Chapter 361 Another Hunt (Part 2)

When watching a ceremony in the stands, everything you say and do is watched by others, and you need to maintain your image at all times.

The small and medium-sized nobles who are not qualified to sit in the stands can comment and comment as they please.

Although the vision is a little worse, the happiness is far better:

"Eh? Is this the last gladiator to appear?"

"Seems to be."

"What does it look like? Shouldn't [Tail of the Gun] be little Hernan? Who is this golden-haired boy?"

"How would I know?!"

Just when the two young Castilian nobles were noisy and noisy. Someone behind him suddenly interrupted:

"The golden-haired boy is Sigfrid, Earl of Harland."

The person who interrupted was a young man in his twenties, with almond-shaped eyes and a large forehead. He was a little ugly, but not ugly enough to leave a deep impression on others. He had an appearance that would be quickly forgotten after saying goodbye.

As if to make up for his shortcomings in appearance, the young man wore a top hat with exaggerated decorations.

Even according to the standards of the most absurd and dissolute Castilian nobles, that top hat was absolutely impossible to wear to meet people.

But the young man wears it openly and without any sense of shame.

The young man also had two carefully maintained mustaches on his upper lip. Below the mustache was a cynical smile, giving him the air of a playboy.

One of the two people who spoke in front was quite interested: "Siegfrid? The real conqueror of Northen? I heard that Duke Congreve was just in name, and that boy was the one who defeated Karl XI."

Another person was dismissive: "What's the 'real conqueror of Northen'? It's just a golden retriever! It's not all dependent on His Majesty's love for his position!"

"There is no way, the aging emperor loves young and handsome generals." The top hat behind him added carelessly: "Counting on my fingers, our Majesty is already in his forties."

The two Castilian nobles fell silent for a moment and turned back together.

It's one thing to say a few harsh words to the nouveau riche, but it's quite another to ridicule the emperor in public. Not only is the speaker seeking death, but even just being a listener is dangerous.

"[Old language] Excuse me." A Castilian noble asked hesitantly: "[Old language] Who are you?"

The top hat politely took off his hat, revealing his slightly thinning hair: "[Old Slang] I am Ma Wei."

"Mavi? Mavi!" Another Castilian noble suddenly realized, and he stumbled a bit when he spoke: "That... that lunatic who writes plays to humiliate the emperor!"

"Exactly." Ma Wei replied happily, and then seriously corrected: "I did not humiliate the emperor - I just told the truth."

…

Meanwhile, in the hunting grounds, Siegfried meets his rival.

What a wild boar, almost as big as a calf, with two tusks thick and sharp, and a pair of small eyes full of anger and madness.

The attendant guarding the animal pen drove the wild boar forward, but the wild boar became ferocious and slammed into the humans outside the fence.

There was an exclamation from the women's viewing platform.

The animal pen was shaken violently by the impact, and the attendant on the stand fell directly. If the foundation piles were not driven firmly enough, the wild boar might have broken out.

The wild boar that had not broken open the pen refused to give up and continued to thrust wildly.

Suddenly, a roar came from the center of the hunting ground.

"Come on!" Siegfried hit his greaves with the tail of his gun: "I am your opponent!"

The wild boar turned his head and looked at the knight in the center of the open field.

This wild creature was born in a cave and roamed woodlands and swamps until humans arrived.

Subsequently, it was chased, captured, and imprisoned.

Humans have allowed it to live to this day just to kill it openly.

And it finally waited for an opportunity to kill humans.

The wild boar howled with despair and anger, and charged fiercely at the knight.

Siegfried exerted a little force on his knees, and the war horse immediately understood its master's intention, and nimbly jumped forward diagonally, passing by the wild boar.

At the moment of intersection, Sigfrid thrust out his lance.

However, the lance only opened a piece of flesh on the wild boar's back and failed to cause fatal injuries. The two sides once again distanced themselves.

