Knight and Wand

Chapter 198 Returning to the old place
Soaring among the rolling mountains, listening to the cold wind and the occasional flapping of the griffin's huge wings, Leon looked out at the unchanging sea of ​​clouds.

This is much easier than flying a plane.

He could imagine how much complex knowledge and skills the pilots in his previous life had to learn in order to fly an aircraft.

However, riding a Griffin is now a pleasant experience.

After all, the "pilot" who actually controls the process is not the rider, but the beast itself.

Flying, positioning, navigation. If no further instructions are required, all of this will be left to the griffin's own abilities, and the passengers on its back don't have to do anything.

Leon fastened the iron reins to the front saddle, stretched his body quite comfortably, and maintained the posture for a long time.

After informing the Deathclaw of its approximate direction, riding a griffin in a cruising state without making large maneuvers is even more comfortable than traveling on horseback.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the rider is not afraid of heights, and to reach the current cruising altitude of several thousand meters above sea level, the physique must be able to withstand the thin air environment and the continuous wind hypothermia ranging from a few degrees above zero to more than ten degrees below zero.

Ordinary people, even if they are wrapped tightly with three layers of clothing, would probably not be able to control their mount to such an altitude. Otherwise, during the high-altitude cruise, they would either freeze to death on the griffin's back or suffocate to death.

Of course, Leon does not have this worry, and he does not need the magic tricks he has mastered now. With this body of a knight of arms that is rich in magic energy, even if he is naked in the polar snow, he can activate the temperature adaptability of the human body under the stimulation of the environment and withstand the low temperatures that ordinary people cannot resist.

but
The little brother behind him doesn't have such a strong body yet.

Turning back, Leon asked his companion in the passenger seat with concern: "Are you cold? Are you feeling uncomfortable? Do you want me to let the Death Claw descend to a low altitude?"

Despite trying hard to listen, the whistling wind still made it impossible for the blond boy to hear clearly. He could only lean forward as far as possible and asked loudly: "What did you say?! I didn't hear clearly!"

Leon raised his voice and repeated it loudly in Corvis' ear.

"I mean!.Akao, are you cold?!"

Corvis heard it clearly now. He shook his head and answered loudly: "It's okay! I can adjust the magic energy so that my body can adapt! It's not cold!"

No matter what the caster's physical condition is, he will always have ways to deal with extreme environments.

Leon felt relieved and turned his head back to continue tracking the direction.

Although there was nothing to see, there was no need for him to interfere in the journey anyway.

Even if the griffin does not descend to identify the mountains and rivers on the earth, it will not fly in the wrong direction.

Leon learned from the life science information in the magic book that most of the native flying creatures in this world have the senses and ability to feel the tides of magic and the spiritual veins of the earth.

The only difference is the sensitivity and accuracy. This biological positioning system is much more reliable than visual navigation.

If there was no accurate distance data and it were impossible to provide the Deathclaw with the exact location of the destination town, Leon would have wanted to just sit in the saddle and stare blankly for a while.

Anyway, the locked straps and chains won't let him fall off halfway.

Although the blue sky and white clouds were beautiful, it was like driving on a highway. It was boring to look at them for too long. Even if he happened to see a flock of geese lined up in a formation in the distance, they would be frightened away by the threat of the griffins and flee early. The whistling wind made it impossible for him to chat with Corvis to relieve his boredom. He could only stare at the unchanging sky in a daze.

Flying all the way to the southwest, the hourglass on Leon's waist ran out of time for the last time.

The timing on the move is not very accurate, but the error is not that big.

He estimated that he was about to reach the destination, so he quickly grasped the reins and sent a command to the Deathclaw to lower its altitude.

The griffin immediately lowered its head, and swooped down with a whoosh of its huge body.

Passing through the gaps between layers of clouds.

When Leon and Corvis looked down at the endless green mountains and clear waters below again, they were immediately refreshed.

Looking at the mountains and forests on the earth, Leon estimated that the town of Kantadar that Princess Ines led her army to capture should be in this area.

Suddenly, he felt a strong biological signal from the Death Claw in his mind, which was a warning.

