After a period of rest, Chen Mo prepared to continue expanding his territory. His caravan had not yet found the person he was looking for, so he could only keep expanding his power and the size of his caravan. He believed that the person he was looking for would appear sooner or later. Having injected the super soldier serum, Chen Mo's lifespan was greatly extended, giving him enough time and patience.
However, Chen Mo noticed that the leader of his knight regiment, Andrew, had been acting strangely lately. Others might not have noticed, but with Chen Mo's keen perception, he could often sense a feeling of worry and conflict from him.
This feeling became even stronger and more obvious when they learned that their next target was Marquis Leonard's territory on the outskirts of their domain. Andrew even seemed distracted during daily training.
Chen Mo could conclude that Andrew's emotions were definitely related to Marquis Leonard's territory.
As the first to follow Chen Mo and now the most powerful and highest-ranking leader of the knight regiment under Chen Mo, Andrew's performance had always been very satisfactory to Chen Mo.
He was persistent, brave, and extremely loyal, carrying out all of Chen Mo's orders unconditionally. Under his leadership, the loyalty of the entire knight regiment to Chen Mo had always been unwavering. Even when charging at the castle gate with their flesh and blood, no one showed fear or hesitation, all with a determined heart, moving forward without looking back. Of course, Chen Mo did not disappoint them.
The original hundred-man knight regiment had expanded to over five hundred after a year of battles, and the original hundred-plus members had all been knighted by Chen Mo through their own efforts.
Due to the large number of knights under his command, Chen Mo simply divided the official knights into four levels: gold, silver, bronze, and iron, to distinguish different ranks and clarify the hierarchy.
The highest rank of golden knight had not yet been conferred.
As the leader of the knight regiment, Andrew was also the most powerful and the warrior who had killed the most enemies. He was currently the highest-ranking knight under Chen Mo, the only silver knight, and commanded the entire knight regiment.
The eight people who were rescued by Chen Mo along with Andrew, and Victor, who joined Chen Mo's command not long ago but performed outstandingly, were bronze knights, each leading a knight squad of dozens.
There were over a hundred black iron knights, most of whom were former members of the territorial guard. Each led a small team of four squire knights, forming the basic combat unit.
The more than four hundred squire knights were selected by Chen Mo from the original noble knights who either voluntarily joined or were captured and added to the knight regiment.
Upon arriving in Chen Mo's territory, everything had to start anew, and their original knight titles were no longer valid.
Some of them had already regained their honor by bravely killing enemies and becoming official black iron knights again, while others were all striving to reclaim their honor as soon as possible.
Chen Mo was clear in his rewards and punishments for his subordinates. He was never stingy with rewards for meritorious warriors, offering gold coins, land, and even titles. As long as they made enough contributions, becoming a baron was not impossible.
Therefore, the morale of the entire knight regiment was extremely high, with an intense desire to fight, to conquer for their lord, and to accumulate merits.
Everyone hoped that one day they could obtain a piece of land of their own, establish their own knight family, and even become true hereditary nobles, with Andrew being the most determined among them.
Not only was he brave and fearless on the battlefield, killing enemies valiantly, but even as the most powerful warrior under Chen Mo, he never relaxed his training, seizing every opportunity to improve his strength.
Under his leadership, the knight regiment did not slack off in their daily training despite being equipped with excellent armor and weapons. Everyone trained diligently, especially the knights who joined later, who treasured the Holy Cross Swordsmanship and practiced it daily.
However, their knight commander had been acting unusually, distracted and unmotivated. Chen Mo had to personally inquire about it, as there must be some hidden reason for his brave and loyal subordinate's abnormal behavior.
Blackstone Castle, the lord's study.
A painting of a charging knight hung on the wall, majestic and imposing. The floor was covered with a luxurious wool carpet, and the room was furnished with heavy, exquisite wooden furniture, giving the study a noble and elegant atmosphere.
Chen Mo sat behind a dark wooden desk, reading the latest intelligence reports sent by the merchants.
The fireplace crackled softly, filling the study with warmth and tranquility.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by a gentle knock.
"My lord, Knight Andrew is here."
The castle steward's voice came from outside the door.
"Come in."
Chen Mo's authoritative voice responded.
With Chen Mo's permission, the steward opened the study door, bowed slightly, and gestured for Andrew to enter.
Andrew, dressed in armor and holding his helmet, strode into the study, standing straight and serious before Chen Mo.
