They all call me Great Master

The planned departure was delayed—@@novelbin@@

Even though the apprentice policeman kept insisting he was fine, but...

The horse was dead.

The horse that had been pulling the police cart had been bitten on the leg by a poisonous snake.

The poison had cost the horse its breath.

Therefore, Simon had to walk back to the town they had passed earlier to buy a new horse, and then ride back to this temporary camp.

It was already evening by the time he went there and back.

Traveling by night was not a wise choice, especially after finding out that the original cart-horse had been bitten by a poisonous snake, Simon was no longer insistent on departing overnight.

This time, a horse was bitten to death by the snake.

Who knew who would be bitten next.

Thus, Arthur, Simon, and the group had to rest an extra day at the camp before setting out again in the morning.

"It's really dangerous out here with so many poisonous snakes!"

In the morning while drawing water, the apprentice policeman murmured softly, having glimpsed the sight of poisonous snakes slithering through the dense forest.

At the same time, he continually applied snake repellent onto the cart—this was given for free by the horse owner from whom they had bought the horse yesterday.

'We do have some snakes here, but such poisonous ones are very rare.

You really have bad luck!'

The apprentice policeman could still recall how the horse owner had exclaimed when saying these words.

If they weren't in a hurry, he would really like to drag that person back here and have them open their eyes wide to see that what they called 'rare' was just nonsense.

Simon's muttering and the sound of applying the potion were heard clearly by Arthur.

In response, the young 'Spirit Medium' nodded approvingly; the poisonous snakes in this dense forest really were too many—there should have only been a few, yet just one day later, there was another group as if attracted by something.

'It must be those corpses that can be used as food!' Arthur told himself in his heart.

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Besides food, he could think of no other reasonable explanation.

It couldn't possibly have been attracted by the "Dark Serpent. Crippled," could it?

Such a thing had never happened in South Los before.

As for the "Breath of Death"?

Arthur was certain, absolutely certain it wasn't possible.

The "Breath of Death" was capable of absorbing the 'Power of Death,' but what did it have to do with poisonous snakes?

Could snakes represent death?

As the cart moved slowly, Arthur turned around with a sense of awareness—through the carriage window, the young 'Spirit Medium' clearly saw a large group of poisonous snakes emerge from the dense forest, crawling over that temporary campsite and lifting their upper bodies, heads hanging down, and in their cold eyes seemed to be a mix of fondness and awe.

The young 'Spirit Medium' with the 'Dark Serpent. Crippled' bloodline could clearly read these emotions.

Instantly, the young 'Spirit Medium' covered his face.

Then, he waved his hand vigorously.

Seemingly sensing the young 'Spirit Medium's' embarrassment and displeasure, the large group of poisonous snakes quickly moved away, though they occasionally looked back at the cart with a reluctance to leave.

Pendragon and Arthur, like him, were both crowding at the window.

Orange Cat clearly saw this scene and then looked at its owner with a scornful gaze.

"Well, sometimes snakes really can represent death," Arthur said, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture.

It was clear that with the successful "Orange Cat" ritual, the already extraordinary destined Pendragon had become even smarter—this also made Arthur decide to bolster Pendragon.

Although Pendragon had an extraordinary destiny, Arthur was more aware of the fickleness of destiny.

He certainly didn't want Pendragon to be implicated by his and some people's battles, ending up as a cold corpse.

So—

"Griffin Training Method. Crippled" proved to be quite useful.

The tome detailed potion recipes that enhance physique, which were effective not only for Griffins but also for other animals, provided they were diluted before use.

Rumors had it that in North County, a squadron of 'Griffin Cavalry' was nurtured using similar methods, and it was because of such rumors that Arthur initially desired an excellent horse for transportation.

But that was before.

Now?

Pendragon was more important.

A dose of the 'Griffin Potion' would likely allow Pendragon to ignore most common dangers.

The rumored 'Griffin Cavalry' could disregard crossbow arrows and firearms, move with extreme speed, possess immense strength, and have extraordinarily long stamina; only a cannon could pose a threat.

If there wasn't an ocean between them, North County's 'Griffin Cavalry' would have already been galloping across the lands of South County.

Of course, there was another reason—

Expensive!

"Pan, do you know how much a Sunflower costs?

Ten Golden Acorns can be exchanged for a cluster of Moon Grass.

And three clusters of Moon Grass are needed to get a Sunflower—its rarity is such that if it weren't for Marinda as a collaborator, I'd have to rely on luck even with money."

Arthur said softly as he picked up Pendragon.

A single Golden Acorn was valued between 500-600 gold notes, a cluster of Moon Grass for 5000-6000 gold notes, whereas a Sunflower would need 15000-18000 gold notes; and more importantly, these secret technique ingredients and ritual base materials were hardly ever straightforward purchases, most of the time requiring barter or even fulfilling dangerous contracts.

Just like what Arthur had done.

If he hadn't completed Marinda's contract, he would never have obtained this Sunflower, Moon Grass, and the Vampire Fang.

Therefore, for such precious materials, even a financially robust Arthur needed to be careful with their usage.

He absolutely could not afford to waste any.

Otherwise, who knew how long it would be before he found another Sunflower.

"Once we return to South Los, I'll buy a complete set of magic potion brewing equipment and start producing simple, non-secret potions that are not majorly sensitive—no need for major success, but at least to get the hang of it.

Also, 'Raven Sect Alchemy. Crippled' contains some nice items, suitable for Pan…

Hmm, I wonder if my money will hold out!"

Arthur, while holding Pendragon and muttering, found his eyelids growing heavier.

Without resisting the sleepiness, he informed Fujin to stay alert; then Arthur simply leaned into the seat and fell asleep.

Sensing his master's deep breaths, Pendragon too found a comfortable position in Arthur's arms and drifted off to sleep.

The rest of the journey went in the same way.

Arthur and Simon traveled by day and hid by night; Simon drove during the day, while Arthur kept watch at night.

Two days later, they arrived at Mount Gale Region.

Adjacent to Mount Gale, Mount Gale Region was indeed on the edge of South Los Territory; thus, there were two sentry posts on the mountain and a 500-man military camp at the foot of the mountain.

This military camp essentially functioned as a checkpoint, screening anyone entering South Los Territory from the mountain base.

Arthur's destination, of course, was not the military camp.

It was Mount Gale Town, located just behind the military camp.

The coach didn't drive directly into Mount Gale Town.

About 5 kilometers from the town, the coach stopped, and Simon walked towards the town on foot to look for Hunter and Newt, who had gone ahead.

Meanwhile, Arthur waited inside the coach.

However, after the long journey, Arthur didn't sit inside the coach; he opened the coach door and paced along the side of the coach, easing the fatigue of the trip.

Next to him, Pendragon sat on top of the coach, yawning out of boredom.

And at that moment—

"Hey, that's a fat cat!"