Gē zhēng had no reason not to lend it to her. De kè měng tè was training in mounted combat, and if Dīnuòlā was on foot, this training would not be helpful for him. Besides, it was just borrowing it, and although Dīnuòlā's character was not great, lending and returning a borrowed item was still reliable.
Gē zhēng released the Firetail Horned Horse King in the courtyard, which had been restless in the summoning spell, creating sparks on the flagstones, and let out a long neigh.
"Thank you!" Dīnuòlā leaped gracefully into the air, perfectly executing three rotations and landing steadily on the broad back of the Horned Horse King.
"Don't be in a hurry, I’ve already had Comms buy a set of beast-riding equipment. When he comes back, we’ll put it on the Horned Horse King," said Gē zhēng.
Ordinary beast-riding equipment didn't have much functionality, it just had adjustable sizes to fit different types of beasts. A set of leather beast-riding equipment sold for fifty gold coins. Comms tried to bargain hard, but unfortunately this was not Oba City, and he almost got scolded, so he hurriedly bought a set of beast-riding equipment and returned, feeling a little scared: why are the people in the north so hot-tempered?
Dīnuòlā was getting impatient. She personally put the beast-riding equipment on the Horned Horse King, and surprisingly, the Horned Horse King did not resist at all. Gē zhēng looked on in surprise: when Dīnuòlā leaped onto the horse's back earlier, a beast of the Horned Horse King's level should have resisted.
The fire-type beast meekly let Dīnuòlā put the bridle on and saddle its back. Dīnuòlā tested the tightness of the saddle, and the Horned Horse King snorted loudly. Dīnuòlā seemed to understand and patted its back before mounting.
She drew her sword and scolded, "I am going to practice mounted combat with Demont," she rarely spoke so kindly with Gē zhēng, how could he not understand her intentions?
"You want to borrow the Firetail Horned Horse King?"
Cont...
Dekumont flew high, avoiding the fire cloud, but in doing so lost his speed. He could only descend from high altitude and attack Di Nola like an eagle pouncing on a hare.
However, Di Nola was not a hare—let it be clear that the term hare simply refers to a certain four-legged, long-eared animal and does not have a figurative meaning. The warrior woman danced wildly with her sword, delivering over thirty strikes in an instant while riding her saddle. Although her weapon was not as advanced as Dekumont's, this series of counterattacks neutralized his weapon's advantage and thwarted the Baron's intended decisive attack.
The power of the Twin Moon Blade didn't end there. During Dekumont's retreat, he suddenly drew the Magic Moon Dagger and threw it. The blade carved a blue line in the air, instantly igniting a dense fire elemental around the Fire-Tailed Horse King.
The unexpected move by Dekumont caught Di Nola and the Fire-Tailed Horse King off guard, causing them to be flustered by the flames, especially Di Nola.
The cunning lizard Anunda and Dekumont cooperated seamlessly, despite the burning pain on their bodies. Dekumont flipped and landed, tapped Anunda's head with his toe, and then swiftly shot towards Di Nola like a nimble swallow.
As Di Nola exerted tremendous effort, she finally broke the Magic Moon Dagger, leaving a gap in the beheading broadsword.
Dekumont had already reached her, and it seemed that Dekumont had won this time. Just as the baron revealed the victory smile that Di Nola detested, the female warrior made a sudden move, "You should also taste the chill of frost!"
A gust of icy wind swept through the air, and the Fire-Tailed Horse King and Di Nola leaped away as Dekumont fell into a trap, encased by ice.
Di Nola's Beheading Broadsword could unleash twelve Level-3 magic "Ice Break" and three Level-5 magic "Ice Dragon Wind." Although the broadsword had become a jagged blade, it did not affect its magical abilities.
The Level-5 magic Ice Dragon Wind did not cause any harm to Dekumont, but it turned his eyebrows and beard snow-white, his body encased in ice crystals, looking disheveled. This greatly relieved Di Nola.
"Alright, let's call it a draw for this match," the referee Ge Zheng announced.
