Chương 51: Tourney V
(Third Person POV)
Cole took a step to his side, "Is that so?" He said, "I'll regret it?"
Aerion began to walk opposite of him as they both began to circle each other, the crowd suddenly quieting down in suspense.
"Hm." Aerion said as he immediately rushed him
With blinding speed, Aerion thrust his sword at Cole who immediately raised his shied. The blow was blocked but the force of the impact forced the Kingsguard back who immediately tried to counter by swinging his flail.
Aerion immediately backstepped to avoid the iron balls and without wasting a moment, he swung his sword at Cole who once again blocked the blow with the shield. Splinters flew everywhere as the shield had some cracks in it.
Aerion swung his sword again, this time in a counter swing and Cole dodged it instead of blocking, countering with the flail. The iron balls hit Aerion in his shoulder, causing him to slightly stumble. The force of the attack wasn't as strong as Borros Baratheon's hammer strikes but Aerion could fee them through his armor; they did not hurt that much.
Cole pivoted as Aerion straightened up and he swung the flail again, this time he spun it once to get momentum and speed to the swing. Aerion dodged the swing and rushed in, pushing Cole with his left hand as he reared his sword back.
As Cole was stumbling and was at an appropriate distance for a swing, Aerion hit Cole with a vicious sword strike that was blocked at the last second with the shield, causing it to crack once again. The blow was powerful enough to send the Kingsguard reeling back and as he tried to compose himself, Aerion continued in the onslaught; swinging his sword at Cole from multiple directions, the blows hitting Cole's shield and slightly hitting his armor.
Cole then stumbled against the wooden railing that bordered the arena as he swung the flail at Aerion's leg. Aerion casually stepped back to avoid the balls and immediately countered with a sword thrust at Cole's face. Cole, as usual, blocked the thrust with the shield which caused more splinters to fly out.
Almost immediately after colliding with the shield, Aerion pulled the sword back and raised it up in the air, planting his feet as he was going for a full vertical swing down on Cole. The imposing figure of Aerion Targaryen towering over Criston Cole as the Kingsguard was staggered by the sword thrust was something that many were shocked by.
"Hmph." Aerion swung the sword down hard
"Shit." Cole said as he narrowly jumped to his left and rolled out of the way
Aerion's blunt sword crashed straight through the railing, shattering it completely as wooden splinters flew out. The railing was solid five-inch wood, Aerion's power was so great that a blunt edge sword was able to destroy it with ease.
Aerion stepped back as he turned to face Cole, who was standing up and readying his shield as he began to spin the flails at his side.
"You're quite strong, My Lord." Cole said with a slight smirk
"I get that a lot." Aerion said as he slowly walked towards him
"I cannot tell what you're thinking, your helm covering your face." Cole began to taunt, "Is it wise to assume that you're frustrated? Thinking you would end me so quickly?"
"It does not matter how long it takes, Cole." Aerion said as he raised his sword and held it with both hands, "I am inevitable."
"Oh?" Cole said as he charged forward
Cole swung his flail at Aerion, who immediately dodged back. Cole then stepped forward and followed up with a counter swing, attempting to hit him again but Aerion was able to dodge again. Following that, Cole lunged forward and shield bashed into Aerion's right side, where he held his sword. The force pushed him back a bit and Cole stepped back immediately, swinging his flail downwards, and was able to hit Aerion in the chest as he tried to step back.
"Hm." Aerion said as he composed himself almost immediately and swung his sword at Cole
Cole dodged the sword and swung his flail yet again, this time all three balls collided against Aerion's midsection hard, and a resounding bang was heard. Wasting no time, Cole bashed his shield against Aerion hard but Aerion did not budge, pushing Cole off of him with ease as the Kingsguard straightened up.
"Is that so..." Cole said as he spun the flail yet again before swinging it at him
In a flash, Aerion dodged past the swing and countered with his own swing at Cole's thigh, striking him hard and causing him to stumble into the ground. As Aerion straightened up, he noticed that Cole had rolled to safety and immediately straightened up as a slight limp was seen.
