Chapter 63:Knight

A young boy dressed in ragged clothes ran, showing a mocking expression toward the middle-aged man chasing him, who was getting farther and farther behind.

As he turned his head, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw a dark figure.

BANG!

Caught off guard, Jack crashed right into it.

"Who are you?!"

Raising his head in anger, the expression on Jack's face froze in an instant.

A huge shadow loomed over him, and a pair of blood-red eyes drew closer. A sharp ice blade was only inches away from his head.

On horseback, a knight in pitch-black armor slowly swept his deep gaze over Jack. Just one look and Jack's entire body began to tremble, his breath caught in his throat.

A knight?!

How could there be a knight in their rundown village?

"Jack?"

Oh, so he's a thief.

Rod furrowed his brow. The name Jack sounded somewhat familiar to him.

"Honorable Knight, please forgive my offense!"

Jack got up from the ground, bowing in reverence. Offending a knight was a serious crime.

"Your name is Jack?" Rod asked slowly.

"Yes, sir!" Jack replied nervously, a hint of excitement showing on his dirty face at being directly addressed by the knight.

"Do you know where the castle of Earl Austin is?"

Upon hearing the question, Jack's expression turned confident. As a citizen of the Kingdom of Austin, how could he not know the location of the castle?

His eyes darted around, and suddenly a bold thought crossed his mind.

"Noble Knight, the terrain of Austin is complex. Perhaps you need a professional guide to lead the way," Jack suggested.

This was a knight!

For a commoner like him, interacting with such a high-status individual even once in a lifetime was improbable. If he could gain the favor of someone like this, it could change his life.

He decided to take a gamble. If luck was on his side, becoming this knight's squire could lift him out of poverty.

He had already noticed that this knight had no attendants, so he bet he wouldn't be turned down.

"Interesting."

Rod's lips curled slightly, instantly seeing through the young man's small scheme. But he didn't mind such opportunistic thinking. For common people living at the bottom, opportunities to change their lives were scarce. Those who could seize such moments might not be capable, but they were at least clever.

An ambitious and clever squire was better than a dull, unambitious servant—most people knew which to choose.

Loyalty? Rod never believed in such things. One percent loyalty or ninety-nine percent loyalty—it made no difference to him. He would never trust anyone other than himself without reservation. As long as he had enough power, who would dare betray him?

"I like smart people," Rod said slowly.

Jack, who was feeling anxious, showed a look of surprise. The knight's words made it clear that he had made the right bet. If Rod hadn't wanted to take him in, he wouldn't be speaking to him so politely.

"I do indeed need a follower," Rod said, pulling on his reins, his tone almost patronizing.

If he was going to present himself as a knight, he certainly needed an attendant. In this world, a knight wasn't defined just by having armor and a warhorse. Such knights were at the lowest rung of the knightly hierarchy—fallen from grace, bearing only the title but lacking the wealth and status that should come with it.

These knights could only rely on their identity to bully powerless commoners. They weren't even worthy of being called nobles—ordinary knights would look down on those without any attendants.

After all, what made knights part of the noble class was the privileges they enjoyed: estates, followers, lands, and serfs. That was the foundation of nobility. Without such standing, trying to join that circle through force alone was wishful thinking.

Therefore, a wealthy knight wouldn't just have a horse to ride but also one to carry lances, swords, helmets, and armor. They'd need an armor bearer, a warrior attendant, a number of servants, guards, and bodyguards. A knight was essentially a small squad on his own.

That's why, when nobles waged war, even just a few dozen knights could mean hundreds or even thousands of attendants and soldiers on the battlefield.

If Rod wanted to present himself as a noble knight, he needed followers.

"I can give you a chance to serve me, but whether you can pass this test will depend on your luck," Rod said with a meaningful look.

Becoming his follower wasn't something a little cleverness could achieve. Whether Jack could pass the upcoming trial would depend on his luck.

"Sir, thank you for your mercy! Jack will be loyal to you until death," Jack replied gratefully, half-kneeling on the ground with his hand over his heart, offering his loyalty.

