The village was fairly clean, and there was no concern about the mixing of people and animals and the presence of feces on the ground, so Charles dared to go inside.

The houses here are all made of wood, and a wooden circle is placed on an earthen platform about half a meter high, leaving a doorway, and the top is covered with straw, and a house is built.

It's just that the houses here are dilapidated and new, and the sturdiest one looks like a blacksmith's shop.

Charles hadn't taken a few steps before he was drawn to the sound of boys' shouts and crashes.

Passing through the village, in a clearing next to the woods, a group of boys between the ages of eight and twelve were sparring with rough wooden swords. On a log used as a chair on the side, a middle-aged man sharpens a wooden sword with a knife.

When Charles first saw this man dressed in the same coarse cloth clothes as the other villagers, with a beard, a bald head reflecting the sun, and thick hands and feet, he realized that he was not a simple man.

The man immediately sensed Charles' gaze at him, and the first time he looked at Charles, he noticed the ring on the other man's right hand.

He was about to stand up and salute Charles, but Charles stretched out his hand to stop him, and then walked to him and sat down.

"Are these your students?" Charles asked the bald man.

"My lord, they are all children of the village, I am the guard of the village, and I usually teach them a little sword skills. The man, who called himself Algernon, said, "In two days, several knights of the Praetorian Guard will come to select the acolytes, who are practicing in the hope of being chosen by the knights. ”

The most direct way for a male freeman to step into the threshold of nobility is to first become a knight's squire, then become a squire after the age of fourteen, and become a cavalryman after the age of eighteen.

Charles nodded, then picked up a freshly sharpened wooden sword from Algernon and played with it. Although the wooden sword looks a little rough, it feels very close to a steel longsword.

"What about you?" Charles raised his wooden sword and made a chopping motion, quite handily, "With your strength, being a knight is more than enough, how can you only be a guard in one village?"

Algernon picked up a piece of wood and sharpened it, and he replied, "I used to be a knight, but my lord was taken a knight, and I was taken a knight with it." However, I can only fight, not farm, and the second young master hopes that I can help him protect the old lady, so the earl asked me to be a guard in the village. ”

Charles stretched out his hand and patted Algernon on the shoulder, and said, "Don't worry, I guess Donio won't be a cook for life, maybe he will be knighted again in a few years, and when the time comes, a loyal vassal like you will definitely restore his title." ”

The nobles in the north can be said to be people in a circle, and they form a big net by blood relations and teacher-student relationships.

Madame Verry is the honorific title given to Mrs. Verry Buffet for her artistic achievements, she is the teacher of Charles's mother Winnie McGardenen, the mother of Charles's boss in the caravan, the mother of Count Buffet who clashed with Charles and Diana on the shores of Hammer Lake, and the grandmother of the two illegitimate daughters of King Phiringen and the grandmother of the fourth and fifth princesses of the Kingdom of Friingen. Coupled with her experience teaching in Knowledge City, she was able to talk to Charles's grandfather, grandmother, and Professor Wolfe.

Charles figured this out only after seeing the young Tonyo and Count Buffet in that painting on the porch of the house.

Looking back now, it is estimated that Aubrey and Donio have known about this relationship for a long time, so Aubrey asked Charles to follow Donio, and Donny took good care of Charles, and even wanted to give him a pair of his own cabbages for this reason.

And Donio, as the one who dares to grow cabbage with the queen, is either the king's loyal confidant or the king's henchman who can't get rid of him. Seeing that he dared to follow the caravan to the royal capital, then it must be the former. Now that troubled times are coming, it is inevitable that the king will recall him again.

Algernon was surprised by Charles's words, and was relieved when Charles explained to him that he and Tonyo were working in the same caravan.

At this time, the movement in the clearing caught Charles's attention.

Two boys with wooden swords sparring each other decided the winner.

A blonde boy of about ten years old raised his sword in both hands and slashed at a dark-haired boy who was a little shorter than him, and the black-haired boy took a step forward with his right foot and took the blow from right to left with both swords in both hands.

Then the black-haired boy turned around and pushed his arm, and the long sword in his hand continued to exert force, pressing the opponent's long sword away from his body to the left, and at the same time, the sword body slid away, and his long sword was close to the hilt of the sword against the position near the tip of the opponent's sword.

At this time, the long sword in the blonde boy's hand pressed back against the black-haired boy's long sword. Although his strength is stronger than that of the black-haired boy, the place where the two swords intersect is near the tip of his sword, making him less powerful there than the black-haired boy who is resisting with the blade of the sword near the hilt.

In the end, the black-haired boy took the intersection of the two swords as the axis, and the sword body rotated with the hand crank, sweeping the blonde boy's shoulder from left to right with the strength of the other party, and hit the blonde boy's right shoulder with a "snap", so painful that the sword in the opponent's hand fell.

"Nice afterglow. Charles, who had received the Queen's golden finger, quickly saw the black-haired boy's sword moves, "His pace and posture are qualified." ”

"Alex is the most gifted kid I've ever met, he's only eight years old, but he's already far ahead of his peers in terms of swordsmanship," Algernon said. It's just that...... Alas......"

"Just what?" said Charles, in a state of curiosity.

Algernon shook his head helplessly and said, "It's nothing, it's just that he lacks in practice." ”

"Maybe it's been too fast, a little slack. Charles said.

Just like there are many talented young people on the football field, but there are only a handful of talented people like Cristiano Ronaldo who have been talented until they are in their thirties.

At this time, Algernon was called away, saying that a wild boar had appeared outside the gate of the manor.

Charles wondered if it was the dragon who had sent them this morning who had scared the boar out of the way.

He didn't follow to see the excitement, it was easy and pleasant for a knight-level person like Algernon to kill a wild boar, there was nothing to see, it was better to watch rookies pecking each other here, although he was also a rookie not long ago.

The blonde boy, whose shoulder still hurts, stepped aside to rest, leaving a proud-looking Alex standing in the middle of the clearing.

After watching it for a while, Charles found that the basic skills of such boys were quite solid, and the three basic attacks of slashing, thrusting, and cutting, as well as footwork and blocking, were all at a glance, almost reaching the passing level, which shows that Algernon has worked hard in education.

There was a sudden commotion, and Alex and a purple-haired boy clashed.