Essence Breath Blooms

A solemn oath of fealty is a crucial ritual for Knights; only after taking such an oath can one become a follower of the Lord.

An oath is a contract; those who break it will be disdained by the Dragon.

Followers are like the Lord's confidants and close aides, fighting for the Lord's glory.

Therefore, only by having Eric swear fealty and become his follower can Russell treat him sincerely and share his glory and authority—bestowing upon Eric the contract rights to the Half-Ghost Beast Wolfhound that the Little Dream Dragon painstakingly healed.

Of course, the Wildcat Sisters are not present, so Russell cannot ask for their opinion.

There's no need to ask, anyway. Setting aside Katie's prior statement that if Kevin was healed, the Wildcat Sisters would do as commanded, even if he did ask, the Wildcat Sisters couldn't afford the cost of healing Kevin unless they sold themselves.

Moreover, whether Kevin becomes a common wolfhound or a sentient Phantom Beast is not something that needs consideration.

What's more, the Grand Duchy's laws stipulate that all magical creations within its territory belong to the Lord!

With Russell's permission, Eric took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the wolfhound in the kennel.

However, the wolfhound remained resistant to Eric. As Eric reached out to touch it, it immediately bristled, letting out a mournful howl.

"My Lord, I..."

Eric's face darkened, his mind buzzing. He hadn't expected the wolfhound to resist his attempt to contract with it at all.

For a Great Knight to advance to Phantom Beast Knight, it's not enough to simply obtain a Phantom Beast to contract with. They must achieve mutual understanding and recognition to form a contract. If the Phantom Beast resists, the contract cannot succeed.

Although this wolfhound wasn't a Phantom Beast yet, it still resisted Eric.

Furthermore, Eric didn't have enough time to cultivate rapport with the wolfhound, as the Earth Power within it could dissipate at any moment.

Once that happened, the wolfhound would have no chance to evolve into a Phantom Beast.

Frowning, Russell felt a bit awkward. He had also oversimplified the matter; the wolfhound wasn't an object to be manipulated at will.

However, he quickly reassured Eric, "Eric, remain calm."

Eric responded dully, "Yes, my Lord."

Russell walked to the edge of the kennel, preparing to personally train the wolfhound, Kevin. Suddenly, he turned and asked, "Eric, do you regret it?"

He had offered the chance to contract a Phantom Beast in exchange for Eric's loyalty, but now, that opportunity had clearly vanished.

Eric didn't hesitate, merely stating dully, "No."

There were no embellishments, no resentment.

Of course, his face was undeniably a little grim. Losing such a rare contracting opportunity would break the heart of any Great Knight.

"Very good!" Russell smiled. "Don't be discouraged. Not only might things still turn around, but even if this attempt fails, there will be another. Eric, this is a promise I make to my follower, as your Lord."

"My Lord, you don't need to promise; I believe in you!" Eric nodded heavily. "I am willing to follow you and achieve great deeds!"

"We will build something great," Russell responded solemnly.

He then turned to his four Knight Retainers and said calmly, "When you all reach the Great Knight level, I will give you opportunities as well."

The Knight Retainers rejoiced, striking their right fists against their chests. "Yes, my Lord!"

After a moment of appeasing his subordinates, Russell turned back to the wolfhound Kevin in the kennel, gently stroking its relatively intact fur. "Kevin, your name is Kevin, isn't it? You're a very obedient wolfhound."

"Whine." Wolfhound Kevin turned its head and licked Russell's palm, docile and affectionate.

Clearly.

Wolfhound Kevin could sense something. Perhaps it was the aura of the Little Dream Dragon on Russell, or perhaps it was an animal's intuition.

In any case, it showed no resistance towards Russell.

If Russell were a Great Knight now, the contract would have proceeded smoothly. Unfortunately, he wasn't, and without cultivating Battle Qi chains, he couldn't contract a Phantom Beast.

"Kevin, you understand I won't harm you, right?"

"Whine."

"Very good, such a good dog." Russell praised wolfhound Kevin, then beckoned to Eric. "Come, I'll calm Kevin down, and you try to contract with it."

Seeing this, Eric's hope rekindled. He crouched down, circulated his Battle Qi chains, and prepared to touch wolfhound Kevin.

As Kevin was about to resist, Russell quickly rubbed its head. "Don't resist. Contract with Eric; this is the only way to help you. Kevin, you don't want to be a muddled beast forever, do you? Now is your chance to change your fate."

It was unclear if Kevin understood.

Under Russell's soothing touch, it gradually relaxed, allowing Eric to stroke its body and inject his Battle Qi chains into it.

A bridge was formed between it and Eric.

Eric's surging Battle Qi began to guide the somewhat shrunken Earth Power within Kevin, using the Battle Qi chains.

With assistance, the Earth Power flowed anew within Kevin like a cheerful stream. As it passed over the areas with tumors, it acted like a potent elixir, swiftly drawing out the restless energy from the tumors and causing the tumors to vanish miraculously.

One minute, two minutes... Eric guided for a full fifteen minutes.

At this point, all of Kevin's tumors had disappeared, and its Earth Power had reached its critical threshold, transforming into the Origin Power of a Phantom Beast.

Its fur regained its luster, revealing a handsome, grayish-brown wolfhound.

But it was still missing the final step.

"Awooo!" Wolfhound Kevin let out a pained howl as unfamiliar power surged within its body. This was an experience it had never felt before.

"Sir, just a little more!" Eric's forehead was beaded with sweat; he'd been maintaining the Battle Qi chain for far too long.

Russell didn't know what else he could do at this moment, so he could only try his best to soothe the wolfhound Kevin: "Be good, Kevin, be good. Contract with Eric, and after the contract, you will break free from the category of beasts and become a more powerful Phantom Beast!"

It was as if this sentence had an effect.

A flash of light flickered in the wolfhound Kevin's eyes. Then, it turned its head and bit Eric's arm. It didn't use too much force, but it still drew blood.

As the blood dripped, the power intertwined between Eric and the wolfhound Kevin seemed to trigger a chain reaction. In an instant, it underwent a mysterious and profound change, transforming into another entirely new power that was indistinguishable from each other.

Essence Breath!

A power formed by the fusion of Battle Qi and Origin Power, exclusive to Phantom Beast Knights!

BOOM!

The Essence Breath erupted, pushing Russell back with this powerful new force. He stumbled back several steps before steadying himself.

"Ah!" Eric roared.

The wolfhound Kevin followed with a howl: "Awooo!"

Then, its body seemed to swell. From the size of an ordinary wolfhound, it directly expanded to the size of a leopard. Its fur became longer and shinier, and fangs protruded from its lips, as majestic as the saber-toothed tigers on Earth.

The most peculiar thing was that its eyes emitted two beams of light like flashlights.

After the light subsided, its eyes had turned one gold and one silver, gold on the left and silver on the right, giving them an unusual aesthetic.

Evolution complete, Essence Breath surging.

The wolfhound Kevin, with its gold and silver eyes, couldn't help but look up to the sky and howl: "Awooo awooo awoooooooo!"

"Oh, my god!"

At the entrance of the manor's courtyard, Charles, who had just stepped out with his hair a mess, opened his mouth wide: "What happened here? Can someone tell me what's going on right now?"