Knight with Wand

After knocking down countless challengers, the guard selection that lasted for two hours finally came to an end.

The crowd's cheers of excitement gradually died down. Leon waited until there were no new candidates in the team in front of him, and then he turned around to look at the five guards who stood out from nearly 150 people.

In addition to Zabron, the first one to pass the test, the other four were named Pavel, Boz, Brinnan, and Dardanelle. They were all between 25 and 30 years old and came from different backgrounds. There were hunters, leatherworkers, herdsmen, and brewers. Everyone had long-term experience in serving in the lord's army.

Unfortunately, all five of them came from Longka and Pletton.

Although Selva had more soldiers than the other two places before, none of the local peasant soldiers could pass the test.

Turning his head to look at Olivia, Leon couldn't help but feel that perhaps the existence of this girl alone had squeezed out all of Selva's martial virtue.

Just as he was about to end the gathering, he heard an unexpected stuttering voice from the crowd of villagers watching outside the venue.

"Lord Leon! Please wait, wait, wait!"

Hearing this familiar voice, Leon turned around and looked.

He saw the young man he hired to take care of the horses at home rushed into the venue in three or two steps.

He quickly ran over and saluted on one knee, with an anxious expression.

"My lord, please please ask! Can I get it?"

Long accustomed to his stuttering, Leon immediately understood what his horseman meant, and took the initiative to ask: "Do you want to try it too?"

"Well! I, I, I also want to be. Your guard!"

Hawk made the request with difficulty and nodded vigorously.

The stuttering young man was glad that he came in time.

He was originally taking care of the lord's warhorse in the stable. If it weren't for the other servants who pulled him over to watch the fun, he would have almost missed the opportunity at the moment.

Leon didn't expect that this honest young man who grew up eating at a hundred families' meals would actually wield a sword.

But since the first boiling state of magic element in his body had not ended yet, Leon did not mind testing one more person, not to mention that the other party was a servant hired by his family.

"Go put on the armor."

After getting the nod, Hawke quickly ran to the remaining five armors and chose a set of Uriah scale armor.

After putting it on, he picked up the sword and shield, turned around and stepped into the field nervously and excitedly.

Leon looked at Hawke, examining his clumsy sword and shield posture, and he was slightly disappointed.

The posture of this stuttering young man holding the shield showed that he was not good at using the shield.

But Leon would not let him off just because he was an acquaintance. The annual salary of 24 gold coins was not blown by the wind.

Just like testing other people, raising the long sword, Leon steadily set up the roof-style, and did not wait for Hawke to approach actively, and stepped straight in.

He quickly entered the attack distance and attacked with force. The front blade of the sword hit the side edge of Hawke's empty shield and attacked fiercely. The slashing attack unexpectedly crushed the stuttering youth's unfamiliar defensive posture.

But when Leon's sword blade followed the flaw created by the slash and turned from slashing to stabbing, intending to end the test, he found that while Hawke raised his sword to block the sword, his body bypassed the attack path like a tumbler.

The stuttering youth's waist led his steps to turn, and he took a spoon-shaped path to the side, instantly opening up the distance.

While abandoning the shield for defense, he retreated to the side, shook his shoulders and arms, and raised his one-handed sword vertically to barely block the horizontal swing trajectory of Leon's change of moves.

The dancing front blade pressed the horizontal surface of Hawke's one-handed sword and hit the side of the youth's helmet, making a crisp sound.

Although embarrassed, Leon's third attack was finally defended.

Seeing Hawke's body retreating in panic after being hit, Leon paused his attack for a while.

This familiar rhythm of body movements

Cat spin?

Leon couldn't help but turn his head to look at the blonde girl outside the field.

Has Olivia taught Hawke martial arts before?

But Leon also saw surprise in the girl's expression.

Seeing the puzzled look behind her friend's mask, Olivia spread her hands, nodded and shook her head.

She did practice a few moves in front of Hawke and other villagers before, and never deliberately avoided acquaintances when practicing martial arts.

But. Cat spin is such a complicated skill, she really didn't have time to teach anyone except Leon and them.

