The sun shone brightly on the earth, and the clouds danced in the sky.

The wind blows the green leaves, and the wild grass on the vast plains rises and falls like waves.

In the summer of the seventh year of Silver Moon, the entire continent was still struggling between iron and blood, siding with Gray's side...... Or rather, the forces siding with Jones and Rich, the Holy See of the White Bone Light, are brewing a counterattack.

It will be a decisive battle on a grand scale, a clash of iron and blood before the dawn comes. Even in the name of justice, there are still countless families that will be broken.

Sounds terrible, doesn't it? The pursuit of beauty has to pay a price. And until the good is realized, it will only exist in your mind, and you don't even know if it will become real.

Whether it is an individual, an ethnic group, or a force, they have all become gamblers at this moment, sitting at the gambling table, and pressing everything they have.

The future is uncertain, but at least for the moment, the world is wonderful.

For example, sunlight in the sky, such as a touch of green in the forest.

On the outskirts of the White City, the "arena" built by Irene was crowded with people and erupted in cheers.

Saying that it is an "arena" is actually a bit of a stretch. To be precise, it should be a gladiatorial arena with a partly stone building, mainly enclosed by a fence. A large group of war horses ran inside, making the mud and sand roll, and if there was another rain, it would probably turn into muddy land in the countryside.

In extraordinary times, Irene obviously doesn't have the budget to build this place perfectly, but it can't be without, because Irene needs to choose new knights. Selected from among the civilian population.

This was not possible in the past, because one more knight meant one more ration. Even without considering the knight's personal expenses, the lord had to protect the knight's equipment and horses. Not many lords are willing to add to their burdens unless war is imminent.

Obviously, now is it.

The junior group lined up on the periphery of the arena to examine their bodies, grinning like cattle, raising their hands and turning around like cattle. Once qualified, they will be allowed to become soldiers.

Those in the intermediate group are already testing their fitness. They were required to be able to lift a hundred kilograms of iron for fifteen seconds.

This requires...... It's actually a bit high. At least not so high the requirements for noble knights before.

Of course, the current situation is a bit special, after all, they are really going to go to the battlefield after taking office, so the high point is also deserved.

After passing the test in the Intermediate group, they will be able to become a Knight Servant. After three years, you will be able to become a full-fledged knight with a simple assessment.

And if you don't want to wait three years?

No problem, there's still a way. As long as you defeat an official knight in the advanced division, you're good to go.

This is the most valuable part of the entire arena.

The vast majority of participants who passed the intermediate test will not be willing to stop at the title of knight. You have to try it anyway, don't you?

So, they all take the advanced group test.

Irene's double rosemary banner hunts in the wind.

A full ten knights sat in a row on the rostrum to select the challengers, and we also saw some familiar faces among them.

Halls, Irene's henchman, was the one who kicked the children who followed Gray out of the barracks before the Battle of White City. Compared to when I first met Gray, my hair was already a little gray.

Mike Barak. Well, it's the horsetail knight, Irene's admirer and die-hard loyalist. Years later, he is still Irene's admirer and die-hard loyalist, while still wearing a ponytail. Compared with the beginning, there are probably a few more crow's feet at the corners of the eyes, which is a little more mature.

Paz Keller, the former leader of the Red Scorpion Mercenary Group, just started flirting with her sister without paying attention to the ball. Now he is no longer a mercenary, he is the head of the knights under Irene, although he still brings his original mercenary group.

Forehead...... Let me put it another way, Ireen bought the Red Scorpion Mercenary Group. That's about it.

A strong man who had just passed the intermediate test came up to them and hesitantly stretched out a hand to point at Halls.

Hall looked at him with a blank expression.

Trembling slightly, the strong man withdrew his hand again, trying to point at Mike on the other side.

Mike stood up with his sword in his hand, and the strong man withdrew his hand in fright.

The scene was a little awkward...... After all, none of the ten knights present were easy to mess with. At least for humans, even those who have passed the intermediate test.

The gap between knights who have been trained all year round and ordinary people is not only in physical fitness, but also in combat skills. This is also the reason why being a knight can be promoted naturally after three years, but passing the intermediate test can only be promoted if you defeat a knight.

For someone who is not a knight or even a mercenary, it is extremely difficult to defeat a knight. Ninety-nine percent of challengers fail to pass the advanced test directly.

