novellk Chapter 20 Oath Terms Between Both Parties
Chapter 20 Oath Terms Between Both Parties
Olsen's words ignited the anger of the villagers of Duanpo Village. Anger and curses rose and fell, and the young men all turned red in the face.
They can tolerate exorbitant taxes and unreasonable conscription, but they cannot tolerate such blatant humiliation as that of Olsen!
The lord has no way to resist. Now that he has a chance, does he really want to be unable to even protect his own dignity?
Someone shouted first, "Accept the duel!"
In an instant, the angry shouts from Duanpo Village gradually became unified:
"I agree to the duel! I agree to the duel! I agree to the duel!..."
Hearing the angry shouts of the villagers behind him, old Jarl felt helpless and overwhelmed with mixed feelings. He had experienced several life-or-death duels in Holmganga in his life, but he had never found it so difficult to make a decision as he did today.
He could directly silence the villagers' shouts; in fact, if he simply raised his hand slightly again, the villagers would obey him and immediately fall silent...
Old Yar trembled slightly as he turned around. As he saw, he was met with a group of young and stubborn faces, their eyes burning with anger and a burning desire for dignity.
Accepting the duel meant that at least three people from both sides would die… Old Jarl took a deep breath, turned around, and stared firmly at the cavalry commander:
"Commander, as you have seen, we accept the duel at Holmgang! This is the will of the entire Broken Amber Village!"
"If Gonde Village loses, I only hope that Olsen will keep his oath, fulfill all his promises, and not break his vow again!"
Upon hearing this, Olsen flew into a rage: "You old bastard, you're asking for death!" He was about to say something more when he was interrupted by the cavalry commander.
The cavalry commander laughed heartily and praised, "Good! That's courage!"
"I'm pressed for time, let's discuss this quickly!"
With the cavalry commander in attendance, the two sides began to discuss and agree on a duel oath.
On the side of Broken Amber Village, not only did they raise all their previous demands, but they also demanded that Olsen compensate them for huge sums of money for injuries and damage to their reputation, and even asked for a piece of land in the territory of Gander Village that Broken Amber Village had long coveted. Surprisingly, Olsen agreed to all of them.
Orson's appetite was even greater. He not only demanded that Duanpo Village "return" the mudflats to his north, but also made an outrageous demand to exclusively occupy the lake bay fishing area on which Duanpo Village depended for its livelihood.
Even with Old Yar's prestige, he didn't dare to agree directly. After discussing with several important figures in the village and finding the conditions to be equal, and with the approval of the majority of the villagers, Old Yar also signed his name on the oath list.
With this, the agreement between the two parties was reached.
The winner takes all, while the loser of the duel will suffer heavy losses!
Even Olsen, who had always looked down on the people of Duanpo Village, now composed himself, his face revealing a deep sense of solemnity.
……
As dawn passed, the sun rose, dispelling the thick morning fog.
The cavalry commander was pressed for time and only gave the villagers of Duanpo a short period of rest.
The villagers of Duanpo rested on the spot, and at that moment, several village elders with half-white beards and old Yar were having a heated discussion about selecting duelists.
Two candidates have been chosen: old Járrolf and old Quai, who is holding the "sword." Everyone is debating the third candidate and has yet to make a decision.
Although Old Yar is old, his strength is undeniable. In the past ten years or so, many self-important people in the village have tried to challenge Old Yar, but they have all fallen to Old Yar's sticks.
The other old Kui was not only famous in the village for "cherishing the sword", but also because his strength was second only to old Yar!
In regular duels, apart from Old Yar who never won, he won more often than he lost to others. Old Kui's strength was obvious to all, so he naturally took a spot.
Apart from the two, there is no one else in Duanpo Village who has the strength to stand out from the other militia!
Rogge, God, and Virgil stood by with their arms crossed, watching. To conserve his energy, Rogge didn't have to activate "Insight" on everyone to investigate the situation.
Several middle-aged dignitaries from Duanpo Village were engaged in a heated discussion, while many young militia members nearby were eager to volunteer, but were all rejected by Old Yar after a series of tests.
