Magic Beast Knight

Lei Mo arrived at Jien City, a border town of the Keaton Kingdom, a few days ago.

Although Jien City is a small border town, its proximity to the Seti Mountains—a region where duchies frequently rise and fall amidst constant warfare—has made its populace fierce and hardy.

Jien is garrisoned by a squad of Magic Beast Knights; on one hand, this prevents chaos from spilling into Keaton, and on the other, it facilitates the recruitment of powerful individuals from the turbulent regions.

The Keaton Kingdom has grown increasingly prosperous as a result. For duchies like the Sunier Duchy, not being annexed by Keaton is both a stroke of luck and a tragedy.

Keaton prefers not to face the Magic Beasts of the Seti Mountains directly, yet it desires a steady influx of powerful warriors, so it has left dozens of duchies along the Seti Mountains intact.

Nations like the Sunier Duchy are miserable; the commoners living there must endure both the exploitation of their nobles and the predations of Magic Beasts.

After observing for three days, Lei Mo decided to leave. The strongest member of the Magic Beast Knights in Jien City is only a seventh-rank warrior, and his mount is merely a sixth-rank Jungle Gray Wolf; he is not qualified to assess Lei Mo.

He decided to head straight for the royal capital. Padon City, the capital of the Keaton Kingdom, is located in the eastern part of the kingdom, thousands of kilometers away from Jien City, but Lei Mo was in no rush.

Though Jien is small, it is much larger than the towns on the Sunier border, and major factions have already established branches here.

Lei Mo did not rush off because he wanted to gather intelligence, such as the basic situation of the Keaton Kingdom, and he spent ten gold coins to purchase a map of the kingdom and its surrounding areas.

The Keaton Kingdom is one of the leaders of the Seti Alliance, which is composed of over a dozen kingdoms near the Seti Mountains, and it has long been in a state of hostility with the Lombardy Alliance to the northeast.

The alliance on Keaton's side is named for its proximity to the Seti Mountains, while the Lombardy Alliance is near Lombardy Lake, which produces many water-element mages; their magic legions are unrivaled for hundreds of thousands of miles around.

Lei Mo had no time to concern himself with these matters for now. After resting, he set off for Padon City. The journey was leisurely—truly leisurely. Compared to the Seti Mountains, this place was far too safe. He spent the journey eating delicacies and savoring the exotic local customs.

He was in no hurry, but the speed of a Saint-level mage was undeniable. He traveled by day using his warrior strength while using his Saint-level spiritual sense to scout.

If he encountered a town, he would stay in an inn; if not, he would create a vine treehouse in the wild. He spent his nights in meditation, keeping his life and cultivation perfectly balanced.

Occasionally, he would see injustices; if he felt like it, he would intervene, and if not, he would walk away. He made no judgments of right or wrong, acting entirely on his own whims, and if anyone asked, he would simply use the name of Franklin.

In this way, Lei Mo felt the world becoming increasingly intimate. He was no longer swayed by external objects or personal gains and losses. Wandering between heaven and earth, his killings were all left to fate.

Time slipped away quietly. Whether it had been ten days or half a month, Lei Mo arrived outside Padon City. Riding on the back of a five-to-six-meter-long Divine Wind Bear, the flat and soft back of the beast was so comfortable that Lei Mo closed his eyes.

Upon reaching the city gate, the royal guards, who had seen their fair share of the world, dared not stop him. Lei Mo entered Padon City while still asleep—a humorous sight indeed.

Lei Mo felt nothing of the grandeur or the vicissitudes of the Keaton capital before he was already inside the city.

He found a tavern and walked in, ordering beer and roasted meat with the familiarity of a regular; he had certainly visited many taverns along the way.

"Have you heard? The Magic Beast Knights have produced a powerhouse who subdued a peak ninth-rank Magic Beast—a Flame Mad Lion!"

A fellow who looked like an adventurer said loudly.

"I heard. Who exactly is it?" someone replied.

The adventurer-looking fellow pursed his lips, acting coy.

"Bartender, bring a large barrel of Lader Dark Beer, put it on my tab!"

The person who had asked spoke up.

