Sintra. This country is located in the southernmost of the northern kingdoms, facing the sea to the west and across the sea from the Skellige Islands.
It is one of the few northern kingdoms with an artistic flair, though this artistry is limited to its architecture.
The capital of Sintra is also called "Sintra". It is said that this capital was built on the basis of the original elven city. It is not only the most prosperous place in the entire country, but also one of the rare beautiful places in the entire continent.
Therefore, when people mention "Sintra", they are more referring to the capital, and the rest of the country is just "cities outside Sintra".
Such a world-famous city naturally has a castle that matches its reputation, as well as the queen who rules over this castle.
"The Lioness of Cintra" - Calanthe.
Her Majesty the Queen, who had gone to the battlefield at the age of fifteen and had gained a great reputation, was not in the castle at this time, but standing on a high platform surrounded by the bustling crowd. Her unique position allowed her to have a clear view of everything below.
The sound of weapons clashing came regularly from in front of her, and the sound of steel tearing steel was far more pleasing to Her Majesty than any fine instrument could be.
This is the largest arena in Sintra!
In the middle of the empty arena, there were only two fully armed warriors fighting each other. One of them was tall, wearing black armor, and his swordsmanship was powerful.
The smaller warrior opposite him had no painted armor on his body, only a layer of rust-proof material, showing the color of the steel itself. Only on his chest was a lion's head outlined in golden color. And his swordsmanship was even more powerful!
That’s right, in terms of stature he was almost a head shorter than the warrior facing him, but in terms of strength he firmly suppressed his opponent!
To cater to the duel between the two warriors, the host's voice on the sidelines became increasingly louder:
"In the competition just now, Sir Vidonny drew his sword after falling off his horse, hoping to continue the competition on foot!"
The smaller warrior swung his sword once more to block his opponent's blow, and the lion on his chest seemed to roar.
"Come on! Lan! Young Lion of Cintra!" A bearded noble stood up and shouted loudly, and the wine in the cup spilled out as he moved, most of it onto the head of the person in front of him.
The audience in front was not annoyed. They licked their lips and shouted even louder:
"End him! Lann, the Young Lion of Cintra!"
"Young Lion!"
In addition to these completely intoxicated audiences, there were some nobles and ladies who still maintained some composure and gathered together from time to time to discuss in low voices.
"He actually completely suppressed his opponent. He is really worthy of being called Lan."
"Will Lan take off his helmet after the fight? His face, ah~ I can never get tired of looking at it..."
"He's only fifteen, right? The man opposite is the captain of the guards of Her Majesty the Queen. Vidonni has been famous for a long time!"
"Lan is the Queen's nephew!"
The two warriors in the field could hardly hear everyone's shouting. They had been fighting each other for nearly a quarter of an hour, and the battle was much more intense than what the audience saw.
The long swords in their hands collided and separated again, and Lann jumped a distance away, with sweat dripping from the gaps in the silver armor. His chest under the armor rose and fell rapidly.
In the last collision just now, Vidonni could clearly feel that Lann's movements had been deformed, so he had switched from offense to defense a quarter of an hour ago, waiting for Lann to reveal a flaw.
Vidonni was not panicked at all. After all, his opponent was only a 15-year-old boy. Although he didn't know how he had mastered swordsmanship to such a high level, his underdeveloped body would not lie.
Lan was panting while thinking about countermeasures. He didn't want to stop there. It was indeed a great honor for a teenager to win the runner-up in the competition, but he wanted more.
And he wasn't panicking at all.
With his eyes fixed on his opponent, Lann silently said in his heart: "Panel."
In a place that no one could see, a translucent black-gray panel was projected in front of Lan.
[Name: Lann Lannister Rhaanron
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Level: 10
Talent: Ancient Blood (Unawakened)
Experience: 100/1500
HP: 176/200
Mana: Not enabled
Inventory: Knight Armor (upper), Knight Armor (lower), Knight Greaves, Knight Gauntlets, Steel Knight Longsword
Skill bar: [Muscle Memory (5/5)]: Quick attack damage increases by 25%, adrenaline toxin increases by: +5%; [Intensity Training (3/5)]: Power attack damage increases by 15%, adrenaline points increase by: +3%.
