A Newfound Wariness

Without a sound, the unexpected battle gradually drew to a close.

With a knight who had activated a Life Seed on their side, the outcome had been decided the moment the two Bloodthirsty Orcs fell.

Feeling their companions fall one by one, despair showed in the orcs' eyes. Yet instead of breaking and fleeing, they were driven to fight with renewed ferocity, launching desperate attacks at the soldiers around them and inflicting heavy losses on Knight Flar's men.

By the time the battle ended, only a handful of warriors were still standing.

In any case, this band of orcs had been formidable. They had possessed the strength of an entire small tribe, including three Bloodthirsty Orcs. Victory had come at a terrible cost.

A great many warriors lay fallen. Most of the survivors were powerful Rookie Knights.

They came from noble families and had been equipped with the best armor and weapons. They were also physically stronger than ordinary soldiers, so it was only natural that they had survived to the end.

Looking over the scene, Flar fell silent. Then he slowly raised his head and gazed in the opposite direction, a fierce light in his eyes.

That was where Arthur had been.

If Arthur hadn't risked his life to hold off the Bloodthirsty Orc earlier, the outcome might have been completely different. Even with Flar's strength, if he had been surrounded by a large force of orc warriors, he would have had no choice but to abandon the main force and escape alone.

At the thought, he sighed softly.

Reason told him that Arthur had probably met with misfortune by now, but the Bloodthirsty Orc still hadn't returned.

That left a glimmer of hope in his heart. He gripped his sword and strode forward.

However, after following the traces of Arthur's battle with the Bloodthirsty Orc for some distance, Flar found him—and what he saw left him stunned.

Blood had stained the surrounding earth red, and it had already dried.

The corpse of a towering orc lay still on the ground. Beside it stood Arthur, his legs a bloody mess. He looked badly injured.

Flar's eyes widened at the sight, and he could no longer maintain his stern expression. "You!"

He stared blankly at Arthur. It took him a long moment to react, and when he spoke, his voice carried a hint of excitement. "You activated your Life Seed?"

Hearing the voice from nearby, Arthur weakly raised his head. He was pale from the loss of blood.

He didn't answer. Instead, a trace of Life Energy slowly appeared around him, spreading the familiar aura.

Seeing him in this state and sensing the unique aura of a Life Seed, Flar froze.

The battlefield behind them was quickly cleared.

They were still in the wilderness, where there were too many beasts. A fierce battle had just taken place, and the thick stench of blood could easily draw them in.

They stripped the fallen warriors of their armor and weapons and gathered them up. The seriously wounded were placed in the wagons that had previously carried supplies, and Arthur was among them.

They moved quickly. In about half an hour, the group set off again, heading back toward their previous destination.

After they had left, several unfamiliar figures appeared on the battlefield behind them.

They were all dressed in light green uniforms, well suited for concealment in the mountains. Now they stood silently, watching in the direction Arthur and the others had gone.

"I thought an ordinary knight would be coming this time. I never expected it to be Flar, the man known as the Mad Lion," said a tall, gaunt man, gazing into the distance with a calm expression. "Those orcs were unlucky to run into Flar and the Guard Army he leads."

"Indeed." Another man wore a helpless expression. "Three hundred uninjured orc warriors, along with three Bloodthirsty Orcs—either of the other two knights would have been enough to deal with them."

"But who could have guessed that Flar, the Guard Army's commander, would come in person? With his strength, even without that elite Guard Army of his, there was no way we could have kept him here."

"He's probably not far from Great Knight rank. Unless the commander came in person, those orcs would never have been able to hold him." The gaunt man shook his head. When he mentioned the commander, his eyes shone with fervent confidence.

"Actually... if we'd made our move just now, we might have been able to keep him here," said a tall, expressionless woman beside them, frowning slightly.

"The risk was too great," someone replied. "Don't let his weakness fool you. He could certainly still activate his Life Seed once more. Even if he wouldn't be a match for us once he unleashed it, we still couldn't have held him. Then things would have become troublesome."