Some of the thin, weak villagers, unaware of their own limitations, were struck by Old Yar's iron cane and instantly curled up on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, in so much pain they couldn't even make a sound...
Old Yar approached Rogge and his two companions, about to ask them a question, but Rogge and the others flatly refused.
He reluctantly returned to the crowd and continued discussing the third candidate.
Rogge and his two companions were not from Broken Amber Village, so there was no need for them to fight to the death or get involved in the conflict for others... If it weren't for Old Yar's invitation, they wouldn't have even come, let alone stood up for Broken Amber Village.
Gold and his companion weren't stupid. Being mercenaries by origin, they wouldn't risk their lives without sufficient benefit...
With their current strength, it's not the time for them to act like heroes.
Among the crowd, many shield maidens also eagerly signed up, but none of them met Old Yar's requirements. Seeing that the third candidate could not be decided for a long time, their morale inevitably dropped.
In the back row, the young man who had argued with Geese earlier that morning, seeing this scene, and intending to embarrass Geese, deliberately taunted him loudly:
"Let Giss go! Isn't he incredibly strong? He even got a new, high-quality longsword this morning!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of laughter erupted from the crowd. It wasn't malicious mockery, but rather a laugh born of finding amusement in hardship.
Everyone knows Geese, who is incredibly strong, but when he fights with his companions, he never lets go of his strength. Often, his huge size makes him easy to defeat by his smaller companions.
After getting back up, he'll ask another question:
"Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"
Given everyone's understanding of Geese, most people subconsciously ruled out Geese as a candidate, so when someone joked about it, everyone laughed.
However, old Jarre did not laugh or joke. When he heard about the candidate, Gis, his eyes lit up.
He looked Giss up and down.
This boy, who was not yet sixteen, was a head or two taller than the people around him. He was broad-shouldered and had thick, exposed calves that were as thick as tree stumps. His half-exposed arms did not have such obvious muscle lines, but they were several times thicker than the thighs of an average person.
This boy isn't just fat; he's genuinely strong!
Old Jarl knew perfectly well that Giss usually held back in fights simply because he was afraid of "hurting his companions!"
Not daring to exert force, he gradually developed the habit of falling down with the other person's force... Thinking that Geese was a good candidate, he hesitated for a moment...
Just as everyone was still making fun of each other, Geese, blushing, walked somewhat awkwardly into the inner circle of the field:
"Old chief...how about I...let me go? I also want to contribute to the village!"
Stared at by so many eyes, Geese stammered a little, but his expression was firm, and his eyes held the unique determination of a young man.
When they heard Giss's words become disjointed, it was as if the villagers' pent-up emotions, which had been suppressed for a long time, were being released. The people around laughed even harder, laughing without restraint, and some even whistled loudly.
Hearing the laughter and whistles of his companions around him, Giss lowered his head even further, all the courage and confidence he had mustered that morning vanishing completely.
Gis was annoyed. He didn't know why his companions were laughing, especially those who were much weaker than him and usually hid in the back of the line. They were laughing the loudest and their attitude was unusual. Gis's face disgusted him from the bottom of his heart.
Giss lowered his head, his mind echoing his mother's usual words:
"Those people who gossip and laugh at you all day long are the most useless ones! They have no skills whatsoever and can't stand seeing you better than them!"
Especially those who grew up barefoot, just like you, will desperately try to hold you back, tug at your clothes, and even stab your boat when they see you trying to climb higher!
"Son, go for it! Do what you think is right! You're just like me, always quicker than others at work since you were little. If you just go for it, nobody can catch up with you!"
Recalling his mother's words, Giss lowered his head and remained silent for a moment before finally making up his mind.
He slowly raised his head, his face no longer showing hesitation, only determination.
"Old chief, I know I can do it! I want to do my part for the village! Count me in!"
Whistles rang out all around, but Giss remained steadfastly fixed on old Jarl's scrutinizing and hesitant eyes.
Amidst the clamor of laughter, old Jarre spoke calmly:
"Okay, you're the third choice."
The laughter around them stopped abruptly as soon as he finished speaking!
……