Chapter 176: The "Plate Armor is Useless"
Nestled amidst the mountains, the people of Toussaint lived a life reminiscent of a secluded paradise.
Toussaint celebrated numerous important festivals and celebrations throughout the year. Among the most significant was the grand Knights' Tourney.
During the tourney, knights could fully display their martial prowess to win honor or the favor of a lady. Participants weren't limited to Toussaint's knights; nobles from all over the world could attend.
Even commoners, as long as they could provide their own weapons, were allowed to compete.
So, Lynn's idea was quite simple. He proposed making Corvo Bianco vineyard the champion's prize for this tourney. He himself would enter under a disguised identity, compete, and win the grand prize under that false identity, becoming the vineyard's new lord.
Duchess Anna Henrietta, upon hearing Lynn's suggestion, did not feel indignant about being "taught how to do her job."
Instead, she found it quite intriguing. Although she was the ruler of a knightly realm, she was not a knight herself, and thus, strictly speaking, she was not obligated to uphold the Five Virtues of Chivalry.
Besides... the witcher had saved her life. The witcher's actions had also proven them to be eternal friends of Toussaint. The vineyard was already something she intended to bestow upon the witchers. Therefore, she was not averse to cooperating with the witchers' charade. In fact, she felt an inexplicable thrill and excitement from this rare novelty.
The only question was...
"Master Lynn, are you confident you can take the top prize? I'm not questioning your abilities, but the tourney has many different events, and only the one who excels in all of them can win the grand prize."
The witcher's courage had undoubtedly been proven by his actions.
Duchess Anna Henrietta had no worries on that front. But she was concerned that the Knights' Tourney was, after all, a competition designed for knights.
Toussaint's knights began learning and were required to master the Six Arts of Knighthood from the time they were squires, whereas witchers had never encountered them. This worried her.
Lynn understood the Duchess's concern. He naturally had confidence when he proposed this suggestion. However, he didn't boast but said earnestly, "If I lose in the tourney, it can only be said to be the will of the Lady of the Lake. I will still have no regrets."
After Lynn and Geralt left the palace, Geralt finally voiced his thoughts. He didn't agree with Lynn's approach. Helping Ystrad was one thing, but becoming a new lord of Toussaint was another.
Although Geralt had already known back in Targow that Lynn was planning something big, he still couldn't overcome his internal hurdle named "neutrality."
However, he also knew that Lynn was no longer a child and that he couldn't convince Lynn to change his mind through words alone. If words were that effective, the witcher orders wouldn't have fractured and fallen apart back then. Therefore, his words were really just a form of complaint.
Lynn accepted Geralt's complaints with a smile. Geralt probably didn't know that Lynn understood him better than he understood himself. Geralt was just that kind of person.
He was certainly a good person. But sometimes, he was indeed stubborn to the point of being pedantic. This wasn't Lynn's opinion, by the way. It was Dandelion and Regis's assessment of Geralt.
However, this was also Geralt's charm. It was precisely because of his imperfections that so many people liked and discussed him.
In the original story, if Geralt had wanted to, with his abilities surpassing ordinary witchers and his relationships with so many sorceresses, he could at least have secured a noble title for himself. After all, being a witcher was the lowest point; any direction he moved would be upwards.
But he didn't. Instead, he remained like most witchers, adhering to the principle of neutrality, fighting to protect people from the threat of monsters. While folks argued heatedly over topics like "can a witcher really beat a few ordinary soldiers" over tea and dinner, a topic as common as a daily forum thread...
In this world, other witchers like Geralt were fighting monsters in caves, forests, and swamps.
Perhaps not all witchers, like those of the Griffin School, fought for the good of this world. But their actions indeed reduced the number of monsters, and objectively made the world safer.
So safe, in fact, that humans no longer needed to unite against non-humans and monsters. Instead, they began to distinguish between themselves and others based on culture, and to use fire and sword to eliminate fellow humans who shared the same blood and drank the same water.
Afterward, Lynn and Geralt parted ways on the streets of Beauclair. Since Geralt didn't want to get involved in politics, he wouldn't participate in the upcoming matters.
As for the champion's prize, he didn't even want to touch it, as if it were a plague rather than a reward.
So, Lynn, alone and after changing his appearance using the Charm of Deception, arrived at Thanesel's shop. Due to the charm, Thanesel naturally didn't recognize Lynn.
Lynn then purchased a set of pitch-black plate armor that fit his physique. This knight's plate armor was certainly heavier than the Wolf School's uniform jacket. But it wasn't as cumbersome as one might imagine, to the point of impeding movement or sword swings.
It must be said, Toussaint truly lived up to its title as the Land of Knights. In terms of plate armor craftsmanship, it stood at the pinnacle of the known world.
To the uninitiated, it might seem impossible for such heavy plate armor to be worn without affecting one's movements. But the reality was that the seemingly heavy armor wasn't directly pressing on the shoulders; it was cleverly distributed across the entire body.
This explained why knight-errants could wear this plate armor all day long. And if ordinary humans could bear the weight, witchers, with their superior physical prowess, would find it even easier.
Next, Lynn began preparing for the upcoming Knights' Tourney. He canceled the effect of the Charm of Deception, put the pitch-black plate armor into his magic-imbued leather pouch, and changed back into his Wolf School uniform jacket. Then he went directly to the palace to find Sir Maximus, and spoke plainly.
"Sir Maximus, please tell me more about the Knights' Tourney."
Maximus didn't think anything of it and explained. "The Knights' Tourney is the Duchy's grandest and most important competition of the entire year! Knights from all over the world come to compete for the grand prize and the honor they value most."
"This competition primarily consists of three events:"
"Archery, Lance Combat, and the Team Tournament. The winner of the Team Tournament will be crowned this year's champion."
What do you think of Lynn's strategy for acquiring the vineyard? Do you believe his disguised identity will be enough to prevent public backlash?
.....
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