"Ed, Bolin!"
"Present!"
Ed and Bolin responded at once.
"Gather all the Pegasus Knights. You’ll depart with imdiately!"
The Pegasus Knights were crucial to Black Stone Territory. Their mobility and air superiority were the very reason for the territory’s successive great victories.
"Yes, my lord!" Ed accepted the order calmly.
Bolin, on the other hand, was visibly delighted. "Wonderful! My lord, this ans our Pegasus Knight ranks will grow again!"
The Knights assembled quickly.
Raylo mounted his Storm Griffin. Its enormous wings unfurled, kicking up a fierce gust of wind.
Ed and Bolin each led a squadron of Pegasus Knights, following close behind him as they galloped toward the Mist Forest.
An hour later, as they cautiously approached the Alfalfa adow, the sight of fourteen magnificent Pegasi on an open field of grass greeted them.
So were lowering their heads to nibble on the tender alfalfa, while others flicked their tails leisurely.
A fervent glint flashed in Raylo’s eyes.
’Fourteen of them!’
He lowered his voice and gave orders to Ed and Bolin beside him.
"As planned. Ed, you take half the n and flank them from the left. Bolin, you take the other half and flank from the right."
"Understood!"
The two replied in unison, their faces a mixture of tension and excitent.
Raylo took a deep breath, gently squeezed the Storm Griffin’s sides with his legs, and began to slowly advance from the front.
Receiving the command, the Pegasus Knights imdiately spread out. Their hooves made soft thuds on the grass as they ford a large semicircle, closing in on the herd of Pegasi at a steady, unhurried pace.
The grazing herd of Pegasi was clearly on high alert. The mont Raylo and his n made their move, several of the Pegasi lifted their heads and let out uneasy whinnies.
"NEIGH!"
The lead Pegasus was particularly majestic. It was slightly larger than the others, and the mane on its neck was fuller.
It stared warily in Raylo’s direction, snorting loudly, and with a beat of its wings, prepared to take flight.
"Now!"
Raylo barked.
The Pegasus Knights, already prepared, spurred their mounts, accelerating into a charge.
They tightly gripped specially made Rope Traps. Ed had organized artisans to ticulously craft these traps according to Raylo’s instructions, specifically for capturing Pegasi.
Ed had previously led the Pegasus Knights through multiple simulated roping drills, allowing them to accumulate considerable experience.
Now was the ti to test the results of their training.
"SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!"
One after another, the Rope Traps whistled through the air, precisely looping around the necks of the Pegasi that were trying to take flight.
"Got one!"
A Knight shouted excitedly. The rope in his hand pulled taut, and a young Pegasus let out a panicked whinny as it was pulled off balance.
Other Knights also found success. For a mont, the adow was filled with a cacophony of whinnies, shouts, and the whistle of ropes slicing through the air.
However, the Pegasi were, after all, darlings of the sky; they would not be captured so easily.
The lead Pegasus was the most agile. It skillfully dodged several of the thrown Rope Traps and, with a powerful flap of its wings, created a rush of air. It then tried to lead three or four other uncaptured Pegasi in a forceful breakout through a gap in the encirclent.
Their speed was imnse, and they were on the verge of breaking through the Knights’ encirclent.
"Don’t even think about it!"
Raylo snorted coldly.
The Storm Griffin let out a clear cry, its wings snapping open. It transford into a streak of azure Lightning, shooting out diagonally at a speed faster than the Pegasi. Like an impassable barrier, it precisely blocked the path of the fleeing creatures.
An imnse pressure from the wind blasted them. Caught off guard, the lead Pegasus shrieked in alarm, forced to abruptly change direction. It ca to a dead stop, nearly colliding with the other Pegasi.
In that mont of delay, Ed had already arrived with several quick-reacting Pegasus Knights.
"Spread out! Surround them!"
Ed commanded loudly.
The Knights quickly fanned out, once again encircling the terrified Pegasi.
More Rope Traps flew toward them. This ti, they had no room to dodge.
Although the lead Pegasus continued to struggle valiantly, it gradually exhausted its strength under the combined pull of several Knights.
An hour later, peace returned to the adow.
Fourteen Pegasi, not one less, had all been successfully captured.
Bolin wiped the sweat from his forehead and grinned. "My lord, we... we got them all! Haha, we’ve struck it rich!"
The grand procession returned to Black Stone Castle.
Over the next two days, Raylo handled the daily affairs of his territory while preparing for his upcoming trip to Red Maple Territory.
However, the day before his scheduled departure, an unexpected visitor disrupted his plans.
That afternoon, a sharp, prolonged cry echoed from the sky above Black Stone Castle. It was completely different from the cries of the Storm Griffin and the Pegasi, filled with a savage and violent aura.
The guards on the castle’s watchtowers were instantly alerted and blew the warning Horn.
A massive reptilian creature with a wingspan of over thirty ters dove down from the clouds. It had no feathers, but was covered in hard, dark green scales. Its head was ferocious, its mouth filled with Sharp Teeth—it was none other than the infamous Two-legged Flying Dragon!
The Two-legged Flying Dragon kicked up a gale as it landed steadily in the open ground before the castle.
A middle-aged Mage wearing a gray Mage Robe, his hair as ssy as a bird’s nest and a pair of thick Alchemy Glasses perched on his face, clambered down sowhat clumsily from the Flying Dragon’s back.
He patted the Two-legged Flying Dragon’s neck, and the vicious Magical Beast actually nuzzled his hand docilely.
"Master Barnaby?"
Raylo, having been notified, hurried over. He looked at the visitor, a trace of surprise in his eyes.
’I can’t believe Master Barnaby himself would co all the way to the remote Black Stone Territory.’
Master Barnaby adjusted his glasses, which were about to slip off. He squinted at Raylo, a peculiar smile on his face—a mix of excitent and a hint of embarrassnt.
"Baron Raylo, please forgive my presumptuous visit."
Barnaby’s voice was a bit hoarse, but his attitude was unexpectedly polite.
"Master, you’re too kind. It is my honor to have you grace Black Stone Castle with your presence. Please, co in."
Raylo gestured for him to enter.
For a professional of his caliber, especially a master with extraordinary achievents in Alchemy, Raylo naturally had to treat him with the utmost respect.
After entering the castle’s reception hall and taking their respective seats as host and guest, a servant served tea.
Master Barnaby did not state the purpose of his visit directly. Instead, he fumbled around for a long ti in his sowhat shabby Magic Space Bag, finally pulling out a small wooden box and handing it to Raylo.
"A small gift for our first eting. Just a little sothing."
Raylo took the wooden box, sowhat puzzled. He opened it and saw ten crystal-clear potions arranged neatly inside, emitting a faint fluctuation of Magic Power.
"Is this... a Knight’s Breakthrough Potion?"
Raylo recognized the Potion, and surprise showed in his eyes.
The Knight’s Breakthrough Potion was extrely valuable and a key resource for a Knight’s promotion.
For Master Barnaby to produce ten of them at once was no small gesture.
"Indeed."
Master Barnaby nodded, his eyes gleaming behind his lenses.
"Just a little trinket. I hope it can be of so help to you, Lord Baron."
This made Raylo even more curious.
’This Potion Master wouldn’t have co all this way for nothing. To arrive with such a generous gift, his request must be anything but simple.’
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