Chapter 3: Advancement to Great Knight!

The crowd began to disperse; though the emotions of those leaving varied, one thing was uniform.

The envy, jealousy, and resentment toward Gervas vanished, replaced entirely by schadenfreude.

Unfazed, Gervas arrived at the carriage parking area, only to immediately frown.

As expected, his half-brother, that "good brother" of his, had not returned on time to pick him up after touring Saint Bit City.

This meant he would have to wait here for the other's arrival; otherwise, with Saint Bit City over fifty li from the Gale Domain, walking would likely take until noon the next day.

"What is the matter, Lord Gervas?"

At that moment, an inquiring voice came from behind.

Turning his head, Gervas saw that the newcomer was none other than Magistrate Poli again.

Now that he held a title, he no longer needed to fear him; Gervas spoke stiffly, "Lord Magistrate, is there something else? Could it be that you have another unsolvable trouble for me to handle?"

Poli choked slightly, but such an old fox simply did not care about saving face.

This time, he had come to reconcile with Gervas.

A second son of a minor noble was nothing, but a Baron was a peer one truly had no need to make an enemy of or incur the hatred of.

"Lord Gervas jokes; previously I did commit some offenses, but that was out of necessity!"

"Thus, I have come now to express my apologies!"

Behind Magistrate Poli led a horse, on whose back lay long swords, lances, leather armor, shields, and other weapons and equipment.

The horse was not a true warhorse, but it was still worth several gold coins.

The leather armor and long swords were brand new; the shield and lance, as a complete set, also cost several gold coins.

"Lord Gervas, you are now a lord as well; you certainly need a mount and equipment. This is my apology!"

Since the man had come offering gifts, how could Gervas possibly refuse?

Moreover, accepting this fellow's gift, he felt perfectly at ease.

With a mount, Gervas no longer needed to worry about being hindered in his movements.

After exchanging a few flattering words with Poli, he prepared to take his leave; of course, before departing, Gervas suddenly remembered something.

"Magistrate Poli, since I have accepted your gift, I shall tell you something as well: just now, while seated, I overheard several second sons of nobles discussing."

"They said your wife frequently visits Viscount Kato's manor, and just now, I seemed to see her heading in that direction..."

Having spoken, Gervas urged his horse forward, galloping directly toward the gates of Saint Bit City, leaving Magistrate Poli petrified on the spot.

"Inside the large tree three hundred meters south of Kent Street; this should be the place, right?"

In the southern district of Saint Bit City, after entering, Gervas headed straight here.

Although he had become a noble, ten gold coins still represented a considerable fortune, and he certainly would not let it slip away.

The target tree stood beside a well; it was a crooked-neck tree.

Gervas circled around and indeed discovered a tree hollow in the trunk.

However, the opening of the hollow was too small; his hand could not fit inside.

But this did not stump Gervas.

If it were before, he would certainly have tried to retrieve it in the middle of the night.

But now, with his noble status, he simply drew his long sword from the saddle and began hacking and chopping at the tree hollow to widen it.

Many commoners nearby watched from a distance, yet no one dared to approach to stop him or ask questions.

After all, the horse and the long sword were enough to prove Gervas's distinct status.

In just a moment, the hollow was enlarged by several centimeters; Gervas stopped and reached inside.

Immediately, he felt a soft linen cloth bag.

He took out the linen sack, slowly unwrapped the bundle, and ten gleaming gold coins immediately came into view.

"Got it!"

Quickly covering the gold coins again and tucking them into his chest, Gervas mounted his horse and departed with flair.

He did not linger in Saint Bit City; Gervas felt it was better to return before that "good brother," as many matters would then be easier to arrange.

Without pausing, he galloped thirty li in one breath; by the time he reached Maple Town, it was dusk.

Gervas simply decided to rest and spend the night here.

Of course, beyond that, a more important reason was that within the nearby maple forest stood a Red Spirit Fruit tree.

After casually eating a couple of bites of dry rations, Gervas slipped into the maple forest in the dark.

The reason for specifically choosing to enter at night was that the Red Spirit Fruit belonged to potion plants, which emitted a faint glow at night.

Therefore, it was certainly easier to find than during the day.

Of course, such matters should only be done in areas of human activity; never do them deep in the ancient forests, or one would very easily become fodder for demonic beasts or wild beasts first.

"Found it! Truly unexpected that such a precious Red Spirit Fruit exists in a maple forest like this!"

After searching the maple forest for about half an hour, Gervas found the Red Spirit Fruit.

Holding the fruit, which emitted a faint red glow, in his palm, Gervas's heart was pounding.

This possessed extraordinary power; battle qi was one such power, and every noble possessed it.

Yet in the past, as a second son, Gervas, although he practiced the family's battle qi breathing method, lacked sufficient resources and time; even now, he was merely an ordinary knight, unable to even reach the rank of Great Knight.

Unlike his elder brother, the family's eldest son, who, due to the family's concentrated resources, condensed a seed of battle qi at fifteen and broke through to become a Title Knight.

Knights in this world are divided into two types: one consists of ordinary people, which can be further divided into Knight Squires, Knights, and Great Knights!

And above the ordinary knights, naturally, are those who have mastered extraordinary power; knights possessing battle qi are collectively called Title Knights, with specific realms being Bronze Knight, Silver Knight, Gold Knight, and Earth Knight.

Although Gervas could become a Title Knight through persistent cultivation and body strengthening in the future, if he dragged it out until his twenties or thirties, the mustard greens would already be cold.

Holding the Red Spirit Fruit, Gervas returned to the edge of the forest and immediately consumed it.

The fruit melted upon entering his mouth, transforming into a warm current that began surging through his entire body.

The sensation was so pleasant that Gervas let out continuous moans.

Through inner vision, he saw that both his body and his meridians were strengthening.

Daring not to delay, Gervas quickly calmed his mind and began circulating his family's breathing technique.

Practicing breathing now would completely prevent the medicinal effects of the Red Spirit Fruit from dissipating.

Until dawn the next day, Gervas stood up.

With a hum, a faint red light shimmered on his palm; he gripped the sword hilt and slashed forward with a sudden, fierce draw.

With a crack, a maple tree as thick as a bowl was severed cleanly in two.

The cut surface was flat and decisive, without a single trace of hesitation or messiness.

"This medicinal effect is truly incredible! I have become a Great Knight! Haha!"

Gervas laughed heartily; this Red Spirit Fruit had greatly strengthened both his body and his meridians.

Within his battle qi, which had previously shown no sign of change, there now appeared signs of condensation.

Although the release of battle qi just now could only be sustained for two or three seconds at his current level.

That was merely one strike.

Yet this was already a very significant improvement.

This was equivalent to at least one or two years of cultivation, bringing his strength directly to that of a Great Knight.

More importantly, with his meridians strengthened, his previously slow absorption of battle qi, which had been like water in field ridges and ditches, had become as swift as a babbling brook.

At this speed, it would not be long before his seed of battle qi could fully condense.

That night, the townspeople of Maple Leaf Town slept uneasily, as strange, sinister laughter kept drifting in from outside the town.

The next day, the Magistrate led the guards in a search around Maple Leaf Town, yet they found nothing.

Since then, a legend has spread in Maple Leaf Town that ghosts wail in the darkness outside the town.