Hunter’s Dominion, Stonematerial Village—

At noon, the lazy sunlight made the villagers drowsy. Some were lying on the road near their yards, enjoying a brief moment of leisure.

At this time, several youths clad in the Flying Bear Army’s uniform were strutting through the village’s streets. In their hands, they carried bolts of cloth and pieces of meat, likely distributed as rewards from the army.

The villagers greeted them with envy in their eyes.

These soldiers enjoyed a certain status among the villagers, especially the one leading the group. The villagers addressed him as Master Matt, and he waved his hand, insisting that they not do so, though he couldn’t stop the pride from showing on his face.

Stonematerial Village, as its name implied, was a village that specialized in quarrying stone. The area surrounding it was filled with rubble, with little arable land, and the entire village relied on quarrying and polishing stone to earn dinars, which they then used to purchase food.

As these villagers spent their days quarrying stone, they possessed considerable strength, and the young men were all exceptionally robust. Ever since Hunter’s Dominion rose to prominence, Stonematerial Village had been a primary recruitment ground for the Hunter family’s army.

The young men here lived difficult lives and possessed considerable brawn; most could easily pass the recruitment trials set by Richard.

Many of the village’s youths had grown tired of the monotonous stone quarrying work. When Hunter’s Dominion offered them lucrative salaries, they bid farewell to their parents and enlisted in the hopes of securing a better future for themselves.

Now, these returning soldiers were those very same young men who had enlisted together in pursuit of riches.

Some had made it back home in fine clothes, but others lay buried in the cold northern soil.

Of the dozen or so youths who enlisted together, three had been killed in action. This high casualty rate could not be considered insignificant, but most of the remaining veterans focused on the success stories rather than the corpses piled behind them.

With these successful examples before their eyes, more young men eagerly awaited the next conscription drive by the Hunter family. After finishing their daily quarry work, they trained diligently under the constable, hoping to be selected next time around.

Matt was among their number. He was strong, intelligent, and blessed with innate talent, and he trained with singular diligence. Matt fought in both large battles against the House of Wil and the giants, distinguishing himself in both engagements.

In the recent battle with the giants, Matt had lucked out and managed to slay a giant alongside a quasi-knight.

For his achievements, he was taught the universal breathing method, which significantly widened the path for his future.

“Head back to your quarters, but remember to assemble on time!”

“Yes, squad leader.”

Members of the Flying Bear Army received a handful of days off every year, and Stonematerial Village was not too far from Tie Mu City, so Matt decided to take a few days to visit home.

After bidding farewell to his fellow soldiers, Matt walked toward his house along the winding country road, the fabric he had purchased wrapped around his waist and a hunk of pork leg meat dangling from one hand.

“Knock, knock…”

Matt lightly tapped on the wooden door with his free hand, the cloth bundle still wrapped around his waist, the pork leg swinging from his other hand.

“Coming! Coming!”

A cheerful female voice rang out from within, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching the door.

“Open sesame.”

The wooden door opened to reveal a delicate girl of sixteen or seventeen, dressed in simple clothes, her brown hair neatly pinned up, looking as if she had been working just moments ago.

“Bro!”

The young girl froze upon seeing Matt, then immediately rushed forward in delight, throwing her arms around him.

“Ow!”

Even Matt, who hadn’t budged an inch even in the face of a man-eating demon, stumbled backward at this sudden embrace, nearly dropping everything in his hands.

“Alright, enough is enough—go on inside.”

As Matt followed his sister into the yard, he took a quick look around the home he hadn’t seen in nearly half a year. The yard looked much the same, but some areas had been repaired and renovated, including the roof, which had been visibly redone.

A few geese were kept in the yard; perhaps the monthly deliveries of silver nars had improved his family’s lifestyle significantly.

Matt’s father was handling stone materials in the back courtyard, while his mother was preparing food in the kitchen. Upon hearing Matt’s sister’s cries, they rushed to the front courtyard as well.

“Go kill one of those geese for stew, our son is home!”

The two elders were overjoyed at Matt’s return. In these times, fighting in the army meant that every battle could be one’s last, so every reunion was treasured.

“Don’t kill them, I brought back a hunk of pork leg. Keep the geese.”

“Then we’ll make both, it’s a special occasion now that our son is home.”

