A Knight with Surging Battle Aura

Early the next morning.

Marcus arrived at the castle early. He didn't go inside, instead waiting outside. Looking at the low, dilapidated castle, his heart turned cold. Perhaps he was thinking that his future might be as ruined as this castle.

The castle stood on a dirt slope at the southwest corner of the town.

There were no towering walls, no lofty arrow towers, no battlements to stand upon, no broad moat, and no massive gate.

It was simply a somewhat larger two-story house.

The stone walls were already faintly cracked. Several roof tiles had gradually fallen away, and no one knew whether it leaked when it rained.

It was said that this crude little castle had stood for over a hundred years. Before Coral Island became the Count's territory, nobles had once lived here, but it later fell into ruin. After the Count was granted Coral Island, he had the little castle renovated and used it as a residence when inspecting Flower Town, though he had never actually stayed there.

Until now, when Baron Liszt moved into the little castle.

And he, once an Earth Knight of the Coral Island Knights, had been full of ambition to earn honors through military achievements on the battlefield. Yet now, he would become a frequent visitor to this little castle.

Together with Baron Liszt, guarding Flower Town, where there wasn't even a gravel road.

"Good morning, Mr. Marcus." Tom, the male servant carrying empty water buckets to fetch water from the town well, respectfully greeted him.

Marcus replied flatly, "Good morning."

He couldn't remember Tom's name, but he remembered his surname. It seemed to be Pigsty, a very typical commoner's surname. Even he himself didn't possess an elegant, noble-sounding surname. His surname was Wheel, because his grandfather had been a coachman who spent every day rolling wheels.

That was how commoners were. Whatever they came across, they used as a surname.

He envied noble surnames, especially the Count's surname—Tulip. What a noble surname! How much more effort would he need before he could change his own surname to something similar? No commoner was allowed to use any noble surname: flowers, gemstones, metals... Nobles would never permit commoners to sully them!

Before long, four tall men in leather armor arrived behind Marcus one after another.

"Teacher Marcus," all four greeted him.

"Karl, Rom, Gray, Oden, you're here." Marcus acknowledged each of them. These four were Liszt's squire knights.

Squire knights were not actually knights, merely knightly attendants—a kind of servant responsible for tending to knights on the battlefield.

Carrying spears, leading horses, washing clothes, and cooking meals.

In essence, Marcus was also a kind of squire knight. The difference was that he was a freeman, while squire knights were servants who had sold themselves.

A moment later, Liszt emerged from the castle's somewhat drafty gates, still not fully awake. For the morning, he had changed into a neat training outfit. The plain white clothing, paired with his enviable face, tall frame, and outstanding bearing, made for an absolutely first-rate appearance.

"Good morning, Teacher Marcus, Karl Hammer, Rom Barrel, Gray Sickle, Oden Insole, and gentlemen and ladies."

Gentlemen referred to male servants, while ladies referred to female servants. Nobles could address servants this way regardless of whether they were married.

Just as male stewards were called gentlemen whether married or not, and female stewards were called ladies whether married or not. Liszt's body had been accustomed to the rigid customs of nobility for sixteen years, so he greeted people like this instinctively.

"Baron, let's begin the knight training lesson."

"Alright."

On the hill in front of the castle, Liszt began his knight training. His four squire knights had not learned battle aura and could only temper their bodies nearby.

Battle aura emphasized bloodline inheritance. Few commoners could learn it.

In truth, Liszt felt that battle aura had more to do with nutrition. How could commoners who couldn't even eat their fill refine the strength within their bodies into battle aura?

Among nobles, as long as one was diligent enough, there was no one who couldn't cultivate battle aura.

That was also why nobles maintained such a firm grip on their ruling position. They had money and ate well, cultivated battle aura, gained power, exploited commoners, and thus became wealthier, ate better, possessed stronger battle aura and greater strength, and became even more capable of exploiting commoners.

The morning milk and bread continuously supplied Liszt with nourishment.

Under Marcus's instruction, he continuously practiced Basic Battle Aura. He had been cultivating this secret manual since he was six years old. Unfortunately, the results had been meager. Battle aura did make him stronger than commoners, but compared with an Earth Knight, an apprentice knight was exceptionally weak. Marcus could defeat him with one hand.

That mysterious aura, that experience I've never had before... Cultivation... I wonder what the battle aura ascension reward will bring me after I complete the mission. Could it make me an Earth Knight?

Feeling the battle aura within his body, Liszt practiced diligently.

Only after a full hour did the morning lesson end.

"Teacher Marcus, have some water. We'll set off after resting for ten minutes." Liszt wiped the sweat from his forehead. The morning lesson was still quite exhausting.

The old steward Carter had already brought servants over with milk tea to replenish their nutrition.

The four squire knights each received a cup of milk tea with minced meat, milk, and eggs. Cradling their tea, they sipped it happily, forgetting the hardships of the past hour.

Marcus and Liszt, meanwhile, had an extra dessert: cheese biscuits.

After they had finished eating and changed their clothes, Thomas, Liszt's personal valet, led over Liszt's horse—a chestnut adult horse with almost no stray hairs. It had been a gift from the Count of Coral Island when Liszt was twelve. Back then, it had only been a foal, but now it had grown remarkably handsome and spirited.

Snort.

The chestnut horse snorted, then affectionately rubbed against Liszt's arm.

"Fire Dragon, my old friend, you've been cooped up in the castle too long, haven't you?" Comforting his mount, Liszt swung himself smoothly into the saddle.

Behind him, Marcus and the four squire knights mounted their own horses. Marcus rode a yellow-gray horse, also quite spirited, his personal mount. The squire knights rode ordinary yellow-maned horses. They belonged to Liszt and were merely assigned to the squire knights to raise.

"Master, may you have a safe journey," Carter wished him.

"Thanks for the kind words." Liszt flicked his riding crop. The Fire Dragon Horse let out a long neigh and broke into a run. "Let's go!"

Riding at the front, Liszt wore armor made from monster hide, something only nobles could afford. It was light and breathable, while offering better protection than ordinary armor.

Over his black monster-hide armor, a one-handed sword hung at his waist. He also wore a black monster-hide helmet topped with the plume of a male pheasant, making him look especially valiant.

Besides their own one-handed swords and shields, his squire knights also had to carry a large knight's lance for Liszt, along with backup weapons such as longswords, war hammers, and flails, as well as lunch and drinking water.

Besides his favored short spear, Marcus carried a bow and arrows. He was an expert archer. More than his status as an Earth Knight, his identity as an expert archer better demonstrated his value. This was also the confidence behind his lofty ambition to stand out among the many Earth Knights of the Coral Island Knights and earn the title of Baronet Knight.

Clop, clop, clop, clop, clop, clop!

Hooves struck the solid earth with crisp sounds. Before long, they reached the town. Liszt was going to inspect his territory, and the town was his first priority.

This book uses semantic translations for surnames in its otherworld setting.

For example:

Western surname—Smith

Phonetic translation—Smith

Semantic translation—Blacksmith