The Duel

The spear formation of the Frege Mercenary Troupe's spearman was not to be underestimated.The front row of three soldiers crouched with their spears at a 45°angle to the sky,the middle row of three spearmen rested their spears on the shoulders of the crouching spearmen and held them horizontally forward,and the back row of three spearmen rested their spears on the shoulders of the middle row,angled upwards to the sky.This spear formation,though composed of only nine men,was still extremely powerful and was a deadly weapon against cavalry.

The brave and fearless Iron Fist mercenaries,despite their courage and brute strength,ended up being pierced one by one by the spearmen.Had the spear tips not been removed,the Iron Fist mercenaries would have suffered heavy casualties the moment they made contact.

However,the Iron Fist mercenaries who were knocked down by the'blunt spears'did not return in vain.At the very least,they used their bodies to clear the way for their comrades,neutralizing the front and middle rows of spearmen.Even though the back row of spearmen reacted in time and took down a few more Iron Fist mercenaries with their spears,it was not enough to prevent the chaos in the spear formation.

But now it was the time for the two-handed swordsmen behind the spear formation to shine!Once the spear formation fell into chaos,the swordsmen immediately charged forward and engaged in combat with the Iron Fist mercenaries.The spearmen also drew their short weapons and joined the fight.

The spearmen,now engaged in close combat,were clearly not as powerful as they had been in their formation.After all,there were only nine of them,and their formation was too small.Moreover,their strength lay more in defense and countering enemy cavalry,not in close-quarters combat.But the two-handed swordsmen were a different story.Trained by the'system,'their ability in melee combat was more than a notch above that of the spearmen.Facing the Iron Fist mercenaries,who had already been knocked down in part,did not prove too difficult for them.Although the Iron Fist mercenaries were veterans from the battlefield,were the Frege mercenaries any less so?Especially with the added advantage of system training.

On the other side,Sir Galabron was locked in a fierce battle with three of the Iron Fist mercenaries'lieutenants.His opponents were not to be trifled with.Galabron was hard-pressed fighting against four foes,but he managed to hold his ground.

Lin Tan and Hansen stood facing each other.Hansen spoke,"Your men are quite impressive,they have the air of a regular army...But does their leader possess the same skills?"Hansen was bare-chested.In the autumn of the Liverpool Duchy,the warmth had long since faded.The desolate autumn winds from the northeastern wastelands brought a chill that forced people to don fur-lined collars and leather jackets.Even the noble ladies,who loved beauty,had to switch to fur coats;otherwise,the cold wind would roughen their skin,stealing its smoothness.Yet Hansen remained bare-chested,his body adorned with tattoos.This was a traditional custom of the barbarians,engraving tribal totems on their bodies,which not only signified worship of their ancestors but also served as a source of strength for the barbarian warriors.

Lin Tan's gaze was solemn.He had witnessed the power of barbarian berserkers before.A high-ranking berserker could single-handedly eliminate a squad of orc wolf riders with an axe,especially after entering a state of frenzy.The burly man before him had tattoos that were faintly glowing red,a clear sign of a berserker who had mastered the art of frenzy.Among mercenaries,he was considered a skilled fighter,far stronger than the Level 4 knight,Duke Kal,whom Lin Tan had slain a month ago.

Lin Tan's battle with Duke Kal had not been easy.Facing an opponent much stronger than Duke Kal,he felt even less confident.If he couldn't hold his ground against this man,and the Frege mercenaries couldn't quickly defeat the Iron Fist mercenaries,then once this man joined the fray,the battle would turn into a rout.In a real fight,Hansen's strength was enough to kill a spearman with a single axe strike!

"Come on,warrior of Argus,"But would Lin Tan be afraid?Of course not!

Hansen's lips curled into a smile as he strode forward,charging at Lin Tan in just two breaths.He swung his battle-axe horizontally with an unstoppable momentum.

Lin Tan quickly flipped backward,a strand of golden hair severed by the battle-axe.Then,he raised his longsword,which was already aflame with Dou Qi,and a hint of white flames flickered within it—the Holy Fire,the Dou Qi power mastered by the church knights of the Holy Church!

The longsword,burning with the Holy Fire,thrust forward fiercely,turning into a white streak of light,emanating a warm yet intimidating energy.Hansen did not dare to underestimate it and pulled back his battle-axe to clash head-on with Lin Tan's longsword.

Never underestimate the strength of a barbarian,let alone a barbarian berserker!When the sword and axe met,there was a loud clang.Lin Tan's tiger's mouth went numb from the shock,and he retreated more than ten steps,unable to stop the recoil,eventually falling to the ground in a disheveled manner.

Lin Tan,lying on the ground,was extremely surprised.The power of Dou Qi could not withstand the brute strength of the berserker—this was terrifying.He quickly stood up to avoid being pursued by the berserker.But upon rising,he found that Hansen was standing still and had not taken the opportunity to attack while he was down.

The reason was simple:his axe was on fire.

This was the property of the Holy Dou Qi—purification,adherence,and Holy Fire combustion.The reason Hansen's axe was on fire was simply the combined effect of adherence and Holy Fire combustion.

Of course,as a knight who had just advanced from Level 2 to Level 3,Lin Tan's Holy Dou Qi,even with these two effects,was quite limited.The flames burned on Hansen's axe for a while and then disappeared completely,without causing him any harm.

But Hansen still frowned and murmured,"A Holy Knight?"

Holy Knights were the church knights of the Holy Church,and Holy Dou Qi was the exclusive Dou Qi method of the church knights.It was difficult to master without the church's secret training.Of course,it wasn't impossible for Holy Dou Qi to be passed on outside the church,but those who were not church knights or clergy and used Holy Dou Qi would be considered thieves and heretics,and would be burned at the stake by the church.Of course,such barbaric regulations only existed in the Holy Empire of Light and its affiliated regions.In the Saint Cross Alliance,where the church's power was already weak,this rule did not apply.If the church wanted to interfere in the affairs of the Cross Alliance,it would have to obtain the consent of the monarchs first.

"No,a mercenary can't become a Holy Knight.I didn't expect old Frege's son to be a little thief,"Hansen said with" A Holy Knight?" he said with a sneer. The term "thief" was just a joke. Although the Saint Cross Alliance was a region that also believed the God of Light,Fran,it was not the Church's territory. The monarchs of Alliance had been in conflict with the Church for hundreds of years.

Lin Tan also smiled,but his smile was a far from relaxed.In this exchange,he had not gained any advantage,not even a draw.