NOVEL NEXT Chapter 104- The Senate (3)
"Sir Brutus and the Saintess stood true to their promise and protected their respective frontiers; you were the only one who failed. What is your excuse for that?"
"Maybe the Altar was too hasty to judge you as being worthy of level 10. Your failure has cost the kingdom of Solaris to lose its's face as the only kingdom that had lost its Divine treasure. If you still think for the kingdom and have some conscience, you should relinquish your level and powers to the Altar".
"I believe we should appoint a different knight to carry the class of Level 10 Divine Paladin…"
The elders missed no chance to pound him with their criticism and ridicule.
While the hearing was in the midst, outside the senate, the knights of the order of the Temple of Light quietly waited by the roadside for their commander's signal.
Bob who was looking at the sky dazedly, suddenly noticed the new recruits of their order walking towards them from the other side of the road.
"How did it go?" the squires smiled in delight.
"The altar approved our feats, we reached level 5".
The reason they brought some of the squires and new recruits with them was because their stats had met all the necessary standards for a level up.
After their latest expedition, some of them felt like they would be recognised by the Altar and thus came to the capital in hopes of getting a new class.
Bob nodded before placing his attention on their newest recruits.
"What about you two?"
Kevin clenched his hands and declared with burning passion "Thanks to Commander, I was able to reach level 4 and acquire a new class."
"Hmm, that's good. It means that your hard work had paid off. When we get back to our base, work on your skills and the sword art commander showed you".
His eyes then looked at the young lady, who appeared much calmer and composed than the boy. Though Gwen didn't say anything, it was obvious from her elated expression that she had achieved a level up too.
"Good, get back to your position. Remain cautious and do not let your guard down," the squires nodded and left to carry out their duties.
"Why are you still here?" Bob looked at Kevin and Gwen, who were still standing in their place.
"Sir Holy Knight, I have something I want to ask you?"
"What is it?" The boy looked at the senate, and a worried expression appeared on his face.
"The truth is… that… those guys… we heard them… talking and could help but worry. Is there even such a thing..."
"You are not making any sense. Let me explain" Gwen interrupted his messy explanation and explained.
"It's like this, while we were on our way to the Cathedral to update our statuses at the Altar, when this guy accidentally lost his way. When I came to get him, we coincidentally bumped into a noble's entourage. Though we didn't plan to, we coincidentally ended up overhearing their discussion."
She stared straight at Bob, her eyes questioning him, "Is it true that due to the Commander's previous mistake, he might have to relinquish his level and class?"
At that question, the Holy Knight's eyes twitched, and some solemnness finally surfaced within them.
"You two are still too young to think about annoying matters like that. Believe in Commander Reinhardt, he will find a way to get through this. Now get back to your positions".
Although he dismissed the recruits, the fact was that he couldn't completely shrug off the words they said. Relinquishing one's level and class. As one of the few level 8s in the kingdom, he knew a little about it.
The long battle with the forces of darkness had almost wiped out humanity from the continent. As a result of being backed into a corner, they came up with their own ingenious idea.
The last remaining great kingdoms on the continent found a way to always have a legendary level 10 warrior to protect them.
A level 10 being, it need not even be said how big of matter that was. If there was a level 10 being protecting a kingdom, even the demons had to think twice before attacking that nation.
If a kingdom can produce a knight of such calibre naturally, then it was an achievement worthy of celebration. However, if they could not, they could use a technique they invented to create an artificial level 10 using the Altar.
Of course, a technique that was created when the humanity was backed into a corner couldn't be anything good. The price a kingdom needed to pay to artificially create a level 10 warrior was significant.
As such, it was a technique meant to be used only when there was no other choice, a last resort of sorts.
Could the elders really be thinking of that?
.
Inside the Senate, it was a scene of chaos. The elders continuously hounded Reinhardt in an attempt to advance their own selfish interests.
The Divine Paladin under trial, quietly stood in his place, his aura calm and composed. Even while most of the members here were trying to make him their scapegoat to fulfil their own selfishness, he did not panic.
His eyes from the start were only looking in a single direction. The place where the king and queen were seated.
"SILENCE!!"
Seeing that the hearing was going nowhere, the king spoke. He then glanced at the knight standing on the trial stand and gave a chance for the latter to speak.
"Do you have anything to say in return to what Count Hamilton had said?"
Reinhardt shook his head "A knight does not make excuses for his failures. It is as Count Hamilton had said, the battle of the Black Tide, it was because of my failure that we lost that".
Thanks to the Divine Trait [Heaven's Memory], he quickly recalled the incident. More than three years ago, the battle that cursed Reinhardt and caused most of the high level knights of the Temple of Light to die in action.