Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

Colin quickly glanced at the contents of the letter and soon understood its meaning.

The letter was drafted by a group of nobles from the Kingdom of Dok. If these nobles had anything in common, it was that they had all participated in the interviews for the judges, but without exception, they had all failed. Their object of protest was none other than the Church of Judgment and Aaron, because they all believed that they had been treated unfairly.

They believe that Aaron's ability to directly participate in the judge's final interview without taking a written test is an abuse of privilege, and that there is an unjust force behind him. In short, they believe that the Earl of Iron manipulated the interview process.

As victims of injustice, they wanted to protest this injustice and the privileges behind Aaron. Therefore, they came to participate in the trial today. It was a joint letter with their signatures, and judging from their surnames, they were all well-known nobles in the Kingdom of Dok.

"The Church of Judgment didn't get involved in this?" Colin asked.

“That’s the interesting part,” Leon said with a laugh. “The Church of Judgment let them in.”

*

Suddenly, a series of rapid footsteps sounded at the door. Colin turned around and saw the victims had already come in through the iron gate. They had acted like victims in their letters, but they didn't seem to be like that when they came in. Colin saw a group of people walking in from outside the iron gate. No, not a group of people, but a group of monsters.

There were eleven of them in total, but they looked even more terrifying than soldiers. They looked like a group of monsters because they were all superhumans who had all completed their transformation into spirit beasts, and their bodies all took on monstrous shapes.

The leader was a centaur with long hair, nearly three meters tall, and holding a spear. His centaur body was muscular and twisted. The other leader was a half-human, half-snake figure, leaning on a scepter, resembling a Naga from mythology.

Those are characteristics that only mature superhumans can exhibit, proving that the other party is a powerful superhuman being, which is almost equivalent to facing a spirit beast for ordinary people.

Behind them followed other monsters, all of whom were superhuman beings who had completed their beast transformation. There were men and women among them. Although they still maintained human forms, they did not look like good people. They had all undergone military training from a young age, and beneath their fierce appearance, they often possessed experience gained from battles.

Even experienced superhumans would find them troublesome, and they were all fully transformed into beasts, armed with weapons. Many of them probably knew how to kill and how to kill superhumans.

Behind them followed a dark figure as thick as an iron barrel. Among the group of beast-like people, he resembled a large black bear, yet he was the only one in the group who did not exhibit beast-like behavior. However, he was also the most terrifying of the eleven, possessing an extremely flamboyant appearance, extreme silence, and extreme repression, like a dormant, dead volcano.

They all looked terrifying, carrying weapons. After they entered, they didn't even glance at Colin and Leon beside them, but stood in the center of the square, quietly waiting for the newcomers.

They weren't about to directly provoke Colin, but they were undoubtedly determined to achieve their goal. The leading centaur stretched in the center of the square, while the others looked around coldly, seemingly undeterred even when facing Colin.

Colin looked at them and uttered an ancient word: "Square Banner Knights".

The concept of the Banner Knights is very ancient, dating back hundreds of years to an era of constant warfare. Warring kings would select Banner Knights from among their young knights, reward them handsomely, and have them fight alongside them. From then on, they were known as Banner Knights, and after a victory, they were called Banner Families, which is what people commonly refer to as military nobility.

In modern times, for various reasons, the old military aristocratic class, such as the flag-bearer knights, gradually disappeared.

Some say they didn't disappear, but were replaced by new military noble families. Their status in the kingdom may not be high, just some low-ranking nobles, but with their extraordinary power, they have become an indispensable backbone of the Kingdom of Dok, just like the Square Banner Knights of yesteryear, forming a large force and even becoming a new military noble family. Therefore, people call them the new Square Banner families.

“Oh, it seems they all have good blessings.” Leon was clearly more interested in something else. “Look at the leader, he’s Bowen Gardner, his father is Baron Gardner, and his blessing, if I’m not mistaken, is centaur. This kind of centaur blessing is a powerful weapon on the battlefield, making one invincible.”

"Oh, is that Miss McIntyre next to you? Her blessing is Naga! This kind of blessing is a bit weak on land, but it's very useful at sea. I heard that her goal is to join the Navy of the Kingdom of Dok. I dare say that with this blessing and her noble status, she can be guaranteed to rise through the ranks in the Navy. I didn't expect that she also wanted to join the Church of Judgment."

