The palace's training ground welcomed its second batch of new knights in training. Each of these newcomers came from different countries and are all aspiring to qualify for the prestigious title of being one of the royal knights. There was already a buzz going on as these people waited for the briefing to officially start. And they are all talking about one thing, the presence of a woman amongst them.

They kept glancing at the lone figure of a slender-looking woman at the side before voicing their opinions to each other. She was even wearing pants! Some openly laugh, some snicker as if they are mocking her, some were genuinely curious, and some were straight-up being unsure about her joining their ranks.

"Why is there a woman here?

"

"Maybe she got lost?

"

"Why would she even think of joining the ranks? This is no place for a woman.

"

"Does she think that being a knight is simple?

"

"If she's here with us, that means she passed the exam in her country.

"

"Hey! Which country is she from? Why would they let her take the exam in the first place?

"

There were all kinds of talk but they are mostly from young men who disagree with her being there. They are not even trying to be discreet about it and purposely say it loudly so she could hear their comments.

All of these just pass through her ears though. Evelyn was too busy being excited for the assembly to start to pay attention to all of their negative remarks. She doesn't want to dampen her very positive mood by soaking in the negativity. Heck, all her life, she has heard those words countless times.

Her long-time dream was to be a knight and protect the empire. She wants to be a sword for the citizens. And even though the people around her discouraged her from her dream, mocked her for thinking about it, endured all the discrimination… Even though they don't believe in her, Evelyn remained focused on being able to reach her goal.

And now she's here, one step closer to being a part of the royal knights. She doesn't care about them at all because she earned this. She passed the exam with flying colors just like the rest so why would she believe any of these men's crap?

'I deserve to be here, fools.'

"Attention!

"

The loud voice rang and caught everyone's, just as it said, attention.

A group of men wearing uniforms of the royal knights then marched in as everyone watched in awe, filled with anticipation. As they heard, the captain will preside over the assembly so they are all looking forward to it.

Leading the knights was a tall man with unusual yet dazzling white hair. His face was a cold hard mask that didn't reveal anything and his equally unusual red eyes were dead set and serious. The man would be no other than the captain of the royal knights, Nathaniel Herman whose whole persona exudes a demanding aura that would force anyone to stare at him.

The knights stopped just in front of the rows of uptight-looking trainees, standing there stiffly with both of their arms planted on each of their sides. Evelyn had been pushed to the back as they lined up. It wasn't a big deal anyway because she's quite tall but not as tall as these men so she can't possibly see what's happening in the front. Thus, she sneaked to the side where there were only a few people.

Nathaniel coldly stared at the newcomers who gulped as a reflex. They couldn't help it, he looks so formidable even with just a blank expression. His presence was enough to make these wet-in-the-ears people shut up. Plus that pale red eyes that could pierce through bones...

'What a presence!'

"You are gathered here today because you wanted to be a knight,

" Nathan started.

"Being a knight means you are ready to face any dangers that would threaten the empire. Being a knight means you are willing to lay your life for the sake of the people.

"

Evelyn listened keenly to his every word with sparkling eyes. Growing more and more excited after seeing the captain in person.

"A knight's duty is to be the empire's sword that would defend the citizens from any threats,

" Nathaniel continued.

"Loyalty. Valiance. Honor. And justice. We stand by these virtues and abide by them,

" his eyes pinned them down,

"Remember them well.

"

Eon and Luther couldn't help but twitch their mouths after listening to Nathan's speech.

'He's so serious lol' Luther remarks in his head.

"All of you are here because you all passed the exams. But don't even think that it will be enough for you to join the ranks. You need to prove your worth first and that starts now,

" Nathan declared.

Eon then stepped forward and gave Nathan his sword wordlessly. The rest of the knights behind him who were all holding a couple of swords each had dropped them all in front of the confused trainees. Evelyn immediately guessed that they were going to have another test and that excited her more.

Nathan unsheathed his sword,

"I will be your opponent.

"

---**

Eon watches as another newbie gets his ass beaten by their merciless captain. How many has it been now? The first test is just too high a caliber for these newcomers who aren't even trained yet. Going against this guy for their first time? That's too cruel!

They can't even properly put up a fight because before they could prepare themselves, Nathan is already on their faces like some demon.

Another sword got knocked on the ground as the poor man trembled in front of Nathan who was brandishing his blade right next to his neck.

"Too slow,

" Nathan remarked.

The man gulped, terrified.

"B-but I wasn't ready!

"

Nathan's eyes narrowed,

"On the battlefield, enemies won't wait for you to be ready.

"

The knights in the background couldn't help but pity him and the others.

'Geez, he really can't chill,' Eon thought to himself.

"Next,

" Nathan called out.

Luther let out a chuckle as they watched.

"These poor souls…

"