Attack

Just then, the carriage curtain was lifted, and a figure flashed out from inside. It was Knight Marshall, holding a greatsword. The servants rushing ahead had already reached the coachman and were about to strike him. The Knight Marshall's greatsword flashed with white Battle Qi, cleaving the servant, the horse beneath him, and everything in between into two halves from head to toe. Blood sprayed out several meters like an explosion, drenching the servants following behind, who froze in stunned silence.

While they were stunned, Knight Marshall was not. The knight leaped from the carriage, his greatsword slashing horizontally towards a servant's neck. Before the servant could even react, his head had already flown off, tumbling through the air and landing in front of Joshua's horse.

Joshua was stunned by the scene before him, his body going weak. He fell from his horse.

In that instant, Knight Marshall had already killed five of the other ten servants. The remaining five were no longer on their horses, their swords discarded on the ground. Facing an official knight wielding Battle Qi, they all lay on the ground, trembling. The power of a knight was a deeply ingrained memory for these commoners.

Abel was also startled by Knight Marshall's actions. Ferocious, direct, and swift – that was the impression Knight Marshall gave him, vastly different from the knight who always smiled.

"You... You are a knight, sir. I am the eldest son of Lord Joel. I demand treatment as a noble prisoner of war," Joshua stammered, speaking to Knight Marshall.

Noble prisoner of war treatment was a unique way of handling captured nobles in this era.

Firstly, according to the rules of knighthood, if a knight fought honorably, their victory or defeat was less important. Therefore, as long as they fought bravely, being captured was not a disgrace for a knight.

Secondly, most knights held economic and political status. The condition for their release after capture was a ransom. For example, if a high-ranking lord was captured, a subordinate knight had an obligation to act as a hostage and pay a ransom.

Finally, with frequent warfare and shifting fortunes, who could guarantee they wouldn't be the one captured next time? Thus, captured individuals were treated well and released for a ransom.

Knight Marshall looked at the rookie knight, who had collapsed without a fight, with a mocking expression, considering whether to treat him according to the noble prisoner of war protocol.

"Joshua?" At this moment, Abel jumped down from the carriage and saw Joshua on the ground. He truly hadn't expected that such a minor conflict would lead this noble scion to bring people to attack him.

"You know him?" Knight Marshall vaguely understood the reason for the attack. However, even in the city, he rarely heard of people bringing an entourage to attack someone after a conflict. Still, the knight handed the decision-making power to Abel, seeing it as a good opportunity to cultivate Abel's abilities. He continued, "Abel, you decide this matter."

Abel didn't care about Joshua's life or death, but taking Joshua's life wouldn't benefit him much. It was more practical to demand more benefits. He figured Knight Marshall wouldn't find too much gold problematic.

"Then take him back to the castle. Joshua, you will receive noble prisoner of war treatment."

Upon hearing Abel's decision, Knight Marshall's lips curved into a satisfied smile. Abel had chosen a demand for ransom that would benefit the castle's development over personal revenge.

Abel's thinking was actually quite simple. Joshua's strength was too poor; he couldn't possibly become his opponent. If Joshua were an official knight, then he would consider the noble prisoner of war treatment. A dead enemy is a good enemy.

The rest was up to Abel. He untied the belts of the five servants and bound their hands behind their backs.

Except for the unlucky draft horse that was cleaved in two by Knight Marshall's sword, the other eleven draft horses, with the help of the coachman, were lined up. The captives were thrown onto the saddles. Abel himself mounted the fiery red warhorse and followed behind.

Joshua was placed on the first draft horse. Abel also took out his belt. Although his hands weren't tied, if Joshua dared to run, his pants would fall down. Moreover, as long as Joshua wasn't as foolish as a pig, he wouldn't dare to flee in front of an official knight.

Only now did Joshua realize that he had attacked the owner of Hari Castle, and Abel, whom he had called a little blacksmith, was the heir to Hari Castle. At this moment, Joshua's only thought was that the first thing he would do upon returning was to kill the servant responsible for monitoring Abel.