"Running into orc warriors equal in number to an entire tribe could still be dismissed as a coincidence. But if several enemy knights appeared right after the orcs, even a fool would see something was wrong—let alone an old fox like Flar."

"If he grew suspicious, our plans might be exposed, putting us in unnecessary danger."

"What a pity!" The woman frowned. Only after a long while did she say that.

Elsewhere, as he lay quietly in the wagon, Arthur sensed that something was wrong.

Someone was watching from nearby just now. The thought crossed his mind.

"Chip, send me the footage from just now," Arthur ordered the Chip in his mind.

The next moment, a mass of information flooded into his mind. The earlier scene played backward like a film, replaying over and over.

A strange sense of unease washed over him. In the footage, Arthur thought he caught a glimpse of several figures flickering past the edge of his field of vision at one point.

They had been moving incredibly fast, far beyond the speed of a Rookie Knight. They had also been wearing camouflage clothing. Without the Chip's alert, Arthur would never have noticed anything unusual under normal circumstances.

"Analysis complete: target speed exceeds human limits. 78.4% probability of Knight Rank!"

"Every one of them was a Knight?" Arthur's mouth twitched. He looked up at Knight Flar in front of him and suddenly felt a little afraid.

What would have happened if I hadn't stayed behind earlier and had left instead? The question suddenly occurred to him.

They had coincidentally met in the wilderness, and the group had hidden nearby, silently watching them fight the orcs. Clearly, they were enemies. It was even possible that the other side had been behind the orcs' appearance.

Assuming the worst, perhaps those people had been lying in wait to wipe them all out and make sure no one escaped.

As for why they had let the group break through, Arthur guessed they had misjudged Knight Flar's strength. When they realized they couldn't keep everyone there, they had stayed hidden instead of revealing themselves.

We can't stay here any longer. We have to get back to the castle as soon as possible!

Although he still didn't know what the other side was after, an instinctive sense of danger led Arthur to make that decision.

He already had a ready excuse to go back. Arthur was seriously injured and should be taken to the castle to recover.

Besides, according to custom, every newly promoted knight in this region had to return to the castle to be summoned by Count Polia and granted the title of knight.

Before that, however, Arthur still had to follow the group back to the camp they had come from.

During their journey, Flar would sometimes speak with Arthur during their breaks, sharing his own experience and tactics. He seemed quite friendly toward him.

The change in their status was the reason.

Arthur had now activated his Life Seed and become a knight at the age of thirteen, nearly breaking the record for advancement in this region. His future prospects were bright.

Not to mention that Arthur had risked his life to help hold off the enemy earlier.

These two factors were the real reasons for the change in Flar's attitude.

Arthur, of course, didn't reject this friendly treatment.

He showed just the right amount of respect and eagerness to learn, which pleased Flar, who was usually stern and attentive to etiquette and detail. Flar couldn't help but grow even more fond of him.

A few days later, once they returned to the camp, Arthur expressed his wish to return to the castle to recover from his injuries.

Flar didn't object. On the contrary, he agreed that Arthur should return to the castle and meet Count Polia first, so he arranged to send him back along with some of the other wounded.

To ensure Arthur's safety, he also dispatched an additional squad of elite soldiers to protect them from bandits and beasts along the way.

After some time and a long journey, the familiar castle came into view in the distance.

Hearing the excited cheers around him, Arthur quietly opened his eyes and looked ahead.

The castle stood tall and sturdy, just as it always had. Soldiers armed with weapons were stationed on its walls.

Far ahead, a group of cavalry approached, escorting the wounded on their way.

I'm back again... Looking at the familiar surroundings, Arthur suddenly felt a wave of emotion.

The last time he had returned to this castle, he had also been brought back as a wounded man. And, by a strange coincidence, the enemies who had left him badly injured both times had been orcs.

This time, however, his body was much stronger and he had activated his Life Seed, so his injuries had healed quickly. He didn't have to be helped into the castle like before.

When the wagon reached a point not far from the castle, Arthur declined the soldier's help and climbed down on his own. Then he followed his escort toward the familiar castle.