White Owl Brotherhood

The White Owl Brotherhood.

In all noble territories, there would be outlaws. As noble families created armies in territorial wars and taught farmers how to wield swords, these very same farmers turned into soldiers would find it quite unpleasant to return to their old lifestyle. Unemployed but skilled in the art of killing, they would often turn into outlaws.

The White Owl Brotherhood was a group of 80 deserters, led by the infamous White Owl Knight, whose spearmanship had earned him the respect of the Grand Knight Tyler Moon in the past. The white owl knight betrayed his lord and left with his brothers-in-arms after being ordered to fight an impossible battle against a 1000-men-army wiht just 100 men.

As deserters, the White Owl Brotherhood failed to find any worthwhile contract as mercenaries. Thus, it turned into a group of bandit. It attacked merchants, without ever killing innocents. The White Owl Knight might have turned to banditry, but it still possessed principles. Knighthood was more than just a title and a sign of strength, it also carried the will of God, and it valued innocent life.

Over the years, the White Owl Brotherhood had created a camp. Some soldiers found wives, and founded families. The camp had become a village over the years. There was one golden rule: No contact whatsoever with the exterior world. After all, the White Owl had chosen the Moonfall Family because it rarely managed its territory. Magus Families were obsessed with magic, and unlike knight family upholding righteousness, magus families were focused on benefits.

In a decade, the White Owl Brotherhood had upgraded its gear, and the village was a small fortress with stone walls, towers, and the bandits had become stronger. White Owl Knight had passed down his swordsmanship attainments to his men, and earned their loyalty in return. Not a day passed without all of them training together.

But...

In the middle of this cold night of winter, the ground trembled. It was a familiar sound which he hadn't heard for a decade.

'A cavalry...', White Owl thought with fear, 'Is it the Frozen City Lord? Fool, we have a stone wall!'

"Intruders!"

ARGHHH

*SPLASH*

"ARGHH"

As White Owl finished wearing his armour, a sight of brutality greeted him. The cavalry had found a way in the village.

"How?", he wondered.

Taking his spear out, he thrusted forward with all of his might.

However, the spear didn't reach the heart of his target.

The man had clearly seen the attack coming, and deflected the spear with a rotation of the shield. With his sword, he slashed the wooden the spear and broke it.

His spear broken, White Owl felt deeply humiliated.

'A man, who isn't even a knight, disarmed me? Who are they? Since when could a mere soldier disarm a knight?'

He couldn't know that the 'average' soldier was the Frozen Knight Order Cavalry Captain, Ross Holly, who had reached 35 points of proficiency in horsemanship and Porfield Military Swordsmanship, personally trained by Drake.

Drake immediately recognized the white armour of the infamous White Owl Knight, but watched the scene unfold with great satisfaction. He ordered five cavaliers to help Ross and take down the knight while he massacred the forces. Using his sword was unefficient. It was better to use archery.

*SWOOSH*

[You have headshot [Preparatory Knight-level bandit]. Target is dead]

*SWOOSH*

[You have headshot [Preparatory Knight-level bandit]. Target is dead]

*SWOOSH*

[You have headshot [Preparatory Knight-level bandit]. Target is dead]

Each shot met its target. Death was inevitable. In the darkness of the night, he could see clearly. The same didn't apply to humans.

White Owl felt danger. Surrounded. He screamed. But the Frozen Knight Order Cavaliers were using a formation minimizing risks. Everytime White Owl tried to attack a cavalier, he would feel three swords reach out to his back. Each attempt to attack resulted in injuries.

"YOU COWARDS! FIGHT ME ONE ON ONE!"

Ross laughed: "You are a bandit. You deserve no honor"

*SPLASH*

Under the provocation, White Owl loosened his guard, allowing his subordinate to hit a clean hit in his throat. Even knights could not survive the attacks of a 6-cavaliers-formations led by a talented preparatory knight with swordsmanship attainments equal to that of veteran knights.

Every soldier in the Frozen Knight Order possessed very solid swordsmanship. Although physical attributes mattered a lot in a war, it was enough for Drake's cavalry to decimate White Owl Brotherhood in a matter of minutes.

As he ordered his men to loot the camp and imprison the non-fighters, Drake began to turn the corpses into blood crystals.

Drawing a circle filled with runes on the ground with magic crystal powder, Drake started to put all 86 low-grade blood crystals in the center. The process took more than ten minutes.

Evangeline asked: "I never saw you do that. What is it?"

Drake nodded: "It is a rune formation I created. It allow me to purify those blood crystals. Consuming them can raise my vitality, but it would hurt my potential. Once purified, the side effects disappear"

Evangeline's eyes shone: "Does it mean that our elites will get to consume those purified blood crystals in the future?"

Drake laughed: "You don't know the value of these things. I could probably purchase a knight warring slave with one of them. Why would I waste them on you?"

Evangeline shook his head: "I apologize"

"Know your place. Well, it's not like I can sell these things wherever I go either. I might consider giving them to my knight subordinates. But you fools are all stuck in the preparatory knight realm"

Evangeline seemed hyped. Ross, who listened to the side, had stars in his eyes.

Who wouldn't after all?

Blood crystals were that valuable.

[You have consumed a high-grade blood crystal. Vitality rises slightly]

[You have consumed a high-grade blood crystal. Vitality rises slightly]

[You have consumed a high-grade blood crystal. Vitality rises slightly]

[You have consumed a high-grade blood crystal. Vitality rises slightly]

[You have consumed a high-grade blood crystal. Vitality rises slightly]

[Your Bloodline purity increases by 1%]

[Name - Drake Moonfall | Age - 16 Years Old

Race - Human / Wereraven

Demonic Raven Bloodline (Stage I) - 25% Purity

Attributes:

Strength - 3.2 (+1.5) | Agility - 2.6 (+0.5) | Vitality - 5.4 (+1.5) | Magic Power - 8.0

Perks: Demonic Raven Bloodline (Stage I: +0.5 Strength, +0.5 Agility, +0.5 Vitality), Knight Physique (+1.0 Strength, +1.0 Vitality)

Skills: Moonfall Knight Swordsmanship (82), Magical Knowledge (45), Etiquette (40), Archery (56), Horsemanship (38), Cartography (26)...

Spell: Demonic Raven Vision (48), Shadow Touch (26)]

'Five high-quality blood crystals only increased my vitality by 0.2, huh...It seems more and more complex to increase it. The bloodline purity increase is becoming increasingly rarer as well', Drake appraised, 'I am hopeful that killing the Giant Python might give me a superior blood crystal, but I don't know if my blood absorption rune can handle such a big beast...'

One hour later, Drake nodded as he looked at the loot.

3800 gold coins, above-average gears, common material worth 2000 gold coins as well as trinkets. There was a book that interested him though.

[White Owl Breathing Technique (Incomplete)]

It must have been the technique that allowed White Owl to rise to such heights. Drake also possessed a breathing technique which could raise his attributes and which he practiced daily. However, he could not give it to his subordinates. If he did so, the family would severely punish him.

The White Owl Breathing Technique was incomplete, but it was good enough for his subordinates to reach the preparatory knight realm in the next three months, considering their diet and training. As for those in the preparatory knight realm, they might reach the knight realm by then.

Drake smiled.

The harvest was much better than he expected.