts of the interest in Oberyn's eyes turned into seriousness. Of course, he participated in duels among the soldiers in the army not just for fun or to be crazy, he actually had some ideas: if he encountered an unrelated opponent, he would just play around, tease them, and then send them away, but if he faced someone from the Lannister family, he would beat them up severely, until they were black and blue, not only hitting hard but also making it clear to everyone that he was deliberately targeting the Lannister family, and it would be best if he could provoke them into going home to bring reinforcements, and if he could lure out that Gregor Clegane… that would be even better.
Unfortunately, after standing in this circle for a while, there were fewer and fewer people from the Lannister family, and finally they all left, leaving none behind. Instead, a seemingly famous Night's Watchman came—Oberyn saw Aegon being grabbed and pushed out. Naturally, the Dornish had no hostility towards such an innocent bystander… Exchanging a few blows, knocking him to the ground or having him surrender on his own, would be enough.
Who knew this guy was quite fast with his moves!
Oberyn instinctively turned and slid to the side to dodge the thrust, while lightly deflecting Aegon's sword with the tip of his spear, steadily defending against the thrust. At this point, if he swung his spear, he could completely trip Aegon with the other end, but the Night's Watchman's extremely fast attack made him feel like dueling, so Oberyn decided: ignore the opponent's defenseless opening and play a few rounds.
—