Chapter 335: Chapter 88: The First Knight

Time flew by, and by evening, the aroma of Magical Beast Meat had begun to fill the entire camp.

Gerard watched the bustling Soldiers, finding it all a little hard to believe.

Gerard had now earned a measure of that noble lord’s trust and had begun to assist him with various tasks, such as the preparations for this Magical Beast Meat feast.

But when Gerard heard the specific details provided by Robson, he was utterly baffled. He even suspected the noble lord had made a mistake with his orders.

This was a feast of High-Level Magical Beasts, dozens of them!

After all, even the two Earls from beyond the pass had rarely held banquets of this caliber. Though they lived at the foot of the Demon Beast Mountain Range, it didn’t mean Magical Beast Meat was an infinite resource.

And yet, this noble lord was not only holding a feast of Magical Beast Meat, but his guests were a group of Soldiers of peasant origin.

It wasn’t that Gerard was prejudiced—he himself had once been merely one of the Free People—but that was simply how things were in this era.

Magical Beast Meat was so precious that even nobles couldn’t expect to have it at every meal, yet he was giving it all to these Soldiers.

And by the looks of it, this wasn’t the first time these Soldiers had enjoyed such treatment.

If that were all, it would have been one thing.

What shocked Gerard was that the noble lord actively conversed with his Soldiers, and the Knight Lord who was always by his side had once been a mere peasant.

Gerard took a look around and realized that in this entire army of nearly five thousand men, there were only two true nobles.

They used a so-called merit system, where Peasants could actually climb the ranks through military achievement. In fact, a significant portion of the army was of peasant origin.

All of this left Gerard with just one feeling: it was strange.

’Everything is so strange. How can an army of five thousand have only two nobles?’

’How can an army with only two nobles be victorious time and again? How can a peasant command an army? How can a peasant become a noble lord?’

’So an army commanded by a peasant can actually win battles...’

Gerard shook his head to clear it.

Gerard realized that in his old age, he was growing more fond of dwelling on useless thoughts.

’Why am I worrying about all this?’

’In any case, it’s a good thing.’

For the Peasants, meeting such a benevolent lord was a blessing that must have taken generations of hardship to earn.

For Gerard himself, a noble lord willing to give his subordinates a chance to rise was an incredibly valuable opportunity.

Gerard’s body may have been old, but his ambition was not.

"Old Sir! Old Sir!"

Hearing the call, Gerard looked behind him to see two young Soldiers sitting on the ground.

It was unclear who had first started it, but in the military camp, the address "Old Sir" was used exclusively for Gerard.

In Frank culture, the title "Sir" was reserved for a person of learning.

"Old Sir, come sit with us!"

The two young Soldiers had their arms draped over each other’s shoulders as they sat around a bonfire.

In fact, each regiment had lit its own huge bonfire, and the Soldiers of each regiment were gathered around it.

They were roasting Magical Beast Meat, after all. Cooking it over a normal fire required a very large one.

Gerard looked at the two and gave a wave. Thinking that his duties were done and the noble lord hadn’t assigned him anything new, he walked over to them.

...

Gerard sat cross-legged on the ground, and Hans immediately leaned in.

"Hey, Old Sir, I heard the lord is going to find people to teach us all how to read. And that anyone who learns properly can become an official. Is it true?"

Looking at Hans’s excited face, Gerard didn’t want to crush the young man’s spirit, but deep down, he felt it was highly unlikely.

Matters of bureaucracy were usually decided by noble lords on a whim.

This noble lord was benevolent, and he had shown such tendencies in the army, but the army was a special case for wartime. If he started doing this in peacetime, it would become the norm.

"I’m not sure... It all depends on the noble lord himself..."

As Gerard was explaining, the camp suddenly erupted in a commotion. The roar was like a clap of thunder on a clear day, nearly scaring the life out of him.

"What is it? What happened?"

Hans and Odin, on the other hand, had no such reservations. It’s hard to change a young man’s desire to join in the excitement.

