This knight is too perfect

Chapter 2 Obtaining the Divine Protection - [Mercy (Listen to Everything)]

It is said that the layman watches the excitement, while the expert watches the details.

Although Fergus is only an apprentice knight, it is obvious that an apprentice knight is also a knight, and his vision is naturally not comparable to that of some mere militiamen.

Therefore, just because he could see the trick behind Rhine's opening move, it did not mean that the militiaman Ernst on the opposite side of Rhine could also see it.

Even Ernst did not think that Rhine's opening move was threatening. He just thought that Rhine was bluffing and it was all for show.

After all, in Ernst's simple concept as a militiaman, the so-called knights were just a group of "militiamen" riding horses with better equipment and stronger strength than them.

If he had Fergus's warhorse and equipment, and had enough training, he didn't think he would be much worse than Fergus, the apprentice knight.

And what about Rhine?

He is thin and short, and has to use both hands to hold a one-handed wooden sword.

How could such a weak slave compare with a baron militiaman like himself who was far nobler than a slave?

lose?
From the moment he was chosen by Fergus, the word "losing" did not enter Ernst's mind.

"Lord Fergus is really a fool. He actually asked me to compete with this little slave. Could it be that in his mind, I am the weakest among all the militiamen?"

As Ernst thought about this, his mind became a little dazed, and his eyes subconsciously looked in the direction of Fergus.

But this brief distraction was immediately seized by Rhine on the opposite side.

puff!
With a sound of breaking through the air, the wooden sword in Rhine's hand shot out like an arrow, and instantly "pierced" the back of Ernst's hand at lightning speed.

"W-What?!"

Ernst looked in astonishment at Rhine who suddenly appeared in front of him, and then belatedly looked down at his right hand.

At this moment, there was an obvious redness and swelling on the back of his right hand.

The wooden sword that was originally held in it fell onto the open space of the castle without anyone noticing.

Looking at all this, a horrifying thought suddenly came into Ernst's mind.

If Rhine was holding a real sword instead of a wooden sword in his hand.

Then his right hand may have been...

clap clap clap!
Fergus clapped his hands and looked at Rhine, who had put away his sword, with admiration, and did not hesitate to praise him.

"Excellent, very excellent, little slave. Your proficiency in the White Dove Sword is no less than that of some knights who have practiced this sword for many years."

"And you seem to have made some improvements to it. After all, the White Dove Sword Technique is a famous one-handed sword technique in the Principality, but you were obviously using a two-handed sword to perform this sword technique just now. Can you tell me how you did it?"

In response to Fergus's question, Rhine answered honestly: "Respected Knight Fergus, I haven't really thought about what you said. I just instinctively felt that it was more appropriate for me to do so, so I did it. That's all."

"Just relying on instinct..."

Although Fergus was a little surprised by this answer, he quickly figured out the reason.

"Indeed, if you have not learned the White Dove Sword Technique before, then your only chance to learn it is the one time I demonstrated it in front of these guys three days ago."

"And to learn a sword technique and improve it in such a short time, I don't think there are many people in this world who can do it."

"Perhaps only instinct can explain the surprise you just brought me."

"Well, very well, little slave, I declare..."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!"

Before Fergus could finish his words, the militiaman Ernst, who had come to his senses, immediately shouted anxiously.

Fergus was very unhappy to be suddenly interrupted.

He frowned and looked at Ernst, his face gloomy and said: "What do you want me to wait for, Ernst, what do you want me to wait for?"

"Do you want me to wait for you to make what just happened happen again before you can accept your ugly failure?!"

"Ernst, I think you can imagine what would happen to you if that scene just happened on a real battlefield, right?"

"You should be thankful that this is just a competition, not a real fight."

"Otherwise, you wouldn't be here right now, yelling and screaming like a circus clown, but lying in some deserted wilderness, waiting for your body to rot and stink!"

"Go back. I don't want to say the same thing a second time."

