The Legend of Paladin Roland

Tuen slowly lowered his bear paw, his eyes shifting back and forth between He Xi and his mother as his massive head swayed in confusion.

Then, an unprecedented excitement lit up his eyes. He clumsily tried out the sounds he had just learned, squeezing strange, heavily reverberating syllables from his throat. "Mua... Mua! Wa... can... talk... to... that... buzzing one!"

Although he was still unaccustomed to his newly acquired ability to speak, Tuen was clearly much happier after finishing the dessert.

"Buzz... buzz... tasty! Hu... man! You..." Tuen struggled to piece together a sentence. "...You... spell caster? The... the kind of... human who can cast spells?"

He Xi still did not know how to answer whether he was a mage when a voice like a great bell directly "rang" in his mind.

"Human... your Omniscient Touch... has indeed... made the whispers of mortal creatures somewhat clearer..."

He Xi instinctively raised his hands, intending to clasp his fists in salute.

But after a second thought, he gently placed his left hand over his heart and bowed slightly, offering a greeting more suited to the noble etiquette of the Lola Continent.

"Thank you for your wisdom and tolerance," He Xi said. Though slightly nervous, he tried to keep his voice steady. "You see through everything. That is indeed the spell Omniscient Touch."

"I mean no offense. I merely wished to offer a small kindness to friends who have come from afar."

Mora's massive head turned slightly, his amber eyes studying him.

In his perception, the human before him was as fragile as a stalk of wheat and posed no threat whatsoever.

Meanwhile, his son Tuen was circling the dog that could perform backflips, jumping around in excitement.

"We have followed ancient paths in our wanderings to reach this place. We will leave after staying for some time."

"During that time, your visits are welcome."

As his words fell, Mora's body merged into the depths of the forest and vanished.

With the pressure abruptly gone, He Xi let out a breath.

All that remained was to confirm whether the other party could learn a class holder's skills, and whether he could gain Parsing Points once it did.

Not far away, Bruce and Tuen were having a wonderful time.

"See that, buddy? That's called a backflip. I'm telling you, if you want to make it in human society, this move is extremely useful."

Tuen crouched on the ground, trying hard to imitate Bruce's pronunciation, but his tongue kept getting tied in knots.

"Uh... why is it useful?"

"My brother, Lord of the Shadow Courtyard, personally taught it to me." Bruce puffed out his chest proudly. "They say he used this very move to help his master trick... no, invite a Madam back home for the first time."

He cleared his throat and continued lecturing in the tone of an elder. "Still, you really need to work on your pronunciation. Back when I first spoke human language, I was already very fluent. My master even called me a genius."

Tuen did not quite understand what "inviting a Madam home" meant, but the imposing title Lord of the Shadow Courtyard had completely stunned him.

He felt that the little dog before him was unfathomable.

You could not judge a dog by its appearance.

He Xi rolled his eyes as he listened nearby.

What Lord of the Shadow Courtyard? He was just a mutt in town that looked like a schnauzer. Whenever he played hide-and-seek with other dogs, he liked to hide in the darkest corner of his own yard, where no one could find him.

Bruce really had the nerve to brag!

He walked over and interrupted the conversation between the two "brothers from different fathers and mothers."

"Tuen, you're still in your juvenile stage, right? I mean, roughly how long until you enter the next stage?"

"Uh... yes." Tuen scratched his fluffy chin. "Pro... probably another eighty years."

Just as He Xi had expected, eighty years was indeed far too long to wait.

He Xi asked again, "You asked earlier whether I was a mage. Do you want to learn spells?"

Tuen froze on the spot.

He Xi thought he had not understood and was just about to explain.

Rumble—!

A dense yellow-brown magical power instantly coiled around Tuen's body.

He fiercely swung his right forepaw at the ground. A rocky mantle of stone and earth shot up from the ground like the claw of some colossal beast, uprooting dozens of trees ahead and sweeping them away with unstoppable force!

Dust filled the air, leaving the forest in utter ruin.

Tuen turned to look at the dumbfounded He Xi and said somewhat sheepishly, "No... uh, uh... I heard... mages know lots of spells. Always wanted to compete with them... no... compare skills."

He Xi did not want to be looked down on by this fellow.

"I'm not a mage!"

"Really! I just happen to know that one little spell from before... uh... Omniscient Touch! That's all!" He hurriedly emphasized again, afraid that Tuen would hit him with another "comparison" at the level of Earth Shatter.

Tuen scratched his head and was not too disappointed.

Then he asked curiously, "Then... are you a knight?"

He Xi's heart tightened, and he hurriedly waved his hands. "No! Absolutely not!"

Yet upon hearing the answer, Tuen's body deflated like a punctured balloon. He flopped onto the ground with a dull thud, his bear face filled with undisguised disappointment.

"You... would rather compete with a knight?" He Xi asked tentatively.

Tuen abruptly raised his head. "No... uh! Knights! I heard Mua tell stories about Roland before.

"Justice! Courage! Protecting the weak! Knights are what Wa admires most!"

Roland? The Legend of Paladin Roland?

That famous knight novel, known throughout the Emerald Federation and even the entire Lola Continent, immediately surfaced in He Xi's memories.

The heroic deeds of its protagonist Roland were bedtime stories for countless children.

He had never imagined that a gifted Earth Bear cub's most admired idol would actually be a human knight!

Teach him knight skills?

The thought crossed He Xi's mind.

It seemed... more reliable than making him learn spells!

The only awkward part was that he had just told Isla that morning he would not be attending knight training anymore...

A trace of embarrassment flashed across He Xi's face.

Still, what was a little shamelessness compared with staying alive?

He quickly made up his mind to find another chance to seek "further training" from that warmhearted Maiden knight!

After bidding farewell to the reluctant Tuen, He Xi and Bruce set out on the road back to town.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the forest path a warm orange-red as He Xi organized his thoughts while walking.

The unexpected discovery that Tuen admired knights seemed to have opened a new door for him.

But how to "grant" knight skills to a bear, and whether doing so could earn him generous Parsing Points, remained unknown.

Before they knew it, man and dog had left the forest and stepped onto the dirt road leading to Plint Town.

The sky gradually darkened as dusk settled in.

He Xi suddenly felt that something was wrong.

It was too quiet.

At this hour, although the town was small, there would normally be farmers returning home from work in twos and threes, or the sounds of children playing.

But today, the streets were completely empty. Every house had its doors and windows shut tight. There was not even a trace of cooking smoke or human voices. The silence was eerily unnatural.

Only the mournful howl of the evening wind passing through the empty streets could be heard.

Bruce also pricked up his ears warily, letting out low growls from his throat.

After turning a familiar street corner, three figures leaning against a wall came into view in the dim light.

The leader was Cyril Eagleclaw, the son of Baron Ul of the town.

The moment Cyril saw He Xi, he immediately straightened up and theatrically brushed nonexistent dust from his sleeve with his leather-gloved hand.