Chapter 11 : Kingdom Merchant Caravan
Chapter 11: Kingdom Merchant Caravan! Golden Knight Order!
“Teacher?” Arthur looked at the tall and captivating figure opposite him, his face full of disbelief. “You… you’re actually his teacher.”
“Ouch!” Arthur lost focus for a moment and was struck on the top of his head by Leo’s blade. He immediately covered his head.
He never expected that the number one beauty of Blackstone City, the eldest daughter of Blackstone Castle, and the daughter of Laforin, would become Leo’s teacher.
What exactly was going on?
“Are you alright?” Leo had held back his strength just now, but the hit still landed solidly and hurt a bit.
“What are you two doing!” Eve Sova crossed her arms, putting on the air of a teacher as she sternly reprimanded them. “If you’re going to train, then train properly. What is all this fooling around? Are you wasting time?!”
Arthur rubbed his head hard, his expression turning serious.
In front of a woman, one must never embarrass oneself—especially in front of a beautiful woman. That was his life principle.
“Then I’m going all out.” Arthur tightened his grip on the Wooden Sword and dashed forward in a single step. “Mountain-Cleaving Cross Sword!”
This time, Arthur’s offensive was clearly much fiercer.
Seeing this, Leo steadied his stance and responded with a horizontal Slash against the incoming attack.
Clang!
The two swords collided midair, and the immense force directly knocked him back two steps.
So fierce!
Leo clenched his palm. After clashing swords head-on with Arthur, his hand now felt numb.
Such strength.
Even after eating merfolk meat last night and reaching 1.0 in strength—already the level of a normal adult—he was still inferior to Arthur at this moment.
“Watch your footwork! Twist your body and strike in one motion!” Eve Sova instructed from the side.
She had already noticed that Arthur had a foundation in swordsmanship and had even touched upon advanced techniques. His physical condition was also stronger than Leo’s.
The current Leo was no match for Arthur. The gap between them was significant and not something that could be closed in a short time.
Yet Leo showed no intention of retreating. Just moments ago, his experience bar had started moving again.
This was a perfect opportunity to grind experience!
Arthur, quite satisfied with his previous strike, glanced at the pleasingly attractive teacher nearby.
Driven by surging hormones, his fighting spirit soared. “Come! Let me show you what real strength is.”
…
The night in Blackstone City was cold and quiet.
A bright crescent moon had already climbed above the treetops.
Time passed unknowingly for three hours.
Inside the stable, Arthur leaned on his Wooden Sword with one hand, panting heavily.
Meanwhile, although Leo was also breathing hard, he clearly still had some strength left. “Come! This strike will show you my strength.”
After three hours of intense sparring, along with Eve Sova’s constant guidance, Leo’s Basic Sword Techniques experience had increased rapidly.
Just moments ago, this skill had successfully leveled up to Level 2.
Basic Sword Techniques (White) Level 2 1/100 (Strength +0.2, Basic Sword Techniques Proficiency Level 2)
Leo felt that within his mind, the accumulation of swordsmanship experience underwent a qualitative change in an instant, as if breaking through a bottleneck.
All those training experiences merged together within his body, integrating into his instincts.
And Leo’s strength increased once more.
“No more, no more.” Arthur dropped to the ground with a thud, raising the Wooden Sword in his hand. “Look at this yourself.”
Only then did Leo notice that Arthur’s sword was already covered with countless nicks and cracks.
Arthur pinched the blade with his fingers and snapped it lightly—crack! The Wooden Sword in his hand broke cleanly into two pieces.
“Damn it, how is your stamina like a horse’s?” Arthur stared at Leo.
During their sparring earlier, Arthur had clearly held the upper hand at first, so he tried every possible way to showcase his sword techniques in front of Eve Sova.
But as time passed, he realized that Leo was like a mill horse—completely tireless.
The gap between them had actually been gradually worn down by Leo through sheer endurance.
“Alright, that’s enough for tonight.” Eve Sova looked up at the night sky. It was already very late.
She hadn’t originally planned to spend so much time on Leo today, yet unknowingly, she had spent another three hours guiding him.
At first, she simply couldn’t stand that chubby boy’s smugness.
But later, she discovered a unique advantage in Leo—his perseverance and endurance.
Ten hours of insane sword training on the first day, and another three hours of sparring tonight.
“Father must have taken a liking to this quality of his,” Eve Sova thought. “Maybe during the year-end assessment in spring, he could even try stepping onto the field.”
She gradually felt that Leo was somewhat similar to herself.
Turning around, she left the stable directly. Tonight, she had practiced the Breathing Technique three hours less than usual. “Sigh, I’ll have to make up for it when I get back.”
……
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
The deep autumn weather grew colder with each passing day.
The calm days were like a still ancient well, but today, Blackstone City was unusually lively.
“Young Master Leo, you have a letter.”
Early in the morning, Leo received a letter handed to him by the maid Natalie.
Breaking open the vermilion wax seal, he found a short letter inside.
“Everything at home is well, do not worry. — Rang Laide”
The contents matched his memory of his father perfectly.
A man of few words, yet reassuring.
Inside the envelope were five silver coins—Leo’s monthly living expenses.
Five silver coins a month meant sixty in a year.
Leo knew this was not a small amount for the lord of Blackwater City.
Moreover, he actually had very few expenses within the castle.
At present, he had a total of twelve silver coins on him. For an ordinary family, that amount could last for years.
But for a Knight’s Squire, it was far from sufficient.
Blackstone City only provided basic food and lodging. If one wanted to maintain a noble standard of living, this money was definitely not enough.
So ever since arriving here, Leo had lived as frugally as possible, not spending a single extra coin.
Compared to other noble youths who were enthusiastic about social activities—
All those expensive activities, Leo avoided entirely. By calculation, he had only eaten once at the Church Restaurant with Arthur, and it had even been Arthur’s treat.
However, today, Leo planned to spend some money.
Today, he woke up an hour earlier than usual.
After breakfast, he headed straight toward the outside of Blackstone City.
That’s right—outside the city walls.
He wasn’t the only one. Many civilians were also leaving Blackstone City today.
But they weren’t worried about danger without the protection of the walls.
Because today was the day the Kingdom Merchant Caravan arrived at Blackstone City.
This was a caravan organized by the Danlun Kingdom, which would travel between dozens of cities under its jurisdiction roughly once a month.
It was an important channel for the circulation of goods within the kingdom.
Of course, for this caravan to travel through the wilderness conducting trade, it naturally had sufficiently powerful forces backing it.
Standing at the city gate, Leo’s attention was irresistibly drawn to a unit of cavalry at the very front of the caravan.
Under the morning sun, the powerful horses stood like sculptures. More than a dozen heavily armored knights sat atop them, gleaming with golden light.
Golden armor covered their entire bodies, and the broad-bladed greatswords at their waists radiated killing intent and power.
Only the tall knight at the very front was different. On his chest was a silver armor plate engraved with a griffin pattern, shining with a dazzling silver light.
He planted his long-handled blade into the ground, sending waves of golden radiance outward.
“Blackstone City—open for trade!”