120: Could the two be having an affair? (4000 words)

"Why is it him!"

Pierre wailed in his heart, his face contorted into a mask of pain.

Aier Sidi!

Like him and Ryan, Aier was a youth of the same age from Ironthorn Town.

However, compared to the others who still had a boyish air about them, his personality was already very mature.

He never played with them normally; instead, he worked odd jobs with his single mother to supplement the family income and raise his two younger sisters.

Before Lister came to the Ironthorn Territory, the living conditions of their family of four were virtually no different from those of Slaves, despite their status as free citizens.

Perhaps because of these experiences, his character was exceptionally resilient and steady.

After becoming an Apprentice Knight, he was like a fish in water.

Not only was he the most hardworking in cultivation, but his powerful talent had also caused his strength to improve by leaps and bounds over the past few days.

After studying a shallow-quality Breathing Technique for less than an hour, he had condensed a Fighting Spirit Seed.

In the private sparring sessions over the last few days, almost all the newly selected Apprentice Knights had been soundly beaten by him.

Pierre was naturally no exception, so facing him now, he was already feeling timid before the fight even began.

Not far away, Lister, sitting in the seat of honor, had eyes full of admiration for Aier Sidi.

It couldn't be helped; his progress in cultivating the Breathing Technique back then was simply too heaven-defying, even more terrifying than Spartacus's.

Because of this, Lister had Red personally instruct him and taught him the 'Blazing Ox Breathing Technique'.

Although the 'Blazing Ox Breathing Technique' didn't perfectly match Aier Sidi's bloodline, it still did little to slow down his cultivation speed.

He actually could have advanced to Bronze Knight two days ago, but according to his own wishes, he wanted to trigger the bloodline power within his body after today's sparring training.

Lister agreed to his idea, and today he was mainly here to see his performance.

Amidst the excited shouts of the surroundings, Aier looked calmly at Pierre in front of him. While performing a knight's salute, he said in a deep voice, "Pierre, please give me some guidance."

"Please give me some guidance," Pierre returned the salute.

Even though he was nervous, the etiquette required before a knight's duel had to be in place; this was also part of the earnest teaching Red had given them over the past few days.

As the words fell, a gust of wind blew across the training grounds.

Aier lunged from his spot like a coiled spring. Before Pierre could even react, Aier was already in front of him.

Seeing this, Pierre's pupils contracted violently as he quickly raised the round wooden shield in his left hand to block the wooden sword about to descend upon his head.

But in the next second, the wooden sword in Aier's hand, which had been in a hacking posture, dropped like lightning toward the right side of the round shield.

Midway through the descent, it swept horizontally to the left without any sense of hesitation. Accompanied by a cold flash of Chi, it accurately struck Pierre's abdomen.

Feeling the massive force from his abdomen, the strength in Pierre's entire body was instantly drained away, and he collapsed limply to the ground like a noodle.

Victory in a single strike!

As Aier slowly lowered the wooden sword from its sweeping position and straightened his bent frame,

The area around the training field suddenly erupted into an indescribable wave of high-spirited praise and discussion.

"My god, another instant kill! Aier is too strong!"

"More than just strong, it's practically monstrous. I feel like he's on a completely different level of Apprentice Knight than we are."

"I agree. It's only been a few days, and his swordsmanship is already this powerful. I can barely even see his moves clearly."

"It looks like only Rodrigo is left, right? If he wins again, won't he finish today's combat training with a perfect record?"

"Not necessarily. In the private sparring over the last few days, he doesn't seem to have faced Rodrigo yet. Today should be their first battle."

“Damn, I can't wait to see it!”

“He's coming, he's coming! Rodrigo is entering the field!”

As this excited voice rang out, a burly and tall figure among the spectating Apprentice Knights slowly walked to the center of the field.

Looking solemnly at Aier in front of him, Rodrigo said in a muffled voice, "Aier, I will definitely do my best to defeat you."

"You cannot win against me," Aier said in his calmest tone, as if he were simply stating a fact.

"Is that so?"

Rodrigo's tone sharpened as he said, "Then let's try and see!"