That signal carried a hint of hostility, hatred, and hunting urge.

Leon glanced sideways in confusion, following the direction of the griffin's warning, and looked towards the low-altitude area in front of the left.

Soon, he made out a tiny black dot that looked like a bird. The black dot suddenly sped up and fled far away, as if it had discovered danger.

It's a bit strange. With the Deathclaw's high intelligence, it is impossible for it to fail to control its hunting instinct.

Even if he was hungry, he had already told the griffin in advance that he could have a snack after arriving at the destination. So why did Deathclaw want to change course and hunt prey halfway through the work?

"Akao, use magic to help me see what that thing is." Leon pointed there and turned back and shouted loudly.

The young man sitting in the deputy seat followed his master's instructions and immediately cast a spell to open a magical circular curtain, magnifying the scene in the distance.

What came into their sight was an extremely familiar-looking flying creature.

Leon turned his head to look at the picture displayed on the magic light curtain and was a little surprised.

Not only because the outline of its eagle head and wings was extremely similar to that of a griffin, but also because that creature was the "enemy" that he and Corvis had faced on their escape.

A Hippogriff, and not a wild one.

Staring at the saddle on the back of the Hound, and the broken straps swinging left and right in the wind, Leon's memories from several months ago came to his mind.

I can't forget this look. The straps were torn apart by the impact of Isa's arrow.

This eagle was the mount that the wizard Atias was riding when he was chasing Corvis.

This mixed-breed beast, didn't it turn out that it didn't suffer the same fate as its owner?
No wonder the Deathclaw couldn't help but feel angry and hateful. Seeing the flying mounts commonly used by Atias mages must have reminded it of its own experience of being hunted down by the Imperial mages.

"My lord, the Hippogriffs are very loyal creatures. Even if their masters die, they will linger around for a long time. This place may not be far from where we fought with Amon." Corvis speculated.

Leon couldn't help but recall more memories.

He was accidentally hit at that time, and after waking up from the coma, he couldn't understand the situation, so he took the unconscious Corvis and fled into the Nightmare Forest to hide.

Later, Laura told him that his actions were unnecessary. The pursuer had used the spirit world magic recklessly because of his poor skills and suffered the backlash caused by the accidental casting of the spell.
etc.
Leon realized the key. Since the appearance of the Hippogriff was not a coincidence, could it be that the cursed land that Ines encountered was the trick left by the wizard Atias?

Well, he was gloating over the trouble that the Lord of Kantadar had to deal with, but after going full circle, the trouble came back to him again.

Taking a deep breath, Leon compared what he saw with the route he took when he escaped in Kantadar a few months ago.

The pictures from the ground and the sky are very different, but this guess is definitely correct.

Leon couldn't help but silently ask Miss Mage: "Laura, did you guess it a long time ago?"

The wizard lady responded to his guess.

".As you thought, the trouble here was probably caused by that overconfident little Rhodok wizard."

After receiving the exact answer from his teacher, Leon fell into deep thought.

When he escaped back to Selva through the Nightmare Forest, the tracking rune on Corvis' back had to be washed away by the boy's own magic power for a long time.

This means that Amon, at least during that period of time, did not die from the backlash of spiritual magic.

Now it seems that the guy is still alive in the cursed area caused by him, but no one knows in what form he is alive.

Laura had always been very secretive about the threatening realm called the "Spirit World", but at least it was certain that the dangerous evils in it would never let go of a wizard's beautiful soul.

Leon recalled the twisted form of Lohak after he was possessed by the "Angry Demon". That ferocious spirit demon could give a sturdy ordinary boy a terrifying power beyond that of an ordinary knight of arms.

If a proper wizard is possessed, how dangerous will he become?

So much time has passed, and Amon's body might have completely transformed into a demon body after the devil's arrival. I don't know if I can deal with it.

But Leon thought again, since Laura judged that he could deal with this hidden danger and went along with her, it should be within his ability to handle it.

He is no longer the weak and fugitive boy he once was.

