The Duke's Knights

No one ever complained about having too many magic weapons. They were like money. Aurelian grew increasingly curious about Jeanne's identity.

Magic weapons were not something just anyone could possess. Even the great noble families with long legacies in the kingdom could not produce many of them.

The maid's appearance filled the knights present with doubts.

"My lord, please answer my question. Why has your maid come here with you? Surely you do not intend to bring her along as well?"

Master remained expressionless, carrying himself with the composure expected of a knight.

"That is correct, everyone. Jeanne will be accompanying us to the Spruce Forest."

"But you should know how dangerous the Spruce Forest is. Should we encounter any danger, such as magical beasts, I fear it will be difficult for everyone to protect this young lady."

Master felt that he had already put it tactfully enough. This duke should understand.

Heading beneath the dangerous Mount Abif was not a leisurely outing.

"Captain, there is no need for you to worry. Jeanne is no weaker than anyone present, including me."

Aurelian's voice rang out loudly, and every person on the training ground heard him clearly.

The knights looked at one another, confirming that they were not dreaming. Had this bastard son, exiled to this barren land, finally gone mad?

"My lord, please do not make such a clumsy joke. I hope you will consider everyone's safety. Do not destroy Winter City's last remaining protective force because of a momentary whim."

Master felt it was necessary to make this nearly mad duke face reality. This was not the time for him to indulge himself in order to please a woman.

They could not let these knights die just to protect a woman.

"Master, how strong do you think Jeanne is?"

Aurelian suddenly changed the subject, smiling at the captain of knights, who had become serious to the extreme.

Master looked at Jeanne, who had been standing behind Aurelian all along. His tone was cold, though a trace of disdain could still be heard in it.

"If this beautiful young lady can suppress her disgust and use those flawless hands of hers to kill a defenseless chicken, I would consider it a blessing from the heavens."

He placed particular emphasis on the word "beautiful," his mockery plain for all to see. He was clearly saying that Jeanne was merely a pretty vase who would not even dare kill a chicken.

"Jeanne, it seems our captain of knights looks down on you a little. Would you like to show him what you can do?"

Aurelian asked Jeanne behind him.

"Alright."

Jeanne was expressionless, and her voice was equally cold. She obeyed Aurelian's orders without question.

"My lord, are you sure you are not talking nonsense? You want a maid to spar with me?"

Master's mouth fell open. He was now certain that this bastard son had truly gone mad.

And this woman too—did she really think she could defeat him?

His magic power had already reached the second level, Source Gathering. Whether in combat techniques or swordsmanship, he had reached a fairly high standard, or at least that was what he believed.

Even if he joined the kingdom's frontier corps, he could obtain a respectable position. Of course, the pay would still be nowhere near as good as serving at the side of a great noble.

A knight at the Source Gathering level could already be considered a match for a hundred men. Even when surrounded and attacked by several hundred ordinary knights, he could still leave calmly.

This was thanks to their formidable physical abilities, as well as the enhancement magic power provided to combat techniques.

So-called combat techniques were merely people's name for fighting skills. Combat techniques could be taught, but to truly master their use, one had to fight with real blades. Only by turning combat techniques into bodily instinct through endless battle could one succeed. Flowers of slaughter could not be nurtured in a greenhouse.

The other twenty knights stared wide-eyed. They could hardly believe what was happening. Their lord actually wanted Master to duel his maid.

It was simply unbelievable.

"My lord, forgive me, but as a knight who fights for honor, I cannot possibly spar with a woman!"

Master's expression was solemn. Though he yearned for noble status, he also upheld a knight's dignity.

"Master, a knight's honor cannot feed you. If you refuse this duel, I will hand your position as captain of knights to Jeanne, because your refusal will be taken as an admission of defeat."

Aurelian spoke gently, but Master and the other knights could hear the resolve hidden beneath his words.

He might truly give the captaincy to the maid beside him. This was not a joke!

"Of course, if you win, I can consider granting you the title of baron and giving you a plot of land."

Aurelian raised the stakes. He believed Master would not refuse.

In this world, it was extremely difficult for commoners to receive a title. The nobles with powerful bloodlines had already blocked every path upward. It was not something mere hard work could overcome.

The gap was truly enormous. Commoners had no advantage over nobles in magic power cultivation, and their achievements could not compare to those of nobles either.

Nobles possessed vast lands and abundant resources to support their magic power cultivation. They then won even more land and gained still more resources, growing like a snowball.

But commoners could not do that. They owned little land, if any at all, and had no income to support their cultivation. One had to know that the further one progressed in magic power cultivation, the greater the expense became.

Thus, it became a vicious cycle. A noble's descendants remained nobles, while a commoner's descendants remained commoners.

Still, there were inevitably peerless geniuses who broke convention. They possessed extraordinary talent in magic power cultivation and could use a small amount of magical medicine to achieve results ten or even twenty times greater than normal.

These people could break through class barriers, but they would not change the existing rules, because they themselves would soon become part of the nobility. They would marry into families with bloodlines and produce descendants with bloodline power. Only then could their family's glory endure for generations.

But clearly, Master did not belong among those peerless geniuses. Although he had become a Body Integration knight at a young age, he had once been like most commoner knights, dreaming that he too could become a noble as quickly as those legends had.

But now he was already over thirty, yet he still struggled at the Source Gathering level. He had no magical medicine to aid his cultivation because he had no money. His salary could not support the purchase of expensive magical medicine.

If he did not go to war and earn military merit, then barring any surprises, he might remain at the Source Gathering level for the rest of his life, serving as nothing more than a minor captain of knights.

But things were different now. Aurelian wanted to grant him the title of baron.

A baron had a fief and a salary, and that salary was far higher than what he earned as a knight.

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