The two of them walked to the castle’s training ground, drew their swords, and began sparring without using any skills—purely relying on their blade techniques.
Compared to Deron, who had undergone formal knight training and brutal combat within an adventurer’s guild, Zhang Cheng’s swordsmanship could only be described as poor.
But it was precisely Zhang Cheng’s poor performance that dispelled Deron’s suspicions.
“It seems this knight hasn’t truly fought before. He has the rank, but no real strength. No faction would use such a person as a spy.”
Thinking this, Deron’s mind felt more at ease. When they first clashed, he realized Zhang Cheng’s rank wasn’t far behind his own, confirming that this Childe Si was indeed a genius no less talented than himself.
Now, Deron could only rely on his rich battle experience to regain some confidence.
“Ha! Watch your left!” Zhang Cheng panicked as a longsword stabbed at him from his left side, hastily stepping forward to parry.
“Now the left leg!” Seeing Zhang Cheng block the attack, Deron twisted his waist and lightly eased his strength, allowing his longsword to arc perfectly and thrust the tip toward Zhang Cheng’s armored thigh.
Zhang Cheng had just dispelled the force on his sword and, even though he heard Deron’s warning, it was too late to react—he could only watch as the blade left a shallow scratch on his leg armor.
Deron had already turned this spar into a teaching match.
Though his opponent was terrible, Deron was still excited, because in these past few months, only Zhang Cheng could barely keep up with his rhythm.
The other knights lagged behind by at least a whole rank. Even if their techniques were better, their bodies and reflexes couldn’t match Deron’s, so they inevitably suffered defeat.
At this moment, Zhang Cheng found Deron’s swordplay fast and precise, and he could tell Deron was now holding back, which filled him with humiliation.
That humiliation transformed into motivation, driving him to study Deron’s swordsmanship diligently.
Under such guidance, Zhang Cheng clearly felt his skills rapidly improving. Though he was knocked down repeatedly by Deron, he excitedly stood up each time, his gaze growing brighter and his movements becoming more skillful.
While Zhang Cheng was being knocked to the ground time and again, Lu Qiuchen was hard at work deep underground in a mine shaft thousands of meters below.
Using the teleport coordinates she had left earlier, she returned here and was relieved to see that the Knightdom’s “miners” had not yet discovered this place.
After finding the refined gold ore, she immediately began working.
She had left Zhang Cheng because she wanted to test if, with her Golden Dragon bloodline, she could absorb more energy from refined gold to increase her level.
The result was positive, but refined gold decayed more severely than mithril. After providing a little experience, her leveling progress stalled again. Lu Qiuchen guessed this was because her Golden Dragon bloodline was incomplete.
She resumed her “old job” of mining. Now that she had activated the Golden Dragon heart, she had mastery over all elemental magics.
With the aid of earth magic, her mining speed increased tremendously.
Also, after obtaining the Golden Dragon bloodline, Lu Qiuchen could accept refined gold and mithril alike.
Within just a few hours, her talent space was filled with chunks of silver-blue and silver-white metal of various sizes.
Frustrated that tasting these materials didn’t further increase her strength, Lu Qiuchen looked at the mithril and refined gold before her and had an idea.
She decided to gather more and bring it back—even if it couldn’t help her level up, she could gift it to friendly dragons within her clan.
Besides, Zhang Cheng was still missing a full set of armor and weapons.
The armor he wore now was hideous and did not suit her aesthetic at all.
Since he was so weak, she planned to craft two sets of top-quality armor for him first, then a greatsword, a one-handed broad sword, and a shield—arming him to the teeth so that he wouldn’t be lost by accident one day.
Lu Qiuchen was somewhat aware of her knack for trouble.
Though it was never her intention to provoke the big shots, she seemed to have a self-destructive nature, always attracting foes she couldn’t defeat.
Better not think about that now!
It was torture to taste the sweetness without being able to eat it.
This should be enough for now.
Well, Zhang Cheng’s strength could easily sweep this whole region anyway.
