Unknown put away his bow and quietly looked at Felicity, asking, “Do you believe me now?”

Chapter 8: The Great Roc Spreads Its Wings and Soars Among the Clouds (Part 2)

“Yes! Believe what? Since you just saved this princess’s life, I’ll let your earlier disrespect slide for now!” After saying this all in one breath, Felicity turned and walked toward the carriage. Yet in her mind, she couldn’t stop replaying the change in Unknown’s eyes just now—especially that trace of gentleness, which she found unforgettable.

“How could someone so cold have such a gentle gaze?” Sitting in the carriage, Felicity secretly lifted a corner of the curtain to peek at Unknown. “Just a common soldier, what’s he acting so arrogant for?”

The guards who had surrounded Unknown hurried back to Princess Felicity’s carriage, knelt down, and said, “We beg Your Highness to return with us. This time, you snuck out with only a few of us incompetent subordinates, and nearly put your royal self in danger. Please, Your Highness, return to the palace!”

Felicity shot the guards an impatient look and waved her hand dismissively. “Not going back! This time, I must make others see me in a new light! If you’re scared, then go back yourselves! We failed because we didn’t have enough people! Let’s enlist! We’ll go to the nearest city and join the army! Aren’t there recruitment offices in every city in the kingdom now?”

The guards exchanged troubled glances, but could only get up, call the others to regroup, and announce that they would continue forward.

“Wait!” Douglas Baker, his face injured and full of hatred, pointed at Unknown and said, “I now challenge you in the name of noble honor! I will wash away the humiliation you gave me with your life and your blood!”

Gregory and the other knights who had been about to chat with Unknown all looked at Douglas Baker with disgust, but said nothing.

Gregory whispered in Unknown’s ear, “Don’t fight him. His family’s influence is not something you can afford to provoke.”

“I’m not a noble, so I don’t intend to accept your challenge.” As soon as Unknown said this, the knights standing beside him broke into wide grins.

That’s right! Unknown isn’t a knight! Unknown isn’t a noble! Even if Unknown refuses the challenge, there’s no problem at all! The knights felt a secret delight in their hearts.

Douglas Baker’s face turned red, and with his trembling right hand pointing at Unknown, he managed to squeeze out a single word: “You…”

Princess Felicity lifted the carriage curtain, her expression displeased, and said, “Baron Douglas Baker, we need to get moving now. If you have any complaints, let’s discuss them after we find a place to rest.”

Douglas Baker, unwilling, knelt on one knee and said, “I will follow the princess’s orders.”

Princess Felicity then praised Knight Gregory a few times, saying things like how he had rendered meritorious service in saving her, and that when they returned to the imperial capital, the emperor would surely reward him. Only then did the group slowly set off again.

Most of those who had previously protected Princess Felicity merely thanked Gregory and the others out of courtesy, then gathered around Douglas Baker to chat, occasionally casting angry glances at Unknown.

Gregory warmly asked the few guards who had come to sincerely thank him why the princess had brought so few people here, and about the current state of the war in the Shenlong Kingdom.

Unknown didn’t want to say much, just listened quietly on the side, and soon understood that the princess had grown bored of palace life, gathered a group of noble wastrels from the capital, and secretly brought a small number of guards to the front lines, intending to “make a name for herself.”

These noble youths were never challenged by anyone in the capital, which made them think their skills were only a little below those of sword saints and sword gods. This time, they hadn’t even brought a single true expert.

Naturally, the fighting strength of such a group was easy to imagine. This time, they had only encountered a band of defeated bandits, yet had nearly become victims under their blades.

As for the state of the war in the kingdom, these guards weren’t very clear either. Every day in the capital, they heard propaganda about another great victory, but once outside, they found that the bandits were nothing like the weaklings described in the reports, nor were they as few in number.

“Forget it! Let’s not talk about this! As long as we serve our country loyally when we get to the battlefield, that’s enough.” Gregory turned to Unknown and praised, “I didn’t expect you to be so well-versed in military strategy, knowing that to defeat the enemy, you must first take out their leader.”

Unknown grinned. “When dealing with a pack of wolves, you naturally have to kill the alpha first. It’s not much different from hunting.”

Gregory smiled and said no more, though in his heart he didn’t really agree with Unknown’s words. He turned to discuss war topics with the other knights. In their eyes, Unknown was just a commoner; even though he had just shot the enemy leader, it wouldn’t change his status.

Unknown also fell silent, quietly listening as the knights exchanged experiences about how to kill the enemy and avoid death on the battlefield.

“Douglas Baker, what’s wrong?”

“That commoner made me lose so much face in front of Princess Felicity. I must kill him!” Douglas Baker gripped his knight’s spear tightly, a faint white light flickering on and off in his hand.

“That’s right! Look at how arrogant he is—he’s just a lowly archer. Douglas Baker, you’re a direct descendant of one of the Five Heroes of the Shenlong Kingdom! The kingdom’s achievements today are inseparable from your ancestors.”