After circling the island, just as Kosto had predicted, Black Horse Island is indeed a slightly oval-shaped island.
There are no natural, sheltered harbors; the most suitable place to build a seaport is the Rocky Wharf where we moored last night. However, it's difficult to berth large ocean-going vessels because the water depth is insufficient. Even medium-sized merchant ships like the Flower are somewhat overwhelmed.
When the sun begins to release heat.
The group gradually ventured deeper into the heart of Black Horse Island in search of the Li Dragon Horse herd.
The island has few trees and the mountains are not very hilly, so the view is wide and you can see very far. Marcus kept using his monoculars to look for the horses along the way, and soon found the tracks he was looking for without much effort.
"Sir, this is horse manure! The herd of Li Dragon Horse is nearby!" he exclaimed excitedly as he bent down and used a stick to turn over a small black ball in the grass.
A knight's familiarity with horse manure far surpasses his knowledge of the number of moles on his wife's body.
Liszt was no stranger to horse manure. Hearing this, he looked up at the gentle hill in front of him. "It should be on the other side of the hill. Let's go around it."
Dousen, with his dog leading the way, carried Liszt, taking small, quick steps.
Marcus and his companions had no mounts and could only trot along. After a short while, the group successfully crossed the thicket and arrived at the other side of the hill. Without needing binoculars, they could see a herd of black wild horses grazing leisurely on the distant hillside, looking quite content.
"A herd of Li Dragon Horse!"
"They're all black horses, they must be Li Dragon Horse!"
"Don't rush over. Observe carefully first and count how many horses there are." Liszt calmly took out his binoculars and looked at the herd of Li Dragon Horse.
In the shot.
One after another, magnificent horses, no less sturdy than the Li Dragon Horse horse in the castle, seemed oblivious to their group, preoccupied only with grazing and frolicking.
One, two, three... there were a total of thirty-seven black horses.
It was a small herd of horses, but for Liszt it was a major find, because every single one of those dark horses could be Dragon-Blood Horse!
Marcus finished counting the horses, his excitement barely contained. "My lord, there are thirty-seven in total, including nine foals. The remaining twenty-eight are enough to arm two squads of knights!"
"Professor Marcus, you can own one of them right now."
"Thank you, sir!" Marcus wished he could rush up and capture a black horse to tame it immediately, but in order not to disturb the herd, he said, "Among these wild horses, there must be a king among them. Your Excellency should tame the king horse yourself, and the remaining Li Dragon Horse will not run away."
"Horse King" is a common term; in a herd of wild horses, there will always be a leader. It is usually the most courageous stallion that leads and protects the herd.
Once the horse king is tamed, the other horses will still habitually obey its leadership, meaning the entire herd will be tamed.
"Can you be sure which one is the King Horse?" Liszt was eager to try. The King Horse rightfully belonged to him; only a lord was entitled to ride it.
"It's simple, we intimidate the herd, and the one in the lead is the king of the horses."
The task of intimidation was directly assigned to Dousen. As soon as Dousen appeared, the aura of a mid-level magical beast startled the herd of Li Dragon Horse. Then, the horses abandoned their grazing and all turned and ran.
"Make sure you can see which one it is?"
"Look closely, sir. The Horse King is that black horse with a purplish-red spot on its forehead. It has the longest mane and is the tallest. I feel it's even more magnificent than your Li Dragon Horse."
Liszt said, "Let's first survey the surrounding terrain. Once the horses relax, we'll surround and capture them, and I'll personally tame the king horse!"
The Li Dragon Horse herd is already trapped, so there's no need to be too nervous.
The place where he was located was roughly in the south-central part of the island, on the northern slope of the highest hill, which was the grazing pasture for the Li Dragon Horse herd. The pasture was very large, stretching from one hill to another, including the valleys, and was sparsely wooded.
"This is a natural pasture. I have found four kinds of high-quality grasses. Please take a look, sir..." Marcus knew the grasses like the back of his hand.
"This is sheepgrass, the most suitable for grazing sheep. There isn't much of it, but it's very nutritious. This is Needlegrass, which horses love to eat, but the Needlegrass here isn't growing very well. This is Alfalfa, which won't grow well without the Elf Bug. This is Ice Grass, an excellent forage grass, but unfortunately it's not growing well and the plants are rather short."
This pasture on Black Horse Island has the potential to become a top-tier ranch, with a very rich variety of forage grasses. However, the soil is barren and lacks the care of Elf Bug, resulting in generally poor grass growth.
This is probably why the Li Dragon Horse herd only has thirty-seven horses; the pastures cannot support more wild horses.
The team continued their exploration.
We ventured deep into the northeastern part of Black Horse Island, climbed the highest hill, and barely caught a glimpse of the island's outline. The island was oval-shaped, lacking in elevation; the highest hill was the one we were standing on, its height estimated to be no more than 300 meters. There were also three other low hills.
Four hills, distributed in the shape of a "kou", form the topography of the island.
"Let's mark them first, and call them Ryegrass Hill, Needlegrass Hill, Clover Hill, and Ice Grass Hill at our feet." Liszt irresponsibly named the four hills.
Standing Ice Grass Hill, one can see the Li Dragon Horse Needlegrass Hill once again. The pasture stretches from the Ryegrass Hill to the Needlegrass Hill, and half of the Clover Hill. On the slopes from the Clover Hill to the Ice Grass Hill, miscellaneous trees begin to increase, while the pasture grass gradually decreases.
"Cut down all the miscellaneous trees here, cultivate pasture, and expand the size of the Li Dragon Horse herd."
Liszt had already envisioned the magnificent sight of the Li Dragon Horse galloping back and forth between the four hills in the future. Of course, now was not the time for imagination. He and Marcus discussed and planned how to tame the horse king.
It doesn't involve much technology.
The plan was to divide the accompanying Retainer Knight and sailors into four groups and approach the herd of Li Dragon Horse Li Dragon Horse horses from four directions, causing the horses to lose their footing and become disorganized. Then Liszt would charge forward, mount the horse king, and begin to tame it—for an elite Earth Knight, taming a horse was a piece of cake.
so.
One hour later.
Liszt then put his arm around the horse's neck, letting the horse jump and leap about, carrying him across the hillside.
A wrestling match between a centaur and a horse.
He even found himself humming a song. "Spinning, leaping, I close my eyes..."
Another half hour passed, and the Horse King showed no sign of stopping, still running wildly all over the hillside. Compared to when it tamed the Li Dragon Horse, the Horse King was clearly stronger and more patient.
But in the end, it was still surrender.
After an unknown period of time, the horse lowered its proud head, allowing Liszt to ride and drive it.
"Congratulations, sir, on acquiring an even more magnificent mount!"
"Indeed, it's stronger and taller than the Li Dragon Horse." Liszt took the handkerchief Thomas handed him, wiped his sweat, and tossed it back. His tone was filled with undisguised excitement. He stroked the horse king's neck again and again. "Do you see the purplish-red hair on its forehead? Doesn't it look like a Lightning?"
A slight smile.
He announced, "The champion horse of this herd of Li Dragon Horse will be named Lightning!"