I Do

"Gah?" Little Dream Dragon had no idea what he meant. After Russell explained and gestured over and over, she seemed to gain a vague understanding.

Then a look of disgust appeared on her dragon face. Reluctantly, she opened her mouth and took a breath at the Half-Ghost Beast Wolfhound.

The next moment.

The blue-white light tangled around the Half-Ghost Beast Wolfhound slowly separated, bit by bit, and all the blue light flew into Little Dream Dragon's mouth.

"Gah gah!" After swallowing the blue light, Little Dream Dragon did not show the same delighted expression she had when eating a Hail Bead. Instead, she stuck out her tongue, looking as sickened as if she had eaten shit, then turned her head and shot Russell a resentful look.

"Ha ha, all right, all right, I know you've been wronged!" Russell hurriedly comforted Little Dream Dragon. "I'll definitely bring you Hail Beads to eat next time!"

"Gah!"

"Good girl!"

After soothing Little Dream Dragon, Russell carefully observed the Half-Ghost Beast Wolfhound for a while. With the Snow Demon's disruptive power extracted, it seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep. It did not move at all, and only white light flowed slowly within its body.

He had done everything he could. Whether it could survive now depended on fate—or on whether this wolfhound had enough will to live.

"Come on, let's go to the big tree." Riding Little Dream Dragon, Russell flew to the great tree that served as the boundary marker.

One minute later.

Russell let out a long sigh. "No change. Dark Dreamscape hasn't expanded at all. The Half Ghost Beast's power isn't enough to expand Dark Dreamscape... Makes sense. If it could, Snowy would have absorbed it willingly instead of so reluctantly."

He stroked his chin and thought for a moment, unable to understand.

Logically speaking, the Hail Beads condensed after a Snow Ghost died and the Snow Demon's disruptive power within a Half Ghost Beast should have come from the same source.

Why could one expand Dark Dreamscape while the other had no effect at all?

"Could it be that there's too little power inside the Half Ghost Beast?" Russell wondered, but quickly dismissed the thought. "No. Even a small amount should expand it a little, but I can see clearly now that Dark Dreamscape hasn't expanded in the slightest."

Suddenly.

Russell thought of something. "I overlooked one crucial point. The power inside a Half Ghost Beast comes directly from a Snow Demon. But the Hail Beads condensed by Snow Ghosts are actually formed from transformed Battle Aura, or from transformed primal power within Phantom Beasts."

In this process, the Snow Demon's power only acted as a catalyst. It was not directly stored within the Snow Ghost's body.

So, at its core, the power of a Hail Bead was still Earth Power.

"No wonder!" Russell suddenly understood. "No wonder Snowy likes eating Hail Beads. They're basically refined Earth Power... But the power tangled inside a Half Ghost Beast is Snow Demon Power, which conflicts with Little Dream Dragon's power."

Dragons were born from beneath the earth, naturally sharing the same origin as Earth Power. It was only natural that they liked eating Hail Beads.

Thinking of this.

Russell apologetically stroked Little Dream Dragon's neck. "Sorry, Snowy. Eating that Half Ghost Beast's Snow Demon Power must have harmed you... I definitely won't make you eat it so casually again. It's no different from forcing you to eat shit!"

"Gah!" Little Dream Dragon raised her head, not understanding.

Many times, she and Russell were not truly communicating. They were simply talking past each other. Without a real contract, they could not share thoughts.

Besides, Russell did not understand dragon language—assuming Little Dream Dragon's cries even counted as dragon language.

Then Russell felt somewhat relieved. "Good thing I didn't go to Father and ask Lord Ross to treat the Half Ghost Beast... If I forced Lord Ross to eat shit, I wonder whether he'd break through the limits of the contract and roast me alive with a mouthful of Dragon Breath."

However.

His eyes shifted, and a sinister smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "That Clay Dragon has been disrespectful to me. Sooner or later, I'll arrange for it to eat shit once!"

Little Dream Dragon would only feel sick after eating a mouthful of shit, but the Clay Dragon was merely a Wyvern. If it ate a mouthful, it would probably go mad for half a day.

Once he thought of it that way, he felt completely at ease.

"Gah!" Little Dream Dragon shook herself, seemingly displeased and already exhausted.

"Okay, go back and get some proper rest." Russell knew that after eating shit, she would inevitably feel unwell, so he hurriedly waved goodbye.

Dark Dreamscape collapsed in an instant, and his consciousness sank into boundless darkness.

It was not until the cock's crow woke Russell from his sleep. Looking up at the wall clock, he saw that it was already nine in the morning.

He had been staying up late often these past few days, successfully breaking the routine his former self had maintained for more than a decade. He had not woken before seven-thirty.

After washing up, he went downstairs.

After eating some fried eggs and bacon, Russell headed outside.

He saw that Eric and several Knight Retainers had already finished their morning training and were gathered around the kennel, arguing fiercely about something.

"My lord!"

"Good morning, my lord!"

When they saw Russell, they stopped arguing and saluted him.

"What's wrong?" Russell asked despite already knowing the answer. Something had clearly changed with the Half-Ghost Beast Wolfhound. "Why are you all gathered here arguing?"

Eric stepped aside and gestured for Russell to look. "My lord, it's very strange."

Russell looked over and found that the Half-Ghost Beast Wolfhound, which had been on its last breath yesterday, had seen the swellings on its body shrink by nearly half. It was still ugly, but at least it had regained a trace of vitality. It could climb to its feet on its own and whine at Russell.

"It seems very attached to you, my lord!" Knight Retainer James said in surprise.

John was equally astonished. "Yes, it's incredible. It tries to bite our hands whenever we touch it, but when it sees you, my lord, it becomes unbelievably obedient!"

"I thought it was going to die, but it actually came back to life," Jack said.

"Exactly, my lord. We were just betting on whether this wolfhound would die. Looks like it won't."

No one could explain what had happened to the Half-Ghost Beast Wolfhound except Russell, but he obviously had no intention of exposing his cheat.

Thus, the wolfhound's change could only be described as unbelievable.

Finally, Eric said, "My lord, the Snow Demon's disruptive power in Kevin's body has receded. Perhaps he really can survive."

This Half-Ghost Beast Wolfhound was called Kevin, a name given to him by the Wildcat Sisters.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Russell smiled.

"But it's strange. The other power in his body, the power from the earth, does not seem to have faded. It is even changing toward... primal power, toward the primal power of a Phantom Beast."

"Oh." Russell was finally surprised. "Are you saying he might still evolve into a Phantom Beast?"

Eric frowned. "Hard to say. It seems like something is missing."

"What is it missing?"

"I don't know. I've never experienced this before."

"Maybe it needs a knight to ride it, Knight Captain." James grinned from behind them. "Ride it once, and maybe it'll really evolve into a Phantom Beast."

He had only meant it as a joke.

However, Russell raised an eyebrow. "Teacher Eric, as a Great Knight, your Battle Qi Chain should be quite proficient..."

"Tempered a thousand times, my lord!" Eric seemed to understand. Clenching his fists, he replied while struggling to keep his breathing steady.

A wolfhound that was highly likely to evolve into a Phantom Beast.

A chance to become a Phantom Beast Knight, precious beyond measure.

Eric felt as though his heart was about to leap from his chest. He looked at Russell expectantly, waiting for his decision.

With a slight smile, Russell calmly asked, "Then, Eric, are you willing to pledge loyalty to me and become the sharp sword in my hand?"

Without any hesitation.

Eric dropped to one knee. "I am willing, my lord. I am willing!"