Life in a Simulation - Chapter 31

Count Lautiz’s victory in this battle was somewhat bewildering.

If judged by actual combat effectiveness, the Southern knights were indeed somewhat weaker than the Northern knights. Although they were thirty to forty men fewer, Baron William’s knight squad would not necessarily be at a disadvantage. The worst-case scenario would be a draw.

However, an unforeseen variable emerged in this war. This variable exhausted more than a dozen of Baron William’s knights, and in the end, Count Lautiz reaped the benefits. Captured, Baron William could only feel a pang in his heart as he ceded three baronies near the Rozberk territory from his own land and secretly vowed to reclaim these three baronies in the future!

Count Lautiz laughed heartily. For many years, the Southern Faction, which had never been dominant in military strength, had today defeated the Northerners so soundly. It was satisfying, truly satisfying!

With three additional baronies under his control, Count Lautiz, after taking over these three territories, quickly enfeoffed his two second sons and a loyal subordinate as barons and assigned them to these new territories.

Of course, Count Lautiz did not neglect the twelve barons who had followed him into battle. He distributed a considerable amount of prize money to each of them and granted each baron 15 knight quotas. This allowed the barons, who had lost many knights in the war, to not only fully staff their knight squads upon returning home but also to expand them—provided that their territories could support the enfeoffment of so many fiefs.

“Esteemed Count, I do not desire a monetary reward. I wish to become a noble knight!”

Inside the large tent, Zhou Ming knelt on one knee, his face filled with eagerness as he spoke to Count Lautiz seated above.

Count Lautiz, who had been deeply impressed by this “peasant” who had performed exceptionally well on the battlefield, had specially summoned him and asked what reward he desired. Zhou Ming responded in this manner.

“Young man, your loyalty and courage have truly surprised me, but to become a knight, these qualities are far from sufficient. Do you think you can pass the knight’s examination and obtain the knight’s badge?”

Becoming a knight was not as simple as just saying it out loud. Any knight from any territory had to pass the martial skills examination at the Royal Knight Academy to obtain knight certification.

These examinations included horsemanship, swordsmanship, spear fighting, archery, and so on. After passing these martial skill assessments, one still had to serve the king as a squire for two years. Only after the service period was completed could one be granted the knight’s badge and officially become a knight.

Of course, there was also an important prerequisite: anyone who wanted to become a knight had to be of noble birth.

This single prerequisite immediately disqualified Zhou Ming, who was the “son of a peasant.”

“Esteemed Count, I will pass these exams through diligent and hard work. Please give me such an opportunity!”

Zhou Ming knew that there was another way to change his destiny, and that was the Count’s “letter of recommendation.” The number of these “letters of recommendation” was very limited, with each count having only ten per year. If Count Lautiz was willing to give him one of these recommendation slots, even though he was the son of a peasant, the professors at the Royal Knight Academy would, out of respect for Count Lautiz, give him a chance to enroll.

“Young man, you have great potential, but you are simply too old. You have already missed the best period to become a knight. Take this bag of gold coins and go home. Marry and have children, and live a peaceful and affluent life. This is what you truly deserve.”

Count Lautiz shook his head and threw a money bag in front of Zhou Ming. The coins inside the bag made a crisp clinking sound. Zhou Ming, however, stared blankly for a while before picking up the money bag and leaving the tent dejectedly.

Baron Connor, who had been saved by Zhou Ming and was now lying in bed with severe injuries, learned about this matter from the gossiping knights and called Zhou Ming over to comfort him.

“Child, I have seen your talent and efforts. If you are willing to stay in Granling in the future, I can entrust the management of the castle’s outer estates to you entirely. If you wish to assist Donny and venture out into the world with him, then study diligently with Scholar Ellen. Perhaps in the future, you too could become a respected scholar.”

Baron Connor offered Zhou Ming two choices, which were also the best he could provide. He could not offer more.

“Thank you, my lord. If it is still possible, I will persist in my dream. If not, I will do what I am good at.”

Zhou Ming did not give a definite answer. Just like this war, which he could not have anticipated, his somewhat reckless actions had earned him a reward of 100 gold coins. What if he played a more significant role in some future battle?

Fortune lies in taking risks. In this war-torn world, perhaps there were many opportunities waiting for him in the wild?

Just as Zhou Ming was beginning to feel a sense of eagerness, a provocative challenge shattered his thoughts.

“Kid, with your scrawny physique, you also want to become a noble knight? Haven’t you woken up from your dream yet?”

A scar-faced knight, reeking of alcohol, appeared before him at some point. His face was ugly and detestable, and his mouth was incessantly noisy.

The scar-faced knight’s eyes revealed a hint of greed as he stared at the bag tied around Zhou Ming’s waist and said, “Kid, I heard that you were rewarded by the Count for your bravery on the battlefield. How about you hand over that bag to me? Your so-called ‘merit’ is an insult to us knights. You even want to pocket the money you ‘earned’ by insulting knights?”

