After hitting the target with that shot, Duke gradually found his rhythm and continued to hit several more arrows.
He discovered that only by hitting the target could his archery proficiency increase.
Duke also tried shooting from close range, ensuring a 100% hit rate, but found that his proficiency didn't increase at all.
He slowly retreated and continued to experiment, finally discovering that he had to maintain a shooting distance of at least fifteen meters to increase his proficiency.
Duke trained at this minimum distance, slowly grinding his proficiency level.
The estate imposed no time restrictions on individual training, and with plenty of targets available, he could practice archery as long as he wished.
By dusk, Duke had not yet advanced his archery level.
He wasn't in a rush; he could see the progress bar and could continue tomorrow.
After dinner, Duke resumed his breathing technique training outside, and his life was filled with various training activities aside from eating and sleeping.
As he trained a little while outside, Hewen emerged to train as well, as if they were in a silent competition.
The few people inside the house exchanged glances, suddenly feeling awkward, as though resting inside felt like a guilty act.
As they watched the two figures steadfastly training outside, their sense of guilt intensified.
Ten minutes later, a few more people joined in the training outside.
...
Before long, the month-long selection for personal soldiers ended.
Duke thoroughly enjoyed this period, with food and drink all provided by the estate, and no safety worries. He could focus solely on improving his proficiency.
After frantically grinding proficiency during this time, Duke improved his skills in all areas.
[Scythe: Level 5]
[Basic Swordsmanship: Level 4 (553/1000)]
[Giant Whale Breathing Technique: Level 1 (247/1000)]
[Riding Skill: Level 5]
[Archery: Level 5]
[Physique: 7.1]
[Strength: 7.7]
[Agility: 7.2]
[Spirit: 8.1]
[Free Attribute Points: 2]
During this time, Duke effortlessly reached the max level for both riding skill and archery, gaining not only some increases in physical attributes but also two free attribute points.
He hadn't planned on using these two free attribute points yet, as it seemed more cost-effective to use them later.
However, progress with the Giant Whale Breathing Technique remained slow. Despite daily dedication and effort, his proficiency was still just over two hundred points, with a long way to go before leveling up.
Basic swordsmanship was practiced only occasionally in his spare time, as the breathing technique took up most of his schedule.
After this round of training, a total of five, including Duke, became low-tier knight attendants and joined the Nightingale Team.
Hewen also successfully mastered the breathing technique, barely making it on the last day of training.
Duke and these five did not need to participate in the personal soldier selection examination. They stood aside to observe the process for a day.
The examination took place in the estate, consisting of riding skills, archery, and combat practice.
Out of over a hundred participants, only about fifty passed the examination to become Earl Hardy's personal soldiers.
With these additions, Earl Hardy's personal soldier count finally exceeded two thousand.
Even while observing the examination, Duke quietly continued his breathing technique practice, causing Hewen and others to be somewhat speechless.
Duke didn't care about this; he was indifferent to these unrelated people's opinions and focused solely on his tasks.
After the examination, Duke and the others saw Vivian once more.
Vivian was still donned in full armor, her helmet obscuring her face.
Duke was curious about what lay beneath the helmet, having heard that Vivian was the most beautiful girl in the Jade Province, but he never got to see her true appearance.
At least her voice was indeed pleasant, like a nightingale.
"From now on, you are members of the Nightingale. When not on duty, you are free to act, but do not stray too far from Fengqiu City. If you need to travel far, inform George in advance..." Vivian spoke a few words to the newcomers before leaving.
To her, this was just a formality to show up in front of the newcomers; she wasn't responsible for daily management.
Vivian's only comment about this selection was, "Unfortunately, no surprises."
She had initially held some hope for Duke, but unfortunately, he didn't reach the second layer of the breathing technique before training ended.
At such a pace, advancing to an official knight seemed out of reach.
After Vivian left, George explained the internal rules of the Nightingale to the group.
The Nightingale typically did not have many routine tasks; they mainly dealt with tricky problems within the territory or conducted highly important missions.
For example, the previous attack on Endland Town, a rather urgent task, was personally led by Vivian and the Nightingale Team.
Nightingale members could reside in Habs Manor, with each member having their own private room. They could also choose to live elsewhere as they wished.
The estate's training facilities were freely available to Nightingale members without any restrictions.
Earl Hardy's requirement for the Nightingale was simply to enhance their strength as much as possible for critical moments.
Duke's monthly salary was one gold coin, the lowest salary within the Nightingale, with improved benefits upon increasing strength.
Such treatment was already exorbitant in this era, and few jobs offered such a high reward.
Duke also received a set of exquisite leather armor, beautifully crafted with shoulder and arm guards, offering much better protection than his previous armor.
This leather armor was engraved with a nightingale emblem, the insignia of the Nightingale Team.
As for full armor, not everyone could be equipped with it.
...
After the busy training days ended, Duke stepped out of Habs Manor for the first time, intending to explore Fengqiu City.
Habs Manor was located east of Fengqiu City, and leaving the manor allowed a distant view of the city's silhouette.
Fengqiu City had already existed for three hundred years, enduring countless wars, with its towering walls defending countless enemies from the city.
Fengqiu City was divided into Inner City and Outer City, with the Inner City being an ancient fortress, the castle where Earl Hardy resided.
The entire Outer City was essentially built around this castle. This fortress, doubly safeguarded, was as solid as a rock and difficult to penetrate, like a tortoise shell.
The Inner City wasn't accessible to just anyone. Even though Duke was now a Nightingale member, entry without permission was still impossible.
The Outer City was different, apart from a simple check at the gate, there were no other requirements.
As Duke entered the city, he immediately saw the wide main street, bustling with people, and a few lavish carriages struggling to move through the crowd.
The surrounding area was filled with incessant calls of vendors striving to attract the attention of passersby.