Section 8 Study

When the cocktail party ended, it was already midnight. Ashurufate and Leo walked side by side and walked towards their room.

"Haha, Ashu Rufate, when that kid makes a fuss, you are suddenly named Earl. Although he is an empty title, Earl is an Earl. I am still a knight."

"Why is it a empty title? Didn't I say I was given the Danden area as a fief?"

"The reason is very simple. Because the Danden area is an area without residents. Do you understand? Although it is considered the territory of Saint Gene, there is no human being inhabited there. There are only a kind of "half beast" or "Sem" race. You don't want to get anything from where you want. So there is no lord there."

Leo saw someone running by in a hurry not far away from him. He recognized that the other party was Ryan who had lost all his face at the cocktail party today.

"That boy...hehe...that looks like he's going to complain to Lord Thomas."

This guess is correct, because a few minutes later, Ryan had already run into Thomas' tent.

The tent where Thomas lives is very simple, but because it is the commander, his tent is much larger than that of ordinary soldiers, and he is the only one living in it.

Ryan walked into the tent and saw Thomas reading a letter under the candlelight.

"Sir Thomas, why do you turn your elbow outward? I am your disciple!"

"Ryan." Thomas sighed. "It is because you are my disciple that I came forward. Think about it, what have you done? You are causing a meaningless dispute!"

"But he can't be a nobleman from that country... I think he is just a wandering mercenary!"

"Ryan, no matter what Ashu Rufate was, it doesn't matter. You should know that he sent Princess Irina back. Now everyone knows this, and it's impossible to deny it. Do you know what this means? It means that he gave up the reward from the Paro people! A duke, a fief of a province!"

"But this..."

"Even if he was a mercenary, he must be recognized as a nobleman. If I did nothing today, if I just watched him lose face and left in anger - Ashu Rufate was proud, he would definitely leave after being humiliated by you. What would happen? Everyone in the world knows how we, Saint Gene, are mean and ruthless, and use this kind of obscene means to repay a warrior who has made such a great sacrifice for us. Because of your foolishness, because of those unimportant reasons, we will face many accusations against us. So do you understand why he was immediately enthroned as an earl today? Princess Irina did it right."

"But he certainly does not have noble blood..."

"Noble bloodline does not mean anything. There are many examples of promotion from militia to knight because of great contributions on the battlefield. There are also many examples of noble bloodline but ultimately dismissed titles and territory because of violating the ways of knights. Noble bloodline is a very important factor, and I admit, it is very important, but not a decisive factor."

"What's more, Ash Rufate is very skilled in martial arts, and now we are at the right time to use people. At this time, drive such an excellent warrior away... If I hadn't seen you lose your mind by being jealous, I would have scolded you."

"Jealous? Why am I jealous of him?!"

"Of course it's because of Princess Irina. Am I wrong?"

Ryan's face quickly turned red, so embarrassed that he couldn't speak for a moment.

"Ryan, I know your mood. I am a veteran, of course I know this kind of thing very well. But you don't have the conditions to pursue Princess Irina now. What's the use of driving Eshu Rufat away? The princess will never lack admirers and suitors. She will definitely be crowned queen in the future. If you really want to become her lover one day, you must work hard to pursue military achievements and improve your status. Instead of being jealous of others when you have time. You must at least earn the title of Earl for yourself before you can become initially qualified to enter the pursuit of princess. Well, I don't want to say more, go back."

Ryan left in disappointment. Thomas brightened the candlelight and continued to read the letter.

There were tiny footsteps outside. Someone walked into the tent. With the candlelight, Thomas recognized the identity of the guest.

"Ash Rufate? Hey, congratulations on being named Count today." Thomas narrowed his eyes and noticed that Ash Rufate was holding a shield in his hand. The shield engraved with the Blood Dragon Emblem.

"Master Thomas..." Ashu Rufate seemed to want to say something, but he couldn't say it for a moment.

"I'm sorry for this first. In fact, I saw the blood dragon flag you carried with you. I thought it must be your emblem, so without your consent, I secretly asked someone to make a shield for you and a set of armor. You came to me, did I get it wrong? This is not your emblem."

