Asa lay in the pile of hay, carefully listening to the growling sounds coming from his own belly, smelling the musty smell emitted by the hay beneath him. Next to him, several burly men at a few tables were devouring meat and guzzling wine, boasting about their bravery on the battlefield and in women's beds, letting out bursts of lewd laughter. At the feet of these men lay their respective weapons, some with bloodstains that had changed color.

  Next to Asa on the grassy valley were several thin men lying like him, seemingly dead but not quite.

  This is the mercenary tavern in Aili City, where all the people with no skills to make a living gather to exchange their lives for money. They either become thugs or bodyguards for others, and some even become accomplices of robbers.

  The aroma of meat wafting from the other side and the musty smell underfoot formed a huge contrast. Asa suddenly fantasized that those big men would suddenly quarrel with him, and he could get up in anger and knock them all to the ground, then sweep away everything left on the table. Unfortunately, those big men were completely immersed in their little world of beer, beef, and idle chatter, not even bothering to notice him.

  And he wasn't hungry enough to go out of his way to pick a fight over a few pieces of meat. Besides, earlier a big man had gotten drunk and offered to buy everyone in the tavern a drink, which, even if it was just a momentary whim, still made Asa's malicious intentions shrink away in embarrassment.

  The money borrowed from Chris was actually enough, a good horse and some adventure necessities were left over, until ten days ago, when he met the hanged merchant in the wild, he still had eight silver coins and more than thirty copper coins. The unlucky merchant encountered a group of big-eared monsters in the wild, the big-eared monsters did not kill him, but robbed him of all his goods bought with his entire savings. Asa gave the horse and money to him and walked to Aili City on foot.

  Asa suddenly missed the time in the wilderness. At least food was not a worry, catching one big prey would be enough to eat for several days. But in this human settlement city, everything has a price, you want something, you must pay with money. Wanting money means using labor, time, freedom to exchange, and having the skills to do so. Otherwise, you can only steal, cheat or rob.

  Asa found himself not suited to living in an environment where his kind gathered. He didn't have the habit of following established orders and ways of life, such as being accustomed to being told what to do for work or using meaningless actions to obtain meaningful things like food. Nor did he have the audacity to ignore those who maintained order; once he considered their feelings, he dared not take by force. Stealing and cheating were even more unbecoming, requiring not only hardness but also a willingness to consider oneself inferior to others, unwilling to take things directly, resorting to despicable means to obtain others' possessions.

  But humans are social animals after all. No matter how much they like to get used to living alone, deep down in their hearts, they still hope to be in contact and communicate with others of the same kind. Even if it means going hungry, Asa still stays in this city where food is hard to come by, watching people's daily lives, listening to the hustle and bustle of the streets, the crowing of chickens and the barking of dogs, all of which make him feel a sense of security that he can never have alone in the wilderness.

  He was just not used to the strange environment and lifestyle it brought, like a wild dog living in a domesticated dog's environment, feeling uncomfortable but liking the breath of countless others. He could still stay in the city and didn't want to leave. So he came here to try his luck, even if he had no other useful life skills, but this physical work was still manageable for him. And maybe he could also hear some news about that damn forest.

  He had been wandering around the city for a long time, inquiring about the "Whispering Woods" or "Forest of Unspoken Words", and had asked many people, but to no avail, and almost got caught as a heretic. The Aili City seemed to be plagued by heretics, with soldiers searching everywhere, and from time to time, seeing someone being dragged away amidst wails and cries.

  The door of the tavern was pushed open and a young man stood in the doorway.

  Everyone in the tavern turned their gaze to him. This was not a colleague, but a young man dressed in knight's attire, which although old-fashioned, was still very neat and tidy on his body, with a cloak that was clearly only decorative draped over it. The handsome face had a hint of childishness, and the hair was combed as neatly as the suit on his body. This should be a customer, and several people next to Asa perked up their heads, regaining some vitality.

