Disturbance One

In the early morning, streaks of sunlight gradually spread across the land.

At the edge of a desolate forest, the sound of horse hooves echoed all around.

Ahead lay a plain, and scattered across it were obvious signs of human activity, impossible to conceal.

"Have we arrived?"

A middle-aged man frowned as he looked at the scene before him, muttering to himself.

He wore dark white armor and rode a black horse, appearing majestic and tall, like a powerful Knight.

"It should be just ahead," a voice responded from his side.

It was a robust man, appearing to be in his thirties, also clad in armor, slowly riding up behind him.

Behind them, Arthur followed at a steady pace, also observing the traces ahead.

"Arthur."

The previously mentioned middle-aged man turned back, looking at Arthur. "Take the men ahead and scout. Remember to be careful."

"Yes, Lord Geru," Arthur replied, glancing at the middle-aged man before him. He then led the Knights behind him slowly forward.

The plain ahead was quiet. Although there were many traces, the people who had been there were long gone, leaving only an empty space.

Arthur took the lead, casually scanning his surroundings, examining the traces, hoping to find some useful information.

"Detected a large number of unknown scent molecules. Comparison result: adult male."

Upon reaching this spot, a mechanical voice sounded in his mind.

Listening to the Chip's prompt in his mind, Arthur suddenly froze.

He looked towards the west, remaining silent for a long time.

That was the direction indicated by the Chip.

During the investigation, the scent molecules of that group of people had spread westward, all the way into the distant forest.

"The direction is wrong..."

Looking in that direction, Arthur had this thought, a glint flashing in his eyes.

Before setting out, he had thoroughly studied the terrain of this area.

According to his original calculations, if those bandits wanted to escape Count Polia's territory and evade pursuit, their best option would have been to flee north.

That was the fastest and safest route to leave this territory, whether they intended to return to the border or raid the territories of other nobles, they would inevitably have to take that path.

"Lord Arthur, the inspection results are in!" a voice called out to him.

Arthur looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man leading some people towards him.

This was his deputy, named Aisila, also a powerful warrior.

"Based on the traces at the scene, those bandits should have gone north."

Aisila said earnestly, looking at Arthur with a serious expression.

His words were met by Arthur's deep gaze.

Arthur looked at his deputy, his deep and calm eyes fixed on the middle-aged man, almost making him uncomfortable.

"Go back and report to Lord Geru first. I'll have my men do a more thorough check here," he said calmly, looking at his deputy.

"This..." Aisila hesitated, a look of difficulty on his face, his eyes glancing to the side.

Following his gaze, Arthur looked in the direction they had come from.

At this moment, no one was there; it seemed they had already returned to the camp.

Seeing this, Arthur looked at his deputy with a calm expression. "Bring the others, and let's go check somewhere else."

"What?" Aisila was startled, not understanding Arthur's intention.

"I thought I saw someone pass by to the west. Perhaps some of those bandits stayed behind and hid there," Arthur said casually, his peripheral vision fixed on Aisila's face.

As he indicated his intention to search westward, Arthur clearly saw Aisila's usually calm face suddenly change.

He stood still, forcing a smile at Arthur. "My lord, we've already checked this area very thoroughly. Those bandits definitely fled north, there's no mistake..."

Before he could finish, seeing Arthur's unwavering calm gaze, he reluctantly amended with a wry smile, "Alright, if you insist, my lord."

Arthur nodded, raised his right hand, and slowly rode forward, appearing ready to scout the west.

Watching Arthur's actions, Aisila secretly made a gesture the moment Arthur turned his back, then quickly mounted his horse and followed.

As they slowly moved forward, the surrounding warriors mounted their horses and quickly followed Arthur.

Soon, they crossed the wide plain.

They crossed a small river and arrived beside a forest, then dismounted and proceeded on foot.

Here, a large number of footprints reappeared, almost completely undisguised.

Seeing this, Arthur subconsciously frowned. His attention was immediately drawn to the scene before him, and he slowly walked forward.

Around him, the other warriors moved forward. While Arthur was completely unaware, they silently surrounded him from behind.

Clang!!

The sound of a sword being drawn suddenly rang out. A flash of sword light cut through the air, faintly carrying fluctuations of Life Energy.

Clang!!

A black longsword was suddenly drawn and violently collided with the sword behind him.

"You can use a Knight Secret Skill? Who exactly are you?"

In an instant, Arthur suddenly turned his head. His longsword had been drawn at some point, and he now looked coldly behind him and said.

Before him, a shadow rapidly retreated, seemingly unable to withstand the force of the previous clash. He couldn't help but stumble back several steps.

Looking at the young man before him, Aisila's heart trembled. A hint of shock flashed in his eyes as he looked at Arthur.

"Who am I? Of course, I am your subordinate, Lord Arthur."

Not long after, hearing Arthur's words, a cold sneer appeared on his face.

"I don't recall having a subordinate of Knight rank."

Arthur's expression was calm, showing no ripples. He looked at the person opposite him with a blank face and said, "Speak, who sent you."

Across from him, Aisila did not answer the question. He remained silent for a moment before retorting with a laugh, "It seems we all underestimated you."

"You were promoted to Knight a long time ago, yet you deliberately acted as if you had just been promoted. What was your purpose?"

He looked at Arthur before him, a chilling coldness on his face, and a hint of apprehension flashed in his eyes.

It was clear that Arthur's strength far exceeded his expectations, going far beyond the scope of a newly promoted Knight.

This forced him to suspect that Arthur had actually become a Knight long ago but had been hiding it, only revealing it recently.