The year 1003 of the Holy Hui Calendar, the month of the North Wind (November).

Emerald Kingdom, Black Mountain Province, Lake County, Blackwater Valley.

The river valley plain was covered in snow, with curling smoke and some small wooden houses scattered around.

On a high ground, there is a not very majestic castle built against the mountain. The collapsed towers and battlements all show the poverty of the castle owner.

On the hillside outside the castle, in a pile of dry grass half covered by ice and snow, a cute snow rabbit was foraging for food while being on guard against natural enemies.

Seventy meters away, a young man wearing a white leather coat, a white velvet hat and brown snow boots hid behind a crooked tree, blending in with the white snow behind him.

He slowly stretched out his hand, drew the bow and put an arrow on it. The bow was a military bow, not an ordinary hunting bow.

Then, accompanied by the sound of an arrow breaking through the air, the next moment, the snow rabbit fell to the ground, and the iron arrow shot its head.

[Archery proficiency +1]

[Archery: Level 1 (9999/10000) → Level 1 (Ultimate)]

"We can have roast rabbit tonight."

Levi licked his lips, and with a thought, he opened the proficiency panel.

Levi Sneak -

Archery: Level 1 (Ultimate)

Riding: Level 1 (Extreme)

Noble Dance: Level 1 (Extreme)

Basic Fighting: Level 1 (Extreme)

Basic Swordsmanship: Level 1 (Extreme)

…

Looking at the proficiency panel in his mind, Levi's mouth curled up.

"My archery skills, which are the most difficult to improve, have reached their limit. Now, within the effective range of the bow and arrow and my field of vision, I can hit any prey I target with every shot. Looking at the history of the kingdom, my archery skills are enough to be called a master archer. And I am just a knight's squire who has been practicing for two and a half years."

"In two and a half years, I have practiced the five basic skills that a knight's squire needs to master: riding, archery, dancing, fighting, and swordplay. I have already reached my limit and exceeded the task. My physical fitness has also been improved to a certain level. I should be qualified to learn the breathing method."

"Only by learning the breathing method can you become a true knight and barely save your life in this world full of wars, natural disasters and man-made disasters, the law of the jungle and even hidden supernatural powers."

"After all, the original owner of this body might have been killed by the [evil spirit]."

Levi is not a native of this world.

Instead, he was a time traveler who was reborn into the body of this noble disciple three years ago, in the first millennium of the Holy Hui Calendar. The golden finger was the proficiency panel in his mind.

According to the original owner's last memory before his death, when the original owner was fishing in the Black Water River, he caught a female corpse with empty eye sockets, disheveled hair and white clothes. Her face was pale and swollen, and water was still spraying out of her swollen skin. It was suspected to be an evil spirit described in the folk legends of this world: the water nymph.

Then the original owner fell into eternal darkness until his own body took over.

Later, the baron's retainer, Knight Fred, found himself sleeping by the river, all wet. There was a bunch of smelly water plants and rotten fish and shrimps around him. He was muttering inexplicable incantations like "I don't have an air force (transliteration of Knight Fred)" in his sleep.

This true knight still believed that Master Levi was so angry and mad because he couldn't catch any fish that he lost his mind and went into the water to catch fish himself, but failed, which led to this scene.

Naturally, Levi did not tell anyone else about his encounter with the evil spirit, otherwise it would be difficult to explain why he was still alive after encountering the evil spirit.

But the evil spirit has become a psychological shadow for Levi, and he still dares not go to the Blackwater River.

In fact, from what Levi knows now, the legend of evil spirits has existed since ancient times, but most people have never seen them.

It’s as if there’s a legend in this world about a supernatural being called a “wizard” who controls wind, thunder, earth, and fire, but no one has ever seen one.

Even Knight Fred, who traveled all over the Emerald Kingdom in his youth and was well-informed, only regarded wizards as legends.

"Wizards, what a noble and mysterious profession. No matter how powerful a knight is, he is just a stronger Muggle. Compared with wizards, it is like a martial artist and a cultivator."

Levi was yearning for it. Most legends are not groundless, so after witnessing the real existence of evil spirits, Levi firmly believed that there must be wizards in this world, and it was not just as simple as the fictional legends of the bards.

But he also knew that with his current abilities, pursuing the goal of becoming a wizard was too illusory. He had to look up at the stars but also keep his feet on the ground.

Therefore, since he was ten years old, Levi has been constantly training himself in the five arts of knighthood. Now, with the help of the proficiency panel, in less than three years, Levi has trained all five arts of knighthood to the limit.

Levi was confident that most of the official knights, such as Sir Fred, were not as strong as him in the five basic arts of knighthood, especially the archery that Levi was proud of.

Twelve-year-old Levi is now 1.75 meters tall. He looks strong and powerful, with a broad back and strong arms. Except for his face which looks a little childish, he is stronger than many adult men in other aspects.

In this strange world with extremely low productivity, most of the malnourished civilian men who grew up eating black bread are not as strong as Levi.

This was a backward era when cold weapons were king. A strong body coupled with a knight's plate armor weighing dozens of pounds gave him an advantage in battle that was far beyond the reach of a weak body.

Now, everything is ready, except for the breathing method.

It is not the case that the earlier you learn the breathing technique the better. If your physical fitness is not good enough, forcing yourself to learn it will at best harm your body, and at worst you may become obsessed.

This is also the reason why knight squires are required to learn basic swordsmanship and basic fighting to train their bodies before becoming knight squires.

In a good mood, Levi picked up the snow rabbit on the ground and turned back home.

At the foot of the hill, a middle-aged knight with silver hair looked at Levi with a smile on his face and said in a tone of great relief.

"If the master were still alive, he would be very happy to see your archery skills."