Besides, even if we can't solve the cause of the rift in the spirit world and fundamentally eliminate the spirit-like field caused by Amon, then like the nightmare forest in the past, we can set up a warning area around the cursed land to prevent accidental entry and just leave it alone, right?
Leon shrugged and went in for a look. If he could help Ines find Aurad, he would try. If the risk was too high, he would abandon the mission and run away.
Patting the griffin's body in front of the saddle, Leon calmed down Deathclaw's anger towards the Hippogriff and continued to look for Ines's location.

The town of Rutansan.

On the not-so-high city wall, an old soldier in a blue and white robe yawned.

But he suddenly felt a strong pat on his face by his comrade beside him.

"Hey! Look, there is something flying towards us. It has four limbs. It doesn't look like an eagle. Is it the Hippogriff that Roman mentioned?" The young sergeant, who was also wearing a blue and white four-square battle robe, asked, pointing to the sky.

"Is that thing here to steal again? Doesn't it like to come at night?" The old soldier looked up at where he pointed and squinted his eyes: "It looks a bit like it, but didn't Roman say that the Hippogriff is the front of the eagle and the back of the horse? Why is this one's tail so long? It doesn't look like a horse's tail to me."

However, it was not until the wingspan silhouette from the horizon came closer and closer that the veteran realized something was wrong.

With his long-term experience of archery, he immediately determined the size of the body at the relative distance. He was so shocked that his back went cold. This thing is too fucking big! ?
The Romans said that the eagle was only slightly larger than a war horse, but this giant flying in the sky was probably larger than the Uriah people's war elephant!
"Griffin!!!"

The knight's roar came from the other side of the city wall, and at the same time, there was a sharp and piercing military whistle.

The more knowledgeable West Bay knight on the parapet recognized the legendary beast and shouted at the crossbowmen on the tower without any manners: "All crossbows, string them up!"

The knights guarding the city walls knew that a noble from the Thornflower family might arrive in the near future, either on horseback or on a griffin.

But he had not yet confirmed the identity of the visitor, and was afraid of mistaking the enemy for a friendly force, so he did not dare to relax his vigilance in the slightest and still ordered the soldiers to prepare to meet the enemy. After all, the noble Princess was in the city.

In the town, the alarmed soldiers rushed out of the barracks and gathered together.

On the tower, the crossbow mount was raised, and the base was rotated to aim at the approaching giant beast. Rows of longbowmen lined up neatly on the wall raised their bows and prepared to shoot.

Fortunately, the griffin did not rush directly over the city wall into the town, but landed in the suburbs not far away.

Without continuing to provoke the defenders in front, Leon had already seen the flag of the Sea Eagle Knights in the town while hovering in the sky. He knew that even if this was not the destination, he could still find out the whereabouts of Ines.

However, he still turned around and asked Corvis to prepare barrier magic in case of any accidents.

After comforting the restless Deathclaw and telling it not to worry about the crossbows on the city wall, which were after all not as dangerous to it as the guided siege crossbows of the Atias Empire, Leon let the big guy under him approach the town on foot.

Looking at the terrifying black-armored beast running towards the city gate with its ferocious claws, its heavy body made the earth rumble. The Xiwan soldiers on the city wall swallowed in fear.

Even without mentioning that the horrible monster covered in armor could fly into the sky, with the city wall being so low in height, its body, which looked like a lion or tiger magnified countless times, would probably only need one leap to jump onto the top of the city wall and start slaughtering the soldiers.

But when all the soldiers saw the driver wearing plate armor on the back of the monster, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Compared to unrestrained wild beasts, a life controlled by one's own kind always makes people feel a little more at ease.

Besides, since they landed on their own initiative, it at least proves that they are not enemies.

The Knight of West Bay tightly grasped his spear and halberd, and seeing the sword-wing emblem carvings on the griffin armor, he felt relieved, leaned forward, and shouted to the knight sitting on the back of the giant beast: "Is this Lord Pendragon of Avalon?"

"It's me." Leon responded towards the city wall.

After they exchanged names and confirmed each other's identities, the blue-robed knight on the city wall did not dare to delay the princess' important business, and hurriedly ordered the soldiers to pull up the heavy gate as usual. Seeing this, Leon waved to the other party.

