Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Chapter 377: Ignatius Firecrest

While they were chatting, two figures suddenly emerged from the crowd of onlookers.

Christon furrowed his eyebrows, but when he saw who they were, his expression relaxed. “Your Highness!”

Giovanni and Andre also spotted them.

“Alaric, what are you doing here? You should be resting now.” Giovanni spoke in a chiding tone.

Alaric chuckled at Giovanni, brushed past him, and stood before Christon. “You must be Lord Christon, the Commander of the Gryphon Knights Order. It’s a pleasure to meet you, my lord.”

“The pleasure is mine, Your Highness. I have heard a lot about you and it is my wish to meet you in person.”

Christon was a man of prominent status, but he wasn’t arrogant. He had a gentle temperament, quite unlike William who was always stern and rigid.

They exchanged pleasantries for almost a quarter of an hour before Christon asked them about the situation.

Giovanni and Alaric told him everything that happened.

Christon’s expression turned grave the more he listened. He finally understood why Dominic sent ’that person’ with them on this trip.

While Giovanni and Christon were chatting, Alaric inspected the members of the Gryphon Knights Order.

Out of habit, he used his Appraisal on each one of them.

They are indeed powerful. Most of them are Knights, but there are also hundreds of Elite Knights mixed with them. There are even a few Transcendent Knights…

Suddenly, his eyes fell on one particular person. He wore the same outfit as the rest in the Gyrphon Knights Order, but Alaric noticed that there was something different about him.

Other than the standard spear and bow which all members possessed, he also had a scepter with a glowing red crystal.

As if sensing his gaze, the man turned his head and looked at him.

Alaric couldn’t see the person’s face clearly since he was wearing a helmet, but based on his visible facial features, he could tell that it was an old man.

[Do you want to use Appraisal on the selected target?]

[Yes] [No]

Alaric habitually selected [Yes].

Ignatius Firecrest [4-Ringed Beast Soul Grandmaster] EXP: 1055/10000

Potential: S

Integrated Monster Traits: Fire Manipulation (S), Flame Burst (A), Scorching Arrows (A), Flame Immunity (A)

Traits: Horseback Riding (S), Spear Mastery (S), Archery (A), Hunting (A), …, …,

Strength: 666

Stamina: 529

Agility: 599

Vitality: 612

Endurance: 577

Mana: 819

Alaric was dumbfounded when he saw the man’s stats.

He is a 4-Ringed Beast Soul Grandmaster!

To think there is actually someone at this level hidden in the empire!

Alaric quickly retracted his gaze, his heart shaking with excitement.

Meanwhile, Ignatius narrowed his eyes. He had a strange feeling that Alaric was able to recognize his power.

I might be overthinking it.

The plan was not to expose himself in case there were spies hidden in their midst, but he couldn’t stop himself from approaching Alaric.

The young man had this unusual charisma that could draw people into him.

Giovanni, Andre, and Christon noticed this.

Both Andre and Giovanni didn’t recognize him, but Christon knew who he was so he didn’t know what to do.

Giovanni was about to come over when Alaric motioned for him to stop.

This left him curious about the old man’s identity so he asked Christon. “Lord Christon, who is that gentleman?”

“Oh? It’s just an old member of our Knights order.” Christon casually replied, but this was also true.

Ignatius was indeed a member of the Gryphon Knights Order. In fact, he was the former Commander, but Christon didn’t bother to explain this.

Giovanni furrowed his eyebrows. He felt that Christon was hiding something, but he decided not to inquire further since the old man didn’t seem to have the intention of talking about it.

Meanwhile, Ignatius invited Alaric to chat with him privately. The latter didn’t know the old man’s intentions, but he was also curious to know what he wanted to discuss.

Alaric excused himself and left with Ignatius.

The two headed somewhere quieter.

“Do you know me, Your Highness?” Ignatius asked while staring deeply at Alaric.

Alaric shook his head.

“I don’t recognize you, my lord. However, I can vaguely sense your strength. If I’m not wrong, you are either a Mythical Knight or a 4-Ringed Beast Soul Grandmaster.”

Alaric didn’t want anyone to find out about his Appraisal trait so he answered ambiguously.

Hearing this, Ignatius squinted his eyes and chuckled. “Not bad.”

“You have discerning eyes. Even Andre wasn’t able to sense my strength.”

While saying those words, he removed his helmet, revealing a face wrinkled with age. Based on his appearance, he looked like someone in his late sixties, but Alaric knew that he was a lot older than that.

“My name is Ignatius Firecrest. I am a 4-Ringed Beast Soul Grandmaster. It’s an honor to meet Your Highness.” The old man smiled faintly.

Alaric put on a look of surprise. He hurriedly bowed to the old man and said. “The honor is mine, Lord Ignatius!”

The old man quickly grabbed his shoulder and reminded him. “Please don’t inform anyone about my identity, Your Highness. Not even the people around you. There might be spies in our midst so we should be careful.”

“I see. I was thoughtless. Please forgive me, my lord.” Alaric apologized.

He understood the old man’s worries.

If someone were to discover that they had a 4-Ringed Beast Soul Master, Harune would definitely be more cautious. They might even ask for more support.

“It’s alright.” Ignatius didn’t blame him and just chuckled.

“By the way, I saw a Draconic Lion at the Catastrophe-grade and I heard that it is your tamed beast…” the old man revealed a look of interest when he mentioned this.

Catastrophe-grade monsters possessed incredible wisdom and they were extremely fierce by nature, making them impossible to tame.

He found it shocking that a beast at this level was willing to follow Alaric who was only a Transcendent Knight.

Alaric could tell that the old man was only genuinely curious so he was secretly relieved.

“I was only lucky enough to stumble upon it when it was injured. We developed a strong bond since that encounter and it decided to follow me.” Alaric randomly bulshitted without shame.

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