  The young man looked around the tavern at the rough-looking patrons and began to speak in as calm and lofty a tone as possible: "I am Sir Rodhart, come to recruit a brave soul to serve as my squire."

  The tavern erupted into a chorus of jeers and curses, the big men continued to drink and eat meat, while the person next to Asa slumped back down, lifeless.

  The young man stood at the entrance and said, as if reciting a manifesto: "What I demand is unshakeable faith, a kind heart, and limitless loyalty to my lord and the code of chivalry."

  A louder burst of jeers and curses, someone on the pile of hay asked: "How much per day?"

  "I do not have wealth. What I can bestow upon those who follow me is far more valuable than riches: it is the lofty spirit and great honor. His name will forever be etched alongside mine, forever to be recited by bards." The young man continued to declaim his manifesto with rising and falling cadences.

  A burst of laughter erupted in the tavern, with men stomping their feet and pounding on tables as if they had just heard the most famous comedian on the continent. Even a few people on the pile of hay outside couldn't help but laugh, invigorated by the atmosphere. One of the big men laughed and asked the bartender, "Where did you find this joke-teller? I'll give him a generous tip."

  The bartender smiled and shook his head, walking over to the young man who was already flushed with anger. "This is a place where people sell their lives for money," he said. "You've come to the wrong place, go back to the countryside."

  The young man continued his persuasion with great enthusiasm: "I will go to the forest in the south of the city to perform a very dangerous but also very glorious task. Is there anyone brave enough to come with me?"

  A tipsy big man stood up, squinting his eyes and walking close to the young man, pointing at the young man's face and saying: "This nonsense little guy is quite handsome, if it were a girl, I'd be interested in taking him out for some fun."

  The young knight, already somewhat irritated, clenched his fists and glared at the giant with anger in his eyes. Although he tried to keep his voice as steady as possible, everyone could hear the tremble of excessive indignation: "I swear in the name of God, if this man dares to insult another knight again, I will cleanse his sin with his own blood."

  The big Han widened his eyes and stretched out his hand to push against the young knight's chest: "What? Want to fight?"

  The belly is going to take a beating. Asa looked at the young knight's shoulders sinking down and knew he was about to make his move.

  A dull thud, the young knight's right fist heavily struck the big man's abdomen. The big man's body arched back and immediately knelt down with his forehead on the ground, the wine and meat he had just eaten gushing out of his mouth. The other four big men at the same table as the big man immediately picked up their weapons and rushed over.

  Take a step forward, half a step to the left, and strike him under the ribs, then knock him over. Asa watched as the knight's body sank forward with one movement, silently speculating about his next move in her heart.

  Against those several armed knights, he advanced instead of retreating, directly towards the one in front. When his opponent swung his sword to chop him down, he turned around to the left, dodging the sword while simultaneously landing an elbow strike on the knight's soft ribs, a dull thud sounded, and the knight groaned as he stumbled out to the right, perfectly blocking the weapons of the two knights on the right. Those two knights hastily withdrew their swords.

  Turned around and hooked a punch under the jaw. Asa predicted in his heart.

  The big man on the left had just raised his hammer over his head when he was punched in the jaw, and the sound of shattering bone could be heard clearly by everyone in the tavern. Asa could see that he had probably lost five or six teeth.

  He sprang to his feet, knee striking the chest of the last one, grasping it with his right hand and twisting it around before chopping at its neck. The young knight's movements were quite impressive. Asa felt that his powers of observation and mental clarity seemed to be getting sharper by the day, previously he wouldn't have been able to see through others' actions so clearly, probably due to all the meditation practice he had done. Although the book had been pawned off, he had long since memorized the meditation techniques recorded in it, and still practiced every day.

  The knight had twisted the last big man's arm behind his back, and the big man was screaming in pain like a slaughtered pig. The knight looked at the several big men groaning on the ground, feeling somewhat regretful and indignant, and loosened his grip, although he had just said that he wanted to see blood, but it seemed that he couldn't bring himself to do it.

