Pretending To Be A Boss-Chapter 724 - 84: The Irritable Judgment Knight
The Thirty-Ninth Fortification. The third layer.
After the loss of his comrade to the hellhound, Jiang Ming had not recruited any new hunters.
Hunting had become increasingly difficult. Many hunters had given up the trade to join the Judgment Knights instead.
There was a noticeable but not overwhelming number of hunters who made this switch, mostly those who had not participated in the Pelar Plains battle or had any contact with Song Que.
On one hand, Jiang Ming was mourning his old friend; on the other, he truly couldn't find any new recruits who suited his temperament.
His approach was more traditional, abiding by order.
The emergence of the Judgment Knights had only been a matter of months, whereas the human hunter teams' tradition had lasted for centuries. Therefore, Jiang Ming couldn't bring himself to become a Judgment Knight; he didn't trust them.
This distrust was simply distrust, unrelated to Song Que. As for Song Que, Jiang Ming preferred not to comment too much, especially since Song Que was getting along well with Tang Xian.
He didn't consider himself to have much of a relationship with Tang Xian, but recalling their early promotions and the days spent reading together, Tang Xian at least taught him one thing—before concluding anything, one must have sufficient evidence.
For various reasons, Jiang Ming was now a lone wolf. His innate abilities were not strong, but fortunately, he still had an official position within the system, so making a living was not an issue.
These days, Jiang Ming and his wife, Yang Xiaoru, were living at her parents' house. His own parents had passed away long ago, and the new year celebrations were spent at his wife's family home.
In his wife's family, there was a brother-in-law who had joined the Judgment Knights two months prior and was now responsible for guarding the family.
Jiang Ming had been uneasy these days because this brother-in-law was rather strange.
Three days ago, as Jiang Ming walked alongside the silent Judith Knight, who was on regular guard duty, he approached to strike up a conversation:
"Do you smoke?"
The Judgment Knight gave no response.
"What's the matter? Don't remember me?" Jiang Ming asked again when he got no reaction.
But the Judgment Knight remained silent, standing still like a statue.
Patted his bronze shell, Jiang Ming commented:
"Can you even take this thing off? I know it's divine technology, but you'll need to get married eventually, right? You can't wear this to the bridal chamber, can you?" Thinking that perhaps he was too stern usually, he tried a lighter tone.
Yet there was still no response.
Jiang Ming was stunned for a moment, then shook his head, wondering if his brother-in-law really disliked him that much.
He was unaware that the Judgment Knights' emotional control was in the hands of Constantine, and now, to save on management time, this authority had also been shared with Li Wanye.
Most of the time, these Judgment Knights were emotionless machines.
R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.
Their consciousnesses were trapped in the divine domain.
Finding it dull, Jiang Ming went back to talk to his mother-in-law, inquiring whether the brother-in-law was always like this, or if there was something Jiang Ming did that upset him. His mother-in-law explained it was a military regulation: unless it was a specific time, the brother-in-law hardly ever spoke.
Jiang Ming frowned, not understanding which military operation had such a ridiculous rule. It was near the new year and they were about to go on holiday, and yet they weren't allowed to speak during the day?
There was something inexplicably odd that Jiang Ming couldn't put his finger on.
He was a persistent man; once he felt something was off, he had to investigate until everything was clear.
In the following days, Jiang Ming kept trying to converse with his brother-in-law during the day, but never got him to respond.
In the afternoon, around four to five, the Judgment Knight started speaking, his voice an unpleasant mechanical synthesis with no emotional fluctuation, merely greeting the family in a straightforward manner.
Jiang Ming exchanged pleasantries with him, and the knight did not engage much, though he occasionally replied.
After five, the Judgment Knight returned to "stand by" mode, ignoring Jiang Ming no matter how he called out.
Jiang Ming could sense that during that "active" hour, this machine-like figure did indeed possess consciousness and thoughts. But for some reason, he felt that this brother-in-law—who had so honorably dedicated himself to the Judgment Knights—seemed to have no emotional connection to his own family.
At other times, Jiang Ming felt he was dealing with a mere machine, devoid of any trace of life.
This thought startled him.
That night, Jiang Ming tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
This brother-in-law may not have had much affection for him, but in the end, he was still part of his wife's family, and his wife cared deeply for him. She had mentioned several times:
The kid was very filial, treating his family well, especially toward her. Whenever she suffered even the slightest mistreatment as a child, her brother would fight fiercely to get justice for her.
Sometimes she even felt that her brother was like a guardian spirit who couldn't bear to see his sister suffer the slightest indignity.
Jiang Ming's perception was quite different.
Ever since the Judgment Knights started speaking, most suspicions about them dissipated; these warriors clad in bronze armor were typically reserved in speech, making it difficult for people to doubt them—after all, the very nature of the Judgment Knights conveyed a silent sense of security.
And during the times when the Judgment Knights were active, they could indeed call out the names of their loved ones, talk about memories of the past—even extremely private ones—so people didn't harbor suspicions.
