As an Earth Knight, Marcus's Dou Qi was keenly perceptive to things like magic power and Dou Qi. If he said there were magical beasts, he was certainly not wrong.
Liszt immediately became tense.
The four retainer knights hastily packed up the tableware. They were ordinary people who hadn't even cultivated Dou Qi, so facing magical beasts meant certain death for them.
Marcus had already mounted his horse, "Don't bother packing up the tableware, protect the Baron and get him on his horse, and prepare for combat!"
The retainer knights hurried over to assist Liszt.
But Liszt, an Apprentice Knight with Primary Dou Qi, was much stronger than ordinary people. Suppressing the nervousness in his heart, he had already mounted his horse. The Fire Dragon Horse, majestic though it might be, was a young horse who had never faced battle and was equally nervous. Liszt had to reach out and stroke his mane to calm its nerves.
Snort!
The Fire Dragon Horse, encouraged by its master, relaxed its tense body. As a birthday present from the Earl to his son, its bloodline was not inferior, inheriting from the magical beast, the Blazing Steed, and it had a strong adaptability.
In a few breaths' time.
The magical beast that Marcus sensed had poked its body out from the depths of the dense forest; it was a massive gray wolf with two pale cyan patterns on its body.
"It's a Wind Blade Wolf! A low-level magical beast! Step back, I'll handle it!" Marcus raised his short spear, and while it was called a short spear, it was actually a Knight Spear meant for close combat and was longer than a person.
Speaking of which.
Marcus suddenly let out a mighty roar, "Hah!"
Intermediate Dou Qi resonated and vibrated in his mouth, like a bomb exploding, the tremendous roar made the surrounding leaves rustle.
He hoped to scare off the Wind Blade Wolf.
The Wind Blade Wolf crouched down a bit and seemed to back away, as if it was going to retreat, but that was just a prelude to its attack. But as soon as Marcus squeezed his horse's sides, he rode his dusky-yellow horse and charged forward with his spear for a strong attack.
The Wind Blade Wolf also leaped forward, dashing toward Marcus, while several pale cyan Wind Blades abruptly appeared in front of it, spinning and slicing towards Marcus.
The tip of the Knight Spear trembled, a faint milky white light attached to it, swiftly striking and shattering each Wind Blade. Then, with a swing of his spear behind him, Marcus drew an oval trajectory with his Knight Spear, charging from the other side and hitting the leaping Wind Blade Wolf precisely.
In a moment of crisis, the Wind Blade Wolf twisted its body, dodging the Knight Spear, but the milky white light on the spear inflicted a wound, causing blood to flow continuously.
Once it landed, it sent out several Wind Blades chaotically.
Marcus moved as one with his horse, narrowly dodging the Wind Blades. By now, he had put some distance between himself and the Wind Blade Wolf and attempted several charges to engage in close combat. However, the Wind Blade Wolf was intelligent, always maintaining its distance and launching Wind Blades to wear him down—another difference between magical beasts and ordinary wild beasts was their intelligence.
In such a war of attrition, and with the magical beast's rapid magic power recovery, it was hardly an issue.
However, a knight's Dou Qi couldn't last.
But Marcus proved his strength and why he was confident in winning honors and the noble title of Honored Knight on the battlefield. He sheathed his Knight Spear and swiftly drew his bow from behind, instantly letting loose two arrows in tandem, the arrows infused with Dou Qi shot out like beams of light.
The Wind Blade Wolf's eyes flashed with disdain, as it could easily dodge the arrows' attack range with just a light twist of its hips.
But the next moment, the Wind Blade Wolf's expression changed from disdain to fear.
Two arrows collided in mid-air, rapidly changing direction and sinking fiercely into the back of the Wind Blade Wolf.
"Such profound archery, truly worthy of being the Knight Order's Divine Archer!" Liszt, who was watching the battle, was genuinely astonished, and his nervousness had faded away.
With such an Earth Knight for protection, he could conveniently paddle leisurely by the side.
It's good to live as a Landlord, always avoiding exertions in situations that don't require effort. Servants waited on him in life, while knights risked their lives on the battlefield.
As the saying goes, things can happen in the blink of an eye.
Watching Marcus draw another two arrows, the Wind Blade Wolf, bleeding nonstop on its back, flashed a hint of resentment in its eyes and twisted its body to flee into the dense woods, disappearing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.
Marcus watched the direction in which the Wind Blade Wolf vanished and slowly lowered his bow and arrows.
Karl Ironhammer, who had been watching excitedly, couldn't help but say, "Teacher Marcus, why not pursue it? Two more arrows and the Wind Blade Wolf would surely be dead. That's a magical beast more valuable than pearls."
"There isn't just one magical beast like the Wind Blade Wolf in Thorn Ridge, and it wasn't as seriously injured as it appeared. It was just a ruse to lure us in... It definitely has companions waiting in the woods. If you aren't afraid of dying, feel free to chase it," Marcus responded coolly.
Karl Ironhammer scratched his head and fell silent, not daring to speak.
Marcus ignored him and turned to Liszt, "Baron, this place is dangerous, let's hit the road."
"Sure!"
Liszt readily agreed, touring his territory only for the mission; he wasn't willing to face danger—an old saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a collapsing wall.
Perhaps encountering a magical beast on the edge of Thorn Ridge in spring made Marcus a bit anxious, so he quickened the pace of the inspection thereafter.
On the way, Liszt asked curiously, "Teacher Marcus, your archery skills are impressive, even capable of deflecting arrows. What kind of archery is that?"
"Double Arrow Intersect, an advanced technique of standard archery skills, requiring the guidance of Dou Qi to perform."
"That archery technique is both cool and practical. Teacher Marcus, when will you hold an archery class to teach me?" Liszt was very eager.
Marcus responded without much enthusiasm, "Advanced archery techniques require the exterior release of Dou Qi to study. Before becoming an Earth Knight, Baron, what you first need to do is to strengthen and enhance your own Dou Qi and learn the knight's combat skills, not flashy archery."
"Okay, I'll learn archery after I advance to Earth Knight," said Liszt.
After completing the mission and receiving the Dou Qi Sublimation reward, perhaps that would be the moment he advanced to Earth Knight.
In the next three hours, they did not encounter any more magical beasts. After inspecting Thorn Ridge, they arrived at the other side of Fresh Flower Town—the Sea of Azure Waves.
The Duchy of Sapphire was situated in the northeastern corner of the continent, formed by the Sapphire Archipelago.
Coral Island was in the northeastern corner of the Sapphire Archipelago.
Fresh Flower Town was in the northeastern corner of Coral Island.
Therefore, the vast blue sea Liszt saw at that moment was the border of the Duchy of Sapphire, the Sea of Azure Waves stretching into the unknown.
"Teacher Marcus, what's beyond the sea? Are there other islands, or continents, or perhaps other countries?"
"I don't know. The fleet of Earl has never ventured into farther seas. However, legend has it that, beyond the Sea of Azure Waves, lies the Devil's Sea haunted by devils, where no one can navigate."
"Not even with dragon riding?"
"Dragons are the pillars of a nation; no Dragon Knight wishes to ride dragons and take risks everywhere. The continent has countless lands waiting to be developed. Baron, why care about the seawater that holds nothing? Not to offend you, but you should learn from the Earl and seize more land."
His words carried a hint of seduction—only through war could new Nobles be created.