Chapter 0010: Mythical Beasts

The giant wolf seemed to have an extremely sensitive ear, as it abruptly turned its head to look towards the castle. Even though it was over a hundred meters away, the bright, intelligent eyes of the wolf still locked onto Oldington with precision.

Cold, aloof, and with a hint of affection.

These were the emotions Oldington felt from the wolf's gaze.

Oldington smiled slightly and waved at the giant wolf, "Good evening, Hawk."

The giant wolf watched him for two seconds, indifferent, then turned its head and began to lick its wolf pups, not responding to Oldington's friendly greeting.

Oldington couldn't help but give a wry smile, neither angry nor daring to be angry.

This giant wolf named Hawk was a mythical beast left behind by his great-grandfather. It was this mythical beast that, through a fusion of man and beast, with their energies intertwining, fought together with his great-grandfather to win the title of Baron in the Empire and the fiefdom of Red Leaf Town. His father, Baron Orenol, also made a contract with Hawk and fought side by side.

Two generations of grandfathers and sons had used the giant wolf Hawk as their mythical beast. If Oldington were to be promoted to a mythical knight, perhaps the giant wolf Hawk could become his mythical beast as well.

And even if a mythical beast did not awaken mythical bloodline for a knight, it would still leave a trace of power from the mythical beast. Perhaps Oldington's body flowed with the power of the giant wolf Hawk. Hawk had originally been a common silver wolf magical beast, but after evolving into a mythical beast, it gained the power of the wind.

Therefore, Oldington's great-grandfather named it Storm Wolf King.

The ancestors of the Iris family, the dragon knight Lungeth LightningStorm, were said to have had a dragon beast that evolved from a wolf-like magical beast. Oldington's great-grandfather had cultivated Hawk with the hope of restoring the glory of his ancestors, to raise Hawk into a dragon beast and eventually become a dragon knight.

However, the possibility of evolving from a mythical beast to a dragon beast was too slim.

By the time of Orenol's generation, there was no longer any hope for that. Therefore, the Storm Wolf King Hawk was bred, preparing to raise the next generation of Storm Wolf King—mythical breeding and producing offspring would consume a great deal of yuanqi, leading to the inability to advance in cultivation, and in severe cases, even a fall in cultivation level.

"I'm likely not going to choose Hawk as my mythical beast. Let him accompany my father to the end. His three pups can be cultivated... The oldest has the best physique, the second is not weak, but the third is a bit weaker, and she's a female... Well, my father should give the second one to the king," Oldington thought.

The mythical beast that bred with Hawk was another wolf-like mythical beast raised by the Golden Rose King. The nobility rarely allows their mythical beasts to be bred. To get a male mythical beast to breed with a female, the cost is that if there are two or more offspring, one must be given to the noble of the male mythical beast.

Mythical beasts mostly evolve from ordinary magical beasts, and their offspring are also ordinary magical beasts. However, the offspring of mythical beasts are more likely to evolve into mythical beasts.

...Dinner began.

One delicious dish after another was served by the servants. The chief servant, Carson, brought out a bottle of aged golden rum from the wine cellar and poured it for the four people at the table in turn.

The Baron sat in the master's seat, with the two ladies on his left, and Oldington on his right.

After the wine was poured, Baron Orenol raised his glass and said, "Being a cadet knight is the beginning of knightly cultivation. After seven years of training as a squire, Oldington, you have not submitted a perfect assignment. But at the age of sixteen, there is still hope to become a mythical knight. I still want to congratulate you."

"Sixteen is already very outstanding. Don't be so harsh on your son," Carley the elder lady complained.

Baron Orenol did not respond to his mother's complaint and continued to say to Oldington, "Congratulations on your promotion to cadet knight. From now on, you need to cultivate even harder."

"I will, father," Oldington raised his glass.

Both father and son merely sipped the wine lightly, then put down their glasses. At this point, the elder lady raised her glass, smiling and saying, "May the Iris family thrive, may the Golden Rose Kingdom be peaceful and prosperous, and may the three gods always protect the people of Red Leaf Town. Congratulations to our little iris for embarking on the path of knighthood."

Oldington smiled and added, "May grandmother live as long as a dragon."

The longest-lived creatures on Lafa Continent were the dragons, almost immortal; next were the dragon beasts, with the long-lived ones living for thousands of years and the shorter-lived ones for six to seven hundred years; then came the mythical beasts, with the long-lived ones living for five hundred years and the shorter-lived ones for two to three hundred years.

As for humans, those who cultivate strongly can live to be one hundred and fifty years old, and some powerful individuals can even break through two hundred years of life.

Therefore, when wishing someone a long life, one does not say "may you live a hundred years," but "may you live as long as a dragon."

"Grandmother doesn't want to live as long as a dragon. There are already enough wrinkles on my face, and if I live any longer, I'll be almost as old as Dudy," Carley the elder lady self-mockingly said, referring to the Shih Tzu she raised.

"There are no wrinkles on your face, and you still look as dignified as when I got married to Butterfly Castle twenty years ago," Mrs. Helen said.

Hearing Mrs. Helen say this, Carley the elder lady was quite pleased: "This is all the blessing of the three gods. It's not in vain that I pray at the estate altar every day. At my age, I can still maintain a disciple-level faith, and even the High Priest Sloan is impressed."

Faith is the cultivation of priests. Just as knights cultivate martial arts from squires, starting from cadet knights, knights, elite knights, mythical knights, and finally dragon knights.

Priests cultivate faith, and need to be chosen as elects, going through pantheon believers, disciples, fanatics, apostles, and finally prophets.

If divided by the level of cultivation, cadet knights and pantheon believers are low-level professions, while knights and disciples are intermediate professions. However, knights cultivate martial arts to fight on the battlefield and achieve great things; priests cultivate faith to support the creations of the three gods, such as Nymphs, Muses, and Valkyries.

"By the way, does Sloan the High Priest have a chance to become a fanatic this year?" Mrs. Helen asked, "The Iris family has built altars near three markets and fiefs, and he can freely dispose of faith. The support is not inferior to that of the temple."

Sloan the High Priest was the host of the altar, roughly equivalent to a priest in a church on Earth. The altar was like a small church, and the temple was the large church. Sloan the High Priest was born in the Maple Leaf Temple and was the most promising disciple-level priest in the temple.

Baron Orenol had gone to great lengths to hire him, moving him from the Maple Leaf Temple to host the altar in Red Leaf Town, hoping to cultivate several Muses and even Valkyries for the family.

"Give him some time. Sloan is a good young man, sincerely devoted to the three gods, and the three gods will provide the altar with more Nymphs and Muses."

"Our pantheon believers are still too few, and the quality of the elects is concerning," Mrs. Helen frowned.

"Alright, let's not complain. Red Leaf Town is already prosperous," Carley the elder lady interrupted Mrs. Helen's words and asked Oldington, "How is Baroness Bonner's health? I haven't visited her in two years. I've only casually mentioned a few words in my letters."