Chapter 301: Breakthrough! Becoming a Silver Knight!

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Above Stormhold, the screeches of griffins echoed through the air!

Of course, these roars were no longer hostile as before, but joyful cries.

On the griffins' backs, Mac and the others clung desperately to the creatures' necks, their faces pale with terror.

Only Gervas wore a face full of excitement.

Fourth-tier beasts truly lived up to their rank—this flight experience was nothing like that of a first-tier Swift Hawk.

Even Yueyue, riding one, hadn't found it nearly this comfortable.

The griffins' formidable strength allowed them to perform any high-difficulty maneuver in midair.

Whether it was a vertical dive from great height or a seven-hundred-and-twenty-degree spin.

Overall, aside from straight-line speed being inferior to the Swift Hawk, the griffin's ride quality utterly crushed it.

Of course, beyond flight experience, griffins were best known for their combat power.

"Head over the lake to the east!"

Gervas shouted to Mac and the others, then flew toward the lake a mile away.

When they reached the lake's airspace, he ordered the griffin to hover.

"Try attacking the lake surface!"

After giving the order, Gervas moved first.

He drew his longsword and gathered his aura.

A strange sight appeared: the blade no longer glowed with red aura, but with blue-white lightning arcs.

He slashed downward—there was a hum—and a blue-white orb of lightning shot toward the water.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion rang out; the lake's surface erupted in a geyser of water, shooting up four or five meters high.

After the spray fell, dozens of fish of varying sizes floated on the surface.

"No wonder griffin knights use hammers—using one now is practically like being Thor himself!"

Gervas had already decided: once back, he'd have the blacksmith forge several beautiful hammers.

Boom! Boom!

Besides Gervas, Mac and the other four's attacks were equally powerful.

"This… this is the griffin knight's attack! It's too strong—is this really our power?!"

Mac and the others stared in disbelief at the splashing waves, feeling as if they were dreaming.

Of course, this wasn't truly their own power—it was the combined strength of themselves and the griffin.

"Work hard from now on—I've heard that fifth- and sixth-tier griffins have even more attack techniques!"

"Yes, my lord! We'll work hard!"

The men immediately responded with excitement.

They knew that from this moment on, their fates had truly changed!

…

Southeast of Stormhold, Karas Ridge.

Five dark shadows streaked across the ground.

Sensing the threat, both beasts and demons scrambled in panic to flee and hide.

But Karas Ridge, as its name suggests, was covered entirely in rocks, with sparse vegetation.

Thus, flying demons could see everything below with perfect clarity.

Any beast or demon's escape was utterly exposed.

"There it is!"

At that moment, a shout came from the back of the flying demons.

This group, of course, was Gervas and his subordinates Mac and the others.

After testing by the lake, they hadn't returned to the castle but came directly to Karas Ridge.

Karas Ridge bordered the Death Mountains, its roads rugged, rarely visited, and extremely dangerous.

But for Gervas and his men, now with a fourth-tier griffin as their mount, the danger dropped sharply.

After circling and searching the ridge for over ten minutes, Gervas immediately locked onto his target.

It was a beast resembling a white fox, with three tails.

But don't mistake it for an actual white fox—its tails glowed with three different colors, proving it was a Devouring Beast.

Legend said that a Devouring Beast could shift its form once per stage.

And it changed form according to its needs.

It could become a white fox, a white rabbit, even a wolf or a tiger.

The stronger its power, the more formidable its forms.

But the one constant was the number of colored tails corresponding to its tier.

Though some similar creatures existed, like the Colorwing Swan or the Three-Colored Rabbit.

Still, such peculiar demons were rare overall.

So when someone like Gervas knew exactly where a Devouring Beast would appear, he'd find it with perfect accuracy.

The Devouring Beast below moved swiftly, darting through rock crevices.

Soon, it spotted a rocky cave entrance and darted inside.

Normally, with such a sturdy rock crevice, it might have escaped with its life.

But today it faced Gervas with a griffin.

Gervas fired a lightning orb—BOOM! the solid rock cracked into a deep dent.

But to force the Devouring Beast out, this wasn't enough.

Gervas ordered Mac and the others to take turns blasting.

All five attacking together would've been faster.

But Gervas feared overdoing it and turning the Devouring Beast into ash, so they had to proceed slowly.

…

"My lord, we found it!"

About half an hour later, Mac cried out.

Below, a two-meter-diameter cavern had been exposed by the shattered rocks.

Inside the cavern, now stripped of its "lid," the three-tailed white fox lay on the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

Clearly, the residual shockwaves from the griffin knights' attacks had injured it.

Gervas landed swiftly with Mac and the others, easily capturing the paralyzed Devouring Beast alive.

"Let's go back!"

The return journey was swift and uneventful; Gervas handed the Devouring Beast to Chef Rose to be stewed immediately.

Less than an hour later, a fragrant meat broth was delivered to the parlor.

Gervas dismissed the servants and began devouring the meal.

The Devouring Beast wasn't large, so though he ate until full, the benefit was maximized by consuming it all at once.

Soon, Gervas felt countless pure energies surging and boiling within his meridians.

Had the Devouring Beast not also nourished and strengthened his meridians and body, he might have exploded.

Gervas knew: this was the moment for breakthrough.

He swiftly guided the energy toward his Aura Seed.

"Break through!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

No complex tugging, no need for superhuman willpower to overcome obstacles.

With the pure energy of the Devouring Beast aiding and protecting him, Gervas's breakthrough came effortlessly!

As a torrent of pure energy and elements shattered the Aura Seed's protective shell and flooded into its core,

the Aura Seed first blazed with fiery red light.

Then, within the crimson glow, the seed cracked open—and slowly sprouted a tender shoot!

The shoot grew larger, becoming a strange red flower!

This was the Aura Flower—the symbol of the Silver Rank!

"Aura Flower! It's done! I've become a Silver Knight! Ha ha!"

Even though Gervas had anticipated this, actually feeling the surge of power after his breakthrough, he couldn't help laughing aloud.

After all, while armies could be relied upon, true strength always came from within—that was the most dependable power of all!