Siegfried rode the horse close to the fence at a slow pace, dark red blood dripping from the tip of the gun.

The pained wild boar became more and more violent. It sprayed hot white mist from its mouth and nose, staring closely at the riders circling, accumulating strength.

Outside the hunting ground, where the Castilian nobles gathered, someone was booing loudly.

Sigfrid ignored him. Whatever his initial request was, once he stepped into the hunting grounds, the young knight only wanted victory.

And he already had a rough idea of ​​how Castiel played.

Wild boar has thick skin and a low body, making it difficult to use a lance against it.

A reasonable tactic should be to keep a distance, use the flexibility of the war horse to continuously cause bleeding wounds to the wild boar, consume the wild boar's physical energy, and wait until the wild boar is exhausted before looking for an opportunity to kill it.

However, if we choose conservative tactics, then Sigfrid of Harlan will not be the "real Northen conqueror" who destroyed all the northern armies in one battle!

Siegfried held his lance, stabbed the horse in the ribs, and fearlessly charged towards the wild boar in the center of the hunting ground.

The wild boar, which had regained some strength, was enraged and also crashed straight into Sigfrid.

In the royal stands, Princess Elizabeth watched the charging knights intently, unconsciously clutching her father's sleeves tightly.

The emperor, empress, and Duke Lothair looked on and remained calm.

In the blink of an eye, two figures were already close at hand.

Sigfrid's lance was pointed directly at the wild boar's back. At the moment of contact, he felt a huge reaction force coming back from the gun body. But he still held the lance firmly, without wavering at all.

With the combined impact of the war horse and the wild boar, the tip of the gun sank into the wild boar's body like it was piercing the water, followed by the holster and then the gun body.

The lance entered from the back, came out from the lower abdomen, penetrated the wild boar's body forcefully, and plunged into the frozen soil of the hunting ground.

Sigfrid let go of his lance and distanced himself from the boar.

The wild boar took a few more steps and fell down suddenly.

The two attendants immediately entered the hunting ground and used steel awls to end the wild boar's life and its pain.

There was sparse applause outside the hunting ground, and in comparison, the applause from the women's viewing platform was even more enthusiastic.

The mounted fighting beast only wears greaves and does not even need to wear a helmet. Sigfrid attracted the attention of ladies and ladies almost as soon as he entered.

…

[Royal Stand]

"Marshal Hernan." the emperor asked, "what do you think?"

Behind the emperor, an old soldier in military uniform heard the question and took half a step forward: "Although the first shot was unsuccessful, the second shot was clean and wonderful."

The emperor's voice was magnetic and calm: "You are from Castile, and you are the most qualified to judge Count Harlan's skills. Are you willing to grant him the honor of cutting off the ears and tails of animals?"

"Of course." The old soldier bowed his head deeply: "Your Majesty."

The emperor nodded slightly.

The flag of the Royal Stand was waved three more times, and the band played a celebratory melody.

Siegfried dismounted and stared at the wild boar carcass covered in mud and blood. He frowned in disgust and did not take action.

A soldier with chestnut hair walked through the fence, walked quickly to Sigfrid, reached out and closed the wild boar's eyes, and then cut off the wild boar's ears and tail for Sigfrid.

"Hurry and salute your Majesty." Farnan, a chestnut-haired soldier, wrapped the ears and tail of the beast with gloves and handed them to Siegfried: "Please, don't shame your Majesty, and don't humiliate Castile. people."

Siegfried sighed, took the trophy, walked to the royal stand, and bowed deeply.

Even more enthusiastic applause and cheers came from all over the hunting ground, especially the women's viewing platform.

Sigfrid pretended to glance casually at the girl sitting next to the emperor.

Princess Elizabeth deliberately turned around and pretended to ask the maid, ignoring the blond knight.

There was anger and pain hidden under Siegfried's stern expression. He saluted again, and then strode to the women's viewing platform to accept the cheers and congratulations of ladies and ladies.

