Chapter 96: The Griffon and the Call to Arms

The local noble forces in the Northlands, who learned from adventurers that Dalaran’s strength had grown once again, had mixed feelings—some were jealous, some envious, and others cursed loudly like Macbeth.

Yet a bronze mage’s status and power suddenly rose to rank just below the Northlands’ governor and Viscount Macbeth, the lord of Stonemont. Those on the same tier as him were only Baron Eustace of Redmaple and Grand Knight Bruster, who held both the position of commander of Stonemont’s garrison and leader of the Bloodstone Fortress. Among the three, Bruster was undoubtedly the highest in status.

Although Bruster’s title was merely that of a knight, his role as Grand Knight was different from that of an ordinary knight—equivalent at least to that of a viscount. As a silver-tier powerhouse, even a regional count would show him due respect.

Next came Donald. This once-down-and-out knight heir rose to legend through a lightning-fast ascent, becoming one of the most powerful nobles in the Northlands. Though his strength as a bronze mage might not compare to that of a silver knight, his status was not far behind. He also had mages of the same bronze rank and a group of elite followers, forcing even Baron Eustace of Redmaple, who relied solely on his commercial achievements, to acknowledge his superiority.

As early as the first day after the bounty mission was announced, Donald saw the arrival of foreign adventurers as an opportunity to bring his second hero into play. He had originally planned to wait until the guard forces were well-trained and his domain had a reliable military force before summoning another hero and finding a reason to bring them under his rule. Now, he had to create a second hero ahead of schedule to deal with the orcs and to intimidate the large number of adventurers who had suddenly appeared in his domain, including spies sent by various factions.

Especially Viscount Macbeth, who never gave up his scheming ambitions.

So Donald decisively created a blood mage. He chose blood magic over the other two remaining hero classes—arcane mastery and king of the hills—because the archmage’s abilities overlapped too much with his own, and it would be difficult to deal with a human mage. As for the dwarf king, though powerful, he was even less suitable to appear in front of outsiders compared to the blood elves. Due to their stubborn and hot-tempered nature, dwarves rarely mixed with humans. Apart from times when all the creatures of the ancient worlds united to fight against invasions from the Abyssal plane, they hardly ever appeared in human society, let alone serve under human lords.

In comparison, the relationship between elves and humans was relatively harmonious. After all, the two races not only looked most similar but also shared many of the same living habits. During the Age of the Ancient Arcane Emperors, their relationship was even as close as that of family members. So it was not unheard of for an elf to serve humans, especially since, aside from being a noble lord, he was also a mage. This made it easier for people to accept his identity when Kaelthas’s true identity was revealed later.

Besides the hero Kaelthas, Donald spent over 2,000 units of soul power to summon a pair of level 5 human warrior species—griffins.

When these fierce eagle-headed, lion-bodied magical beasts, with a wingspan of eight meters and larger than a carriage, flew over the lands of Dalaran, everyone was in awe.

“Dad! What’s flying in the sky? Is it a giant eagle?” asked a young child playing in front of their house to the male villager who was cutting grass to feed the livestock.

The father smiled and replied, “Giant eagles aren’t that big. The young men from the hunting party said those are magical beasts raised by the lord—called griffins. With their lion bodies, eagle heads, and powerful claws, they are far stronger than even the most ferocious dragon lizards in the mountains back home. These magical beasts are also a symbol of our Dalaran!”

“So amazing! Are the magical beasts raised by the lord just like the cows we raise at home?”
The child’s father nodded jokingly. “More or less the same. The difference is that cows eat grass, while magical beasts eat meat!”

“Then when I grow up, I want to raise many magical beasts just like the lord!”

Soon, similar conversations were taking place everywhere in the lands of Dalaran. As for the foreign adventurers and mercenaries who heard about this, their views naturally differed from those of the ordinary villagers. They grew even more in admiration for the mage lord who could conquer and tame such powerful magical beasts.

Griffins were legendary powerful magical beasts in the history of magical beasts, tamed by dwarf tribes from the high mountains. They possessed the ability to control lightning and strong close-combat skills. Although their level, as depicted in the Book of Truth, was only that of a level 5 magical beast in this world, their actual strength far exceeded their level, allowing them to compete with ordinary level 6 or 7 magical beasts.

This world also had griffins, though they were called winged lions. Their size was similar to that of horned eagles, and ordinary individuals, being only level 3 magical beasts, were far from comparable to the powerful griffins created by Donald. In fact, even adult dragons would dare to fight against a group of more than three griffins, known for their bravery and combat skills.

