Aegon had only been South from The Wall for a few months, and he would exercise in King's Landing during his leisure time. Coupled with often practicing with Arya, that energetic bear child, for two to three hours at a time... his technique might not have improved, but his basic physical fitness, such as muscles and reaction speed, hadn't regressed at all. His first thrust missed, but he was completely unharmed, realizing he had gambled correctly. He immediately put force into his right hand, changed his move to sink, bypassed his opponent's spear tip, and swung the light single-handed sword with all his might without holding back. Immediately, it was another unusually swift side slash. Oberyn twisted his long spear, drawing a circle to resolve this attack, and returned the favor impolitely.
The long spear came head-on. Although it had no tip, it still gave Aegon the intuition that he was about to be run through. However, instinctively raising his shield and twisting his body, he narrowly avoided the thrust by sticking close to his opponent. The other party's spearhead lightly tapped the small shield. Aegon's left hand was even a bit numb from the shock. He knew his own capabilities best. The Night's Watch man couldn't guess that he had inexplicably become the object of spear practice and "cherishing beauty." He still thought Oberyn was giving him face and holding back. Unable to stop before finishing his three-pronged attack, he let out another muffled roar, gritted his teeth, stuck close, and delivered another close-range upward slash.
"Beautiful!"
An inch longer is an inch stronger. A single-handed sword is inherently weaker by three points against a long spear. To win, one must close the distance between the two sides. Everyone understands this principle. Aegon's move to close in was an impromptu action. Who would have thought it would even draw a round of applause? Ordinary soldiers born as farmers and half-baked lower knights couldn't see the details and intricacies of the two men's exchange at all. They only saw Aegon's lightning-fast Attack, and somehow, he had entered the close-range inner circle where Oberyn's long spear was difficult to use. It looked like he even had the upper hand.
If Brienne hadn't left, or if there were experts of Barristan or Jaime Lannister's level among the onlookers, they would definitely tell the crowd with disdain: Oberyn had given Aegon far more than three points. The Night's Watch man's attack was completely undisciplined and full of flaws. The only thing worth mentioning was that his speed was quite fast. But the Red Viper, on the other hand, ignored the countless flaws revealed by Aegon's relentless offense, actually intent on deciding the outcome based on the opponent's only commendable trait: speed!
You could say Oberyn was being reckless, but you could also say it was the pride of an expert. As the most excellent spear fighter of his time, he wanted to overwhelm Aegon in the strongest aspect of his attack, meeting offense with offense, and leaving the Night's Watchman speechless!
"Clang!" "Thud!"
...
Let alone that ordinary people couldn't see what was happening, even Aegon himself was a bit confused. He only felt a blur before his eyes, and instantly two strong forces came from his left arm's small shield and his right hand's sword. Not only was his murderous offensive instantly curbed, but his body was even forced back half a meter, immediately pushed out of the range where his sword could reach Oberyn – the Prince of Dorne's set of "counter-moves" immediately won another round of applause. The onlookers, unaware of the truth, even had the illusion of having witnessed a "clash of experts" during the commotion, and their evaluation of Aegon also rose by a few points.
"Come on, continue!"
Oberyn smiled, showing his teeth, and made the provocative gesture of spreading his arms and exposing his chest. Aegon was a bit dizzy from his extremely fast counterattack. He wanted to find an opportunity to deliberately lose but found he couldn't. After warming up, his state had just arrived, and surrendering so quickly didn't seem right. He simply gritted his teeth and charged forward again.
Shielding his body horizontally, raising his sword overhead, and while rushing forward, he delivered a swift and powerful chop. The last time Aegon used this move was against White Walkers. This set was not suitable for dealing with an opponent holding a long spear, but since he found Oberyn had no intention of harming him, full of confidence, this sword strike was also full of momentum.
"Good!" While praising, Oberyn nimbly dodged out of the range of the chop. While stepping back, he didn't forget to use the spear tip to deflect Aegon's sword blade, and then quickly extended forward like a viper flicking its tongue, shaking it a dozen centimeters in front of Aegon's face – then sinking, and tapping the small shield again.
(Even if this was a spear without a tip, Oberyn could have completely blown my head off just now.)
Is this the strength of the top experts in the cold weapon era? Not only did he complete the dodge and counterattack in an instant, but he even had to shake it in front of me before tapping my shield, using action to tell me: if this were a real battle, I would already have two holes in my body within a second!
Aegon, even performing at a superhuman level, was still being completely crushed!
Quickly lose on purpose? That requires enough skill too! If you can't even see the opponent's movements clearly, what's the use of being clever? Gripping the sword in his hand, Aegon realized how ridiculous his disdain for so-called "killing techniques" was moments ago – martial arts, when reaching a certain level, can truly undergo a qualitative change. No matter how big the game of money he plays in the future, encountering such an opponent who wants to trouble him or even take his life... without a dozen Kingsguard protecting him, even a transmigrator is as fragile as an ordinary civilian or cannon fodder.
(I should also practice my footwork and swordsmanship a bit. It doesn't need to be very high, just enough for self-preservation!) This thought suddenly popped up, quickly replacing his previous disdain for personal martial strength!
