Chapter 514 Progress
Michael was a bit surprised when he heard that he had more than 2,000 Blessed Squires and 52 Holy Knights. He didn't expect his army to expand this quickly. The Basic level of the Sacred Knight Temple was truly unique.
The high efficiency of the Basic Sacred Knight Temple intrigued Michael and it made him wonder how much greater it would be to have the Intermediate, or Advanced level of the Sacred Knight Temple. He desired to upgrade the Sacred Knight Temple as soon as possible. This feeling intensified when he watched two Holy Knights spar.
One of the Holy Knights wore a heavy armor set. He brandished a large war axe in both of his hands and swung it down on the nimble Holy Knight who wore a leather armor with steel plates covering the most vital areas. The nimble Holy Knight was not as bulky but he was dexterous, and could wield two shortswords with great precision.
Both were considered Holy Knights even though they used vastly different armaments. It allowed the Holy Knights to be more versatile than Spearmen or other ordinary Combat Summons.
The nimbler Holy Knight, who Michael imagined to be named Nimbus, twisted his body until his face contorted in pain to evade the incoming axe cleave narrowly. Bulkan – the bulky Holy Knight channeled Holy Power into the war axe to pull it faster out of the ground. He then executed one of the methods he learned recently to fortify his defenses and amplify his physical strength a little. Bulkan might not be as nimble as Nimbus, but he was not going down that easily.
Nimbus executed a cross-slash imbued with Holy Power but Bulkan blocked the attack with the flat side of his war axe. A white hue shrouded Nimbus' legs and he accelerated all of a sudden, using a movement technique that required a considerable amount of Holy Power to be utilized.
Bulkan eyed Nimbus' movements intently. He predicted his enemies' first attack move and took a stride forward. The incoming shortsword was blocked, and as a result, the trajectory altered right before Bulkan appeared only a few centimeters in front of Nimbus. Bulkan headbutted Nimbus, or he tried to, only for him to miss Nimbus' head and meet with the pommel of Nimbus' shortsword.
Nimbus couldn't evade the attack completely, but he was barely fast enough to snap his head back, spin his other shortsword around, and pull it upward in a sudden movement. Blood spurted out of Bulkan's nose when the hard pommel of Nimbus' shortsword impacted hard. Some of the spectators around the sparring grounds could swear to have heard Bulkan's nose breaking. A loud crunch rang through their ears, causing various expressions to appear all over the spectators' faces.
However, Bulkan was not yet done. He circulated Holy Power through his nose as he pulled back. His expression was contorted in pain, but his eyes were fully focused on his opponent. Nimbus charged ahead; his blades coated in Holy Power. He executed the Sacred Knight Sword Style at an elementary level, issuing various slashes that were not only enough to push Bulkan's war axe to the side but also inflict several wounds all over the less protected areas of Bulkan's body.
Bulkan manifested a shield of Holy Power around his left arm to block an attack and he used his superior strength to push Nimbus' arm to the side. He let go of the war axe and punched Nimbus in the face, ignoring the other shortsword in Nimbus' hands. Nimbus cut Bulkan through a seam in his armor, but Bulkan ignored that. He continued to punch Nimbus until he fell back.
Nimbus was lying on the ground on his back with Bulkan towering over him.
"Stop! That's enough," The Immortal Knight intervened before the situation could go too bad, "Both of you are dead. Congratulations."
Siegfried applauded the two Holy Knights sarcastically.
However, Bulkan didn't want to acknowledge that.
"He stabbed into my sides, okay. BUT that is only a minor wound. I can use some Holy Power to execute the Minor Mending technique and heal both my broken nose and the stab wound easily. I am far from dead!" He declared, looking over to Nimbus before he added, "However this guy would be beaten into a pulp in the next minute. My metal gloves would have worked wonders against such a pretty face."
