"Hmm, I understand the concerns of the council. In short, you want to know if Reinhardt is still worthy of leading one of the Seven Great Orders or not, right?" The queen surmised.
She then deliberated for a while before giving out a proposal.
"How about this? Since the worthiness of Sir Reinhardt and the Temple of Light, being one of the seven great knight orders, has been brought into question, we send them to the Toto village for investigation. If the Temple of Light can solve and report back the issue, we will consider this matter resolved".
The elders from the council glanced at each other, their faces hiding a grin. If Reinhardt still resisted serving them, they were prepared to bring up the issue of the Toto village. Who knew the queen would herself propose this mission, sparing them from bringing it up.
"An excellent idea, your majesty"...
"If the Temple of Light can resolve the issue of Toto village, then the matter regarding them will be dropped"...
"That’s right, if Sir Reinhardt resolves this, then the masses will be appeased too"...
Yeah, right. Reinhardt knew very well that appeasing the masses was just an excuse; the council just wanted to use this chance to get their hands on the Temple of Light.
That said, since the decision was made and by none other than the queen herself, he could only go along with it.
Reinhardt performed a knight’s salute "Leave it to me, your majesty. The temple of light will see to the issue of Toto village and resolve it under your orders".
He stepped forward, kissed the outstretched hand of the queen before taking his leave.
.
.
Toto village, a small agricultural land lying at the borders of the demon land and the Empire of Jironia. Since it is situated in such a perilous area, it was always under the threat of demons and enemy soldiers.
Additionally, the populace that occupy the Toto village are elves and other small number of demi human races who managed to survive the onslaught of the demons.
"Seriously?! We have to go to such a dangerous place?"
Three days later, after Reinhardt and the party arrived back at the Arcknight’s territory, he announced the decision to the other members of the order. Some of the high ranking knights sighed while others grumbled.
Seeing the reaction of their seniors, the new recruits couldn’t help but get curious.
"Ah, it’s understandable that you guys don’t know. After all, you all just became knight trainees not too long ago. Listen well, Toto village is even amongst the other territories of the kingdom, a unique land autonomously governed by its own people and clans. It has its own laws and traditions, along with its equally infamous deep seated prejudices"...
"Prejudice?" the new recruits parroted.
Gwen and Keven having finished their daily training, listened intently from the side.
"That’s right, since the population of the Toto village mostly consists of demi human race, humans like us are discriminated against there. The discrimination is even harsh if you are a knight belonging to one of the orders like us".
The holy knights explained— Over the years, many knight orders had been dispatched to the Toto village to resolve their issues and bring order to the territory, yet each endeavour has ended in failure.
The entrenched cultural biases, bined with the staunch defiance of Toto Land’s ruling factions, have rendered every diplomatic and military intervention fruitless.
The Toto village mission issued by the council of Elders was simply a clever ploy to set the Temple of Light for another failure. The mission was already considered a failure even before it began.
"Silence everyone" Reinhardt’s voice silenced the growing anxiousness within every knight. He looked at them with his heterochromatic eyes and activated the [Voice of Providence].
His voice immediately started resonating with divine authority, pelling awe and obedience from everyone.
"I know our next expedition is going to be troublesome. However, we cannot just accept defeat before even beginning. It’s true that many knight orders who received the same mission before us have all failed to resolve the issue, but that doesn’t mean that we will fail too. The Temple of Light is a beacon of hope for all humanity and the strongest weapon that stands against the demons. I do not want to hear any demoralising words"...
.
Phew, the knights and the trainees sighed a breath of relief after Reinhardt left.
"As expected, mander is really something"...
"I tell you, he has bee stronger after breaking out of that curse"...
"I agree with you, the moment he started speaking, I had goosebumps in my entire body. It felt like I was looking at a divine being".
The members laughed. The apprehensive atmosphere from before was pletely gone, replaced by a renewed spirit and a zeal to acplish something that was deemed impossible.
Gwen looked at the sight of the knights and the departing figure of the man whose few simple words managed to pletely overturn the atmosphere of the order.
She clenched her hands tightly, being even more sure of her choice.
"Please wait, elder sister. I will definitely get stronger and avenge you".
The next day, the order of the Temple of Light finished packing their luggage and departed for the Toto village.
For this mission, a total of one hundred plus knights and squires participated, including the new recruits. As for the rest, they remained behind to maintain order and guard the Arcknight territory.
"The journey will take ten days... if we take the main road that is. To cut time and arrive as soon as possible, we will be going through the Vermont Jungle" Reinhardt announced, steering his horse at the front of the order.
When the senior knights heard the order, they all started grinning from ear to ear. A feverish, almost maniacal light flashed within their eyes as they set their sight on their prey, the monsters.
These past few days they have been training like madman. Reinhardt’s training regime gave a full workout to every muscle and fibre of their body. They were pletely exhausted every single day, naturally, they wanted to see the results of their training.
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