The knights were all quite shocked to see that the young man with black hair, who had just shot the deadly arrow, was actually so young. On the continent, humans with black eyes and black hair are naturally inferior in strength to those with golden hair and blue eyes, so most black-eyed, black-haired people who engage in martial pursuits tend to choose paths that require more skill. Someone like Unknown was a first for Gregory.

"This young warrior, I mean no offense. I just wanted to ask if you have any intention of selling the full set of knight’s armor you just took off? I’m willing to offer ten gold coins!" A sharp-eyed knight on his warhorse immediately recognized that the armor was a fine piece crafted by dwarves.

Unknown hesitated as he glanced at the armor on the ground. Even though he was wearing protective gear made from raptor hide, that heavy armor was, after all, a testament to his friendship with the dwarves.

Unknown's hesitation led the knight to mistakenly believe that the seller was dissatisfied with the price.

"I can offer... um... fifty gold coins! Yes! Fifty gold coins!" the knight said through gritted teeth, as if saying "fifty gold coins" had taken all his strength.

Unknown didn’t know the prices outside, nor the value of gold coins, so he had no particular reaction, but Old Village Chief was already dumbfounded.

Even Gregory the knight looked at the bidding knight beside him in surprise.

You have to know, a single gold coin could provide for an ordinary family in an outlying village for a whole year. Even though a knight’s salary was higher than that of a commoner, fifty gold coins was still two years’ salary for the knight beside him.

Old Village Chief, overwhelmed with excitement, shouted before Unknown could respond, "Fifty gold coins! We’ll sell it!"

Chapter 6: The Roc Spreads Its Wings (Part 2)

The knight who not long ago had wanted to kill Old Village Chief in a fit of rage now looked at him almost as if he were his own father.

You have to understand, even if you’re a golden knight on the battlefield, you could be shot dead at any moment by a lowly soldier with a bow. The armor in Unknown’s hands—an ordinary lightsword would need to strike the same spot with full force several times to have a chance of piercing it. Armor with such powerful defensive capabilities is always the first choice for any knight.

The knight quickly donned the full set of armor and excitedly said to Gregory, "Captain, Captain! Strike me with your sword, strike me so we can see how good this armor is!"

The other knights also looked excitedly at Gregory, who held a lightsword, all eager to see just how well this armor, bought for such a huge sum, could defend.

Gregory slowly regulated his breathing, and the energy output of the lightsword in his hand reached its maximum: "Hah!"

The lightsword drew a beautiful arc through the air, slashing at the armor and bouncing off instantly, leaving only a hair-thin scratch on the pitch-black heavy armor.

"Excellent! Captain, what swordsmanship! The force and speed are perfect!"

"That’s right! That’s right! Captain, there should be no problem with your next knight advancement, right?"

Gregory accepted his subordinates’ praise with composure, reaching out to pat the knight in heavy armor and exclaiming, "Good armor. Even in the imperial capital, you couldn’t buy this set for a hundred gold coins."

Listening to the knights praise Gregory, Unknown was rather unimpressed. With that strike just now, Unknown was confident he had at least three ways to defeat and capture the opponent alive, and at least six ways to instantly kill him without getting hurt.

(Are people outside really that weak?) A trace of doubt flashed in Unknown’s eyes, but he quickly shook his head and smiled, dismissing the thought. How could the outside world, which could trap packs of raptors in the forests, possibly be weak?

With Gregory’s praise, the knights shifted their gaze to the knight wearing the armor, and upon seeing the tiny scratch on it, they all looked greedily at the rest of Unknown’s equipment.

"Respected sir," a knight unconsciously addressed Unknown with honorifics, "may I... may I purchase the knight’s longsword at your waist?"

"Respected sir, may I purchase the knight’s lance on your back?"

"Sir..."

The knights surrounded Unknown, each picking out the weapon they liked. Except for the obvious hunter’s tools and the powerful bow that no one could draw, almost all the other equipment caught the knights’ eyes.

"Honored knights! Honored knights!" Old Village Chief, who had once left the village and seen the world, stood atop the village’s highest millstone and shouted, "Since you all like these weapons, why don’t we hold a small auction right here?"

Unknown smiled helplessly and no longer paid attention to the somewhat frenzied knights. He turned and went back to his room to pack up the things he might need, then distributed the hundreds of pounds of dried meat he had made—meat that could be stored for a long time—to the families in the village with less able-bodied members.

The children gathered around Unknown, listening to the parting words of the hero in their hearts.