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In the courtyard of the Antares Count’s Castle, beneath the scorching midsummer sun, around thirty men had gathered. They were robust men, fully armed. Each of them, equipped with different weapons and armor, looked at Repenhardt on the podium and shouted proudly.

“It is an honor to meet the renowned Fist Emperor Repenhardt!”

“My name is Gardwin! I have come here to pledge my loyalty to the Fist Emperor! Though it may not seem like it, I have made quite a name for myself in the northern Vasily Kingdom!”

All of these men were mercenaries and warriors, hoping to secure a position under the newly established Count of Antares.

Every sword-wielding person’s dream was to become a knight. However, becoming a knight wasn’t just about having skills. Most noble families traditionally had their own knight orders, and to belong to one, one needed not only skills but also noble lineage and family support. Those of humble birth, no matter how skilled, had their career ceiling limited to being mercenaries, monster hunters, or dungeon explorers.

However, sometimes a path to knighthood opened for such commoners, particularly when new noble families were established. These newly risen noble houses, in their rapid quest for power, often knighted skilled commoners despite their low birth.

The Fist Emperor Repenhardt had many powerful warriors from various species under his command but few humans. Hearing the rumors, mercenaries and warriors gathered, dreaming that they too could become knights.

It had been over three months since the Duchy of Antares was founded. Even while Repenhardt and his party were away, numerous warriors had visited the count’s castle, and even now, people were flocking in daily, raising their voices. Most were seasoned mercenaries, but there were also quite a few local ruffians who didn’t realize how big the world was.

“I am unbeatable with just one spear! I will not disappoint!”

“I can take down wolves with just my fists!”

As the men introduced themselves and raised their voices, the courtyard of the count’s castle became as noisy as a marketplace. Russ, standing beside Repenhardt, shouted.

“Everyone, be quiet!”

As the famous Aura User, Russ, shouted, the crowd quickly fell silent. Repenhardt looked at the men and muttered to himself.

‘During the Antares Empire days, no one would come voluntarily to become a demon under the Demon King. But now, they are flocking here like this…’

The stark difference in popularity between the Demon King and the Fist Emperor suddenly became clear. Nonetheless, it was a favorable reaction. With a wry smile, Repenhardt addressed the crowd.

“Warriors, I am truly grateful for your willingness to follow this humble person. Your sincerity has been confirmed just by being here. If you demonstrate your skills, you will be generously rewarded!”

“Oooooh!”

Hearing the renowned Fist Emperor acknowledge them, the men cheered as if they had already become knights. However, if they listened carefully, they would realize he was saying he would choose them only after confirming their skills.

Observing the gathered crowd, Repenhardt stroked his chin.

‘Looks like I need to filter them out properly again today.’

It was good to have people gathering, but not everyone could be accepted. Repenhardt signaled to the two men standing below the podium, Russ and Tassid.

‘Filter them out properly and pick only those who are useful!’

Both men responded with a smile, indicating they understood, as this had been a daily routine for days. Russ and Tassid drew their swords and stepped forward. Russ pointed his sword at a sturdy mercenary standing at the front of the line.

“Cyrus,” he announced.

The mercenary, looking a bit embarrassed, drew his sword in response.

“I am Petra of the Blood Wind. It is an honor to face the famous Cyrus!”

There was no way Petra could win, as his opponent was an Aura User. But this duel was merely to prove his skills. Petra drew his sword nervously.

“Then, here I come! Taaah!”

Petra launched a fierce sword attack. Of course, Russ easily parried all his strikes. The duel, which was more like a training session, caused the other gathered men to murmur among themselves.

“Another big crowd today.”

“As expected, Sir Cyrus is amazing. How can his sword flow so naturally, like water?”

These were warriors who had already passed the trials. Some had earned their knighthood, while others, who didn’t pass but couldn’t give up, remained as guards of the castle. Over the past few days, the number of martial artists who had flocked in was substantial, resulting in nearly twenty knights and almost a hundred soldiers under Repenhardt’s command, excluding non-human warriors.

‘Of course, even combined, they are not as powerful as ten Dwarf warriors…’

Repenhardt watched the duel between Russ and Petra with a disinterested expression. However, to walk a different path from his previous life, he needed to embrace humans as well. Thus, Repenhardt was readily accepting the gathered warriors if they seemed even slightly useful.

‘But it’s problematic if they have too much prejudice against non-humans.’

Repenhardt’s gaze shifted to the opposite side of the courtyard, where Tassid was also testing the gathered men.

Like Russ, Tassid was effortlessly dealing with the mercenaries. Most were in awe of Tassid’s prowess, but occasionally, there were those who couldn’t accept defeat and protested.

“Ugh! An orc dares to judge my skills?”

The fallen brute’s shout caused the onlooking humans to snicker and click their tongues.

“Goodness.”

“He’s out.”

“What a fool. Does he still see Sir Tassid as just an ordinary orc?”

Sure enough, Tassid raised his enchanted sword, Dakar, with a cold smile.

“Oh, is that so?”

Wooong!

A teal light engulfed the blade of the enchanted sword. The gathered mercenaries gasped in shock.

“Blade Aura!”

“Oh my God!”

“An orc using aura! The rumors were true!”

The defiant brute turned pale and trembled.

“H-how can an orc…!”

Whooosh!

Tassid swung his enchanted sword through the air. The Blade Aura sliced through the atmosphere with a majestic roar. The brute, now ashen-faced, staggered back.

Tassid spoke coldly.

“Get lost.”

“Eek!”

The brute, overwhelmed by the tremendous killing intent, began to flee towards the gate in a panic. The pressure was so intense that he didn’t even realize the disgrace he was showing.

‘Doing well today too.’

