Kanni

Biodata

Power Progression

Kanni strengthens his physical abilities by consuming Elemental Beast meat, but has not become an Elementalist. He attributes the remaining barrier to insufficient innate talent rather than insufficient consumption 6 8.

Background / History

Kanni learned to ride in childhood and enlisted at twelve. Although his horsemanship surpassed that of other children his age, his personality left him isolated among the recruits. At a recruits’ exhibition, others persuaded a Silver-Pattern Knight Commander to let him demonstrate bareback riding on the commander’s Thousand-Mile Horse after his intended mount fell ill. Kanni immediately lost control and fell headfirst, embarrassing the commander before two barons 40.

The commander subsequently held a grudge and quietly obstructed Kanni’s rewards. Despite fighting bravely and killing more than a thousand enemies over his military career, Kanni remained an ordinary knight. His refusal to flatter superiors or cultivate connections also hindered his advancement. Once he understood the source of the obstruction, he volunteered for the Vanguard Corps, securing a transfer to the First Legion’s vanguard and escaping his former commander’s influence 16 40.

During an earlier battle, Kanni spared an enemy who then counterattacked and killed the brother he had grown up with. The loss shaped his conviction that mercy toward an enemy could endanger those beside him 12.

By the time he met Zeng Mu, Kanni had survived three deployments to the contested junction of the continent’s three territories. An injury to his horse prevented him from keeping up with the withdrawing main force, leaving him stranded on the battlefield 4.

Appearance

• Features: Blue eyes, a high nose, and long, curly, pale-blond hair; described as having typical Western European features 4.
• Initial condition: Battle-scarred armor and dried blood across his face, with resolute, alert eyes despite his exhaustion 4.
• Later armor: A specially commissioned pitch-black suit, markedly superior to his previous armor in both material and design 16.
• Characteristic weapon: A silver sword carried on his back 4.

Personality

Kanni is practical about survival. He sacrifices valuable elemental meat to sustain his injured horse, abandons heavy armor when exhaustion threatens the journey, and eats foul-tasting scorpion eggs to relieve thirst. He also loots fallen enemies and readily improvises supplies from what a battlefield provides 4 5 6.

He takes considerable pride in his swordsmanship and longs for recognition. His Third-Rank promotion matters to him as proof that his service has finally been acknowledged, while the possibility of nobility represents a further goal. His ambition coexists with disappointment over his inability to become an Elementalist; watching Zeng Mu advance leads him to reflect that a life with regret is still preferable to one without aspirations 8 16 38.

Toward companions, Kanni is protective, teasing, and sometimes bawdy. He treats Zeng Mu like a younger brother, jokes about his attraction to Ma Linya, and enjoys drinking and visiting Sand City’s pleasure district. His gentleness toward frightened civilians contrasts with his ruthlessness toward enemies, whom he can respect without hesitating to kill 12 16 22 23 24.

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship

Yetos calls Kanni’s swordsmanship the finest he has seen among knights 13.

• Speed and footwork: His movements are so fast that Zeng Mu cannot clearly follow either his blade or, at times, his steps 6 12.
• Sustained pressure: Uses rapid hacks, sweeps, and thrusts to wear down an opponent’s guard and exploit gaps in armor 12.
• Strength: Drives back a Silver-Pattern Viking Leader’s great axe in a single clash 11.
• Lethal precision: Defeats Weido by piercing beneath an abdominal armor plate, then cutting him in two at the waist 12.
• Defense against small targets: Cuts down Black-Feathered Sparrows that approach within a foot of him 18.
• Limits: A fast throwing axe nearly exceeds his ability to track and block it without another knight’s intervention. Protecting an injured Zeng Mu also prevents him from fighting at full effectiveness 12.

Elementally Strengthened Physique

Accumulated elemental power improves Kanni’s strength and speed without granting him an Elementalist’s powers 6.

• Can directly contest a Water Demon Scorpion’s enormous pincers and force the beast backward 6.
• Elemental meat restores his vigor after exhaustion and injury 6.
• Remains vulnerable to fatigue: prolonged fighting against the sparrow flock makes his sword wrist ache 18.
• Lacks the final innate aptitude needed for elemental awakening despite years of consuming elemental meat 6 8.

Swordsmanship Instruction

Kanni diagnoses weaknesses while sparring, correcting Zeng Mu’s forearm strength, balance between speed and power, repetitive attacks, and exposed footwork 17.

• Defeats Zeng Mu after roughly five minutes and nearly two hundred exchanges while withholding his full strength 17.
• Identifies Zeng Mu’s principal problem as a mind that cannot keep pace with his sword 17.
• Encourages mental relaxation and adaptability rather than a tense fixation on winning 17.

Fieldcraft and Battlefield Awareness

Years of military service give Kanni extensive knowledge of terrain, enemies, and Elemental Beasts 6 7.

• Beast identification: Recognizes almost any Elemental Beast at a glance and explains its traits and weaknesses 6.
• Survival: Locates buried Water Demon Scorpion eggs when local groundwater is undrinkably salty 5.
• Tracking: Identifies Qi soldiers as the killers of a Viking squad from wounds and a discarded flag 6.
• Threat assessment: Recognizes concealed chariots, likely ambush routes, and military ranks from equipment and emblems 7 8.
• Combat intuition: Correctly suspects that Vikings are pursuing the group after their departure from Hidden Lake 37.
• Local knowledge: Heads directly to Sand City’s vulnerable eastern gate when the alarm sounds, despite receiving no specific assignment 46.

