"Alright," Tilly said calmly, "I know you must be filled with doubts right now. Why would the army make an exception to recruit non-official residents? Why are the selection criteria so peculiar? And... why am I the one giving this explanation? These questions seem complicated, but you'll find them simple after experiencing it yourself. So, I won't go into detail, just highlight a few points."

"Firstly, the army you're joining is neither the First Army nor the Second Army, but an army my brother plans to establish. It will be unlike any army before, so the selection will be more special."

This caused a small stir. Undoubtedly, the promotion path in the new team would be wider and less prone to exclusion. For those without any background, joining a brand-new army was clearly the best option.

Even a fool could understand that.

"However, your current status is only as probationary personnel." The princess continued, "Precisely because it's so different, I have no reference to draw upon. This means everything must start from scratch, and the difficulties encountered will be unimaginable – compared to which, your previous assessment was insignificant. There are sixteen people standing here now, but perhaps only one or two will truly become Sky Knights, or... perhaps none at all."

Gude couldn't help but gasp.

What surprised him wasn't how difficult it was, but the first half of what she said.

It really was a knight!

Although he didn't know the difference between a "Sky Knight" and a traditional knight, the fact that commoners from humble backgrounds could get this opportunity was incredible.

As for being very difficult?

Wasn't that to be expected!

He felt his heart burning with passion.

But what shocked him even more was yet to come –

"Also, since only my brother and I truly understand what this new army is for in this city... no, I should say in this world, and since Roland can't spare too much time on this, I will be responsible for teaching you afterwards."

This sentence was like a bolt from the blue, leaving Gude stunned.

Her Highness the Princess would personally teach them?

Did that mean they had the chance to become knights conferred by the Princess of Graycastle?

Even without a fief, even no longer being nobles, it was still a great honor, especially for newly arrived immigrants like him who had nothing.

The others were no less composed.

If they weren't afraid of being disrespectful before the throne and offending the princess, they would have cheered long ago.

The rapid breathing around him was the best proof of this.

"All qualified candidates will train in the Shallow Beach New District. You will receive new residences and official identities, becoming part of the new King's City from now on." Tilly pressed her hand down, "But remember, even as probationary personnel, you fall within the army's purview. Your actions will be restricted. Withdrawing halfway will be regarded as desertion, and any violation of military orders will result in severe punishment. Do you understand!"

"Yes... Your Highness!" Although they were somewhat dazed by the princess's serious warning, so much so that their response wasn't loud, no one showed any intention of backing out.

"Very well, finally, swear allegiance to the King of Graycastle," Tilly looked at the tall man beside the table, "Wiede."

The latter nodded with his hand on his chest, then took out a roll of white paper from his arms and unfolded it. "Now, I'll say a sentence, and you repeat after me."

The oath was very simple and easy to understand.

Even too straightforward.

Like this sentence, "I have no malicious intentions towards His Majesty Roland, nor do I harbor any hostility towards witches."

Who would dare!

Remembering the rumors that Her Highness the Princess was also a witch, Gude unconsciously raised his voice to the maximum when he said this, as if a lower volume wouldn't show his loyalty.

After the oath was completed, the guards came forward and distributed packages to them one by one.

"From this moment on, you are members of the army." Tilly smiled, "The first round of recruitment is expected to last about a week, then training will officially begin. And the contents of the package are both my personal reward and what you must first learn and master."

…

When Gude returned to Central Square, the sky had already darkened, and the recruiters had long since dispersed. Uncle and Shanguo were also gone.

This was to be expected. No one thought the assessment would take so long. They had families to take care of and couldn't stay in the square all the time.

He couldn't care too much at the moment. He clutched the package tightly to his chest and ran towards the temporary residential area as if he were flying.

Joy echoed in his heart, and he felt like he had endless strength. Even with the cold wind blowing in his face, he didn't feel a trace of cold. The snow water under his feet made a squishing sound, and the road trampled by hundreds of people was like a dark brown beacon—perhaps the white snow would cover everything again tomorrow, but now, it was guiding him home.

He plunged into the low and warm mud house, where Rachel was cooking oatmeal.

"Sorry... I'm late, today—"

"I know," the girl interrupted crisply, "The uncle next door told me, you found a good job, right?"

Before he could respond, she had already extended her right hand to him.

"Where's the good stuff?"

"Uh... what?"

"Hey, you said you'd bring me an egg pancake!" Rachel pouted in dissatisfaction.

Damn, he had completely forgotten about it. Gude quickly made amends, "Next time, next time you can eat one every week! No, eat two!"

"Two?" Rachel asked doubtfully, "Really?"

"Of course, this job is extraordinary, I even saw Her Highness the Princess!" Gude took off his wet shoes, rolled up half of his trousers, and moved to the stove, then carefully took out the package from his arms, "Look, this is what she gave me."

"What's inside?" For a moment, the girl's curiosity overwhelmed her dissatisfaction with the broken promise.

"I don't know either, let's open it and see," Gude opened the tie and couldn't help but be slightly stunned, "This is..."

"?" Rachel echoed.

He took out all the contents, and found that it was a stack of books. The covers were printed with different pictures, which looked very exquisite, but unfortunately he couldn't understand a single word.

"Can... can you help me see what it is?" At this time, he could only turn to Rachel for help.

The girl smiled triumphantly, "I can't guarantee I can recognize everything. Hmm, this book is about... writing skills, that one is common... vocabulary... shorthand, the third one is..."

So these are all the things Shanguo learned? And the pictures on the cover are also another summary of the content, for example, the "Writing Skills" book has a quill pen printed on it, and the "Vocabulary Shorthand" book has three-dimensional letters of all sizes...

For some reason, Gude was slightly disappointed.

He thought that what was inside would be the rewards for qualified candidates from Her Highness. It didn't need to be expensive, even if it was a letter, it would at least be a symbol of honor.

If it were someone else, they might have already started laughing at him for daydreaming - how could Her Highness the Princess give him this kind of readily available elementary education textbook as a reward?

But Gude quickly recovered.

Indeed, if he wanted to become a knight, he naturally couldn't be illiterate.

He still had many things to learn.

At this moment, the cover of a book attracted Gude.

He had never seen what was in the picture. It was like a huge kite, and also like a big bird spreading its wings - it had two pairs of wings, much larger than a person, and the woman sitting on it and driving it looked just like Her Highness the Princess! The ocean sparkled under her feet, and the vast continent should have become a corner of land.

This perspective was exactly the same as what he saw in the first round of assessment!

He felt his breathing slow down for a moment.

"Rachel... what does this book say?"

"Here, let me see," Rachel leaned her head over, "Flight... and... operation... um, that's right!" She clapped her hands and read it again from the beginning, "It's called 'Principles of Flight and Operation Manual'."