bullyxtreme Chapter 85 Friendship Part 1
Chapter 85 Friendship Part 1
Chapter 85 Friendship First
The first afternoon bells rang at Brodick Church, around three o'clock.
The arena on the riverside meadow was bustling with noise, and the open space was filled with colorful heraldic flags and spectators waiting for the martial arts competition.
Roger vaguely recognized some family crests, but apart from the Black Ship crest, the others didn't leave a deep impression.
The Black Ship is the coat of arms of the main branch of the Campbell family, who reside in Campbell, a town at the southern tip of the Argyll Peninsula.
That was the first stop for the Campbell family founders when they migrated from Ireland to Scotland, which can be considered the "birthplace" of the Campbell family.
The Campbell family of Arran Island is a branch of it, so in addition to the black longship, a red eagle is added to their coat of arms to distinguish them.
The head of Campbell's main branch is still just a knight, and has been under the care of the Baron of Arron for many years. However, they always feel that John's branch is a collateral branch hiding on an isolated island, and they consider themselves the legitimate lineage with arrogance.
The feeling of superiority has existed since ancient times.
The remaining coats of arms also represent various families, including vassals of the Earl of Ulster, vassals of the Stewart family, the Macdonald family of Islay, and the coats of arms of thousands of families, large and small, such as the Soller, McLudd, and McDougall.
Of course, prominent families such as Soller and McDougall only sent vassals or collateral relatives to participate in the tournament, as a gesture of respect to Baron John.
These families were not all on good terms, so Baron John had to rack his brains to arrange seats reasonably for each family to avoid two families that had a long-standing feud or were even at war meeting.
Of course, duels in the arena are a different matter.
It is worth mentioning that Roger had blood ties with several families, both close and distant, except for Campbell's, with his maternal lineage being the most important.
Roger's mother, Mary Dunkeld, was the seventh-generation descendant of Malmüller, the eldest son of Duncan I, the first King of Scotland, and the eighth-generation descendant of Gilbred, Lord of the Western Isles.
Don't be intimidated by this fancy but empty family background; it's meaningless.
In the collateral branches of aristocratic families, there is basically no direct connection after the fourth generation. Moreover, Roger's mother had already been a seventh or eighth generation, and the dragon lineage in her blood had long since faded to the point of being as faint as water.
Therefore, Roger's maternal grandfather, who had long since passed away, was only a lowly knight throughout his life.
Roger's uncle offended the lord, and to this day, he has not been able to continue receiving his knighthood.
Now he is just a small landowner with some assets who drinks all day long, and even when he participates in this martial arts competition, he can only be arranged to sit in a corner seat.
Even so, it was only because his younger sister was, after all, Baron John's sister-in-law, that she gave him some face.
Blood ties are a useful thing, but it depends on how you use them. At the moment, Roger can't think of a way to utilize them.
Let's get back to the competition.
Baron John's friend and senior leader of the anti-British movement, Archbishop Robert Wisart of Glasgow, blessed the tournament, declaring it a grand event showcasing heroism and justice in the name of St. Andrew.
Then, Baron John, his face flushed with illness, loudly expressed his gratitude to the various families who had come to participate in the tournament, and paid special tribute to Earl Lennox, the highest-ranking nobleman.
Then the lean Baron Steward announced the rules, schedule, and match arrangements for the tournament.
Amidst the cheers and shouts of thousands of spectators, Count Lennox, clad in magnificent armor and seated on a tall steed, engaged in the first jousting contest between the host, Baron John, who was also adorned in impressive armor.
Of course, according to tradition, the two will stop their horses and raise their spears at the last moment before contact, to show that neither has won or lost, and to demonstrate the natural order of friendship.
This surprised Roger. There were only ten rounds of point-based mounted lance matches scheduled for this afternoon, and Roger was assigned to the third match. To make matters worse, the opponent that Marne had chosen for him was Sir Gildonian, which left Roger both amused and exasperated.
The second match, on horseback with lances, was a real contest.
Baron John's Inner Court Knights faced off against the Stewart family knights. The Inner Court Knights' warhorses had been killed in the battle of June, and their newly acquired riding horses were ill-suited for the task, lacking both speed and power.
With the Inner Court Knight still recovering from serious injuries, the Stewart family knight, whose momentum was greater, struck the Inner Court Knight with his spear the moment their lances made contact with each other's shields, sending wooden pieces flying as thousands of spectators cheered in unison.
The game of cavalry uses a round-based scoring system, with three rounds per match. Each round is scored in three ways: if neither player hits the other, the score is zero; if the other hits the other, the score is one point; and if the other knocks the other off their horse, the score is two points. After three rounds, the player with the higher score wins. If both players have the same score, an extra round is played.
This method is more unpredictable and more entertaining than a simple best-of-three format.
In the first round, the Stewart family knights scored two points and the Inner Court knights scored one point. Both knights returned to exchange for new lances and continued to clash.
In the second round, the Inner Palace Knights changed their strategy of simply holding their ground. They took advantage of their agile horsemanship and adjusted their pace slightly just before contact, barely dodging the opponent's lance. Then, they delivered a side attack that hit the edge of the opponent's shield.
Because the direction of the force was changed, the power was naturally insufficient to knock the opponent off his horse, and only one point was scored.
The score is now tied at 2-2.