Leon spoke eloquently, showing that he had done thorough research before coming, or rather, he was very well-informed. After listening to Leon's enthusiastic introduction, Colin only replied with six words: "What do you want to say?"

Anyone could tell that Leon's words had a hidden meaning. Looking at Colin's serious face, Leon, like a child finally getting a response, revealed a mysterious expression and said:

"Sir, haven't you heard the saying that in the new round of blessings, the blessings received by nobles are getting better and better, while the blessings received by commoners remain as unpredictable as before?"

Chapter 178 Double Exam

Colin said expressionlessly, “I must remind you that your statement is a serious violation of the doctrines of the Church of Nature. She is a loving mother who treats every life in nature equally.”

Leon continued, "Would the goddess of nature bestow blessings based on noble titles and the size of one's power? Would the goddess of nature be subservient to money and power?"

Colin did not answer. Leon's words had just constituted a great blasphemy, enough for devout believers to take him to a religious court.

But Leon shrugged and said nonchalantly:

"It's just a guess, but the facts are there. Look at those eleven people. They were nurtured by the kingdom simply because of their blessings. And each of them looks like a ferocious beast, a creature that seems to have stepped out of mythology. Any ordinary animal, herbivore, or human can only tremble in their presence."

Despite disagreeing with Leon's statement, Colin had to admit that Leon was right on this point; from the common people's perspective, the blessings bestowed by the nobles were indeed too good.

For ordinary people, receiving a blessing from nature is essentially like drawing lots. Their future prospects and development direction largely depend on the type of blessing bestowed by the goddess of nature. Throughout the history of the Kingdom of Dok, there have been numerous cases of once-prosperous heirs who fell into decline after receiving a weak blessing.

Conversely, some commoners have received powerful blessings and gained everything they wanted. Therefore, blessings have always been extremely important. For a long time, the strategy that nobles have used to combat this randomness has been to have more children. This has enabled most nobles to maintain their status better than commoners.

In recent years, however, it seems that there is no longer a need for lotteries. The "nobles" can receive good blessings. Although this is just their perception and there is no precise data, this idea is becoming more and more popular in the Kingdom of Dok.

Although some scholars claim that the blessings received by commoners were not useless, but simply ill-suited to the times, and that the blessings received by nobles were not necessarily good, but simply more in line with the times, this is not enough to quell people's suspicions. In their view, the goddess of nature seems to favor nobles more than commoners.

Thinking about this, Colin's expressionless face grew even colder.

Seeing Colin's cold expression, Leon suddenly couldn't help but burst into laughter:

"Okay, okay, I was just joking. I don't even know if what I said was true. The reason I'm talking to you about this is to get back to the interview itself. I want to tell you something more important, something that is definitely related to the interview and extremely important."

Colin didn't answer, he just looked at him.

Leon suddenly smiled mysteriously again: "That's a double test."

"A double exam?" Even Colin couldn't help but frown.

"Yes," Leon said slowly, looking at the eleven people in front of him. "Who would have thought that these people who came to the Giant's Tower had already gone through a selection process? They were selected before coming here."

The status of being a resident of the Heavenly Kingdom on Earth is simply too enviable.

"How many nobles hope that one of their children will become a Judge and gain great glory? How many people hope to obtain the status of a resident of the earthly heaven and have their entire family protected by the Church of Judgment? But the final trial of the Judge is too harsh. In the past five years of trials, only a handful of people have passed the trial of the Judge. In fact, the nobles have long been dissatisfied with the Church of Judgment."

"Now, another trial participant has finally arrived at the final trial, but he is just an ordinary citizen. A few days ago, he wasn't even a superhuman. This has brought great humiliation to those who have participated in the trial before."

Although Aaron was already quite famous and a well-known figure, this fame did not make the controversy disappear; instead, it brought him more and more criticism.

As his name became known to more and more people, it was increasingly believed that he was able to enter the final interview of the judges because of the kingdom and the church's favoritism, and that the powerful Count of Iron was manipulating everything behind the scenes, which was inconsistent with the spirit of justice of the church's judgment.

Aaron is a privileged individual, someone who rose to power through connections and favoritism. Many people believe this, which has made the controversy surrounding Aaron unprecedented.

Although people acknowledge that he successfully repelled the Lusset spy, it seems to be an isolated incident because, according to the investigation, his previous performance in the extraordinary realm was not actually that good, and he was even unable to become a transcendental being at one point. How did such a person make it to the final trial?

