Chapter 1061: Citizen Cavalry
“Hmm? Are you a citizen?” The recruitment officer looked at Jayad in surprise. This wasn’t because he doubted Jayad’s citizenship, but rather he was puzzled why Jayad was *only* a citizen.
Seeing Jayad’s imposing presence and his attire when he entered, they had all assumed he was a formal knight, perhaps a wandering knight traveling abroad.
Many knights chose to explore and seek extraordinary opportunities outside, joining adventurer squads or participating in wars as mercenaries to improve themselves.
The officer in charge of recruitment had thought Jayad was one of these traveling knights, but unexpectedly, he belonged to the citizen class.
Citizen Cavalry originated from a very ancient tradition in Western Europe, dating back to Ancient Greece. At that time, city-states were either fully militarized or had no standing army, and all weaponry was privately owned, with the state not providing any.
Therefore, when war erupted, only the citizens of the city-state could participate in the war with their own weapons and horses, while the military merits were monopolized by the nobles.
This tradition continued into Ancient Rome. Although Ancient Rome had a standing army and standardized weaponry, horses and armor were not affordable for commoners. At that time, only middle-class citizens could equip themselves with armor and horses. During wartime, they were organized into groups, forming the citizen cavalry.
The knight system of the later Middle Ages also inherited this tradition to a certain degree. Those with sufficient wealth would assemble their gear, and after accumulating military merits, they would ascend from the lower ranks to nobility. During wartime, knights would be gathered together to form knightly orders.
Logically, such traditions should have disappeared as standing armies became more formalized and professionalized, and knights would have gradually become noble, separating from military merit.
However, in this world, enchanted equipment and individual bravery significantly contribute to one’s strength. Coupled with the prevalence of monsters, those who frequently venture out for adventures or have good opportunities can rapidly improve their strength.
This has led to a situation where, even though the Industrial Revolution era has arrived, the knight system and knightly orders have not declined. They remain a powerful faction, and mercenaries and adventurers are highly sought after.
In such a world, the path to the upper echelons is not entirely blocked. Military merit is still a shortcut to becoming a noble, and citizens are the stratum between commoners and nobles.
Wealthy citizens can purchase inherited enchanted equipment from fallen nobles. With good equipment, they can exert powerful combat effectiveness, or even get lucky and find some.
The most typical example is the Amadeus greatsword behind Older Brother Jayad. As long as the greatsword acknowledges him and he can fully unleash its power, even an ordinary person can exhibit combat effectiveness surpassing that of a powerful warrior.
Most people who come here to enlist have similar ideas. They may have acquired a set of equipment, or it was passed down from their elders, or they are already skilled adventurers. Thus, they come to join the army to seize an opportunity to become nobles.
However, they are more than a notch below Older Brother Jayad in terms of aura, making others with various types of excellent weapons and equipment look like mere riff-raff.
Even though Older Brother Jayad is wearing old-fashioned armor, he appears like a seasoned veteran returning from the battlefield. The recruitment officer almost mistook Jayad for a fellow officer.
However, this did not affect their business. Anyone who met the conditions could enlist. The registering officer said, “Please present your citizen documents. If you don’t have them, an adventurer’s license or a mercenary rank card will suffice.”
The former citizen cavalry had very strict requirements regarding identity; only citizens were allowed. But now, the requirements have been greatly relaxed. As long as one can prove their identity through a guild, even non-citizens are accepted. If they don’t have any of these, the applicant only needs to prove their strength.
Older Brother Jayad presented the citizen document given by Safah. It bore the city lord’s signature and his wax seal, and the paper itself was special announcement paper with unique texture and patterns.
The recruitment officer, without even examining the document’s contents in detail, handed Jayad a piece of paper – a form. “Fill out this form, and report to the military camp in the outer district of the East Gate tomorrow.”
“Hold on, I have something tomorrow…” Older Brother Jayad paused. Tomorrow, we are going out of the city to help Safah find a Flying Beast egg. We might not even be free the day after tomorrow.
“The situation is urgent! It’s not up to you whether you’re free or not. If you can’t make it, then don’t bother enlisting!” the recruitment officer frowned. Enlisting is not something you can just decide on a whim. If everyone had to consider their personal matters, how could they fight wars?
I naturally knew the officer was right. He had already been very polite. But we weren’t here to enlist as ordinary soldiers; the Knight Captain told us to come to this recruitment station.
Furthermore, he was the one who told Older Brother Jayad to enlist as citizen cavalry, saying he had his own arrangements. The problem was, where was he now?
Just as I was wondering, several people walked out of the club. One familiar figure among them was the Knight Captain.
“You’ve arrived. I knew it was about time. I didn’t expect you to be here so quickly.” The Knight Captain spotted us at the registration queue and then noticed the enlistment form in Older Brother Jayad’s hand. He instantly understood what was going on.
“Ah, please leave the rest to me. Thank you for your hard work,” the Knight Captain said to the recruitment officer.
“Yes, sir!” The recruitment officer immediately understood. This was another person with connections who required special treatment, someone he couldn’t afford to offend. Fortunately, no conflict had erupted earlier.
And so, much to the envy of the onlookers, Older Brother Jayad and I were led by the Knight Captain into a small room within the club. This room contained a billiard table and a round table with sofas, a good place to relax.
“When I received the message, I thought you would arrive a bit later and I would have time to tidy myself up and greet you personally. I didn’t expect you to arrive so soon,” the Knight Captain said as he sat down, pouring us two glasses of whiskey.
He probably didn’t expect us to have ridden Packhorses here. If we had just walked here, it would have been the perfect timing.
“You will join my retinue of cavalry. Of course, you cannot use your real name. Just write down any name, as no one will scrutinize it. I will find an opportunity later to strike with Albrisque, and you can set up a trap then,” the Knight Captain said.
“There’s a problem. I have something to do tomorrow, so I probably can’t report immediately,” Jayad said.
“That’s fine. Tomorrow is just training. I believe with your strength, you don’t need any training at all,” the Knight Captain said, not even confident he could defeat Jayad himself.
“I’ve also decided on my reason for joining the army. I plan to be a military doctor, so find a reason to transfer me as a field physician.”