Swish!

Rod slowly drew the sword from his waist and gently touched it to Jack's shoulder three times, accepting his pledge.

"Remember the name of the one you serve—Rod!"

"Stand up!"

Rod casually tossed a small pouch, and Jack looked at it in confusion.

"From today, you are my follower. Use this money to settle your family's affairs. From now on, your life belongs neither to anyone else nor to yourself—it belongs to me, and only I have the right to take it."

Rod looked down at Jack, his deep, cold black eyes causing Jack's heart to pound with fear.

The aura of this knight was terrifying.

Jack shivered, goosebumps rising on his arms. It reminded him of the time he was chased by a bear in the forest. He had narrowly escaped death that time, and the feeling now was even more intense, as if death were imminent.

"Settle your family matters. I'll wait for you at the inn up ahead. If you try to run away…"

Rod smiled calmly.

His belongings weren't something that could be taken away so easily.

Watching Rod leave, Jack carefully opened the small pouch. He gasped at the sight of the golden glow—it was full of gold coins!

Greed flashed in Jack's eyes. His first thought was to take the gold and run. With so much money, why be a squire? He could buy land, hire some serfs, and live a carefree life as a landowner. Wasn't that much better than being someone's servant?

If he was lucky, he could even acquire a knight's title and change his family's destiny.

But in the next moment, the image of Rod's deep eyes flashed in his mind, along with his casual warning.

The reckless thought slowly dissipated. If someone casually gave him this much gold, where could he even run? Besides, could he really escape?

Would this knight have given him a pouch of gold without absolute confidence?

"What a terrifying man," Jack muttered, putting the gold back in his pocket.

With so much money, he'd serve even more willingly. Following someone like Rod wouldn't be something to regret.

...

Riding to the inn, Rod noticed the respectful stares of the people around him, but his attention was drawn to a notice posted on the wall.

"The king is gravely ill and needs the heart of a giant to survive. Whoever brings the giant's heart will be rewarded with land and the title of baron."

A giant's heart?

Rod stroked his chin. Giants had been quite common in ancient times when gods, humans, and all kinds of magical creatures coexisted. The giant race was said to be the descendants of the ancient titan gods.

The titans created the world, providing all beings a place to live. Only after that did the gods come into being. The titans' children were the giants.

The original giants possessed powers comparable to the titans themselves, even challenging the authority of the gods. But their violent nature and insatiable hunger led the gods to seal them away, banishing them from the world.

However, their descendants remained—the giant race. They inherited diluted blood from the original giants, granting them immense strength and size, but also shared their violent temperament and massive appetites.

Still, these beings were only part of legends. Rod had never actually seen a giant.

He called the innkeeper over and inquired.

"Has anyone seen a giant around here?"

The innkeeper glanced at Rod cautiously, then spoke softly.

"Giants? No, but there is a legend in a nearby village. It is said that there is a floating island above the clouds, and on that island is a massive castle where giants live. Inside the castle, there are endless treasures and riches. But, sir, how could that possibly be true? The clouds are so high—how could anyone get up there?" The innkeeper shook his head, clearly skeptical of the legend.

"Whether the clouds could hold an island is one thing. Even if it could, who could climb that high and come back down safely? Even an iron block would be smashed to bits from that height."

"Leave," Rod said, tossing a silver coin to the delighted innkeeper.

A floating island in the sky, giants... So this was the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Rod stroked his chin, piecing the story together in his mind.

A boy named Jack, whose family was so poor they could barely make ends meet. Jack's mother sent him to market to sell their cow for food. On the way, Jack met an old man who offered to trade five magic beans for the cow. Jack hesitated but eventually agreed, believing the beans would bring good fortune.

Upon returning home, Jack gave the beans to his mother, but she was furious and threw them out the window. That night, the beans sprouted, growing into a vine that reached the sky. The next day, Jack climbed the vine and found a giant's castle.

He discovered the giant owned a hen