The scar-faced knight’s words garnered the agreement of several surrounding knights, who all demanded that Zhou Ming hand over the money.

“Fernando, teach this lowly boy a lesson. How can our knightly dignity be desecrated by such a wretched creature?”

“Kid, just hand over the money. If I’m in a good mood after drinking, maybe I won’t trouble you.”

“Layne, you should just take out the 200 gold coins from your pocket and treat these knightly lords to a drink. They might let you off the hook!” At some point, Fat Baum had positioned himself behind the group of knights, goading them on with a provocative tone.

“Goodness, 200 gold coins. That’s enough to consider killing this kid…” someone’s eyes lit up as they thought to themselves.

Watching these knights closing in on him, Zhou Ming felt a sinking feeling in his heart. It was the money that had caused this trouble. It seemed that today’s matter could not be resolved peacefully.

However, he still maintained a poker face and said, “So, you want to rob me, noble knight?”

Hearing the word “robbery,” Fernando felt a surge of anger. He spat out a mouthful of alcohol and grabbed Zhou Ming’s collar, saying, “Kid! Stop with the lip service. Be obedient! Hand over all the money you have on you!”

“What if I don’t?” Zhou Ming asked.

“Hehe!”

Fernando laughed coldly in anger, wanting to draw his sword and kill the boy in front of him on the spot, but with so many people around… he slightly restrained his anger and said, “Kid, I’ll give you a chance not to hand it over! We’ll have a one-on-one duel. If you win, the money is yours. If I win…”

“The money is yours?” Zhou Ming finished his sentence.

“Correct! Kid.”

“But you are a knight, and I am just a peasant. Is that fair?”

“Hey! I want to duel with this kid. Does everyone think it’s fair?” Fernando shouted loudly to the surroundings.

“Fair! Very fair!” The crowd around him replied in unison, with Fat Baum’s voice being the loudest.

“Alright! I’ll duel with you.”

Zhou Ming took off his coat and threw the money bag tied around his waist onto the ox cart. As the bag’s mouth loosened, a shower of gold coins spilled out. The onlookers gasped in amazement at the sight of so many gold coins. Then they felt indignant. This damned kid had so much money on him but didn’t even offer to buy them a drink!

In a short while, Zhou Ming brought over his spear, which had killed seventeen peasants, and wiped the dried blood off it with a piece of linen.

Knight Fernando, however, was fully clad in heavy armor and had even ridden his warhorse over.

“Fernando, is it really necessary to ride a horse to deal with such a kid? That’s not very chivalrous of you, is it?” a friend of Knight Fernando in the crowd exclaimed in surprise.

Fernando, now mounted on his warhorse, bared his teeth in a cruel smile and said, “Just watch! See how I turn this kid into mush, into pieces! Today, I’m going to use this kid’s death to prove just how formidable we knights are!”

“Good one!” “Go for it, Fernando!” “Fernando, for the honor of the knights, crush this kid!”

The crowd cheered him on, their hearts filled with anticipation, all eager to see how this annoying peasant kid would be crushed by Fernando.

A flat, open area.

About twenty meters apart, a man and a horse faced each other.

“Kid, die for me!”

As soon as the duel began, Fernando, eager to turn the peasant kid into mincemeat, spurred his warhorse, brandished his longsword, and charged at Zhou Ming.

Watching the approaching warhorse and the overwhelming force it brought, Zhou Ming did not choose to resist. Instead, he put his spear aside, rolled on the ground, and dodged the fatal blow that would surely have killed him.

One charge.

Two charges.

Multiple charges.

After more than ten back-and-forth charges, Zhou Ming, who was cautious and careful, narrowly dodged each one.

“Damn you, kid! Have some guts and don’t run! Let me take a swing at you!” Fernando shouted in frustration, brandishing his sword.

Zhou Ming, unhurried, dodged another strike and thought to himself with a cold smile: Stand still and let you strike? Am I a fool?

After more than thirty rounds of the warhorse’s charges, Fernando still hadn’t hit Zhou Ming once. Instead, he had exhausted his warhorse to the point of panting heavily, and he himself was drenched in sweat, feeling the weight of his armor becoming more and more burdensome.

“Almost time…” Watching the slow-moving warhorse, and the knight whose reactions were dulled by alcohol… Zhou Ming picked up the spear he had placed on the ground earlier, adjusted his breathing, and fixed his gaze on the part of Fernando’s face that was not covered by a protective visor.

“Kid, this time you’re not running, right? Die for me!”

Seeing Zhou Ming standing there with his back bent and not moving, Fernando was overjoyed. He excitedly raised his longsword and swung it down with all his might!

However, before he could see the boy below split in two, a dark shadow shot into his eye socket like a venomous snake, followed by an intense pain, and then he was plunged into deep darkness.

“Thud~!”

With the thunderous crash of Fernando’s body hitting the ground, the knights present and all the onlookers were left speechless and agape.

Life in a Simulation - Chapter 31

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Hate that cliffhanger, don’t you?

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