On the 20th day of January, three days after the baron''s birthday celebration, House Silversword welcomed another Elite Knight under their banner.

    "Congratulations on your advancement, Sir Arthur." Alaric was genuinely happy for this man.

    "It''s all thanks to you, my lord. If it weren''t for you, I might be stuck as a peak Knight for a decade more." Arthur muttered emotionally.

    He was glad that he bent his knee to Alaric that day. It was the best decision he had made in his life.

    Arthur no longer looked like an old man. He looked as if he had returned to his forties. This was one of the perks of being an Elite Knight.

    Alaric tapped his shoulder. "Great timing, Sir Arthur."

    "The newbies will be sent to the Evergreen Forest to eliminate the rampaging monsters that are harassing the travelers and the townspeople."

    "I need an experienced warrior to watch over them during their mission. Do you think you can take care of this task?" Alaric stared deeply at him.

    He had thought of sending Rigor or another Knight for this job, but he felt that sending Arthur was a better idea.

    The latter had been confined in his house for almost a week so it was a great opportunity for him to breathe some fresh air.

    "Sounds good to me, my lord. I''ll take the chance to exercise my bones." Arthur chuckled while flexing his arms.

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    "Good! You better get ready. They will leave after breakfast." Alaric reminded him.

    "Yes, my lord."

    "Oh, wait! I almost forgot something." Alaric beckoned to him.

    "Someone will help you with this task, but he is mainly responsible for recording the newbies'' performances."

    Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Who is..."

    "You''ll know later." Alaric waved his hand and laughed lightly.

    "It''s an honor, sir! I''m Owen. I recently became a Knight with Lord Alaric''s support." The instructor introduced himself.

    Hearing this, Arthur smiled. "So you are one of the warriors nurtured by Lord Alaric. It''s a pleasure to meet you."

    "I feel deeply honored, Sir Arthur. By the way, are you the person sent by Lord Alaric to oversee the mission?" Owen asked.

    "That''s right." Arthur nodded.

    The two chatted briefly before they went to the topic.

    "Since everyone is here, let''s depart."

    Aliya stared at the middle-aged warrior.

    Sir Arthur looks much younger now. Did he successfully advance?

    Everyone was aware that Arthur was in the middle of advancing to the Elite Knight realm. Now that he was here to oversee their mission, this could only mean that he had already advanced!

    For this mission, forty trainees were sent and they were divided into four groups with each group having a group leader.

    The four group leaders were the best in the batch and Aliya even heard that two of them were already close to becoming Knight Apprentices. Her group leader was one of the two, a man named Rasmus.

    Now that we''re heading to the Evergreen Forest, I''m starting to feel nervous.

    Aliya had never been in a real fight before. She only had sparred with the other trainees and instructors, but other than that, she was a complete novice.

    "Just relax, Aliya." A concerned voice drifted into her ears.

    She turned her head and saw her group leader staring at her.

    "Mind your own business." She muttered coldly.

    After her experience with Liam, she developed intense hatred towards the opposite gender. The only exception to this was Alaric and some of the instructors.

    Rasmus smiled bitterly while shaking his head.