Repenhardt watched Tassid with a satisfied smile. Prejudiced humans, who had no hope of overcoming their biases against non-humans, were efficiently weeded out by Tassid.

With a shrug of his shoulders, Repenhardt spoke.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. I’m heading inside.”

☆ ☆ ☆

As Repenhardt entered the castle, a young man fell in step beside him. He was a young man in his late twenties, with black hair and blue eyes.

“Count.”

“Ah, Sir Azrael.”

Repenhardt turned to look down at him. This young man was Azrael von Kato, currently the leader of the Antares Knights under Repenhardt’s command.

“How is it? Do you see any promising ones among those gathered today?”

“Their skills are reliable since Sir Russ and Sir Tassid are filtering them out. But having skills doesn’t necessarily mean they have the qualities of a knight…”

Azrael looked out the window with a dissatisfied expression.

He was one of the few knights in the Order of Antares who had received formal knight training and was of noble origin. He was a true knight, possessing not only skills but also manners and knowledge. Moreover, despite his age, his swordsmanship was extraordinary, making him the strongest in the Duchy of Antares, excluding aura users and non-humans. (Though, in fact, there weren’t many left if you excluded aura users and non-humans.)

In any case, it was thanks to the reputation of the Fist Emperor that Azrael, who could have been knighted anywhere, joined under Repenhardt. While Azrael was looking for a lord to serve after completing his knight training, Repenhardt gained fame through the Crovence civil war at just the right time.

Since a warrior of the Fist Emperor’s caliber was more than enough as a lord, Azrael hurried to the Duchy of Antares. Repenhardt, who was in need of a proper knight, gladly accepted Azrael and even assigned him the role of captain. Since Russ was eventually going to return to the Tenes family, he couldn’t be bound to the Antares Knights.

With Repenhardt showing such favor, Azrael was deeply moved and swore his loyalty wholeheartedly. Although they had only met about ten days ago, Azrael had already become as devoted to Repenhardt as Russ or Tassid.

With a face full of loyalty, Azrael offered his advice to Repenhardt.

“If you gather only mercenary knights, I’m afraid it might undermine the authority of the Order, Your Grace.”

“And orcs are okay?”

“You’re bringing that up again…”

Azrael blushed with embarrassment, and Repenhardt chuckled.

When Azrael first arrived in the Duchy of Antares, it was Tassid who confronted him. Back then, Azrael was furious about being pitted against an orc, despite having heard that the non-humans under the Fist Emperor were different from ordinary ones. Even so, he found it hard to accept an orc.

However, after crossing swords with Tassid, Azrael had to abandon that thought.

Tassid’s sword was as precise and powerful as a knight’s. Moreover, his demeanor and speech were nothing like what Azrael knew of orcs. His elegant and refined speech was enough to believe him to be a proper knight.

The decisive factor was the Blade Aura!

The moment he saw the great light imbued in the True Demon Sword, Azrael abandoned all his prejudices and admired Tassid. The fact that his opponent was an orc no longer mattered. That green-skinned orc was undoubtedly an admirable and exceptional swordsman.

“Sir Tassid possesses the demeanor and skills befitting a knight, does he not?”

“It would be nice if everyone thought like you.”

Repenhardt clicked his tongue. It was indeed remarkable that someone of noble origin like Azrael could so readily acknowledge another. He was a rare type with an open mind and broad perspective.

However, not all humans gathered in the Duchy of Antares were like that. While the knights were carefully selected, leaving no issues, some soldiers still held onto their prejudices.

Approximately two-thirds of the people, like Azrael, genuinely accepted non-humans. Although this was a fairly high ratio, the remaining one-third still didn’t truly accept them in their hearts, even though they didn’t openly show their disdain for non-humans due to Repenhardt’s orders.

‘Well, the rest will naturally change as they interact with other orcs and dwarves.’

Azrael hardened his expression and offered his counsel again.

“Currently, more than half of the Antares Knights are mercenary origins. While I am teaching them knightly manners and behavior, having too many mercenaries disrupts the atmosphere of the order. Shouldn’t this be considered?”

Repenhardt pondered for a moment.

To be honest, as a mage, he found knights to be merely ostentatious, overly obsessed with unnecessary formalities. Whether he gathered mercenaries or knights, they seemed the same to him.

‘Still, it’s better not to deviate too much from common sense, right?’

From his past life experiences, Repenhardt keenly felt that his mindset was quite different from the general populace of this era. He realized that acknowledging this was essential to overcoming failures and finding a new path.

‘Although chivalry has its irrational aspects, it’s still better than mercenaries with no restrictions.’

Repenhardt nodded.

“From now on, Sir Azrael, you will be fully responsible for selecting knights. Inform Russ and Tassid as well.”

Azrael’s face brightened. Being entrusted not only with the position of captain but also with the authority to recruit knights after only ten days of acquaintance showed immense trust in him.

“I will surely repay Your Grace’s trust!”

Deeply moved, Azrael knelt. His heart pounded with determination to serve Repenhardt with utmost loyalty.

Repenhardt smiled warmly and helped him up.

“I trust you, Sir Azrael. Do well.”

“Of course!”

Watching Azrael run to the front yard, Repenhardt chuckled.

“One less task to handle.”

Still, seeing Azrael so happy made him feel a bit guilty.

To be honest, the Antares Knights were not of great importance to him at the moment. It wasn’t that he disregarded them, but being a mage with non-human forces, Repenhardt didn’t value knights as much as other nobles did.

While Azrael might rejoice at being given a crucial task, to Repenhardt, it was just another item on his long list of things to handle.

‘Well, Azrael will do well. At least better than I, a mage, would.’

Repenhardt turned away. Frankly, he had no time to worry about the chivalric propriety of the order. There were many other pressing matters to attend to.