Better to gather more while she could. Even if she didn’t use it, she could sell it later—consider it training her teeth.
Lu Qiuchen spat out a mouthful of ore residue and continued processing the refined gold in her mouth.
By midday on the third day, she had mined all the refined gold here and filled her talent space with unprocessed mithril ore before leaving satisfied.
As for what expression the Knightdom’s “miners” would have upon discovering the enormous empty cave left behind and piles of ore residue—they didn’t concern her.
Zhang Cheng and Deron had sparred all morning.
After a hearty lunch, the two began resting in the afternoon, conserving their strength and waiting for evening to fall.
In recent days, the drow only came out at dusk to raid.
Deron had figured out some patterns after observing: the Knightdom’s weather was hot, while the drow, rumored to live in underground cities of the Northern Continent, likely couldn’t stand the Knightdom’s scorching daylight.
That was why they chose dinnertime to steal food.
Through his observations, this drow had done nothing more than grab some food—no special moves or strange behavior.
But the fact that a drow appeared in the Knightdom was already very suspicious.
Before the capture, Deron had considered negotiation, but the drow clearly didn’t understand the Southern Continent’s common tongue.
When he shouted, she shot an arrow at him as a warning.
Since she refused peaceful communication, Deron, as the lord of this land, couldn’t tolerate this robbery.
It wasn’t just about the serfs’ losses being his losses—it was also about his pride.
When Deron returned to his territory, he had been informed by his family about a mithril vein, though it had been reclaimed by the council.
As compensation, he would receive a set of mithril armor and was guaranteed to become a member of the Royal Knights, with the possibility of becoming a captain.
His fellow prospective members of the Royal Knights were now working in that mine.
If they learned that he couldn’t handle a high-level archer in a week, his and his family’s face would be completely lost.
Deron was reasonably satisfied with Zhang Cheng’s current progress.
Though the boy had started terribly, his improvement was fast.
At first, when Deron held back, Zhang Cheng was defeated in two moves, but after just one morning, he could withstand ten strikes.
Deron envied Zhang Cheng’s talent and secretly wanted to recruit him.
That afternoon, he invited Zhang Cheng for a talk to build rapport.
Though Deron looked like a noble young master, he still had an adventurer’s spirit deep down.
Zhang Cheng saw this and told him some adventure stories from Earth, slightly altered, pinning the tales on an innocent bard.
Deron became fascinated, listening eagerly.
The two chatted happily in the castle, and Deron wasn’t shy about boasting about his own adventures.
When he spoke of his time in the Talar Kingdom, he focused on the glorious tales of battling mountain dragons and fighting nightmares in the Londo Ruins with his comrades.
But he was vague about the combat details, only saying that after that battle, he left the adventurer guild, ended his training, and returned to the Knightdom as a minor lord.
Once he became epic rank, he could become a Royal Knight.
At the end, Deron openly expressed admiration for Zhang Cheng, saying his talent must not be wasted.
He could recommend him, hoping Zhang Cheng would serve the Royal Knights and their homeland.
When Zhang Cheng heard about the Londo Ruins and mountain dragon slaying, his curiosity was piqued.
He had just heard about it three days ago from Lu Qiuchen.
However, she had brushed over the Londo Ruins lightly, focusing instead on the characteristics and countermeasures against the demon race’s nightmares, heart demons, and shadow demons.
Now hearing that Deron had been one of the firsthand witnesses, Zhang Cheng wanted to ask about the details.
But just as he was about to, the steward entered the reception room, reminding them the reserved time was up.
Zhang Cheng could only put down his doubts, tell Deron he would consider his offer, and quickly parted ways to prepare their gear.
By the time they were dressed and ready, evening was approaching.
They went to the stables, picked out two fine warhorses, and quietly waited at a clearing near the edge of the forest.
According to Deron, after several observations, this was the route the drow would take when retreating.
They only needed to wait here, and the drow would inevitably run into them.
Only the two of them went on this mission.
The other knights were too far below their level, and bringing them along would be useless or even troublesome.
