Chapter 223: Chapter 223

Bai Shi teleported back to the Dragonblood Knights' underground encampment using a site of grace.

At this moment, the Dragonblood Knights were already on their dragon beasts, attempting to ride them.

Nearly a full day had passed since Bai Shi and Stella brought the dragon beasts here.

It seemed the Dragonblood Knights had already mastered the basic commands.

As for combat, they would likely need further coordination.

Bai Shi went to find Hakan.

Hakan was currently riding his dragon beast, moving vertically along a nearby cliff face.

Bai Shi looked up at Hakan on the cliff and called out to him:

"Hakan, how does it feel?"

The beast immediately scrambled down the cliff at great speed and arrived before Bai Shi.

Hakan swung himself off the dragon beast and stood on the ground, unable to hide his excitement.

"These creatures are truly incredible!"

"Not only are they fast, but their climbing ability is also formidable. They can traverse all sorts of complex terrain and possess a fair amount of combat strength."

"Their stamina is said to be a bit lacking, but it doesn't seem to be a significant drawback."

"In fact, compared to their other strengths, this weakness is almost negligible."

Hakan patted the dragon beast beside him and continued:

"These dragon beasts are undoubtedly excellent mounts."

"Once this operation is complete and we return to Stormveil, we'll equip them with saddles and armor. They will absolutely be superior mounts on the battlefield."

Bai Shi nodded with a smile.

"How well have the Dragonblood Knights mastered these mounts so far?"

Hakan recalled the training session with the Dragonblood Knights.

"Although they've only just started working with these mounts, the knights are grasping it quite well."

"Unlike other animals, these creatures don't require bonding or a break-in period, nor do they show resistance or have wills of their own."

"Therefore, you just need to issue commands to direct them, which makes the learning process incredibly fast."

"Almost everyone has already mastered the basic instructions."

Bai Shi nodded, pleased with this rate of progress.

Normal warhorses not only need to be raised, but they also have to be broken in before they can be ridden properly.

First, they must meet the physical requirements and then be trained for obedience to become stable mounts.

After that, their mettle must be constantly trained so they don't panic at the sight of blood or weapons on the battlefield. Even when injured, they must remain steady and not flee.

But these dragon beasts, created through biotechnology, had no such requirements.

They were like machines. As long as the correct command was given, there were no issues.

"About when can we set out for the Town of Sellia?"

Hakan looked at the other Dragonblood Knights riding nearby, thought for a moment, and replied:

"If we want to leave, we can leave right now."

"There are no problems with the most basic commands, and we can use the journey as an opportunity for more training."

"Of course, if conditions permit, I think it would be best to depart tomorrow during the day."

Although it was difficult to distinguish day from night underground, it wasn't impossible.

For the convenience of their operations and to regulate their sleep schedules, the Tarnished who came underground were all equipped with clock-like timekeeping devices.

Bai Shi had been outside earlier, and by now it was already evening.

Since Hakan had said so, they would wait until the next day.

Daylight was better for marching and would prevent them from arriving at Sellia in the middle of the night.

"Alright, we'll wait until morning."

After setting the time to advance with Hakan, Bai Shi left them to their practice and returned to his tent alone.

Inside, Senessax was playing with Shivr, dangling a piece of meat.

Beside Senessax was the thigh of a beast, a good portion of which had already been eaten.

The champion's jerky from before had already been finished by Shivr; even the bones had been gnawed clean.

The meat he was being fed now was brought by Hakan's men.

The Dragonblood Knights would normally go out to gather resources while stationed here, which included hunting for meat.

The natural resources underground were quite abundant, so supplies were not a concern.

By now, Shivr was much larger than when he was first born.

In a few days, he would probably be the size of a common adult wolf in the Lands Between.

When Shivr saw Bai Shi return, he immediately ran over and nuzzled against his trouser leg.

Bai Shi knelt and petted the cute little fellow.

Then, Bai Shi looked at Senessax.

"Shivr has eaten quite a bit today."

"Yes, the amount he ate today is quite a lot for his size."

"Perhaps it's because this is the time when he needs to grow."

Bai Shi watched Shivr rolling on the ground and was suddenly struck by a thought.

"Speaking of which, has he gone outside to relieve himself yet?"

"Of course. You just happened to be away when he did."

"Shivr is very smart. He goes out to find a spot on his own and comes back when he's done. He's very low-maintenance."

Bai Shi breathed a sigh of relief.

