Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

Chapter 342: Chapter 329: Meeting

At the edge of the training grounds, Teresa’s slender figure appeared without a sound.

She was as silent as ever, her gaze sweeping calmly over the two in the middle of the field.

Seeing her, Roland halted his Sword Momentum and called out a greeting.

"Teresa."

Gloria stopped as well.

"Well then, Sir Roland, I’ll go and prepare for tomorrow’s journey."

She nodded a farewell to Roland, then gave Teresa a simple nod as well. She turned crisply and left, her figure quickly vanishing through the exit of the training grounds.

Once Gloria was gone, Teresa slowly approached.

Her gaze landed on Roland, and she spoke softly.

"You two seemed... very absorbed in your conversation just now."

"Yes."

Roland sheathed his sword.

"We just finalized our plan of attack against Anno, which will begin after we rendezvous with Duke."

Teresa fell silent for a moment. Her voice was as cold as ever, yet it held a faint, almost imperceptible note of inquiry.

"And after that? What are your plans? Will you continue helping Her Imperial Highness the Princess to completely resolve the crisis in the Golden Valley Kingdom?"

A grim smile touched Roland’s lips.

"Of course I’ll help, but not to save this Kingdom. It’s because of Anno."

His voice suddenly turned cold.

"He dragged us into this conflict for no reason, even cornering us. I have no intention of taking that lying down."

"My goal is to completely shatter his schemes and make him pay the price."

His fingers unconsciously brushed against his sword hilt, a sharp glint in his eyes.

"If I can take his life with my own hands, that would be for the best, but..."

Roland’s tone softened, becoming calm and pragmatic.

"If the situation changes, we don’t need to be stubborn and fight to the death. When Duke, Anno, and the River Domain are locked in a three-way melee, that will be the perfect opportunity for us to get out of here."

Teresa listened quietly, nodding lightly.

But when her gaze drifted to Roland’s hand, clenched around his sword hilt from the long training session, she paused.

Her mind suddenly flashed back to the recent past.

’The dark wilderness... a terrifying Abyssal Creature waving its twisted limbs... I was completely suppressed by its horrifying aura, hanging on by a thread...’

’Then Roland burst onto the battlefield, a flash of lightning tearing through the night.’

’The Longsword he now held so steadily was, back then, Burning with a blazing, sacred light, pulling me back from the brink of despair.’

A complex, indescribable emotion crept into her heart.

It was the subtle sting of resentment and guilt at her own inadequacy, at still having to rely on another for protection.

It was the faint disappointment and shame born from witnessing Roland’s rapid growth in strength compared to her own slow progress.

These tangled emotions made her eyes, usually as serene as a deep lake, cloud over with a flicker of bewilderment.

Roland keenly sensed her momentary distraction and the subtle shift in her presence, but he couldn’t fully grasp the meaning behind her complex emotions.

He just vaguely felt that she suddenly seemed a bit... different.

"What’s wrong, Teresa?"

He asked with concern.

"You seem a little absent-minded."

Teresa shook her head lightly, her silver hair shimmering softly in the dim light of the training ground.

"It’s nothing..."

Her voice was still steady, but her gaze unconsciously flitted in the direction Gloria had left.

"It’s just that your Swordsmanship really has improved so much."

She paused for a moment, her fingers unconsciously fidgeting with the corner of her clothes.

This subtle movement was a delicate contrast to her usual cold and detached appearance.

"Mr. Roland..."

Her voice was as light as a whisper.

"Could you... instruct me a little, as well? I feel my Combat Skills still need improvement."

Roland raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.

Teresa had always been independent and self-possessed, rarely making such a request on her own initiative.

But he quickly broke into a gentle smile.

"Of course. Your Sword Skills are already outstanding. We can learn from each other."

The training began again, but the atmosphere was completely different from before.

Teresa’s movements were more fluid and precise than Gloria’s. Every strike carried the weight of long-accumulated battle experience, yet at critical moments, she would deliberately restrain her force.

Her eyes never left Roland.

Deep within her eyes, normally so calm they bordered on indifferent, lay a hidden Concentration and adoration that only the most observant person could notice.

When blocking, she would imperceptibly linger for an extra moment.

When retreating, her gaze would always fall on Roland’s face first.

These subtle actions were cleverly hidden within her fluid offense and defense.

Like an undercurrent beneath the moonlight, only the sharpest observer could catch that abnormal emotional pulse.

