Chapter 338: Jousting

The second day of the tournament had started and the arena was already full of nobles and royalty waiting to watch their favorite squires in action. The event started with cheering crowds, trumpet tunes and pillars of fire reaching up to the skies.

The arena had been separated with three long wooden rails spread all over the 300-feet width of the place.

Within the span of one day, the previous archery arena has turned into three jousting lines.

Jousting was, in a way, an early training for the squires to see how they would perform in a cavalry charge.

During a charge, knights must know how to control their rides, so it remains running straight in accordance with the formation. It necessitates riding skills, balance, dexterity to aim the lance, and courage under the unrelenting and high-pressure atmosphere of a battlefield.

After all, a cavalry charge was usually done to breach the enemy lines. In such a situation, riding at full speed was only for the braves. One second of hesitation and the knight would instantly lose his life.

Today's jousting tournament was opened with a speech from knight commander Sir Agrival the Wise. The knight congratulated yesterday's event winners and declared the beginning of today's event.

Before the squires' turn to perform, two silver knights went down for a demonstration.

Those two were not strangers to the audience. In fact, they were the previous cavalry champions of the Divine Knight Order.

On one side, stood a knight from the Gangani Kingdom accompanied by a fierce-looking brown horse. The kingdom was located in the north, side by side with the Norgales Kingdom. Hence, it is also in a constant war with the northern tribes for territory.

Though they were both located in the north, Gangani Kingdom's territory mostly consisted of green plains, hence it was known for exporting the best horses out of all the seven kingdoms. The grassy land allowed a lot of horse-riding fields to be built and the need for good horses in a battlefield ensured the constant demand for their horses.

The silver knight from Gangani Kingdom was also the winner of a cavalry tournament five years ago.

On the other side, stood a knight in a black cape with an impressive embroidered white bird emblem. The white bird was the symbol of the Cantiaci.

When he emerged, the crowd started to cheer wildly. Not only was he the winner three years ago, he was also the famous young prince of the Cantiaci Kingdom, Prince Edward. The prince with the curly hair looked regal standing next to his black horse.

Prince Edward was a handsome man, and as such, he was the favorite of many young female nobles.

The two knights quickly jumped onto their horses. After they sat, they took the long balsa lance strapped on their back.

The trumpets sounded, marking the start of the demonstration, admist the crowd's cheering.

Both knights pulled their horses' reins and charged, each galloping from two different sides at high speeds. Their lance was pointed forward and each move was made with intent to defeat.

Brackkkk!

The prince was able to aim his lance to the opponent's arms, while the Gangani knight scored a direct hit to the shoulder. The hit broke the Gangani knight's lance to splinters,

The crowds cheered in awe from the sight. The first charge was won by the Gangani knight.

Prince Edward only managed to get one point for hitting his opponent's arm, while the opponent received three points. As the shoulder was a vital part for a knight to be able to keep fighting, the hit was worth one point, while the lance breaking meant one extra point.

In a joust, a properly executed charge had a high chance to destroy the wielder's lance, hence it was used as a sort of detector to see if a participant managed to get the perfect angle and attack with maximum strength.

The current points sit at 3 to 1, and the crowds started to cheer louder and encourage the black prince. When the trumpets resounded, the two were ready for a second charge. They each grabbed a new lance, jumped up to their horse and charged full speed to meet each other in the middle.

Braccckkkk!

This time, the prince managed to hit the Gangani knight in the head. The knight swayed off from his horse and fell without even managing to hit the prince. That hit resulted in a full-mark of five points, instantly making the prince the winner of the opening fight.

Everyone stood and cheered, admiring the handsome black prince.

After the prince finished, he did not return to his tent. Instead, he galloped towards the stage where the royalty sat and watched.

He opened his knight helmet, stared at a particular girl sitting amongst other nobles and shouted.

"Princess Gwenneth, I present today's honor in your name."

The declaration made the crowd stop. Everyone stared at him, including the princess herself.

Realizing that now all attention was focused on him, the prince looked up with confidence, smiled, and said.

"I am hoping this win will be a sufficient token of my affection, will you accept princess?"

The quiet audience exploded into murmurs of gossip and shouts of excitement. The black prince took his victory as his chance to show the seven kingdoms of his seriousness towards the Lioness princess.

Now that the declaration was out in the open, the princess was forced to give the prince an answer right away. There was no chance to think over her words.

Emery merely stared at everything unfolding in the arena. Though he was a low-ranked noble, the relationship between Edward and Gwenneth was a known gossip whispered amongst even the commoners. It was almost comical, really. From the first time they met, Edward had always tried to win her over and Gwenneth always rejected, no matter what he did.

This time it would be no different.

The princess stood confidently, though Emery was able to see the slight quiver on her lips, something that people without enhanced senses wouldn't have noticed. Though her posture was confident, it was clear, she was trapped between a rock and a hard place.

"Prince Edward, we have known each other for so long. I hope we can always respect each other just like how friends would."

All the audience was focused on them, and thus, they could see the prince's face pale with rejection. Though the prince tried to stay calm, he immediately snapped.

"You don't know what is good for you, young princess!" The prince shouted, before riding back to his spot in anger.

The act enraged some of the crowd, the knights and the squires from Lioness Kingdom. Though the act of riding towards the nobles' sitting place was already frowned upon, it could be excused as the prince trying to impress someone he loved. Unfortunately, there was no such justification for his insult towards the princess.

Every eye was focused on the princess, the squires and Emery included.

Princess Gwenneth smiled and sat down, and then she sighed. She released a tension that she tried to keep hidden from everyone in the crowd.

She knew that this rejection would ruin their friendship, but she would never like him in that way. From the beginning of their friendship, Gwen knew the prince was never a good suitor.

When she was deep in thought, she heard a voice from a few seats next to her.

"Wow, princess, you really are cold." The voice chuckled. "But don't worry, he was really asking for embarrassment himself. haha"

Princess Gwenneth turned to look at the golden prince, Arthur Pendragon.

While the crowds were busy whispering, all 290 squires from the seven kingdoms prepared themselves..  It was time for the squire jousting tournament to start.