Chapter 2

He slowly reached out and drew the sword from behind his back

Uh! Victoria looked at Pavel with a bit of confusion

Victoria stood up straight again

The soldiers were clearly well-trained; after bowing in unison, they retreated while dragging their long rifles. The last two soldiers, not forgetting their manners, even closed the large door of the room behind them.

"Lose weight," said Pavel, turning to leave without acknowledging the stunned Victoria still standing there. Just as he was about to exit the door, he turned back and added, "At this rate, you will inevitably crush a warhorse by accident!"

Victoria finally relaxed, giving Pavel a hearty hug and laughing out loud: "After all these years, I thought that even though we live in the same small town, you would never come to find me again. When I saw someone bringing this knight's sword forged with the Thousand Layers Forging Technique to see me, I thought something had happened to you, which startled me quite a bit"

"I am not joking," Pavel shook his head and said to the two sentinels in a very serious tone: "I want to see the castle lord"

The two individuals almost instinctively raised their long guns, and it took them a while to awaken from their half-dreaming state. Only then did they clearly see who was standing before them. Both let out a sigh of relief, lowered their long guns, and complained, "Uncle Pavel, why are you here so early today? You came without a sound and startled us. You must treat us to a good drink after work as compensation."

However, Victoria stroked her chubby chin, a glimmer of contemplation shining in her eyes: "We still need to get the boss's child into the Knights' Order. Hehe, in this day and age, being a knight without having to take risks is certainly better than being a blacksmith for a lifetime! Yes, that's it!"

Ah! The two little sentinels were startled, exchanging glances. The sentinel on the left quickly jumped up, drew his sword, and shouted to Bawell and his companion: "I will report to the lord of the fortress"

"Wait a moment," the sentinel on the right failed to catch him, and could only watch as that fellow rushed in like a whirlwind. After hesitating for a moment, he still did not dare to follow him in, and could only mutter softly, "The action is really quick!"

In a remote town like Luobao, there was originally no lord, nor would any noble be willing to accept a fief in a place flanked by a perilous jungle teeming with magical beasts on one side and facing a powerful neighboring country on the other. After all, despite the fact that this continent has enjoyed peace for countless years, those noble lords would still not allow their precious lives to be threatened by even the slightest hint of danger.

The two sentinels swallowed hard as they looked at the knight's sword in Pavel's hand

Oh my, is there something wrong with my ears

They are truly tired of this duty of standing guard; even being promoted to serve in the inner court would be better than having to stand here from dawn to dusk.

Although they were well aware that Uncle Pavel standing before them meant no harm, the chill emanating from the knight's sword held in Pavel's hand caused the two sentinels standing in front of him to involuntarily take a step back, shivering slightly.

Although he was still wrapped in a bathrobe, and despite his face being already filled with excess flesh, and his belly so large that he could hardly see his own feet, the moment he straightened up to bow, one could completely forget his figure and perceive him as a tall and upright knight standing before them

Bavel furrowed his brow and coughed heavily.

Treading on the mud that seemed to have never disappeared from the ground of Koloburg, breathing in the fresh morning air, Pavel turned a corner at the end of the cobblestone path and walked directly towards the residence of the "Lord of Koloburg".

The two sentinels immediately widened their mouths, and after confirming that they had not misheard, exchanged glances. The sentinel on the left suddenly burst into laughter again: "Uncle Pavel, why are you joking with us so early in the morning? If you need to pay taxes, go find Lord Shilov. If you are looking for the captain, he is practicing in the drill ground on the right. Please don't make things difficult for us with such matters."

He turned a corner and had already seen the command post of the garrison, which was also the entrance to the so-called lord's residence. The two sentries standing on either side were still leaning on their long rifles, dozing off. Pavel had already approached them, yet they had not noticed him at all. It seemed that even if Pavel walked directly through the gate, no one would pay him any attention.

