Chapter 111: Chapter 111

Afternoon.

After the patrol team was dismissed, Ron instinctively wanted to head to the training ground to find Instructor Morris, but after taking a couple of steps, he remembered that Instructor Morris was already dead.

For a moment, he felt somewhat lost, unsure of where to go. Just then, Captain Monte walked up behind him, patted him on the shoulder, and said to him:

“Morris passed away so suddenly that the territory probably hasn’t had time to assign you a new instructor yet. For these three days, if you’re willing, you can train with us.

“While we can’t match Morris in strength or teaching ability, I can guarantee that you’ll receive Knight-level treatment here with me.”

“Captain Monte, are you saying I can train alongside the Knights?” Ron’s heart stirred at once.

Ever since arriving in Sis Territory, he had rarely seen Knights training. Whenever he did see them, it usually meant they were setting out or returning, or engaging in playful sparring. Actual training almost never appeared within the apprentices’ field of view.

Thinking of this, Ron agreed without hesitation: “Then I’ll be troubling you for the next few days, Captain Monte.”

“No trouble at all. You have excellent talent, and I believe it won’t be long before you become a Formal Knight. When that time comes, I hope you’ll give our squad some serious consideration.”

“I will consider it carefully.”

With both Morris and Monte having extended invitations in succession, Ron already understood that it would likely be very difficult for him to team up with Justin, Karel, and the others in the future.

On one hand, the territory wouldn’t allow a Formal Knight who, at least in the eyes of outsiders, possessed extraordinary talent to idle away his time waiting for teammates whose advancement was still uncertain.

If it were only this point, Ron could actually still overcome it. After all, forming a squad required mutual trust and mutual consent. If someone harbored reluctance, then coordination was doomed to fail.

The real reason he felt he couldn’t team up with Justin, Karel, and the others in the future was actually his own circumstance. His current rate of progress was exceedingly fast; even at the apprentice stage, he was already utilizing the enhancement speed of a Formal Knight.

This was something Justin, Karel, and the others couldn’t hope to catch up with, no matter how hard they tried.

Let alone the fact that not everyone could achieve the Whole-Body Force state. Ron himself already had a clear path forward, and what remained was merely a matter of steady, grinding effort.

But for Justin, Karel, and the others, short of some heaven-defying fortune, who could guarantee they would definitely advance to Knight!

…

With a destination secured, Ron temporarily scrapped his plan to go home and find Jason. Instead, he followed Captain Monte all the way west. After passing the training ground, they continued heading west.

It wasn’t until they spotted a road extending northward that Monte led everyone and turned toward the north, where the garrison camp manned by Formal Knights was located.

Ron had originally assumed Captain Monte would bring him to the training ground. When they passed by the training ground just now, most of the apprentices had already headed over, and the instructors were still the same ones as before.

The few apprentices whose instructors had been killed would also seek new arrangements, just like Ron was doing now. For instance, joining under another instructor, or leveraging family connections to find a new one.

During this time, Ron hadn’t forgotten to find Justin, Karel, and the others to explain his whereabouts. Upon learning that they had already found a new instructor, Ron couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief.

…

“Let’s go!”

Under Monte’s lead, Ron and another patrol member walked the final stretch of the straight road heading north before finally arriving at the garrison camp.

As for the other members of the patrol team, they naturally returned to their own squads. The patrol team was merely a temporarily assembled unit, with Monte serving as captain.

Once the patrol duties ended or were paused, everyone returned to their respective homes. The patrol member named Abe was originally part of Monte’s squad, so naturally he followed Monte.

…

“Hey, long time no see! You’re still alive, and I’m still alive too, haha!”

Monte greeted a Knight who came to meet him with easy familiarity, then revealed Ron’s identity, hoping the man would do them a favor and allow him to bring Ron into the camp.

“I don’t have a problem with it on my end, but he’s still an apprentice. Do you really think he can handle the training we do here?”

“Relax. After spending these past few days with him, if I still hadn’t noticed anything, then my rank as an Intermediate Knight would be for nothing.”

Seeing that the man had no intention of stopping them, Monte didn’t plan to make small talk either. He promptly led Ron and Abe into the garrison camp.

“Abe, take Ron around for a spin first and let him get familiar with the environment. Ron, go with Abe. I’ll go prepare some training equipment for you.”

After saying this, Monte left on his own. Abe, left behind, raised an eyebrow and said to Ron: “Come on, I’ll give you a tour of the camp. You’ll definitely be coming here in the future, so getting familiar with it now is a good idea. Once the Captain gets back, we’ll arrange your training plan.”

“Mm.”

Ron chatted with Abe in fits and starts, but mostly focused on observing for himself. In just the short time since entering the camp, he had already spotted more than one training method that didn’t exist on the outside.

For example, there was training similar to the Tai Chi Push Hands that Jason had previously demonstrated. Although at the Knight level, one could already fully control one’s own strength, this was under normal conditions. What about during intense combat?

Could one still maintain a state of perfect Whole-Body Force?

Much of a Knight’s training was aimed at precisely this goal: maintaining a state of perfect Whole-Body Force even in the heat of battle, deploying strength at will, and maximizing the suppression of the enemy.

Therefore, within this garrison camp, Ron also saw more people performing the same or similar training routines as the apprentices on the outside.

The territory only had about two hundred or so Formal Knights in total. Let alone fitting them into this entire garrison camp, even fitting them into a slightly larger training ground would be more than sufficient.

The reason such a large camp was still necessary was partly due to defensive line requirements, and partly because Knight training itself required considerable space.

The situation of over a hundred people crammed into a single training ground, as was the case with apprentices, would essentially never happen with Formal Knights.

…

“In the Martial Tournament three days from now, your opponents will all be apprentices. Even with your current strength, that’s more than enough to achieve a respectable ranking. But the Captain surely has higher expectations for you.

“So I’m guessing that what you’ll be training on the most in the coming days is Force-Sensing sparring. Back in the day, it was during Force-Sensing sparring that I suddenly grasped Whole-Body Force, condensed my Life Seed, and became a Formal Knight.”

Abe spoke of his past experiences with considerable pride, but when he noticed Ron’s calm expression, he reined himself in somewhat. At the same time, a shadow passed through his heart. He hated geniuses!

However, Ron wasn’t paying any attention to Abe’s mental state at this moment. His attention had already been captivated by two Knights engaged in Force-Sensing sparring up ahead.