Giant Dragon Lord: Starting from Daily Intelligence

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Petrifying Lizard

”My Lord.”

Ed and Bolin were summoned by the guards.

”Bolin.”

Raylo looked at Bolin and got straight to the point.

”Moonlight was out for the past few days and discovered a hidden cave on the west side of the Black Stone Mountain Range. There’s Thunder Grass inside, guarded by a Tier Two Thunderbolt Horn Beast. Take a squad of Pegasus Knights, bring back the Thunder Grass and the Thunderbolt Horn Beast’s corpse, and hand them over to Carl for processing. The Thunderbolt Horn Beast is skilled with lightning, so be careful.”

Bolin was experienced. Raylo was confident he could handle a Tier Two Magical Beast while leading a squad of Pegasus Knights.

”Yes, My Lord!”

Bolin accepted without the slightest hesitation.

Next, Raylo turned to Ed.

”Ed, you’re with me. Moonlight found an unnamed valley about a hundred kilometers northwest of the territory. There are large patches of Bone-Strengthening Grass growing there. The trouble is, there are some Petrifying Lizards living in the valley. Bring a squad of Pegasus Knights to accompany us.”

”Yes, My Lord!”

Ed accepted his orders.

Moonlight was basking in the warm sun on the desk, completely unaware of how many times its master had used it as a scapegoat.

Raylo couldn’t say much about his intelligence network, so he basically attributed all these leads to Moonlight.

Ed and the others found it strange at first, but as more and more oddities were attributed to Moonlight, they stopped finding it strange at all.

Bolin turned and left. Soon, the sound of Pegasus wings beating the air came from outside the castle, and a squad of Knights became black dots disappearing over the western horizon.

Raylo and Ed also quickly finished their preparations.

In addition to ten elite Pegasus Knights, the team had some special equipment: five half-man-high Copper Mirrors polished to a brilliant shine.

”Move out!”

At Raylo’s command, eleven Pegasi took to the sky, speeding toward the northwest.

High in the sky, the wind howled.

The Pegasi were incredibly fast, and the scenery below rushed backward.

Raylo looked down upon his domain—the burgeoning Black Stone Town, the castle under construction, and the winding mountain ranges and forests in the distance—and a sense of pride swelled in his heart.

Upon reaching the Black Stone Mountain Range, they followed the direction from the intelligence and searched from the air for over two hours.

”My Lord, look down there!”

A sharp-eyed Knight suddenly pointed to an area between the rolling hills below.

Raylo focused his gaze. Sure enough, nestled among the mountains was an inconspicuous valley entrance. It would have been extremely difficult to spot if not for their bird’s-eye view.

The vegetation at the entrance was dense, giving off a deep and secluded aura.

”This must be the place,” Raylo determined. ”Land! We’ll land outside the valley and proceed on foot.”

The Pegasi were a valuable strategic resource. Raylo didn’t want to risk losing any by having them get caught in a Petrifying Lizard’s gaze.

The Knights skillfully maneuvered their Pegasi, landing on a gentle slope several hundred meters from the valley entrance.

Leaving two Knights behind to guard the Pegasi, Raylo led Ed and the other Knights toward the valley entrance.

The closer they got to the valley, the more a faint, musty smell seemed to permeate the air.

The trees inside the valley were unusually thick and tangled with vines, and the light grew considerably dimmer.

The group advanced cautiously, their footsteps making soft rustling sounds on the thick layer of fallen leaves.

The Knights held their Shields in one hand and their Weapons tightly in the other, warily observing their surroundings.

The soldiers carrying the Copper Mirrors walked in the middle of the formation, not daring to let their guard down for a moment.

”HISS...”

Suddenly, a blood-curdling hiss erupted from the bushes to their front-left!

Immediately after, a grayish beam of light shot without warning toward the two Knights at the very front!

”Watch out!”

Ed shouted sharply.

The two Knights reacted in a flash, instantly raising their Kite Shields.

The Shields in the Knights’ hands quickly took on a grayish-white, stony sheen, transforming into heavy Stone Shields.

”Mirrors!”

Ed’s reaction was even faster. He roared.

Two Knights beside him immediately thrust a Copper Mirror upright, blocking the front of the group.

A bizarre scene unfolded.