Of course, ordinary adult dragons generally possess strength at least at the Silver level or above. Donald estimated that about five griffins would be needed to gain a significant advantage and be a match for them, with a number of over five increasing the chances of victory to over 80%. The soul power required for permanently summoning troops of this rank ranges from 1,800 to 2,000 or more. Although griffins are among the smarter creatures in the world of magic and can obey their masters well after being tamed, since they are not human-shaped or other highly intelligent beings, the required soul power is lower—only 1,200 units, slightly higher than that of ordinary fourth-tier troops. With ample soul power, Donald could easily summon them. Compared to human-shaped troops, having a few powerful magical beasts in one’s territory can be seen as pets tamed by the mage-lord and his followers with great strength, which is less likely to arouse suspicion. On the other hand, if too many elite human soldiers suddenly appeared, it would surely spark doubts among various parties. Any profession, such as warriors or mages, requires long periods of hard training and practice to achieve a certain level of strength. Dalarn was already a focal point for various forces, so it was inevitable that some might be dissatisfied with the rise of the Merlin family. Therefore, Donald had to take precautions and it was better to remain cautious and low-key in some aspects. Of course, when it was time to show off strength, Donald wouldn’t hold back—this was why, the very next morning after creating the griffins, he controlled two of these flying beasts to patrol the territory. With the griffins around, Dalarn gained another powerful force in the aerial domain. Although a single griffin was costly, it was far more powerful and useful than ten horned beasts or golems. Moreover, the flag of Dalarn and the family emblem of the Merlin family both featured griffin motifs, so their presence would surely inspire pride and a sense of belonging among the people, bringing immeasurable benefits to the unity of Dalarn in the future. However, griffins also had an astonishing appetite. Fortunately, they didn’t eat only meat but also enjoyed some bean-based feed, and they only needed to eat once every three days to maintain their strength. When patrolling the territory, Donald would order them to forage in the depths of the Green Cloak Forest. Otherwise, given Dalarn’s current rate of livestock production, it would be difficult to support even a few such large creatures!

By the tenth day after the bounty was posted, almost everyone Donald had been waiting for had arrived. After issuing orders the previous day for those taking on the task to register withGovernor William, he prepared to summon these mercenaries and adventurers in front of the lord’s manor. A total of seventy-five people participated in this mission: aside from Donald’s team and two other mercenary groups of ten and eight members respectively, the remaining thirty-eight were individual adventurers or small groups who had joined the task. Everyone gathered in the square in front of the lord’s manor, with many townspeople from Dusk Town and villagers from the surrounding areas watching. The mercenaries who knew each other gathered in small groups to discuss the task, while those with grudges toward one another exchanged hostile insults. However, due to the mission at hand and the presence of a dozen elite warriors patrolling in front of the lord’s manor, no one went too far and caused chaos. Among them, the most powerful on the surface were the leaders of the two mercenary groups—both were skilled swordsmen at the advanced bronze level. These two groups were elite squads sent by the two most famous mercenary companies in the North County, North Wind and Bloodstone, competing for the high-level magical equipment offered by the mission’s initiator, the genius mage Donald. The other adventurers had varying levels of strength, but even the weakest were at the peak of black iron level, with several at the bronze level. North Wind and Bloodstone had always been at odds, and their leaders were old rivals. With them gathered together under competitive circumstances, insults were inevitable. “You scoundrels from Bloodstone—instead of chewing wood in Greenwood Town, you’ve got the nerve to come to Dalaran for a mission? Is your company in such trouble that you need to earn some money to buy rice?” “You bastards from North Wind! If you’re so mouthy, then shut up. Don’t you always claim to be the best mercenary company in the North County, the strongest in the entire North? Prove it by competing in the mission—what’s the use of just talking nonsense here?” At that moment, movement arose inside the lord’s manor, and the two leaders immediately stopped their teams from arguing. Seeing the doors of the lord’s manor open, the other adventurers also fell silent, and the scene became quiet for a while. As servants cleared the way, various civil and military officials from Dalaran’s territory stepped out one after another. Last to appear were three mages, a knight in silver armor, a tall and mysterious figure wearing a mask and cloak, and the main organizer of this mission—Baron Merlinna, the lord of Dalaran. Seeing this legendary genius mage and kingdom hero, who turned out to be as young as rumored, many adventurers couldn’t help but marvel.

He had just reached adulthood, not even eighteen years old, yet he was already a noble lord and a powerful bronze mage. It was said he had many talented subordinates, and his domain was prosperous and well-managed. In contrast, some of the adventurers present were already close to fifty years old, still stuck at the black iron rank, without even a stable family business—truly a failure as human beings!