Outside the farmhouse,

A yellow-haired soldier was gripping the arm of a seven or eight-year-old girl, who had probably been discovered hiding in the cellar.

The girl's eyes were rimmed with red, her thin frame trembling uncontrollably, yet she stubbornly refused to let a single tear fall.

"You bad guys! When Brother Siegfried comes back, none of you will escape!"

Perhaps it was this Brother Siegfried who gave her courage; the girl suddenly bit down hard on the soldier's arm.

The yellow-haired soldier yelped in pain and was about to slap the girl's face:

"You lowborn brat dare to bite me!"

"Hey, Sir Knight, children don't know any better. Please don't take it personally."

Siegfried had just walked out of the dilapidated farmhouse when he witnessed this scene. He quickly stepped forward to block the yellow-haired soldier's palm, his face full of fawning flattery as he tried to appease him:

"Sir, why bother with a child? You're here for grain, right? I'll tell you where the granary is. We commoners farm just to feed noble knights like yourself."

As he spoke, he inconspicuously pulled the girl behind him. He acted just like a true country bumpkin, unable to distinguish between ordinary soldiers and knights.

The yellow-haired soldier, seeing this village idiot dare to stand in his way, grew even angrier.

He reversed his spear and jabbed its butt hard into Siegfried's stomach.

Siegfried immediately felt his stomach churn, the pain doubling him over.

"Cough, cough..."

His face contorted in pain, yet he still wore a fawning smile, only his pitch-black eyes growing increasingly cold.

The yellow-haired soldier, still unsatisfied, jabbed Siegfried a few more times all over his body before reluctantly stopping.

"Come with me. Tell the captain what you know."

"Yes, yes."

Siegfried, enduring the pain throughout his body, turned and leaned close to the little girl's ear, his voice gentle:

"Little Towa, be good. Don't cry or make a fuss. Listen carefully, go to the square to find your parents, and then... remember?"

Little Towa's eyes were already red. The clever girl knew that Brother Siegfried was suffering in her place.

"But you..."

"I'm fine, go quickly!"

"Mm..."

Only after watching the little girl leave, looking back with every step, did Siegfried put on a smile and bow forward:

"Sir Knight, shall we go?"

"Hmph."

The yellow-haired soldier glanced at Siegfried contemptuously, genuinely despising this kind of fool who tried to play hero without any real ability.

[Mr. Wanderer, he is no match for you.]

"I know."

Siegfried, highly focused, was unwilling to say a word more.

His heart was not as composed as his outward appearance. Even monkeys understand the principle of capturing the leader first, but the problem was that this leader might not be so easy to capture...

The female knight Catalina was patrolling the village on horseback. As a knight, she genuinely didn't want to engage in such acts of robbery, but circumstances left her no choice.

"If His Highness knew about today's events, he would surely be angry..."

Catalina shook her head bitterly.

Just as she was feeling guilty for her inner sense of wrongdoing, she saw her soldier bringing a young man with a headscarf and delicate features.

"What's going on?"

The female knight's voice was crisp and cold, completely devoid of her earlier hesitation and uncertainty.

"Ma'am, this commoner says he can lead us to the village granary."

Catalina frowned: "You want to take us to the village granary?"

"Yes, Lady Knight. Our village stored quite a bit of grain last year. As long as you spare the villagers, oh no, even if you just spare me, all this grain is yours. I absolutely won't breathe a word about today's events, I know the rules."

The man before her was half-bowing, his face full of ingratiating smiles.

This reminded the female knight of those fat, useless ministers in the royal court.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

She utterly despised this kind of person who would abandon all conscience and dignity just to survive, even though she herself was about to become one of them.

Catalina's voice grew even colder:

"We will only take part of the grain. As long as you cooperate, we won't harm the villagers."

"Oh~ Thank you for your mercy and generosity, your character is so admirable!"

For some reason, Catalina felt there was something odd about this statement.

"Lead the way."

Siegfried extended his hand, pointing towards the center of the village.

"It's not hard to find, it's the large storehouse in the center of the village. Just follow the small path straight ahead. However, there's quite a lot of stuff, it might be too much for just one or two people to carry. Why don't I get some villagers to..."

"No need."