Fanan saw everything and sighed with a headache.

The attendants dragged away the boar's carcass, and the trumpets sounded again - the melody of the entrance of the gladiators.

Unlike before, the entrance song was repeated three times this time, which meant that the last knight would appear next, and the beast-fighting performance was coming to an end.

The relaxed and happy atmosphere returned to the royal stands. The emperor smiled and looked at the old soldier: "Is it the young Hernanqing who will serve as the tail of the gun for this winter hunting?"

"Yes!" the old soldier answered with a hint of pride and joy.

The queen also asked gently: "Does little Hernanqing have an engagement?"

"He has served in the army with me since he was a child." The old soldier looked ashamed: "It delayed the marriage."

The queen covered her lips and smiled.

As he spoke, a dashing young knight rode into the hunting ground.

The young knight is dressed in a rich costume, with Castile-style decorations sewn with gold thread on the cuffs, collar and placket.

The silver horse the knight rides on is also carefully dressed. The horse's mane is braided into neat braids, and a section of the pony tail near the buttocks is tied up so that the remaining part of the pony tail can be half suspended in the air and fluttering in the wind.

As soon as the Silver Horse Knight entered the stage, he received a warm cheer that far surpassed that of Sigfrid. Especially the younger generation of Castilian nobles cheered vigorously.

It goes without saying that the knight on the silver horse is the youngest son of Marshal Hernan, little Hernan.

…

Marshal Hernan was a very special being in the imperial political ecology.

First of all, Marshal Hernan was born in the Castile Peninsula and was a pure-blooded Castilian noble;

Secondly, Marshal Hernan is the Castilian nobleman with the highest military rank today and the only Castilian nobleman in charge of the [New Army];

Finally, although Marshal Hernan had a high position and great military exploits, his title was very low and he was only made a baron.

In the feudal system of the empire, the baron was the lowest level among the three hereditary nobles, but he was a vassal directly subordinate to the emperor.

And the Hernan family is not a traditional family in Castile.

Marshal Hernan was just the son of a bankrupt knight. He was sent to be a squire since he was a child. His temples were stained with frost and he was unable to obtain noble status. He was still a swordsmanship instructor in the Duke of Tarlac family.

It was not until the War of Succession twenty years ago that Hernan, who was in his forties, finally came to prominence.

He resolutely joined the New Army, starting as a sergeant, repeatedly performing extraordinary feats, and rising through the ranks, eventually becoming one of the three imperial marshals personally conferred by the emperor.

For the younger generation of Castilian nobles, Marshal Hernan is their idol and role model. It is not surprising that little Hernan received such warm cheers as soon as he entered the arena.

"In short! Marshal Hernan is both a Castilian and His Majesty's most trusted confidant."

Wearing a top hat, [Mavey] talked non-stop, telling everyone the secrets of the empire: "The dual identity makes him the glue connecting the Castilian nobles and the center of the empire, and it also makes him a An important tool for the Emperor to stabilize Castilian factions.”

A group of young Castilian nobles were dumbfounded. They vaguely understood why a third-rate playwright who wrote plays was evaluated as "dangerous".

The Castilian nobles present felt that it was not good to continue listening, but they could not help but continue listening.

When Ma Wei got excited, he took the wine glass from the hand of a noble next to him and drank it in several sips.

After moistening his throat, Ma Wei continued to speak. He pretended to be mysterious and said: "Did you know? Maybe there will be a royal wedding in the empire soon!"

"Who? Prince Richard?"

Ma Wei waved his finger: "No"

A Castilian noble thought for a long time: "Besides His Royal Highness, there are only princes and princesses of the right age..."

"Yes, it's the eldest princess."

"with who?"

Ma Wei smiled: "What do you think?"

The surrounding Castilian nobles followed Mavey's thoughts and couldn't help but widen their eyes: "With little Sir Hernan?"

Ma Wei was noncommittal and just looked at the silver horse knight in the center of the hunting ground playfully.

