Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Count’s Manor was soon moving in full swing. Besides some necessities, Count Stanwin ordered for everything else to be left in the manor.
There were not that many things to bring with them. Some of the servants were completely dismissed. Only Count Stanwin’s family members would be brought along as well as the heavy knights. Even then, he could not bring too many. Now that Count Stanwin would soon be losing his territory, he would not be able to afford so many people. So, he only brought along three hundred most elite heavy knights.
The more troublesome group was the Hilderbrandt clan. Many of the ancestors had lived in Boulder City their entire lives, and so they did not want to leave Boulder City. In that regard, Count Stanwin was powerless to object. Those who wanted to stay could stay, and those who wanted to leave could leave together. Even if the Blackbat Militia arrived in Boulder City, their focus should be on ruling the city, so hopefully, they would not kill civilians indiscriminately.
On the other hand, the barbarian tribe might not be as reasonable. Therefore, it was difficult to secure the fate of those who stayed behind.
Regardless of the chaos, the next day, a large group had departed from the Count’s Manor in Boulder City. Their speed was not particularly fast since there was a large number of people. However, they still had some time before the Blackbat Militia would arrive at Boulder City, so they were not too anxious.
Merlin sat in the carriage. The road surface was bumpy, which made him feel slightly uncomfortable. This scene was uncannily similar to when he first landed in Blackwater City. Back then, didn’t Old Wilson and he escape from Blackwater City in such a manner?
Unexpectedly, despite arriving in a new Latitude Cosmos, he still encountered such unfortunate circumstances.
“Commander Hanson, how many days will it take for us to arrive in Holy Dragon City?”
Merlin summoned Commander Hanson and inquired carefully.
“Master Leon, Holy Dragon City is very far away from Boulder City. It’ll take us about three months to get there.”
“Three months? That’s a really long time…”
Merlin did not say any more. Their group consisted of many people. Even with the protection of three hundred elite heavy knights, the Holy Dragon Empire was not very safe at the moment.
Not only were there columns of smoke in every direction but also chaos reigned in every region. There were also multiple gangs of bandits that acted lawlessly. Hence, such a long journey would certainly include some dangerous encounters.
Merlin glanced at Count Stanwin who was riding a horse calmly. With Count Stanwin around, perhaps they would be able to overcome those dangerous situations. Merlin felt slightly relieved. He retracted his head into the carriage, and began to familiarize himself with the Two-headed Pterolycus’ powers.
…
After more than a month, Merlin had become accustomed to this bumpy carriage. Additionally, he had mastered the Two-headed Pterolycus’ powers.
The Two-headed Pterolycus’ main strengths were its speed and razor-sharpness. Unfortunately, Merlin was still in the first stage of shapeshifting. While his physical condition was slightly enhanced, he still did not enjoy any increase in speed. In terms of razor-sharpness, however, the difference was prominent. Once he had shapeshifted, the sharp claws on his hands could easily pierce through even the thickest breastplates. It was quite formidable.
“Stop!”
Suddenly, Commander Hanson roared. The carriage formation was immediately jumbled up. The three hundred heavy knights immediately reacted and formed a protective circle around the carriages.
A situation must have occurred in front. Merlin opened the curtain, and after some hesitation, jumped off the carriage. Right now, he was slightly more able to protect himself.
“What happened?”
Merlin pulled a random heavy knight aside to ask.
“Master Leon, there’s a big gang of bandits in front. The Honorable Count and Commander Hanson have led some heavy knights to confront them.”
“Bandits? How many are there?”
Merlin asked as he was worried. The Holy Dragon Empire was strewn with chaos, so lawless bandits were quite common. Throughout the past month, their carriages had not been attacked. Most probably, the considerably large size of their convoy had deterred the smaller bandit gangs.
However, this time, a gang of bandits dared to attack them directly. This indirectly meant that these bandits were very powerful.
“I don’t know. It’s all a blur, so I don’t know exactly how many people there are.”
Merlin did not hesitate. He immediately told the heavy knight, “Give me your horse, I’m going to take a look.”
Soon, Merlin mounted the horse and galloped to the front.
Soon, Merlin saw his father and Commander Hanson leading about fifty heavy knights. They were confronting a large gang of bandits on the road. The bandits held an upper hand in terms of numbers, but they did not have a lot of horses. Nonetheless, the dark blurry crowd looked extremely frightening. There were at least two or three thousand people.
