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Chapter 70: 010: Glory!
A few days later, in the Saladin Kingdom, Tulip Domain.
Before leaving Wind Extinguishing City, Count Edmund had helped Lynch draft a letter detailing Lynch’s identity and the purpose of his visit to the Tulip Domain.
Upon arriving, Lynch handed the letter—bearing the Novard family crest—to an Apprentice Knight who had come to question the identity of this unknown visitor after receiving reports from the domain’s subjects. The knight dared not show negligence and instructed Lynch to wait before hurrying off to the castle.
At this moment, Lynch stood on a hillside, waiting while enjoying the surrounding scenery.
Soon after Yuri left for the Wizard World, his father, Knight Claire, was granted the title of Baron, officially becoming a noble. Thus, this place was more sophisticated than the Knight Domain Lynch had previously imagined.
At the center of the territory was a newly constructed castle, its dark gray stone walls and towering spires exuding the solemnity befitting nobility.
Surrounding the castle were scattered houses, mostly made of rammed earth with thick straw roofs. Each had a fenced yard where livestock were kept, the animals living alongside the residents.
Next to the houses lay cultivated farmlands. During the deep winter months, no crops remained, and the fields were covered by a thick layer of snow.
Beyond this was the domain’s perimeter—a forest. Although icicles still hung from the treetops, some early spring wildflowers had begun to bloom quietly, peeking out from the snow’s surface. Tracks left by small animals dotted the snowy ground; having survived the long winter, they were emerging from their burrows to forage.
The thawing creek meandered through, its silvery waters glimmering under the sunlight like a necklace of flowing pearls surrounding the domain before rushing into the distance.
Simple, primitive, filled with rustic charm.
This was nothing more than a typical noble’s domain in the Human World, one that prompted Lynch to think about the home lodged in his memories.
’Now that I’ve made it here, should I visit that place once?’
The location where Lynch now stood was referred to as the Tri-Kingdom Area, where the Saladin Kingdom, Putan Kingdom, and Aquitaine Kingdom were closely connected. Lynch’s homeland, the Putan Kingdom, was situated right next to the Saladin Kingdom.
’Perhaps later.’
As a soul-swapped reincarnator, Lynch had come to fully accept the memories of the original Lynch. Regarding the family of his former self, he couldn’t simply disregard them.
But as a reincarnator, Lynch deeply understood he came from Earth. All his emotional ties were mostly disconnected from this world. Forcing himself to feel profound affection for this family was a task easier said than done.
Ultimately, he hadn’t figured out how to address these inherited complexities of kinship and could only set them aside for now.
"Clop, clop, clop!"
At this moment, the sound of hooves echoed from afar. Looking toward the castle, he saw a group of riders charging from that direction.
At the forefront were more than ten men clad in leather armor and wielding Cross Swords, riding their horses. Behind them trailed several hundred people on foot—men and women, young and old—dressed in an assortment of clothing, likely the castle’s household members and ordinary subjects.
The group approached the hill where Lynch stood, stopping roughly twenty meters away as the leading middle-aged man pulled the reins, signaling the entire group to halt.
The man dismounted and walked alone toward Lynch.
Appearing to be around fifty years old, his face was resolute and deeply carved. He wore a heavy fur coat over his broad shoulders and black riding trousers below, his imposing stature reminiscent of a black bear.
Bear Hunter Claire Stock—a man renowned across the land for single-handedly defeating an adult brown bear in his youth, earning his moniker through this legendary feat.
Stopping a few steps away from Lynch, he bowed courteously. After receiving permission from Lynch, Claire continued forward until he stood directly before him. This was an essential etiquette for mortals when greeting Transcendents.
In a deep, resonant voice, he said, "Claire Stock, leader of the Stock family, lord of Tulip Domain, Baron of the Kingdom, greets Your Grace."
Lynch nodded, "Lynch Valen, pleased to meet you."
After an exchange of brief courtesies, Lynch produced the Glory Cross he had prepared earlier. "My friend, your son Yuri... I deeply regret delivering such sorrowful news, but before his passing, he entrusted me to bring this back to his homeland and deliver it to his father—yourself."
Claire fell silent, his deep gaze fixed on the Cross Sword in Lynch’s hands. No emotion was apparent on his tightly drawn face.
Instead of reaching for the sword, he asked, "In his battle against the enemy, did Yuri fight with all his might? Did he meet death as a true hero would, with his head held high, or did he die as a coward?"
Lynch’s expression turned peculiar. To him, this should be a moment of grief, filled with sadness—not a time for such peculiar questions.
Yet, thinking further, he could understand it. Nobles in this world revered family and honor as virtues even surpassing life itself. It was a unique characteristic of mortal society here.
Lynch nodded. "He was the most courageous warrior I’ve ever known. To fight alongside him was my honor."
Like the thawing of a snowy peak, Lynch distinctly saw the tension melt away from Claire’s tightly strung face.
Claire stepped forward to accept the Cross Sword from Lynch before turning to face the knights and subjects behind him, raising the sword high above his head.
He shouted loudly, "Yuri did not dishonor Glory! He died in battle with valor!"
It was like the eruption of a volcano.
"Yuri! Yuri!"
"Glory! Glory!"
People chanted Yuri’s name fervently, their eyes burning with passion.
...
After the matter concluded, Baron Claire invited Lynch to stay for a while, saying the domain was soon to celebrate the Victory Festival and hoping Lynch would remain for the festivities.
He still hadn’t received any notice from Avery, and he’d already explored Wind Extinguishing City thoroughly in recent days.
On reflection, Lynch realized he was genuinely a man without a home.
Though he had many places he could go, none could offer him a sense of belonging. Neither the Shadow Tower nor the Human World provided that; his only semblance of ’belonging’ now seemed to reside in knowledge and cultivation.
Wherever he cultivated, it was still cultivation. After contemplating, Lynch accepted Baron Claire’s invitation.
Of course, aside from the sincere hospitality, there was another reason—he hoped to learn about knight training from Baron Claire.
Over the years, Lynch had never ceased training as a knight. With increasing understanding of this occupation, he did not agree with the common view held by other Wizards that it was utterly useless.
From Lynch’s personal experience, knights possessed a degree of combat prowess applicable even in the Wizard World. And when combined with magic, they could unleash extraordinarily powerful forces.
Precisely because of this, Lynch intended to continue delving into the path of the knight and bring it to greater heights.
For that, learning certain essential techniques was necessary.
Internally, Lynch had no issues with training the Knight Breathing Method. However, his external combat skills, such as advanced swordsmanship and high-level combat techniques, were nonexistent; to this day, he still relied on the basic swordsmanship Yuri had left behind.
Upon consulting Baron Claire, the latter did not keep secrets and soon found several sets of high-level combat techniques to teach Lynch, even assigning specialists to guide him.
And it was here that Lynch finally advanced beyond basic swordsmanship, learning more sophisticated swordsmanship.
This was a knight swordsmanship well-known throughout the Seven Kingdoms...
