novelODS Chapter 16 A Fair and Just Divine Judgment: A Deadly Battle
Chapter 16 A Fair and Just Divine Judgment: A Deadly Battle
As soon as Olsen spoke, the villagers behind him, holding pitchforks and wooden sticks, echoed his words and filed out.
The nearly one hundred people who had been huddled behind the fence suddenly spread out at the village entrance, facing the villagers of Duanpo Village from afar.
Without Rogge needing to activate his "Eye of Insight," he could see that the archers on the thatched roofs had already nocked their arrows, aiming them at the villagers of Brokenbor Village, just waiting for Olsen's command to draw their bows and fire.
Sensing the escalating tension, Roger noticed several arrows aimed at their location, and he instinctively shrank closer to his companions.
Even though he could notice the archer's position, he could still feel the growing tension, like a volcanic eruption.
Roger has been in Pendor for over a month now, and he has grown somewhat, but only to a limited extent...
The villagers of Duanpo Village were so provoked by the people of Gangde Village that their eyes turned red, and they surged forward uncontrollably.
Old Jalrolf remained at the front of the group, glancing back at the villagers. Sensing the tense situation between the two sides, he looked anxiously towards the end of the dirt road to the east.
"Olsen!"
Old Yar spoke again: "What do you intend to do? Are you planning to openly defy the lord's decree and incite a war between the two villages?"
Upon hearing this, Olsen's face flushed crimson, and he slammed his long-handled axe into the ground, roaring:
"Shameless old man!!"
She just loves to label people!
You've trespassed into my Gangde Village territory with your men and come to my doorstep!
"I really want to fight! So what if you all die on the territory of Gonde Village? So what if you take it all to the lord? I'll still be in the right!"
"You want me to pay you back? You're dreaming!"
"If you've got the guts, then take your bunch of trash and snatch it back from us! If not, then get lost!"
As he finished speaking, the villagers of Gangde echoed him, spewing vulgarities:
"You coward! Are you only brave enough to chop women and children with your axe?"
"Your father must have been a coward who was taken away by the Lord of Storms to have given birth to such spineless wimps!"
"Come on... I'm going to use your skull as a bowl!"
"..."
The villagers of Duanpo Village were completely enraged, shouting and cursing back at each other.
Seeing the tension escalating between the two sides, Roger realized that with such a small number of people, Broken Amber Village was unlikely to be able to defeat their opponents.
He just hoped that the strong reinforcements that old Yar had found could arrive as soon as possible, otherwise the situation would really be out of control.
For the past month, Roger and his companions Gold and Virgil have been talking mostly about Fieldsway.
This group, formed by the fusion of the Vanskeri tribe and the native Pendors, was itself a loose alliance of city-states.
On this western coast, the alliance's control is extremely loose, city-states are highly autonomous, and city-state lords therefore have absolute ownership of their own fiefdoms.
The core obligations of the villages under their jurisdiction are to pay fishery and agricultural taxes on time and to provide the lord with the necessary conscripted soldiers in times of war.
As long as there aren't too many deaths, the lord doesn't care about village-level conflicts and fights at all!
They only care about two things: whether taxes can be paid on time and whether the soldiers they need can be recruited in wartime!
In this loosely organized country, conflicts between villages are mostly resolved by themselves; asking the lord to arbitrate is extremely costly!
Unwittingly, land arbitration ended up in the hands of the lord...
The Fieldswe people, a nation formed by the fusion of pirates and merchants, only care about who has the strongest fist and who calls the shots!
The so-called "spirit of contract" is a rule between equals of strength. For the weak who break their oath, the punishment is not from the lord, but from the axe in his hand!
……
Rogge guessed that old Yar's helper should be able to turn the current unfavorable situation around... Was the person here to fight, or to mediate?
Olsen seemed to have lost his patience, and he raised his voice, shouting, "Old man, is that all you've got?"
"Neither fighting nor retreating!"
"Since you dare not make a move, then let's follow the rules of our ancestors!"
"Let's duel, Holmgang!"
The gods will decide; the victor is justice!
