Lord of Rot

”Rocket! Come here!”

”Rocket!”

In just two and a half days, the Little Horse-headed Eagle, Rocket, was already running quickly with a steady gait.

The courtyard was currently spacious enough for him to stretch his legs and run.

Most importantly, Rocket could understand human speech.

His intelligence was comparable to that of a toddler just learning to speak. He could respond promptly to Leech’s commands and would even seem to ponder certain questions, answering by nodding or shaking his head.

Leech felt less like he was raising a pet and more like he was raising a clever child.

As Rocket ran, Leech noticed his wings flapping up and down. The young wings couldn’t provide enough power for flight, but their flapping gave the Horse-headed Eagle exceptionally good balance.

Rocket’s running speed was fast, and his stamina was excellent. For a newborn, he could already rival a year-old colt. He was truly worthy of being called a Magical Creature.

Furthermore, his body was beginning to grow downy feathers. The down on his front legs was very distinct, similar to an eagle’s. His bald head was also sprouting scraggly white fuzz, like the last two stubborn hairs on a balding man’s head.

Outside the door.

”HUFF!”

The Groom clutched his hat, pressing it to his chest.

But the gesture did nothing to calm his frantically beating heart. ’It must be because of that egg. Maybe there was nothing inside, and now the Lord is furious. He probably wants to take back the reward. He might even throw me in jail or make me a slave.’

He felt the heavy money pouch tucked in his clothes, filled with large Silver Moon coins. He hadn’t dared to spend any of this huge sum since receiving it.

He had tossed and turned for several nights, unable to sleep. He had even considered running away, but if an angry Baron put out a warrant for his arrest, it would be a dead end no matter where he fled.

Today, Leech had finally summoned him. After a bout of wild speculation, the Groom mustered his courage, raised his hand, and knocked on the courtyard gate.

”The gate’s unlocked. Come in,” Leech said.

The Groom pushed the gate open and froze on the spot.

’What is that thing?’

’Standing next to Leech was a small colt—no, why did it have an eagle’s head but the body of a horse?’

’And it had a pair of chicken wings.’

’Could it be a legendary demonic beast? But aren’t those just stories to scare children at night? Or... do demonic beasts actually exist in this world?!’

”Close the gate.”

”Y-Yes!” The Groom obediently shut the courtyard gate.

”His name is Rocket. He’s the one that hatched from that egg.” Leech beckoned for the Groom to come closer.

”From that egg?”

Although he had his suspicions, seeing it with his own eyes still made him gasp. ”Th-This... Lord, is it a demonic beast?”

”Not a beast. You should call him a Magical Creature. Rocket is very smart.”

Hearing Leech praise his intelligence, Rocket proudly lifted his sparsely feathered head.

”Gods of Death!” The Groom rubbed his eyes in disbelief. What was he seeing? A monster with the head of an eagle and the body of a horse could actually understand speech just like a person. His little expression was also very human—proud and smug.

Leech said, ”I’ve called you here because I hope you’ll be the one to train Rocket.”

He couldn’t possibly spend all his time on Rocket every day. The Groom had experience raising warhorses, so he should be able to contribute something, at least until the Little Horse-headed Eagle could fly.

He also didn’t think the appearance of a Horse-headed Eagle would cause that much of a stir. With Transcendents and various magical monsters popping up all over the world, people’s perceptions were being rapidly updated.

Of course, it was still best not to reveal Rocket’s existence for the time being. Once Rocket could fly, it wouldn’t matter anymore.

”Me? Lord, I’ve never trained a Magical Creature before.”

”Rocket has half the blood of a Fierce-Mane Stallion,” Leech said. ”Before he can spread his wings and fly, you can teach him some things about being a warhorse.”

”Fly?!” The Groom felt as if he had just been hit with something even more shocking.

Leech, however, paid no mind to the man’s wide-eyed, exaggerated expression and continued, ”Rocket is very intelligent, so don’t train him the way you would a horse. You can try treating him like a child.”

He also didn’t want a whip to be used on the Horse-headed Eagle. If the Groom actually struck him once with a whip, Leech worried the man would end up dead.

As the offspring of a fine-breed warhorse and a Griffin, the Horse-headed Eagle possessed immense combat strength.

Just look at those formidable front claws. A single swipe could tear a person to shreds.

He had grown rapidly these past two days. Rocket’s current weight was already close to that of a full-grown male eagle. With claws that were stronger and thicker than an eagle’s, he was certainly more dangerous too.

”He likes to eat meat, especially live prey. You can start by feeding him things like insects, sandworms, or small fish.”

”Yes, Lord.” The Groom forced himself to calm down and tried hard to memorize Leech’s instructions.

He was beginning to understand. The Lord had probably foreseen this day back when the Fierce-Mane mare first became pregnant.

’My reward isn’t going to be taken away. On the contrary, as long as I take good care of this magical flying horse, I’ll receive even greater rewards!’

”Rocket,” Leech said, turning to the Little Horse-headed Eagle. ”You can go to him for food from now on. I’ll also make time to come see you every day.”

”COO COO~”

Rocket nodded, which shocked the Groom yet again.

’This is too amazing. He really can understand!’

Rocket turned his head to look at the Groom.

”Greetings, Lord Rocket,” the Groom said, clutching his hat as he gave a trembling bow.

Rocket lifted one leg and lowered his head, just like a gentleman bowing in salute.

”HISS!” The Groom’s scalp tingled. He had raised horses his entire life and had encountered all sorts of intelligent, perceptive warhorses, but he had never seen one so... human.

And this horse would one day be able to fly!

The thought of raising a horse that could fly set the Groom’s heart ablaze. He turned to Leech and declared solemnly, ”Lord, please rest assured! I will take the best possible care of Lord Rocket!”

”I’m sure you will.”

Leech said his goodbyes to Rocket. He had spent a lot of time on him these past few days, and there was other important work waiting.

...

There were plenty of rooms inside the castle. Besides the rooms used for the town hall’s work, a separate small building was temporarily being used as a brewery. It wasn’t far from the kitchen, which made it convenient for more apprentice cooks to come help out when they were short-staffed.

Waves of a rich, alcoholic aroma drifted out. Anyone passing by who accidentally took a deep breath would feel their head spin.

Leech inspected the liquor that had undergone repeated distillation.

The distillation equipment was still crude, but it was usable. The successful application of the technology was what mattered most.

Later, he just needed to have the blacksmiths forge distillation equipment out of copper, and they would be able to produce high-proof spirits.

The alcohol itself needed to be extracted through condensation.

The detailed knowledge came from junior high physics.

The boiling point of alcohol is 78°C, while water’s is 100°C. In brewed wine, the alcohol and water are completely mixed.

To extract the alcohol, one simply needed to use distillation: heat the alcoholic mixture to around 80 degrees, then use condensation to separate the alcohol from the water.

”Store this liquor,” Leech commanded.

Of course, the distilled liquor couldn’t be drunk right away. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as ”aging.”

Once he had a more refined set of distillation equipment, Leech could begin his true transformation and advance toward the Extraordinary.

Because in mid-September, the Griffin Grass had also matured.