If they were in an open field, Count Stanwin’s three hundred elite heavy knights could easily defeat these two to three thousand motley crowd but right now they were trapped in a narrow path on a dangerous mountain road. These bandits were quite smart. They had set up a series of blockades, so it would be difficult for the heavy knights to rush through.
Consequently, it was difficult for the heavy knights to show their true prowess.
“Looks like there’s going to be some trouble.”
Merlin’s heart sank. These bandits were well-prepared. Now that Holy Dragon Empire was extraordinarily chaotic, a large convoy like theirs was like a fattened sheep waiting for slaughter.
Merlin went nearer. He heard Count Stanwin sneered. “If you don’t leave now, everyone will die!”
“Haha, you noble lords, do you think you’re still in your territories? There are two to three thousand of us here. Do you think your measly three hundred knights, who cannot break past the blockades, can cause us any harm? You better hand over all your riches meekly, then we might allow you to survive.”
The bandits laughed.
“Father.”
Merlin hurried forward with a sunken expression. He whispered, “These bandits are tough to deal with. Why don’t we take a detour instead?”
Taking a detour meant that they would first have to retreat, with the three hundred heavy knights stationed in front as a defense. It was not only troublesome but also time-consuming. They had to turn back on their current route to get to another route, and might encounter another gang of bandits at any time.
“Detour? Leon, it’s not necessary. These are mere bandits. How tough can they be? Now that you’re a Host and have the power of an almighty beast, you should take a good look at the power of the Hilderbrandt clan’s Deinosuchus beast!”
With that, Count Stanwin dismounted from his horse. Hanson and the other heavy knights respectfully retreated a considerable distance back.
While Merlin was still at a loss, a gigantic roar rumbled from Count Stanwin’s mouth. It resembled an almighty beast’s cry.
“Rip.”
Cracks appeared across Count Stanwin’s body and his body began to expand rapidly. From the originally graceful aristocrat, he turned into a fearsome monstrous crocodile. This was shapeshifting, and a fourth-form shifter to boot.
Count Stanwin’s height after shapeshifting was at least five meters tall. He had a short but stout tail, and was covered with tough armored skin. A terrifying aura leaked into the air, striking fear in every heart present.
This was the first time Merlin saw the full transformation of a person with an almighty beast bloodline. The last time he was attacked in the Count’s Manor, his opponent was not a full-shifter, but only a partial one.
On the other hand, Count Stanwin was a fourth-form shifter. This meant that, besides his brain, he had completely shapeshifted. Hence, he could wield all its combat abilities.
“Bang.”
Count Stanwin leaped with both feet and instantly crossed more than ten meters. His bulky body slammed directly onto the blockades on the road. Whether they were huge rocks or gigantic trees, all of them were pulverized. Even the bandits were crushed to death.
His immense form rushed forward, impenetrable by any arrows or weapons. There was not a single cut on his body. No matter what attack the crowd threw at him, he was invincible.
“This… This is the power of an almighty beast?”
Even Merlin was quite shaken. The destructive powers of a fourth-form almighty beast, as shown by Count Stanwin, was almost comparable to a Seventh-level Spell Caster.
Moreover, this was merely a mid-tier almighty beast bloodline, one level above Merlin’s Two-headed Pterolycus bloodline. If Count Stanwin had already demonstrated such formidable powers, how much more impressive would the high- or top-tier bloodlines or the legendary rare almighty beast bloodlines, be?
“It seems that although the will of this world is weaker than the Void Zone, it’s not that insignificant. Any world that can become a Latitude Cosmos has its own strengths…”
At first, Merlin thought that this world was weaker and simpler, but it seemed that the power of the almighty beast bloodline caught Merlin by surprise.
It was important to note that according to this world’s legends, the world used to be ruled by the almighty beasts. Therefore, there were almighty beasts which could destroy the heavens and the earth.
“Huh? He has a fourth-form almighty beast bloodline, flee now!”
“We can’t kill him, there’s no way. He’s too horrifying. A fourth-form almighty beast, no matter how many people we have, it’s going to be a massacre…”
Upon seeing the Deinosuchus’ fierce and indestructible body, the bandits paled. Besides the advantage in numbers, they did not have any skills worth boasting. There was only a handful of them with the almighty beast bloodline, let alone capable of challenging a fourth-form almighty beast bloodline.
Therefore, after Count Stanwin had shapeshifted, the bandits fell into despair and escaped like lightning. In less than half an hour, neither hide nor hair of them could be seen, except for the mangled dead bodies on the ground.