Dekumont rubbed his eyebrow, the ice crystals creaking. "I admit defeat." Although he felt a bit down, he was honest, "I lost." Both of them appeared evenly matched, but Dekumont's weapon was far superior to Di Nola's. Even though Di Nola's mount was higher in level than the swift wolf lizard, Anunda’s alchemical wolf claw made up for the difference in the battle. In terms of mounts, Dekumont indeed lost.
Ge Zheng couldn't help but cast a glance at Di Nola: in his previous impression, this girl's prowess should be lower than Dekumont's. But today, she defeated Dekumont. Was Di Nola naturally a brave warrior, always strong against powerful opponents?
After a satisfying battle, Di Nola felt refreshed. She patted her "jagged blade" and said to Dekumont, "Baron, did you get your money's worth with these 500 gold coins?" She then looked at Ge Zheng, and he understood her meaning: "Don’t look at me, your Beheading Broadsword is definitely worth the 3,000 gold coins."
But Di Nola didn't agree with him, "The Baron's sword cost only 6,000 gold coins!"
This left Ge Zheng speechless. Dekumont came to a compromise, "Alright, I will pay 6,000 gold coins to have a good sword made by the master, as compensation to Miss Di Nola." Both Ge Zheng and Di Nola shook their heads, "No need."
Ge Zheng said, "Even though I am skilled in crafting weapons, without good materials, it is futile. When we find suitable materials, I will make it for you." Di Nola also understood the reality and didn't insist, "You did promise..."
Although Dekumont lost, he was excited, "Master, I didn’t expect Anunda could contend with a Level-9 mount!" This was all thanks to Ge Zheng’s alchemical wolf claw. Although Dekumont trusted Ge Zheng, he still didn’t fully understand how skilled Ge Zheng truly was. Now, with the successful experience of dealing with a Level-9 mount, Dekumont believed that even if he encountered the Exploding Flame Tiger owned by the Third Prince during a match, even if the prince had a quasi-artifact magical beast equipment, he would not be afraid!
Ge Zheng thought silently in his heart: I will have your swift wolf lizard confront the quasi-artifact that I refined. If you don’t have the skill, then you’re sending yourself to die. Fortunately, when refining that magical beast equipment, I saved a trump card. Otherwise, I would be shooting myself in the foot.
Grateful, Dekumont held Ge Zheng’s hand and said, "Master, I, Dekumont, swear by the honor of the nobility that no matter where I end up in the future, you will always be my closest brother!"
...
Back at the inn, Ge Zheng felt a bit scared. At the moment Dekumont made the oath, he was actually quite worried that the baron, in a fit of impulse, would insist on becoming sworn brothers. Fortunately, that practice was not popular in the Astral World.
Di Nola had to accompany Dekumont for three days of training. The baron had arranged a guest room for her, and Ge Zheng returned to his room.
It was apparent that the swift wolf lizard had fully recovered and even became stronger than before, which pleased Dekumont greatly. The baron hosted a banquet for Ge Zheng, and naturally, Di Nola was present. The warrior woman had an impressive tolerance for liquor, and Dekumont refused to believe that she'd win on the battlefield but still be unable to hold her liquor.
Unexpectedly, when they drank to the end, Dekumont made a fool of himself and hid under the table.
Ge Zheng never competed in drinking with the "crazy lady." After taking a few sips, he left quietly after Di Nola got Dekumont drunk.
The faint starlight sprinkled on the roof of the house, and the ground was covered in ubiquitous shadows.
Three people hid in the three corners. Inside the house, the innkeeper and the honest Dunk had been sleeping soundly after a busy day, and Miss Feifei would not have been more vigilant than these two. Solghwelin had decided that he knew, but he wouldn't say. Gruner, however, was not around.
The three had sneaked in after dinner and were agile. Even the leader of the cavalry, Cody, had not noticed their presence. The three were of average stature and their movements were uniform. Upon entering the courtyard, they seemed to have a silent understanding and hid in different corners. These three corners completely blocked Ge Zheng's path back to the room; no matter which way he approached from, they would block him.