Follower Slot: None (Unavailable)
Mission: Martial Arts Tournament No. 5: Champion]
He quickly opened the skill bar and glanced at [Remaining Skill Points: 2], then looked at the large gray skills that had not been clicked on the skill tree. Lan gritted his teeth and put all the skill points into [Intensity Training], instantly raising the skill level from (3/5) to (5/5).
[Intensity Training (5/5)]: Increases power attack damage by 25%. Increases adrenaline points by +5%.
Instantly, a heat surged up his body. Lan felt his muscles swell slightly, the sword in his hand became noticeably lighter, and even his physical fatigue was lessened.
What he upgraded was not only his level, but also his body that matched his skills!
Lann was determined in his heart, but at the same time he felt a pang of pain: if he had a choice, he would rather use these skill points to buy spells!
While comforting himself that he would need to upgrade his skills sooner or later, Lann quickly stepped forward. His steps were not fast, so the captain of the guards on the opposite side who was on the defensive naturally had time to react and immediately used his sword to parry.
However, Lan En had not intended to attack the opponent by surprise. He lightly stabbed his opponent's side with a few tentative thrusts, and they were all blocked one by one without any surprise.
This tentative attack was not very powerful, and just when Vidonni thought that Lann's strength was about to run out, he saw the young man opposite him using the force of his blocking to draw a semicircle with his sword above his head, and chopped down heavily with a desperate momentum!
The winner has been decided, the experienced captain of the guards thought to himself, and confidently thrust his sword forward.
Immediately, the harsh sound of metal colliding rang in his ears, almost deafening Vidonni, and the force transmitted from the sword made him unable to help but step back several steps, almost losing his balance for a moment.
How could this be? Was this guy playing me before?
The turning point in this battle was too obvious. The battle on the field was finally about to be decided. The audience, who were originally tired of shouting, stood up again. Some even started to cheer and shouted the names of their supporters.
"Lane, come on!"
"Vitoni! Show us how you can deal with the Cyrans on the battlefield!"
Lann, who had recovered a lot of physical strength through skill upgrades, pursued the opponent and stabbed him three times in a row, forcing him to retreat continuously.
Vidonni, who was exhausted from dealing with the attack, had no time to readjust his stance. Finally, Lann seized an opportunity and struck the opponent's sword with a heavy blow again. This time, the sword made of fine steel began to tremble constantly, as if it could not withstand the battle that had lasted for a long time.
Vidonni's right hand holding the sword went numb, and he finally lost all strength after being hit by the continuous blows. The sword flew out of his hand, and he sat on the ground. When he looked up again, the young man in silver armor had already put the sword on his neck.
The cheers around the arena suddenly increased to a higher level, and the excited crowd threw flowers and ribbons to the center without hesitation. No matter who their supporters were before, there was only one person to celebrate now - the champion!
The young man in silver armor slowly stepped back, retracted his sword, and pulled off his helmet. Sweat dripped down his dark golden hair, and his shining green eyes looked forward with a smile: "Thank you, Uncle Vidonni."
"You kid..." The black-armored warrior on the opposite side shook his head, grabbed the right hand handed to him by Lann and stood up. Then he took the initiative to lead the boy around the arena slowly, raising his hands from time to time to cheer around to make the atmosphere on the scene even more exciting.
It seemed like the first time he encountered such a scene. The boy's handsome and sharp face showed shyness for the first time. Seeing this, the screams of the girls around him drowned out his shouting for a moment.
Queen Calanthe on the high platform was even more excited than the crowd, and her voice was particularly loud:
"I declare that the winner of this martial arts tournament has been decided!"
"Hail to our champion! He is the Young Lion of Cintra, my nephew!"
"Lann Lannister Rhaanron!"
At the same time, a panel suddenly popped up in front of Lan En, and the [Task] column was shining. He immediately clicked on the task bar, and the only task icon before [Martial Arts Tournament V: Champion] suddenly flashed a white light, and at the same time, a sound like a holy sigh came to his ears.
[Current task completed]
[Character level increase +1]
Lann only felt a warm current flowing through his body, and all his injuries and fatigue were swept away!