"Hm." Aerion said again as he readied another stance
Cole spun his flail yet again as he neared closer to Aerion, his shield raised cautiously.
"I always found it interesting...." Cole said
"What?" Aerion said
"You." Cole continued
"Me?" Aerion asked
The conversation was low enough that nobody in the crowd or stands were able to make it out, due to the loud cheering and gasps from the constant clashing. They saw that Cole's lip moved but nobody was able to hear what he was saying.
"The boy who was suddenly thrust up into Duty." Cole said as he swung his flail
Aerion easily dodged the attack and thrust his sword as he struck Cole's shoulder and staggered him back.
"Is that how you see it?" Aerion said as Cole straightened up
The crowd's cheering was so loud that even Criston was barely able to hear what he said.
"How else is it supposed to be?" Cole said as Aerion approached him, "Aerion Targaryen, married to Rhaenyra Targaryen, a woman much older than him. Simply because they wanted him to perform a duty that could have been given to anyone else."
Cole bashed his shield against Aerion who blocked it with his own sword, causing a struggle.
"Hm." Aerion said as he leaned into Cole, "I know, Cole."
"Know what?" Cole said
"Your jealousy." Aerion said as he pushed him away
Cole swung his flail at him but Aerion crouched down to avoid it and swung his sword at him, striking Cole hard in the waist. The blow reeled the Kingsguard back as he tried to compose himself but Aerion was already on the onslaught.
Aerion swung his sword at his arm, hitting him hard and causing Cole to drop the flail. Then, Aerion swung his sword hard at the shield that was raised in instinct, shattering it completely with fierce power.
"You wanted her, didn't you?" Aerion said as he pushed Cole down to the ground with his arm, "And now that she's out of your reach, you can only look at the man who has her with contempt and envy. I may have been young, but I was not blind. I was not blind to what Rhaenyra had done for what she thought was love."
Aerion pointed his sword down at Cole who laid in the ground, looking up at him as the crowd cheered. Nobody was able to hear what Aerion had told the Kingsguard.
"I am not yielding." Cole said loudly
"I don't want you to." Aerion said as he took a step back, "Pick your weapon up, grab another shield, I don't care. I want to beat you to a bloody pulp while you fight back."
Aerion kicked his flail with enough force for it to be thrown to Cole who sat up.
Cole grabbed it and stood up, "Hmph." He said with a scowl, "Quite easy for you to say, wearing Valyrian Steel Armor..."
Aerion then planted his sword on the ground, reaching for his helm and undid the strap, "You want to even the odds?" Aerion asked as he took his helm off and revealed his serious scowl
Rhaenyra saw this and got to the edge of her seat, "What is he doing?" She said softly
Aerion let out a whistle and one of his Royce squires immediately came in running as he tossed him the helm. The boy caught it and fumbled it for a bit, before keeping it secure. The Squire immediately scurried off from the arena as Aerion picked his sword back up.
"Are you sure?" Cole said with a slight smirk, "Once I get a good hit on you, it'll end up worse than Royce."
"You won't hit me anymore....but you said something that bothered me, Cole." Aerion said as he pointed his sword at him, "You said you beat the strongest Royce Knight."
Cole began to spin his flail as they both began to circle each other, "I did."
"You got it all wrong." Aerion said as he readied a stance, "The Strongest of the Royce Knights...You are looking at him."
"Heh, isn't that something." Cole said as he lunged and swung the flail
In a swift motion, Aerion sidestepped and parried the attack, his blunt blade hitting against the chains of the flail as he immediately spun around and swung the sword towards Cole's stomach, connecting hard against the Kingsguard armor.
"G-guhh!!!" Cole grunted in pain as he buckled down
Aerion then pushed him with one arm and forced Cole to face him, "You like that?" Aerion said as he thrust his sword with one arm
Cole tried to move but the wind was knocked out of him and was unable to avoid the massive blunt point that struck him into the chest, sending him reeling further back.
