Lord of Rot

The Training Grounds.

The newly built stables could house forty to fifty horses. However, Porcupine Territory’s current draft horses were either out with the merchant caravans or plowing the fields, with no chance to move into their ”new home.”

In the future, the training grounds would be for warhorses heading to battle, not ordinary draft horses.

The training grounds would also be responsible for training cavalry from now on.

’The task of training the cavalry will probably fall to me in the end.’

Porcupine Territory lacked all sorts of high-level talent, especially in military, administrative, and financial matters. The shortage was severe.

Cavalry, in particular, was a nobleman’s game. Anyone who could serve as a cavalry instructor was no minor figure. Such talent usually chose to follow great nobles and lords, or at the very least, marry a noblewoman and live off her—the hard way.

What did a mere Baron Porcupine have to offer that would make someone pledge loyalty and help him train a few dozen cavalrymen?

But when it came to mounted combat, Leech dared to puff out his chest and claim he was at least among the top ten mounted combatants in all of Lu Leiyi.

With the riding skills of the Iron Ox Hoof Knights, Aina’s horsemanship, and the all-around tactics of Niels Bohr, the Champion’s Son, Leech could take on several nobles single-handedly from horseback without breaking a sweat.

He had long since mastered the art of mounted combat.

’But I’m a Lord, after all. If I spend too much time and effort training cavalry, development in other areas will stagnate. What I should be doing is discovering all sorts of talent, then happily slacking off myself.’

’It would be better to poach a couple of people to help me with the training. But where would I find them?’ Leech thought long and hard but came up with no candidates.

’Oh well, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.’

This was the first time Rocket had left that small courtyard since its birth.

If Leech hadn’t been holding the halter on its head, it would have probably already started running wild.

”My Lord,” a Groom said, leading a horse over to Leech.

The Fiery Mane horse that was brought over could be considered Rocket’s uncle, but they didn’t know each other.

Leech let go of Rocket’s reins and vaulted onto the Fiery Mane horse.

The Fiery Mane horse arrogantly raised its head, looking at the strange creature beside it that was neither bird nor horse. It stamped its hooves, as if to say to Rocket, ”See that, ugly kid? Master still likes riding me best.”

”Coo!” Rocket looked at Leech, its eyes bright, eagerly awaiting his command.

Leech gripped the reins, gave a light crack of his whip, and yelled, ”Giddy-up!”

The Fiery Mane horse, which had long been ready to show the ugly kid next to it what a true famous horse of the East Gorge was, shot forward like a ball of fire.

The wind caught the Fiery Mane horse’s long, flame-colored mane, and from a distance, it looked as if Leech were riding a horse of fire.

’Eat my dust!’

The Fiery Mane horse was feeling smug, but it never expected a small, slender figure to actually catch up.

Rocket folded its wings and barely managed to keep up alongside the Fiery Mane horse.

It was, after all, only a few months old and not yet an adult. Just being able to keep up with the Fiery Mane horse was already an incredible feat.

”NEIGH!” The Fiery Mane horse suddenly accelerated, leaving Rocket behind.

”Hahaha!”

Leech didn’t see anything wrong with it. Famous steeds all had their own personalities. He also wanted to see if Rocket would chase after them, if it would accept this challenge, or if it would choose to give up after realizing it couldn’t catch up.

This was the first time Rocket had ever run with abandon. It was still unfamiliar with it, too young, and hadn’t been eating well recently. It was perfectly normal that it couldn’t keep up.

”Coo!” Rocket cried out, tilting its head back as its body staggered.

This was its first time running at full speed... one could even say it was running with all its might, and its body was a little unsteady.

Leech looked back at Rocket and saw that although it was struggling, it had no intention of giving up.

To keep from falling, Rocket slowly opened its wings.

The wings helped Rocket balance its body, allowing it to run more freely without worrying about falling.

Slowly, the flapping of its wings and the galloping of its hooves fell into a specific rhythm. What was awkward at first became coordinated, and Rocket even began to use the wind from its flapping wings to help it run faster.

Unfortunately, there was still a considerable gap between it and the Fiery Mane horse.

Hooves thundered.

The rhythm of Rocket’s run changed. The quick, short steps gradually turned into long strides.

That was because the force generated by its flapping wings grew stronger; the wind seemed to be helping Rocket escape gravity.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...

Almost like a moonwalk, with its wings spread, Rocket began to cover more and more distance with each stride. Its body even began to rise, leaping a man’s height into the air with each bound.

”Rocket!”

Leech watched excitedly as Rocket ran, clumsily flapping its wings. Perhaps today was the day Rocket would learn to fly!

”Fly!”

”SCREE!” A piercing eagle’s cry, not a gentle coo, erupted from Rocket’s throat.

It was gradually getting the hang of it, flapping its wings desperately. The sky held an innate attraction for it, and the wind grew stronger.

Finally, Rocket’s hooves left the ground.

Its wings beat, and its body slowly lifted.

Unlike running, flight was something Rocket had never tried before, yet the instinct for it was seared into its very blood and being.

After gliding for a short distance, Rocket landed, flapped its wings again, and picked up running speed.

This time, Rocket finally soared into the sky.

Leech pulled on the reins, slowly reducing his speed. He watched Rocket ascend into the heavens, like a great eagle returning to its rightful domain.

