Perfection

Arthur retracted his gaze from Cadiz, who sat quietly beside Count Polia in the distance, a hint of confusion rising in his heart.

"Did Count Polia deliberately block the news, or is there another reason?"

He looked at Polia in the distance, thinking to himself.

Between these two possibilities, Arthur leaned more towards the latter.

The reason was simple.

Knight Flar, as the commander of the personal guard, had fought for Count Polia for many years and was absolutely one of his own.

In terms of status, Knight Flar had a distant blood relation to Count Polia, and in the entire territory, his standing was second only to Arcadia, the commander of the Black Knight Order.

With sufficient status and relationship, according to common sense, Count Polia had no reason to hide this matter from him, let alone conceal it so deeply.

Thinking of this, his gaze shifted, gradually focusing on Arcadia, who was opposite Count Polia.

In front, Arcadia wore a well-fitting formal suit, his golden hair cascading down. He looked handsome and cheerful, undoubtedly capturing the hearts of many noble young ladies at this occasion.

As if sensing Arthur's gaze, Arcadia put down his wine glass, turned, and looked into the distance.

Two sharp gazes collided in mid-air, seemingly sparking.

Arthur looked at Arcadia, who was looking back at him from afar, and a gentle, humble smile appeared on his face.

He raised his wine glass on the table, gave a toast, and then lowered his head, no longer looking in that direction, appearing low-key and silent.

The banquet raged on late into the night.

Drunk nobles and warriors were carried away by servants to rest. When about seven or eight out of ten people had left, only the last group remained, continuing the tail end of the feast.

Arcadia and Count Polia also appeared drunk, having seemingly consumed a great deal. They too returned to their respective resting places.

On the side, watching the two figures in the center depart, the knights who had been sitting nearby rose and split into two distinct groups, escorting the two away.

"How are things?"

After walking a considerable distance to outside the castle, Arcadia asked the knight beside him.

At this moment, his expression was calm, his posture upright. Although his clothes were somewhat disheveled and carried the scent of alcohol, it couldn't conceal his heroic demeanor. He didn't look like someone who was drunk at all.

Perhaps it was more accurate to say he wasn't drunk at all. His drunken appearance earlier was entirely an act.

"Things are still under control," a knight replied. "Count Polia's subordinates have a total of seven knights. One died on the front lines, and we've turned two. That leaves only four, each controlling a certain number of troops."

"And among these four, the most troublesome is that old geezer Flar."

"You missed one. Don't forget that newly promoted knight named Arthur. Counting him, there are still five people," someone interjected from the side.

"How can that be the same?" the previous person scoffed. "A mere newly promoted knight who hasn't been in the position for more than two or three months. He probably hasn't even passed his adaptation period yet. I could take care of him with one hand."

"Don't underestimate this knight. Although he hasn't been promoted for long, his strength is definitely not weak. He might even be catching up to Flar."

Standing in the center, Arcadia shook his head.

"How is that possible!"

The knights accompanying Arcadia exclaimed in unison, a flicker of disbelief in their eyes.

"It's true. My senses don't lie. This child gives me a strong sense of pressure, it's incredible."

Arcadia said slowly, then a cold smile appeared on his face. "Heh heh, if I remember correctly, he's still under fourteen years old, isn't he?"

"A knightly powerhouse at thirteen. This half-elf bloodline is truly useful. With such talent, I almost can't bear to kill him."

His expression gradually turned cold, and the killing intent on his heroic face was not concealed in the slightest.

"This..." a knight hesitated. "Since you admire his talent, why not send someone to test him and see if we can recruit him?"

"It's useless," Arcadia replied, his expression unchanged, only saying coldly, "Did you forget this child shares the same clan as that old man Polia? Why would he help us outsiders against his own uncle?"

"Besides, have you forgotten?"

He continued, "Not long ago, on the front lines, we joined forces with those orcs to trap the noble coalition. If I remember correctly, Baron Exilan died there, surrounded and brutally killed by a group of Orc Warriors."

"We just set up his father to die, and now you're talking about recruiting him?"

At this point, Arcadia shook his head and reached a conclusion: "In the entire North, anyone can be recruited, but Flar and Arthur are impossible."

On the other side, Arthur was walking alone on a narrow path. There was no one around, and it was quiet.

It was already past midnight. The sounds of insects chirping intermittently broke the silence of the night.

Unknowingly, he arrived at a flat area, his usual training ground.

The familiar place was empty. In a moment, Arthur walked to the center of the training ground, drew his sword from his waist, and stood in quiet contemplation.

"The original Knight Secret Skills become quite crude when facing the Great Knight level. They might be effective against knights, but against Great Knights like Arcadia, they probably won't serve much purpose."

Thinking of Arcadia's appearance and his terrifying physical prowess, Arthur stood still, thinking silently.

"Chip, create a task: based on existing data, perfect the Knight Secret Skills!"

After a while, he commanded the chip in his mind.

Instantly, a massive stream of information appeared in Arthur's mind.

Arthur's mind was flooded with his past insights and experiences using Knight Secret Skills, as well as those he had seen others use. All of it now surfaced in his mind, serving as reference material for the Chip, forming the foundational data to perfect the Knight Secret Skill.

"Task one established successfully. Estimated remaining completion time: four days and three hours."

A mechanical voice sounded in his mind in an instant.

Arthur stood in place, training for a while before leaving.

Several days later.

One morning, a mechanical prompt in his mind startled Arthur awake.

"Ding! Deduction complete."

Listening to the familiar mechanical voice in his mind, Arthur slowly opened his eyes and touched his forehead, finally realizing where he was.