Path To Godhood Begins With Marrying Wife And Gaining SSS Rank Skill

Chapter 226: 226:The Black Thorns And Order Of Eternal Blades

Order of Eternal Blade.

That wasn’t the only thing Irina suggested.

“Black Thorns!”

The moment the term echoed, the eyes of the boys widened.

“Damn… It sounds awesome..”

“Ahahh… Irina how can you come up with sick ass names one after another just like this.”

Being bombarded with sudden praises made Irina blush slightly, her cheeks turning warm as she lowered her gaze shyly.

Ethan slammed his hand on the table with excitement.

“Then it’s set.. The Shadow Forces would be renamed as Black Thorns and High Knights would be called Order of Eternal Blade…”

“YESSSS!”

The whole room lit up with cheers and energy.

Randall was soon given the task to draft the Knights according to eligibility. A few conditions were set to join the Order of Eternal Blade.

First, the Knights should be at the Intermediate Stage.

Second, they should be able to master a sword technique of a particular element or must have mastered a sword technique.

Third, they must be able to defeat one E rank monster alone.

These were the conditions for established Knights.

For trainees who wanted to join this Order, it was a completely different recruitment.

GULPPPP.

Ethan swallowed hard as he read the paper, feeling his legs weaken the more he went through the listed tests. He slowly lifted his eyes and stared at the three heads watching him closely.

It was Randall, Joel, and the gruesome masked man Hall.

“Is there a problem My Lord?” Randall asked with a friendly smile. Yet Ethan could not help but feel the urge to punch that face.

He then looked down at the manual again. Most Knight Orders had standard entrance exams like measuring martial skills, swordsmanship, stamina, strength, and grit.

But the tests listed here were totally unconventional.

[Here is a dagger. Without using any other weapon, the trainee needs to bring 20 bear corpses. And yeah, you have two days.]

[Here is a bow and 5 arrows. Capture 20 E rank criminals. Killing them will make it easy.]

[This is a week’s worth of rations. Survive in the wilderness for a month.]

Ethan felt his eye twitch uncontrollably. He lifted his head sharply and stared at the three men.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course?” Joel answered calmly.

“Are you sure this isn’t the script for a comedy show?”

“What are you saying Lord?” Hall asked with a visible frown even under his mask.

Thick veins bulged over Ethan’s head.

“Fuckkk! What am I saying?”

He slammed the paper on the table.

“What the fuck are you saying? Is this even humane.. Are you sure this isn’t the torture manual? Killing 20 bears who are E rank with a single dagger. Can you even do that.. And using 5 arrows to kill 20 E rank criminals… Can the 5 arrows even survive..”

Ethan kept cursing at the three, yet none of them flinched.

“My Lord.”

Ethan paused when he saw Joel and Randall’s serious expressions. As for Hall, his mask made his expression unreadable, but his posture was solemn.

“My Lord… I have survived two months with just ten days worth of food.” Randall spoke quietly, and the entire place fell into silence.

“The blades you gave me were good but they were broken… I had to use scraps to fight after I was separated from the main troops. We had to hide and make our way. Not only did we survive in the wilderness by fighting monsters every day, we even had to take on the enemy sneak attacks.”

Randall’s words struck Ethan deep in the chest, almost like a dagger sinking right into his heart.

But before he could gather his thoughts, Joel added quietly, “It was the same for us too.”

He took a breath. “We were helping a noble when we were chased by an enemy assassin in the midst. We were injured and had to sneak into the wilderness where we were hunted by even bigger monsters.”

Ethan’s lips trembled slightly as he shut his mouth. He did not know what to say anymore.

After a long silence, he finally spoke in a low voice.

“S… Sorry… I didn’t know that.. I really didn’t know you all had gone through so much..”

His head lowered slowly. For the first time since coming into this world, Ethan felt ashamed.

Truly ashamed.

With the system, all he needed to do was enjoy at night and get stronger at day. But these men had walked through hell. Their blood, their pain, and their real experiences carved their strength.

Compared to them, he felt like he did not even deserve to be standing among them.

Before he could sink deeper into that feeling, Hall stepped forward. He noticed Ethan’s expression, and he suddenly bowed.

“My Lord, you shouldn’t be ashamed… You have your own way to struggle while we had ours…”

He continued in a steady tone. “But don’t forget that what we are today, it is all because of yours. No matter how we struggled, if you didn’t help us to break through, we would still be frogs at the bottom of a well.”

“Yes.” Randall shouted and dropped onto his knees.

“My struggle is one part.. What truly played the role was those potions and the help you provided.”

“All of this was possible because of you.”

Joel nodded silently behind them, supporting their words.

Hearing all this, Ethan felt a bit of comfort return. His heartbeat slowed down, yet his chest still felt heavy. He looked at the three of them, then took a breath.

“Thanks but I have decided.”

“Decided?” The three exchanged confused looks and turned towards him. Ethan stood straight, his eyes holding a rare firmness.

“Just wait… I will show you my resolve.”

His voice was steady. His expression no longer wavered. The three men straightened instinctively, sensing something shifting inside their Lord.

For a moment they felt deja vu wondering what Ethan was up to.

A silence settled in the room, heavy but filled with expectation, as Ethan prepared himself for what came next.