Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 43 Advancement
The next morning, the sun shone into the military camp early, but it failed to dispel the haze that shrouded everyone's hearts.

In the military camp square, the soldiers lined up in neat rows, but the atmosphere was somewhat depressing.

Balin, the captain of the lord's personal guard, stood on the platform, holding a box of secret medicine in his hands. He announced in a loud voice, "This is the lord's special compensation to you. Strive to break through and become a full-fledged knight as soon as possible. Wherever you are knocked down, you must stand up again!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a slight commotion in the queue.

Eric stood in the team, holding tightly in his hands the two apprentice breathing secret potions he had received, his face showing a complex expression.

Thomson carefully took the one that belonged to him, his eyes showing both a desire to become stronger and a hint of confusion.

Robin looked at the two secret medicines in his hands and fell into deep thought.

The secret medicine shimmered in the sunlight, but he felt no joy at all.

In his view, this so-called compensation was more like a perfunctory gesture, a means for the lord to appease public anger and restore military morale.

The image of Lily lying on the hospital bed, gasping for breath, involuntarily emerged in his mind. The anger and sadness in his heart grew stronger, and his eyes became even colder.

Malizi and several other knights from the camp stood aside with frowns on their faces, unable to understand the sudden change.

Although the lord's move seemed to have successfully regained the morale of a large number of soldiers and rekindled the fighting spirit of those young apprentices, the blow to the lord's prestige in the hearts of the soldiers was obvious.

The scales of fairness in the soldiers' hearts have tilted, and their once absolute trust in the lord has now begun to crack.

What's more, the cost of doing so is really too high. Giving out secret breathing medicine for apprentices who have been trained for more than a hundred years in one go is almost half a year's output of the lord's mansion.

After returning to the barracks, Robin had just stepped into the barracks and had not had time to sit down when he heard a sarcastic voice: "Good morning, brother!" He looked up and saw Raymond leaning lazily at the door with that disgusting and mocking smile on his face.

The two of them had clearly fought to the death last night, but today they both tacitly agreed not to bring up the matter.

When Robin saw Raymond, a cold light flashed in his eyes and he said bluntly: "Want another blow?"

Raymond didn't care about Robin's threat at all. He just shrugged and said casually: "I just came to take a look. By the way, I want to remind you not to reveal the fact that you have broken through the knight level." After that, he turned around and left leisurely without waiting for Robin's response.

Robin looked at Raymond's departing back, his eyes stern, and countless questions surged in his heart.

Why did Raymond come to remind him of this?
What kind of conspiracy is hidden behind this?
He pondered for a while and decided to go see Eric first.

When Robin arrived at Eric's barracks, he saw him immersed in his training, his expression focused. Beside him lay an empty bottle of secret medicine.

Robin sighed slightly, feeling both pleased that Eric was practicing so hard, and worried about the current complicated situation.

Then he turned and returned to his room.

A few days later, Eric found Robin and said, "Robin, I'm an official knight!"

Robin simply nodded, not showing any excessive joy.

Because Raymond's words were like a haze, hanging over his mind, making it impossible for him to relax. The same was true for Eric himself, and his excitement was fleeting.

He suddenly remembered the condition he had promised Lily: he would propose to her as soon as he broke through the knight level.

But now, Lily is gone, and this joy is suddenly replaced by endless sadness.

The two sat in the room in silence, a heavy atmosphere in the air.

The laughter and joy of the past still seem to echo in my ears, but now, all that remains is deep longing for Lily and confusion about the future.

After a long while, Eric slowly spoke, breaking the oppressive silence: "I will report to Knight Commander Malizzi first." After that, he raised his head, his eyes revealing a complex look of determination and confusion.

Robin nodded in understanding, then added, "Tell me about it when you achieve Knight-level breathing techniques."

Eric nodded in understanding, stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked out of the room with mixed feelings.

In the evening, Eric hurried back. As soon as he entered the room, he sat down in front of Robin without saying a word and began to practice the knight-level breathing method he had just acquired.

His expression was focused and pious, as if he was performing a solemn ceremony.

Seeing this, Robin did not hesitate at all. He quickly placed his hand gently on Eric's shoulder and carefully introduced a stream of Qi into Eric's body, letting the Qi flow in conjunction with his breathing method.

Soon, Robin understood why what Knight Commander Malizzi had said was not suitable for his current practice.

It turns out that the operating patterns of the knight-level breathing method are completely different from those of the apprentice-level. Those key patterns only gradually emerge after breaking through the knight level.

Moreover, running these meridians for the first time is extremely difficult, and usually requires the assistance of a strong person at the level of a great knight to complete it successfully.

Fortunately, with Robin's help, Eric successfully completed a lap. He slowly opened his eyes, a glint of fatigue and joy flashing in them.

Robin nodded slightly to him, and the two of them understood each other tacitly and did not talk about the matter again.

At this moment, no words were needed, they both understood what each other was thinking.

Afterwards, Robin followed Eric's instructions and began to practice the Knight-level breathing technique. However, to his surprise, the practice was surprisingly simple.

Although those meridians had never had Qi flowing through them before, for some reason, they were now unusually smooth, as if they had been opened up long ago.

Robin devoted himself to the practice, and after just one week, he found that his efficiency was more than five times faster than Eric's.

After finishing his training, he couldn't wait to check his data panel.

[Name]: Robin
[Occupation]: Knight Apprentice
[Level]: Knight (Entry Level)
【Skill】:
First-level swordsmanship: Increases the power of sword attacks by 10%, experience: 1997/2000
First-level combat skills: close combat attack power increased by 10%, experience: 1994/2000
Level 2 Archery: Arrow attack increases by 20%, Experience: 141/20000
Archery Skills: Earth Explosion Arrow (Concentrates earth force arrows, explodes after hitting the target, consumes a lot of energy)
Earth Dragon Breathing (Advanced Knight Level): Accelerates health recovery, Apprentice Level Experience: 1025/10000
【Equipment】: Excellent long sword, leather armor

Free Experience: 177
Robin's eyes widened suddenly. He gained five experience points on the first run. According to this efficiency, he could easily gain fifty points a day according to his previous practice efficiency.

(End of this chapter)