Lei Luo suddenly opened his eyes, all traces of yesterday's fatigue swept away.
He felt an unprecedented power surging within his body, and his mind was exceptionally sharp.
The improvement brought by signing the contract with Moonlight was even more significant than he had anticipated.
"Mmm..."
A muffled grumble came from beside him. Lei Luo turned his head to see Moonlight sprawled out next to him, its snow-white belly facing up, limbs stretched out, sound asleep.
The sunlight fell on its soft fur, casting a faint halo, making it look completely harmless, like an innocent large cat.
Lei Luo couldn't help but reach out and rub its head.
"Meow!"
Moonlight grumbled in dissatisfaction, rolled over, swatted Lei Luo's hand away with its paw, and continued to snore.
Lei Luo chuckled; this fellow truly thought of itself as a large cat.
He got up and stretched, feeling the surging power within him and the increasingly clear perception of magic elements in his mind.
The path of a Magic Knight, mentioned in yesterday's intelligence, seemed truly worth considering.
In this world, before becoming a formal Knight, the focus is on strengthening the body and nurturing the Knight Seed.
When the Knight Seed is strong enough, a Knight Apprentice can break through the body's limitations and become a formal Knight.
Upon becoming a formal Knight, there are generally three common paths, depending on one's Knight talent: Bloodline Knight, Magic Beast Knight, and Magic Knight.
Bloodline Knights strengthen themselves and develop their own bloodline, which is the most orthodox Knight path.
Magic Beast Knights need to contract a Magic Beast, strengthening the connection between the Knight and the Magic Beast. When necessary, they can borrow the Magic Beast's power, undergoing a partial beast transformation to gain a significant power boost.
Magic Knights, on the other hand, cultivate magical power to enhance themselves, capable of manipulating elemental forces to strengthen themselves or using elemental magic to defeat enemies.
As he was thinking, the sky suddenly darkened.
Looking up, he saw dense dark clouds, covering the sky and blocking out the sun.
"It's going to rain."
"Meow!"
With a startled cry, Moonlight suddenly awoke from its sleep, its ears perked up, looking warily at the sky.
It seemed to sense the powerful energy contained in the air, and its golden eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Don't be afraid, it's just thunder."
Lei Luo said, comforting it with a smile. He guessed that the restless magical energy in the thunderstorm had an unusual attraction for it.
However, Moonlight's next action completely astonished him.
It excitedly leaped and pranced inside the tent, acting wildly.
"You… like thunderstorms?"
Lei Luo asked, somewhat incredulously.
Moonlight stopped jumping, tilted its head, and looked at Lei Luo with an expression that said, "Is that even a question?" Then it let out another excited meow.
Lei Luo was utterly speechless.
He had heard of dragons who liked gold coins and seen dragons who liked gems, but he had never seen a dragon who liked thunderstorms.
Perhaps Moonlight didn't just like thunderstorms, but rather the restless magic elements in the air during a thunderstorm.
Soon, large raindrops began to patter down, followed by flashes of lightning tearing across the sky, accompanied by deafening thunder. The entire world seemed to tremble.
Lei Luo hid inside the tent, feeling the raging storm outside, grateful that he had prepared in advance.
Moonlight, however, completely ignored the storm. It excitedly ran out of the tent and galloped in the rain.
"This little fellow…"
Lei Luo shook his head helplessly, then simply ignored it, letting it play in the rain.
Two hours later.
The thunder stopped, and the rain ceased.
The air after the rain was exceptionally fresh, and the sky became a clear, pristine blue.
Lei Luo stepped out of the tent, took a deep breath, and savored the fragrance of the damp earth after the rain.
The Knights also emerged from their tents and began to pack up the camp.
During the thunderstorm, some tents in the camp caught fire from lightning strikes, and over a dozen surrounding trees were charred.
Fortunately, the camp had been set up away from the forest, so although a few Knights were covered in ash from the fires caused by the lightning, there were no casualties.
"My Lord, the rain has stopped. When do we depart?" a Knight asked.
"Rest for a bit, eat something, and we'll depart in half an hour," Lei Luo said.
The Knights acknowledged and began to get busy.
Half an hour later, the camp was packed up.
The morning sun had dispelled the lingering dampness, and the air was filled with the mixed scent of rain-washed grass and earth, along with a faint burnt smell—a trace left by last night's lightning strikes.
A dozen charred trees stood not far from the camp.
The Knights held their horses, ready to depart.
"Meow!"
A lazy meow came.
Moonlight shook its wet fur, sending water droplets flying, causing a nearby Knight who was adjusting his horse's reins to fumble.
"Hey! Little fellow!"
The Knight wiped the water droplets from his face, both amused and exasperated. "Next time, shake that water further away!"
Moonlight tilted its head, seemingly not understanding, then shook itself vigorously twice more, before gracefully padding over to Lei Luo's leg and gently nudging his armor with its head.
Lei Luo looked down at it. After its rain-soaked frolic, the creature seemed even more energetic, its golden vertical pupils sparkling with lively luster.
"Let's go."
Lei Luo swung onto his horse, his voice steady.
"Yes, My Lord!"
The Knights responded in unison, their spirits lifted as they prepared to leave this desolate place.
The journey to Blackstone Town was not smooth. The ground after the rain was muddy, and hooves squelched as they stepped.
Lei Luo rode at the front of the procession. Since becoming a Knight Apprentice, he had never felt as good as he did now.
The sense of power flowing through his body was so real, as if every cell was cheering.
Even more remarkably, his perception of the free-floating magic elements in the air had also become sharper. Although he couldn't yet control them freely, that sense of affinity filled him with anticipation for the path of a Magic Knight.
The changes brought by enhanced talent were surprisingly direct.
Moonlight, meanwhile, showed no awareness of being a powerful Silver Dragon. It sometimes darted ahead of the group to scout, and other times lagged behind, pawing at wildflowers by the roadside or chasing startled rabbits, having a grand time.
"My Lord, what is that?" a sharp-eyed Knight suddenly pointed into the distance.
Lei Luo followed his gaze, seeing faint wisps of black smoke rising from the distant horizon, in the direction of Blackstone Town, strikingly stark against the clear blue sky.
"It's in the direction of Blackstone Town!"
Black smoke usually meant trouble—either a fire or… a battle.
Combined with yesterday's system notification about the Magic Snake Claw invasion, the answer was almost self-evident.
It seemed the Magic Snake Claw were already attacking Blackstone Town.
"Increase speed!"
Lei Luo made a decisive decision.