After becoming a Padin, Henwell not only receives his appointment papers and tokens but also a full set of weapons and armor.

  Though Henwell’s gear was personally crafted by Newwood with rare materials, the new armor’s only extraordinary traits are its incredible durability and self-repair capabilities.

  If you don’t fight Henwell up close and personal, it’s hard to appreciate just how damn good his armor really is.

  But from Ashiburn’s perspective, Henwell’s weapons and armor are pretty average.

  So he specifically picks out an exceptional Padin set from the Church’s armory.

  This armor and weapon set is truly made for Padins.

  It boasts solid defense and excellent extraordinary energy conduction.

  Inside the armor, there’s an inscribed magical array for arrow protection and deflection.

  The entire suit resists harsh conditions like extreme heat and even offers some protection against magic.

  The chainmail lining carries a Church healing spell that can patch up wounds to some extent.

  The cloak has extraordinary properties too, providing warmth and cold resistance.

  It even has a weight reduction spell inscribed inside so if Henwell falls into water, the cloak doubles as a life jacket.

  The boots come with terrain-adaptation magic—no walking on water, but they handle swamps and rough ground well.

  The Knight Commander’s sword is enchanted with sharpness and armor-piercing spells, while the nce carries magic for dispelling, shattering armor, and penetration.

  Even the helmet has anti-dizziness and poison gas protection abilities.

  This whole disciplinary armor set comes all the way from the Abundant Continent.

  It’s as luxurious as it gets, but Henwell doesn’t like any of it.

  To him, it’s all fshy nonsense.

  Weapons and armor exist for just two reasons: to kill and not get killed.

  That’s it. Nothing else matters.

  Armor just needs to be tough enough.

  If you’re going to add magic, don’t make it so fancy.

  Put poison smoke on the cloak, a dazzling light spell on the helmet to blind enemies in battle.

  The boots? Throw in armor-breaking or strength-penetrating magic, that’d be perfect.

  Henwell’s fought his way up with real steel and blood.

  In a life-or-death brawl, no tactic is too dirty.

  Now that he’s an Iron Knight with some reputation, he can’t afford to look unprofessional.

  But back in the day, Henwell always carried a pouch of quicklime on him!

  Even though Henwell thinks the Padin armor set is a bit fshy and impractical, he still really likes the style.

  It’s a solemn bck overall, heavy but refined.

  Thanks to its clever design, the armor doesn’t restrict movement at all when worn.

  Because of his build, the armor needs some adjustments.

  Today, a senior craftsman from the Church comes to measure Henwell.

  In just a couple of days, the whole set will be perfectly tailored.

  The next afternoon, Henwell meets with the key members of his Penitence Squad.

  The two Grand Knights in the squad are McComb and Sosie.

  McComb is fifty-one, became a Grand Knight seven years ago, and was trained by Archbishop Ashiburn.

  Sosie is forty-nine, earned Grand Knight status three years ago, officially under Guardian City’s Lord Graham, but also one of Ashiburn’s trusted men.

  Henwell, seemingly unaware that these two are there to keep him in check, chats warmly with them.

  He also takes time to talk with every squad member, showing no airs of a commander.

  This wins over many of the soldiers who don’t know the full story, they start to like Henwell.

  Even McComb and Sosie breathe a sigh of relief, thinking Henwell isn’t hard to get along with.

  After all, Henwell is now a Padin, their official superior.

  He also has the strength of a Grand Knight, and they hear he’s not even twenty-four yet.

  That kind of talent blows them all away; none of them have seen someone so gifted.

  They’ve heard some of the Church’s strongest Iron Knights broke through to Grand Knight before thirty, but those breakthroughs happened in Guardian City, where extraordinary elements and resources are abundant.

  Henwell, on the other hand, climbed to Grand Knight rank in the barren eastern nds.

  To them, that’s downright insane talent.

  A prodigy like him, trusted by the Church’s top brass and already a Padin.

  Being a Grand Knight at such a young age, with the Church’s backing, means an unstoppable future.

  Everyone thought a young hotshot like Henwell would be arrogant or weird.

  Basically, they expected him to be hard to deal with.

  But Henwell’s behavior surprises them all.

  He’s humble, polite, and speaks with impressive poise.

  No wonder the Church suddenly promoted a guy like this to Padin, it’s definitely not a random move!

  Tonight’s banquet is both a celebration of Henwell’s promotion to Padin and a farewell party.

  Henwell is leaving Guardian City tomorrow, and the squad members need to settle their affairs at home. They pn to set out in about two months.

  The goal is to arrive at Peace Haven before Henwell’s wedding.

  Since Henwell is showing them respect, no one’s going to be rude, they’ll definitely show up to support their boss’s big day.

  Everyone’s an adult here; they know what’s expected.

  The next morning, Henwell dons his freshly tailored Padin armor and goes to meet Orak.

  Now decked out in full Padin gear and wearing the Holy Cross Star medal, even the Iron Knights of the Church’s knight order nod respectfully when they see him.

  Henwell’s visit is meant to back Orak up. With Henwell making such a strong appearance, Orak’s treatment is bound to improve.

  After all, Padins are like the Church’s elite enforcers. No one inside the Church dares to act cocky in front of a Padin.

  Henwell also has another purpose here: to brief Barnett on some important points.

  He’s left a stash of gold here, only taking two thousand coins with him.

  After leaving Guardian City, Henwell doesn’t head north but goes straight south, pnning to pass through the Groias Empire’s territory.

  Henwell rides two horses alone. Besides Night Charger, Archbishop Ashiburn gifts him an excellent warhorse.

  The red warhorse Henwell now rides is called Windchaser. It’s smaller than Night Charger but carries extraordinary bloodlines, far surpassing typical warhorses.

  Henwell equips Night Charger with the Night Wind set.

  Wearing his Padin armor and riding Windchaser, Henwell leaves the city and immediately picks up speed.

  Traveling solo with two divine steeds, covering two to three hundred kilometers a day isn’t a problem at all.