"It's Captain Morton, one of the former captains of the Magic Beast Knights. He subdued a ninth-rank Flame Mad Lion in the Seti Mountains and was directly enfeoffed as a Count by the King!"

The adventurer-looking fellow then said slowly.

"Hiss—" A collective intake of breath followed. Although the Keaton Kingdom is a powerful kingdom, Marquises are rare, limited to a few founding families.

Duchy families are all branches of the royal family, and for commoners, the ceiling is the rank of Count. There hadn't been a newly enfeoffed Count in decades.

Lei Mo sat in the tavern hall, drinking beer and eating roasted meat. He had come here to listen for information; although he couldn't learn any deep secrets, the hearsay was still useful to him!

For the past few days, Lei Mo had come to the tavern to eat and drink, chatting and joking with the adventurers inside, and he had heard some true and false information.

The Keaton Kingdom was founded by the Saint-level powerhouse Tagore Keaton several thousand years ago, and the current King is already a descendant of Tagore's many generations down.

That's right, the term for humans above the ninth rank is Saint-level!

Tagore Keaton has been in deep seclusion for years and has not appeared for hundreds of years; usually, the ninth-rank powerhouses are the ones in charge.

The Magic Beast Knights were founded by Tagore's most gifted grandson, John Keaton, just a century after the founding of the Keaton Kingdom.

John Keaton possesses a peak ninth-rank Magic Beast—a Holy Light Tiger—which excels in light-based healing magic. Working in perfect harmony with John Keaton, the two of them can easily contend against three or four ninth-rank powerhouses.

Today, Lei Mo arrived at the headquarters of the Magic Beast Knights in the royal capital, Padon City. It was a castle covering hundreds of acres and about a hundred meters high, with various Magic Beasts carved into its outer walls.

In the center of the small square in front of the main gate stood a twenty-meter-tall statue of a Holy Light Tiger, rearing up in a pouncing posture.

Normally, this action would highlight the ferocity of a tiger, yet this posture of the Holy Light Tiger gave one a sense of nobility and holiness—it was quite unique!

Lei Mo rode the Divine Wind Bear through the main gate slowly. The guards at the entrance had sharp eyes and did not stop him; it was clear they recognized the Divine Wind Bear. A powerhouse capable of subduing a ninth-rank Magic Beast was not someone two fifth-rank warriors could afford to provoke.

Entering the interior of the castle, the twenty-meter-high ceiling of the hall made the Divine Wind Bear seem not so enormous. Lei Mo dismounted and walked in slowly.

"Greetings, my lord. May I ask what you require?" a young lady with golden hair asked softly.

The young girl had a pretty face, and her hair was tied in a high ponytail, making her look capable and full of youthful vitality.

"Hello, I would like to join the Keaton Kingdom's Magic Beast Knights. May I ask how I should go about it?" Lei Mo asked politely.

"Ah—hello, hello!"

The blonde girl was a bit excited. Could it be that she had a performance quota to meet?

"You—you only need to submit an application and wait for the Knights' audit. Once the audit passes, you can join the Keaton Kingdom and become a member of the Knights," the blonde girl replied quickly. "A powerhouse like you will surely pass the assessment!"

"Joking aside, if a powerhouse with a level nine Magic Beast as a mount couldn't pass, then the Magic Beast Knights should just disband!"

The blonde girl thought to herself.

"Alright! Then—where can I fill out an application?" Lei Mo continued to ask.

"My lord! Please, this way, I will lead the way for you."

The blonde girl hurriedly led the way, guiding Lei Mo into a room decorated in a rustic style.

After respectfully inviting Lei Mo to sit, she went to retrieve the files. Lei Mo took a glance around; the room was several hundred square meters, with walls covered in relief carvings.

There was also a weapon rack adorned with various types of armaments. He didn't know if they were powerful or not, but they were certainly exquisite.

Two sets of full-body armor hung on the walls: one was gold, decorated with various emblems and sashes, while the other was white, carved with reliefs of Magic Beasts, looking quite ostentatious.

"What's the point of these? They're all just cumbersome trinkets!"

As a Tauren, Lei Mo couldn't appreciate such flashy equipment; perhaps this was just what humans were into!