The following afternoon, after a long journey, Ronin finally led his party to Mountain Forest Town.
By the stone road sign, the craftsn let out exhausted cheers. They had finally made it here alive.
Many of them had felt regret along the way. If they had known Mountain Forest Town was so far and the journey so difficult, they probably wouldn’t have left their hos.
But now that they had arrived safely, all those jumbled thoughts from the road were forgotten.
From now on, they would live a peaceful and stable life here, serve their Lord well, and strive to build new careers for themselves so they could bring their families from Wushan City to join them as soon as possible.
"We’re finally here!"
Ronin stretched lazily on horseback. "Wodun, George, you two take the craftsn into town. I’m not going with you."
He gave the Cloud Stepper beneath him a firm pat. The prized steed, already familiar with its master, let out a neigh and galloped away along the mountain road.
In that mont, the Cloud Stepper finally displayed the prowess of its Third-level Magical Beast bloodline, covering over a dozen ters in the blink of an eye.
It was not only fast, but also incredibly steady.
As he galloped along, enjoying the cheers of the townspeople he passed, Ronin quickly reached the castle.
However, compared to his usual returns, the castle felt much quieter this ti.
"Ronin, you’re finally back!"
A nimble figure burst out from the Inner Castle and threw herself into Ronin’s arms. Ronin instinctively caught her.
Catching her faint, pleasant scent, Ronin couldn’t help but joke, "Erin! Long ti no see. You feel a little heavier than last ti, don’t you?"
"Huh? Did I get fat?"
Erin quickly pulled away from Ronin’s embrace and looked down at herself, feeling that she hadn’t gained any weight.
They hadn’t seen each other in nearly a month, and of course Erin hadn’t gained weight. In fact, she had probably lost a little, having been away from her parents and without the familiar presence of Ronin.
"You’ve grown taller. How could you have gotten fat?"
Ronin looked past her at Gallon and Bella, who had run out after her, but he saw no sign of Chahar or Elron.
"How co it’s just you here at the castle?"
Ronin asked, puzzled, "Where are Elron and Chahar?"
At the ntion of their nas, a frightened look appeared on Erin’s face. She said nervously, "Ronin, a Magical Beast has appeared in town! David was so badly injured by it that he’s still unconscious!"
What?
Ronin’s expression changed drastically. "David was injured by a Magical Beast? What happened?"
"It started at the pasture to the northwest. For the past few days, we were losing two sheep every day. My teacher had David and so Guards go look for the thief, and they discovered it was a Magical Beast!"
Ronin got the gist of what had happened from Erin.
’A Magical Beast that could seriously injure and knock David unconscious in one blow was definitely not weak. And it was still lingering in Mountain Forest Town, so it didn’t seem to fear humans much.’
’Elron had to either kill it or drive it away, but the beast’s strength was still unknown. They could easily suffer losses.’
To prevent anyone else in his territory from getting hurt, Ronin, who had just dismounted, vaulted back onto his horse. He had to go see for himself.
"Ronin, can I co with you and see?"
Seeing that Ronin was about to leave again, Erin asked quietly, "I can use the Water Gathering Skill smoothly now!"
’The Water Gathering Skill...’
Ronin was about to refuse, but seeing her obedient and hopeful expression, he held out his hand. "Co on. It’ll be good for you to get so experience. You’ll have to fight Magical Beasts one day, too."
"Okay! When I’m as strong as my mother, I’ll definitely help you fight Magical Beasts with the Water Arrow Skill!"
Erin excitedly reached out and was pulled onto the horse, landing in Ronin’s embrace.
Just as the two of them rode out of the castle, they t Macken riding toward them—a testant to the Cloud Stepper’s speed.
"Lord, you’re...?" Macken asked, surprised.
"Co on, Guard Officer. Our territory is in trouble."
anwhile, in the shrub-filled forest north of Wushan Lake, Elron and his n had just been through a perilous encounter.
After herding sheep through the forest for a long ti, they finally found the Magical Beast. Seeing their numbers, it rely darted out, roared a threat, and didn’t attack.
This gave everyone a chance to finally get a clear look at the Magical Beast.
It was a canine Magical Beast that resembled a wolf, but it was far larger than any ordinary one.
The Magical Beast was a full three ters long and stood over a ter and a half at the shoulder. The muscles across its entire body were clearly defined, each one rippling with Power!
Its long, fluffy tail swept through the air like a sharp, curved blade.
During the standoff, Elron successfully cast his Light Binding Skill. Four Light-Touching Hands clamped onto the great beast’s limbs, trapping it in place.