”SCREE!”

The cry echoed over the training grounds!

After circling a few times in the air, Rocket suddenly folded its wings, lowered its body, and dove toward Leech, bringing with it a gust of wind that messed up his hair.

The Fiery Mane horse, having just slowed down, began to gallop again. As a warhorse, even knowing it couldn’t beat the ”ugly kid,” it would never give up running.

The result was just as expected. The diving Rocket easily caught up.

WHOOSH! Its wings snapped open and with a powerful flap, Rocket was flying alongside Leech on his Fiery Mane horse.

”Attaboy, Rocket!” Leech gripped the reins, half-standing in the stirrups. The warhorse beneath him was already galloping at its fastest speed, its back rising and falling violently.

From a distance, it looked like a winged horse was flying, but the Fiery Mane horse carrying Leech was also moving so fast it seemed to be flying just above the ground!

”SCREE!”

With another flap of its wings, it successfully overtook the Fiery Mane horse, gained altitude, and flew off into the distance.

”NEIGH! NEIGH!” The furiously galloping Fiery Mane horse seemed to be saying, ”I never thought you, you ugly kid, would actually have some skill!”

Leech only pulled on the reins to stop when they reached the edge of the training grounds.

The Fiery Mane horse spun around twice in place while Leech, still seated on its back, watched Rocket fly into the distance.

In the farmlands of Porcupine Territory, the busy serfs suddenly heard an eagle’s cry overhead and all looked up.

One serf looked up. ”Look! What is that?”

”An eagle?” another asked, looking up as well, but his eyesight wasn’t very good.

The first serf spoke again, ”Why does it look like a horse to me?”

”A horse that can fly?”

Someone else joined the conversation, saying excitedly, ”No, I think it really is a horse! A flying horse!”

Just as he spoke, the horse dove down from the sky in a gale of wind, skimmed over the farmland, and then soared high into the air after carving a huge arc!

”It is a horse! It really is a Flying Horse!”

Everyone saw it clearly now. It was a foal, flying with its wings spread wide.

At Rocket’s speed, it soon flew over all of Porcupine Territory, allowing the vast majority of its people to see it.

On this day, everyone in Porcupine Territory saw a winged Flying Horse pass through the sky, and they all began to guess where it had come from.

But someone with a quicker mind said, ”I heard before that a mare in the castle laid an egg. Could that egg have been this Flying Horse?”

”No way, right?” some said, uncertain.

”Why not!” Others were resolute. ”It must be a mount granted to our Lord by a Divine Spirit, to help our Lord protect Porcupine Territory and our lives!”

”The Divine Spirit blesses our Lord!”

”The Divine Spirit blesses our Lord!”

Similar rumors spread continuously throughout Porcupine Territory, quickly evolving into a dozen different versions, and the tale was still growing.

「The training grounds.」

Leech watched Rocket, the Horse-headed Eagle, flying in the sky but never leaving the bounds of Porcupine Territory. He turned to the Brass Dragon perched on his shoulder and asked, ”How long until a Horse-headed Eagle can go into battle?”

”About a year,” the Brass Dragon said. ”They’re magical beasts, after all. At one year old, a Horse-headed Eagle’s physical abilities can already match that warhorse of yours. But a Horse-headed Eagle doesn’t reach maturity until it’s at least three, and they’re much stronger then.”

”What about dragons?” Leech asked casually. ”How long until they mature? When are they at their peak?”

”Dragons are different from other creatures.” The Brass Dragon grew smug whenever dragons were mentioned. Leech was very curious about them, so he didn’t interrupt.

Seeing Leech’s ”eager to learn” expression, the Brass Dragon was very pleased. ”Dragons are powerful creatures from birth, and their strength only increases with age. A dragon is a powerful, perfect, invincible, and beautiful creature that can continuously enhance its strength even while sleeping.”

Leech mentally filtered out the fluff from the Brass Dragon’s words. ”So, a dragon could just find a place to sleep for a few hundred years and become invincible?”

”Of course,” the Brass Dragon huffed. ”As a long-lived race, dragons don’t need to toil like humans. It’s quite normal for them to wake from a nap and find that entire dynasties have changed. Besides, Giant Dragons are so powerful they lose interest in most worldly things, so they generally choose to sleep.”

’Too strong and bored, so they choose to sleep?’

’What a waste of productivity.’

Then again, if Leech had the power of a dragon, he’d probably choose to slack off too.

He didn’t ask any more about dragons; they were too far beyond his reach. Compared to capturing a genuine Giant Dragon, finding a Two-Legged Flying Dragon was a more realistic goal.

Leech planned to first establish a Horse-headed Eagle Cavalry Team. If he got the chance, he’d then form a Two-Legged Flying Dragon Cavalry Team. And in the future, maybe he could even put together a Giant Dragon Cavalry Team. A man has to dream big in life. It’s just too pitiful if you don’t even dare to daydream.

Rocket landed, folded its wings, and came before Leech.

”How does it feel?” Leech asked.

”Coo!”

”Haha, good.”

The Brass Dragon perched on Leech’s shoulder turned its head to look at Leech, then at the Horse-headed Eagle. ’They don’t even speak the same language, do they? How are they having a conversation?’