Fergus's words were merciless, like rubbing salt into Ernst's wounds.

The other militiamen not only did not want to speak up for Ernst, they even acted as if they were watching a show, looking at Ernst with teasing eyes.

After all, in a sense, they and Ernst are not partners, but competitors.

One less Ernst means one more hope of becoming a knight.

Therefore, the more times like this happen, the less likely they are to help Ernst, and they may even try their best to add insult to injury and attack their competitors.

And it was for this reason that Ernst could not admit his failure at all.

After all, if he admitted it, his future would be completely ruined.

No one would think that a man who couldn't even beat a little slave had any hope of becoming a knight.

Not to mention any baron lord who would be willing to knight such a person.

So Ernst couldn't admit that he had lost, absolutely not.

"Lord Fergus, this is different, it's a sneak attack, that's right, that damn little slave just now was doing a sneak attack, a sneak attack is not a competition at all, it's not a competition, I haven't lost yet, I haven't lost yet!"

Seeing Ernst's ugly appearance, Fergus' patience has reached its limit.

But just when Fergus was about to have the clown Ernst kicked out of the castle, an unexpected voice appeared.

"Respected Sir Knight Fergus, I am willing to compete with Mr. Ernst again."

"Ok?"

Fergus looked towards Rhine following the sound and asked in confusion: "Why?"

Fergus was not the only one who was puzzled. The other militiamen also looked at the little slave Rhine with puzzled expressions.

Having already achieved a substantial victory, why would this little slave risk failure and give the enemy a chance?
Is he a fool?
However, facing everyone's doubts, Rhine did not answer directly, but asked: "If the person competing with Mr. Ernst was you, Lord Fergus, would you be willing to give him another chance?"

Rhine's question made Fergus stand there in a daze.

But he seemed to understand something quickly and couldn't help laughing.

"Hahaha, okay, good boy, yes, you are right."

"A knight should pursue victory, but he should not only pursue victory. A true knight should bravely face any doubts and respond to them openly!"

"Because only a victory achieved in this way is worthy of flowers and praise!"

"Take up your weapons, Ernst. Your opponent, a boy who is not a knight but has the spirit of chivalry, has shown you his mercy."

"And what you have to do is very simple, that is to show everything you have to the best of your ability, so that you can repay this hard-earned kindness, understand?"

"Ming, I understand."

Ernst, who had not received much education, actually could not understand what Fergus said, and he did not understand why Rhine was willing to compete again.

The only thing he understood was that this would be his only chance to reverse his failure.

He can't lose, and can't afford to lose...

With such thoughts in mind, Ernst seemed very nervous at this moment. A lot of sweat came out from his forehead and his body trembled uncontrollably.

Obviously, his opponent was just a twelve-year-old child. Obviously, the one-handed wooden sword in the opponent's hand required both hands to hold.

But such a seemingly fragile child brought him unprecedented pressure at this time.

"Relax, Mr. Ernst, you're...too nervous."

Rhine's voice was like a stream of clean spring water, instantly flowing into Ernst's ears and soothing his uneasy heart.

Ernst had to admit it.

Although Rhine was his opponent and enemy, after hearing his words and seeing Rhine's clear and pure eyes.

He was indeed no longer nervous.

For a moment, Ernst seemed to understand something.

Perhaps it is just as Lord Fergus said, although this little slave is not a knight, he already possesses the spirit of a knight.

Therefore, one should not regard it as a lowly slave.

Instead, he should be seen as a noble knight of the kingdom with lofty virtues.

Thinking of this, Ernst no longer worried about his loss, nor did he pay attention to the strange looks from his companions.

His breathing gradually became steady and his eyes became firm.

Even his hand holding the sword slowly became stronger.

After a moment, Ernst looked at Rhine again and raised the wooden sword in his hand.

The next second, he bravely charged towards Rhine.

It was obvious that he was the taller one and had the advantage.

But at this moment, everyone felt that Ernst's proactive attack was reasonable.