Aerion then lunged at him and began to swing his sword at him with such ferocity that even Daemon was impressed by.
The sword strikes began to hit Cole all over, the steel of his armor bending by the second as the Kingsguard was trying to avoid it. Aerion purposely avoided hitting him in the head, knowing full well that a single one of his strikes would end the fight.
Cole powered through the strikes and pushed Aerion with his free hand, slightly moving him. Aerion allowed this to happen and stepped back, giving Cole room to breathe.
Cole almost immediately swung his flail at Aerion who dodged it with ease and lunged forward, swinging his sword at Cole's left shoulder. The clash of the steel was so loud that everyone was able to hear it, alongside a slight crack.
"A-Aghh!!" Cole shouted in pain
Aerion then spun around, slashing at Cole's side, hitting him hard that the steel snapped.
Cole tried to fight back, swinging his flail but Aerion dodged it and swung his sword yet again, this time it hit him in the chest, the power from the strike bending the breastplate as Cole stumbled back.
"S-shit!" cole said as Aerion continued his onslaught
Aerion swung his sword at Cole's head but the Kingsguard was able to dodge it. This didn't matter since Aerion was fierce in his follow-up, hitting Cole in the right leg with a vicious swing. Cole buckled but didn't collapse, going for another swing.
Aerion parried the flail, but this time he was closer so the parry hit the handle instead of the chains. This caused Cole to drop his weapon yet again and Aerion followed up with a riposte to his midsection. Aerion's blunt edge was able to lodge itself through the Kingsguard armor that it actually pierce through Cole's flesh due to the immense power behind the thrust.
"A-AGHHH!!!" Cole shouted in pain as the crowd gasped in shock
Aerion's blade was able to puncture Cole in his midsection by half an inch, an injury that wasn't that serious but was able to hurt the Kingsguard.
Aerion pulled the sword out and spun around, swinging it at his face. Cole instinctively raised his arm to cover himself but the sword hit his arm hard, a loud snap was clearly heard as Cole stumbled hard to his right.
Aerion didn't care and slowly walked over and swung his sword at Cole's leg, hitting it hard and hearing the steel snap again.
Cole looked up at him as he frantically reached for the flail that was near him.
"You will die knowing you never got her." Aerion said seriously low enough that only the both of them heard it
Cole grabbed his flail and straightened up, keeping his left arm close to his body, and tried to swing it.
Aerion had already swung his sword down hard, hitting Cole straight in the face, and immediately dropped him to the ground, face-down. The crowd went quiet after a quick gasp and Otto Hightower got up from his seat as Viserys looked at this with pure shock in his face.
Aerion then rolled Cole over with his foot and revealed that Cole was unconscious, blood covering his face completely as a large gash was slightly covered by the bent helm he wore.
"Someone get Ser Criston out of there!!!" Otto demanded
Suddenly, several squires ran in to pick the Kingsguard out of there as two other Kingsguard walked inside the arena, their hands on their swords.
Aerion raised his eyebrow, "What's this?"
"What is the meaning of this, Lord Aerion?" Otto called from the stands, "You swung that sword with the intent to kill!!!"
Viserys raised his hand at Otto, "C-Check on Ser Criston." He said, "This is a tourney, injuries and death could happen..."
"No, I will have answers." Otto said, "Ser Criston represented the Crown and Lord Aerion acted with an unusual amount of ferocity. What could this possibly be a sign of, Aerion!?"
Aerion spat on the ground as he ignored Otto and walked away, the clear victor of the bout. As he walked, he noticed his Father giving him a slight smirk and nodding approvingly.
Aerion ignored him as well as his gaze went over to Rhaenyra who had a look of surprise, her hand closer to her chest as her eyes were straight at Aerion.
Aerion gave her a wink and a slight smile as he walked out of the Arena.
Rhaenyra gulped slightly, "O-Oh...." She said
[Second Round, First Match Winner: Aerion Targaryen]
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