Chapter 7: Chapter 7
“Uncle Jason!”
Ron shouted from afar, then quickened his pace toward Liya’s house. With the deep snow on the road, his side-to-side wobbling looked rather comical.
Soon, Ron arrived in front of Liya’s house. He first stomped his feet vigorously on the cleared ground to shake off the snow clinging to his shoes, then hurried over to Jason’s side, his heart pounding with trepidation as he awaited the man’s “verdict.”
“Liya came back last night and told me you want to join the territory guard. She wanted me to talk you out of it. So let me ask you now: do you truly want to join the territory guard?”
Jason’s words sent a jolt through Ron’s heart. It wasn’t that the man’s tone seemed to align with Liya’s wishes, but rather that Jason was speaking to him so calmly, which clearly meant he hadn’t noticed the swapped “inner core!”
Still, he couldn’t let his guard down yet. Ron chose his words carefully and replied, “Yes, Uncle Jason. This isn’t a spur-of-the-moment impulse. I made this choice after serious consideration!”
“Do you know that the territory guard suffers casualties every year, and that ordinary people are actually much safer? Once you join the territory guard, you’ll be stepping onto a path where life and death are uncertain. Are you truly willing?” Jason patted Ron’s shoulder and asked again.
“I’m willing!”
Ron answered firmly once more. “I know that joining the territory guard means facing all kinds of dangers, and that ordinary people in the Sis Territory are safer. But that safety is built on the premise that the territory guard protects them inside and out! Without the territory guard, a single evil spirit might be enough to slaughter every ordinary person in the Sis Territory!”
Hearing Ron’s answer, Jason fell silent instead. After a long pause, he said, “To have such understanding at your age, you are truly He Luo’s son. If he were still alive, he might well be a Senior Knight by now.”
“Are Senior Knights very impressive?” Ron asked curiously.
“Of course they’re impressive! You should know that in the entire Sis Territory, only Lord himself is a Senior Knight. If we had even two more Senior Knights, perhaps we could strike at the Aberrant Beasts’ lair and eliminate that threat once and for all!”
Only one Senior Knight, the lord?
Hearing this, Ron as a transmigrator naturally thought of a possibility: could it be that the lord, worried that He Luo would become a Senior Knight and threaten his position, had found a way to eliminate He Luo?
That possibility did exist, but judging from the current state of the territory, a lord who could tolerate ordinary people participating in territorial affairs, would he really be unable to tolerate a Senior Knight?
Furthermore, He Luo’s death had long been settled: he was killed in battle by an Aberrant Beast. This was witnessed by the territory guard and even many ordinary people, including the very Uncle Jason standing before Ron.
If there had been something hidden about He Luo’s death, either the news would have spread long ago, or “Ron” wouldn’t have survived until now.
“Then what rank of Knight is Uncle Jason now?” Ron asked.
“I condensed my Life Seed and became a Formal Knight two years ago. Compared to a Senior Knight, I suppose I’d be considered Junior!”
Jason didn’t hide this information. He even mentioned that territory guard members, before becoming Formal Knights, were not required to leave the territory for combat. Their primary daily duty was training, followed by carrying out patrols and garrison duties within the territory.
“Is it very difficult to become a Formal Knight?”
“How should I put it? It depends on each person’s talent. Some people train for a few months and advance naturally, while others need to grind away for years before they can finally make the breakthrough.”
“I understand.”
Ron lowered his head and thought carefully. In fact, from Jason’s willingness to share so much information about the territory guard with him, it wasn’t hard to tell that the man actually supported his joining. He simply hadn’t stated his position immediately, whether out of deference to his daughter’s wishes or perhaps as a deliberate test.
Understanding this, Ron felt completely reassured. He asked again, “If I join the territory guard, how can I become a Knight like you, Uncle Jason?”
“You,” Jason suddenly shifted, “haven’t even come of age yet this year, have you?”
“Huh?”
Taken aback by this question, Ron was genuinely flustered for a moment. Then it occurred to him that “Ron” was indeed still underage. The primary requirement for the territory guard’s recruitment was coming of age, meaning sixteen, and he was only half a year short.
Even more precisely, once this winter passed, he could be considered of age!
But the territory guard’s recruitment only took place during winter, more precisely within the next few days. If he missed this round, he would have to wait another whole year.
“Uncle Jason, is there really no room for flexibility? What if someone matures early, couldn’t they join ahead of time?”
“Do you look like someone who matured early?”
Jason looked Ron up and down, but the corners of his mouth kept creeping higher. “Alright, no more joking. The age requirement for territory guard recruitment isn’t actually set in stone, and it has nothing to do with physical development. What they truly assess is talent. As long as the talent is sufficient, even a ten-year-old would be welcomed into the territory guard.”
“Then what about my talent?” Ron’s heart, which had just settled, leapt back into his throat.
“Don’t worry! How could He Luo’s son possibly have poor talent! I already checked for you just now. It’s true that I’ve held you back these past few years. With your talent, if you had joined the territory guard earlier, you might already be a Formal Knight by now!”
“This,”
Ron hadn’t expected this body to possess such extraordinary talent. Just moments ago, he thought he might be on the trash-tier protagonist route, never expecting it to be a genius route instead.
This was fine too. If he could be a genius, who would want to suffer through as trash!
As he was thinking this, Jason’s voice sounded above Ron’s head once more. “You ate all the beef Liya brought you last night, didn’t you? I can see traces of Life Energy circulation in your body. This is actually a manifestation of exceptional talent!”
“Traces of Life Energy circulation? What’s that?”
“I feel it’s a bit late to be telling you all this now, but since you’ve already made up your mind to join the territory guard, let me give you a brief overview.”
With that, Jason pulled Ron over to a long bench outside the house. He ran his hand across the slightly damp seat, and it instantly became dry. Seeing Ron’s astonished expression, Jason said with no small amount of pride:
“This is just one application of Life Energy! Have a seat first, I’ll go grab something from inside.”
Ron didn’t fully understand what was going on, so he could only sit and wait. Fortunately, the snow had stopped falling, otherwise he would have seriously suspected Jason of testing him again.
A moment later, Ron heard muffled arguing from inside the house. One voice was Liya’s, another was Jason’s, and a third was trying to mediate, presumably Liya’s mother, Aunt Mary.
As for the content of the argument, Ron could guess without listening closely. It was nothing more than Liya wanting Jason to talk him out of joining the territory guard, which Jason had probably agreed to at the time, only to change his mind now.
Though Ron didn’t agree with Liya’s view, he could still understand how she felt.