Not having to scoop poop was great.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about getting a pet in his past life. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅✦𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾✦𝗇𝖾𝗍

But his room was barely big enough for himself, let alone a pet.

And after researching how to care for various pets online, Bai Shi had given up.

Almost all pets were a hassle when it came to eating, drinking, pooping, and sleeping, and there were all sorts of other things to pay attention to.

Things like regular grooming, and some pets even needed their psychological health considered.

Bai Shi felt that a gaming shut-in like him could barely take care of himself, so he shouldn't torment a pet.

Seeing how low-maintenance Shivr was, he was quite pleased.

He petted Shivr with Senessax for a while longer before sending Senessax back to her own tent to rest.

Bai Shi lay down, stroking Shivr while recalling the two matters Ranni had mentioned earlier.

The impact of those two things was so great that he still felt a little dazed.

The next day, Bai Shi was nudged awake by Shivr.

Stepping out of the tent, he saw that the Dragonblood Knights had already packed up their living quarters.

These tents could be used again in the future and would be sent back to Stormveil after being packed up.

They packed up the materials for the tents and loaded them onto large wagons, which would be pulled by the dragon beasts.

This was also a good opportunity to send some of the dragon beasts back to Stormveil so the smiths could craft suitable armor and saddles for them.

Hakan assigned about a dozen Dragonblood Knights to lead the knight attendants back to Stormveil with the supplies.

This included the few warhorses they had brought with them previously.

The remaining Dragonblood Knights would travel light, accompanying Bai Shi to the Town of Sellia.

They could resupply and make camp there, so there was no need to bring too much with them.

When Bai Shi emerged, Hakan and Stella stood to his left and right.

Hakan blew the whistle used to control the dragon beasts.

The beasts, with the fully prepared Dragonblood Knights on their backs, gathered and formed ranks before Bai Shi.

Bai Shi looked at the Dragonblood Knights arrayed before him and nodded in satisfaction.

This was the first time he had seen the army under his command so directly.

Bai Shi took the Sword of Night and Flame from his spatial disk, raised it to the sky, and shouted to the Dragonblood Knights:

"Dragonblood Knights, march on the Town of Sellia!"

The Dragonblood Knights all drew their weapons, raising them to the sky and responding to Bai Shi with a heaven-shaking roar.

Under his leadership, the Dragonblood Knights emerged from the Siofra River Well into the valley below Caelid.

Once everyone had assembled, Hakan commanded the dragon beasts to climb the great canyon walls, following the path they had taken before toward the Town of Sellia.

Yesterday, Senessax had cleared out many of the rot-infested creatures from the air.

However, in just one day, rot creatures from other areas had already reoccupied these lands.

Although their numbers were fewer than before, they were still a nuisance.

This time, however, Bai Shi did not have Senessax clear the way.

He would use these numerous rot creatures as a training exercise for the Dragonblood Knights.

If they became nervous in battle and forgot to command their dragon beasts, they would surely suffer against the Kindred of Rot.

The situation Bai Shi was worried about did not come to pass.

A full charge of the numerous Dragonblood Knights made short work of these beasts.

The Dragonblood Knights simply had to crash straight into the rot creatures, and a group of them would be quickly annihilated in the torrent.

The Dragonblood Knights had consumed dragon blood, enhancing their physical prowess.

Even one-on-one against rot creatures like giant dogs and crows, they had a fighting chance.

And now, they had superior numbers and the advantage of mounts.

As they passed, several greatswords would swing out, cutting down the rot creatures.

Then, the knights following behind would deliver the finishing blows, eliminating them completely.

The feeble counterattacks of the rot creatures were firmly blocked by their shields.

By the time the rot creatures, with their pitiful intelligence, realized they should flee, it was already too late.

They were easily chased down by the dragon beasts, which bit their limbs and threw them to the ground, turning them into meat to be butchered at will.

Just like that, the Dragonblood Knights rode their dragon beasts in a mad dash, stopping only once to rest.

After a day's journey, the Dragonblood Knights arrived at the Town of Sellia.

The sorcerers of Sellia came out to welcome them, surprised to see a knightly order of this scale.

They hadn't expected Bai Shi to be able to raise such a high-caliber force of knights in the current Lands Between.

Bai Shi instructed Hakan to have the Dragonblood Knights make camp in the Town of Sellia and rest well for the night.

Tomorrow, the entire army would move out and retake the Sellia Crystal Tunnel.