''Caligula, from now on you will no longer be a member of our family. We are dismissing you from the position of family knight. Take advantage of the elders' good mood and get out of our house!''
''father!But.Why?''
The silver-haired young knight knelt on one knee in front of a venerable old man, his face no longer showing the childshness of youth but instead the weariness of battle. Despite being known for his handsome appearance, his face was now filled with sorrow and humiliation.
"Don't call me father! Get out of here."
The old man slapped the young knight in the face. From behind the old man, a green-haired man, as cunning as a snake, appeared, and his evil voice declared failure to Caligula.
"Caligula, you conspired with outsiders to bring the goblin tribe into the mines in the north of our territory, resulting in the deaths of several miners and a disruption in iron ore supply. Your current predicament is entirely your own doing!"
"You're full of it! You clearly set me up!"
The young knight angrily got up and was about to catch the deceitful man when he was pushed back by a sword energy flying in from a distance.
On the sidelines of this farce, the onlookers let out a gasp.
"It turns out to be the sword-fighting master Mr. Cleveland."
"The hermit sage unexpectedly appeared!"
"He is the master who guards our family!"
Caligula looked in the direction of the attacker and exclaimed.
"Master! Why are you attacking me?"
"Because you are the traitor of our family, I really regret teaching you swordsmanship in the first place!"
No one could see the master's figure, but everyone heard his words. The crowd of onlookers mocked the young man and even taunt for him to get out of the family.
"I don't want to attack you, but if you still refuse to leave here, I will knock you out and throw you into a poor area of the family estate."
"Not me! The traitor is not me!"
The silver-haired young man shouted hoarsely at the top of his voice!
The sound shattered everything around.
In Kaligula's view, everything in front of him was like ripples on a lake, gradually becoming blurred and disappearing.
Finally disappeared.
Caligula found himself in a cave, and what he had just experienced was actually an illusion.
Seeing this, Caligula realized his situation.
A woman, enveloped in moonlight from head to toe, slowly clapped her hands,nevertheless, it is still evident that the woman has a well-proportioned figure.
"Well done, Caligula,"
The woman's ethereal voice echoed in the cave.
"Your will is strong, and you have successfully won the challenge I set for you. I will bestow upon you the power of the moon, as long as you swear loyalty to me."
The woman's voice was full of admiration for Caligula.
"No! Since the day I was driven out of my family, I will not swear loyalty to anyone!"
The woman burst into laughter when she heard the young man's words.
"Okay, I'll give you time to think about it. During your period of considering whether or not to be loyal to me, I will lend you this longsword."
Said woman pointing towards an empty space behind her -a small hill rising slightly within vast caverns- atop which stood an one-handed longsword
The youth looked at goddess suspiciously but she assured him "This sword can grant you opportunity for vengeance".
So, he climbed up the small hill and drew out the sword. The blade shimmered in the moonlight, while the hilt was crafted from a gem blessed by the water deity at the bottom of the lake and wood bathed in thousand-year-old moonlight.
This exquisite weapon left youth momentarily entranced.
But suddenly,goddess pushed youth out from cavern,telling him quickly return back home,to village where he resided after being exiled from family.
"Young man,on nights when full moons are visible,you shall converse with me",said Goddess.
After uttering these words,youth ran down mountain heading towards village."
As he was still a few hundred meters away from the village, Kaligula saw a young griffin flying over the village.
It soared in the sky at times, and at other times it carried livestock into the sky to feast on them. Despite the cries of the villagers echoing in his ears, Kaligula ran with all his might.
When he was only a few tens of meters away from the village, he saw a little girl with golden hair tied in a ponytail.
"Mary Rose, what are you doing here?"
"Brother Caligula, our family's horse was eaten by a griffin, please save the villagers' horses."
The girl cried as she spoke to Caligula.
This is the girl whose family took Caligula in and fed him after his family drove him out.
Looking at the girl in front of him, Caligula felt a surge of strength in his heart, so he raised his head and ran towards the direction of the griffin's nest.
Along the way, Caligula received pleading looks from several villagers.
He continued to run forward.
The young griffin was right in front of him, having just finished eating the carcass of a horse on the ground, when it saw the young man running towards it.
The young griffin let out a disdainful roar and swooped down to attack Caligula.
However, Caligula simply jumped up and swung his sword at the young griffin. A dazzling flash of cold moonlight passed through.
The head of the griffin was then cut off by Caligula.
The villagers exclaimed in astonishment, followed by a continuous applause.
Holding the sword stained with the young griffin's blood, the youth looked at the smiling faces of every villager who had helped him through that difficult period, and for the first time he experienced the feeling of being trusted.
Mary Rose ran to Caligula, hugging his legs clad in iron armor, and sweetly said,
"Caligula, you are our hero."