"Let God decide the ownership of the mudflats! The loser, shut your mouth from now on!"
Olsen continued to wave his long-handled axe provocatively. "Rolf, do you dare take this? If not, get lost! Don't embarrass yourself here!"
Upon hearing this, the people of Gangde Village behind him immediately cheered and challenged, questioning in unison whether the people of Duanpo Village dared to accept the duel.
"The Holmganga Duel?"
Rogge's face showed curiosity. Through the "Eye of Insight," he began to assess the strength of both sides. His gaze fell on Olsen not far away, and information appeared in his mind:
Olympic Forest Park
[Level: 27]
[Attributes: Strength 24, Agility 16, Constitution 20, Intelligence 8, Charisma 15]
[Combat Power: 2268 (Tier 3!)]
[Proficiency in two-handed and polearms: 160]
【equipment:
Round shield +10 resistance (310/330);
Pirate Helmet +50 Head Armor;
Fieldsway Chainmail Robe: +50 Body Armor +12 Leg Armor;
Leather splints + 22 leg armor!
Overall Armor Value:
+50 Head Armor
+50 Body Armor
+34 Leg Armor
[Weapon: Fieldsway Curved Blade Battle Axe +37 Chop Damage!]
"Is Olsen Tier 3?"
Olsen's strength was far inferior to that of the griffin riders he had seen before.
It's not just about individual skill; there's a difference of tens of points in armor stats alone. Each point difference in armor stats means whether the opponent can break through your defenses.
While Olsen didn't appear particularly powerful in front of the Griffin Knights, he was undoubtedly one of the strongest among the hundreds of Tier 1 and Tier 2 villagers from the two villages!
Rogge's "Eye of Insight" subconsciously swept over old Yar again:
【Rolf】
[Level: 40]
【属性：力量24（33），敏捷15（20），体质18（24），智力9，魅力16】
(Note: Qi and blood deficiency will cause a 25% decrease in all three attributes!)
[Combat Power: 2682 (Tier 3!)]
[Proficiency in one-handed, two-handed, and polearms: 300!]
【equipment:
Round shield +10 resistance (290/330);
Adventurer's Helmet +50 Head Armor;
Green padded breastplate +44 body armor, +12 leg armor;
Chainmail greaves +24 leg armor!
Overall Armor Value:
+50 Head Armor
+44 Body Armor
+36 Leg Armor
[Weapon: Fieldsway Leaf-Shaped Sword +30 Slash Damage!]
"Is your Qi and blood declining?"
Rogge never expected that old Jalrolf was so high-level, having actually reached level 40!
Rogge guessed that the panel marked his highest attribute at the time, which meant that Old Yar's strength could be restored! However, to restore him to his peak level, he would probably have to consume a legendary item like the Dragon Tear Gem.
Despite his advanced age and declining physical abilities, Rolf's stats were surprisingly close to those of the young and strong Olsen, which surprised Roger.
The two had similar attribute values and equipment, but the older Rolf's weapon proficiency far surpassed that of Olsen!
The older you get, the more combat experience you have!
This is why the older the pirate Yar, the more dangerous he becomes!
Old Vanscare pirate Yar, whose javelins were like missiles, meant that anyone caught in his javelin range would die!
The duel invitation extended by Olsen is a tradition passed down through generations of the Vanskerry people. It is both reasonable and legal, and even if the loser dies in the duel, even the lord has no right to interfere.
But old Jarl merely glanced coldly at Olsen and slowly shook his head:
"Osson, you broke your oath first, I will not duel with you..."
That mudflat north of Duanpo Village has belonged to our village for decades! It's not a bargaining chip you can control!
From Rogge's perspective, the two Yar are evenly matched in strength, with the older Yar having even more combat experience!
Rogge was somewhat puzzled and suspicious; old Jarre had actually rejected this approach that could directly solve the problem…
"Is old Jarl getting old? Is his stamina failing him and he's afraid to fight... or does old Jarl think his backup plan will be the decisive blow?!"
Just then, a rapid sound of horses' hooves suddenly rang out on the dirt road leading north to the fortress...