Indeed, since it is still early and the lord of the fortress never comes to the main gate, the sentry standing here does not need to be overly diligent.

Pavel's blacksmith shop is the best in terms of technology on the ground of Krolburg. Whenever the weapons and armor of the stationed soldiers in Krolburg are damaged during training, it is Pavel's blacksmith shop that is responsible for the repairs. Therefore, these soldiers are quite familiar with Pavel. Although they were startled by Pavel this time, it was merely a joke.

Bavel shook his head: "I am not here to find your captain today; I am here to find the lord of the fortress."

Although he understands that being recruited as a knight apprentice now largely depends on insider dealings, this matter is rather too simple for him, the deputy commander of the Third Border Defense Corps

Pavel shook his head with a hint of melancholy, disregarding Victoria's pleasantries, and with a serious expression, said: "There are two matters!"

The residents of Krolburg, along with the traveling merchants, hold a deep affection for the castle lord, who ensures their safety yet often goes unnoticed.

However, in a strategically significant place like Koloburg, even if the military high command consists of a bunch of fools, they are well aware that it is a location that must not be overlooked. Therefore, the Third Border Corps of the Bavarian Empire's Kansa Province has stationed a border defense battalion of 5,000 troops in this small town year-round, along with an elite cavalry unit of 200 men. These two forces are commanded by a knight officer of the rank of deputy corps commander, who is also responsible for managing the finances and civil affairs of the entire Koloburg. In the eyes of the people of Koloburg, a knight is seen as an impressive officer who has stepped into the threshold of nobility, especially one of the rank of deputy corps commander. As a result, they half-jokingly and half-respectfully refer to this knight officer as the "Lord of the Fortress" of Koloburg.

Almost at the same moment the two large doors closed, the lord of the fortress suddenly sprang up from his specially designed chair with a speed that was entirely disproportionate to his physique. He stood before Baiwei and Tushuer, head held high, chest out, left hand pressed against his right shoulder, and in a deliberately lowered yet impassioned voice exclaimed: "Knight Victoria of the Secret War Knights salutes the captain"

The two young sentinels were calculating in their minds, their eyes wide open as they stared at Pavel

Yes, a standard knight

On the second day, as the sky began to reveal a milky white glow, Pavel got up

He raised the sword, squinting at the faint light in the sky, carefully examining it for a moment. He let out a slight sigh, then turned his head to look at the room where Link was still sleeping, sighed again, and casually grabbed a strip of cloth to tie the sword to his back before walking out of the blacksmith's shop.

After a while, the sentinel on the left reluctantly opened his sleepy eyes, and was clearly startled by the sight of Pavel standing before him. He shouted and pushed, waking up the sentinel on the right as well.

Victoria, have you really grown to be like that?

Following the sentinel, he traversed the long corridor and inner courtyard, and finally stood before the lord of the fortress in a large room

The sentinel smiled and stuck out his tongue, saying to Pavel, "Uncle Pavel, has the captain notified you to come and collect the worn sword and armor again? Why are you here so early today?"

Indeed, indeed," the little sentinel on the right nodded vigorously, "The lord of the fortress rarely meets with outsiders. Not to mention you, even our captain is fortunate to have the lord's feedback only a few times a year.

Between the two rows of soldiers gripping their long rifles, the castle lord, wrapped in a robe and not as famously corpulent but likely not far off, seemed to be sinking into his chair. His eyes were half-closed, giving the impression that he was asleep, yet when Pavel walked in, there appeared to be a flicker of unusual light in his eyes.

No one is unaware of what a treasured sword signifies for a knight, nor is there a knight who does not dream of obtaining an extraordinary sword.

However, this leader, who had sworn never to take up the knight's sword again, personally made this trip just to send his son to become a knight

Pavel was also amused and began to laugh, standing at the door and engaging in casual conversation with him. In just a short while, the sentinel on the left had already rushed out again, beaming with joy, though it was unclear what benefit he had received. From a distance, he called out to Pavel, "Uncle Pavel, Uncle Pavel, the fortress lord is delighted and wants you to come in."