The gray Petrifying Ray struck the smooth surface of the mirror and seemed to be reflected, striking a nearby rock wall.

CRACKLE! A large patch of the rock wall’s surface rapidly petrified, and stone fragments crumbled to the ground.

The bushes rustled, and a lizard nearly three meters long and covered in rock-like scales shot out!

It had thick limbs and a triangular head, and its pair of dull yellow, vertical pupils glinted with a cold light. It was a Petrifying Lizard!

”Flank it, Ed!” Raylo shouted.

Their response just now had completely captured the Petrifying Lizard’s attention. Its gaze was locked onto the reflective Copper Mirror.

Ed moved!

His figure shot out from the side like an arrow released from a bow!

As a Tier Three Earth Knight, his speed and Power far surpassed these Tier Two Magical Beasts.

”Break!”

Ed let out a low roar. The archaic-looking Long Spear in his hand glowed with an earthy-yellow halo, its tip gathering a terrifyingly sharp glint.

The Petrifying Lizard sensed a fatal threat and twisted its thick neck, trying to turn its gaze toward Ed.

But Ed was too fast!

PCHT!

The Long Spear plunged with absolute precision into the gap between the scales on the Petrifying Lizard’s relatively soft neck, and immense Power erupted in an instant!

The spear tip burst out the other side, carrying a spray of foul-smelling, dark green blood.

The Petrifying Lizard’s massive body went rigid. The vicious light in its eyes quickly faded, and it crashed to the ground. After a few twitches, it stopped moving.

The Knights let out a sigh of relief. The thought of being turned to stone was truly terrifying.

”Don’t let your guard down. The intelligence said there was more than one!”

Raylo reminded them, simultaneously signaling the Knights to ready the other mirrors and form a simple protective circle.

Sure enough, the death of the first Petrifying Lizard seemed to have alerted its companions.

Soon, two more Petrifying Lizards emerged from different directions, their cold gazes sweeping over the intruders.

With their previous experience, the Knights were no longer flustered.

They used the Copper Mirrors to attract the Petrifying Lizards’ attention, constantly shifting positions to disrupt their line of sight.

Meanwhile, Ed moved like a phantom at the edge of the battlefield, searching for the perfect moment to strike.

”Over here!”

A Knight shouted, using a mirror to draw one of the lizard’s gazes.

Ed seized the opportunity and launched another surprise attack!

His Armor-Piercing Spear was like a viper striking from its hole, hitting its target with precision!

PCHT!

PCHT!

With two more muffled sounds, the second and third Petrifying Lizards were killed in succession.

Ed’s spear strikes were like a dragon, and he even found a moment to dodge a Petrifying Ray hastily fired by the other lizard, appearing completely at ease.

”Any more?”

Ed flicked the blood from the tip of his spear and scanned his surroundings.

After waiting a moment, silence returned to the valley. No new Petrifying Lizards appeared.

After passing through a dense patch of forest, the view suddenly opened up.

A relatively flat valley floor appeared before them. In the center of the valley, some impossibly large skeletons could be seen scattered on the ground. Although most were buried under soil and vegetation, one could still feel a sense of ancient desolation from them.

And near these giant skeletons grew a patch of strange plants.

They were about half a meter tall with thick, healthy, emerald-green stalks. Their leaves were fleshy with finely serrated edges, and they faintly exuded an air of vitality.

”Bone-Strengthening Grass!” a Knight exclaimed, his eyes shining.

Raylo also walked forward to observe them closely.

The Bone-Strengthening Grass was growing exceptionally well. It had clearly absorbed the essence scattered from the Giant skeletons and grown here due to the unique environment.

”Begin harvesting. Be careful not to damage the roots, and don’t touch the immature saplings. This place will be our herb garden from now on,” Raylo instructed.

Half the Knights stood guard with Copper Mirrors while the rest immediately got to work. They carefully pulled the mature Bone-Strengthening Grass up by the roots, shook off the excess dirt, and then packed them into prepared cloth sacks.

Soon, they had picked three full sacks, containing fifty to sixty stalks of Bone-Strengthening Grass in total.

”That’s enough. Let’s quit while we’re ahead.”

Raylo ordered them to stop harvesting.

”Ed, memorize this location. We’ll send people to harvest here periodically in the future.”