Asking Each Other Questions

The convoy set out, slowly leaving behind the enormous composite tower of Isata.

The knight guards rode on both sides of the convoy, while the apprentices and Wizard Loran all traveled in carriages.

Loran had the most carriages, packed with all kinds of luggage, some of it even experimental equipment.

Charles still wondered as he sat in the carriage—were they heading to garrison a city on the outskirts? Would Loran really have time to continue her research?

The carriages moved quickly, barely stopping throughout the entire day.

They traveled even faster than when Charles had first come from the sea ship to Isata, with even less time to rest.

Still, the carriages were more luxurious and less bumpy.

After traveling for over half a month, Charles had scarcely had a chance to get out of the carriage and rest. At most, he got half an hour each day to relieve himself.

They arrived at a port. It was not the port Charles had visited the first time, but it was also a deepwater port on a great river.

There, they boarded a luxurious medium-sized ship.

The ship sailed upstream.

Only after boarding the ship did Charles finally feel alive again.

Traveling overland was simply too exhausting.

Even he felt tired. He had no idea how those knights riding on horseback had endured it.

The warhorses were kept in the lower hold, while the wizards and wizard apprentices stayed in the upper cabins.

The more than thirty knights began serving as the ship's guards.

Only the few Great Knights, along with the strongest Blood Ring Knight, remained to guard Loran.

In terms of attack power and combat ability, a Great Knight could rival a First-Rank Wizard Apprentice.

Their strength was sufficient, but their methods were relatively limited.

Generally speaking, if a conflict broke out, then unless the two sides were very close, wizard apprentices could use all kinds of zero-ring spells to kill Great Knights from afar.

But if the distance was close enough, the outcome of the battle between the two sides could be entirely different.

In terms of luxury, the medium-sized ship was not inferior in the slightest to the large sea ship Charles had taken to the Wizard Continent.

There were not many items containing magical power, but ordinary food of every sort was in no short supply.

Aside from the somewhat smaller variety, its extravagance was in no way inferior to what Charles had enjoyed back when he was in the count's territory.

Not everyone came out during dinner.

Among the five apprentices in Charles's group, those whom Loran had taken a liking to all had at least a few tricks up their sleeves. Basically, none of them were lazy.

Today, only Charles and Quake came out to eat.

Charles had come out early and was almost done eating by the time Quake emerged.

When Charles saw Quake, he nodded in greeting before continuing to eat.

The two chatted briefly. Then Charles asked the question he had been curious about.

"Lord Quake, what is a Blood Ring Knight?"

This question had weighed on Charles's mind for a long time, and he had finally found a suitable chance to ask it.

Quake did not answer immediately after hearing the question.

He considered his relationship with Charles. Unlike Sal, Quake knew that since Teacher Loran had invited Charles to join the team, Charles must have something exceptional about him.

So Quake smiled. "This is not really secret information."

"But wizards value equivalent exchange. After I clear up your doubts, how about you clear up mine?"

Charles thought it over. He did not seem to have any secrets he could not share, and Quake certainly would not ask about the Wu Duo Duo Mall. So he nodded. "No problem."

Quake began to explain.

"You cultivate the Knight Breathing Technique as well, so you should know that under normal circumstances, practicing a breathing technique can at most make one a Great Knight."

Charles nodded. In his previous understanding, this was practically an ironclad rule.

In old Charles's memories, he had never heard of a rank above Great Knight.

Quake said, "But that was in secular dynasties. This is the Wizard Continent. The power of wizards is plain for all to see, and the upper limit of the Knight Breathing Technique is nothing more than a minor problem to them."

"Blood Ring Knights are products of wizard modification. When a gifted knight reaches the peak of Great Knight, if they are fortunate enough to receive a wizard's modification and have rune imprints left upon their body..."

"Then they have a chance of breaking through to become a Blood Ring Knight. Such knights possess tremendous power and can rival the combat strength of a one-ring wizard."

"Of course, knights are all barbaric professions. In terms of true combat power, a knight could never be a match for a one-ring wizard."

"The comparison between a Blood Ring Knight and a one-ring wizard is like that between a Great Knight and a First-Rank Wizard Apprentice."

"At the academy, quite a few wizard lords raise Blood Ring Knights as guards or other servants."

Hearing Quake's explanation, Charles nodded in understanding.

So Blood Ring Knights were the super soldiers among knights.

Remembering the threat he had felt when he first saw the Blood Ring Knight, Charles did not dare underestimate this kind of knight.

A Blood Ring Knight might not be able to defeat a one-ring wizard, but dealing with wizard apprentices would be as easy as turning a hand over.

There was a completely different gulf between their combat capabilities.

After finishing his explanation, Quake asked, "Then it is my turn."

"I do not mean to look down on you, but I am also curious. Why did Teacher Loran invite you to join her assistant team?"

"And how did you dare accept this mission and leave Isata while you were only a Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice?"

Before Quake asked, Charles had already guessed that this might be his question.

He pondered for a moment. "It is not much of a secret. Actually, I am not sure why Teacher Loran invited me to join her team either."

The curiosity in Quake's eyes deepened. "What did Teacher Loran say at the time?"

Charles answered frankly, "I attended Teacher Loran's classes, and during my free time, I caught suitable goblins and sold them to the teacher's laboratory. The teacher believed that I had a good grasp of wizardry and experience in combat, so she asked me to join her assistant team."

Surprise appeared in Quake's eyes. "Catching goblins in the lower district? The kind that involves going into the sewers?"

Quake had heard of that line of work and had even looked into it, but he had not stuck with it.

When he had been a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice, he found the sewers unbearably foul, and his combat power at the time was insufficient, so he could not earn many Magic Stones from the work.

By the time he became a Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice, or even a First-Rank Wizard Apprentice, he could have earned Magic Stones through that line of work, but by then he had other means of making Magic Stones.

So he had never pursued that line of work in depth.

Charles nodded calmly. "Yes, catching goblins in the sewers."

Quake looked Charles up and down and said in amazement, "Charles, you really do surprise me."

"So you have been doing this work ever since you were a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice?"

Charles nodded. "That's right!"