This is Knight Fred, called "Serpent Knight" by his enemies and followers. He was a man that the Baron told Levi before his death that he could absolutely trust.

This is indeed true. For Levi, the time he spent with the Baron was far less than that with Knight Fred.

Therefore, to a certain extent, the teacher-student or master-servant relationship developed from spending time with Knight Fred day and night is stronger than the blood relationship with the Baron.

"Thank you, Lord Fred. I haven't done enough. I want to learn the breathing method and become a real knight as soon as possible. Winter is coming and the long night is coming. Wandering knights or bandits in the wilderness may invade our territory at any time and threaten our safety. I can't survive under your protection forever."

"After my father's death, we lost the Tulip Territory in the south, where spring is all year round, and the Storm Territory in the east, which is rich in minerals. The barren and remote Blackwater Valley is our last home."

"I am the only bloodline of the family. For the sake of the Snake family, I must become stronger!"

"Glory to the Black Snake! And I'm ready!"

Li Wei looked unwilling, clenched his fists, and tried hard to act.

"Black Snake Holding a Candle" is the family emblem of the Snake Family, so the Snake Family is also called the "Black Snake Family".

His father, Baron Thord Snake, is not only the Black Snake Knight, one of the "Seven Knights of the North" that everyone talks about with fear, a true great knight, but also the Earl of Tulip Territory and the Lord of Storm Territory!

Compared to the Blackwater Valley, where agricultural production is difficult to develop for half a year in winter, Tulip Territory and Storm Territory are much more prosperous.

Levi was born in the Flower City of Tulip Territory when he was a child. The climate there is humid, the plains are open, and the soil is fertile, which is extremely suitable for settlement and production development.

Although Storm Territory is often hit by stormy weather, it is also a treasure land because of its extremely rich mineral resources.

The period before Levi was ten years old was the peak period of the Black Snake Knights. He had 5,000 soldiers under his command. Relying on the precious land of Storm Territory, he had 500 fully armed and powerful cavalrymen. In this world with backward productivity, some weak dukes might have only had such a configuration.

However, all this is based on the personal strength of the Baron, the great knight.

If a knight is a master who is famous in the world of martial arts and dominates a region, then the status of a great knight is comparable to that of the Five Great Masters of the Central Plains, who dominated the entire martial arts world in an era.

Only the rare legendary knights, such as "Lionheart Knight Rhine", "Golden Knight Greg", "Blood Knight Brad", "Snowflake Knight Flair" and other legendary figures, can surpass the great knight.

The status of legendary knights in this world is similar to that of founders of martial arts schools or martial arts legends such as Bodhidharma, Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of the Xiaoyao Sect, and Dugu Qiubai. In most cases, they can only become tools that limit the combat power in the story.

Therefore, the Black Snake Knight in his peak state is at the top of the pyramid of this world's combat power.

Such a being has never returned since he accepted the call for the Millennium Holy War jointly launched by the Emerald Kingdom and the Holy Light Church against the Tuva Empire on the coast three years ago.

In the end, Levi only waited for the unbelievable news that the baron and all his soldiers had died on the battlefield.

According to the laws of the kingdom, all titles are hereditary, and the baron's three territories should be inherited by the only son Levi, but before the inheritance, they need to be notarized by a special envoy sent by the king.

Witnessed by the special envoy appointed by the Emerald King, Levi became the new owner of the three territories under the Baron, at least in name.

In fact, considering the situation at the time, Levi took the initiative to return to Baron Soder's place of fortune, the remote and barren Blackwater Valley. This territory had previously been managed by Knight Fred.

The Bloody Count and the Silver Veil Count, who had long coveted their father's territory, actually took over the Tulip Territory and the Storm Territory with the tacit approval of their master, the Duke of Black Mountain, and the kingdom turned a blind eye to it.

Although legally the territories of each lord are sacred and inviolable, in reality, the feudal lord system of the Emerald Kingdom has completely changed today.

Open and secret struggles between lords are commonplace. Levi doesn't like the feeling of being targeted, so he took the initiative to give up the two hot potatoes of Tulip Territory and Storm Territory and offered them to the Duke of Montenegro.

As the Duke of Montenegro, the largest territory in the north, and also the most senior and mysterious knight among the "Seven Knights of the North", the Duke of Montenegro has long wanted to enter the south and develop his own power. Levi's "prodigal son" behavior made the Duke of Montenegro very satisfied.

A man is innocent unless he possesses a treasure. In Levi's opinion, without great knights and a sufficient number of fully armed and elite cavalry to deter foreign enemies, occupying the Tulip Territory and the Storm Territory would be tantamount to seeking death.

Since I have the proficiency panel, I might as well withdraw safely and return to the small mountain nest in Blackwater Valley to be a small lord.

Levi had no idea of ​​becoming the king. He just wanted to practice breathing techniques quietly, rely on the proficiency panel to become a knight, a great knight, or even a legendary knight step by step, and then follow the wizard's footsteps.

After all, based on what he currently knows, only wizards can achieve his goal of immortality, and only wizards can be truly fearless of supernatural creatures such as demons and monsters.

However, although he thought this in his heart, Levi still had to act as he should in front of Knight Fred, his father's most trusted retainer.

Moreover, a knight's training requires a lot of resources and wealth. The poor are good at literature, but the rich are good at martial arts. This is also true in this world.

Therefore, Levi's plan was very clear. He would learn breathing techniques, hurry up to become a formal knight, then build a territory and earn some money for his own practice. After he had enough power to protect himself, he would travel around the seven kingdoms and embark on a journey to find a wizard.

The middle-aged knight Fred listened to Levi's youthful ambitions quietly, and a gratified smile appeared on his weather-beaten face: "Baron Levi, my master, you are indeed ready now, please follow me."