The moment the words left his mouth, he dashed from his spot like a bloodthirsty demonic beast.

In less than a single breath, his massive body appeared before Aier.

He swung a heavy wooden sword—one clearly several times larger than those used by the others—down toward Aier's head.

But in the next instant, the expected dodge did not occur. Aier gripped his sword with both hands and blocked directly above his head.

With a 'boom', the ground beneath Aier's feet sank slightly, forming a small circular crater.

Yet his body remained upright and proud, and the longsword in his hands firmly blocked the heavy wooden sword above him.

No matter how much strength Rodrigo applied, the heavy wooden sword could not descend another fraction of an inch.

The next second, with a low shout, Aier exerted force through his entire body, starting from the soles of his feet.

Under the enhancement of Chi energy, he directly jolted the heavy wooden sword back over Rodrigo's head.

His expression changing, Rodrigo exerted force once more, preparing to pull back the blade.

But halfway through the retraction, the wooden sword in Aier's hand had already appeared at his neck like the wind.

The strength Rodrigo had just mustered instantly dissipated. He knew... the match was decided!

In the next moment, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, the roar of a Blazing Ox suddenly erupted from within Aier's body.

Bronze Rank 1!

"To be the first to advance to Full Knight among the thirty-nine newly selected Apprentice Knights."

Lister praised, "You have done very well, Aier. Make sure never to slack off in the future and keep working hard."

"This subordinate will go all out and not fail your expectations, Lord Lord," Aier said with a respectful bow.

Nodding with satisfaction, Lister gave the others some encouragement before leaving the military camp... After lunch, Lister heard the news reported by Brutus that the new school and Workshops were completely finished.

According to the original plan, construction would have taken a few more days, but because another wave of laborers had been escorted from the Viscount Territory, combined with their hard work, the schedule had been moved forward significantly.

Delighted, he followed Brutus to the site of the new school first.

Compared to the original crude school that had only a few small rooms,

The current school was not only dozens of times larger but also featured a wide playground, a cafeteria, a library, and other facilities.

The construction materials for the new school were also mostly Cement, which was much sturdier than the original wood and stone.

While inspecting the site, Lister asked, "Hobbes, has the issue of teaching staff been resolved yet?"

"In reply to Lord Lister, it has not been properly resolved yet. The overall literacy level of the Ironthorn Territory residents is low, and there are no suitable candidates among them to teach students."

Brutus did not hesitate in his answer for fear of gaining a reputation for poor work performance.

Of course, Lister wouldn't think that way either; after all, what Brutus said was the truth.

After thinking seriously for a moment, Lister instructed, "Hobbes, for now, find some teachers who can teach basic knowledge to get through this period."

"After I return, I will have someone rush to Aetheria in the Tulip Territory to see if we can recruit some teachers."

"I imagine with the population size of the Tulip Territory, finding some qualified teaching staff shouldn't be a problem."

"This subordinate thinks so as well." Hobbes nodded in agreement, then hesitated for a moment before suggesting:

"Lord Lister, I remember an old friend who graduated from the Church Academy, Sabrina Octavia, who seems to be working at a Merchant Guild Academy in Aetheria."

"If you permit, I can write a letter for the person going to Aetheria to bring to her. I expect she might be willing to help out of our past friendship."

Lister felt slightly surprised upon hearing this. He hadn't expected Brutus to take the initiative to contact an old classmate, and it sounded like a woman.

Could there be an 'affair' between the two?

The fire of gossip rose in his heart, and he asked deliberately, "How is your relationship with her? She won't leak your true identity, will she?"

"Uh, well, she probably won't. After all, we once..."

Brutus stammered, his expression looking very unnatural. His voice grew smaller and smaller toward the end until nothing could be heard clearly.

"Once what?" Lister asked, becoming increasingly curious.

Brutus suddenly snapped back to reality and coughed twice to hide his embarrassment. "No, nothing. We're just ordinary friends."

Seeing this, Lister knew he wouldn't get anything more out of him by continuing to ask. It seemed he would have to dig it out slowly later.

