(Alphonse Chapter)
Kingdom of Valentino, Alchemy Era 130...
The palace was ablaze with the light of ten thousand lamps, shining eternally. Inside, King Valentino and his courtiers continued their banquet until the early hours of the morning, when the moon and stars were few.
Of the ministers who had been drinking together, only his trusted confidant, Van Rexor, remained.
"So that young man named 'Elphons' really was the companion Priscilla met during her adventures after she secretly escaped from the palace. Just a few days ago, my daughter ran over to me with a beaming smile and told me that this young man was the companion she lost seven years ago." The king, emboldened by the wine, spoke again of the young man who had amazed everyone with his martial arts skills in the dueling arena that day.
On the day the Royal Knights returned to the capital after their campaign, in the arena where the kingdom's warriors gathered, Elfons defeated the giant warrior from the southern barbarians.
As for this burly man, he was quite strong, even the Royal Cavalry couldn't defeat him.
But Alphonse, who suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes, was wielding only a wooden stick, and bravely fought against his giant blade.
Not only that, but she also knocked him to the ground with just one sword technique, rendering him unable to move. Having mastered such superb martial arts skills, he was worlds apart from the "Elphons who couldn't even kill a chicken" that Priscilla had described.
If the kingdom were to acquire such a prodigy, the king was certain that it would strengthen the royal army.
Alphonse even used an unexpected trick to knock Van's sword away during a direct sword duel, causing Van to lose.
This shows that—
If one day Alphonse were to become a general and lead troops across the battlefield, not only would his martial skills be unmatched, but his military strategies would also be unpredictable. Alphonse would be a truly great general.
However, he was not suited to join the Royal Knights, which were managed by Van Rexor.
Having lived away from home for a long time, he had never received formal training from Wang Jun.
His untamed gaze revealed a bold and chivalrous spirit.
Alphonse is not suited to the disciplined Royal Knights; he is inherently incompatible with regular troops.
Two tigers cannot share one mountain. Elphons is a rare talent, but the Royal Knights only need one more talent, Vanrexor.
"If he hadn't been separated from Priscilla in the Sea of Trees back then, he would have joined the kingdom long ago and become a famous general. But in his current state, he is really not suitable to be a royal knight."
So the king put him in charge of the "Fierce Eagles." If Elfons was truly a talented man, he would surely be able to lead the fiercely independent and exceptionally strong members of the Fierce Eagles. The king had really gone to great lengths to cultivate him.
"No one truly understands me, not even my own daughter Priscilla. Yet you have discerned my intentions."
Van Rexor's words won the king's praise.
In fact, Van was deliberately speaking to Priscilla, who was hiding behind the curtains in the palace.
He glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye, revealing a smile that even the king could hardly detect, before downing the wine in his glass in one gulp.
“Tch, Fan is really… becoming more and more like his father…” Priscilla, who was kneeling and eavesdropping under the cover of a large curtain, pouted.
At the same time, he secretly felt grateful for the king's good intentions on behalf of Alphonse.
Whether he can complete his father's test or not depends entirely on himself.
“Fan… do you know, when I took a liking to you when you were still young, I felt the same way.”
-
They spent their days drinking and making merry. Empty bottles were smashed on the ground, the shards of ceramic no less numerous than the dirty footprints.
The soldiers were poorly trained and disorganized, not much different from the aimless generation wandering the streets.
Weapons rusted, blades dulled. Bowstrings snapped, shield corners cracked.
This was Elphons' first impression of the Kingdom's Second Knight Order—the Fierce Eagle Knights.
He stared blankly at the night sky, recalling the infuriating mob, his heart filled with disappointment.
The king actually wants to take over such a knightly order himself... no, they shouldn't be called knights.
There was already a conflict with them on the very first day. Here's what happened.
At sunset, Elfon summoned all the knights of the Fierce Eagles, except for the soldiers, to announce the southern expedition.
Leaving aside the fact that a routine gathering took a full quarter of an hour, and the fact that only six people, referred to as knights, were present—each of them looking listless and dispirited.
In the center of the hall, there is a huge round table symbolizing freedom and equality.
It is said that this was specially commissioned by the former commander for the Falcon Knights in imitation of the Knights of the Round Table from Western legend.
The former commander hoped that his warriors would be as brave as the Knights of the Round Table, uphold their beliefs, and treat each other as equals like brothers.
But if he could see this situation from heaven, I wonder what he would think.
Including Alphonse, there were only seven people present at the round table.
Leaving aside the dazed, burly man who was holding a wine jug when he attended the meeting, and the young man in shabby gray clothes—among them was even a child who was not yet an adult.
Is this what they call the Second Knights of the Kingdom?
"King Valentino summoned me to meet with the members of the Fierce Eagles and gave me the mission to lead the Fierce Eagle Knights to the south of the kingdom to quell the war."
"Southern expedition?" the burly man asked, feigning ignorance. He then let out a burp, no longer caring about the matter, and continued drinking by himself.
Aside from showing their reluctance, they had no other decent expressions to show in response to the newly appointed commander, Alphonse.
After a long pause, a deep voice sounded from beside the round table.
"Is this all the reason you summoned us here? The king actually thinks so highly of us that he wants us to lead a southern expedition? Kid, are you deaf? Did you hear that right?"
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