"Very good! Everyone did a good job! To reward you, I will give you a 30-minute break! Start taking a break!"

After receiving permission from their commanders to rest, the soldiers of the 2nd Squadron of the 17th Battalion immediately slumped to the ground like puppets that had lost the restraints of their hanging strings.

Helen fell to the ground from exhaustion and sat down directly on the ground.

The armor on his body came into close contact with the earth, and a crisp collision sound was heard.

While wiping the sweat from her forehead, Helen complained in a low voice at a volume that only she could hear clearly: "Standing in a military posture for an hour in armor is really not something that humans can do..."

Helen now feels excruciating pain in her waist, legs, and soles.

However, exhausted, Helen still forced herself to stand up from the ground, and then dragged her tired body to the shade of a nearby big tree.

Like Helen, many people also dragged their bodies to the shade of a nearby tree before starting to rest. However, there were also some people who were more careless or simply did not have the strength to move. They simply sat on the same spot without even wanting to move.

Moved a bit.

After dragging herself under the shade of the tree, Helen loosened her breastplate, took out a book from the gap between her breastplate and the lining, and then took advantage of the current rest period to start reading.

Got up.

"Wow... Helen, aren't you?" A companion who was sitting next to Helen and had a fairly good relationship with Helen cast an incredulous look at Helen, "You actually use this rare rest time to read a book?"

"Idle time is idle anyway, isn't it?" Helen chuckled, "And I think it's a good habit to stuff a book between the breastplate and the lining. When the war starts, this book will still be there

It has a certain protective effect. Maybe it can help you block the impact of the sharp arrow that penetrated your breastplate."

"Come on, since that arrow can pierce your breastplate, do you think you can stop it with just a book? Your book doesn't seem to be the textbook we use every night."

"Well, it's not true. I finally bought it from a bookstore when it was my turn to go out for fun. I saw that the book was not very expensive, and I seemed to be able to understand the contents of the book.

I was writing something, so I bought it.”

"What is this book about?"

"It is a story book. It tells the story of a blacksmith's son who encountered a foreign invasion and his parents were killed. He joined the imperial army for revenge, and then relied on his own efforts and opportunities to rise to a high position step by step."

"Oh? It sounds interesting."

"Well, it's quite interesting. I read this book when I have some free time recently. Although I don't know what some words in it mean, it doesn't affect my reading."

"After you finish reading, lend it to me to read. I'm very interested in this story."

"Yeah, no problem."

…

Although Helen came from a businessman family, Helen's father was not a very powerful businessman, just an ordinary businessman.

Helen, whose family background was not much better than others, was naturally illiterate.

However, since joining the Knights of Michael and receiving cultural education every night, Helen gradually understood the text and gradually fell in love with reading.

Every time it was Helen's turn to go out for fun, unlike her comrades who only ran to special occasions, Helen basically only ran to the bookstore when she went out.

In this world that has long mastered printing technology, although books are not a luxury item, they are definitely not a commodity that is cheap enough that everyone can afford it.

Fortunately, Helen's family members are not yet in need of Helen's support, so Helen does not need to send her military salary to her hometown, leaving Helen with sufficient funds to buy 1 or 2 books every month.

It's still possible.

Just when Helen was taking advantage of the current rest time to read quietly, she suddenly felt the light in front of her dim.

Helen looked up and found an old man she had never seen before standing in front of her.

This old man I have never seen before has white beard and hair. Judging from his facial features, he seems to be a good-tempered old man with a very elegant temperament. Judging from his temperament, he does not seem to be a soldier. Even if he is wearing something like Helen's

Ordinary civilians can also see the exquisite clothing that is worth a lot of money.

Hey, hey, hey... Could this old man be a noble? Why are there nobles here?

Helen began to silently guess the identity of this old man in her heart.

This old man who suddenly appeared here also attracted the attention of the surrounding soldiers.

The surrounding soldiers looked at the old man with curious eyes.

"Child." The old man asked Helen, "What are you looking at?"

"A storybook." Helen, who had secretly identified the old man as a noble in her heart, replied respectfully, "It tells the story of a blacksmith's son who joined the empire for revenge after being invaded by foreign enemies and his parents were killed.

The story of the army, and then relying on its own efforts and opportunities to rise to high positions step by step."

"Can you understand what this book is talking about?"

"Yes, I can read. Because every night there are lecturers who teach us how to read and impart knowledge to us. After nearly half a year of teaching, most of the soldiers, including me, should be able to read simple books."

"Are you all literate?" The old man's question was no longer directed at Helen, but at the other soldiers sitting next to Helen.

"Well, I can recognize some words and stuff, but I don't know if I can read books. After all, I haven't tried it."

"I should be able to read simple books."

"Compared with reading, I might be better at arithmetic. After all, I am more interested in arithmetic."

"I don't know what level I am now, but compared to before I joined the Knights of Michael, I am definitely far behind. I didn't know a single word before I joined the army, but I can still recognize it now.

Some words."

"I can understand some words and stuff, but I don't like reading and studying. If it wasn't mandatory to attend cultural classes every night, I wouldn't want to study."

…

The soldiers around Helen answered in a flurry of responses.

Maybe it was because the break time was so boring, so everyone answered enthusiastically.

The old man listened carefully to their answers and nodded from time to time.

After listening carefully and quietly to the soldiers' answers, the old man was silent for a while.

Then, he sighed softly and said with emotion: "The Michael Knights are really scary. It seems that making Su Cheng the 30th leader of the Michael Knights is a very right choice. I'm so lucky.

"

After leaving these words that confused Helen and others, the old man walked away with his hands behind his back.

After watching the old man leave, all the soldiers, including Helen, immediately started a heated discussion:

"Hey, hey, who was this old man just now?"

"Isn't it too rude to call him an old man?" Helen curled her lips in displeasure, "Judging from his temperament, he feels very much like a noble."

"Nobles? Why are the nobles coming to our Michael Knights?"

"How do I know?" Helen rolled her eyes at this companion.

"It's true...there are actually nobles coming to us..."

"Helen, why didn't you say that the old man just now was His Majesty the Emperor?"

"His Majesty the Emperor is such nonsense!" Helen said angrily, "How can ordinary civilians like us have such good luck and blessing to see His Majesty the Emperor in person?"
Chapter completed!