As the knight regiment expanded, the original manor was no longer sufficient to accommodate the numerous knights and warhorses, along with the important secret workshop. Chen Mo moved the lord's residence from the original baronial manor to the Blackstone Castle, which had belonged to Count Warren.
This ancient Gothic castle, built entirely of hard black stone, was vast and old, with towering spires and pointed roofs, grand, mysterious, and slightly eerie.
In the study, Chen Mo put down the intelligence reports and looked at Andrew, who stood proudly before him. Despite Andrew's efforts to hide it, Chen Mo could see the worry in his eyes.
Under Chen Mo's sharp and wise gaze, which seemed to see through everything, Andrew felt as if he had no secrets left.
"Do you have anything to say about the upcoming attack on Marquis Leonard's territory?"
Chen Mo asked slowly, looking into Andrew's eyes.
Under Chen Mo's gaze, sweat gradually appeared on Andrew's forehead. Finally, as if making a decision, he bit his lip and spoke.
"My lord, I actually come from Marquis Leonard's territory. My father was once a knight under Marquis Leonard."
As if letting go of all his worries, Andrew poured out everything.
It turned out that Andrew's family couldn't afford the huge expenses for both him and his brother to become knights. As the younger son, Andrew joined Marquis Leonard's territorial guard to fulfill his dream of becoming a knight, fighting for him for many years.
With his strong skills and exceptional talent from strict knight training since childhood, Andrew made numerous military achievements. He should have been recognized by the lord and at least become a squire knight or a guard captain.
However, years passed, and despite personally killing two werewolves, Andrew received no promotion and remained an ordinary soldier.
The reason was Marquis Leonard's daughter.
Once, Andrew and dozens of soldiers, along with two knights, were ordered to escort the marquis's daughter on an outing, only to encounter two terrifying werewolves.
Dozens of soldiers were slaughtered, the rest scattered, and the two knights managed to kill one werewolf and injure the other before dying.
As the noble lady was about to be devoured by the remaining werewolf, Andrew, the last survivor, picked up a fallen knight's sword and stood in front of her, ultimately killing the werewolf at the cost of serious injuries, saving the young and beautiful noble lady.
Having lived in the castle all her life and never experienced the outside world, the noble lady developed feelings for the brave and strong Andrew after this thrilling crisis.
Andrew gradually developed feelings for this pure and kind noble lady, who had none of the arrogance or haughtiness typical of noblewomen. The two would secretly meet and date from time to time.
After the dangerous encounter where she almost fell victim to werewolves, the delicate noble lady became interested in swordsmanship. Seeing Andrew's strength, she often asked him to teach her.
Upon learning that his dream was to become a knight, she declared that she too wanted to become a female knight and fight werewolves alongside him.
They continued to secretly meet and practice swordsmanship, with the noble lady's skills improving and their feelings for each other deepening.
A few years later, the noble lady reached the age of marriage. Despite Andrew's efforts, he remained an ordinary soldier, unable to marry the marquis's noble daughter.
Eventually, Marquis Leonard arranged a marriage for her. Normally obedient, she was unusually determined this time, refusing to marry even at the cost of her life. To show her resolve, she even donned armor and joined the knight regiment on the battlefield.
The marquis had no choice but to cancel the engagement. However, he then confronted Andrew, revealing that he had known about their relationship all along.
The marquis had always thought that his daughter trusted Andrew's strength because he had saved her and that she enjoyed learning swordsmanship from him. He had not interfered much, only having his trusted subordinates keep a close watch.
To Marquis Leonard, Andrew was just a servant playing with his master. Saving his daughter's life from the werewolves was his duty as a servant. If he had failed to protect her, they all would have been executed.
Upon discovering their feelings, Marquis Leonard was furious. Considering his daughter's strong-willed nature, he did not execute Andrew but instead banished him, demanding that he leave a letter to make her give up on him completely.
According to Marquis Leonard, a commoner like Andrew was unworthy of his noble daughter. Only a noble could be a suitable match for his beautiful and noble daughter.
Feeling that becoming a knight was hopeless, let alone a noble, Andrew believed he could not provide her with a better life. Heartbroken, he left the letter as requested and left the marquis's territory, settling in the small village where he had first met Chen Mo, intending to live an ordinary life and forget the past.
But how could he forget? He would always remember the beautiful girl who wielded a sword alongside him.
Her name was Amelia!