Perhaps because they each carried an extra person, the three gryphons were not flying particularly fast.
Flying in the direction the Paladins had pointed out, Aaron easily spotted the three gryphons in the distant sky and soon caught up.
The six people in the sky wore different expressions when they saw Aaron catching up on a gryphon.
The loudmouthed dwarf Murok was the first to cry out. "By my king, human, where did you get that gryphon? Ancestors above, it's beautiful!"
Compared with the dwarves' yellow-and-white gryphons, Aaron's mount, called a snowy gryphon, was pure, flawless white all over, with only its claws and beak black. Its looks alone were impressive.
More importantly, Aaron's mount was a size larger than an ordinary gryphon, and its glossy feathers showed that it was in good health.
"Aaron, did you just leave my pony in Hasic?" Vereesa's words sounded reproachful, but judging by her expression, she probably welcomed Aaron rejoining the party.
"Kid, you're not getting paid this time." Rhonin looked rather gloomy, but Aaron knew perfectly well that it was not directed at him. Ever since learning that Vereesa and Duncan would be coming along to Grim Batol, Rhonin had not looked happy. Aaron's arrival had merely made his expression a little worse.
"Young man, you really are something." Duncan also voiced his amazement. This young man had often surprised him since they met, and now the young man with so many secrets had even managed to acquire a gryphon.
As far as Duncan remembered, the dwarves had never taught humans how to tame and raise gryphons. Although several human kings had been seeking cooperation in this area in recent years, such skilled work could not be learned in a year or two. It would be a long time before humans had Gryphon Riders of their own.
High in the sky was no place for conversation, however. Merely exchanging greetings against the fierce wind of the gryphons' high-speed flight had already left the first-time fliers with mouths full of wind.
For Aaron, this was a very novel experience as well. After familiarizing himself with controlling the gryphon in flight, he eagerly began making his mount perform all kinds of difficult maneuvers. Only when the gryphon let out a plaintive cry as he attempted the difficult falling-leaf maneuver did he rein in his playful impulses and quietly follow the others.
Little did he know that even the dwarven riders, who routinely rode gryphons, had been startled by him. As for Vereesa, Rhonin, and the knight Duncan, they were utterly dumbstruck.
After flying for a long while, Aaron guided his gryphon closer to Falstad and asked, "Falstad, how much longer until we see land?"
The bearded dwarf thought for a moment before saying, "We've only been flying for an hour. Another six hours, I'd say."
"Six hours?" Aaron's face fell at once. To be honest, flying stopped being so interesting after a while, especially once they left the vicinity of Hasic. From high in the sky, all he could see was an endless expanse of sea, and staring at it grew boring. At the gryphons' speed, even talking to someone else meant taking a considerable risk, and Aaron did not dare push his luck.
By the time this boring journey was finally two-thirds over, the pleasure Aaron had felt on his first gryphon flight had long since worn away. He only hoped they would reach their destination soon, while inwardly muttering, It never took me this long to fly from the Eastern Plaguelands to the Cape of Stranglethorn before. Is this what I should expect from a real world?
Meanwhile, Rhonin seemed to have exchanged a few words with the gryphon rider in front of him. Seeing Rhonin's relieved expression, Aaron guessed that they were probably not far from their destination.
But there's still nothing to see here, Aaron muttered inwardly. Bored, he began trying to guide his gryphon higher and higher. Just as he was about to test the gryphon's actual flight ceiling, a shout tinged with anger came from below. "Aaron, lad, stop climbing! The higher it flies, the faster a gryphon uses up its stamina. You'll wear it out!"
Aaron turned to look. It was Falstad who had called out the warning. The bearded dwarf looked very displeased by Aaron's near-abusive treatment of his mount. Although Aaron wanted to explain that his mount was not a real gryphon, he could not be bothered to say much at this altitude, so he simply obediently guided it down.
"Quick, look over there!" The gryphon rider carrying Rhonin suddenly shouted and pointed ahead. Aaron strained his eyes again and again before finally making out what seemed to be two faint black dots on the distant horizon. Were those land or islands? Since that fellow was so happy, they were probably land, right? Were they almost there? At that thought, Aaron felt a slight sense of relief.
But Aaron soon noticed two more black dots in the distance rapidly approaching them, apart from the two that might be land. Flying units in this region... Aaron instinctively grew wary, muttering inwardly, I hope entering combat won't dismiss my mount. I don't have warhorse reins right now, either.
Judging by Aaron's experience, his mount had not suddenly disappeared when he had clearly entered combat during his earlier encounter with the Red Dragonflight. Presumably, the real world had no restriction against fighting while mounted.
"By my beard, those are definitely dragons, and they're coming for us!" Falstad shouted. The Gryphon Riders then began guiding their gryphons apart. Against opponents with such an advantage in size, clustering together would only give the enemy a chance to wipe them out in one go. Only by scattering and dividing their opponents' attention would they have a chance of winning.
As the others scattered, Falstad began falling back, while the gryphon carrying Duncan moved forward. For a moment, Aaron did not know what to do.
"Human lad, get to the rear!" Apparently noticing Aaron's lack of aerial combat experience, the rider of Rhonin's gryphon shouted a warning to him. The dwarf had already drawn his warhammer, and Rhonin seemed to be preparing a spell as well, purple arcane light beginning to shine around him.
Soon, the outlines of two Red Dragonflight dragons became clearly visible to everyone. As expected, a green-skinned Orc sat on each dragon.
While Aaron was hesitating over what to do, Rhonin seemed to get into a disagreement with his rider. After a brief argument, the dwarf seemed to compromise with Rhonin. Because of the fierce wind at this altitude, however, Aaron could barely make out a few words such as "No!" and "Fight!" He had no idea what Rhonin had actually said to the dwarf.
The two Red Dragonflight riders also split off in different directions. It looked as though the two Orcs intended to encircle them and shoot down every gryphon.
One of the two fiery-red behemoths bore down on Rhonin and his rider amid howling winds, while the other flew toward Murok and Duncan. After all, Murok's gryphon carried the clearly overweight knight Duncan and was somewhat slower than the others.
Aaron watched the two Red Dragonflight dragons approach their side with some trepidation. Seeing such enormous creatures up close made their oppressive presence all the more palpable. Although Aaron guessed that these Red Dragonflight dragons were merely whelps that lacked even basic intelligence, they were still dangerous.
Seeing that the Gryphon Riders ahead had already clashed with the enemy, Aaron gritted his teeth and took out his shield. Imitating the others, he guided his gryphon in circles around the two Red Dragonflight dragons to keep them from finding an opportunity to close in on him, while aiming his shield at the rider on the smaller Red Dragonflight dragon.
Once ready, Aaron immediately unleashed Flying Shield. Watching the shield strike the Orc rider and briefly stun him with the sudden blow, Aaron breathed a sigh of relief and guided his gryphon closer.