Horsemanship

Kanni has ridden since childhood and possesses detailed knowledge of exceptional horses 39 40.

• Began riding at four and shooting from horseback at eight 40.
• Sends his experienced warhorse back toward Sand City on its own, trusting its familiarity with the route 7.
• Identifies O’Connor’s Thousand-Mile Horse through its legs, coat, tightly knit physique, and extraordinary vitality 39.
• Understands that a Thousand-Mile Horse’s pride and desire for freedom make genuine loyalty difficult to obtain 39.
• His childhood bareback failure demonstrates that ordinary riding expertise does not guarantee control over such a mount 40.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Silver Sword — Purchased from a master Fulin Taiyou blacksmith for 6,000 Livre, exhausting Kanni’s savings. It was the shop’s prized sword; its edge remains free of chips and rolling during the observed training session 17.
• Pitch-black armor — Rewarded by Yetos and specially made by a recruited master blacksmith. Kanni estimates its value at several thousand Livre 16.
• Hero Medal — A three-striped Holy Temple medal marking his promotion to Third-Rank Knight 16.
• Warhorse — His established mount knows the route to Sand City and can travel home independently 7.
• Waterskin and flint — Used to aid Zeng Mu and prepare food during their return journey 4 6.

Relationships

• Zeng Mu / Nameless — Closest documented companion and swordsmanship student. Kanni supplies water, gives him the name “Nameless,” explains the unfamiliar world, protects him in battle, and waits nearby during his recovery. Their friendship includes frequent teasing and mutual trust 4 12 14 17 22 37.
• Yetos — Respected Knight Commander. Kanni joins the fight to assist him; Yetos recognizes his swordsmanship, rewards him with armor, and promotes him 11 13 16.
• Ma Linya — Healer and fellow defender of Sand City. Kanni entrusts Zeng Mu’s treatment to her, helps obtain her medicinal supplies, and later guards her back during the siege. She openly disapproves of his visits to the pleasure district 14 19 20 24 50.
• Aikimu — Fellow Holy Temple knight involved in training and city defense. The two remain behind to guard Zeng Mu while he absorbs an elemental source 17 28.
• Cobert — An argumentative traveling companion. Kanni threatens him into opening his shop during the sparrow crisis, but Cobert’s medicinal sachets enable their safe return; their later exchanges remain mocking 19 20 32.
• Unnamed childhood brother — Killed by an enemy Kanni had spared, leaving Kanni deeply opposed to mercy that risks his companions’ lives 12.
• Former Silver-Pattern Knight Commander — Obstructed Kanni’s advancement after the recruits’ exhibition incident; Kanni eventually escaped his influence through a vanguard transfer 40.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Return from the Battlefield

• Finds the wounded Zeng Mu, identifies his armor markings as those of a Second Legion vanguard knight, and assumes his missing identity is battle-induced amnesia 4.
• Explains the Holy Temple, Seven Kingdoms, Viking Tribes, and elemental power while taking Zeng Mu west toward Sand City 4 5.
• Helps kill a Water Demon Scorpion, gathers its meat, and follows evidence of Qi soldiers pursuing Vikings 6.
• Discovers the Qi ambush preparations in the dead forest and proposes aiding the Knight Commander to earn military merit and possibly a noble title 7.

Rescue of Yetos’s Party

• Enters the battle alongside Zeng Mu, repels a Silver-Pattern Leader, and kills Weido 11 12.
• Helps Zeng Mu fight Liduo, severing the axe handle and stabbing the Viking Leader after Zeng Mu accepts a blow to create an opening 12.
• Supports the unconscious Zeng Mu afterward and urges that his serious injuries take priority, contributing to Yetos’s decision to accept a temporary truce 13.
• Remains nearby during Zeng Mu’s treatment, then receives armor and promotion for his service 14 16.

Sand City’s Beast Crises

• Raises the alarm when he identifies the approaching Black-Feathered Sparrow flock 17.
• Fights through the birds and accompanies Zeng Mu to Cobert’s shop for fragrant herb needed by Ma Linya 18 19 20.
• Protects a frightened woman during the snake tide, secures her room, and follows Zeng Mu to Ma Linya’s house 24.
• Joins the fight against the Yellow Sand Diamondback Snakes and remains with Aikimu to guard Zeng Mu during elemental-source absorption, though exhaustion eventually puts both guards to sleep 26 28.

Hidden Lake Expedition

• Travels disguised with Zeng Mu, Ma Linya, and Cobert; survives the wagon ambush and witnesses Ma Linya’s apparent agreement to marry Bright 32 33.
• Continues toward Creek Valley after Ma Linya obtains the Blue Starfish, then helps the group reach Hidden Lake and return with its water 35 36.
• Detects the pursuing Vikings and assists in confronting O’Connor, whom Zeng Mu preserves as a prisoner 37 38 39.
• Helps recover the Black-and-White Fruit and returns to Sand City aboard O’Connor’s Thousand-Mile Horse 39 40.

Siege of Sand City

• Responds immediately to the alarm and leads accompanying knights toward the eastern gate 46.
• Takes cover beneath the coalition’s sustained arrow barrage, increasingly angered by the defenders’ mounting casualties 47 48.
• Fights after the gate falls, then joins Ma Linya and protects her back while warning that the attackers will allow neither rest nor hesitation 50.

Notable Quotes

“You think eating enough elemental meat automatically makes you an Elementalist? It depends on talent.” 6

“Fall back for now. Leave the rest to me.” 12

“The main issue is that your mind can't keep up with the sword in your hand.” 17