Chapter 23: The Fire Steeds Appear!

"Heavens, my lord, this is Night Fragrance Grass! Such a vast patch must be worth at least several gold coins!"

Lawrence exclaimed, clearly stunned by this patch of Night Fragrance Grass.

"Exactly, Lawrence. Order everyone to gather immediately and pull up all the Night Fragrance Grass in this outer area for collection!"

"But do not touch this central patch, the most lush and fertile!" Gervas gestured toward the central area, roughly a hundred square meters in size.

The Night Fragrance Grass within this range was the most lush and uniform, absolutely the favorite of the Fire Steeds.

"Yes, my lord Gervas!"

While the guards struggled to pull up the Night Fragrance Grass, Gervas ordered four knights to quickly fetch eight sturdy tree stumps.

Then, they drove the stumps hard into the ground over a meter deep, leaving only one and a half meters exposed above ground.

Once the wooden stakes were secured, they chopped two notches at equal heights on the upper and lower parts of each stump, tied on ropes with slip knots, and thus the task was complete!

"What is my lord preparing to do?"

"I don't know. Perhaps he intends to fence off the remaining Night Fragrance Grass to prevent other animals from eating it?"

"But there are only two ropes; that would only deter something like a horse. Facing rabbits, goats..."

"Shut up, you lot! Do you think you have the right to question my lord's orders? If you want to end up on the gallows, don't drag me down, and don't drag the guard squad down with you!"

Seeing the squad members murmuring among themselves, Captain Lawrence immediately silenced them all.

Especially since they were merely guards, not my lord's knights, they had no right to offer opinions.

At this moment, Gervas, having finished setting up the wooden stakes, walked toward the crowd.

"Among you, how many know how to throw a lasso?"

Knights' squires all received specialized training in throwing lassos, but Gervas was not certain about the guard squad.

To his delight, in this border region, there were actually a few guards who had learned it.

"My lord, I can do it. Seven or eight years ago, Baron Major wanted to form a horse-catching team to venture into the Chaos Wasteland to capture wild horses, and I happened to learn the skill!"

"Additionally, Zari, Harry, and Percy can all throw lassos!" Lawrence reported.

"Excellent!"

Everything was ready; only the east wind was lacking.

Gervas directly informed everyone that the Fire Steeds were about to arrive.

Hearing this news, whether guards or the four knights, were all somewhat incredulous.

Nevertheless, the saying remained: if my lord says it exists, then it must be treated as existing.

Thus, everyone obediently followed Gervas to hide in the bushes fifty or sixty meters away from the Night Fragrance Grass.

With the scorching sun overhead, the crowd squeezed into the damp, stifling grass. As time ticked by second by second, although the guards said nothing aloud, deep down they began to doubt whether the Fire Steeds would actually come.

After all, a Fire Steed was a top-tier warhorse worth seventy or eighty gold coins each; how could one encounter them so easily?

If it were a matter of encountering ordinary wild horses, the possibility would be somewhat higher.

Clomp! Clomp!

Just as the guards' thoughts diverged, the sound of hoofbeats approaching from a distance drew everyone's attention.

Looking up toward the edge of the bushes, they saw seven brownish-red figures appearing at the edge of the distant pasture.

These seven figures were tall and muscular, their appearance magnificent, and when their four hooves ran, they were like swift lightning.

"F-Fire Steeds!"

All the guards widened their eyes and covered their mouths with their hands, fearing they might make a sound due to excitement.

The greatest mark of the Fire Steed is its brownish-red fur. It is said that red dragon bloodline flows within their bodies, which is why their skin appears brownish-red.

Besides this, the Fire Steed's physique is a size larger than ordinary horses, with a normal height of around two meters and twenty centimeters.

Some have even seen advanced Fire Steeds reaching two meters and fifty centimeters.

"Relax all! Wait for my command!" Gervas's soothing words arrived in time, calming the excited guards.

However, the gaze everyone now directed at their lord was filled with reverence.

Especially the guards; previously, they had no idea their lord possessed such skills.

On the contrary, the original four knight squires had witnessed this many times along the way.

Moreover, it was truly Moon Chaser who discovered the Fire Steeds, so the surprise in their hearts was not so great.

Fire Steeds possess a very high level of alertness.

Upon arriving near the Night Fragrance Grass, they did not immediately enter the grassland of Night Fragrance Grass; instead, they tentatively grazed on ordinary tender grass around the perimeter.

Gervas knew this was because the eight wooden stakes had aroused the Fire Steeds' caution. Even though they had camouflaged the stakes with branches and leaves, they still appeared somewhat conspicuous.

Fortunately, the allure of the Night Fragrance Grass was simply too great; except for divine creatures like unicorns, it would be difficult for any other herbivore to resist.

Gradually, the leading Fire Steed tentatively approached the edge of the Night Fragrance Grass and took a few bites.

Finding no abnormalities, it finally stepped into the Night Fragrance Grass pasture.

After eating a few more bites, this Fire Steed turned its head and let out a long neigh. The other Fire Steeds, as if receiving permission, hurriedly gathered around.

"This beast! Truly worthy of possessing the bloodline of a great dragon. Even if it is thin, it possesses wisdom far surpassing ordinary wild beasts!" Gervas exclaimed in wonder.

However, the higher the intelligence of the Fire Steed, the greater its controllability after subsequent taming, so Gervas was certainly pleased.

"Prepare to act!"

When all seven Fire Steeds had entered the Night Fragrance Grass pasture, Gervas immediately initiated the capture.

"Pull!"

At the command, more than twenty subordinates forcefully pulled the four ropes in front of them.

With a rustling sound, the tension of the ropes spread to the eight wooden stakes dozens of meters away.

On the stakes were several slip knots; as the ropes were pulled through the slip knots, they instantly sprang up and tightened from within the pile of Night Fragrance Grass.

This sudden commotion immediately startled the seven Fire Steeds, which had been feasting heartily.

Instantly, the Fire Steeds erupted into chaos and began scattering in all directions.

But very soon, the Fire Steeds discovered they could not escape at all.

For four ropes had suddenly appeared before them, blocking their flight.

The Fire Steeds could not bend low or lower their heads, and leaping was too crowded; this turned the Fire Steeds into headless flies, frantically darting about inside the cage woven by the ropes in search of a way out.

Gervas knew such ropes could not hold these large beasts for long; charging out ahead of all, he shouted, "Follow me! Rope Team, charge out!"

Lawrence and the others dared not slacken, beginning to run desperately behind their my lord.

And the gaze they cast upon those Fire Steeds was even more blazing; their hearts pounded nonstop, feeling a surge of hot blood.

Although the Fire Steeds captured would not belong to them, to catch a single Fire Steed worth seventy or eighty gold coins in their lifetime would be enough for them to boast about for a lifetime.

Just as if a knight successfully slew a dragon, that too would be capital for him to boast about for a lifetime.