"Fine, let's do as you suggested. I hope your past friendship proves useful."

Ending the topic, the two continued their inspection. Lister pointed out several small issues within the school one by one.

After all, the general construction layout and blueprints for the new school were designed by him based on schools from his previous life, so he was naturally most familiar with the details.

He chose to build it according to the schools of his previous life because he felt that the schools in this world looked uncoordinated overall and had too many internal flaws.

By comparison, the school style of his previous life was more rational and also looked more comfortable; it was the most familiar-looking architecture he had seen since coming to this world.

The inspection lasted over three hours. Only after all the issues were recorded by Brutus did he arrive at the site of the new Workshop.

Like the new school, the new Workshop was also characterized by its large size and was divided into two independent units. The interior looked incredibly spacious and comfortable, with people coming and going without any sense of crowding.

Moreover, because it was so large, the tools, tables, and chairs used by the craftsmen did not completely fill the space. More people could be recruited later to refine and expand the various equipment.

One of the buildings was the craftsmen's area, while the other was the exclusive area for the Weapon Development Department.

The two units were not far apart, but there was a fifty-meter distance between them, and the Weapon Development Department area was entirely cordoned off with tight iron fences.

This was specifically ordered by Lister. After all, the Weapon Development Department required high confidentiality and needed corresponding protective measures.

Furthermore, this arrangement allowed the two originally independent areas to save on many guard Soldiers, avoiding frequent scheduling issues due to a lack of manpower.

Under Malo's guidance, Lister quickly finished inspecting the entire Workshop. Overall, compared to the school, there were far fewer issues.

It wasn't until evening that he finished all inspection work and returned to the castle to rest... In the dark night sky, the silver moon hung high, and stars twinkled.

Although most areas of the Ironthorn Territory had fallen into darkness,

The massive open space between Ironthorn Town and the road leading to the castle was brightly lit by bonfires and crowded with people.

After being plagued by various matters, Lister finally managed to hold a celebratory banquet today after the Winter Wheat sowing.

Although the laborers from the Viscount Territory were not residents of the Ironthorn Territory, Lister had arranged for them to join the celebration as well.

As dish after dish of delicious food was presented, the eyes of the residents and laborers sitting in circles couldn't help but light up.

Most of it was meat from wild beasts hunted by people Lister had sent into the Ironthorn Forest.

Because there were so many people at the celebration banquet, the cooking of the delicacies was completed by Flora leading the chefs and women of Ironthorn Town.

One could say that these delicacies were the fruits of their own labor.

Soon, after all the beast meat and other delicacies were served, several massive roasted demonic beasts were laboriously carried out by the Soldiers.

Seeing this, the residents and laborers present all showed expressions of extreme shock.

Almost none of them had ever seen roasted demonic beasts used as food in their lives, let alone whole ones.

The rich aroma wafting over made everyone swallow their saliva, yet they didn't dare dream that they could eat such delicacies.

In their view, this was definitely for the knights and Soldiers to enjoy, and they deserved to enjoy it.

Some of the residents were overjoyed because their children had just been selected as Apprentice Knights and Soldiers.

As long as the children could eat it, what difference was there from them eating it themselves?

Finally, the series of preparations before the banquet concluded.

Under the watchful and infinitely respectful gazes of the crowd, Lister slowly walked onto the small high platform in front of the central bonfire.

His gaze swept from left to right, taking in all the weathered and darkened faces brought about by labor.

Infusing a trace of Chi energy, Lister spoke slowly, "Today is the belated celebration banquet for the Winter Wheat sowing."

"Although it is many days late, I feel that holding it at this time is the best and most appropriate moment."

"Because after so many days of everyone's hard work, the Ironthorn Territory has finally taken on a new look."

"The current celebration banquet is the best way to thank all the residents."

"I hope that after today's celebration banquet, you can continue to maintain your previous momentum and complete the entire transformation of the Ironthorn Territory before the cold winter arrives."

"This is both a task I am giving you and also for yourselves, as well as for the bright future of the Ironthorn Territory."

"Without further ado, the celebration banquet officially begins."