“Branch Chief, are you familiar with Lord Banning?” Garvit inquired, his keen gaze indicating that he was certain Oleg knew something.
“Ah… it’s not that I don’t recognize him,” Oleg chuckled, then shook his head in denial, “However, I find it hard to believe that the Banning I know could single-handedly defeat the ‘Poison Blade Rat King’.”
Oleg vehemently dismissed the possibility that “Banning is Garvit’s savior,” yet Garvit insisted on comparing the physical features of Banning with Oleg.
As they scrutinized from general appearance to eye color, Garvit became increasingly convinced that Banning was indeed the savior he was searching for.
This Lord Banning not only saved Garvit’s life but also salvaged his spirit.
.
Ever since his father’s demise, Garvit had strived relentlessly to fulfill his father’s last wish and to earn the position of the Cavalry leader in Emerald City.
If there were any tasks involving hunting monsters or eliminating bandits, he would never miss them.
Under such rigorous training and discipline, Garvit, who had inherited his father’s talent, passed the first-tier trial rapidly, fulfilling the requirement to become a knight in the Emerald City Cavalry.
But this was just a small step for Garvit. Between the lowest-ranked knight and the Cavalry leader, there was a chasm-like distance.
Therefore, Garvit never relaxed his expectations of himself and continued to live a life of either training or hunting.
In his life, there was no room for leisure.
Heaven seemed to favor Garvit for his hard work paid off. 𝑜𝓥𝓵ℯxt.𝗇𝓔t
With his continually improving strength and excellent records, Garvit climbed from the Ninth Cavalry Unit of the Emerald City all the way to the First Cavalry Unit and, at the age of thirty, he was promoted to be the youngest leader of the First Cavalry Unit since its establishment.
On that day, countless honors and praises descended upon Garvit.
Even Soren, the leader of the Second Cavalry Unit and his strongest competitor, willingly put aside his seniority, entertained him in a place of pleasure for an entire evening, claiming to admire him.
From then on, Garvit gradually lost himself amidst the fawning flattery of others.
Two years later, Garvit was still the leader of the First Cavalry Unit, but his strength had hardly improved, and he had been stuck at the bottleneck of the second-tier 50th level for a year.
Moreover, his reputation was no longer about diligence and effort, but about arrogance and vanity.
Garvit was dismissive of this, firmly believing in his own talent, that as long as he continued to work hard, passing the trial would be a natural outcome. Those who criticized his arrogance were merely jealous of his talent and achievements.
Garvit abandoned his previous ascetic lifestyle, thinking that he had lived too harshly in the past and now needed to balance work and leisure.
As a result, “Work” gradually became occasional, and “Leisure” became the main theme for Garvit.
.
Oblivious to his own deteriorating morality, Garvit had already been surrounded by carrion rats by the time he realized he needed to reflect on his actions.
As he stared at the Poison Blade Rat King, who was grinning maliciously not too far off, he seemed to see the faces of the other captains and cavalry members who flattered him on the surface but were scheming against him in reality.
It was not until death was imminent that Garvit understood he had been “flattered to death” by these cunning individuals.
Regrettably, he realized too late.
He had not only lost to these schemers but also to his own weak will.
He reprimanded himself, if only his will had been firm enough, he would not have lost himself in the world of glamour and vanity.
However, it was all too late.
On the brink of death, Garvit apologized to his father.
Unexpectedly, right after his apology, a miracle happened.
The young man whom he had initially thought was an ordinary individual, had the audacity to walk alone towards the Poison Blade Rat King, to walk alone amongst the rat swarm.
Moreover, there was not a trace of fear in the boy’s eyes as he looked at the monsters.
Those were the indifferent eyes of the strong looking down on the weak.
Though Garvit lost consciousness due to his magic depletion and didn’t see how the young man fought against the Rat King and the rat swarm, when he woke up and saw the Rat King lying dead before him, he was hit by a wave of shock.
He realized how insignificant he was.
Garvit belatedly realized that the young man had refused his offer to guide him not because he didn’t recognize Garvit, but because he was fearless.
In retrospect, Garvit felt ridiculous. He had actually thought that a piece of white bread and a silver coin were enough to request the assistance of such a strong individual.
As they were about to enter the forest, Garvit had arrogantly thought that he was protecting the young man by driving him away, unaware that the youth did not even consider the Poison Blade Rat King a threat.
.
Garvit felt an overwhelming gratitude for the young man who had saved his life.
He understood the rarity of getting a second lease on life, and decided to cleanse his heart and return to his former self.
Moreover, having seen through the malicious intentions of those villains, Garvit believed that encountering the youth was undoubtedly a redemption from his father’s spirit in heaven.
Therefore, yesterday evening, when Garvit rose again, he tore off the flamboyant and useless white silk ribbons from himself and his warhorse’s armor, as a symbolic farewell to his arrogant and complacent self of the past two years.
Then, dragging the heavy body of the Rat King, he made his way to Sunny Town with a single purpose in mind.
Garvit sought the young man, to swear his allegiance to him.
He vowed that even if he were to rise to the position of a cavalry leader or higher, he would continue to serve the youth until the expiration of his life!
·
In the room, Oleg had just explained to Garvit the basis for “Banning couldn’t possibly defeat the Rat King alone”.
“That boy probably hasn’t even challenged the advancement trials yet,” Oleg said.
“Branch chief, you might be getting old.”
Garvit shook his head, negating Oleg’s judgment of Lord Banning’s strength.
“It’s quite clear that Lord Banning has hidden his true strength, you just didn’t notice it.”
“Garvit, you seem to be making some subjective assumptions.”
“It’s not my imagination, but the fact. Otherwise, you tell me, who else in Sunny Town could exterminate the ‘Poison Blade Rat King’?”
Garvit’s question indeed stumped Oleg. Oleg questioned himself, even if he were fully recovered, he wouldn’t be the ‘Poison Blade Rat King’s’ match in a one-on-one situation. Not to mention rescuing Garvit from the Rat King and the rat swarm, let alone killing the Rat King.
Seeing Oleg unable to answer, Garvit was satisfied, knowing he had vindicated Lord Banning. At this point, he had nothing more to say to Oleg.
“Alright, in any case, the quest issued by your guild has been completed. As for the reward, you can pay it directly to Lord Banning… Now, I need to find Lord Banning!”
“Hold on.”
Oleg stopped Garvit, then glanced at the table. On it was an urgent letter he had received that morning. Initially, Oleg had some hesitation, but after talking with Garvit, he knew who he should go to.
“I also need to find Banning, let’s go together.”
“Show some respect, it’s Lord Banning.”
Garvit glared at Oleg.
“Uh… yes, let’s go find L-Lord … Banning.”