Injuries

The next day, at dawn, faint footsteps sounded outside the door.

A middle-aged maid gently pushed the door open, broom in hand, about to enter when she suddenly spotted a figure inside.

She froze, then quickly recovered, unease appearing on her face. "Lord Arthur! You're back?"

Inside the spacious room, a youth sat quietly before a wooden table, wiping a black longsword with a pale blue cloth in his hand.

Only after noticing the maid outside did he turn to look at her. "Come in."

"Yes!" The maid nodded respectfully, the unease in her heart easing somewhat as she cautiously entered the room.

"During the time I was away, you were the one who kept this room clean, correct?" Arthur asked.

The maid did not quite understand why he was asking, but she still nodded. "Yes."

After asking her a few more questions, Arthur rose to his feet and took several gold coins from nearby, placing them on the table. "This is your payment for this period. After you leave, remember to have someone bring me breakfast."

The maid's heart leaped with joy at the sight of the gold coins before her. She hurriedly bowed to Arthur, swiftly gathered the coins from the table, and then left.

Only after her figure gradually vanished from his sight did Arthur stand up and murmur thoughtfully, "Eight days have passed in total. It seems the flow of time in the two worlds is roughly the same. I'll need to pay closer attention in the future."

He stood silently where he was for a while, until another set of footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Arthur! My brother!" A hearty, familiar voice came from outside.

Under Arthur's gaze, Edward, Count Polia's second son, walked over from the distance.

He wore a red shirt, a longsword at his waist, and his entire appearance was impeccably neat. A sincere smile hung on his face as he strode quickly toward Arthur.

As the other man drew closer, Arthur had no choice but to show a friendly smile. "Edward, what brings you here?"

"I only returned two days ago. The moment I arrived at the castle, I heard the news that you'd been promoted to knight."

Edward walked up beside Arthur, patted him on the shoulder, and looked at him with concern. "Where have you been all this time? We couldn't find you anywhere around the castle."

The instant Edward's hand landed on Arthur's shoulder, Arthur's body tensed. Instinctively, he wanted to explode into action and throw him off.

He quickly came to his senses and forcibly suppressed that impulse, explaining without changing expression, "I went to the forest for a while."

"Some time ago, I hired hunters around here to gather some materials for me, so I made a special trip out. I only just returned now."

Edward did not suspect much about this explanation. He merely smiled. "Next time you leave the castle, remember to inform the guards. Things aren't like they used to be. The situation around here has become somewhat chaotic, and staying outside too long is dangerous one way or another."

Ardis nodded, then asked curiously, "Has the situation at the front reached such a point already? Is it no longer safe even around the castle?"

"Not quite." Edward smiled. "Although the battle at the front is still deadlocked, judging by the news that has come back, it should be ending soon."

"However, while the main Orc forces have been suppressed, it seems some smaller tribes have headed south and slipped in through the border, wreaking havoc everywhere during this time."

At this point, he paused before continuing, "The group of Orcs you and Knight Flar encountered last time should have been one of those tribes that came south. They've all run into the northern nobles' territories now and have caused us a great deal of trouble lately."

After saying that, he patted Arthur on the shoulder again. "Rest well here for now. In another two days, an order may come down for you to lead a force and suppress those scattered Orcs."

Arthur nodded and personally saw Edward off to the door before stopping.

Two days later, just as Edward had said, once Count Polia learned that Arthur had returned to the castle, he indeed issued an order and directly sent Arthur out.

Early in the morning, Arthur rode a white horse quietly to an open stretch of ground outside the castle.

A group of warriors had already gathered there, standing in formation. Among them, Arthur spotted a familiar figure.

At the front of the formation stood a tall, powerfully built middle-aged knight. He wore black armor, and a solemn expression rested on his imposing face.

"Lord Flar!"

The moment he saw the middle-aged knight, Arthur quickly walked to the front of the group and called out to him loudly.

Hearing the familiar call, Flar turned to look at Arthur, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Arthur, long time no see."

"It has indeed been a long time." Arthur wore a respectful smile as he spoke to him.

As he spoke, he called out to the Chip in his mind, "Chip, analyze his physical data."

In an instant, the Chip in his mind responded.

Name: Flar. Strength: 3.3 (4.7). Agility: 3.1 (4.4). Constitution: 3.3 (4.5).

Arthur sighed inwardly at those figures.

More than half a month had passed since their last battle, yet the aftereffects of the other man's Life Seed eruption had still not completely faded. Without factoring in the Life Seed eruption, his current combat strength was not even equal to that of a newly promoted knight.

To a certain extent, this also showed Count Polia's predicament. Even a seriously wounded knight had to be sent out, which showed that he truly had very few people left to use.

Of course, Flar was not the only one in such a state. Arthur was not much better off either.

Name: Arthur Falkus. Strength: 3.5 (5.1). Agility: 3.3 (5). Constitution: 3.7 (5.3).

This was the result of Arthur's previous Life Seed eruption. Though his numbers looked somewhat better, his actual condition was even worse than Flar's.

After all, his physical qualities had been far superior to the other man's. For him to have been reduced to this state was already enough to show how severe the consequences were.

At that thought, Arthur silently reached toward his waist, took out a black Crystal Core, and clenched it tightly in his palm.

A familiar warm current slowly flowed from the Crystal Core throughout his body, improving his physical qualities while also accelerating the healing of his injuries.

"Soon... soon..."

Walking silently to one side of the formation, Arthur sensed the changes within his body and murmured softly.

A powerful premonition rose in his heart: when the injuries on his body had fully healed, it might also be the moment he advanced to Great Knight.

Starting today, there will be two updates a day~