Chapter 620 - 452: Baofeng’s Destination and the Cloud Sea Giant Whale
Chapter 620: Chapter 452: Baofeng’s Destination and the Cloud Sea Giant Whale
Baofeng had been with him since he was just a Pioneer Lord, all the way to his current position as a Count.
Its speed was once one of Raylo’s greatest assets.
But now, Lightning had advanced to the Domain Level.
Baofeng’s speed could no longer keep up with Raylo.
Raylo walked over to Baofeng. The griffin merely lifted its eyelids lazily before letting them droop again.
Its enormous head rested on its forepaws, and neither the food before it nor the Knights passing by could pique its interest.
Raylo reached out and gently patted Baofeng’s massive head, which lay on the ground. He stroked the Iron Feathers on the back of its neck.
"Sulking, old friend?"
A low growl rumbled in Baofeng’s throat, as if in complaint.
"I know. You think that just because I have Lightning now, I don’t need you anymore."
Raylo crouched down, meeting Baofeng’s gaze.
"Lightning is incredibly fast, and there are many times I need that speed. But that doesn’t mean you’re no longer important."
He picked up a piece of bloody fresh meat from a nearby trough and held it to Baofeng’s beak.
Baofeng turned its head away, refusing to look.
Raylo wasn’t angry. He placed the meat back in the trough and continued to stroke the griffin’s neck.
"The army of Black Stone Territory is expanding, and our enemies are growing stronger. We have Mammoth Knights and Earth Dragon Knights, but we still have far too few Griffin Knights."
Baofeng’s ears twitched.
"One hundred Griffin Knights are nowhere near enough. I need more griffins—hundreds, even thousands of them. And they will need a king to lead them."
Raylo looked into Baofeng’s eyes, his tone turning serious.
"Baofeng, I name you the Griffin King. From this day forward, all griffins in Black Stone Territory will be under your command. Your mission is no longer to carry me, and me alone, into battle."
He paused, then his tone shifted, taking on a teasing note.
"Your new mission is to go to the Black Stone Mountain Range and find me some beautiful female griffins—the more, the better. Then, I need you to sire a whole flock of little griffins. The future of Black Stone Territory requires a vast griffin legion. This is a mission that only you can accomplish."
Baofeng seemed to understand.
It lifted its head and gazed at Raylo, the melancholy look in its eyes now gone.
Raylo smiled and patted its head again.
"Go and be their king. From now on, the skies over Black Stone Territory belong to you and your descendants. Go on, show those female griffins who the true sovereign of the sky is."
Baofeng rose to its feet, stretching its stiff body.
It threw back its head and let out a shrill, piercing cry that echoed across the plains.
Hearing its cry, the other griffins in the camp called back in response. For a moment, the sky was filled with their screeches.
Baofeng ruffled its Iron Feathers, which scraped against each other with a metallic clang.
It affectionately nudged Raylo’s shoulder with its head, then beat its massive wings, kicking up a fierce gale as it soared into the sky.
As he watched Baofeng ascend into the sky, Raylo straightened his back.
He felt a pang of melancholy, but it was overshadowed by a sense of relief.
’People have to move forward, and so do their companions.’
’Perhaps for Baofeng, becoming a Griffin King with a harem and a sprawling lineage was a better fate than fighting by my side on the brink of life and death.’
...
「Three days later, at the border between the Black Stone Mountain Range and Black Stone Territory.」
The sun had already climbed to its zenith.
Raylo’s gaze swept across the sprawling mountain range below.
Beside him, Lightning flicked its tail impatiently, its Dragon Scales reflecting a blinding electric light in the sun.
At his feet, Moonlight was dozing on the ground, its ears twitching occasionally as the tip of its tail swept listlessly across the dirt.
Not far away, Kado and over a hundred Hill Giants were scattered about, some sitting and some lying down. Their massive bodies cast a patchwork of shadows across the hillside.
They had been waiting here for nearly a full day.
Raylo was growing anxious.
He looked over at Kado.
"Kado, how are your people doing?"
The Hill Giant answered in a deep, rumbling voice.
"My Lord, they’re getting hungry."
"Have everyone eat some of the rations we brought to tide them over. We’ll have a proper meal tonight," Raylo said.
He had completely locked down the area; no unauthorized personnel could get near.
A Flying Magical Beast capable of carrying several hundred Giants—he absolutely could not let a strategic asset like that slip through his fingers.
Time trickled by.
The sun drifted from its midday peak toward the west. The light softened, stretching long shadows across the mountains.
Golden Dragon Sun shifted its position, buried its head in its forepaws, and went back to sleep.
Moonlight, however, had leaped onto a large boulder. Its pale golden eyes scanned the distant sky, as if sensing something.
The Giant Legion had finished eating and were now leaning against one another in small groups, their low, muffled voices carrying on quiet conversations.
Raylo paced a few steps to loosen his stiff limbs.
He walked over to Moonlight and followed its gaze.
The sky was perfectly clear, save for a few wisps of cloud tinted gold by the setting sun.
"Moonlight, have you found anything?"
Moonlight glanced back at him, shook its head gently, then turned back to its vigil.
Suddenly, Moonlight shot to its feet.
A glint of light flashed in its pale golden eyes as it stared intently at a patch of empty sky several kilometers away.
At almost the exact same moment, Raylo felt a strange tremor in the air.
The air shimmered, as if a stone had been dropped into a calm pond, sending out invisible ripples.
"It’s here!"
Sun’s enormous draconic head shot up, its posture wary.
Lightning let out a low growl, its body crackling with electricity.
The view in the distant airspace began to warp, like air shimmering above red-hot glass.