The World Dragon's Heir - Chapter 627: Abe Can Joust

Chapter 627: Abe Can Joust

The crowd went insane as the next round of jousters were called, and Abe was set to face off against a Knight from Cygnia City.

Two knights from the home team for the first time was a big event, but mostly the crowd was excited to see Abe. His story was known by nearly everyone, as his childhood sweetheart had come to the Debutante event specifically to track him down, according to local rumours.

It was touching and heartwarming. Plus, everyone who had met them had heard her call him Potato at least once.

The two Knights made their salutes and took their positions. Then, the flag dropped, and they rushed for each other. Dominic wasn’t sure how this would end, he didn’t know much about the military training of the Regiment.

Surely, they had learned to use spears, and likely from horseback, but lance charges were far less common in Cygnian military tactics.

Just before impact, Abe twisted and the Knights sitting behind Dominic gave a short whistle that could have been fear that something had gone wrong.

But the motion put the other knight’s lance squarely in the middle of his small round shield, and both lances exploded on impact. An even draw, and the two Knights saluted each other as they rode back to get another lance.

The farrier’s assistant at Abe’s side of the lane quickly examined something under him, then tied a fresh length of leather to an eyelet in the saddle and ran a secondary strap, as the first one had either stretched or broken, Dominic couldn’t tell which.

However, he was ready again in under a minute, and the farrier looked certain that his saddle was good to go for the next match.

The flag dropped, and the two knights charged again, lowering their lances.

At the last second, Abe shifted his aim, going from the lower torso, against the shield to the upper body, on the left shoulder joint.

The lance seemed to crumble in on itself as it hit, a perfectly level blow, and the other Knight stopped dead in the air as his horse continued to charge.

The force had torn his grip free of the saddle, and he landed hard in the dirt as his lance glanced off Abe’s shield.

“Winner by unhorsing, Sir Abe!” The mage refereeing the match announced.

The opponent had scored a point first, so he wasn’t disqualified. But his pride would be bruised after being unhorsed in the first round.

“Oh, that was quite the hit.

I haven’t seen anyone fully unhorsed in the last three tournaments. I’ve seen a few dismounted who couldn’t recover, but it takes a perfect hit to knock them clean out of the stirrups.” The Knight behind Dominic noted.

Dominic looked at the boots that Abe was wearing, and noticed that they sat in round stirrups, which would shift backward with him, as they sat against the front of the heel.

Downward pressure would let you keep your seat using the strength of your legs.

There was a lot that Dominic didn’t know about the intricacies of combat horsemanship, but that one looked like it was a pretty obvious answer for soldiers who had both of their hands occupied.

The medical team came to check on the downed knight, who was slowly getting to his feet. He waved to the crowd as he was led off, shaken but intact.

His armour actually looked mostly undamaged. There was a large scratch in it, but if the plate had dented at all, it was minimal. So, he likely wouldn’t have to get any major repairs done before the next round, but he would want to at least check everything over.

That sort of impact could have damaged a buckle or strap.

Another set of Knights came up, and Dominic noticed how both stopped to have their squire double-check their gear this time. They had done it themselves, as any Knight would.

But a bit of extra security was never a bad option, and the squire was the one person that they could presumably trust with their safety.

Dominic saw a slight glint under one helmet as the two Knights saluted him, the shine of safety glasses under the helmets. That was likely to become a new standard for the sport, as they didn’t change anything about the armour or the appearance of the combatants, but they added a bit of extra safety.

The Knights tilted their lances as they charged, and Dominic noticed that the Knight with the glasses, instinctively looked away, then slightly back toward the target, still adapting to the extra eye safety.

It was almost too late, but he landed a clean hit anyhow.

The lance shattered, and both knights returned to their places. It would be a learning experience for the professionals to change techniques, but they would get past it.

Unless someone decided that the glasses were unsporting.

You never could guess what the Nobles would take offence to. Dominic had even heard some complaints that the lances were white cedar and not pine, despite the fact that Wistover had almost no Pine trees.

They wanted the huge explosions of splinters from a good dry pine lance.

Perhaps they could import them for the next jousting tournament, or they could have Dave plant and grow some specifically for the purpose. Both were valid options, but this time they had to work with what they had on hand.

Around midday, the mage judging the matches waved the flag.

“Thirty-minute break for resurfacing the field. You may head to the vendors outside, or wait for the hawkers to come to you in the stands.”

The rains had made the surface softer than expected, and the ground was beginning to get more churned up and muddy than the mage thought was safe.

Fortunately, they made more than enough people on hand to fix that.

They could have also done it with a pass of the Nature Trolls between passes, but this was better for the vendors. Especially the ale vendors.

With nothing else to do, everyone needed a drink.