The spectators on the sidelines were still cheering loudly for the Night's Watch man's "fierce offense" and the Prince of Dorne's "clever resolution." Aegon in the arena, meanwhile, was in a dilemma. He saw Oberyn's intention to toy with him, but unfortunately, he completely lacked the strength to use the opponent's mistakes and carelessness to turn the tables. What was even more awkward was – if he couldn't even put up a show of being toyed with, the situation would only become uglier!
***
The gap in skill between the two sides was so large that it also brought an unexpected benefit: Aegon only needed to go all out and didn't have to worry about angering or injuring Oberyn at all.
Attracted by the titles "Red Viper" and "Otherslayer," the number of onlookers grew, and the cheers and urging became louder. Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, the Night's Watch man charged forward again without hesitation. Using his shield to parry the blunt head of the long spear, Aegon once again squeezed into the Red Viper's side!
...
The crisp sound of weapons clashing and the screams and shouts of the surrounding soldiers were incessant. Aegon was not injured by several of his attacks being resolved. With the burden lifted from his heart, he exerted his full strength even more. His single-handed sword swung, leaving trails of afterimages. Coupled with Oberyn's faster spear shadows, it made the onlookers dizzy.
Thrust... without stopping, perform the next chop while breathing... then use the shield to knock away the opponent's long spear while breathing again and continue to pursue relentlessly... Few people fight this way. Adopting such a continuous attack without any pause when your skill isn't high enough can easily lead to a chaotic rhythm and deformed movements, thus creating openings. But now, the one using this tactic is a person who has given up on defense, so there is no problem at all!
"Clang!" "Clang!" "Thud!"...
Monotonous and dense sounds repeated continuously within the circle of people. How much time had passed? Thirty seconds? A minute? Or longer? Aegon couldn't count. He only knew that he had used every sword move he had been teaching Arya two months ago, but the skill gap between the Red Viper and himself was far greater than that between himself and Arya. No matter how fast his attacks were, how counter-intuitive, or how reckless, the Prince of Dorne in front of him would cleanly curb them at the moment his offensive reached its most fierce point, while simultaneously turning around and lightly tapping or sliding the small shield with the spear tip or the butt of the spear shaft. The force was just enough to leave a mark on the shield surface but not enough to crack or knock the shield away.
The situation was a one-sided beating, like a Master hitting his apprentice. What was comical was that the spectators on the sidelines had no ability to appreciate this spectacular display of Westeros's foremost spear Master increasing his own difficulty. Everyone only saw the two sides separating and closing, constantly entangled, with the crisp sound of weapons clashing and the muffled thuds of spear and shield colliding being incessant.
"Thud!"
Aegon was again pushed back by the strong force from the shield. After steadying himself, he paused for a moment. He had already pushed his explosive power to the limit and could no longer continue attacking. He panted, no longer taking the initiative to attack. Looking down with the corner of his eye, he saw that the small wooden shield was now covered with small dents caused by tapping and marks from the spear tip sliding across it – and nine-tenths of these attacks that left marks should have landed on him. This – was holding back to the extreme.
The Night's Watch man was tired and also injured – his shield-holding left hand must have been scraped raw. Although it was a superficial wound, it really hurt during the friction. He should have asked for a pair of gloves. While panting, he continued to confront the Red Viper and thought about his next move. Looking up, he saw Oberyn wink his right eye at him with an unclear meaning.
(What does that mean? Does he want me to surrender, or does he want me to continue attacking?) The Night's Watch man didn't dare to act rashly for a moment. In terms of swordsmanship technique, Aegon, who had studied for a year, knew the basics. If he were to perform all the sword moves, he could probably fight for a few more minutes. But now his stamina had started to decline, and his most practiced moves had already been used...
Deliberately losing is impossible. While still having some face left, it's time to surrender!
"Aegon! Where are you, kid?"
In a daze, Aegon heard someone calling him.
Distraction is most taboo during a fight, but for Aegon, this was an excellent opportunity to escape... Even if he wouldn't normally be distracted, he had to act distracted and unwilling to continue fighting. Although he couldn't remember who was calling him for a moment, he had truly come at the perfect time!
Aegon put on a confused expression. He lowered his arms and looked towards the source of the sound.
"Hmm?" Oberyn also stopped and looked in the same direction: on a small hillside dozens of meters away, a man in black was walking towards the fighting circle, led by another Buckwell soldier in bright armor.
With his decent eyesight, Aegon immediately recognized the newcomer: Yoren!
He hadn't waited these past few days in vain, he came just in time!
"Prince Lord, your martial arts are extraordinary, it was a real eye-opener for me!" Aegon quickly took off the shield hanging on his wrist and forearm, afraid that Oberyn still wouldn't let him go: "But The Wall sent someone South, there must be important matters to discuss. I have to go receive my colleague – I surrender!"
It was the first time Aegon found surrendering could be such a pleasant action. He walked to the side of the arena and handed his equipment to the provider, then prepared to walk out of the fighting circle.
"Since there's important business, let's end this match here. We'll fight again next time." Oberyn also leaned his spear on the ground and watched Aegon leave with a smile: "I wonder when Chief Logistics Officer Lord is free? How about we meet tonight, continue to explore the secrets of spear and sword combat, and discuss life along the way?"
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