Chapter 300: The Help of Tuhaojin!

Of course, soon enough, Ma Xi and the others shook off their excitement.

The reason was simple: even though Lord Gervas had granted them the right to become griffin riders.

To become true griffin riders, they still had to subdue fourth-rank griffins.

But that was extremely difficult.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Amid roars, knights were flung onto the ground.

In less than ten minutes, all of them were black-and-blue, covered in dirt and sweat.

Since mounting the griffins, not one of them had lasted more than thirty seconds.

Keep in mind, these griffins still had their legs bound by chains.

"Gervas, your human subordinates are pathetically weak! Are you really relying on them to guard your lands?"

"Tuhaojin, don't say that—these are fourth-rank beasts, and my men are only Bronze Knights. It's their first attempt at taming; holding on for half a minute is already impressive!"

Gervas had already anticipated this scene. After all, griffins were no match for Firehorses—their combat power differed vastly.

The difficulty of taming them naturally differed just as much.

"Pfft! Gervas, your standards are far too low! But then again, to your humans, these feathered pests do seem formidable. From my newly awakened memories, your kind loved nothing more than riding dragons!"

"And yet you prefer riding these feathered pests! Honestly, it's an insult to our dragonkind! What are these feathered pests compared to us dragons?!"

Good heavens! Gervas exclaimed inwardly.

Clearly, as Tuhaojin grew, his miraculous bloodline inheritance was gradually awakening.

That is, the essential knowledge and dragon secrets left to him by his mother.

This was also one of the racial talents of powerful species.

Thinking of this, Gervas suddenly asked: "Tuhaojin, do you have a way to make these griffins submit quickly?"

Gervas had only asked casually, without much hope—after all, Tuhaojin was still sealed.

Yet Tuhaojin puffed out his chest, lifted his birdlike head, and said: "Of course I can! Though I'm still sealed as a great dragon, these are just a few feathered pests!"

"Really? Then could you help us, Tuhaojin?"

"Huh?" Tuhaojin froze, instantly regretting his boast—he'd forgotten Gervas would surely ask for help.

Of course, he wasn't lying. Over the past two days, as he grew and his seal loosened slightly, he'd gained fragments of ancestral memory—and could now release a trace of dragon aura.

Though only a faint amount, such dragon aura was more than enough to terrify these feathered pests into trembling, urine-soaked submission.

But the problem was: releasing dragon aura while sealed required immense energy.

"What? Are you just bluffing? If so, forget it!"

Gervas observed Tuhaojin's expression closely; having lived two lives, he instantly deduced Tuhaojin's inner thoughts.

Since awakening his memories, Tuhaojin's dragon pride had grown stronger.

He could never tolerate being accused of bluffing—he gritted his teeth and said: "Gervas, I, a great dragon, never bluff! But with this seal, helping you will drain me of tremendous energy!"

"So you must pay me with delicious food!"

Gervas's heart leapt. "What do you want to eat?"

"The cream cake made by Chef Rose—eight layers! No, make it eight!"

"Eight layers? Tuhaojin, do you know how tall that is? And it's too difficult—Chef Rose can't possibly make it. At most two layers!"

"No! Two layers are too few! I've expended so much energy—I need at least three!" Tuhaojin thought: eight layers was indeed overreaching.

"Fine. Three layers it is. First, help me make these griffins submit—I'll have Chef Rose start baking the three-layer cream cake right away!"

In truth, an eight-layer cream cake posed no problem at all—if other nobles knew, eighteen layers wouldn't be an issue.

But Gervas considered: he couldn't let Tuhaojin be satisfied now, or future favors would come with outrageous demands.

"Alright!"

Tuhaojin didn't realize he'd been outmaneuvered by this two-legged creature. After making the deal, he told Gervas to prepare.

Gervas gathered Ma Xi and the other three, handing each a master-binding scroll.

"Gervas, I'm ready to begin!"

Tuhaojin began muttering incantations.

This time, to Gervas's ears, it was no longer bird chirps—it had become another obscure, strange language.

Though the language was arcane, Gervas could still vaguely grasp its meaning: it was a spell.

A dragon spell?

Gervas speculated.

When the incantation ended, a faint golden dragon mark suddenly appeared on Tuhaojin's body.

As the mark surfaced, Gervas immediately felt an unprecedented, terrifying aura.

The aura made his hair stand on end.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

The previously lively griffins reacted even more violently.

Instantly, they howled and collapsed onto the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

Where was their pride as fourth-rank beasts?

"Gervas, tell your men to activate the binding scrolls—I've suppressed them with dragon aura."

"Quick! Mount the griffins and activate the scrolls!" Gervas didn't dare delay.

Ma Xi and the others, pale-faced, gritted their teeth, climbed onto the griffins' backs, and dripped blood onto the scrolls to activate them.

This time, there was no resistance.

Whether mounting the griffins or activating the scrolls, the griffins offered no struggle.

The next moment, Ma Xi and the others shuddered violently as the scrolls' blue light vanished entirely into the griffins' bodies.

Gervas saw this and rejoiced—he knew it had succeeded.

He wasted no time, leaping onto another griffin himself.

There were six griffins total: four belonged to Ma Xi and his men, one was for Mi Ke, who was still en route,

And the last one, naturally, was Gervas's own.

Though he owned Zhuīyuè, honestly, as a mere viscount, riding a unicorn within Storm Domain was acceptable.

But if other high nobles found out, it would bring serious trouble.

He pulled out a binding scroll and dripped blood onto it.

With a hum, the scroll's blue light vanished into the griffin beneath him, and instantly, Gervas felt a peculiar connection form in his mind.

It was similar to the bond he shared with Zhuīyuè.

This meant he had successfully bound himself to the griffin.

"Tuhaojin, done!"

Gervas waved to Tuhaojin.

At once, the mark on Tuhaojin vanished, and the invisible pressure around them disappeared.

Thud! Tuhaojin collapsed straight to the ground.

Gervas had no time to think—he leapt off the griffin and rushed to Tuhaojin's side.

He lifted Tuhaojin in his arms. "Tuhaojin, are you alright?"

"I got ripped off! Totally ripped off! Gervas, three layers of cake? This is a loss!"

"Then two three-layer cakes—how's that?"

Seeing Tuhaojin's weakened state, Gervas felt a pang of sympathy.

"Really? Then it's not a loss!" Tuhaojin beamed with joy.

"Did I just get tricked by this fool bird?" Gervas doubted it—but Tuhaojin's weakness felt genuine, so he let it go.

Gervas then ordered Tuhaojin to rest, and instructed his servants to have Chef Rose begin baking the cream cake.

He himself mounted the griffin and soared into the sky with his men.