"Have you chosen?" asked Abby Robles, who was standing aside and was in charge of the host, softly.

Abby Robles is the confidant and counselor of that Irene.

Hesitating, the strong man finally pointed to Paz: "It's him." ”

One by one, the people watching from the periphery of the fence craned their necks to watch and began to discuss.

"Why did you choose him? Paz seems to be quite strong. ”

"Paz was a mercenary before, and he was good at foot combat. But I've heard that horse warfare isn't very good. Maybe he wanted to challenge Paz with a horse fight. ”

As soon as the words fell, sure enough, the strong man shouted at the top of his voice: "I choose a horse to fight!"

"Paz, horse war. Abby Robles repeated.

Path's expression froze.

Mike, who was standing next to him, laughed out loud and whispered, "Look, I'll just say that someone will definitely challenge you to fight." ”

"This guy thinks I'm a bully, don't you?" Paz sighed helplessly and stood up with the hilt of his sword.

At the same time, Hall also stood up with the hilt of his sword and quietly left the table.

......

In the backstage tent, Hall silently took off his cuirass, then clutched his chest, his expression distorted, and his forehead was covered with sweat.

"What's wrong? Uncle Halls. ”

Turning around, Hall suddenly found that Irene, who was wearing a pale yellow dress, had come behind him at some point.

When she first met Gray, Ireen was only seventeen years old. At that time, she was beautiful and immature, but she was extremely strong, and she stubbornly wanted to support the entire principality and turn the tide on her own. When Baicheng faced the 40,000 army alone, he brought that youthful stubbornness to the extreme.

If God had favored Irene, it would have been at that moment. Like a miracle, a knight who fell from the sky took her through the most difficult time of her life, and at the same time, engraved her name into the history books.

The allegiance of the paladins and the Lich King is so important that even the gods and demons have to weigh it.

Now, ten years have passed, and Irene's body has long since lost her immaturity and impulsiveness, and has been replaced by a calm and composure like frost. Of course, pride and stubbornness remain. It's engraved in the bones, and you can't wash it off.

"Ahem......" Looking at Irene, Halls coughed heavily, relieved his breath, and then said softly, "It's nothing, it's just a little uncomfortable." ”

Irene asked softly, "Is it because of yesterday's competition?" I heard that a challenger had a hard time with Uncle Hall yesterday. ”

"Yes. Hall nodded and sighed, "Yesterday's ...... It's really strong. I didn't expect any of the challengers to reach that level. I just scrapped a cuirass, and I couldn't repair it. If it weren't for my better equipment than him, I would have won against him. ”

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the tent. All of a sudden, it attracted the attention of Irene and Halls.

......

"Paz wins!" Abby Robles proclaimed, standing on the podium, "The challenger is also very good, and we sincerely hope that he can continue to do the best work!"

The challenger, who was knocked off his horse, walked away in disgrace.

Paz stood in the middle of the field and raised his hands in the air, but was greeted by a wave of boos.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing? I won! Is that how you treat the winner?"

Mike stood on the rostrum and shouted, "Jumping directly on the opponent's horse, what is the difference between you and foot combat?"

"Hey, Ma Zhan can't land, you have to admit that I really didn't land. The rest, how do you care how I win?"

"You're just not honorable anyway!"

"You care about me, anyway, I didn't foul!"

Paz scolded and walked back, and the boos on the field grew louder.

......

In the tent, Ireen turned her gaze back to Halls, and said softly, "Uncle Halls should be the strongest of all the ten knights, especially the horse battle. ”

"Theoretically. Hall spread his hands: "But I'm not young anymore. Human beings are different from gods and demons, gods and demons become stronger and stronger as they age, and human beings will gradually weaken after their peak. Maybe in another ten years, I won't be able to play at all. ”

Irene smiled and said, "I think Uncle Hall can fight for another twenty years." ”

"Hahahaha, cough cough cough...... I hope so, too. After thinking about it, Hall added: "If there is anyone in this selection who is most worthy of the knighthood, I think he should be him." ”

"But he lost to Uncle Halls. ”

"No, he actually won, he just lost to the rules and landed. If it's on the battlefield, it's me who will die. Even when I was younger, I had to fight him to a draw. And judging from his age, he still has room for improvement. I guess he should have had full knightly training. ”

"Civilians who have received full knightly training but do not have the title of knight...... It's a rarity. What's his name?"

