Chapter 303 Graduation

One week later.

The Apprentice Knights who were still in the fort gathered in the training ground to witness a historical moment. There was also a group of kids witnessing the ceremony.

Noel and Anna were kneeling on one knee in front of the commander, who personally handled the graduation as they were the first pair that graduated from this place. They were also the strongest out of all of them. So, they deserved such attention.

The commander stood in front of them as Shale handed him a tray with a token, a knife, and a uniform.

He grabbed the token and the knife before extending them to Noel while saying, "I'm happy to announce that Noel Ardagan has fulfilled the requirement to be the Elite Knight of our Demon Banner Army. Will you use your power to eliminate the demons in the name of the Demon Banner Army?"

"I vow to protect the people from the demons in the name of the Demon Banner Army." Noel received the knife and cut his finger, letting the blood drop to the token.

After that, he returned the knife and held the token with his hand before pouring his Spiritual Energy. Suddenly, the token shone in silver color. From now onward, the only one who could activate this token was Noel. If he died, then no one would be able to light up the token anymore.

This token would act as his identity, proving him to be one of the elite knights from the Demon Banner Army. It came with many benefits, considering the army handled far stronger opponents than the regular army.

Last but not least, the commander handed the black-colored uniform to Noel, which he gratefully received.

Anna also experienced the same thing. She proved the token and received the uniform.

They received thunderous claps from the other Apprentice Knights. Although these knights didn't admit it, they knew Noel and Anna deserved it.

Meanwhile, Noel got another cheer from the kids, which livened the ceremony.

Before finishing the ceremony, Shale brought them a letter.

"This is the letter of recommendation for both of you. You shall become a member of the Zero Squad of the Demon Relief Squad. Work hard in your next post and keep climbing through the rank. The people beside you might be your best comrades, but they're also your rival."

"Yes, Commander." Noel received the letter on behalf of them.

"With this, I declare from now on, Noel Ardagan and Anna Stargaze are the Knights of our Demon Banner Army. Those who harm them are harming the Demon Banner Army, and I shall spare no effort in handling this problem."

p Another round of applause was heard as the commander returned to the building.

Shale patted their shoulders and said, "I'm sad that you two can't join my Demon Extermination Squad, but I hope that you use this privilege to do something right. Don't break the law."

"Yes, Sir." Anna and Noel answered in unison.

Shale took a look at the people first before retiring to the inside. This was their moment, so they should get some fun.

As soon as the ceremony was over, the other Apprentice Knights immediately swarmed them. Though, they approached Anna more than Noel as if they still had some prejudice against him, believing his current achievement came directly from Anna.

On the other hand, Noel never cared about it since the kids came to him to congratulate him.

Surprisingly, Lokhar was in the fort today and attended the ceremony. He came to Noel and extended his hand. "Congratulations, Noel."

"Thank you." Noel shook his hand firmly.

"Haha, I'm going to follow you right after. Just you wait."

"I'm looking forward to it." Noel smiled.

After Lokhar left, Noel took care of the kids.

"Big Brother, Congratulations!"

"Big Brother…"

"Big Brother…"

Noel thanked each of them with a smile on his face. Eventually, he came to Eric and Erica, holding their hands. "Eric. Please take care of the group for me."

"Yes, Big Brother. I'll protect them with my life on the line."

"Erica, you are the smartest among them. It will be hard for you from now on, but I hope you can continue supporting the group."

"Yes, Big Brother. Leave them to me." Erica nodded with a smile.

"Good." Noel smiled and turned around to look at the rest of the kids. "Thank you, everyone. I will treasure this memory. If something happens, I will rush to your place to help you."

"No, Big Brother. We should be the ones thanking you for providing us with this opportunity. Without you, we might not survive this winter. So, thank you very much." One of the kids answered while bowing to him.

The rest also followed him, showing their gratitude.

"In that case, this is a goodbye from me." Noel smiled and hugged them one by one, wishing them luck. The kids ended up crying because they knew they couldn't meet him anymore.

But Erica stopped them while saying, "Don't cry. We have to work even harder from now on if you want to meet him again. Be prepared!"

The kids tried their best to stop their tears. While wiping their tears and snots, they tried to see Noel off with a smile on their faces.

Although their voices were shaking because of crying, they still shouted in unison. "Big Brother, Thank you!"

Noel waved his hand while walking to the exit. This was the end of his life in this fort and the beginning of his career.

As soon as he left the training ground, Anna suddenly appeared next to him.

"Ha… I can finally leave." Anna let out a long sigh. "They're too annoying."

"Should you be the one saying that?" Noel rolled his eyes.

"What? I am annoying? You must be blind."

"Yeah, yeah." Noel shrugged as they continued to walk to the gate. There were two normal soldiers standing next to the gate while holding the horses. Each horse had a bag on top of it as this was their luggage.

Noel and Anna received both the horses and the bag from them and rode the horse together.

Noel smiled while glancing at Anna. "This will be the start."

"Indeed. I'll be counting on you, Noel."