The Strongest Knight

In a corner of the backyard, there was a pile of firewood.

Part of this firewood is for the merchant Mark's own use at his house, but more of it is to be transported by the caravan to Stoneclaw City, 50 kilometers away, for sale.

Stoneclaw City has a population of over 50,000 and there are no forests around, so even selling firewood can make a small profit.

The merchant Mark bought the wood from the lumberjacks in the town, and Gray cut the wood neatly. He could make money by simply moving the goods onto the caravan carriage and sending them to the main city of Stoneclaw.

To handle so much wood, Mark hired three workers at the beginning.

Now, three years later, as Gray's felling skills have become more and more advanced, the number of workers has been reduced from three to just one.

Although Gray's salary doubled, after calculation, businessman Mark still made a profit.

Gray didn't say much about this.

He had no intention of becoming a professional lumberjack.

All this is just a prelude.

In one morning, Gray, holding an axe, had processed two-thirds of the wood in the yard.

The coarse linen clothes had been taken off long ago, and Gray's muscular upper body made the maid, who was about 16 or 17 years old and brought the meal, blush slightly. She put down the lunch box and turned around to leave the backyard.

The motion of swinging the axe greatly strengthens the back muscles of the torso, and Gray sees this as another form of training.

After a morning of work, Gray's arms turned red and his veins bulged.

Gray resisted the urge to rest and picked up the lunch box with trembling hands.

The maid obviously added a lot of ingredients to Gray's lunch box, so it was full of meat.

Gray shook his head, silently noted this small favor, and began to eat slowly.

Meat must be chewed slowly and swallowed thoroughly so that it can be digested better and faster. Gray can also take the opportunity to recover some strength and relieve his sore, numb and trembling muscles.

It is by making good use of every minute that Gray can do the work of three people.

After finishing his meal and taking a few minutes to rest, Gray continued to work.

The crisp sound of wood being cut down could be heard continuously, and at about three o'clock in the afternoon, Gray finished his work.

The butler appeared in the backyard on time.

Gray guessed that he heard the sounds of felling trees fade away, knowing that the workers had finished their work.

One Drew copper coin plus five copper kels, this was the reward for Gray's work today.

After receiving the wages from the housekeeper, Gray placed his hands on his chest, bowed slightly and thanked him.

The butler nodded with satisfaction, motioned for Gray to leave on his own, and went to ask people to move the wood.

This little guy was different from those rude and arrogant workers. He was very polite, humble, and knew some etiquette, which was very much to the housekeeper's liking.

This is also the reason why, after the butler discovered that Gray was able to do the work for three people, he immediately asked Gray whether he was willing to pay double the salary for one person to complete the work for three people.

Coming out of the merchant Mark's house, Gray took out the copper coin from his pocket and looked at it carefully.

The Drew copper coin is much thicker and larger than the Copper Kerr. The word Drew is engraved on both the front and back, and it is much more refined than the Copper Kerr.

"Almost, it's time to go to Birch Castle."

Birch Castle is located on a high ground fifteen kilometers east of Green Town.

The owner of Birchwood Castle is Sir Fielding, a powerful official knight.

Sir is not considered a noble, but an honor bestowed by the Kingdom of Dru on formal knights.

Although a knight is not considered a noble and has no fiefdom, he can build his own castle, and the land within a radius of 1.5 kilometers around the castle also belongs to the knight.

Sir Fielding was born in the small town of Green. After becoming a knight and being awarded the title of Sir of the Kingdom, he naturally built his own knight's castle near the town of Green.

Viscount Campbell fully supported this and it is said that he even contributed a lot of funds and manpower when the castle was built.

Not to mention how important it is to have a relationship with an official knight, the mere fact that Birch Castle is located in Viscount Campbell's territory has almost eliminated bandits and robbers in the vicinity.

Occasionally, when terrifying monsters appeared and wreaked havoc, Sir Fielding would feel obliged to take action to deal with them.

Knight Fielding's castle stands outside the town of Green. Every once in a while, he recruits a group of knight students for Viscount Campbell's territory.

Knight training lasts for half a year and the tuition fee is one gold coin.

The tuition fees are very expensive for common people, which has stopped many people from pursuing this path, but more people in Viscount Campbell's territory will still choose to grit their teeth and pay the tuition fees for their offspring.

However, Knight Fielding did not have any other conditions for recruiting knight students besides tuition fees.

First, you must be under fifteen years old.

Second, you must pass Knight Fielding's test.

Generally, one must have outstanding physical fitness, and those under fifteen years old must have better physical fitness than adults in order to pass the test.

Not all teenagers are gifted or as determined as Gray.

Even if they become students, only a few can become formal knight apprentices after half a year of training.

Most of the students could only return empty-handed.

In fact, although the talent of a knight cannot be measured, there may be only one person who possesses the talent of a knight among hundreds or thousands of people.

"Knight training costs one gold coin for half a year. It's really expensive!" Gray looked at the reward he received today and thought of the gold coin he was about to spend. The joy on his face gradually turned into pain.

However, Gray quickly adjusted his mindset and decided that everything was worth it in order to become a knight.

In three years, Gray, who lived frugally, had already saved up a gold coin.

This is something that many townspeople cannot do, but Gray did it.

"Ten days from now, Birch Castle will send out a message to recruit students. Just in case, I have to stay for a few days to maintain my physical condition."

"After the work is finished tomorrow, you can say goodbye to the merchant butler."

Gray made up his mind, raised his head and strode forward.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a few thugs on the street dragging a few thin teenagers into a remote alley nearby.

The thugs in Green Town also noticed Gray and just gave him a look that said "mind your own business". When they saw that Gray had no intention of intervening, they ignored him.

A year or two ago, these thugs would come to trouble Gray. An orphan like Gray was the best target for bullying, and they could occasionally extort a lot of coppers from him.

Over the past year, Gray's body has grown like a balloon, and he has changed his previous cowardly image and fought several battles with several gang leaders.

Nowadays, the gangsters no longer bother Gray.

Gray knew the teenagers who were dragged into the alley by the gangsters. Most of them were poor people who had lost their parents, were single parents, or lived with their grandparents.

It’s not your fault that you have a miserable life, but you cannot be a coward. You must learn to resist your own fate.

Gray sighed and shook his head at the cowardly teenagers' lack of resistance, then walked into a noodle shop on the street.

A large piece of beef, a generous portion of wheat noodles, and a few slices of green vegetables cost only three copper grams.

The boss thoughtfully gave the old customer a bowl of steaming bone soup.

The boy finished his dinner early and went home.

At night, I have to continue to exercise...