This is certainly suspicious. Before him, there were so many exceptionally talented young people, even the most outstanding young people in the Kingdom of Dok, who failed to reach the final trial. They were already superhumans, with much higher qualities than Aaron in all aspects, and had undergone superhuman training at a young age, yet they fell before Aaron. This naturally made Aaron even more suspicious.

The Judges Test is not a popular choice at universities; it is considered by many to be an extremely difficult test that only the most outstanding students would consider.

These participants, who already had bright futures, attended the interview not only because they saw the future of the judges, but also because they harbored aspirations and dreams. Aaron's success made them feel that the Church had betrayed their dreams, which was almost a blasphemy against their faith. That is why they were so outrageously angry and so united.

But it's not their fault. The Church of the Judges has already rejected enough people to form a League of Losers. And they are a group of such talented but unappreciated dreamers, and almost all of them are outstanding young people in the Kingdom of Dok.

Their resentment towards the Church of Judgment had been brewing for a long time, coupled with their pride as superhumans and nobles, their distorted feelings towards the Church of Judgment... and their hostility towards commoners... even towards the Iron Earl...

Furthermore, Aaron's corruption of their faith... ultimately led to this dangerous alliance.

This is likely an alliance unprecedented in the kingdom's history. They were formed solely to oppose a commoner who had only become a superhuman yesterday. All the alliance members were former failures rejected by the Church of Judgment, but they were already outstanding young people, because only such superhumans would participate in the Judgment's interview...

And because this group of people were so angry, and they sensed that the evil forces behind Aaron might be very powerful, in order to ensure that everything went smoothly and to ensure the success rate, they spontaneously united and conducted a selection process. They went through another round of tests within the alliance, and finally selected eleven powerful superhumans from among the hundreds of superhumans who were rejected by the Church of Judgment to represent them at the Tower of Giants. This was the double test.

These eleven people are the final candidates selected after another round of screening.

Leon smiled: "Many of these people who failed their interviews back then have gone on to work in other departments of the country. Some of them have entered important departments of the country and become pillars of the country."

Look, there's a young man who's already earned the rank of colonel; he's the one blessed by the golden lion. He's come here from the army today, and his purpose is to deal with Aaron.

Upon hearing this, Colin finally realized the seriousness of the matter, because as far as he knew, the man named Aaron had just received the blessing yesterday.

"Do the participants in the trial know about this?" A terrible thought crossed Colin's mind: to send someone who had just received the blessing yesterday to fight that group of people was like teaching a raw recruit how to shoot a target, and then patting him on the shoulder the next day and saying, "Okay, you have completed all the recruit training. Now standing in front of you is the Sword of Omniscience. Go and defeat him."

“He’s already at the Giant’s Tower,” Leon said.

"He actually dared to come?" Colin was shocked.

The Giant's Tower, one floor of rooms.

He changed into a clean shirt, carefully buttoned it up, put on black tight-fitting trousers, tucked the hem of his shirt into the trousers, fastened his belt, tied the trouser legs with black leggings, and stepped into black knee-high boots.

Finally, he went to the largest coat rack in the room, stared for a long time at the silver-white robe hanging on it, and then ripped the robe off the rack and draped it over his shoulders.

After putting on this outfit, he looked as if he were wearing a suit of armor. The silver robe clung tightly to his body, and every part seemed to be tailor-made for him. The person who sewed this outfit must have used the mindset of forging armor to create it; it was simply born for battle.

A smile appeared on his face as he put on the clothes. He didn't feel uncomfortable at all; on the contrary, he felt inexplicably happy. He was naturally suited to this kind of clothing.

Aaron left the coat rack, a smile playing on his lips. He picked up the light cavalry scimitar that was resting on the table, and white spiritual energy flowed from his palm like water, slowly enveloping the longsword.

Although he can't summon blessings like a superhuman and can only carry swords like a mortal, isn't this what a warrior is supposed to be? Besides, his abilities are still usable. He doesn't understand what happened to his body or what happened, so he might as well not think about it and just let it work as before.

He possessed the blessing of an all-knowing god, and in his hands was the spiritual power from his very origin. This spiritual power was gradually changing the scimitar. The black light cavalry scimitar slowly turned white. Not only the color, but also the weight and internal structure of the scimitar were gradually changed, until the spine and tip of the blade turned white, and the circular guard turned into a lunar eclipse-like black. Only then was the transformation finally complete.