After all, this set of self-created footwork logic and force techniques were just summarized by the girl in recent years. Only when she made friends with three extraordinary friends at the beginning, she taught everyone the principles as a parting gift.

Olivia recalled and looked at Hawke on the field.

The only time when the other party and her skills intersected was when she was instructing Leon and the other two in the yard, and Hawke was watching from the side of the stable.

Leon put aside his conjecture and put his attention back on Hawke.

Three swords.

Whether it was taught by Olivia or not, Leon noticed the other party's carefulness and potential. This stuttering young man obviously practiced this skill privately.

He carefully examined Hawke who raised his shield again.

Leon stepped forward.

With a trick, he shook off the other party's immature shield-raising direction. Intent on testing the other party's short-lived body skills, Leon raised his sword and stabbed straight, without using more tricky attacks.

Seeing Hawke turn around and take another spoon-shaped step, while pressing the sword with his right hand to block the stab, he actually took the opportunity to move forward and try to counterattack.

Leon understood.

That is not the best way to use the cat spin technique.

In the face of a stab, it is reasonable to say that the cat spin step combined with an oblique side attack is the best solution. A direct frontal counterattack will undoubtedly waste the opportunity.

It seems that the stuttering young man in front of him has only mastered the basic spoon-shaped step.

He stepped out with his left foot, retracted his arm and raised his hand to turn the sword guard, blocking Hawke's blade. Leon immediately crossed his hands, and the long sword turned like a helicopter propeller, slashing at Hawke's side waist.

The stuttering young man gritted his teeth and turned his body that felt stiff in an instant. He finally dragged his right leg and spun out of the step in an extremely ugly posture. The left arm shield that was protecting his body made a bang.

He barely blocked his lord's fast step and slashed, but Hawke, who was unstable on his feet, stumbled and was tripped by his overly strong cat spin step.

The young man lost his balance and rushed forward in an awkward manner, and fell to the ground with his sword and shield.

However

After all, he survived five moves.

"You passed." Leon retracted his sword and said to Hawke who got up from the ground.

Listening to the envious discussions in the crowd, the stuttering young man took off his helmet and smiled from ear to ear. In his excitement, his already stuttering mouth could not even speak.

Leon pulled him up and let him stand in the guards.

Finally, a Selva man passed the selection, and the stuttering young man saved some face for the young and strong men in the village.

However, he had to recruit a horseman again.

After the selected guards went back to pack their personal belongings, Leon took them to the big house of the former Selva village official to temporarily settle down.

Although he failed to recruit ten guards this time, with a total population of only a hundred or so households in the three territories, he could not expect more talents.

After a short break at noon, in the afternoon, under the arrangement of Azerien, the other young men took out the logging tools from the warehouse and went to the east side of Selva Village to clear the forest land in preparation for the future construction of the barracks.

Leon took all the young men who claimed to be able to shoot arrows to the field outside the village to set up targets.

Although the salary was not as high as that of the heavy infantry guards, the standard salary of full-time archers was offered, just to recruit relatively skilled archers.

As the only resident of Selva who could shoot arrows, Old Brian was also absent-mindedly watching the young men from other places shooting at targets one by one and competing in archery skills beside the open space.

His eyes stayed on Leon who was concentrating on selecting archers, and then looked at Olivia who was chatting with him beside him.

The old blacksmith's eyes gradually became complicated and hesitant.

As the sky gradually darkened, the young men from each village who had been busy all day followed the leader to disband and rest. Finally, they finished today's affairs. Leon and Olivia parted ways and returned home with their companions.

Before dinner time, Leon, who was discussing how to build a military camp with Azerian and others, heard the report from little Lina and Uncle Brian suddenly came to visit from next door.

When he saw the old blacksmith with a serious face, Leon was not surprised.

"Excuse me, Mr. Azerian, Mr. Lohak, I hope to talk to Lord Leon alone." Old Brian saw the other teenagers in the room and asked solemnly.

Azerian and Lohak looked at Leon, and when they saw their companions nodded at them, they got up and walked out with Corvis.

