Chapter 173: The Old Fox and the Little Fox

“Consider your assassination mission complete.” Leaving the city guards, temple knights, and priests to clear the battlefield, Reyn led Little Ver away.

Along the way, the old man gave Little Ver a good scolding, and incidentally, also reprimanded Senior Knight Molly.

“What kind of knightly combat style is that? The sneaky type? Where did that brave female knight go, the one who dared to fight and charge, who would draw her sword and persevere even against a Great Knight?”

“To do something knowing it’s impossible isn’t bravery, it’s recklessness. To have an advantage but not use it, foolishly going head-to-head with an opponent, isn’t courage, but stupidity.” Little Ver’s words earned Molly, the Senior Knight’s approval, but earned Reyn, the old man’s fist.

“I didn’t tell you to go and die; I just wanted to use the Orc warriors to hone your abilities. Molly is an exception; she’s a countess who returned from the Orc battlefield. But you, boy, are destined to strive on the battlefield in the future. It’s a rare opportunity to have Orc warriors come to you for practice, and you just gave it up! You… you’re going to be the death of me!”

Reyn felt exhausted. This student was even harder to teach than the Temple Knight Vol. Could it be that overly intelligent children were all like this?

Two figures flashed out from the side, one holding a cat, the other with a bow and arrows on their back. It was Catgirl and Watchdog, who had been hidden in the shadows all along.

“Lost them?” Little Ver seemed to have anticipated this. Watchdog nodded slightly: “The opponent was very vigilant, much stronger than me, and the environment here is very complex. She slipped away.”

“You knew these little rats weren’t the ones truly trying to assassinate me?” Reyn asked casually.

Little Ver nodded, “To retreat unscathed from your hands, their strength would have to be at least that of a Great Knight. While that rat leader’s strength was decent, he was only at the level of a Senior Knight. After going berserk, he barely reached Great Knight status, but he became very brainless. It would have been impossible for him to escape with his life from your hands. Old man, you’re already preparing to leave, so can you please stop keeping me cooped up? I’m still just a minor.”

General Reyn couldn’t help but be stunned. The talent and steady demeanor this little rascal usually displayed, how was that like a child? He didn’t claim to be a child when he was grinning and bargaining, but now that he saw responsibility coming, he told me he was a child. Ha ha, I, an old man, don’t believe a word of it.

You’re a sly one, kid. I, an old man, consider myself careful and cautious, yet during training, you still caused a lot of trouble, making a perfectly good military camp much more lively. You even invented sports called ‘collision ball’ (rugby) and basketball. They also emphasize strategy and teamwork, which is quite interesting, but it always feels like the entertainment aspect outweighs the training effect.

Compared to these two games, the old general was more optimistic about another game: the ‘slap game.’ Bottom-level soldiers don’t understand strategy or tactics; they just mess around, always rushing in. In short, whoever was on this kid’s team usually won, and often by a large margin.

The slap game was much simpler: two people face each other, count to three, and then simultaneously put out their hands in the shape of scissors, a hammer, or paper. Scissors beat paper, paper beats hammer, and hammer beats scissors. Whoever won could immediately slap the loser within two seconds, and the loser could choose to cover their face with both hands. It all came down to who had the sharpest eyes and quickest hands.

Since this game was invented, the city guards gained a bunch of warriors with red faces and hands every day. It was a good way to train reaction speed in addition to punching practice. Situations where they had to fight to decide a winner became increasingly rare; rock-paper-scissors and slapping became the new mainstream. If there were disputes between small teams, they would choose basketball to decide, and for companies or larger, they would choose collision ball.

This kid was full of bad ideas, often making those warriors run around in circles, and in the end, they would still be grateful to him.

From that time, Reyn, the old man, knew that this kid was definitely one of those most suited for military life, and his future achievements would be limitless. But this scoundrel insisted on pushing himself towards the scholarly side every day.

Look at his current attire; he doesn’t look like an iron-blooded soldier at all. He’s just a weak, bookish nerd.

The old man was also frustrated, wishing he could be more. The more he understood his talent, the more he wanted to lure him into the army. Never mind, I am one of the kingdom’s three great generals, after all. Who dares to refute my words? Especially when it’s just a small promotion for a port city’s city guard captain, a tiny official. In the capital, even a great noble’s doorman is more impressive than him.

“I say you completed it, so you completed it. What, got an opinion? Want to spar with me, old man?” When the old man decided to be unreasonable, everyone, including Light, could only remain silent, silently mourning for Little Ver in their hearts. The old man’s personal guards, however, knew this was the old man’s affection for the boy; not just anyone was worth him being unreasonable for.

“Old man, a wise man doesn’t rush things.” Little Ver still didn’t want to take the bait: “Once you leave, I’ll lose my backing, and holding this position will make me very unpopular. Besides, every day, in addition to classes, I have to be busy with the Odd Job Shop’s tasks. Where would I find time for the military camp? You’re joking with national affairs.”

“Alright, alright, it’s true that I, an old man, was a bit too eager. Let’s forget about the official position in the city guard, but you should keep the unofficial position of instructor. It’s good to go and train them when you have nothing to do, lest they become lax without supervision. Learning skills will never put you at a disadvantage.” Reyn, the old man, could only give up in the end, and Little Ver rolled his eyes. Fine, you’re the boss here, you call the shots. I’d be crazy to believe you; you old man are very cunning, and I’ll fall into your trap if I’m not careful.

“You, old man, should go talk to the Lord of the City about this. Anyway, I’m not planning to leave Drake City before graduating from the advanced academy.” Little Ver’s words left Reyn, the old man, speechless. Couldn’t this scoundrel have some ambition? You’re only thirteen and a half and already a mid-level knight with awakened bloodline. Give you five more years, and even a senior knight might not be able to stop you.

You’re clearly full of talent, yet you insist on hanging out with those little kids. Does bullying them really bring you pleasure? You know, your knowledge is probably superior even to that of an ordinary advanced academy graduate.

“Alright, alright, I’ll swallow my pride and go have a word with that kid Bouldo.” Reyn couldn’t help but shake his head repeatedly, then kicked Little Ver hard a few times, “I’m leaving tomorrow. If you have any conscience at all, come and see me off.”

This old man was forcing him to skip class, and on the very first day of the new semester at that. Or perhaps the old man was testing him, to see how he would choose between unnecessary academics and sentiment. Haha, of course, a wise man knows when to yield, so he would obediently go and send him off. Little Ver would never doubt that if he dared not go, the old man would absolutely dare to bring all the prominent nobles and powerful figures of Drake City to the school to bid him farewell.