Chapter 6 Earth Knight and Wind Blade Wolf

As a Ground Knight, Marcus was highly perceptive of magic power and battle auras alike. If he said there was a magical beast, then it must be true.

Liszt immediately grew tense.

The four squire knights hurriedly packed up the tableware. They were mere mortals who hadn't even cultivated battle auras. Dealing with a magical beast would practically amount to suicide for them.

Marcus had already mounted his horse. "Stop fussing over the tableware! Help Lord Baron onto his horse and prepare for battle!"

The squires rushed to assist Liszt.

However, Liszt was an apprentice knight with an initial-stage battle aura. He was far stronger than an ordinary person. Suppressing his anxiety, he climbed onto his horse. Even though Fire Dragon Horse was magnificent, it was still young and inexperienced in battle. It was just as nervous. Liszt had to stroke its mane to soothe its tension.

Heh-chih!

Encouraged by its master, the horse's tensed body relaxed slightly. As a birthday gift from the earl to his son, its bloodline was impressive. It had the lineage of a low-level magical beast, the Flame Horse, and thus possessed great adaptability.

In a few breaths' time.

The magical beast that Marcus sensed had emerged from the depths of the forest. It was a gigantic gray wolf with two pale green stripes on its body.

"It's a Windblade Wolf! A low-level magical beast! Step back, I'll deal with it!" Marcus raised his short spear, which was actually a knight's lance designed for close combat, longer than an average person.

As he spoke, Marcus bellowed fiercely, "Ha-Ha!"

His intermediate battle aura resonated in his mouth like a detonating bomb, causing the surrounding leaves to rustle from the immense roar.

He hoped to intimidate the Windblade Wolf.

The wolf lowered its body and retreated slightly, seemingly about to withdraw. However, this was just the prelude to its attack. Marcus, squeezing his horse's flanks, charged forward on his dappled gray mare, spear in hand.

The Windblade Wolf leaped towards Marcus, simultaneously, several faint cyan wind blades suddenly appeared in front of it, spinning towards Marcus in a slicing motion.

The tip of the knight's lance trembled, a subtle milky white glow adhering to it. It struck the wind blades swiftly, dispersing them one by one. Then, Marcus executed a backswing, tracing an elliptical path with his spear, charging from the other side and striking the leaping wolf precisely.

In a moment of crisis, the Windblade Wolf twisted its body to evade the spear, but was still grazed by the milky white light, leaving a bleeding wound.

Upon landing, it unleashed a flurry of wind blades randomly.

Marcus, in his centaur form, narrowly escaped the whistling wind blades. Now, with some distance between him and the Windblade Wolf, he attempted several charges to engage in close combat. However, the wolf was cunning, always keeping its distance and launching wind blades from the perimeter to wear Marcus down—a distinct difference between magical creatures and ordinary beasts being their intelligence.

For a magic creature with incredibly fast mana regeneration, such a draining battle was barely a scratch.

But a knight's aura couldn't last indefinitely.

Nonetheless, Marcus demonstrated why he had the confidence to seek glory on the battlefield and earn the noble title of a Knight-Lord. He hung his lance and turned to draw his bow from his back, immediately firing two arrows simultaneously, both imbued with his aura like bolts of lightning.

In the Windblade Wolf's eyes flickered a hint of disdain. With a mere twist of its waist, it evaded the arrows' range.

Yet, in the next moment, disdain transformed into terror.

The two arrows unexpectedly collided mid-air, altering their trajectories and piercing deeply into the wolf's back.

"What profound archery skills! Truly, the accolade of 'Divine Arrow' within the Knight Order is well-deserved!" Liszt, watching the battle, was genuinely impressed. His initial tension had dissipated.

With such a skilled Earth Knight as his protector, he could leisurely observe from the sidelines.

Being a lord had its perks—there was no need to exert effort when someone else could handle the situation. Servants attended to his daily needs, while knights risked their lives on the battlefield.

In the blink of an eye.

Marcus swiftly drew two more arrows as the Windblade Wolf, bleeding profusely from its back, flashed a hint of resentment in its eyes before bolting into the depths of the forest, vanishing from sight in a moment. Marcus watched the direction the wolf had fled in and slowly lowered his bow.

Carl Hammer, whose adrenaline was still pumping from the excitement, couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Marcus, why aren't you chasing after it? Two more arrows, and that Windblade Wolf would be done for—a beast more valuable than pearls!"

"There's more than just that Windblade Wolf in Thorns Ridge," Marcus replied coolly. "Moreover, it wasn't seriously injured at all; it was only pretending to lure us deeper into the forest… It must have companions waiting for it in the woods. If you're not afraid of death, feel free to pursue it."

Carl Hammer scratched his head, uneasy and hesitant to speak.

Marcus paid him no heed and instead addressed Liszt, "Baron, it's perilous here. We should be on our way."

"Excellent!"

Liszt, flowing with pragmatism, surveyed his territory solely for the sake of his mission; he had no intention of courting danger – as the old adage goes, a gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall.

Perhaps it was the encounter with a monstrous creature near Thorns Ridge in the spring that had made Marcus apprehensive, thus hastening his pace during subsequent patrols.

On the way, Liszt curiously asked, "Teacher Marcus, your archery skills are incredible. You can even make your arrows deflect. What kind of technique is that?"

"Intersecting Arrows is an advanced technique derived from basic archery. It requires the guidance of Aura to execute."

"That's such a cool and practical skill. When will you start teaching a bow and arrow class, Teacher Marcus?" Liszt was envious.

Marcus replied without much enthusiasm, "Advanced archery techniques require external release of Aura to learn. Before becoming a Great Knight, Sir Baron, you need to focus on strengthening and refining your Aura and learning knightly combat techniques, not flashy arrow skills."

"Alright, I'll learn archery after I advance to become a Great Knight," Liszt said.

After completing the mission, he might receive the reward of Aura Ascension, which could be the moment he advanced to become a Great Knight.

In the remaining three hours of the journey, they didn't encounter any more magical beasts. After patrolling Thorns Ridge, they arrived at the other side of Flower Town – the Azure Sea.

The Sapphire Grand Duchy was located in the northeastern corner of the continent, consisting of the Sapphire Archipelago.

Coral Island was situated in the northeastern part of the Sapphire Archipelago.

And Flower Town was located in the northeastern corner of Coral Island.

Thus, the sapphire-blue sea that Liszt was currently gazing at marked the border of the Sapphire Duchy, an endless expanse of emerald waves.

"Teacher Marcus, what lies beyond the sea? Are there other islands, continents, or perhaps other nations?"

"I'm not sure, my lord. The earl's fleet has never ventured further into the ocean. But there are tales that on the other side of the Azure Waves Sea lies the Devil's Sea, infested with devils. No one can navigate those waters."

"Not even on a dragon?"

"Dragons are the backbone of a nation. No dragon knight would willingly risk their dragon on adventures. There are countless lands on the continent waiting to be tamed. Why, my lord baron, should you concern yourself with empty seas... If I may be so bold, you should emulate the earl and seize more territory."

These words bordered on seduction—only through war could new nobles be forged.