Kessel’s right hand was stretched out in front of him.
But Leo had already stepped back three or four paces.
"Alright, you win. I judged you by your face and underestimated you. That was a deadly mistake. Thank you for teaching me this lesson."
With that, Kessel made a fist with his right hand, held it near his chest, and gave Leo a knight’s salute.
Leo quickly returned it.
"Thank you for teaching me, Instructor!"
The knights who had been running laps stopped completely. Their eyes went wide and their mouths fell open.
They hadn’t seen how Kessel lost. Still, the sight left them speechless. The Iron Wall was saluting a student! It was as strange as a cat giving a mouse a kiss.
"What are you all doing?! Wasting my words?! Go run fifty more laps!"
In the next moment, the same Iron Wall that lived in their hearts was back. His roar made the other knights tremble, and they hurried to finish their laps.
"You, come with me."
Kessel said in a cold voice and turned to walk away.
Leo ran after him and followed him into the Knights’ Main Hall.
A heavyset man stood inside. He looked like he had been waiting for them for a long time. When he saw them, he smiled.
"How did it go? Just like I said, right?"
"Hall Master Rowan?" Leo said, a little surprised.
The big man was Rowan Voss. At that moment, he looked like an old fox, wearing a smile as he faced Leo and the Iron Wall.
"Barrel."
Kessel snorted coldly.
Rowan burst out laughing.
"Stone Face! We’re in Moonhaven Hall this time, and you’re still acting all high and mighty. By the way, I forgot to tell you his age. Leo, you’re almost twelve, right?"
Leo nodded.
"In four months I’ll be twelve."
"What?!"
Kessel, who had been standing there like ice, finally showed a reaction on his face. There was shock in it, and there was excitement too.
"He isn’t even twelve yet? He isn’t even twelve and he can use Daybreak Cleave?"
How could he not recognize the shield skill Leo had just used?
Rowan said proudly,
"Didn’t I tell you an extraordinary genius had come to Moonhaven Hall? Do you understand what ’extraordinary’ means? Fool!"
Kessel acted as if he hadn’t heard the teasing. His icy face was deadly serious. He fixed his eyes on Leo.
"You can use both Daybreak Cleave and Heavenly Battle Array. That means everything you’ve learned so far has been Retribution Knight power, doesn’t it? So why didn’t you choose to advance as a Retribution Knight? Why do you want to become a Guardian Knight?"
Leo answered without hesitation.
"I want to protect everyone I want to protect. Father said that one person’s strength has a limit. When fighting the Demons to save our homeland, a Guardian Knight’s role is far more important than a Retribution Knight’s."
Kessel’s eyes flashed. He smiled and slowly nodded.
"Good. From today, to learn Guardian Knight skills, you will follow only me. You will not duel any other knight without my permission. Understood?"
Leo was startled for a moment.
"But if I don’t get real fight experience, won’t it affect my training?"
Kessel said coldly,
"Beat me first, then say that. Go to the training ground and wait for me there."
"Yes, sir."
Confusion showed on Leo’s face. He saluted Rowan, then turned and left.
Watching him go, Kessel’s face slowly filled with excitement.
"Barrel, where did you find such a treasure?"
Rowan said in a victorious tone,
"Stone Face, have you learned your lesson? Yesterday when I told you, you didn’t believe me at all. Now do you believe?"
"With this boy joining us, our Moonhaven branch hall will shine in the future. Maybe it’ll even earn the title of Main Hall. And you can show everyone who looked down on you how strong your student is!"
Kessel ignored his bragging. He thought for a moment, then said,
"Do you know how much innate Inner Spiritual Energy this child has?"
Rowan shook his head.
"I don’t. I tried to ask, but he wouldn’t tell me. I did test his Spiritual Energy though. It came out at 268. So by my guess, this boy’s innate Inner Spiritual Energy is at least 40. Maybe even more. But why are you asking? Weren’t you always annoyed by people with high innate energy?"
A strange look suddenly crossed Kessel’s icy face.
"If innate strength could be changed, I wouldn’t be stuck at the Earth Knight level today. If my innate Inner Spiritual Energy had been 50, I’d already be a Divine Knight. But this cursed sky gave me brains and understanding, and took away my natural strength."
Rowan patted his shoulder.
"Enough, stop cursing everyone and everything. Didn’t Leo’s arrival give you a chance to show your skill? So what if you couldn’t reach that place yourself? Your student can. It’s the same thing, isn’t it?"
Kessel took a deep breath. Excitement began to rise on his cold face, and it slowly turned redder.
"Thank you, Barrel."
Rowan laughed.
"You still call me that? If it weren’t for you, I’d have lost this 150-kilogram body of mine on the battlefield long ago."
Kessel said in a low voice,
"Help me with a few things. First, from today, except for running knight tests, keep me free from the Alliance’s other duties. Second, keep this quiet. I want this boy’s age to be a complete secret. Especially from the other Hall Masters and branch halls. They shouldn’t even hear a rumor."
"Two years from now, when the Alliance Magical Beast Hunt trials come, I want to shake the whole world with this boy’s achievement!"
"Fine, no problem. Just one thing, Stone Face. I don’t want you getting too impatient in your hunger for success. No matter what, don’t hurt this boy. Too much zeal does the opposite of good."
Kessel’s voice was low.
"This boy is stronger than you think. I see my own hope in him. Not because of his age or his talent. Because of his determination."
"Of the ten Standards of a Knight, he has understood at least courage and perseverance. On top of that, he’s a boy who never gives up. His observation is something else, and his imagination goes beyond limits."
"Two and a half years may be short, but I believe he’ll shock the entire Temple as much as he shocked me."
Rowan nodded slowly.
"My answer is still the same. Don’t be too hasty. I can’t tell you this boy’s true identity. But in the days to come, he could become a new hope for us humans."
Kessel laughed. At last, a smile appeared on his icy face. It was truly even uglier than his crying face. But Rowan was sure he was smiling.
It was the first time in nearly ten years that smile had returned.
Laughing, Kessel walked outside. His last words echoed in Rowan’s ears.
"I treasure this boy even more than you do. He’s the continuation of my own dream."
Leo had no idea.
Having just left the lion’s den where his father trained him, he was about to walk into the grip of a crazy Asura demon.
From that very day, the Chief Instructor of Moonhaven Hall, famous as the Iron Wall, gave up his post as Chief Instructor of the Knights’ Main Hall. Rowan had to take over the work himself.
And the story of that young, brilliant knight vanished from sight, right along with him.