A Fine Steed Comes from Good Stock

Landen looked around. It was not only the warhorse beneath him—every warhorse in his knightly troop was showing the same frightened unease.

"Could it be that Bull Chief wasn't talking to his son at all, but intimidating the Black-Scaled Horses?"

Landen kept urging his warhorse onward, but its tension and terror only intensified. Before it had even completed one circuit, its speed had visibly dropped. Listening to Bull Chief continue to "chant," Landen activated a new Magic Crystal and drew his Magic Pattern Dagger, ready to throw it before fighting Big Bull head-on.

The Black Horse's momentum was growing weaker and weaker, while the pack beast's steps became firmer and firmer. Landen launched another Charge, dodging Big Bull's line of attack, but this time, the Black-Scaled Horse nearly lost its footing.

"Neigh! Hrrrnnngh~~" A sudden whinny rang out among Landen's knights.

"What's happening?" Raul shouted. He feared someone's horse had reached its limit and been frightened into fleeing by the chanting from across the field. One horse shrinking from battle could easily trigger a chain reaction through the entire herd.

"Neigh! Hrrrnnngh~~ roar! roar!" The whinnying grew louder and fuller of power. The neighs became roars, and within seconds, those roars drowned out Bull Chief's chanting.

The Barbarian chief felt as though someone had clamped shut his throat. What he had been chanting was the Horse-Stirring Spell passed down through his tribe. It could awaken the bloodline of Magic Beast Horses, while frightening horses that had not yet reached the level of magic beasts.

There had not been a Magic Beast Horse on Gallop Plains for countless years. The chief had never expected to see an ordinary Black-Scaled Horse break through and become a magic beast today.

All the horses in Landen's party automatically moved aside. The horse that had just roared was Neil's mount, a horse named Blaze.

Though Blaze was a Black-Scaled Horse, its coat reflected a wine-red sheen beneath the sunlight, making its entire body look as though fierce flames were burning across it.

Neil had fallen in love with Blaze the first time he saw it at Right Camp. There were now nearly two hundred Black-Scaled Horses in the camp, but Blaze was Neil's favorite. Whenever he went out on patrol, he rode Blaze, and from time to time he shared the Magic Beast Meat from his hunts with it.

"Blaze." Neil felt his companion's abdomen rising and falling with each breath. He knew that this fiery horse was deeply displeased by the Bull Tribe's spell.

Blaze was becoming increasingly restless, like a star about to step onto the stage. Wind Elements carved flame-red markings around its hooves, while the wine-red flame patterns across its body became even more vivid under the sun.

"Hrrrnnngh~~ roar! roar!"

Blaze's tall body suddenly reared up, its two forehooves kicking ceaselessly through the air.

Neil knew Blaze was about to step onto the dueling ground. "My lord, ride Blaze!" He hurriedly dismounted.

With the chief's spell interrupted by Blaze, the duel between Landen and Big Bull came to a temporary standstill. Both sides were watching Blaze.

Landen wanted to know what had happened to the horse Neil favored, while Big Bull knew that a Black-Scaled Horse that had been a Level 0 magic beast had become a low-level magic beast. This horse was now the king of the opposing tribe's herd.

Blaze did not hesitate. It immediately broke into a swift trot and accelerated into the battlefield, heading straight for Landen. Knowing that Blaze alone was unaffected by Bull Chief's chant, Landen leaped directly from his own horse onto Blaze's back.

Blaze had only just become a magic beast and could not possibly condense a Magic Core in an instant, but the battle qi Landen sent into it made Blaze feel an unfamiliar fullness and strength.

"Roar! Roar!" Blaze roared like a true magic beast.

"Neigh! Hrrrnnngh~~" The entire herd cheered the birth of its horse king.

"Clop... clop..." Switching from a Black-Scaled Horse to Blaze made Landen feel as if he had traded a bicycle for an electric bike. Blaze seemed to understand his thoughts; Landen was no longer controlling it with the reins, but directly through the strength of his battle qi.

In Big Bull's eyes, Landen was now riding atop a ball of fire. Before Big Bull could even urge his pack beast forward, Landen had already killed his way before him. Big Bull barely managed to block once before being sent flying.

Landen felt the difference between launching a Charge on an ordinary Black-Scaled Horse and launching one atop Blaze. What had once required vast amounts of battle qi to sustain now took only one-fifth as much, leaving the rest to be infused into his weapon.

Landen defeated Big Bull without question. The knights behind him and the Gallop Tribe cavalry cheered together, while the Black-Scaled Horses beneath them whinnied without pause.

The Barbarians of the Bull Tribe all dropped to their knees to welcome their new chief. Only the old Bull Chief cried out in grief as he ran toward the dueling ground.

The old chief passed directly by Landen and his son, Big Bull, running instead to Big Bull's pack beast. He kept stroking the pack beast's head with both hands, mumbling words no outsider could understand.

Landen had originally thought the old bull was fiercely protective of his calf. Who would have thought the one he protected was not his own flesh and blood?

After soothing the pack beast for a while, the old chief began shouting in a stream of incomprehensible words. Neil ran over at that point and told Landen that Bull Chief acknowledged Landen's victory in the duel, but hoped Landen would allow him to leave the tribe and take this pack beast with him.

Landen could roughly understand how the old chief felt. This unusual pack beast had probably been raised with the chief's heart's blood. Since he wished to leave with nothing but his mount, Landen had no objection.

Landen's greatest gain from this battle was Blaze becoming a low-level magic beast. After its breakthrough, the flame patterns on Blaze's body became more distinct, and its eyes clearer as well.

After watching Bull Chief leave with his "own flesh and blood," Landen went into the chief's tent to tally the spoils. Raul led the cavalry to free the Human Race Mana-Wielders in the tribe.

Neil handed the task of gathering the Barbarian Cavalry to his deputy, Big Stone, then ran to Blaze's side, intending to soothe it as he usually did.

"Roar! Roar!" Blaze struggled violently. It clearly did not want Neil holding its reins, and the force of its struggling was so great that Neil could not steady it.

"Blaze?... Blaze? You... you don't recognize me anymore?" Neil knew that after becoming a magic beast, Blaze would certainly become Landen's mount. He had no desire to steal Landen's Magic Beast Horse; he only wanted to spend this afternoon being close to Blaze a little longer.

"Neil!" Hearing Blaze's cries, Raul hurried over. "Blaze is Lord Landen's mount now. Magic beasts are far more intelligent than ordinary animals. Powerful magic beasts will only submit to powerful knights."

Raul's meaning was perfectly clear: he wanted Neil to keep his distance from Blaze.

In truth, Landen was in the tent beside them. Since becoming an Intermediate Knight, not only had his body been strengthened, but his senses had grown sharper as well.

Landen clearly heard Blaze's roars, Neil's calls, and Raul's advice.

Landen did not doubt that he alone in the entire territory could now control Blaze. The moment he had linked his battle qi with Blaze during the fight, Landen had seemed to sense Blaze's thoughts.

After its breakthrough, Blaze proudly believed itself to be the natural leader of the entire herd, and it longed to grow ever stronger.

The moment Landen's battle qi reached it, Blaze developed an immense craving for it. Blaze too could sense that battle qi could strengthen its muscles and condense its Magic Core. That was why Landen had gained Blaze's recognition.