Upon returning to Hari Castle, Abel handed the captives over to the steward, Linsey. The handover of the captives and the payment of the ransom would be handled by Steward Linsey in negotiations with the other party's steward. As nobles, they would not concern themselves with these matters. The ransom paid would have a basis, determined by Joshua's identity and the consequences of his actions. Everything would be left to the stewards to negotiate.

Abel returned to his original life. Every morning, he would train, forge at the blacksmith shop after breakfast, and return to the castle in the evening to practice the knight's breathing technique before resting.

He lived a routine life for a month. During this month, Abel forged five hundred-refined longswords, but they were all made using the methods of this world, without any special carburization or quenching techniques. His solid, conventional craftsmanship greatly pleased Master Bentham. Regardless of how good one's secret techniques were, fundamentals were the most important. Abel's emphasis on fundamentals earned him Master Bentham's praise.

One morning, Master Bentham called out to Abel, "Abel, come with me."

Master Bentham's room was in the inner chamber of the master's dedicated workshop. Entering the room, the master took a large, heavy book from an iron chest in the corner and placed it on the table. He said to Abel, "My teacher was the dwarf forging master, Master Robin. That year, when humans and dwarves reached an agreement to jointly resist the orcs, I was sent to the dwarf tribe to study forging due to my forging talent."

As if recalling that time, Master Bentham's eyes grew distant. He spoke of those days in an almost murmuring tone:

"Those were the best of times. I could learn new knowledge every day. The forging techniques of the dwarves, honed by their innate talent and tens of thousands of years of exploration, had become unique. Legend has it that the most powerful dwarf master craftsman once helped a deity forge a divine weapon.

And Master Robin, in addition to forging ordinary weapons, could also forge magic weapons. The first time I saw a magic weapon, I told myself that was what I wanted to learn, my lifelong goal.

Master Robin taught me many things without reservation. When I had learned all I could, I asked Master Robin to teach me how to forge magic weapons, but he told me I didn't have the talent for forging magic weapons."

At this point, Master Bentham's expression became somewhat agitated. He continued, "After my studies concluded, my teacher gave me a final hope: this Magic Weapon Forging Book."

"When I returned, I searched everywhere for the reason why I couldn't forge magic weapons. I finally discovered that only spiritual power could trigger the array diagrams in the magic weapon forging process. Those who possessed spiritual power had basically all become wizards. Who would come to study forging? Until I met you."

Hearing the word "wizard," Abel's heart stirred. Hadn't he been searching for news about wizards? This was the first time he had clearly heard about magic?

"I am old now. I will not have the chance to forge a magic weapon in this lifetime, but you are my student. I hope you can forge a magic weapon." Master Bentham's eyes were filled with pleading.

"Master, I will do my best," Abel nodded earnestly.

With almost reverent devotion, Master Bentham handed the large, heavy Magic Weapon Forging Book to Abel.

Abel took the book. It felt very heavy in his hands. Just like in the legends, although dwarves were short, they always considered themselves descendants of giants, so everything they made was as large as possible.

This book was a perfect embodiment of that tradition. Opening the pages, the content was also very direct. The first page was about fire attribute magic weapons. In the middle was a drawing of a sword, front and back, with strange runes. There was a groove on the hilt, with instructions to install a fire magic stone. The last line described the functions of fire attribute weapons and the configuration of fire rune magic potions, which could provide fire damage to the weapon.

The second page was about ice magic weapons, also with a drawing of a sword, front and back, with strange runes and a groove. It required installing a water magic stone. The last line described the functions of ice magic weapons and the configuration of ice rune magic potions, which could provide slowing effects and ice damage to the weapon.

The third page was about lightning magic weapons, and the fourth page was about poison magic weapons.

The book had only four pages. Abel inwardly complained about the dwarves who made this book, cramming four pages of content into such a clumsy, oversized tome. However, seeing Master Bentham's devout expression, he dared not voice his thoughts.