"Although it's not the same sword, I'll still call you Bai Yue, just like before," Aaron said, holding the familiar curved sword in his hand.

He drew his curved sword, pushed open the door, and went up step by step, passing through iron gates. Time seemed to change on him. When he finally stepped out of the heavy shadows and into the oval square, his pupils had turned into a blazing, molten gold, as if firelight was flowing within them.

This unexpected person almost immediately became the focus of the entire room. Every move he made was observed. Others saw his preparations and his armor-like silver-white robe, and their eyes narrowed dangerously.

Aaron noticed those gazes, but when he looked at the group of people, he suddenly froze, standing there dumbfounded.

"What's wrong? Are you scared by the enemy you're about to face?" Bowen smiled cruelly, took a step forward, and revealed a dangerous expression as if he had spotted his prey.

He is the leader of this alliance, and he was just giving a mobilization speech, talking about Aaron.

To appear objective and fair, and to make his examples more convincing, he gave several examples.

First and foremost, it's undeniable that Aaron is a remarkable figure who successfully saved Birmingham. However, before that, he was merely an ordinary citizen from a remote area, working a humble clerical job in Birmingham. What he did was simply something commendable for a civil servant.

Of course, it must be acknowledged that he saved Birmingham, but apart from that, he was just a low-level civil servant earning a meager salary.

But then, with a "bang," suddenly, overnight, he became the hero who saved a major city, hailed as a star by the media and newspapers, and invited to the kingdom's celebration. How could he not succumb to vanity? Did he feel like he had become an omnipotent god? Floating lightly on the clouds?

Furthermore, if a person has always been doing humble work and has never known that there are great figures in the world such as Empress Lucerne, the All-Knowing Sword, the Goddess Sword, and Saint Michael, wouldn't it be easy for them to think that they are a great figure?

This humble man, who had never experienced the extraordinary or stepped into the realm of the supernatural, was suddenly hailed as a hero in just over a month and received a blessing by sheer luck. Didn't he have every reason to believe he was a great hero? A great figure capable of influencing the world? Completely immersed in his own pride and complacency?

Bowen's words successfully ignited the fighting spirit of the others. Under Bowen's leadership, they all felt inspired by his words and experienced a sense of belonging they had never felt before.

Yes, they were all geniuses in the extraordinary field. They had gathered together for the same purpose, to do the same great thing together. They had just been laughing and talking about their great dreams. It was in this atmosphere that Aaron stepped out.

The enemy appeared on their own at this moment, and Bowen, as the leader, naturally stepped forward as well. He had a smile on his face, his muscular arms holding a long spear. When he saw Aaron in his judge's uniform, his smile widened, and he began to walk towards Aaron on all fours.

Standing nearly three meters tall, Blessed was the most celebrated centaur in the Kingdom of Dok. Even among centaurs, his height was considered tall, and from a distance, one might almost mistake him for a person riding a horse. Only upon closer inspection could one discern that he was a centaur warrior, revealing his muscular, taut legs and his muscular body.

Chapter 179 Dual Examination II

He was half-naked, his upper body bare, his muscles bulging, exuding a terrifying sense of oppression.

But what he had to do was not just exert pressure on Aaron; he had to launch an attack on Aaron.

Centaur charges are arguably the most threatening offensive tactic in the land warfare of the Kingdom of Dok, and a nightmare for other nations.

When cavalry charges, their horses are often fearful, so they usually pass each other without much danger, and few die from the charge. Centaurs, however, are different. Those blessed with the centaur's power possess immense strength and physique, and are often inherently cruel and fearless—natural warriors. Therefore, they often prefer to crush their enemies with a physical charge.

There are countless examples in history of this: enemy generals underestimated the strength of the centaurs on the plains and insisted on fighting them with battle formations, only to be trampled into mincemeat by the centaurs of the Kingdom of Dok.

In Bowen's eyes, Aaron was just a little guy. When he walked towards Aaron, Aaron neither dodged nor avoided him. He seemed to be stunned and just stood there, staring at him.

Even as his four legs gradually accelerated, Aaron remained unresponsive, appearing almost completely terrified.

Bowen's bloodthirsty expression grew stronger. He was about to approach Aaron, and the two were already at a dangerous distance. But instead of slowing down, Bowen raised his horse's legs, making even the onlookers tense. Was he really going to charge straight at him?