Matt’s mother continued pestering Matt’s father to kill the geese.

“Oh, and if my brother didn’t come back, I wouldn’t get to eat meat for an entire month.”

The parents’ enthusiasm left the young girl feeling a little jealous.

“What nonsense are you talking about? How often does your brother come home?”

“Here, this piece of cloth can be made into three new outfits for you.”

Seeing his sister’s sour expression, Matt hastily handed over the bolts of fabric he’d brought with him.

These bolts of fine linen cloth were part of the reward from the army. They were of much higher quality than the coarse clothes worn by villagers, dyed in rich hues and, when made into garments, would be quite a sight to behold in the village.

No woman could resist the allure of new clothes, and the girl soon hugged the fabric with delight.

Matt’s parents wasted no time in preparing a feast.

“Son, there’s something I need to discuss with you.”

The dinner table was always a good place for important conversations, and Matt’s father began as soon as they sat down.

“You’re not getting any younger, and it’s about time you settled down. Piggy’s daughter is a bit younger than you, but she’s a good match.”

Matt looked visibly unhappy at this suggestion.

“Father, I don’t want to think about this right now.”

“It’s time you started,” Matt’s mother chimed in. On such matters, his parents were usually of one mind. Moreover, Matt, as a frontline soldier of the Flying Bear Army, was highly regarded in the village; his parents had long been approached by others on the matter of marriage.

“I’ll handle this on my own. Now, please leave me alone about it.”

“Here, eat some more.”

Matt’s refusal shut them right up, and they didn’t bring up the matter again. In the past, Matt’s father would have exploded in a rage at his defiance, but now Matt had a different status. With a silver coin arriving every month and his rank as a sergeant in the Flying Bear Army, no one could force him to do anything against his will.

Seeing how determined he was, Matt’s parents sighed and let the matter drop.

Matt had very particular reasons for refusing to marry one of the village girls, reasons that stemmed from his natural strength, his luck, and his ambition.

After spending so much time in the Flying Bear Army, Matt’s abilities had improved, and so too had his aspirations. He was already stronger than most men, and now, having served as a sergeant, he had further honed his skills and earned the right to breathe fire.

With a few more years of service, he might be able to reach the rank of quasi-knight, which would mean meeting the bare minimum requirements for knighthood.

Though he wouldn’t achieve the rank of colonel, he would at least become a hundred-man commander. While a sergeant was merely a non-commissioned officer, a hundred-man commander counted as an officer of the lower ranks.

At that time, Matt would at least marry the daughter of one of Tie Mu City’s merchants, and if he was lucky, he might even snag the daughter of a minor noble. Of course, none of these village girls were fit to be his wife.

“Drink! Hah!”

Early the next morning, Matt rose despite having no need to attend drills. He began training in his yard instead.

Those with ambition often worked harder and were more disciplined; Matt was a shining example of this. His father also stayed home from work, breaking his usual routine, to watch him train.

“Clack-clack-clack…”

A hurried burst of hoofbeats interrupted Matt’s training, capturing his full attention. The northern lands lacked horses, so commoners rarely owned them. Typically only officials or large merchant caravans possessed such beasts.

“Emergency decree! All soldiers, return to your units immediately! All soldiers, return to your units immediately!” the mounted messenger shouted as he rode by.

The village was small, and the rider had only just entered it when Matt heard the decree in full at his home. Without wasting a moment, Matt swiftly gathered his belongings and prepared to depart.

The villagers, reluctant to see their sons depart, waved tearfully at them, their eyes filled with anxiety.

Matt’s little sister, her eyes red, waved desperately as she watched her brother leave.

Matt quickly packed his belongings and rushed out of the village without wasting time. Compared to his family’s worries, Matt was secretly excited. An urgent recall like this meant that there was likely a war on the horizon. Only in wartime could a soldier achieve merit—and only with merit could he receive a reward.

Matt didn’t care much for material rewards; rather, he hoped to receive the energy-refinement technique after having already acquired the breathing method.

Unlike other countries, the Golden Dragon Kingdom did not have the saying, “A soldier who doesn’t want to be a general is a bad soldier.” However, it was undeniable that no one in the Golden Dragon Kingdom had no desire to become a knight.

Knights—those figures who had once seemed so unattainable—were now within reach. How could Matt not be excited?