All Attributes Increased

After learning of Xiwen's death, Duke could not help but feel somewhat wistful.

After all, they had joined Nightingale together and knew each other fairly well.

Xiwen had clawed his way up from slavery step by step. He had decent talent and worked incredibly hard, yet he had died so suddenly.

Duke realized that he and Xiwen were actually the same—ordinary people striving to survive and grow stronger.

If he had not possessed the Skill Tree, he most likely would have died last night as well.

In this era, ordinary people's lives were simply that fragile. They had little ability to deal with the unpredictability of fate.

Despite having just gone through a hard battle, Duke did not rest much. He continued grinding proficiency in the Whale Breathing Method and the Burning Wave Sword Art.

Duke worked even harder than before. He allowed himself only six hours of sleep each day and devoted all the rest of his time to training.

A few days later.

Duke gripped his longsword. A layer of white Battle Qi clung to the blade, while a stretch of white sword light extended from its tip.

The white Battle Qi covering the blade constantly trembled and spun, emanating an intimidating aura.

This was the change that appeared after mastering the Burning Wave Sword Art—high-speed vibration.

After sensing it for a while, Duke thought, Isn't this just a chainsaw?

He found that its essence was much like that of a chainsaw. Its cutting power and lethality were extremely strong.

After mastering this ability, Duke could threaten even enemies clad in full-body armor.

Ordinary armor could only withstand this sword light briefly before being pierced through.

However, it consumed a great deal of Battle Qi. While maintaining the vibrating state, the Battle Qi within Duke's body drained rapidly. At most, it would be completely exhausted in three minutes.

He planned to use it as a finishing move. For now, it could not serve as a regular means of attack.

[Burning Wave Sword Art: LV3 (1/300)]

[Burning Wave Sword Art leveled up. Constitution +0.2, Strength +0.2, Agility +0.2]

Duke noticed that this level-up had granted rather limited attribute points.

His Constitution, Strength, and Agility had all reached 8.9, leaving them just 0.1 short of nine.

He vaguely felt that nine was a minor threshold. Crossing it should bring about a qualitative change.

Based on his experience over this period, Duke guessed that a physical attribute of nine was already at the level of an Official Knight.

[Whale Breathing Method: LV3 (1471/1500)]

He glanced at the Whale Breathing Method's progress. It was only a little proficiency away from leveling up, and if he stayed up a little later tonight, he could grind it to the limit.

Duke simply decided not to sleep. He would raise the Breathing Method's progress first today.

At dawn, Duke saw another green leaf grow from the branch representing the Whale Breathing Method on the Skill Tree in his mind.

This was the first skill Duke had encountered that could grow two leaves. Previously, once a leaf grew, it would bloom afterward.

[Whale Breathing Method: LV4 (1/1700)]

[Whale Breathing Method leveled up. Constitution +0.3, Strength +0.3, Agility +0.3]

[Constitution: 9.2]

[Strength: 9.2]

[Agility: 9.2]

[Spirit: 8.1]

[Free Attribute Points: 3]

Duke could clearly feel that after cultivating the Whale Breathing Method to the fourth level, his body had grown noticeably more robust.

He had also become slightly taller. He had previously been only 1.8 meters tall, but now he was roughly 1.83 meters.

The increase in height was secondary. The muscles throughout his body had undergone a qualitative transformation.

Duke took a deep breath, then gave a muffled grunt. The muscles in his arms and shoulders instantly swelled, making him much bulkier.

With a thought, his muscles contracted again and returned to their original size.

If I keep training like this, I feel like I could punch an Official Knight to death without even using Battle Qi, the thought suddenly surfaced in Duke's mind.

He still had three Free Attribute Points unused. They were fairly precious and could not be spent carelessly.

If he added all three points to Strength, he might truly be able to punch an Official Knight to death.

Knights were stronger than ordinary people not only because their physical attributes were greater, but mainly because Battle Qi enhanced their strength and physical toughness.

If Duke continued developing himself in silence like this, then given enough time, his physical attributes could reach their peak.

At that point, he would not need the enhancement of Battle Qi. The strength of his body alone would be enough to sweep aside the vast majority of knights.

As for whether he could rival a Great Knight, he had no idea. Duke had never seen a Great Knight before and did not know what level of power they possessed.

When Duke gripped his sword again, it felt rather light in his hand. Using it was like wielding a toothpick, and it felt awkward.

He immediately thought of the massive axe Vivian carried and suddenly understood why a noble young lady like Vivian used such a weapon.

For knights, as their physical strength grew greater and greater, ordinary weapons could no longer meet their needs.

For now, Duke could only continue using the longsword in his hand. A massive axe like Vivian's was out of the question in the short term.

He had no idea how much metal such an axe would consume, and he did not have the funds to forge one.

After cultivating the Whale Breathing Method to the fourth level, the next step would be becoming a High-Level Knight Apprentice.

Duke estimated that, at his current pace, he could become a High-Level Knight Apprentice in less than a month.

Then, he could begin charging toward the level of an Official Knight.

Duke always felt that only after reaching the Official Knight level would he possess some ability to protect himself. Right now, he constantly felt as though he could lose his life at any moment.

Recently, he could also sense from the atmosphere around the manor that the situation was tense.

Those above had not told them what was about to happen, but Duke's sharp senses told him that the higher-ups must have learned something before making defensive deployments throughout the territory.

From Cave Dwellers to fishmen, then the recent attacks by beasts and magical beasts of varying strength, all of it indicated that something was happening in Moonlight Forest.

Count Hardy, Vivian, and the others above them had most likely already learned of it and had been preparing for it all along.

Recently, aside from those recovering from injuries or those who had just completed missions, there were not many idle people left in the manor. Nearly everyone had been sent out to carry out assignments across the territory.

Many of Count Hardy's personal guards had also been deployed. Together with the local militia, they formed the basic defensive force in each area.

Two days later, Duke received a mission specifically assigned to him alone.

Wood had gone missing.

The moment Duke learned of this, he immediately sought out George, who had informed him, and asked for details.

Only after asking did he learn that Enderland Town had also been frequently attacked by beasts and magical beasts recently. Civilians were often killed or carried away.

A few days earlier, Wood had pursued a magical beast to rescue a child it had carried off. After that, he vanished without a trace and had yet to be found.