Gerard had just recovered from the shock when he heard Hans let out a yell.

Gerard stood up and looked toward the commotion, where he saw the Soldiers crowded tightly around someone.

"It’s Captain Ace! Ha! Why is Captain Ace wearing a nobleman’s clothes?!"

"Who knew? Captain Ace cleans up pretty well. He actually looks the part."

Hearing their conversation, it suddenly dawned on Gerard.

The man in the center of the crowd was indeed Ais. Peeking through a gap, Gerard could see that Ais had shed his armor and was now dressed in black clothes.

Just as Gerard was about to get a closer look, the crowd fell silent again. The Soldiers scattered back to their places as if fleeing. A moment ago, Ais had been mobbed; now, he stood alone where the circle of men had been.

Gerard looked into the distance and saw that the noble lord had arrived.

The noble lord had also changed into magnificent attire for the occasion. He had even tidied his appearance, revealing his true features.

He had the typical face of a southern man of Frank—resolute and stern, reminiscent of winter’s cold wind and freezing rain.

Accompanying the noble lord was another nobleman, Claude. Claude had also donned fine clothes, but he so thoroughly lacked the proper bearing that one had to resist the urge to laugh.

Gerard knew that with both noblemen present, the feast was about to begin.

And just as he expected, once the two made their entrance, the logistics Soldiers began distributing the Magical Beast Meat.

The bonfire where Gerard sat was a special one. It was for Soldiers personally selected by the noble lord—men from the first, second, and third regiments, as well as the Cavalry Team, were all there. Here, the Magical Beast Meat was plentiful.

Gerard saw the lord stand before Ais. The two spoke in hushed tones, and Gerard couldn’t tell what was said.

Then, Ais dropped to one knee.

Gerard held his breath.

’He knew it was coming. The main event of the night...’

He wasn’t the one being ennobled, yet for some reason, Gerard felt a knot of nervousness in his stomach.

Gerard had been young once. He was one of the Free People now, but his ancestors had been nobles who had lost their station. How could he not harbor a desire to reclaim that status?

The stories of heroic figures he’d learned from wandering minstrels had caused his own fading ambition to flare up once more.

Gerard swallowed hard. He felt a heat spread through him as the blood in his veins, long since cooled, began to grow warm again.

If an old man like Gerard felt this way, one could only imagine what the other Soldiers were feeling. They were young men in the prime of their lives, their blood hot and their spirits high.

Besides, many of them knew what Ais used to be. Now, thanks to the merit system, he stood at the very gates of nobility.

Just as everyone’s minds were racing, a sharp sound rang through the air. SHING!

"I, Robson Odogin, in the name of Viscount Affleck.

"In recognition of my subject, Ais, for his meritorious service in campaigns north and south, having now achieved the twelfth rank of military merit.

"I hereby bestow upon you the surname Borus, praise you for your glorious loyalty, and name you an Honorary Knight of the Affleck Domain..."

Robson proclaimed the oath, word by word. Ais knelt before him, his back to the other Soldiers.

No one could see it, but Ais’s eyes were wide, and his breath came in ragged gasps.

"By the Lord of Dawn above, if this vow is broken, may I be barred from the Divine Kingdom."

"I, Ais Borus, swear in the name of the Lord of Dawn my fealty to you.

"Where your gaze falls, I shall follow. What your heart desires, I shall achieve.

"I shall be the Long Sword that fights your battles, the iron arm that defends your domain.

"With my blood, I shall forge your glory. With my life, I shall build your Celestial Kingdom..."

There, amidst the army and beside the bonfire, a Monarch and his subject completed their solemn oath. The firelight flickered across their forms, radiating both warmth and fervor.

Gerard watched the scene, utterly transfixed.

For some unknown reason, his mind drifted back to the epic tales he had heard in his youth—stories of wise Monarchs and valiant generals, which in the very end, were turned into musical notes sung from the mouths of wandering minstrels.

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