"No need to open the city gate, I can just go in directly."

Even though the Deathclaw folded its wings and lowered its head, it was still able to squeeze through the town's gate.

But that's like crawling through a dog hole, and it's really unfair to an adult griffin of this size.

He clapped the death claws under him, and the giant beast immediately spread its wings and leaped into the air, bringing with it a strong wind, amid the curious and awe-inspiring exclamations of the soldiers on the city wall.

".My dear mother, the gods are above"

The old soldiers on the city wall instinctively shrank their necks in fear at the huge shadow that passed by.

When he heard the rumble of the ground behind him, he looked back, with a look of fear and relief in his eyes.
Fortunately, it was not Her Royal Highness the Princess's enemy, but the knights on their side.

The veterans are also brave soldiers who crawled out of the mountains of corpses. Holding sharp weapons, they will not show any fear even when facing tigers and leopards.

But standing in front of the armored giant, his legs still felt weak, and even though he was surrounded by comrades, he could not feel safe at all.

The West Bay Knight guarding the city wall walked down the stairs and wanted to ride his warhorse, but when he saw the mount tied to the post, neighing and jumping in fear, he gave up the plan and ran quickly to the front of the griffin.

"Lord Pendragon, Her Highness Ines has been waiting in the military camp for a long time." The knight said, stroking his chest.

Seeing that the other party could not ride a horse, Leon untied the straps, jumped off the high saddle with Corvis, patted the griffin and ordered it to follow, and came to the knight: "Please lead the way as soon as possible."

"Uh, okay." The young West Bay Knight was stunned, somewhat touched by the other party's actions.

He did not feel that it was beneath his dignity to lead a baron on foot, but he still felt a little bit of goodwill towards him as he felt the respect shown by the other party. He bowed again and said, "Follow me."

Parading through the city with his cool armored war beast behind him, Leon ignored the surprised looks of the soldiers on the road and followed the knight who led the way, and hurried all the way to the military camp.

He raised his eyebrows and found that Princess Ines, wearing armor, had arrived outside the camp early. With one hand on the sword and the other on her waist, the small figure stood heroically in front of the tall knights to greet him.

"You came so quickly, Lord Leon. My messenger just got back yesterday." Ines winked at him playfully.

Even though he had never doubted the authenticity of the other party's possession of a griffin companion.

But when she saw with her own eyes that this knight actually rode the giant beast, she couldn't help but feel a strong desire in her heart.

Ines narrowed her eyes and felt a little envious of Count Thornflower's good luck.

"I am honored to be summoned by Your Highness. I set out as quickly as possible to come here."

Leon was flattered by such a grand welcome. He was about to kneel down to salute, but Ines suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm guard.

"There's no need to be so respectful when putting on armor. I'm not my father or my brother. Besides, it's me who asked you to help this time." Ines smiled, raised her cyan eyes, and looked at the majestic armored beast behind her. Her eyes suddenly burst into genuine love.

"That's rude." Hearing this, Leon felt relieved. Without being pretentious, he stood up and bowed instead.

"It is indeed a noble creature that is as famous as the dragon. Even its speed is not inferior. I just wonder which one is smarter, your friend or the one of Count North. Next time there is a chance, why don't I play matchmaking for them and let them compete in chess skills?" Ines said with emotion as she looked at the black-armored griffin.

Leon smiled helplessly and said, "This is difficult. My friend used to live freely in the mountains and wilderness. I'm afraid he doesn't know how to play chess."

As he said this, just to be on the safe side, he mentally messaged his griffin companion behind him.

The seated Deathclaw was shaking its wings and looking back to groom its fur with its huge beak. When it heard Leon's question, it couldn't help but raise its head and tilt its eagle head.

Chess? What? Food?

Feeling the pure mind that had not been polluted by knowledge, Leon was speechless and did not embarrass his simple fat bird anymore.

"That's a pity. Come in and I'll tell you about the trouble you've encountered." Ines shook her head, turned around and invited the other party into the camp.

I forgot to post it after I finished writing it. I just woke up and read the comments and found it


(End of this chapter)