The bright sunshine illuminated the earth, with clouds dancing in the sky.

The wind stirred the green leaves, the vast plains' wild grass undulating like ocean waves.

In the summer of the Silver Moon Seventh Year, the entire continent still struggled in iron and blood. Standing on Gray's side... or rather, on the side of Jones and Richie—the forces of the White Bone Holy Light Court—were brewing a counterattack.

It would be a grand-scale decisive battle, the clash of iron and blood before dawn breaks. Even in the name of justice, countless families would still be shattered.

Sounds awful, doesn't it? To pursue beauty, a price must first be paid. And before beauty is realized, it only exists in your mind, you don't even know if it will become real.

Individuals, tribes, or factions, at this moment all turned into gamblers, sitting at the tables and betting everything they have.

The future is elusive, but at least for now, the world is beautiful.

Like the sunshine in the sky, or the splash of green in the forest.

Outside the White City's outskirts, the "arena" ordered by Yilin was bustling with people, bursts of cheers erupting.

To call it an "arena" was an overstatement. More accurately, it was a partially stone-built, primarily fenced gladiatorial area. A large group of warhorses ran inside, stirring up mud and sand; one rain shower and it would probably turn into a countryside mud pit.

In such times, Yilin clearly had no more budget to construct this place flawlessly, but also couldn't do without it, because Yilin needed to select new Knights. Selecting from the commoners.

This was usually impossible, as an additional Knight meant extra provisions. Even putting aside the personal expenses of a Knight, the lord had to ensure the Knight's equipment and horse were provided for. Few lords wanted to increase their burden—unless war was imminent.

Clearly, it was now.

The entry-level group lined up outside the arena for physical inspection, opening their mouths and turning around like livestock, following the medical officer's instructions. Once they passed, they would be allowed to become soldiers.

The intermediate group was already testing their physical abilities. By requirement, they must be able to lift a hundred-kilogram iron block and hold it for fifteen seconds.

This requirement... is honestly a bit high. At least, the requirements for noble Knights before weren't this high.

Of course, the situation now is a bit special, given that once appointed, they would actually be going to the battlefield, so the higher standards are appropriate too.

After passing the intermediate group's test, they could become squire knights. After three years, they could become legitimate Knights through a simple appraisal.

Don't want to wait three years?

No problem, there's another way. You just need to defeat a formal Knight in the advanced group.

This was the most spectacular part of the entire arena.

Most participants who passed the intermediate group tests wouldn't be satisfied with merely the title of squire knight. Wouldn't they at least try, no matter what?

So, they would all participate in the advanced group tests.

Yilin's double rosemary flag flapped loudly in the wind.

A row of ten Knights sat on the podium, waiting for challengers to pick, among whom we saw some familiar faces.

Huoersi, Yilin's trusted general, was the one who drove the kids following Gray out of the military camp before the Battle of White City. Compared to when he first met Gray, his hair was already somewhat graying.

Mike Barack. Yes, the Knight with the ponytail, Yilin's admirer and loyalist. After so many years, he remained Yilin's admirer and loyalist, still wearing a ponytail. Compared to before, maybe only the crow's feet at the corner of his eyes have increased, making him look slightly more mature.

Pas Keller, the former Red Scorpion Mercenary Group leader, was the one who started hitting on girls the moment he wasn't watched at the ball. He wasn't a mercenary anymore; he's now Yilin's legitimate Knight Captain, although he still led his original mercenary group.

Uh... let me rephrase that, Yilin acquired the Red Scorpion Mercenary Group. That's pretty much what happened.

A burly man who just passed the intermediate group test arrived in front of them, hesitatingly reaching out a hand, intending to point at Huoersi.

Huoersi looked at him with a blank expression.

Trembling slightly, the burly man withdrew his hand again, attempting to point to the other side at Mike.

Mike, holding his sword, suddenly stood up, scaring the burly man into retracting his hand again.

The scene was somewhat awkward... After all, none of the ten Knights present were pushovers. At least for humans, this was true, even for those who passed the intermediate test.

The gap between a Knight trained long-term and ordinary humans wasn't just in physical ability; it was more about the combat skills. This is also why one could naturally ascend to a Knight after serving as a squire knight for three years but needed to defeat a Knight to ascend after passing the intermediate test.

For someone who wasn't initially a Knight, or even a mercenary, defeating one was extremely difficult. Ninety-nine percent of the challengers couldn't directly pass the advanced test.

"Have you chosen?" asked Abi Robbs softly, standing aside to host.

Abi Robbs, Yilin's trusted minister and advisor.

Hesitating, the burly man finally pointed to Pas: "Him."

The crowd watching outside the fence craned their necks, whispering among themselves.

"Why choose him? Pas seems pretty strong."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.