Roger was not skilled in knightly arts, but he had intensively trained for two days and knew how difficult it was to dodge and counterattack while carrying a long and heavy lance. Therefore, he couldn't help but look at the Inner Court knights with more appreciation.
In the third round, the Inner Court Knights were not so lucky. Their two clashing lances slammed into the opponent's shields, and unsurprisingly, the Inner Court Knights fell from their horses again. The Stewart family knights, though also hit, withstood the force and were only thrown off their horses.
The Stewart family knight won 4-3 and will advance to the second round tomorrow morning. He will also receive his opponent's most expensive piece of equipment as loot, usually a warhorse or armor.
The cheers of thousands of spectators were deafening.
The servants quickly gathered up the broken gun fragments on both sides of the fence, clearing the track for the third race.
It was Roger's turn to play.
Marne, Olaf, Baldy, Ponytail, and Black Dog all pitched in to dress Roger in chainmail, a throat guard, shoulder guards, gauntlets, a neck guard, a barrel helmet, and a saddlebag, one item after another.
Even the black mare beneath him was adorned with simple head armor and neck armor, both of which were recently acquired for the tournament and cost Roger a full pound and a half.
"...Sir Gildonan will be facing Sir Roger Campbell, son of Sir Colin Campbell of Arron Island, grandson of John Campbell, Baron of Arron Island, great-grandson of John Campbell, Baron of Arron Island, and great-great-grandson of Edward Campbell, Knight of Gale."
The announcer loudly declared the identities of the two contestants in the third round. Sir Gildonian was a first-generation knight conferred a knighthood based on his military achievements, and his ancestors were merely country gentry, so this was mentioned only briefly. However, Roger's ancestors had been noble for generations, and naturally, a long list of titles was presented.
The mother and the main branch of the Campbell family in the stands naturally cheered, while the residents of Milk House Manor who came to watch the excitement below the stands also shouted and cheered under the direction of the grumpy face. The girls who came out of the Moulin Rouge to watch the excitement also screamed and shouted Roger's name.
The islanders who had followed Roger in suppressing bandits also shouted a few times.
But Roger's support group was limited to that; most of the audience remained silent, their impression of Roger still stuck on him as a spoiled young master.
The unsuspecting spectators from outside the island, seeing this scene, asked the islanders around them for information. After a few whispers, they looked at Roger with a more understanding expression.
Roger didn't really care about these things. He only participated in the tournament to let everyone know and acknowledge that there was a knight named Roger Campbell on Arran Island, laying some groundwork for building connections in the future.
As for how to handle the duel, Roger already had a plan in mind.
With the flag waving, Roger, shield in his left hand and spear between his right, lightly kicked the horse's belly. The black mare obediently lifted its hind legs and accelerated into a sprint as Roger slowly tightened his thighs.
The two horses came face to face on the track, which was less than two hundred yards apart. Just as they were about to adjust their posture to prepare for an attack or strike, Roger suddenly slowed down and raised his lance.
One side raising their gun is, to put it nicely, giving up the game; to put it bluntly, surrendering.
They've surrendered; there's no need to continue.
As the two horses passed each other across the fence, the old knight turned his barrel helmet and glanced at Roger.
In fact, the old knight had already secretly sent someone to talk to Marne, telling him that he would take the initiative to meet Roger's lance during the duel so that Roger could win.
Anyway, for an old guy who's almost in his grave to even participate in the competition is an amazing thing in itself, so there's no shame in losing.
But Roger clearly did not accept the old knight's goodwill.
The arena erupted in jeers and boos, with those who had been waiting to see Roger knocked off his horse by the old man hurling insults.
Baron John shook his head repeatedly, and finally the highly respected Bishop of Glasgow stepped forward to announce that Sir Roger was upholding the tradition of chivalry and benevolence, thus hastily concluding the third match.
After coming down from the arena, Baldy helped Roger remove his helmet and took his shield, Ponytail took the reins, Blackie carried the lance, and Marne and Olaf whispered a few words of comfort.
Roger had no psychological burden regarding his defeat in the duel, especially since he had voluntarily conceded.
The group swaggered out of the arena, only to be stopped by John, a pale-faced man, and his men who came down from the stands.
John the White-Faced pointed at Roger and said to a noble-looking fellow beside him, "I thought Sir Roger had chosen an old man who was about to die, so he could hold out for a while. But he picked up a gun himself. We might as well tell him to surrender to the lord." He then led the crowd in a mocking laugh.
His pale-faced wife tugged at his sleeve from behind, indicating that she shouldn't embarrass her cousin, but he turned around and glared at her fiercely.
Logically speaking, one shouldn't argue with a pale-faced person in this situation, but Roger couldn't swallow this insult and calmly said, "It is my greatest honor to lose to an old knight who has fought on the battlefield and killed countless enemies."
"On the contrary, when will you, our young master John, be able to stand in the arena as a knight and take a few blows?"
Roger slapped his forehead. "Hey, I almost forgot, our young master John likes to be poked from behind. By the way, why didn't you bring your stick with you today?" Roger openly cursed pale-faced John in front of everyone.
The air suddenly froze, and some clueless guy couldn't hold back his laughter, which then turned into a suppressed cough.
John's face suddenly turned red, and his eyes bulged like a toad's.
Roger ignored him, shoved aside the pale-faced John blocking his way, and led his men away from the arena.
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