"Maybe you could have survived this battle, but your Holy Power would be drained, and you would have no chance to deal with a second opponent on the same level. What about a third one? How about hundreds? How many enemies do you think you will have to fight with your comrades once we're at war with other Lords? Do you think that you can afford to sustain injuries like this, willingly at that? That's suicidal, and I DO NOT want to train suicidal blokes. I'm training survival experts. Do you UNDERSTAND??"
Bulkan grunted but he nodded his head. He could see where Immortal Knight was coming from and it was not like it didn't make sense. Being victorious in a single battle could feel great, but warfare was never just a single fight. It was a humongous battle against countless enemies – enemies that had to be defeated with great teamwork and the support of your allies.
Bulkan stared down at Nimbus and extended his hand to help him get up. Nimbus responded by grasping his hand and pulling himself up from the ground.
The Immortal Knight glanced over at Michael, whose expression was hard to read.
"What do you think, my Lord?" He asked.
"It's not perfect, of course, but that is mostly because they haven't had enough time to get used to their weapons, armor, and the versatility of their techniques. I can tell that they learned many methods that demand Holy Power, but they're not yet experienced with using Holy Power. It is not difficult to see that they're still learning the basics," Michael responded.
He thought about something for a moment before adding, "But I guess that makes sense. They shouldn't have been promoted to Holy Knights too long ago. The experiences and memories that had been engraved into their body upon being promoted seem quite useful, but they're not game-changers without giving the Holy Knight enough time to adapt to everything."
The Immortal Knight agreed with Michael's conclusion, "As long as the Holy Knights are given a few months, they can turn into powerhouses of the Elite-Class. They could not be able to deal with Superior Existences, but they can combine their forces and hunt down Superior Existences with ease. For now, however, they need more training and resources. And, of course, more experience. It's a good thing that the population of monsters in the Untamed Jungle has been exceedingly high these days. The Sacred Squires and Holy Knights can easily gather experience in this region!"
Michael had heard about the overpopulation of monsters within the Untamed Jungle before. He presumed that it was due to the Kitsun bodies that hadn't been collected before the Untamed Jungle devoured them. Or maybe it was because of something else. At the end of the day, the reason for the overpopulation of monsters in the Untamed Jungle didn't matter.
It was a good turn of events, especially for his Warriors. Hunting down Tier-1 and Tier-2 Monsters provided a considerable amount of energy to his Summons. And since the Blessed Squires and Holy Knights owned energy circulation methods that converted the energy influx into Holy Power without losing too much energy in the conversation process, they could increase their rank and Tier rather quickly.
Of course, it was not an instant process, but the Holy Knights and Sacred Squires could gain experience while also improving their rank and Tier efficiently.
Michael talked a little bit more with the Immortal Knight about the events of the last four weeks. After talking for a little over an hour, Michael decided to take a look at the development of the farms in his territory. That was one of the most crucial factors in his territory as it combined the advantageous effects of the Nature Spirit Tree, the Forest Pixie, the Botanica Magicians, the Farmers, and the Untamed Jungle.
The farms became even more crucial now that the Nature Spirit was evolving and that the Forest Pixie had fully matured. It was especially weird since more Pixies seemed to hover around the Nature Spirit. Michael had no idea how it happened, and it was also quite confusing for the Forest Elves, who could only make guesses as to where the Pixies came from. Nonetheless, it was advantageous just like the appearance of a dozen Earth, Wind, and Water Elementals that had been sent to the surface by Zeroa. The Elemental Empress wanted to help Michael and his territory to flourish even more.
But Zeroa was not the only one who wanted to help the farmlands flourish. The Bilrox Queen sent over some of her Bilrox with useful Perks to aid the farmers.
It was only a matter of time before the farmlands became highly nutritious, accelerating the maturity circle of all plants drastically. The farmers were always at work, harvesting the fully ripened products and planting new seeds. The Untamed Jungle's effect and the other influences that affected the growth of the plants turned months-long maturity circles into mere days of waiting before the fruits and vegetables were ripened and ready to be harvested.
Therefore, it was time to expand the farmlands and make full use of the advantage at hand.
It was time to turn into a full-blown farmer!
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