"No, Lord Thomas..." Ashu Ruffat opened his mouth, but still couldn't say anything. He found that he was so unrighteous to express himself. He came to Thomas to thank him for the dress Thomas gave him today; for the shield he prepared; for the smoothing of the scene at that time.

But these words of thanks piled up in the throat, but they couldn't say it.

"Mr. Thomas...please..." I don't know why, but when I said thank you, I completely changed my face. "Please accept me as a disciple. I want to learn military tactics from you!"

A smile disappeared from the corner of Thomas' mouth. His eyes narrowed, as if a tiger was watching the prey that had entered the attack range. This gaze even made Ash Rufate feel a little uneasy.

"I don't want to waste time, so I'll just say it clearly. Others say I am a famous general in the world and are invincible. But I never take these words seriously. I always feel that I just live a few more years and have a little cleverness. I tried to teach students, but found that I couldn't teach them no matter how much I teach. Later, I finally realized that my way of war cannot be mastered by learning, and requires rare talent. This kind of talent is courage and wisdom. Unfortunately, it is difficult to have both."

"I……"

"I know what you want to say. Many people are like you, thinking that they are the rare person. Let's put it this way, I have a small test. A very simple thing that anyone can do. If you pass the test, I will be willing to share my experience with you. But if you can't do it, you will never mention this topic again, how about it?"

Ashurf nodded.

"My request is very simple. Although it is midnight now, there are still many people in the military camp. I ask you to start from your residence, take off your clothes and walk slowly around the military camp with the light. Remember, it is a 'walk' and you must also carry the light. You cannot wear any clothes or armor throughout the process. You cannot hold any metal, fabric, paper, or fur in your hands, and you cannot let the lights go out. If you do it, come back here to see me before dawn."

It should be enough. Looking at Ashu Rufate's back as he left, Thomas thought. This requirement was too much, and few young people could bear such humiliation.

After he gave up, he would give him a copy of what he wrote, which was not much different from the textbooks of the aristocratic college.

Thinking of the military book he wrote, Thomas sighed again. Unfortunately, no one can understand his hard work. But maybe many years later, someone who can understand will appear and master his own wisdom.

He sat down and continued to read the letter. On the edge of his table, there were more than a dozen secret letters. It took a long time to read all the letters.

As he picked up the last letter, he heard footsteps again. Ashu Rufate walked into the tent. Although his clothes were a little messy at the moment, he did not suffer from humiliation. Moreover, he didn't seem to hear any noise in the camp just now.

"I have finished your order, Lord Thomas." said Ashurufat.

This sentence surprised Thomas for a moment, but he immediately returned to normal.

"Tell me, what did you do?"

"I took off my shirt and walked around the camp. It made people think I was just bare-chested with alcohol. Then I went to the camp's utility room and borrowed five large wooden barrels and two pack horses from the quartermaster. I pressed four barrels on the back of the two horses, just like normal cargo. Then I removed the lid and bottom of the last barrel and put it on my body. Then I came to the middle of the two horses. So others looked like I was just driving two horses to carry some kind of supplies. From the front, they could only see the barrel in front of me, and from the side, they could only see the pack horses. So I walked around like this, and then went back to the room to change my clothes to find you."

"Haha...ha..." Thomas suddenly burst into laughter and it took him a long time to stop.

"Very good, I'll accept this disciple." Thomas found a book from the shelf on the side. "This is a military book I wrote. Of course, it's basically just a theoretical thing. You go back and read it carefully first. As for the specific teaching... anyway, we're going to start a war, and you happen to be my adjutant, so I'll teach you other things on the battlefield."

At this moment, in the room on the high side of the castle, the girl was watching the old man walk into the room uneasily.

The old man in black was her grandfather and the king of St. Gene. Under the light, the tumors on the old man's skin looked particularly hideous. These tumors not only grew on his hands, but were spread all over his body.

"You did a great job today. A clever arrangement united the internal structure and laid a foundation for our counterattack. You don't have to worry about the war, Thomas will solve everything. Now you can go to the second lesson. The content of this lesson is to see through people's hearts."

"Count Thomas...really..."
Chapter completed!