As the twilight fell, Su Li and his group returned to Bauhinia Castle, laden with the joy of harvest.
The Knight Lords loved hunting because the harvest and trophies greatly enhanced their sense of happiness and satisfaction.
This outing, although not in the form of a hunt, brought the same harvest-like joy. Everyone was elated and full of hope for the future.
That was 150 kilograms of vibranium and a yield of over 200 gold coins, plus 5 sets of heavy armor forged from fine steel. It was expected that the core team of the new Pioneer Territory had initially formed, quite large in scale.
Contrary to Su Li and his group's mood of delight, the atmosphere within Bauhinia Castle was not so relaxed. Many faces bore regret and sorrow.
The attendants and maids gathered together with great interest, crowding tightly around the stables to watch the commotion.
Schwartz asked curiously, "What's going on?"
Reve, who had the lowest status, immediately ran up to inquire about the situation and quickly found out the reason behind it. She returned to report, "Young Master Suli, I found out it's a half griffin in the stables that has gone mad, causing 1 death and three injuries, with the deceased being its knight."
"It is said that it is still in a state of uncontrollability, with red eyes unable to calm down, violently attacking any creature that comes close. The knights have collectively confined it to a cage. But if it remains unable to calm, Count he will be compelled to order it to be put to death."
Hearing this, Hilude, like others, showed regret on his face, saying, "To put a half griffin to death? How regrettable. I have always loved hearing minstrels tell stories of Legendary Knights and griffins since childhood."
Reve spent most of her time in military camps, and on hearing this, she curiously asked, "Hilude, can you tell us about griffins?"
Seeing a lot of people interested, Hilude gracefully introduced, "Griffins are known worldwide for their majestic demeanor and legendary ferocity, regarded as holy beasts by citizens of the Empire, and the griffin banners flying in the army have a history of thousands of years. Only a few wealthy and powerful nobles choose them as their advanced mount. Many have paid the price of their lives for this choice, for there is no such thing as a 'tamed' griffin in the world."
"Through years of development, today most griffins are categorized into sky tiger-striped griffins and land half griffins. It's rare for a half-lion griffin knight not to have scars left by his mount, even though half griffins are noble beasts, their temperament remains fierce and changeable. These knights proudly bear these scars as proof of their courage and skill, and as a mark distinguishing them from their comrades battling on horseback."
"But it is also for this reason that whenever a story of a knight dying at the mouth of his mount starts circulating, another story about a loyal half griffin following the victorious enemy army to avenge its dead rider begins to spread widely as well."
"So the Imperial Army is unfazed by stories of knights dying to griffins. If other knights can continue taming this half griffin, that would be the best outcome. But in most cases, noble griffins refuse to submit to another knight. Therefore, to prevent uncontrollable deaths, putting the creature to death is the most common measure."
Hearing Hilude's clear voice, Frederick was utterly shocked, staring wide-eyed and unconvinced at Su Li.
He recalled what Su Li had said to him today, "Frederick Knight, you have a chance to obtain a half griffin mount today. Would you like to try?"
Young Master Suli clearly was not speaking thoughtlessly! He suddenly went to buy a 'sexy' lioness, which Frederick believed was for this very moment!
Could Young Master Suli intend to use the lioness to calm the raging half griffin?
This matter is hard to say whether it would succeed, given what Frederick knew, lionesses were indeed very accommodating, being able to mate with lions and accommodate tigers. There's even a one in fifty thousand probability of successfully bearing offspring, known as tigrex.
So, what if? What if a griffin could mate with it as well, wouldn't it be possible to soothe this irate half griffin? Most of the time, humans are unaware of the cause of half griffins' aggression and can only attribute it to their capricious moods.
Frederick tried his best to control his excited feelings and said to Su Li, "Young Master Suli, should we go over and take a look to try and gain control of this half griffin?"
Such a dangerous task, Su Li certainly wouldn't do it himself. Owning a griffin's indeed a symbol of high-tier nobility and kings, but taming griffins is extremely difficult work, you can only find their eggs in the wild because domesticated griffins rarely breed.
The most effective way is to be present the moment it hatches, preferably it's just the two of you, which gives it the first impression of you, but this is only half the success, the rest involves training and fostering emotional connections, all of which must be done by yourself, including feeding it hand-to-mouth and eye contact, they grow quickly, capable of carrying people to fly at three years, fully grown at five, yet their exact lifespan is unknown because most griffins die from battles and war.
Su Li then said, "If Frederick the knight is interested, he may try."
Frederick was definitely interested, he personally led a lioness into the crowd immediately causing a stir, the crowd wailed and cleared a path.
Thus, Su Li saw the gigantic beast caged within Bauhinia Castle; its enormous body made humans, even donned in bright plate armor and wielding warhammers and battle halberds, seem mere ornaments. Its stature and weight were equivalent to at least four war horses, while heavy knight riders mounted upon them would become truly overweight cavalry.
It also wore dark crimson battle armor, from the horned head crest to the chest plate, to the body armor protecting the body, extending to the back cover for the hindquarters—all configured fully, enveloping its entire body tightly. The thick, exquisite armor bore the gold emblem of the Bauhinia family.
Its powerful, dignified, and fierce aura unfolded on its body thoroughly.
Seeing it, Su Li understood why knights who challenged griffins mostly became their next meal.
And as Frederick approached, it grew increasingly agitated, its confines now swaying precariously under assault. Its eyes red, frantically crashing into the bars, escape obvious in its intent.
Facing the pressure brought on by the beast, Frederick tensed fully, his right hand holding the tremulous lioness, Serra, while his left hand raised, indicating he held no weapon as he cautiously approached the cage door.
This was clearly extremely perilous, even elite knights without weapons risked fatal attack by half griffins.
As Serra neared, the half griffin in the cage became increasingly agitated, pacing anxiously near the exit.
Under everyone's tense, watchful gazes, Frederick slowly reached out his left hand and pressed the rope on the cage door. At that moment, if the griffin attacked, the human knight would scarcely react, likely having his arm bitten off instantly.
The tense atmosphere had everyone's nerves strained, holding their breath, unblinking eyes focused on the scene. Timid maids even clutched their skirts tightly, fearfully closing their eyes.
Even Su Li couldn't remain calm, despite having prophetic information; the information didn't guarantee successful taming of this griffin.
If Frederick failed, Su Li would have to try himself.
As he pondered whether to await tomorrow's information update, suddenly a cry erupted from the crowd, frightening some timid folks into screams of fright.
Su Li immediately came to his senses, his gaze fixed on Frederick.
Success! He successfully touched the cage's rope, and the griffin did not attack him.
Su Li thus smiled and said to Hilude, "Let's return. The remaining time is left to Frederick Knight. He needs time to personally feed and care for the griffin, to foster their bond."
Of course, the griffin also needs sufficient space to develop its relationship with the lioness Serra.
Noble griffins never serve as slaves, unless they cannot resist the alluring temptations wicked humans employ.