Catalina coldly interrupted, turning to the yellow-haired soldier to arrange the grain transport.

Siegfried certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity.

"Shannon, give me this woman's information."

[Searching for you now...]

[Search complete]

Name: Catalina

Female, 20 years old

Race: Human

Alignment: Order

Class: Great Knight

Guardian knight of the Moen royal family. During the palace coup six months ago, she escorted the crown prince she served out of the royal city. After the outbreak of civil war, they fled to this place.

Specialties: Spearmanship 63% (Proficient), Horsemanship 61% (Proficient)

Combat Skills: [Knight's Charge] [Shield Bearer: Unbreakable] [Provocative Shout]...

Ability Data:

Strength: B+

Agility: B+

Magic: C

Intelligence: D

Luck: D

Leadership: C

Overall Rating: B+

Hm?

The crown prince's knight?

Siegfried raised an eyebrow, surprised yet not surprised.

Shannon probably already knew this female knight's identity, which is why such a mission was assigned.

This female knight's master is most likely that Princess Kriemhild who was driven out of the royal city.

If he could capture her and make her talk, he could complete two stage missions at once and return to reality.

But it's not that simple...

Siegfried recalled the female knight Catalina's data.

Overall rating B+, a full level higher than his.

After observing the villagers for these few days, he discovered that the physical abilities of humans in this world were generally much higher than those on Earth.

The overall rating of ordinary children and the elderly was basically E, but this was already equivalent to the physical abilities of normal adults on Earth.

Villagers who had received some sword training or were physically robust could reach a D rating, almost equivalent to first-class special forces.

There was only one person in the village with a rating of C or above, and that was Siegfried himself.

His physical abilities had already surpassed those top athletes on Earth; using this body, he could sprint 100 meters in under 7 seconds.

And this female knight's rating was B+...

This was probably far beyond Siegfried's understanding of human capabilities.

"Hey, are you sure this is the kind of enemy that should appear in the beginner's tutorial?"

[We will not assign tasks that you cannot complete. Please use all resources at your disposal to defeat the enemy.]

[Also, please treat this as a real world. You can do anything you want with captives.]

"Tch, there's no need to say that last part."

Siegfried spat, as the two nearby finally finished their discussion.

The yellow-haired soldier organized the other six soldiers to set off for the granary.

Catalina turned her horse around, no longer looking at Siegfried, and casually ordered:

"Thank you for the information, you can go now. We'll leave after taking enough grain."

"Alright, alright. Um, Lady Knight, our village granary is quite large, those seven officers from earlier might not be enough manpower."

Siegfried's tone was cautious, as if subtly reminding a leader that their fly was down.

Catalina didn't even turn her head, this despicable man was making her increasingly impatient.

"There's no need for you to worry! The seven men I brought are all battle-hardened, excellent warriors. Don't measure them by your narrow perspective!"

"Oh, I see...

"So, you're the only one left here?"

The whisper that came from behind Catalina was so soft it was almost inaudible, yet filled with extreme coldness.

In an instant, a chill rose from the base of her spine and crawled up her entire back.

She whirled around to see that the man who had been bowing and scraping now stood as straight as a winter pine.

In his left hand he held a black-covered book, his right hand brushed across its pages, and a gleaming long sword appeared out of thin air in his grasp.

The moment he gripped the sword, Siegfried's aura suddenly surged, the grass beneath his feet curling outward from an invisible force.

He tossed the book towards Catalina, then with a powerful kick off the ground, he launched forward like a cannonball.

The Wanderer's Manual flipped open on its own, coincidentally displaying its owner's current status data in mid-air.

Name: Siegfried

Race: Wanderer

Alignment: Neutral

Class: Hero Candidate

Strength: A

Agility: A

Magic: C

Intelligence: A

Luck: B

Leadership: B

Overall Rating: A!

[Great Knight] Catalina's keen senses made her hair stand on end! Danger!

Almost simultaneously, she swept away the flying black manual with her knight's lance.

Behind the manual, a grim face lunged straight for her!

The earlier fawning and flattery had vanished like bubbles, replaced by a chilling killing intent.

In that instant, Catalina suddenly recalled her first lesson when she had just begun her knight training as a child...

"Catalina, you must remember, the top hunters in this world often appear in the guise of prey."