Earth Knight and Wind Blade Wolf

As Earth Knight Marcus's battle qi was highly sensitive to similar forces such as magic power and battle qi, if he said there was a magical beast, he couldn't be wrong.

Liszt immediately grew tense.

The four squire knights hurriedly packed up the tableware. They were ordinary people who hadn't even cultivated battle qi; facing a magical beast was basically asking for death.

Marcus had already swung himself onto his horse. "Don't bother packing the tableware. Help Baron Liszt mount up and prepare for battle!"

The squire knights hurried over to assist Liszt.

But Liszt was still an apprentice knight with beginner-level battle qi, far stronger than ordinary people. Suppressing the tension in his heart, he mounted in one smooth motion. No matter how magnificent the Fire Dragon Horse was, it was still young and had never seen a battlefield, so it was just as nervous. Liszt had to stroke its mane to calm it down.

Snort!

Encouraged by its master, the Fire Dragon Horse's tense body relaxed somewhat. As the Count's birthday gift to his son, its bloodline was hardly poor. It carried the bloodline of the low-level magical beast Fire-Fierce Horse and was highly adaptable.

Within a few breaths—

The magical beast Marcus had sensed emerged from the depths of the forest. It was an enormous gray wolf with two pale cyan markings on its body.

"It's a Wind Blade Wolf! A low-level magical beast! Fall back, I'll handle it!" Marcus raised his short spear. Though called a short spear, it was actually a knight's lance for close combat, longer than a person was tall.

As he spoke—

Marcus suddenly let out a thunderous roar. "Hah!"

Intermediate battle qi vibrated and resonated within his mouth like an exploding bomb, and the tremendous roar shook the surrounding leaves until they rustled.

He hoped to frighten off the Wind Blade Wolf.

The Wind Blade Wolf lowered its body and retreated slightly. It looked as though it was about to flee, but that was merely the prelude to an attack. Marcus, however, squeezed his legs against his horse's sides and charged forward on his Yellow-Gray Horse with lance in hand.

The Wind Blade Wolf leaped at Marcus. At the same time, several pale cyan Wind Blades abruptly appeared before it, spinning as they sliced toward him.

The tip of the knight's lance trembled as a faint milky-white glow clung to it. It swiftly struck the Wind Blades and shattered them one by one. Then Marcus swung his lance behind his back, tracing an oval arc as he charged from the other side and accurately struck the leaping Wind Blade Wolf.

In the critical moment, the Wind Blade Wolf twisted its body and dodged the lance, but the milky-white glow on it still carved a wound into its flesh, blood pouring from it without end.

The moment it landed, it wildly unleashed several Wind Blades.

Marcus and his horse moved as one, narrowly dodging the Wind Blades. By then, the distance between him and the Wind Blade Wolf had widened. He charged several times, trying to engage in close combat. But the Wind Blade Wolf was intelligent and always kept its distance, releasing Wind Blades from the perimeter to wear him down—another difference between magical beasts and ordinary wild animals was their intelligence.

In a battle of attrition like this, the magical beast, whose magic power recovered extremely quickly, was hardly affected at all.

But a knight's battle qi couldn't last long.

Still, Marcus proved through his strength why he had the confidence to win merits on the battlefield and earn the noble honor of Baronet Knight. He hung up his lance, turned, and drew the bow from his back. The moment he took it in hand, he fired two arrows at once. Infused with battle qi, the arrows shot out like streaks of lightning.

Disdain flashed through the Wind Blade Wolf's eyes. It only needed to lightly twist its waist to evade the arrows' trajectory.

But the next instant, its disdain turned into terror.

The two arrows actually collided in midair, abruptly changing direction before viciously piercing the Wind Blade Wolf's back.

"What incredible archery. As expected of the knight order's master archer!" Liszt, watching the battle, was truly astonished. The tension had already faded from his heart.

With such an Earth Knight protecting him, he could completely laze around at the side.

A lord's life really was good. If he could coast through a situation, he absolutely didn't need to waste effort. Servants attended to him in daily life, while knights risked their lives on the battlefield.

No sooner said than done.

Seeing Marcus draw another two arrows, the Wind Blade Wolf, blood still pouring from its back, flashed a trace of resentment in its eyes. It suddenly turned and fled into the dense forest, vanishing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.

Marcus watched the direction in which the Wind Blade Wolf had disappeared and slowly lowered his bow.

Karl Hammer, whose blood had been boiling from watching, couldn't help asking, "Teacher Marcus, why didn't you chase it? Two more arrows and the Wind Blade Wolf would definitely have died. That's a magical beast worth more than pearls!"

"There isn't just one magical beast in Thorn Ridge. Besides, its injuries aren't as serious as they look. It merely pretended to lure us inside... It certainly has companions waiting to support it in the forest. If you're not afraid of dying, feel free to chase it," Marcus said coldly.

Karl Hammer scratched his head and awkwardly fell silent.

Marcus ignored him and merely said to Liszt, "Baron, this place is dangerous. We should continue on our way."

"Alright!"

Liszt readily agreed. Inspecting his territory was only for the mission; he had no desire to face danger—after all, as the old saying went, a gentleman did not stand beneath a crumbling wall.

Perhaps encountering a magical beast at the edge of Thorn Ridge in spring had made Marcus uneasy, so they picked up their pace during the rest of the inspection.

Along the way, Liszt asked curiously, "Teacher Marcus, your archery is incredible. You can even make arrows ricochet. What kind of archery is that?"

"Double Arrow Strike. It's an advanced technique of ordinary archery. It can only be used with battle qi guidance."

"This technique looks impressive and is very practical too. Teacher Marcus, when will you start archery lessons and teach me?" Liszt was eager to learn it.

Marcus replied without much enthusiasm, "Advanced archery techniques require external battle qi release before they can be learned. Before becoming an Earth Knight, Baron, the first thing you need to do is temper and strengthen your battle qi, then learn knightly combat techniques—not flashy archery."

"Alright, then I'll learn archery after I advance to Earth Knight," Liszt said.

After completing the mission and receiving the Battle Qi Sublimation reward, perhaps that would be the moment he advanced to Earth Knight.

During the next three hours of travel, they encountered no more magical beasts. After inspecting Thorn Ridge, they arrived at the other side of Flower Town—the Azure Sea.

The Sapphire Grand Duchy lay in the northeastern corner of the continent and consisted of the Sapphire Archipelago.

Coral Island lay in the northeastern corner of the Sapphire Archipelago.

Flower Town lay in the northeastern corner of Coral Island.

Thus, the vast blue sea Liszt saw at this moment was the border of the Sapphire Grand Duchy: the Azure Sea, stretching beyond sight with no known end.

"Teacher Marcus, what's on the other side of the sea? Are there other islands, or a continent, or other countries?"

"I don't know. The Count's fleet has never ventured into more distant waters. But legend says that beyond the Azure Sea lies the Devil Sea, where devils roam. No one can sail upon the Devil Sea."

"Not even by riding a dragon?"

"Dragons are the foundation of a nation. No dragon knight would be willing to ride a dragon around on adventures. There are countless lands on the continent waiting to be developed, Baron. Why concern yourself with an empty sea... Forgive my presumption, but you should learn from the Count and seize more land."

Those words carried a hint of temptation—only war could forge new nobles.