Roland didn’t notice this hidden anomaly. He was completely absorbed in his instruction, analyzing her every move with the earnestness of a true mentor—pure and focused.

But for Teresa, this moment of close-quarters combat—the sound of their breaths mingling in the air, Roland’s gaze fixed upon her...

Even though his gaze held no extraordinary emotion,

it was enough to make her temporarily forget the strange unease and bitterness she’d felt before.

It wasn’t until evening that this rare training session came to an end.

「Early the next morning」

Before dawn, Roland and his party were already assembled and ready to depart.

The students from the River Domain, after several days of rest, had recovered their strength and were in high spirits.

But this time, their group was far larger than that.

In response to Gloria’s call to purge the Abyssal Influence, High Priest Bordo of the Fiery Sun Church did not hesitate to summon the Church’s most elite guards to join the crusade against Duke Anno.

A full one thousand men stood solemnly in the faint Dawn Light, their Armor reflecting the sun that had yet to rise. Their silence exuded a presence that could not be underestimated.

Roland’s gaze swept over this group of Church guards.

They were uniformly equipped and highly disciplined. Although none among them had truly set foot on the Path to the Extraordinary, every one of them had a steady presence and a sharp gaze. They had clearly crossed the threshold of becoming extraordinary, possessing rich combat experience that set them far apart from ordinary soldiers.

After a brief and resolute pre-battle oath, the mighty procession departed from the Land of the Sun Crown, heading east.

Thanks to the tense situation between Duke Anno and the River Domain, with war on the verge of breaking out, the checkpoints along the way were lightly guarded, and they encountered almost no proper inspections.

Thus, they arrived with surprising ease at the rendezvous point previously agreed upon by Gloria and Duke.

An open valley surrounded by rolling hills.

Everyone rested briefly, calming their horses and checking their equipment.

As evening fell, the sky tinged with gold and red, a line of mounted figures finally appeared on the distant horizon, riding steadily toward them in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The leader had an upright posture, his Armor glinting with a cold, hard luster in the twilight.

It was none other than the Duke of the West, Duke.

Escorted by several elite Fiery Sun Guards and Roland, Gloria rode forward to formally meet with Duke in the open space between their two parties.

The meeting went just as she had expected.

Duke expressed clear satisfaction with what she had promised, and when she requested to borrow an elite unit, he agreed without hesitation.

While Gloria and Duke were talking, Roland was also calmly observing the Duke of the West.

He had a burly frame, and his bearing carried the majesty of someone long in a high position, combined with the characteristic competence of a soldier.

But what truly caught Roland’s attention was the abnormally vast and vigorous Blood Qi within his body, which seemed almost on the verge of overflowing.

That was not a state an ordinary Knight could achieve through tempering with a Breathing Technique.

A profound and almost wild Life Energy, faintly hinting at something far from ordinary.

As they were about to part, Gloria reminded him with a grave expression.

"Your Grace, you must be on your guard. Anno... he has mastered Abyssal Power."

Duke’s expression remained unchanged. He only nodded slightly and said in a deep voice,

"I understand."

Gloria said no more. She turned her horse and departed, surrounded by Roland and the Fiery Sun Guards.

Duke remained on his horse, his gaze following her receding figure. A sharp, unnoticeable glint flashed in his eyes as he muttered to himself.

’Abyssal Power, is it? But...’

Recalling their conversation, the Duke of the West’s lips curled slightly.

’Such boldness and calculation... not what I’d expect from a Saintess who has spent her life with the Church.’

His admiration aside, his gaze fell on Roland, who had remained constantly at Gloria’s side.

His riding posture was steady, his back straight and strong. He seemed to have nothing special about him, yet it made Duke’s brow furrow almost imperceptibly.

’Hm?’

He grunted softly, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

’This kid’s presence... is a little unusual.’

’On the surface, he seems no different from an ordinary person, but my intuition, honed over years of life-and-death combat, is picking up on something... something faint and strange.’

’It’s not the pressure of great Power, nor the emptiness of weakness. It’s an indescribable, abnormal stability, one that’s been perfectly contained.’

’Is he the meticulously trained scion of some noble house?’

Duke shook his head, temporarily pushing his slight doubts about Roland to the back of his mind.

He tightened his reins, turned his horse to face the army standing solemnly behind him, and raised his voice, his words carrying across the field.

"All troops, listen to my command! Turn southeast! Target... the eastern border of the Golden Valley Kingdom! Full speed ahead, to ’reinforce’ Duke Anno!"