Chapter 3

In the morning, the sunlight illuminated the entire castle, revealing its massive form. Compared to other castles of the same rank, this one was already considered enormous, built over ten years by the first Lord Bennett.

Due to the incompetence of some of the subsequent generations, the Bennett family lost their noble title, retaining only the title of knight. This often left Knight Bennett feeling frustrated whenever he mentioned it.

Knight Bennett's greatest regret was not having achieved enough military honors. Although he fought bravely and tenaciously in the war against the orcs, he still did not accumulate enough military honors to regain his noble title.

Therefore, Knight Bennett was extremely dedicated to his children's education, especially his eldest son, Zack. If Zack could become a knight before the age of thirty, the castle's legacy would be secured. After that, it would depend on how much effort Zack put in to see if he could elevate his title.

Knight Bennett had no particular expectations for his younger son. He originally planned to have someone teach his younger son some arithmetic in his youth and then help him find a good job in the city. However, his younger son chose the path of a knight, which made Knight Bennett somewhat uneasy. The path his younger son chose was even more difficult than his older brother's, as he had no castle, no warhorse, and no armor. His younger son would become a wandering knight, a profession not recognized by the nobility. He would have to slowly earn money through battles to buy his own warhorse and armor, and it would be considered a success if he could settle down by the age of forty. Most wandering knights, however, would fall on the road.

"Have you advanced?"

In the training ground, Knight Bennett was surprised to find that his second son, Aber, had successfully advanced to a first-level squire after just two months of training. It had taken Knight Bennett four months to advance, and his eldest son, Zack, had taken four and a half months. But his least favored son, with no resources or attention, had advanced to a first-level squire in just two months.

"Yes, Father, I advanced last night."

Zack stepped forward, grabbed Aber, and lifted him into the air, spinning him around while laughing and shouting, "My dear brother, you're a genius."

As Aber struggled, Zack put him down, patted his shoulder, and said firmly, "You're a genius."

Knight Bennett, standing nearby, shook his head slightly, a mix of happiness and sadness on his face. He sighed, "What a pity, what a pity."

If Aber were his eldest son, or if the income from the knight's fief were higher, he would have devoted all his efforts to cultivating Aber. But under the current circumstances, it was already difficult to fully support Zack's training, let alone Aber's.

Yesterday, Aber obtained the Horadric Cube, which, although he couldn't use the town portal scroll, was still a powerful artifact. In the morning, Aber kept recalling the formula of the Horadric Cube. Since he could use only a few formulas, he planned to go to the town to see if there was anything that could help him.

"Father, I want to go to Liptown today," Aber said without hesitation, a characteristic of the knight family. There was no need to beat around the bush; Aber had become accustomed to this straightforward way of speaking.

"Sure, you just advanced, so no training today. It's good to go to the town and relax," Knight Bennett replied.

Zack said, "I'll help you lead the horse."

He ran to the stable, found a draft horse, saddled it, and helped Aber mount, secretly slipping him a gold coin.

Knight Bennett watched everything without saying a word, but his face showed relief. In many noble families, brothers often fought each other, making this brotherly affection all the more precious.

Except for warhorses, all other horses were called draft horses. Warhorses were fed special oats and soybeans, costing 10 gold coins per month. Without these special feeds, warhorses would quickly lose weight and become ordinary draft horses.

The draft horse Aber rode was a two-year-old foal, a descendant of a warhorse, but it had become a draft horse due to the lack of proper feeding.

Aber rode the horse, followed by a servant named Norman, who wore leather armor and carried a longsword. Norman did not ride a horse but ran behind the draft horse. Fortunately, it was a small draft horse, and its speed was not fast, so Norman did not find it tiring.

Norman was a veteran brought back by Knight Bennett from the battlefield. After returning, he settled with his family in Bennett Castle. This was a common attitude of the nobility towards their servants, making them grateful and ensuring their loyalty.

Norman was an excellent swordsman, and with the warrior secrets provided by Knight Bennett, he became a level six warrior. Although he had no special skills, his swordsmanship was so proficient that his combat power was formidable. Therefore, whenever Aber went out, Knight Bennett always felt confident having Norman accompany him.

"Master, stop."

Norman had already drawn his hand sword, holding it in his hand, his eyes fixed on the roadside forest. They were about half an hour away from the castle and half an hour from Liptown. If something happened here, they would be unable to seek help from either side.

Aber pulled the draft horse to a stop, drew the fine iron dagger given to him by Zack, and asked softly, "What did you find?"

Aber was much taller on the horse than Norman, but after careful observation, he saw nothing. Just as he was puzzled, a roar came from the forest, and a black shadow darted out. Aber could now see it was a shadow leopard.

The shadow leopard was extremely fast, reaching the draft horse in a few steps and biting at the horse's neck. The draft horse, being a descendant of a warhorse, let out a neigh and jumped backward, narrowly avoiding the fatal bite.

Norman charged forward, his longsword slicing through the air with a whistling sound, aiming at the shadow leopard. Shadow leopards were not ordinary leopards; they usually did not appear during the day, especially on the road. They preferred to hide in the dark, waiting for prey to pass by, then biting the prey's neck. Today, the shadow leopard must have been very hungry, forcing it to leave the forest in search of prey.

The shadow leopard was too fast, and every strike from Norman was dodged. The shadow leopard's attacks were also ineffective, but Norman, with his experience, always managed to block them with his greatsword.

Aber dismounted and slowly approached the battlefield. The shadow leopard did not pay attention to this small human, knowing that as long as it took down the human with the sword, it would have enough food.

Aber did not immediately join the battle but circled around the battlefield, looking for an opportunity. Entering the battle now would only add to Norman's troubles, and for the shadow leopard, the small human, no matter how hard he tried, could not penetrate its fur.

At this moment, Norman and the shadow leopard engaged in their first clash. Norman's longsword struck the shadow leopard's back, originally aimed at the neck, but the shadow leopard's twist avoided the critical point. The shadow leopard's tail lashed out at Norman's leg, causing him pain and making his steps stagger due to the injury.

At this moment, Aber took a deep breath, and a powerful force surged from his qi meridians. This was a method for squires to overextend their bodies, giving them only one powerful strike. If there were a second strike, the qi meridians would be irreparably damaged.

As the shadow leopard was hit by the sword and its tail lashed out, its body paused in the air. This was the opportunity Aber had been waiting for. He stomped his foot and charged forward. The shadow leopard saw Aber's figure in the air but was affected by its recent injury. Aber's dagger extended toward the shadow leopard's back, piercing it from behind.

"Oooh!" The shadow leopard let out a sharp cry. At this moment, Aber released the dagger and stepped back, and a black tail swept past him.

Norman, limping from his injury, pulled Aber behind him and said, "Be careful." He then took off his scabbard from his back and threw it at the shadow leopard. Just as it was about to hit, the shadow leopard extended its claw, grabbing the scabbard, and then fell silent.

Norman approached and picked up the scabbard, showing the claw marks to Aber and said, "Master, many wild beasts have the habit of a final strike."

He then lifted the shadow leopard's body, examined the wound at the back, and while removing the dagger from the wound, said with a smile, "This was killed by you, Master. What do you want to do with it?"

"Let's take it to the town and sell it."

Aber then looked at Norman's leg and said, "Next, you ride the horse and put the shadow leopard on it."

Norman did not hesitate. To him, his life belonged to the Bennett family, and his injury did not affect his ability to travel. The best way was to ride the horse.