But just as they were preparing to kill the great beast together, it let out a sudden roar. The erupting Power tore Elron’s Magic to shreds, and in a flash, the beast vanished into the forest.
"My heart just stopped!"
Dandy felt like he had just survived a catastrophe. Heaven only knew how he’d been lucky enough to get out of yesterday’s encounter alive.
If such a behemoth had been going for the kill, he and David would have been devoured, with not even a bone left behind.
The others were also drenched in cold sweat and overco with panic.
Elron was also shaken, but he was also deeply worried.
’The Magical Beast was discovered yesterday, but it’s still here. Clearly, it has no intention of leaving.’
’If it stays, it threatens the safety of the people in Mountain Forest Town.’
’Today, he could let it have a few sheep to fill its belly. But if one day they don’t, the creature will surely turn to eating people.’
’The Ironwood Workshop is just on the other side of Wushan Lake, and there are twenty slaves felling trees in the Black Iron Forest. A Magical Beast in the area not only threatens their safety but also seriously hinders the workshop’s progress.’
"The Lord must have been delayed by sothing and hasn’t returned yet. To deal with this thing, we have to go to Grey Soil Village and ask the Commander to co back."
The Magical Beast shattered the Light Binding Skill in a single breath; its Power was imnse. Elron had no other way to deal with it.
Ridder was currently the most powerful Transcendent in the territory. Bringing him back was their only chance to deal with the Magical Beast.
"Jisili and I are more familiar with the Wubei Forest Land. Let or Jisili go inform the Commander."
Tomasz of Grey Soil Village volunteered.
The tall, thin Knight, Jisili, nodded in agreent. "We should take two more n. If we run into that thing on the road, we’re finished!"
Just then, Elron’s ears twitched. "What’s that sound?"
Startled, everyone fell silent and listened intently.
Soon, they heard a soft whimpering sound coming from the nearby bushes, like a newborn puppy.
"A Magical Beast cub?"
The possibility imdiately occurred to Elron, and he led his n toward the sound.
They carefully parted the tall grass with their Long Spears and found a small, black-furred beast lying there, whimpering softly.
The little Magical Beast seed to be a newborn; its eyes weren’t even open yet.
"It really is a Magical Beast cub!"
Everyone was stunned. No wonder the Magical Beast wouldn’t leave Mountain Forest Town—it had given birth to a cub here.
"What should we do? Should we kill it?" soone asked.
Elron didn’t know what to do.
Just then, the sound of approaching horse hooves drew everyone’s attention.
"Is that Erin?"
Elron, his eyes sharp, said excitedly, "No, the Lord is back!"
Ronin rode into the woods with Erin. Seeing that everyone was safe, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Lord, you’re finally back!"
An excited Elron ca forward. "If you hadn’t returned, I was about to go to Grey Soil Village to bring Ridder back to Mountain Forest Town to help."
A thought struck Ronin. "Did you find the Magical Beast?"
"Yes, Lord!"
As Elron described the Magical Beast, Ronin searched his mory for what kind of creature it might be, but he ca up with nothing.
His predecessor hadn’t studied much about Magical Beasts, and he himself hadn’t had ti to cram on the subject.
"Lord, although the Magical Beast escaped, it left a cub behind."
Ronin froze, thinking he had misheard. But the soft whimpering that reached his ears quickly told him that Elron was telling the truth.
He imdiately dismounted and walked towards the source of the sound.
"It really is a Magical Beast cub!"
A delighted smile spread across Ronin’s face.
’A Magical Beast cub... This is a rare find.’
’It was common knowledge that Magical Beasts were difficult to ta, but cubs were another matter. Their minds were not yet fully developed, and their wild nature would gradually fade through interaction with people.’
’Many families had experience taming Magical Beast cubs.’
’The Oduin Royal Family, for example, was said to have a Griffin unit that could carry people soaring through the sky.’
’If Ronin could successfully ta this cub, its future strength would be no less than its mother’s.’
’Using it as a mount would be far more impressive than a Cloud Stepper.’
"It’s so cute!"
Erin’s large eyes sparkled. If it weren’t a Magical Beast but a puppy, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to resist picking it up.
Elron asked, "Lord, what are you going to do with it?"
"Of course I’m taking it back to raise myself."
Ronin chuckled. "Look, its eyes aren’t even open yet. It must have been born less than ten days ago."
As he spoke, he started to bend down to pick up the whimpering little creature. But at that exact mont, an intense sense of crisis washed over him.
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