The tip of the knight’s lance trembled, a faint milky-white glow clinging to it as it swiftly struck the wind blades, dispersing them one by one. Then, Marcus swung the lance behind his back, drawing an elliptical arc, and charged from the other side, accurately hitting the leaping Wind Blade Wolf.

At the moment of crisis, the Wind Blade Wolf twisted its body to dodge the knight’s lance, but the milky-white glow on the lance still left a wound, causing blood to flow profusely.

As soon as it landed, several wind blades shot out chaotically.

Marcus, in perfect harmony with his horse, dodged the wind blades by a hair’s breadth. By now, the distance between him and the Wind Blade Wolf had widened. He charged several times, trying to engage in close combat, but the Wind Blade Wolf was clever, always keeping its distance and launching wind blades from the periphery to wear him down—this intelligence is another difference between magical beasts and ordinary wild animals.

Such a battle of attrition is nothing to a magical beast with an extremely fast mana recovery rate.

But a knight’s battle aura simply can’t last long.

However, Marcus proved with his strength why he had the confidence to earn merit on the battlefield and strive for the noble honor of a lord knight. He slung his lance, turned, and drew the bow and arrows from his back. With practiced ease, he fired two arrows at once, both infused with battle aura, shooting forth like streaks of light.

A look of disdain flashed in the Wind Blade Wolf’s eyes; with a slight twist of its waist, it could easily dodge the arrows’ trajectory.

But in the next instant, the Wind Blade Wolf’s disdain turned to terror.

The two arrows collided in midair, rapidly changing direction, and struck hard into the Wind Blade Wolf’s back.

“What advanced archery! No wonder he’s the sharpshooter of the knight order!” The watching Edward Thompson was truly amazed, his earlier tension fading away.

With such an earth knight for protection, he could completely relax and take it easy on the sidelines.

Life as a lord was good—if there was a situation he could avoid, he absolutely didn’t need to exert himself. In daily life, there were servants to wait on him; on the battlefield, knights risked their lives for him.

In the blink of an eye—

Marcus drew two more arrows, and the Wind Blade Wolf, bleeding heavily from its back, flashed a look of resentment in its eyes, then twisted around and fled into the dense forest, disappearing from everyone’s sight in the blink of an eye.

Marcus looked in the direction where the Wind Blade Wolf had vanished and slowly lowered his bow.

Carl Hammer, who had just been watching with blood boiling, couldn’t help but say, “Teacher Marcus, why not give chase? A couple more arrows and the Wind Blade Wolf would be dead—that’s a magical beast more valuable than pearls!”

“There’s not just one magical beast in Thorn Ridge, and it wasn’t as badly injured as it looked—it was just pretending to lure us in… It definitely has companions waiting to support it in the forest. If you’re not afraid of dying, go ahead and chase it.” Marcus replied coolly.

Carl Hammer scratched his head awkwardly and didn’t dare say another word.

Marcus ignored him and said to Edward Thompson, “My lord baron, it’s very dangerous here. We should get moving.”

“All right!”

Edward Thompson readily agreed. Patrolling the territory was just a task for him; he had no desire to face danger—after all, as the saying goes, a wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall.

Perhaps because they had already encountered a magical beast at the edge of Thorn Ridge in spring, Marcus was a bit worried, so the rest of the patrol went at a quicker pace.

On the way, Edward Thompson asked curiously, “Teacher Marcus, your archery is amazing—you can even make arrows ricochet. What kind of archery is that?”

“Double Arrow Strike. It’s an advanced archery technique that requires guidance with battle aura to perform.”

“That’s really cool and practical. Teacher Marcus, when will you start archery lessons and teach me?” Edward Thompson asked eagerly.

Marcus replied without much enthusiasm, “Advanced archery techniques require externalized battle aura to learn. Before you become an earth knight, my lord baron, your priority should be to strengthen your own battle aura and learn the combat skills of a knight, not flashy archery.”

“All right, I’ll wait until I advance to earth knight before learning archery,” said Edward Thompson.

After completing the task and receiving the reward of battle aura sublimation, perhaps that would be the moment he advanced to earth knight.

For the next three hours of travel, they didn’t encounter any more magical beasts. After finishing the patrol of Thorn Ridge, they arrived at the other side of Flower Town—the Azurewave Sea.

The Sapphire Grand Duchy is located in the northeast corner of the continent, composed of the Sapphire Islands.

Coral Island is in the northeast corner of the Sapphire Islands.

Flower Town is in the northeast corner of Coral Island.

So, at this very moment, the deep blue sea that Edward Thompson saw was the border of the Sapphire Grand Duchy—the Azurewave Sea, stretching endlessly beyond sight.

“Teacher Marcus, what’s on the other side of the sea? Are there other islands, or continents, or perhaps other countries?”

“I don’t know. The earl’s fleet has never ventured farther out to sea. But legend has it that on the other side of the Azurewave Sea lies the Devil’s Sea, where demons roam, and no one can sail across it.”

“Not even riding a dragon?”

“Dragons are the foundation of a nation. No dragon knight would risk riding a dragon on wild adventures. There are countless lands on the continent waiting to be developed, my lord baron—why bother with the empty sea… If I may be so bold, you should learn from the earl and seize more land.”

These words had a hint of temptation—only through war can new nobles be created.

Chapter 7: The Sublimation of Battle Aura