The Ruins

An hour later, the caravan had cleaned up the scene. A few apprentices moved the bandit corpses aside and took stock of the lost goods. After discarding some unusable items, the caravan was ready to set off again.

The bushes by the road suddenly rustled, causing the caravan members to panic, fearing the bandits had returned.

Just as the mercenaries were on high alert, Jinn returned, looking dazed and dejected.

Seeing Jinn in this state, Norn furrowed his brow but didn't ask anything, just gave Jinn a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

The caravan boss sighed and ordered the caravan to move out again.

Although the caravan had no casualties, the bandit incident had cast a somber mood over everyone, and Jinn's sadness was palpable.

The entire afternoon passed in silence as the caravan marched on until they reached their destination for the night—Beziers village.

Or rather, what was left of it. The village was now more accurately described as ruins.

Dozens of huts had been reduced to piles of rubble and charred wood. The fields were scorched, all valuables were looted, and countless flies buzzed over the rotting, foul-smelling corpses.

The caravan members scattered, searching for anything useful, but the place had been completely ransacked, leaving nothing of value behind.

The mercenaries who had gone to the village to find water shook their heads in disappointment; the village well was clogged with corpses and unusable.

"Damn this war! Those scum-like earl's troops!" the caravan boss cursed upon seeing the devastation.

Noticing the boss's choice of words, Jinn, who had been in a low mood, asked in disbelief, "Earl's troops? I thought it was the rebels or bandits who did this?"

"Absolutely not," the boss, still fuming, his usually round face flushed red and veins bulging in his hands replied.

"Because of a territorial dispute, the local baron felt that Count Toulouse was being unfair, so he simply declared that he would no longer fulfill his vassal duties. Count Toulouse immediately summoned his vassals to quell the unrest. Once the earl's army arrived in the baron's territory, they were worse than bandits."

"Bandits would just take a protection fee and leave. But the earl's army plundered everything of value, drove out the villagers, and left vast numbers of people homeless," the boss said bitterly, clearly unable to accept the tragedy before him.

After a moment of silence, he reminisced, "When I was here two months ago, this ordinary little village was like any other, not rich but at least well-fed. Their local beer had a unique flavor."

"And now," the boss sighed deeply, regretfully saying, "everything is destroyed."

"How could... this happen!" Jinn, who aspired to be a knight, couldn't believe it. "Wasn't there a single knight who opposed this?"

"Knight? If they even deserve that title," the caravan boss scoffed. "They only care about their subjects. But when they're in enemy territory, they're the ones who rush to the front, loot the hardest, and burn the most."

Jinn felt as if his lifelong beliefs were crumbling. He had grown up in taverns listening to minstrels sing of knights' legends, where knights were always gallant, charging to the rescue whenever the people were in danger. He could even recite the eight knightly virtues.

But he never expected knights to be like this. Jinn stood there, dazed and despondent.

Seeing the young man who aspired to be a knight, the caravan boss didn't say anything more but directed everyone to set up camp on the open ground beside the village.

As night fell, Norn, Anna, and Jinn sat around the campfire. No matter how delicious the carrot stew with dried meat was that night, it couldn't draw Jinn's attention. When Norn finished his portion, Jinn's food was still untouched.

Anna looked at Jinn worriedly, then glanced at Norn imploringly.

Seeing Jinn's dejected state, Norn shook his head helplessly, then moved closer to Jinn and gave his shoulder a firm pat.

"Snap out of it! This isn't the young man I know who aspires to be a knight," Norn said.

Jinn finally came back to reality and gave a bitter smile when he saw it was Norn.

"Nothing, Norn," Jinn said, shifting his gaze to the fire, as if seeing the village's devastation and the bandits he had encountered earlier, and slowly spoke, "I just don't want to be a knight anymore."

Norn looked at Jinn's downcast expression, shook his head helplessly, and comforted him, "You, of all people, are getting so emotional just because you saw knights massacre a village. Let me ask you, what do you think a true knight should be like?"

"A true knight should uphold the eight knightly virtues, wielding their sword for God, their lord, and their people, right?" When Jinn mentioned true knights, a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes, but it quickly faded as he continued, "But what about those knights?"

Norn smiled gently and said, "There you go. You don't recognize them as knights, so why are you so upset?"

With that, Norn stood up, slowly drew the short knife from his waist, and held it upright in front of him as if it were a longsword.

"Being a knight isn't about a title. It means humility, honesty, compassion, courage, justice, sacrifice, honor, and spirit. Only when a person embodies all these noble qualities can we call him a 'knight'!" The blazing campfire illuminated Norn's face, giving his eyes a unique gleam.

"Nowadays, many nobles, from kings to knights, all like to call themselves knights, but their actions hardly live up to the title," Norn said, nodding slightly and looking intently into Jinn's eyes. "So, Jinn, are you going to be like them?"

"Of course not!" Jinn's eyes reflected the dancing flames, and memories flashed through his mind, his father's words resurfacing.

"I want to be a knight, a true knight! One who can protect his people and bring them a prosperous life!" Jinn's voice was once again filled with strength.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Anna, seeing Jinn's renewed vigor, clapped her hands happily.

"That's the Jinn I know," Norn said with a smile, his face then flickering with a mischievous glint. "By the way, you don't seem hungry. What about your food..."

"Forget it!"