The Commander of the Knights of the Blood Cross, sworn to the Yuras Empire, the Crusader, Raphael Martinez.

Eugene had also heard several stories about the man.

His name was one of the ones that cropped up whenever it came to discussing the continent’s strongest warriors.

The Council Head of the Black Lion Castle.

The Commander of the White Dragon Knights.

Shimuin’s Twelve Finest.

The king of Northern Ruhr.

And the Commander of the Knights of the Blood Cross.

Eugene watched as the man walked towards them from the other side of the forest.

The years that this man had seen surpassed those seen by Carmen or Alchester and were comparable to the hundreds of years lived by the now-deceased Doynes Lionheart. However, from his appearance, it was hard to believe that the man who was now approaching them had lived for over a hundred years.

Raphael looked like he hadn’t even reached puberty. Calling him a ‘young man’ would actually be overstating it, as by all appearances, he looked like a boy. A young boy with beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes….

However, those large blue eyes didn’t carry even the slightest hint of boyish innocence. Instead, the desolate and somber look in his eyes combined with his boyish appearance to create a strange atmosphere.

‘It really is bizarre,’ Eugene admitted to himself.

Although he had heard about this several times, this was Eugene’s first time seeing it in person. But possessing an appearance that was different from the actual years lived was nothing special for someone who had reached such a level of strength.

It was only natural for a younger body to be stronger than an older body. Therefore, as soon as wizards, knights, and other types of warriors reached the point where they could perfectly control their bodies with mana, they would reconstruct their old bodies into younger bodies.

After rejuvenating their bodies, what they did with their ‘looks’ depended on their taste and status. For example, they might put on a dignified appearance that matched their age, or they might just follow the example of their body and make their face younger as well.

If they didn’t care about the surrounding opinions or their own position of authority, they might decide to keep a young body, and appearance like Carmen did. On the other hand, if they did care about the looks that their station would draw, they might maintain a dignified middle-aged look like Klein, the current Council Head, or Gilead, the Patriarch of the clan.

However, Raphael was going too far. Or at least that’s what it looked like in Eugene’s eyes. Not only did he have a young boy’s face, but he also had an immature body to match. Was he about a hundred and sixty centimeters tall? Eugene guessed that it wasn’t that short, but….

‘They do say that his growth stopped during his childhood.’

Compared with other knights, Raphael...