After all, when a weak person takes the initiative to attack a strong person, it is not a sneak attack, but...bravery.

There is no doubt that Rhine, the thinner of the two, is the stronger one.

Facing Ernst who took the initiative to attack, Rhine not only did not fight back, but kept dodging passively.

Although Ernst was a militiaman who had been trained for many years, his attacks did not have much structure and most of the time he was just slashing around randomly.

Just because he is an adult, every swing of his sword can pose a substantial threat to Rhine.

But an attack that misses isn't really an attack.

As a result, a dramatic scene occurred.

In the open space of the castle, facing Ernst's violent attacks, Rhine seemed to have seen through all his moves in advance and was able to dodge them every time.

The reason for this scene was not that Rhine was much faster than Ernst, or that Rhine was more familiar with Ernst.

It was purely because of the third knight's protection that Rhine had just activated.

[You have shown your knight's 'compassion' in front of everyone. You have obtained a new knight's protection... Compassion (Listen to Everything)]

[Compassion (Listen to Everything): If you maintain compassion, you will have the ability to listen to everything]

The so-called protection is essentially a kind of talent.

A special ability that seems to be innate and instinctive.

Although Rhine had only obtained this protection not long ago, he was already able to master it and use it skillfully.

One of the manifestations of "Mercy (Listening to Everything)" is that it allows Rhine to hear some "voices" in the opponent's heart that they themselves may not even notice.

This sound... is instinct.

It was difficult for Rhine to describe this feeling in detail. He only knew that every time Ernst wanted to take action, he would hear a voice in the other party's heart first.

And this "sound" will eventually be imprinted in Rhine's mind in the form of a vague picture.

And allow it to accurately predict Ernst's every shot, every action, and even... every change in mentality.

Show Ernst your 'mercy' and try to use it to activate a new Knight's Protection.

This was the fundamental reason why Rhine agreed to let Ernst challenge him a second time.

Before obtaining the third knight's protection, Rhine was able to easily defeat Ernst.

Now that he has the protection of the third knight, he is naturally no longer someone that Ernst can contend with.

Therefore, after letting Ernst attack with all his strength for a while, Rhine seized the opportunity and stabbed Ernst with his sword again.

rock!

As the wooden sword in Ernst's hand fell to the ground, the entire open space of the castle became quiet again.

But what was different from the first time was that the way everyone looked at Rhine had changed.

If Rhine’s first victory could still be explained by Ernst’s carelessness and Rhine’s trickery.

This time, Rhine defeated Ernst fairly and openly in a nearly crushing manner.

"I lost."

There was no crazy shouting or making a fuss. This time, Ernst calmly accepted his failure.

He silently picked up the wooden sword that had fallen on the ground, then bowed respectfully to Rhine.

This time, the surrounding militiamen no longer looked at Ernst with teasing eyes.

Because everyone understands that if they were put in Ernst's position, the results might not be much better.

In response to Ernst's "respect", Rhine also gave him equal respect and bent down to gesture.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Ernst."

Snap, snap, snap...

Unlike before when only Fergus applauded, this time Fergus and all the other castle militiamen applauded together.

And they do it from the heart.

Although the two people in front of him were one a slave of the castle and the other a militiaman of the castle.

But the two's current actions make people feel that this is something that can only happen between two true "knights".

Rhine won everyone's respect through his actions.

Even including the 'enemy' he had just defeated.

Although Rhine is not a knight yet, in the eyes of everyone, this child looks more like a knight than anyone else.

"Can you tell me your name, kid?"

When Fergus came to Rhine, he no longer mentioned the word "slave".

Because he had seen in Rhine something that even many true knights might not possess.

Therefore, if Fergus continued to call Rhine a humble word like "slave", it would not only be an insult to Rhine, but would also be a tarnishing of the word "knight" in Fergus's heart.

"Rhine, Rhine Simmons, respected Knight Fergus."

(End of this chapter)