Coordinating seamlessly, the trio were infamous assassins under the command of the Third Prince. Their ranks were not very high, at Level-9. There was a warrior, a mage, and an assassin among the three. They were triplets and working together seamlessly; at Level-9, they were capable of defeating Level-11 experts. Even when faced with the Royal Guards' Captain, the Level-12 combatant Rogers, they would still put up a fight. Over the years, they had completed numerous challenging missions, both covert and overt, under the Third Prince, who praised them endlessly.
The middle-aged man under the Third Prince knew well how formidable Ge Zheng was, and he was even willing to send in the triplets to bring Ge Zheng back.
While Ge Zheng's combat strength as a simple warrior was around Level-6 or 7, his dedication to alchemical cultivation made him sharp-sensed and acute. However, against three Level-9 professionals who were proficient at remaining hidden, Ge Zheng had truly not detected them.
Inside the house, Solghwelin "heard" Ge Zheng's return and chuckled inwardly. These three little brats were in for a surprise. Ge Zheng could take down a python crocodile alone, so these three were easy targets.
He thought that Ge Zheng would definitely identify the presence of the three, but to his surprise, Ge Zheng carelessly walked into the trap laid by these three. By the time Solghwelin realized the mistake and attempted to warn him, it was already too late.
Three faint black smokes emerged from the corners, and Ge Zheng immediately sensed trouble. There was no way that one person could play such a prank on him, let alone three!
Almost immediately, the Matrix Moving Shield had flashed into existence.
"Dong, dong" The indiscriminate defense successively blocked the two attacks from the warrior and the assassin. The mage, silent all this while, took out a wand from under his sleeves and pointed it at Ge Zheng. A blue lightning bolt tore through the night towards Ge Zheng.
"Pang!" The lightning struck the Matrix Moving Shield, but with no effect.
The three men were clearly stunned and had not expected Ge Zheng to have such a defensive item. Solghwelin understood: no wonder he was so calm, turns out he had such a strange alchemical contraption—quite useful, it seemed. Solghwelin felt increasingly uncertain about Ge Zheng's abilities.
While the wise dragon inside the house was still bewildered, the fight outside did not pause. Although the trio was somewhat surprised by Ge Zheng's endless shield, it didn't shake their confidence.
Coordinating seamlessly, they planned a counterattack almost instantly.
Ge Zheng handled the situation calmly and effortlessly, as the Matrix Moving Shield operated independently in defense. Seeing the three outside panicking, he didn't use his flying sword. The reason he had the flying sword refined before entering the Delson Royal City was to have an extra weapon for self-defense. However, the flying sword was not a product of this world; if someone saw a sword flying around, Ge Zheng would have a hard time explaining it away.
The alchemical master smirked, leaned on his arm, and stood leisurely in the protective space of the stable Matrix Moving Shield, watching the three figures outside jumping around in a frenzy.
This is after all an inn, with Kou Di and others protecting, with a little extra time, those three won't be able to escape. In Ge Zheng's mind, he wondered, he hasn't been in the royal city for long, and hasn't offended anyone, so who exactly wants to deal with him?
Just as he started to think, suddenly he felt a void beneath his feet, he immediately muttered "not good," before his flying sword could protect him, he had already fallen into a void of darkness.
Sorge Wilen did not expect things to take such a drastic turn, the assassin actually knew earth escape, bypassed the matrix shield underground, and ambushed Ge Zheng. Going by Ge Zheng's ability to defeat the python-crocodile, even if he was ambushed successfully, he wouldn't have been easily defeated, but his reaction greatly exceeded Sorge Wilen's expectations. When the wise dragon pursued, his opponent was already leaping away between walls and rooftops, holding a dark cloth.
Only then did Kou Di rush over with others. Sorge Wilen was very anxious: if Ge Zheng was in trouble, would his loved one also come to harm? He didn't care about waiting for Kou Di anymore, taking out a white stream of air, like an arrow leaving the bow, and shot towards the fleeing three.
"Whoosh—" a sharp sound wave, Sorge Wilen utilized at least fifty percent of his power. His body, moving at high speed, created a sound like that of a whistle when it brushed against the air. For love, Sorge Wilen didn't have any reservations.