Chapter 301: Chapter 297: Jumping Off the Cliff
"Look at how blue the sky is! Walk over, and you can melt into this blue sky. Go ahead, walk straight forward, don’t look to the sides." Perfikot stood aside, with a mischievous smile, speaking to the hesitant White Bear Knight in front of her: "Jump down here, John jumped down, Weber jumped down too, so please jump down as well.
Jump now! Come on, have you made up your mind? Huh? Why are you scared? Why are your legs shaking?!"
Seeing the White Bear Knight’s legs trembling as he stood at the edge of Eagle’s Beak Cliff, Perfikot was laughing so hard she almost couldn’t stand.
Indeed, the condition she set for these White Bear Knights was to jump off Eagle’s Beak Cliff.
After all, they wanted to wear the flying knight armor and become a flying knight soaring in the sky. If they couldn’t even overcome this, they would be a disgrace even if they were above the clouds, unable to become true flying knights.
The courage to jump off the cliff, and the ability to stand at the edge, are both necessary conditions to become a flying knight.
In the end, someone who has acrophobia and cannot even stand steadily at a height cannot learn to fly.
This is why Perfikot proposed such an outrageous condition, having her loyal knights jump off the cliff while she laughed heartily from the side.
It’s not that she really had such a bad heart, using these knights who were willing to give their lives for her for amusement.
It’s just that as she watched these knights who had just shown a fearless face become weak-kneed at the cliff’s edge, if she didn’t use some playful words to lighten the mood, these knights, who valued honor over life itself, would indeed commit suicide out of humiliation.
This is no joke, because the first knight who dared not jump was so agitated by the gaze of others that he drew a dagger and wanted to cut his throat.
If Perfikot hadn’t stepped forward and joked to diffuse the situation, Eagle’s Beak Cliff might have had more than one or two fatalities today.
Because up to now, Perfikot had gathered about eighty White Bear Knights, yet fewer than ten dared to jump.
It’s not that these knights lacked courage, but for those who have spent their lives with both feet on the ground, standing at the edge makes them unconsciously retreat and their legs shake.
It’s a completely different experience from riding the Flying Airship. On the Flying Airship, although you fly high, factors like railings and protective glass make it feel high yet safe.
Standing at the cliff is different; there’s nothing to grasp, just an empty void beneath your feet, especially as Perfikot used alchemy to extend the already protruding cliff into a solitary extension, making it even scarier.
Summoning courage to walk onto the final extension of the cliff is enough to prove one’s bravery, and standing on it without softening knees, daring to jump straight down, is extraordinary courage that not everyone possesses.
However, for a knight to show retreat and fear in front of their lord and peers is a disgrace to a knight’s career.
Especially since this is an honor selection; those who pass can become flying knights, admired by many, increasing the impossibility for these knights who value honor to tolerate their own cowardice.
Yet, seeing the White Bear Knight unable to conquer his fear and not jump, Perfikot sincerely said to the others: "Don’t feel ashamed for not daring to jump, it’s normal to feel fear for the first time since this is human instinct.
It doesn’t concern bravery, because as long as you dare to stand here, you’ve already proven your bravery. Not jumping merely means your body is resisting.
Your body’s survival instinct is telling you that jumping will lead to death! Even though I’ve set up protection below, and you won’t be harmed if you jump, it’s not easy to overcome this biological fear instinct.
Thus, you need not feel shame; I know if it were a life-and-death situation, or if I ordered you to jump, you would do so without hesitation! That’s all that matters."
After Perfikot finished her words, most White Bear Knights showed expressions of both shame and guilt on their faces.
Shame for not daring to jump, unable to overcome the physiological instincts Perfikot mentioned.
After all, they saw Perfikot set up a safe zone using the Flying Stone’s Anti-Gravity Field below the cliff. If you don’t do anything reckless and confirm the landing spot, there won’t be any issue.
Besides, even if you jump off target, with their average great knight level skill and physical quality, dying from the fall is almost impossible, at most just suffering fractures.
After all, Eagle’s Beak Cliff isn’t exceedingly high; at most, it’s only a few dozen meters tall, a height where even without protection, a great knight might be injured but not killed.
Perfikot’s test, as she mentioned, merely tests courage and physical adaptability, screening the group for any acrophobia.
Just like the selection of pilots in the original world, if physical fitness isn’t up to par, you can’t become a pilot either. Flying knights differ from ordinary Steam Knights; the profession demands significant physical flexibility, judgment, and reaction capabilities.
Overcoming physiological discomfort to jump a cliff is just the most basic test; Perfikot still has various other tests afterward, jumping doesn’t guarantee becoming a flying knight.
Jumping a cliff merely offers a chance to become a flying knight.
If you can’t even like this, then nothing is left to say. It’s like a pilot who dares not take off; how can you become a flying knight and engage in aerial combat?
Of course, Perfikot would never declare such morale-undermining words directly, as these individuals are her solid supporters, her most reliable armed force.
Unpleasant as it sounds, with the current loyalty of the White Bear Knights, if Perfikot were to command them to die, they would indeed cut their own throats.
Even if Perfikot wished to betray the Empire and declare war on the Empire’s mainland, these knights would largely remain loyal to her rather than to the Victor Empire, for this is knightly loyalty.
Thus, Perfikot needs to soothe them, to ensure this meticulously crafted Knight Order’s morale and spirit aren’t affected by such matters.