"Hmm...... It seems to be called Alvin. Alvin Schmidt. ”

"Elwin...... Schmidt?" Irene frowned, hesitating.

......

At this moment, a boy named Alvin Schmidt was lying motionless on a lawn three kilometers away from the arena with weeds in his mouth, looking at the blue sky and the clouds flying in the sky.

White shirt with rolled sleeves. Brown trousers rolled up at the legs. Brown hair, fair face, eyebrows full of heroism, but also a cynical taste.

"Elwin, Elwin!" a middle-aged man in a blue robe, like a businessman, with gray hair walking up to him from afar, holding his sleeves, shouted, "What are you still doing here? I'm looking for you everywhere!"

That's his dad.

Alvin silently turned his back.

Father panted and came to Elwin's side and shouted, "Don't you know that the knight selection is going on today?

"I went yesterday and lost. Alvin replied quietly.

"Then you can go again today! Didn't you have the doctor check you yesterday? If you are not injured, you can try it again! They don't stipulate that a person can only challenge once! Halls is too strong, it doesn't matter, some are knights who are weaker than him. And I don't understand, why would you want to challenge Halls? If you were challenging someone else, you might have passed the competition."

Alvin glanced back at his father, then turned his face away and whispered, "I said, I'm only going once." Losing is losing, and I don't have the face to go again. ”

"What are you doing here?" the old father's eyes straightened: "I've been practicing for so many years, and now you don't want to go?"

"The knighthood is useless. A true knight should be recognized by everyone, not just a title bestowed by a lord. And I already had the title of knight. ”

"Where did you get the title of knight?"

"The head of the regiment promised me. ”

Head...... Refers to Gray. Yes, this is one of the children who was a member of the Knights of the Silver Moon and charged with Gray. Now he's grown up.

As soon as he heard this, the old father became angry: "The regimental commander promised to give it to you, then you should go and get it! Now that he himself is gone, do you still count on him? Without the title of knight, he is not a nobleman." If you are not a nobleman, you have no territory. There are no territories...... So what's the point of being a knight? I spent so much money on you, and I found someone to train you, didn't all the money go to the water?"

Alvin remained silent, and continued to lean his arms with his back to his father.

The father couldn't hold it back, so he reached out and began to pull.

"Get me up! Get up! Understand? Go and beat me a knight at will, hurry! You can do it! If you don't work once, twice, twice, three times...... If it doesn't work three times, you'll get out of here! What's the use of asking you to be such a broken son?"

"I'm not going!"

"If you don't go, get out of here now!"

"Get out of here!"

Alwin, who was lying on the ground, bounced up, and instead pulled his father to sit on the ground.

"I'm going to wander now, to be a wandering knight. Protect the weak and save the innocent. I'm sure I won't be able to defeat the dragon, but maybe I'll meet a princess who will marry me?" With his hands in his trouser pockets, Alvin stepped on the turf and walked home.

The father quickly got up from the ground and chased after him.

"No, you can't roll, even if you want to roll, you have to give me a chance to participate in the competition first, and then get out after the competition!"

"I'm not going!"

"You rebel, do you want to me off? I'm your father!"

"I'm still your son, can you not be so me?"

Scolding and scolding, the two fathers and sons walked like this. When I got home, my father was so dry that he couldn't speak. It's the son, who is very comfortable. Apparently he was already used to his father.

Finally, the two walked into the alley where their family lived, and saw the cavalry guarding the mouth of the alley from a distance.

Yes, there were cavalry guarding the mouth of the alley, two. One of them looked like a cavalry captain or something.

The two sides looked at each other silently for a few seconds, but they didn't say a word.

Bowing his head slightly, Alvin walked past the two horsemen.

The two horsemen continued to look at the father and son in silence.

When the father and son walked to their door and took out the key to open the door, the cavalry captain spoke: "Hey, are you Mr. Alwin Schmidt?"

The father and son looked back in unison.

"Uh...... Yes, it's me. Alvin hesitated and replied, "What's the matter?"

"The Grand Duke of Beshire wants to see you, please come with me to the castle now. The cavalry captain replied.

n.