"Fine, you win. I admit that if you used your skill, I would have lost. Since that is the case, I might as well surrender now. I'm all out of mana and stamina from the training anyways" The old recruit threw his hands in surrender.
The battle was over, the audience were left shocked. This was the first time in these couple of years that they had seen a newbie triumph over an old recruit.
If the former was already this strong, they couldn't imagine how much stronger he would get from proper training and battle experience after a year.
"Hoh, so there are indeed some fine gems. But I must say that young man is very arrogant. To not use any skills against his opponent until the end… looks like we need to beat that shit out of him" the holy knight commented, looking at Bob who was wearing a helpless smile.
The latter knew that the young man was not arrogant for not using his skills; it was just that he was unable to use them. The young man might have a good combat sense and stats, but he had a very big flaw.
In fact, the flaw was so glaring that no knight orders wanted him on their teams. After all, who would want a knight who can't use any skill?
However, Bob chose to remain silent and keep his judgment to himself because the young man was recruited by none other than their commander himself.
"If you find this shocking, wait for that girl to step up" he grinned.
After the young man named Kevin, more recruits went up but they were all beaten to a pulp by the old recruits. There was no repeat of the previous instance; of course, that is until Gwen stepped in.
However, unlike Kevin, she did not wrestle out a draw from her opponent. No, she defeated her opponent until they were on the ground, unable to even lift their weapon. The audience was surprised once again.
Previously, it was that black haired young man, and now this rose gold haired girl. The latter even flipped the tradition entirely on its head and beat the old recruit black and blue instead.
"Hahaha, I see now son, why you told me we got our hands on some quite unusual recruits this year. To think that the youngest daughter of Earl Odessa would join the Knight order. I can see she is truly talented, just like her elder sister" Raymond laughed, nodding his head approvingly at the talent of this year's new recruits.
"That said, that young man is very strange. Why can't I feel even a trace of mana from him?" he questioned.
"That's because he can't use his mana?"…
"What do you mean?"…
Reinhardt answered "That young man's constitution seems to be very different. He can't use mana or skills like us".
"What?!" Raymond was shocked. A young man this talented was actually a cripple? "Then why did you recruit him into your order?"…
"I saw the intense rage and hatred for the demons burning silently within his eyes. If I didn't recruit him, he would have most likely died fighting the demons. However, that is not why I recruited him"...
"That young man, he has a unique talent that is different from everyone else. If he can hone that, then perhaps he would one day become a new pillar for the kingdom of Solaris".
Such high praise coming from a level 10 Divine Paladin… Raymond couldn't help but reassess the young man in a new light.
The Newbie Crushing Ceremony was soon over and those who couldn't move were taken to the infirmary to rest. Others dismissed themselves to their sleeping quarters.
.
Back inside the study of the Arcknight mansion, Raymond and Reinhardt sat facing each other. There was a letter in the former's hands, and the atmosphere of the room was quite grim.
"It looks like the news was indeed true. A demon managed to infiltrate our capital. Thankfully, it was taken care of by you and the knight orders before the situation could turn for the worse"...
"Nevertheless, it is still a serious matter. A high ranking demon and numerous low ranking ones managed to get this deep within our kingdom without us realising. It goes to show how much we have been underestimating the demons."
Raymond spoke with a heavy voice.
"Did they find out how the demons managed to get inside the capital without getting detected in the first place?" Reinhardt questioned…
"Under the command of the King, the Council of Elders initiated a strict inspection on all the officials and knights who were present in the capital on that day. Although they haven't found any clue yet, it is only a matter of time before the instigator behind this incident is found".
The former added, he then looked at his son and spoke "You are also summoned to the capital for that reason. It looks like they want to have a meeting with all the Seven Great Commanders".
Reinhardt nodded his head "When do I need to head out?"…
"The summon is not urgent. You have just returned from the capital, rest for a few days. Head for the capital after a week. Don't worry, in your absence I will look after those new recruits"…
"Thank you, Father" With that, Reinhardt excused himself and returned to his room.
Sleep didn't come that easily to him as he was thinking about the incident that happened in the capital. Ever since reincarnating into this world, the interaction he was having with the demons was increasing day by day.
Earlier, it was only their cronies, the demon possessed humans, sabotaging their society, but now real demons showed their faces. The incident in the capital made Reinhardt realise that he cannot act laid back in this world.
The god who sent him here sent him with the mission to defeat the demon lord and his army. This was his goal and the reason for all the many powerful skills and stats that he received.
"I need to increase the strength of the Temple of Light order as soon as possible".