  He turned and walked towards the door, and the big man who had just been released picked up a sword from the ground and stabbed it into the knight's back.

  Halfway through, a hand from behind grasped the big man's hand, pinched it, and the sword fell to the ground. Then, with the same technique as the knight earlier, he twisted it back, and the big man started making the same cry again. However, he only cried out for half a second before a blow to the back of his neck silenced him immediately.

  "Are you going to the forest in the south of the city?" Asa asked. Anyway, there's no lead, and it seems that Chris also said it was in the south, so why not go with this young knight to take a look, and try our luck.

  The knight asked with surprise and delight: "Will you follow me?"

  "Just go with you to take a look."

  The knight urged him, "Then are you willing to help me complete a task? If successful, I will give you a reward." His learning ability was not bad, knowing that money was mentioned, but also did not forget to mention his declaration. "And this is also a very glorious task."

  A Sa furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, seemingly thinking that eating mixed rice wasn't bad either, nodded.

  As they exited the tavern, the knight mounted his horse. Asa walked beside him, eating the beef he had snatched from the tables of the big men. The knight was quite excited about his successful recruitment and kept asking Asa about his background and aspirations. Asa simply replied that he was a wandering vagabond from the capital city.

  "My Asa friend, your behavior is really not in line with the identity of a knight's assistant, it's no different from a beggar on the street." The knight saw that Asa had finished eating the beef and even licked his oily hands, probably feeling a bit out of place. He politely reminded him.

  A Sa wiped his hand on his body and said: "Do you have to speak in such a tone?"

  The knight nodded and said, "All knights should speak like this." This time he used a normal tone. "Have you seen other knights?"

  "I've seen it," Asa replied. His former mercenary captain Sanders and that annoying Claudius were both knights.

  "Really?" The knight was surprised. "I haven't seen it myself, I've only heard stories and read in books that knights should be like this. Don't the knights you know look like this? Which kingdom's knights are they?"

  "The captain of the Holy Knights." Asa replied. This answer immediately caused a great reaction from the knight on horseback, he suddenly leaned his body forward and approached Asa's face, looking at Asa with surprised and reverent eyes and asked: "Really? What are they like? How do they speak?"

  A Sa looked at him and was worried about his waist being bent at that angle, saying: "Similar to your appearance. Just speaking without your pretentious tone."

  "Really?" The knight straightened his back, let out a half-sigh of joy and worry, and gazed forward with a carefree and yearning expression. "Yes. It's better to speak more freely, that way it shows the demeanor of a knight. Only great heroes can be themselves."

  As they walked out of the city, Asa learned that this young knight named Rodhart was not actually a knight, but rather a student who had just graduated from the Knights' School in Elasia. This was his hometown. His only relative was his grandfather, a local country squire who yearned for a life as a knight and spent all of his family's wealth to send his grandson to that school, which was originally reserved for nobles, hoping he would become a true knight. Unfortunately, the old man had passed away in poverty last year. Rodhart only found out about this after graduation and rushed back from afar to bury his grandfather.

  Outside the city, Rodhart looked around and saw no one, then said to Asa: "Asa, my friend, now we will go to complete this great task. Have you heard about the Imperial Envoy?"

  A Sa shook his head: "No."

  The knight's face was radiant with excitement, overflowing with the passion unique to young people. "I happened to hear it from a soldier at City Hall," he said. "The imperial envoy who came to inspect the capital was ambushed by a group of mountain bandits just as he arrived outside the city yesterday. The imperial envoy was taken hostage, and the bandits are demanding that the local officials pay a large sum of money for his ransom. Right now, City Hall is in an uproar. If we can rescue the imperial envoy before the military does, wouldn't that be a great achievement? Then I could truly become a knight." His eyes shone as he looked at Asa, as if rejoicing on his behalf. "You can share this great honor too."

  "I hope it won't take too long." Asa yawned, full of old age fatigue.