Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys

"Rein?" a deep male voice sounded.

"May I ask who you are?"

"You don't need to know who I am, listen carefully, Rein."

"I'm giving you an opportunity right now. If you're willing to pledge allegiance to the Norman family, this will be the best decision of your life."

The other party did not directly answer Rein's question, but instead said something unexpected.

Hearing this, Rein was taken aback, "Hm? Is this... a recruitment?"

However, the superior attitude of the other party was plainly more like charity...

Rein instinctively felt awkward and uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, Rein still planned to politely inquire about the other party's background.

After all, with such a pompous recruitment, the background must be prominent, possibly from some hereditary Earl or even Marquis family.

But in Meister County, there seemed to be only one hereditary Earl family—the Habus family.

Thus, Rein naturally asked:

"Thank you for your appreciation... sir, but please forgive my ignorance, is the Norman family a great noble family from another county?"

"You... Rein, what you just said is an offense to the noble Baron Norman. The wrath of the Norman family is not something you can withstand," the middle-aged man visibly displayed anger.

"Baron?" Rein instantly realized; the person was from a lesser-known Baron family named Norman, not the Earl or Marquis he had conjectured.

His question had clearly angered the other party, seen as a challenge and scorn.

"But surely, he would never accept the other party's offer."

"Give up being the Guardian Knight for the fair, beautiful Lady Creya with long legs to become a servant in some Baron's house whose lands he did not even know?"

"That would be a brain kicked by a donkey... tssk!"

Rein shook his head, straightened his expression, bowed slightly, and apologized:

"I'm sorry, thank you for your appreciation, but I cannot accept!"

"Then it is truly a pity! You refused an opportunity to save your own life. A genius is going to fall here, truly regrettable," the middle-aged man shook his head slightly.

The next second, the situation turned volatile!

"Clang!"

The other party immediately drew a longsword, pushed off with the tip of his foot, and attacked Rein!

"So fast!"

Rein's pupils constricted!

The speed of the opponent was no less than that of the assassin who had attacked him last time.

"Clang!"

Rein barely managed to block the strike of the longsword with his Fine Steel Greatsword, but he was still knocked back two steps.

"Failed recruitment turns to assassination, how domineering?!"

"Moreover, the strength and agility of the opponent, fearsomely near that of a formal knight!"

Rein was surprised, but the opponent was even more so.

Rulse had never expected the son of a farmer to have reached such a level!

To actually withstand his full-powered strike and only retreat a few steps, he was even more proficient than what Rulse had estimated when he watched Rein practice swordsmanship!

It should be noted, his strength was that of an almost-knight.

This indicates that the opponent's strength had completely reached the level of a Tier-3 Knight Attendant.

No wonder the last attempt failed!

"Even compared to himself, the gap isn't too big. Could it be because of the breathing technique the other was practicing?"

"It's just that the opponent's speed was a bit slow, clearly two levels below his own."

"Good, although there are variables, everything is still within control."

Since the opponent was slower, the experienced Rulse instantly thought of the best tactic.

That was to make use of the fastest Thrusting Sword Technique, catching the opponent off guard.

Rein had already activated "Strength Burst" at 30% of its full capacity, pushing his strength beyond 14 points, only to find himself still falling slightly behind.

This allowed Rein to estimate that his opponent's strength was around 15 points, but definitely not exceeding 16 points.

However, compared to him, the opponent's speed was just too fast.

If it weren't for his level 2 danger perception, he might have already been injured.

Good, now there's no hesitation about how to distribute his points!

Rein immediately used one attribute point on agility, successfully boosting it to the major milestone of 10 points.

"Clang!!"

Thus, a split second later, Rulse's swifter thrusting strike was still solidly blocked by the young man opposite him.

This brought a flicker of surprise to Rulse's face; the speed of the youth opposite him had actually increased!

From initially dominating in speed to now being only slightly better.

"Thankfully, I was prepared, having applied lethal poison. Just one hit and it should be over."

Rulse's sword moves became even swifter, striking at Rein like a fierce storm.

"Cling clang clang!"

"Bang!" Rein's chest was brushed by Rulse's sword, cutting through the surface of his cotton jacket.

"Huh! Plate armor??"

Rulse, thinking he had secured the victory, was surprised to find that the youth opposite him was wearing a rarely seen plate armor!

Which caused his strike just now to be in vain!

As the fight progressed to this point, Rulse might not have realized himself that he had gradually deviated from his original plan.

His initial plan was, once Rein refused, to take him down within a few seconds, then deal with the body quickly before leaving.

But now, although he was slightly ahead, the whole fight had become fiercely contested.

"In this case, to take down the opponent in a short time and leave without trouble is extremely difficult."

"We're not far from the main road. If I take too long, it might draw the attention of others, which would be troublesome."

"It looks like I have to use my secret technique!"

On the other side, Rein was also intently watching Rulse, his mind swiftly searching for a strategy to break through the enemy.

"The opponent's swordsmanship is very practical, extremely deadly, and he has abundant experience. His overall ability is clearly above mine."

"The most troublesome thing is the opponent's attack speed, even faster than that assassin!"

"Even after adding one point to agility, it's still not enough!"

Rein had also considered suddenly unleashing his full strength and performing a roaring strike.

"But seeing the opponent's ease in attacking, if I don't time it right, even if I unleash full power with Strength Burst, I might not be able to hit him."

"And once it fails and the opponent gets wary, it would be harder to find such an opportunity again."

"Roaring Strike is my only chance to turn the tables; it must only be used when there's absolute certainty!"

"Eh! The knight's longsword's pale green glow? It's poisoned?"

Taking advantage of this moment, Rein keenly noticed that the knight's longsword was emitting a faint pale green glow.

This alarmed and angered Rein!

"Had I not been wearing plate armor just now, would I have already been poisoned!"

It was a situation where any mistake could be deadly.

Keeping any attribute points now would be suicidal.

Rein decisively used his last attribute point on agility again.

With this, his agility reached 11 points.

His overall condition also returned to its peak.

Suddenly, Rulse made a move!

All he saw was Rulse swinging his sword again toward Rein, his right hand's longsword moving at high speed, transforming into three blades, with a sharp slicing sound, simultaneously stabbing towards Rein's forehead, neck, and chest.

This was Rulse's trump card, one of the Dragonguard's secret sword techniques, Swift Sword Triple Strike!!