A group of Castilian nobles were talking about it, and someone asked unconvincedly: "How do you know these royal insider stories?"

"Me?" Ma Wei crossed his arms and replied confidently: "I guessed it!"

The surrounding nobles were dumbfounded, and some impatient young nobles stepped forward and grabbed Mawei's lapel. They wanted to let this free-talking madman appreciate the customs and customs of the Castile Peninsula on the spot.

"Stop!" a count shouted to stop the upcoming action scene.

After all, this is a royal hunting garden, and the emperor is watching the ceremony not far away. If anything happens, the only thing that will be lost is the face of the Castilian people.

"Mr. Marvey." The Earl walked out of the crowd and asked with a stern face: "Can you tell me why you came to Castile Peninsula?"

Ma Wei scratched his head in embarrassment: "Collect materials."

The count looked around at everyone: "How did he enter the hunting ground?"

All the Castilian nobles looked at each other, no one knew.

"This is the Royal Hunting Garden, and civilians are not qualified to enter and watch the ceremony." The Earl stared at Ma Wei closely: "Excuse me, how did you sneak in."

"Me?" Ma Wei waved his hand innocently: "I didn't sneak in."

"Then how did you get in?"

"A friend brought me in."

"Who? Who is your friend?"

Ma Wei pointed to the other side of the hunting ground with a happy smile on his face: "That's the golden retriever."

…

[Other side of the hunting ground]

The golden retriever had no idea that he had just been named.

He stared closely at little Hernan in the hunting ground, feeling a mixture of emotions in his heart: frustration, admiration and... jealousy.

If Siegfried had just demonstrated a perfect combination of strength and skill, then what little Hernan was performing at this moment was absolute skill.

Tips for reaching the top!

The knight who appears in the finale needs a qualified opponent.

The beast prepared by the Castilians is definitely worthy of the honor of appearing in the finale.

a cow.

A male Castilian bison weighing over 700 kilograms.

As soon as this monster appeared, it showed terrifying destructive power and aggression.

It rushed towards the spectators around the hunting circle and forcibly lifted the wooden stakes that fixed the fence half as high as a person out of the soil, causing everyone to run away in panic.

As if the bison's temperament was not violent enough, the Castilians shot a javelin head into the bison's back in advance.

The severe pain made the already irritated bison even more violent, and there was no need for little Hernan to take the initiative to seduce it.

The bull with blood-red eyes failed to destroy the fence and immediately turned around and charged towards the silver horse rider.

When little Hernan mentioned the speed of his horse, he was not in a hurry to kill the bison, but instead let the bison chase him.

The horns of the bison are not very sharp, but coupled with the terrifying strength of the bison, they can easily pierce the chest and pick out the internal organs.

However, at this moment, this monster among monsters could not touch little Hernan no matter how he ran.

I saw the bison running rampant in the hunting ground, but there was always only a small distance between its horns and the silver horse.

Even the tip of the bison's nose has touched the end of the horse's tail, but it just can't catch up with the last little distance.

The dangerous scene caused the female relatives to scream in surprise, while the male nobles also tensed their cheeks and felt their hearts in their throats.

But little Hernan looked calm and still maintained his graceful riding posture. The horse's pace is not messy at all, as if it is performing a dance.

Siegfried couldn't help but want to applaud and admire: On the surface, the bison is chasing little Hernan, but in fact, it is little Hernan who is guiding the bison to run.

Little Hernan controlled the horse with such precision that he seemed to be using all five fingers.

The rider and the war horse are integrated into one, making it difficult to tell which one is the rider commanding the war horse? Or the war horse has the wisdom of the rider.

Just looking at the equestrian skills displayed by little Hernan, Siegfried felt that the trip was worthwhile.

But Sigfrid showed no emotion and just watched quietly.

His sincere side makes him want to praise his opponents, but his competitive side cannot allow this to happen.

He looked towards the royal viewing platform - where Princess Elizabeth was.

