Giant Dragon Lord: Starting from Daily Intelligence

Chapter 145: Chapter 139: Bolin’s Growth

On the banks of the Black Water River, a wide, sandy beach stretched to a dense thicket.

Bolin had clearly chosen this battlefield with care and was now orchestrating an ambush.

A squad of ten Black Stone Knights charged straight for the riverbank.

They galloped back and forth on the beach about a hundred meters from the river, taunting the enemy.

Murky waves churned in the river, and dozens of green-skinned, tusked Fishfolk poked their heads out. Their wet scales gleamed dimly under the sun.

The Fishfolk chieftain in the lead was a full size larger than its kin and clutched a Bone Fork fashioned from the massive spine of some Magical Beast. It let out a few guttural, indistinct gurgles, then waved its Bone Fork toward the Knights on the shore.

Over twenty Fishman Warriors shrieked as they leaped from the water. They brandished crude wooden clubs, Stone Axes, and even sharp fish bones as weapons, charging unsteadily toward the squad of Knights.

The Fishfolk were clumsy, and their feet sank into the soft sand with every step, slowing them down considerably.

Raylo recognized a few of the ten Knights acting as the lure. They were all skilled fighters from the Black Stone Knight Order, at least at the level of Tier Two Great Knights.

They showed no trace of panic as they faced the charging Fishfolk.

Once the Fishfolk were near, the lead Knight gave a low shout. All ten accelerated in unison, their gleaming Knight’s Longswords tracing cold arcs of light through the air.

”SQUELCH!”

”CRACK!”

Swords flashed, and flesh and blood flew.

These Fishman Warriors stood no chance against the well-trained, well-equipped Tier Two Great Knights.

The Knights didn’t even need to use their Fighting Spirit. Relying solely on their superb Riding Technique and Sword Skills, they cut down all twenty-odd Fishfolk with casual ease.

Blood stained the sand red, and severed limbs lay scattered everywhere.

The entire exchange took less than two minutes, so fast that the Fishfolk chieftain in the river was left stunned.

”GWAH! GWAGAH!”

The Fishfolk chieftain, seemingly enraged by the sudden, crushing defeat, stared with wide, bulging eyes and let out a furious shriek.

It raised its Bone Fork high, pointed at the swaggering Knights, and then swung it forward violently.

This was no mere probe.

A black mass of Fishfolk surged from the river, more than two hundred strong. They let out a deafening chorus of strange cries, trampling the corpses of their kin as they charged recklessly onto the beach.

Seeing this, the ten Knights wasted no time. They immediately wheeled their horses around and galloped back the way they came, as if terrified by the sheer number of Fishfolk.

When the Fishfolk chieftain saw the enemy ”fleeing in rout,” it grew cocky and shrieked, urging its underlings to quicken their pursuit.

The horde of Fishfolk scrambled over one another as they swarmed onto the beach, chasing the dust cloud kicked up by the Knight squad. Soon, they were more than three hundred meters inland.

Just then!

”Kill!”

A thunderous roar erupted.

From behind the quiet thicket and several large, scattered boulders, a large force of Knights from the Black Stone Knight Order suddenly burst forth.

They were clad in uniform armor, their formation grim and orderly.

The Knight Apprentices followed close behind, armed with Long Swords and Shields, their eyes glinting with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

Bolin led the charge, the first to leap from his hiding spot and strike at the Fishfolk’s flank.

”For Black Stone Territory!”

The Knights let out a thunderous roar, surging in from both sides like a tide. In an instant, they cut the charging Fishfolk force in half and formed an encirclement.

The Fishfolk who had pursued too far were immediately thrown into chaos.

They were a disorganized mob to begin with, and now, surrounded by an ambush, they fell into complete disarray, knowing only to swing their weapons wildly and let out terrified shrieks.

The Knight squad that had served as bait also wheeled their horses around, launching a counter-charge in coordination with the main force.

A brutal battle of annihilation thus began.

The Knights of the Black Stone Knight Order were seasoned and fought with seamless coordination. In groups of three and squads of five, they moved like precise war machines, efficiently reaping the lives of the Fishfolk.

Though the Knight Apprentices were still green, they followed the lead of the veterans, mustering their courage to fight the straggling Fishfolk.

Their movements might have been unrefined, but every swing of their swords carried the reckless ferocity of youth.

On the battlefield, the light of Fighting Spirit flared intermittently.

Though the Fishfolk were numerous, they were far inferior to the Black Stone Army in terms of equipment, training, morale, and individual strength. Their complete rout was only a matter of time.

The battle lasted for about fifteen minutes.

The beach was now littered with the corpses of Fishfolk. The survivors, penned into a tiny area, mounted a desperate last stand.

Though the Fishfolk chieftain was fierce, it had sustained several wounds deep enough to show bone. Blood gushed from them, staining its dark green scales red.

It shrieked in desperation, trying to organize a counterattack, but against the Black Stone Knight Order’s assault, all its efforts were futile.

In the end, at the cost of a dozen minor injuries and two seriously wounded Knight Apprentices, the curtain fell on the battle.

Seeing that all was lost, the Fishfolk chieftain let out a mournful, defiant cry. It abruptly turned and, with the dozen or so remaining Fishfolk, fled desperately back toward the river.

Bolin didn’t order his men to pursue the routed enemy.

Once the Fishfolk escaped back into the water, they were like fish returned to the sea—nearly impossible to hunt down.

Besides, the objective of this battle had been achieved.

High in the sky, Raylo took in the entire scene and nodded to himself in approval.

As the territory’s eldest Earth Knight and commander of the Black Stone Knight Order, Bolin’s ability to lead troops in battle had indeed become quite systematic.

His choice of battlefield, his strategy for luring the enemy, and the timing of his ambush were all executed perfectly.

’It seems entrusting the Black Stone Knight Order to him was the right decision. In a little while, when I leave with the army for the border to fight in the war between our Kingdom and the Fiery Sun Kingdom, I can leave the defense of Black Stone Territory in his hands without worry,’ Raylo mused.

Seeing that the cleanup of the battlefield had begun, Raylo decided not to linger.

He gently patted Baofeng’s neck, signaling for it to turn.

”Let’s go, Baofeng. We’ll follow the Black Water River and see what’s to the south.”

”SCREEE!”

Baofeng let out a clear, piercing cry. With a great flap of its wings, it changed direction and flew swiftly south, following the course of the Black Water River.

The farther south they flew along the Black Water River, the wider it became.

It widened from its initial few hundred meters to several thousand, its current growing gentler and deeper. The water took on a black, jade-like hue that was unsettling to behold.

The landscape on either bank changed as well. The primeval forest grew denser, and occasionally, massive Magical Beasts could be seen moving through the woods or along the river’s edge.

Besides inspecting the battle against the Fishfolk, Raylo had another purpose for this trip: to search for traces of the legendary Eternal Giant Turtle.

For now, Raylo didn’t dare to harbor any grand designs on this Tier Five Magical Beast, a creature capable of contending with the Nine-headed Demon Serpent.

However, he might have a chance to observe the original Magic left on its back by the Magic Dominator.