Chapter 18

Translator: Exodus Tales

Editor: Exodus Tales

The shining Angel disappeared gradually behind Fang Zheng, and only then did Shidon and the priest relax. They were both devoted believers of the Holy Temple and naturally they understood just what sort of sacred position an Angel had in the Holy Temple. While the Angel’s strength itself might not be stronger than even Shidon, just her presence alone was enough pressure for people. After all, even with the casual personality Shidon had, he was still a firm believer. Even if he was able to win, he wouldn’t fight.

Of course not.

At the same time, the eyes they watched Fang Zheng with changed.

“Divine Protection…”

The priest held his fists as he looked at Fang Zheng dead on. He’d guessed that this young man must have had quite a history, but he never expected Divine Protection!

“This kid is pretty good.”

Shidon had his arms crossed as he nodded his head, pleased. There weren’t a lot of people who could get the better of him, and while it looked like Fang Zheng had taken a cheap shot, this was no proper fight in a tournament or stage. In wartime, there were no talks of fairness in a true battle. As such, there was no spite whatsoever when it came to receiving Fang Zheng’s sudden attack, it actually interested him quite a bit.

“Fuu…”

Pulling back the sword, Fang Zheng was already sweating all over. The final hit was pretty much a miracle, a close call. If he hadn’t been able to pull out Divine Storm back there, Shidon wouldn’t have backed off at all.

But the one who benefitted the most out of this whole thing had to be Fang Zheng. He now fully understood just what the difference between him and the strong people of this world was. He thought that the A-class ability Royal Crusader Arts would be able to at least match people of this level, but it didn’t even take much until he was pushed to a corner. If it weren’t for the fact that Shidon wasn’t familiar with his fighting style, he wouldn’t even surrender by himself, let alone allow Fang Zheng to win by a scratch. It was also because Shidon had had his sword broken too. Who knows what would have happened if the fight had continued?

As expected, there was still quite a bit of a gap.

Shaking his head, he pushed aside the thoughts in his heart and looked to Fang Zheng.

“Sir Shidon, have I passed the test?”

“Hahaha, of course, interesting fellow.” Shidon smiled in response, not looking sad or anything for a guy who’d just been beaten. “It’s been a while since I saw an interesting one like you. You have passed! Right, what’s your name again?”

“I’m Fang Zheng.”

“Fang Zheng? Not only are you interesting, your name is pretty interesting too! Pretty rare for someone to have that kind of weird name.”

Shidon smiled as he thought a bit more before looking to Fang Zheng.

“So, Fang Zheng, how about I become your tutor?”

“Tutor?”

This invitation came out of nowhere, and Fang Zheng was clearly confused. Shidon, though, nodded solemnly.

“Yes. Well, to tell the truth… From that battle I saw something. You may have a bit of experience in battle, but there’s a lack of foundational skills. Also, while this sword skill you have is pretty powerful, you don’t know how to properly use it as your own at all. In my view, that’s quite a bit of waste, such pure Divine Power, what a waste of this gift if you don’t use it properly, what do you think? I feel like it’s a pretty good deal. I’m not like those older soldier types, I won’t be nagging you left and right all day, you just need to learn how to fight beside me, that’s it. Well? Sounds simple, yeah?”

This man was powerful after all.

Fang Zheng’s eyes changed when he heard those words. He understood his own situation well. He did learn a bit about how to fight before, but that was all primarily for self-defense and didn’t really have a point to it at all. Plus, after coming to this world, he’d always gone into battles without much finesse, just charging instead. It was like learning from zero, haphazardly teaching himself as he went.

Fang Zheng had seen those strong types in Wuxia novels, where after one duel he’d be able to determine the level of his opponent. Now that he’d experienced it personally, he understood just how it really felt to be faced with someone this good.

On this continent, the tutors were basically something like teachers. Having a tutor was a thing of honor.

Then, should he accept this suggestion?

The answer was almost certain.

“I’ll be in your care then, Sir Shidon.”

Being able to accept an invitation from a strong Great Knight in this world was something he really did want.

“Hm?”

Hearing the answer, Shidon glared his eyes and put on a dissatisfied face. Fang Zheng was no idiot, and so he changed his words.

“…Tutor Shidon.”

“Good, hahaha! Not bad, not bad, I finally have a student now, too. Let’s see what Walla has to say now!”

Shidon started laughing happily after that, and the old priest only rolled his eyes, keeping whatever it was that he wanted to say to himself. Although Fang Zheng did feel sense pity from him.

Wait… Why did he look at him like that? What did he do wrong?

Fang Zheng was pretty confused by that look, but Shidon had already moved on with wide steps to the door.

“Alright, kid! Remember to get ready, starting tomorrow I’ll give you special training!”

“Special training?”

Fang Zheng blinked. This guy wasn’t making sense and he wasn’t following. 

“Correct, wash up and wait! It’ll be super beneficial for you!”

“I understand.”

To be frank, getting special training right from the moment he entered the Holy Temple was surprising, but he’d already gotten used to the sudden rapid decisions like when he was back in the military in his own world. Shidon’s words may have surprised him a bit, but it was no problem. Shidon didn’t say anything else after Fang Zheng’s reply, only waving his hand at him before leaving.

The old priest’s eyes changed as well, though he sighed helplessly and moved to where Shidon had left.

“Shidon! Shidon!”

“Oh? What is it, old man?”

Shidon turned around as the man approached.

“You really want to take that young man?”

“Of course, didn’t I say so? Since he’s my student already, we’ll have to do things together. You saw it too, right? That kid isn’t the type of white-faced noble kid, he actually has pretty good swordsmanship. From what I can see, he could be considered the standard of a Mid-Level Knight, it’s just that he lacks experience. Some special training from me will do him good for sure.”

“But even so…” The old priest naturally didn’t agree with Shidon’s crazy thoughts.

“You really want to do this? You have to understand that the kid has Divine Protection…”

“That is why I want to train him, old man.”

Hearing this, Shidon turned around and he was no longer smiling. He looked rather serious.

“The lucky thing is that there were only the two of us during that fight. Tell me, if the cultists were to know that we have an Intern Knight with Divine Protection, what would they do?”

“I…”

The priest’s face changed as well.

“You haven’t’ forgotten what happened during the month when darkness fell? The Holy Knights back then were almost wiped out, and after that we lost all order. The cultists were pretty chaotic as well, and they might have almost died out too, but what happened then was still fatal to the Holy Alliance.”

“…”

This time, the old man didn’t reply directly, but took a short silence and sighed.

“Of course I remember… It was a terrifying time.”

“And so it’s really rare for us to see a divine knight again on the continent. Their heirs have gone as well…”

Shidon was silent.

“I think that he may be able to retrieve the legacy of the Holy Knights.”

“After saying all that, you think I’ll still let you take him as your student?”

The old man frowned, eyeing Shidon. Shidon only shrugged.

“Of course, I admit that I’m pretty brutal in my methods, but you have to admit that it works, no? He’s still too weak and small. He can’t even protect himself now, how is he supposed to grow?”

The old man paused for a moment before giving out a long sigh.

“Fine… I promise you. This will not be reported to the higher-ups in the church, only the two of us will know. Good enough?”

“Thank you, old man.”

Shidon had a smile on his face again. 

“Believe me, this is the right decision.”