…

[Royal Stand]

Elizabeth felt dizzy.

It's not that she was fainting, she knew how to hunt with a rifled gun - her father taught her how to do it.

The emperor educated Elizabeth like a prince, teaching her philosophy, arithmetic, and riding. Although the queen disagreed, she did not dare to object openly.

So Elizabeth had killed prey and seen blood.

But the performance in the hunting ground at this moment always made her feel a little uncomfortable.

Little Sir Hernan killed the buffalo step by step in the Castile way: teasing, stabbing the javelin into the back of the buffalo to stimulate it, continuing to tease, and continuing to stab the javelin...

Midway through, little Hernan changed his horses several times, and each horse showed a different pace and each had its own merits.

The bison gradually became tired, its steps became slower and slower, and its desire to chase became weaker and weaker.

The bison's back was dripping with blood, and it looked a blur of red from a distance.

Seeing that the buffalo had burned up, Hernan finally killed the buffalo with a lance, declaring the bloody show over.

The hunting ground erupted into deafening cheers and applause. The male nobles took off their hats to pay tribute, while the female relatives waved their handkerchiefs enthusiastically.

Princess Elizabeth felt out of place and looked secretly at her father.

The emperor was sitting on the throne, his face expressionless and showing no emotion.

The emperor whispered calmly: "Ella."

Elizabeth shuddered subconsciously: "Dad."

"Stand up." The emperor's command was unquestionable: "Send greetings to young Sir Hernan."

Elizabeth obediently left her seat, took the handkerchief, and waved it toward the court like the others.

Under the auditorium, Sigfrid saw the figure of the girl waving a handkerchief to the knight, and her chest seemed to be hollowed out.

Young Sir Hernan cut off the ox's ears and tail and walked to the royal viewing platform to pay his respects.

The musicians played a celebratory song, and the attendants entered the hunting ground and began to drag away the buffalo carcass.

The nobles who came to watch the ceremony were already preparing to leave. They had to return to the camp, change their clothes, and participate in the next feast.

This is how it should have ended.

A rider rode his horse into the hunting ground and galloped straight to the viewing platform. His light blond hair was extremely conspicuous.

The Royal Guards wanted to step forward to stop him, but hesitated after seeing who the rider was.

Siegfried dismounted and knelt on one knee in front of the royal auditorium.

"Your Majesty." The voice of the empire's youngest general echoed through the hunting ground: "Please allow me to fight the beast on foot."

[late, sorry]

[However, it is a long-lost chapter]

[A little extra about hunting]

[For feudal lords, among all kinds of prey, deer has the highest status, followed by wild boars, and then small animals such as foxes and rabbits]

[The more complete the prey's body is, the more it shows the hunter's ability]

[Wolves, bears, lions, leopards and other ferocious beasts are generally not included in the category of ordinary prey. After all, if we meet on a narrow road, it is not certain who will hunt whom]

[As for falcon hunting and falcon hunting, these two hunting methods are extremely expensive and cannot be afforded by small nobles. There are also emperors and princes who are particularly obsessed with this. I remember that a certain tsar of the Romanov family raised hundreds of falcons and falcons (actually I remember it was thousands, but this number is so astonishing, I suspect I remembered it wrong). (up)]

[And, although in theory, it is the "virtue" of feudal noble warriors to hunt wild beasts and prevent them from harming the people. But in actual operation, the more common situation is: the nobles do not allow civilians to hunt wild beasts privately in order to enjoy hunting for themselves (this is still the case today, such as Dai Ying, pigeons and swans all belong to the royal family, and you will be punished to death by beating them)]

[German farmers deeply hate this. Wild boars are roaming in the fields, and all kinds of birds come into the vineyards to eat at the buffet during the harvest season. The most farmers can do is drive away the wild boars and birds. If they do If you are injured or killed, you will have to pay compensation or even be punished]

[The feudal era was so unfair.jpg]

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