Chapter 384: The End of Tieti Island

The solid stone armor requires a significant amount of magic power.

According to Liszt's observations, if Hiddleston needs 1 point of magic power to release rock spikes, 5 points to release rock grenades, and 7 points to release rock walls, then releasing solid stone armor would need at least 20 points of magic power.

"This likely has to do with how condensed the rocks are. The rocks in the solid stone armor are almost crystallized to the point of becoming gemstones; whereas the rocks in the rock walls, rock grenades, and rock spikes are just ordinary rocks."

Quantity leads to quality.

More magic power is needed to improve the quality of the rocks.

With this solid stone armor, Hiddleston’s combat abilities will skyrocket. He’ll be unstoppable in battle—charging into enemy lines, destroying towers, defending bases, and more. By midnight, Hiddleston had already mastered the command "Hiddleston, solid stone armor." Only then did Liszt yawn and head back to sleep.

Today, he was exhausted from charging into battle, which drained his physical stamina.

As he drifted off to sleep, he found himself missing the spirits of Flower Town, the mermaid Acheronides, the servants in the castle, the Wheat Bug he hadn’t had time to contract, and the eight little ones he wasn’t sure had learned to cast magic.

He had never given up on the dream of cultivating an army of blizzard beasts.

In a daze, the illusory serpentine smoke slowly appeared before his eyes.

"Mission: A hurriedly flying knight is bringing new information; how tomorrow's battle will unfold remains uncertain, but you also have the opportunity to become a member of the flying knights. Please help the chocobo, Loki, learn how to cast magic. Reward: Loki's magic."

This was a new smoke mission.

The content was quite explosive—it was about allowing Liszt to become a member of the flying knights. He couldn’t help but feel excited: "It’s about time for Loki to start casting magic. What kind of magic will it have? According to the serpentine smoke, Loki might soon be able to fly? It’s not just a flightless bird?"

Flightless birds, like ostriches, emus, and kiwis, are great runners but can’t fly.

The chocobo looks like a flightless bird with its long legs built for speed, its bulky body, and its tiny, almost useless wings.

It was really hard to imagine how it could fly.

"Maybe it’s just a chick, and when it matures, its wings will grow, turning it into a kind of wading bird similar to a crane?" Liszt thought.

Wading birds, with their long legs, prefer living near water and feeding from the bottom of lakes or muddy areas. Cranes, storks, sandpipers, and bustards are all wading birds.

The chocobo, with its long legs, might just be able to wade into the water.

"No!" Liszt suddenly remembered, the chocobo’s long legs were covered in feathers, and having feathers would make it difficult to walk comfortably in the water, so it wouldn’t become a wading bird.

After thinking it through, Liszt still couldn’t figure out how the chocobo could fly. After all, its name suggests it’s a land runner, not a flyer.

...

The next day, they continued to rest at Parsley Castle.

The Count was still waiting for the next war instructions from the Marquis of Grindton, while Liszt continued to tame the chocobo and tried to help it learn to cast magic.

His bond with the chocobo wasn’t as close as it was with Hiddleston, so it was difficult to inject mana and guide the flow of magic.

Therefore, he could only do some superficial work, stimulating the chocobo's magic slightly to let it vent some magic power, completing the basic casting of magic.

It was quite difficult, so he hadn’t succeeded yet.

However, Liszt did notice one change—as Loki's magic power became more abundant, its running speed, endurance, and jumping ability significantly improved.

It was obviously still maturing, and when it fully grew up, its abilities would likely become even more powerful. After all, it was a low-level dragon beast, a magical beast with the bloodline of a dragon.

Riding the chocobo.

The leisure time passed by quietly.

His rest didn’t last long. At dusk, a messenger knight dispatched by Marquis Grindton arrived at Parsley Castle, delivering a new order: “Count Lee William, Marquis Grindton commands you to lead the knights immediately and head west to Niu Ji City. He needs to see your arrival by the morning after tomorrow.”

“Why the rush?” The count frowned. “From Niu Mao City to Niu Ji City, an expedited march takes a whole day’s journey. This forces us to travel at night.”

“I don’t know the reason; the Marquis did not disclose it. But when I departed, he was also leading his knights toward Niu Ji City. According to the marching time, he will also need to travel at night to arrive by the morning after tomorrow.”

Marching at night was not a good decision; it was the easiest time to be ambushed.

But when the order was given, execution was required.

The Coral Island Knights, having rested for a day, had returned to their best condition. Leaving behind some of the wounded to continue guarding Parsley Castle, the count immediately led the knights to break camp and head west.

Lee Liszt was no exception.

Riding his chocobo, he led the Black Knights to follow the group as they set out.

A rushed journey.

Both men and horses were exhausted, but they safely reached Niu Ji City just as Marquis Grindton’s knights arrived. Several other counts’ armies had also just arrived.

“The First Prince has already occupied Iron Horse City, which the Bull Clan had cultivated for generations. Even Bull Fortress was occupied, yet no battle took place; it was already an empty castle. A month ago, before the assassination incident, the rebel Andy had already evacuated the people from Bull Fortress overseas.”

Grindton “Red Maple Leaf” looked serious, his deep lines around his mouth becoming more pronounced. “The vast majority of the wealth on Iron Horse Island, along with the seeds of various noble families, have fled overseas. It could be the Kingdom of Eagle or the Kingdom of Steel Ridge; there’s no way to know.”

“Then, Marquis, is the Bull Marquis still on Iron Horse Island?”

“This is why I’ve gathered you all.” Grindton spread out a map of Iron Horse Island and drew a circle between Niu Wei City and Niu Ji City. “The Furious Knights were driven back by the supporting knights and have taken refuge in this area. All the sea exits have been blocked; they can only continue to hide!”

He looked around at the surrounding counts and said coldly, “Our mission is to find the Furious Knights, the rebel Andy, and those evil Goat Assembly mages! The Duke’s order is to find them and eliminate them; no survivors should be left!”

Grindton then presented the information he had on the Furious Knights and the Goat Assembly, including the members.

He assigned tasks: “Niu Ding City and Niu Jian City, these two major cities, along with the nine smaller cities under them. Count Lee William, you need to lead the Coral Island Knights and search Snow Pear City thoroughly; don’t miss any possible clues…”

The tasks were distributed.

Grindton concluded, “The Duke’s anger will burn for a long time, continuing until the entire Bull Clan is annihilated, no matter where they hide. Now, our task is to eliminate their main force and crush the backbone of the rebels. Iron Horse Island, it’s time for this to end.”

He paused.

Attempting to smile to ease the atmosphere, but the deep lines around his mouth made his expression appear even more sinister. “A new regime will be established on this land, and each of you will have an opportunity.”