The speaker was a young man standing next to him, wearing a tattered gray coat but still dressed in armor.
Compared to everyone else present, he resembled a samurai more. However, the samurai's sharpness that should have been present in him was nowhere to be seen.
The only thing that still retained a trace of martial spirit was his incredibly sharp eyes, which were now looking down on Alphonse with disdain.
It must be said that his eyes, hidden behind his messy bangs, were quite sharp.
Elfang faced the man and, at the same time, retorted to the Eagle Clan, "Aren't you the Kingdom's Second Knights Order?"
"Ha! The Second Knights! I haven't heard that ironic name in ages!" The burly man sat sideways, his left hand resting on the table, unimpressed. "Ha, ha!"
"Does the king still care about us at this point? He sent this greenhorn this time, probably just to get rid of us!"
The warriors present all sneered, followed by an awkward silence that left everyone, including Alphonse, speechless.
A mocking remark garnered more responses than a declaration of a southern expedition.
Alphonse was baffled, but felt more disappointed and angry.
"You, you all... with this kind of attitude, can you still be considered a knightly order? Can you still be considered knights of the kingdom?"
“We are still knights. But you are not our knight commander.”
After uttering these words, which contained a hint of contempt and anger, the man in gray stood up, turned around, and left the hall without looking back.
It was clear that the man in gray despised Alphonse. But it was truly unclear where his anger came from.
The Eagle Clan was dismissive of the young "leader" who had come to claim he would take over their group, and felt a deep sense of rejection towards him.
Today, "Commander" Alphonse was publicly humiliated by the Fierce Eagles, putting him in such an embarrassing situation on his very first day.
At that moment, he truly felt that if they were all compared to soaring eagles.
Therefore, uniting their morale is as difficult as gathering them all in one place.
Extremely difficult.
"Big brother—"
Alphonse lay sprawled on the boundless grassland until a childish voice called out to him from not far away.
He stood up briskly and discovered that it was the boy who had attended the event with the Fierce Eagles earlier that day.
He was about fourteen or fifteen years old, with bright eyes, hair that appeared reddish-brown in the darkness, fair skin, and neat clothes. He didn't look like a soldier who had received military training at all.
"What's up?"
"Big brother... are you still thinking about today's meeting?"
A child's sense of touch is always so keen that it easily saw through his thoughts. At the same time, he also thought the child was very innocent and naive, asking such a direct question.
Alphonse forced a smile, but instead of answering, he asked, "Why...aren't you going back to sleep?"
The child lay on the grass with Alphonse. His name was Oliver, and he was the youngest apprentice knight in the order. Despite his young age, he got along very well with the others.
"Big Brother Leader, actually... they really aren't bad people, really!"
Oliver sat up, a serious expression on his youthful face.
This is the truth that the child firmly believes in.
Alphonse felt a bittersweet relief; the first person to call him commander and treat him as such was actually a child.
From Oliver, Alphonse learned the reason why the Falcon Knights had fallen into such a state of decline.
The Fierce Eagle Knights were once the most valiant knightly order in the kingdom, their reputation even surpassing that of the Royal Knights, who were directly under the royal family.
The former leader of the Fierce Eagles was also renowned and unmatched in strength throughout the kingdom.
The eagle's battle flag once struck fear into the hearts of countless enemies, and even the demons that dwell in the polar regions.
Their loyalty to their country was a fact that was evident to all.
Five years ago, during the northern campaign, the Fierce Eagles suffered a complete defeat in their desperate battle against the demons because they failed to receive reinforcements from the Royal Knights.
To ensure the safety of the remaining knights during their retreat, the commander stood alone against the entire demon army, ultimately dying on the battlefield. Even as he lost the light in his eyes, his figure remained steadfast.
It's like a steel pillar standing on the battlefield, unyielding to the enemy.
After returning, the headless eagle gradually became dejected and lost its former glory.
Wang Nian, considering their past contributions, allowed them to rest for a while until they could return to the battlefield.
"The older brother who's still wearing armor is called Finchley, and he's a close friend of the former captain. He's the most loyal member of the Knights. But he's definitely not a bad person!"
The listeners could not sense the excitement in Oliver's heart.
"That armor is the one Brother Finchley wore on his last campaign!"
These words made Alphonse realize something. He nodded in response, but his heart was still filled with helplessness.
The next morning, the Knights' training grounds were bustling as usual.
As soldiers, the only good habit they still retained was getting up early. This made them not seem too decadent.
The noise was like that of a bustling marketplace. To be precise, it resembled a casino belonging solely to the Knights Order.
It turned out that some people were still practicing. But upon closer inspection, it was discovered that they were simply throwing darts aimlessly, using it as a form of entertainment and competition among themselves.
It wasn't really a practice session; it was just a regular leisure activity.
The darts they actually used for throwing had long since rusted and were no longer part of their game. They used short daggers with wooden handles as a substitute, which were heavier and more difficult, but they enjoyed them just as much.
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