Now, regardless of how much the legend portrays their "baron" as a lazy person, he is, after all, a knight and the vice commander of a knightly order

However, being cool does not mean one should constantly think about sending one's son to the battlefield, Victoria shook his head. He understood Pavel's thoughts, but he truly did not wish to see his superior suffer any more harm. Moreover, Victoria mumbled, "The enemies of the Empire have long been eradicated; otherwise, why would our elite knight order have been disbanded? Those nobles just want the current knight corps to be a ceremonial display, looking good is all that matters. The more combat capability they have, the more likely they are to end up disbanded like in the past. What battles are there to fight? The boss is still living in the past."

"No way," Victoria finally came to her senses after a while, but Pavel had already vanished without a trace. Victoria shook her head with a wry smile at the door: "The boss is still the boss, still so cool even now"

Although standing before him was an officer of the rank of Deputy Corps Commander, and since the dissolution of the Secret War Knights, he had chosen to come to this small town to work as a blacksmith, both of them understood that, as comrades and brothers who had gone through life-and-death situations together in those years, there were many things that did not need to be said between them

After all, compared to those provincial officials who cause chaos every time they pass through, the lord of the fortress is quite endearing in the eyes of the residents of Koloburg. This is because, apart from collecting fixed taxes, he hardly ever steps out of his residence. The flourishing commercial activities between Koloburg and its neighboring countries are also closely related to the lenient management of this lord.

Bavel ignored Victoria's expression and continued, "Secondly, I hope that if given the opportunity, you can send Link to the real battlefield. Only through the baptism of blood and fire can he become a true man!"

Indeed, in the private legends of the people of Krolburg, there are those who say that the reason the lord of the castle rarely steps outside his residence is that he is simply too lazy, too lazy even to get out of his own bed. As such legends spread, the image of this relatively kind lord has often been depicted by the residents of Krolburg and the traveling merchants as resembling some sort of gluttonous creature with a fat head and big ears, who only knows how to eat and sleep. Thus, as these legends proliferated, the portrayal of this relatively kind lord continued to be that of a being primarily concerned with indulgence and slumber.

But does this sword really have any magical qualities

Bawel calmly accepted Victoria's salute and returned it with a military gesture.

"Get down! Get down! All of you, get down!" He raised his chin with some difficulty, shooing away the soldiers on either side: "I want to have a good talk with the sword presenter and have him explain the uses of this precious sword in detail!"

"Alright," Pavel said, looking at the young faces of the two sentinels, and he smiled as well. "As long as you are not afraid of being seen or heard by your captain, who might punish you by sending you to chop wood, I will treat you to drinks until you can no longer walk"

The Baweier elephant seemed to know what they were thinking. With a deliberate loosening of his grip, a light sound of "cling" was heard as the knight's sword sank halfway into the blue stone slab below, as if it had pierced through a block of tofu. Moreover, the exposed blade of the sword surprisingly emitted a faint green glow.

If what Pavel holds in his hand is indeed a precious sword, then offering the sword during his duty might actually be quite a significant achievement

He randomly stuffed a few flatbreads into his mouth, then kindled the fire in the forge, tossed in two pieces of coal, and picked up the knight's sword that he had reforged yesterday, which had been resting nearby, but unlike usual, he did not throw it back into the rising flames.

Pavel smiled, holding the sword with both hands, and said: "While I was repairing the batch of knight swords you gave me last time, I discovered that there was a hidden sword inside. Therefore, I came to present it to the lord of the fortress. You just need to take the sword to him and tell him that the one who offers the sword thinks of him."

As Pavel thought this, he couldn't help but let out a somewhat malicious chuckle.

First, the provincial border defense corps is recruiting knight apprentices. I would like your assistance in helping my son Link join the ranks of knight apprentices