The two waited patiently.
As dusk deepened, they finally heard noises coming from the castle’s direction.
“They’re here!” The two perked up and exchanged a glance, drawing their weapons and hiding their forms, waiting for their prey to fall into their trap.
Under the red moon, they could barely make out a small black figure running from a distance.
The figure moved swiftly and agilely, weaving through the woods without slowing down, having left pursuers far behind.
The figure grew closer.
But just as it was about to enter their attack range, it suddenly stopped and didn’t advance.
“Who’s there?” A clear, cold voice spoke in Elven from a young girl, echoing through the woods.
Two soft twangs sounded as short arrows were already nocked on the trees in front of them.
The two knew they had been spotted, so they stepped out from behind the trees, revealing themselves.
Before Deron could attack, Zhang Cheng silently sent a message to Laeti: “Hello, Laeti, I mean you no harm.”
Among the magic skills Lu Qiuchen had taught him, mental telepathy was one of the most convenient.
He also knew about camouflage magic and projection magic circles, but hadn’t learned those yet.
Ignoring Laeti’s shocked expression, Zhang Cheng continued the mental message: “I’ve been sent to rescue you. Please cooperate with me and break out from my side.
But be very careful of the guy beside me. He has a ‘special interest’ in cute elves like you.”
Zhang Cheng mischievously slandered Deron to the drow girl.
“If you don’t believe me, you can try running toward him.”
Deron couldn’t understand Elven, nor did he notice the two were communicating telepathically behind his back.
Still excited that their prey was about to be caught, he shouted to Zhang Cheng, “Childe Si, let’s go!”
Seeing both of them start to attack—both Saint-class professionals—Laeti hesitated no longer.
She chose to trust Zhang Cheng and rushed toward his position.
She had no choice.
Last time, alone, Deron had almost been caught.
Now, with no chance of escape, she had to gamble on this human’s words.
Zhang Cheng smiled as Laeti charged, suddenly speeding up his previously slow movements.
With a harsh twist of his sword’s hilt, he struck the flat side of the blade hard against Laeti, sending her flying.
“You humans are all liars!” Laeti shouted as she tumbled backward, her weapon flying out of her hands and landing in the bushes.
Zhang Cheng walked over with a chuckle.
In Deron’s shocked gaze, he pulled out a rope and tied up Laeti.
Just as Lu Qiuchen had said, this kid was very gullible.
With just one paralyzing blow, he easily subdued her.
If Lu Qiuchen’s cunning was a three-time-a-night level, this drow elf had reached ten times a night.
“Don’t be impatient; this is all part of the plan,” Zhang Cheng said as he tied the rope, sending a mental message to the bound Laeti.
“You damn human! I will never trust you again!” Laeti cursed at his hateful face.
The greatsword’s impact had been strong, leaving her limbs numb and immobile for a short time.
With her weapon gone, she was at their mercy.
Zhang Cheng stuffed a clean piece of linen into the tied-up drow girl’s mouth.
Shrugging at Deron’s stunned look, he said, “I think she’s cursing me, so I gagged her.”
Deron snapped back to reality and gave a strange smile.
“I think you’re right, Brother Childe Si.
Your methods surprise me, but they are truly effective.”
Deron’s impression of Zhang Cheng changed due to his rough handling of the drow woman.
But since she wasn’t human, this probably didn’t violate the Knight’s Code of never coercing a lady.
Seeing the plan succeed, Zhang Cheng comforted Laeti in his mind while picking up her discarded weapon.
Deron loaded the drow girl onto a horse, planning to take her back to the castle.
Tomorrow they would find a mage who knew Elven and try to interrogate her.
Though the drow was notorious, she had only stolen food and hadn’t harmed people or property.
This wasn’t a serious matter.
As a prospective Royal Knight, Deron intended to strictly follow the Knight’s Code, conducting a fair and just interrogation and allowing the drow to defend herself.
If she truly hadn’t committed other crimes, it would be little more than a few lashes.