After the three companions left temporarily, Leon leaned back in his chair and looked at the old blacksmith: "You are more patient than I expected, Uncle Brian. I thought you would not be able to help but come to me a few days ago."

"How can I be patient? I just don't know what to do, Lord Leon."

Old Brian smiled bitterly: "Excuse me. How much do you know?"

Leon waved his hand and said: "Not much, I just know that she has the blood of the Orland royal family."

Even though he had learned from Olivia that his life experience was known to outsiders, Brian's eyelids still jumped when he heard it.

Leon sighed and continued: "Although I still know nothing about her identity and your identity, I have already made some guesses.

But I hope you understand that no matter how much Olivia is involved, we are willing to risk our lives to protect her. Isn't the power of us much greater than you alone?"

Thinking of the girl's willingness to support her, Leon's tone became tougher with his identity as a lord: "Since Olivia told me that she doesn't want to leave, you can't take her away from me. Even if you are stubborn, I will reject your request for relocation. I am not at ease with you taking her away alone."

Hearing the straightforward words of the young man in front of him, Old Brian did not refute.

"You are right. I have thought about it carefully these days. Since you already know the special identity of Olivia and are still willing to protect her, then I am not here today for the original plan."

"Then why are you here?" Leon wondered.

Thinking about the ominous spirits that frequently appeared around the village and the signs of war that gradually gathered in Selva, Old Brian expressed his worries first: "Lord Leon, can I know what happened around Selva?"

Leon shook his head: "Sorry, Uncle Brian, I can't trust you like I do with Olivia. This is still a secret that cannot be spread."

The old blacksmith nodded after hearing this: "Then I can only speculate a little bit. Buying so many supplies and weapons, raising food and grass, and rushing to select personal guards and recruit archers.

Even the territory laborers of the fortress were transferred back to start cutting down the forest. You plan to build a barracks next to Selva? This is not something that ordinary fief knights can do.

Such a big move must have been supported by Baron Elliver. In this way, I guess you and several lords will obviously participate in a war operation of the Thorn Flower Family as a force in the future. "

The old blacksmith can see that he wants to build a barracks instead of building a manor fortress?

Leon's expression was noncommittal: ".So?"

There was no accurate answer, but Old Brian already understood it in his heart.

He straightened his face, and his face seemed to have shed the humility that he had always pretended to have. His old voice seemed to have changed a little. Facing the young knight in front of him, Old Brian raised his hand and saluted with his chest.

"I have no other choice, Lord Leon. It is indeed an unrealistic fantasy to hope that Olivia can live a peaceful life as an ordinary girl.

I can no longer restrain her wings, and instead of choosing an unknown fate, it is better to prepare for the future early.

Although you cannot trust me yet, my observations have made me believe in your promise.

Now I want to join your army and help you gain enough power, which is also to better protect Olivia. "

Leon raised his eyebrows: "You are the village official appointed by me personally."

"No, sir, not as a village official" Old Brian shook his head.

"I was a knight on the battlefield and commanded the army. I know how to train soldiers and build fortresses for you.

I don't need personal remuneration, nor do I need any promise of status and rewards. Just think of it as an old man's boast, but please give me a chance to prove myself. "

The old blacksmith stared at the young man with burning eyes.

After hearing this, Leon, even though he was mentally prepared, couldn't help but sit up straight.

He looked at the other party more eagerly than the old blacksmith.

The sudden surprise in his heart was far greater than seeing a naked beauty.

An officer who had fought in wars and commanded soldiers. Or even a general?

Leon had already made many bold and clear assumptions about Olivia's identity.

Considering some of the inferences, Leon intuitively didn't think that the other party was bragging.

Besides, whether it was building a military camp now or facing wars in the future, he was in need of a military adviser who could help him.

"I don't know your past, Uncle Brian. If you don't mind the current makeshift team, then I can try to appoint you as my centurion to manage the conscripted soldiers in the territory."

"However, before that, I would like to ask a question first. Of course, if you don't want to answer, I won't force you. "Leon frowned and asked, "Are you Olivia's biological father?"