Chapter 77: Chapter 77

Morris spoke solemnly, causing Ron’s heart to skip a beat. He was indeed more interested in those flashy Bloodline Abilities, as they would make him appear more “magical.”

But Morris’s reminder also made him realize that the body and the will were the absolute foundation of everything for a Knight. Fortunately, his fantasies about magic were just passing thoughts, and he hadn’t slacked off on his daily training because of them.

Even though this world held many wizard legends, and even wizard ruins and relics, there had never been a single living wizard. Ron naturally wouldn’t be arrogant enough to believe that he would become that sole exception.

The current Knight’s Path was quite good as well. “Civilize the spirit, savage the body” was an idea he had always agreed with, and this was also the only path to transcendence he could currently access.

If he didn’t throw himself into it fully, wouldn’t he be letting down the Instructor’s guidance!

However, Morris didn’t know that Ron was actually a mentally mature adult on the inside. Seeing Ron looking thoughtful, he assumed Ron was still dwelling on those Bloodline Abilities, so he placed his hand on the back of Ron’s hand once more.

The extreme cold, almost burning sensation appeared again. Ron was startled and subconsciously said, “Instructor?”

“What use do you think this Ability has?” Morris asked.

“There should be many uses, right? For instance, preserving food in the summer, making armor more durable, or even dissipating heat during intense combat. I can only think of these for the time being.”

“Oh?”

A trace of surprise flashed through Morris’s eyes. Originally, he had hoped Ron would suggest using this extreme cold for close-quarters combat, so he could seize upon the topic and remind him once more.

But to his surprise, Ron had mentioned something completely unrelated to combat, like food preservation. Furthermore, making armor more durable and dissipating heat during combat were entirely beyond his expectations.

Reinforcing armor was an application he was currently exploring, and the same went for heat dissipation during combat, though the latter was already in its initial stages of practical use.

At this moment, Morris suddenly realized that he was just an ordinary person, still viewing a genius through the lens of an ordinary person’s mindset. Perhaps his current reminder wasn’t a help to Ron, but would instead become an invisible shackle, restricting his development.

But considering that the other party could almost instantly conceive of these applications, this had already surpassed the boundaries of talent in a general sense; it was a manifestation of wisdom.

But wisdom…

often carries a curse!

At this thought, the look in Morris’s eyes as he gazed at Ron couldn’t help but grow somewhat complicated. A genius was genius enough, but the uncertainty brought about by wisdom might also add quite a few hurdles to his future path.

“What’s wrong, Instructor? Is there something wrong with my answer?”

“No problem. Very good, very good!”

Morris swept away the numerous distracting thoughts in his mind. In the past, he had even felt complacent about discovering a genius like Ron, but now he realized that, with his own abilities, guiding such a genius would likely prove difficult.

All he could do was remind him of things that would forever remain correct. As for the rest, perhaps the genius had already considered it far more deeply and extensively than he had.

“You’ve been out here for a while now; go rejoin your companions! Remember, the body and the will are the absolute foundation of us Knights! Do not slack off on your training in these two aspects at any moment.”

“Yes.”

Ron acknowledged the order and subsequently returned to the north side of the square to rejoin his teammates.

Before long, no more territorial subjects arrived at the square. However, Ron and the other Apprentices didn’t receive any further orders from above, so they temporarily remained in the square, reassuring the people.

…

The latter half of the night in the square was excruciating. Not only because of the winter’s biting cold, but also due to the dread of the unknown enemy. Even Ron and the other Apprentices felt highly anxious.

During one of Morris’s patrols near the tower, Ron seized the opportunity to ask him about the situation outside, but Morris didn’t disclose anything.

This only compounded the worries in Ron’s heart. He could only attempt to analyze useful information from the whistle transmissions that echoed from time to time, but the Formal Knights’ transmissions contained numerous encrypted elements.

Ron could barely deduce from the structural composition of the whistle signals that Knight squads were being constantly mobilized outside, but glimpsing further details proved exceedingly difficult.

But fortunately, he now also knew a secret that the others were temporarily unaware of: Morris had already achieved the Senior Knight rank. When the worst-case scenario arrived, Morris would surely step in, right!

…

Around dawn, everyone, including the Apprentices, was feeling somewhat dispirited. Ron also felt a bit weary, but it was mostly physical fatigue; his mind remained relatively alert.

He kept a constant watch on the outside movements. Just then, he suddenly heard a furious roar from the east, followed by the spread of a low-frequency soundwave that made his heart palpitate with dread.

He hurriedly woke the companions beside him. “Justin, stop dozing off, wake up, there might be a situation!”

Ron didn’t dare say this too loudly, terrified of waking the others and triggering a massive panic in the square. He could only violently shake Justin and the others, leaning close to their ears to repeatedly urge them awake.

Karel was the first to wake up and immediately asked, “What’s wrong? Ron, what happened?”

“A battle might be taking place in the east. To avoid being caught off guard later, go quietly wake up the other squads. Then, according to the sectors each squad is responsible for, wake the others up one by one. Remember to keep it down, and don’t cause a commotion.”

Ron softly assigned everyone their tasks, while he himself began rousing people in the sector the Blood and Fire Squad was responsible for. Truly “rousing” them, shaking them while whispering explanations.

For families huddled together, he only woke one person, letting them wake their own family members.

During this period, there were also those who sensed the anomaly and woke up on their own. Under the apprentices’ reminders, they all maintained their silence and didn’t wander about unnecessarily.

…

Clack, clack, clack…

Morris and the four other riders gradually approached from the southwest of the square. Seeing the crowd in the square gradually waking up, they couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. The Territory Guard had pursued and driven the enemy off for the latter half of the night, finally cornering that group of cultists at the edge of the territory.

But an accident had still occurred. The enemy had actually split into two groups. The ones left outside the territory were merely decoys, while another squad, led by a Senior Knight, had bypassed the encirclement and stabbed straight into the heart of the territory.

This truly startled everyone. Fortunately, Young Master Foss had made ample preparations. Several rotating Knight squads on break were stationed nearby, and they ultimately intercepted the enemy in the nick of time.

But a battle was on the verge of breaking out. Because the enemy’s true intentions had been laid bare, the combat between both sides was exceptionally fierce, and the battlefield was inching ever closer to the Bell Tower Square, where all the territorial subjects were gathered.

Morris received an order to organize the territorial subjects to seek temporary shelter at the Lord’s Castle, north of the Bell Tower. If necessary, even their current group of five wounded and sick soldiers would have to join the fray.