Zhen Jin wasn't in a rush to look for Zi Di right away, following behind him was Cang Xu as the two arrived at the camp.
There were many people lying here.
These people had recently taken the potion, thus they were weak and powerless at the moment.
These people needed to be comforted.
“My lord.”
“I pay my respects to my lord.”
Upon seeing the templar knight Zhen Jin coming over, the injured people struggled to get up to try and pay their respects one after another.
“All of you stop, lie back down.” Zhen Jin waved his palm in a downward motion.
“Don’t worry everyone. The imperial flag is still flying, and the templar gods are also watching over everyone attentively.”
“This setback is nothing. As long as we have not lost our lives, everything is possible.”
“Follow me and we will leave this island and reap glory!”
After Zhen Jin encouraged them, he left the tent together with Cang Xu.
“As long as we have you, my lord, morale will not collapse. You are the pillar of hope in our hearts!” Cang Xu sighed.
Zhen Jin smiled.
Cang Xu’s attitude was not pure flattery.
Zhen Jin really did have such an influence.
This was being a leader, it was one of the effects of being strong.
“It is only natural, however the most important factor is my identity as a templar knight.” Zhen Jin was well aware of this fact.
In the hearts of the empire's people, templar knights always had a majestic status.
Zhen Jin left camp, taking Cang Xu along with him and arrived at a nearby hillside.
A crude temporary thatched house had been built here.
There was a circular fence around the thatched house. Within the enclosure were a few goats.
These goats were the former flock leaders and possessed a bronze level aura.
Since the exploration team members were in weak health after taking the potions, these goats had been isolated here.
There was no one looking after the goats except for Bai Ya.
Because the youngster didn’t eat any goat meat, he didn’t suffer from the chaotic magic power corrosion and avoided the disaster. As a result, he earned the nickname——Lucky Boy.
1
The Lucky Boy Bai Ya had been quite busy these last few days. Not only had he been taking care of the bellwethers, but also the incapacitated people. Many people that received his care accepted his kindness, making him very popular. Among them was Huang Zao who had a prior misunderstanding with Bai Ya. After Bai Ya took care of him, Huang Zao took the initiative to impart Bai Ya his battle qi art.
Sensing Zhen Jin’s and Cang Xu’s arrival, he promptly opened the gate and respectfully welcomed the two people in.
“My lord, I’m sorry, I have failed to live up to your expectations. I, I haven’t accomplished anything…” Bai Ya looked ashamed.
Zhen Jin patted the youngster’s shoulder and consoled him: “It doesn’t matter, I know you have worked hard.”
Although Zhen JIn was younger than Bai Yai, as Bai Ya listened to these words, his nervous and anxious mood immediately dissipated a lot, and his shame turned into appreciation towards Zhen Jin.
“Many thanks my lord, you are so magnanimous!” Bai Ya said.
Zhen Jin waved his hand to indicate that he wanted Bai Ya to withdraw.
He had originally ordered Bai Ya to train these bellwethers with the intent of taming them into mounts.
If this plan succeeded, it would be of great help to Zhen Jin now and even in the future.
Zhen Jin had constantly kept the notion of a goat calvary in mind.
The reason why he gave this task to Bai Ya was because he was healthy and active and wasn't corroded by magic power. It was also because he was from a hunting family and had dealt with many beasts.
But right now, the results had shown that Bai Ya was incapable of taming these goats.
Zhen Jin wasn’t disappointed as his hope for this was very small. Normally this kind of thing was done by beast tamers or druids. Zhen Jin knew that counting on a common and young hunter was somewhat unrealistic.
“My lord, your subordinate asks to be excused.” Bai Ya withdrew.
Soon, there were only two people in the enclosure, Zhen Jin and Cang Xu.
Then, Zhen Jin opened his mouth and said: “Concerning the food shortage issue, I have already found a method to solve it. A great amount of medicine could be made, then the goats would drink it and vomit out their internal magic power, thus purifying their meat.”
Upon hearing what was said, Cang Xu hesitated and pondered for a moment before saying: “My lord, I fear this method won’t work. We can only clear out our internal magic power because we suffered from corrosion. However these goats are actually the source of the magic power, the magic power is a part of them, similar to their limbs or organs.”
“If we give the goats the medicine, although it can eliminate a great amount of their internal magic power, there would always still be some leftover that can’t be cleared away. At the same time this would also inflict serious damage onto the goats to a far worse degree than us, with the most likely possibility being that they will die on the spot.”
Zhen Jin laughed and looked deeply at Cang Xu: “These goats are victims, just like us. The true origin of the magic power is not them, but actually the seemingly ordinary grass growing nearby.”
Zhen Jin revealed the truth so frankly that Cang Xu was stunned on the spot.
The old scholar looked at Zhen Jin, their eyes meeting midair. The old scholar blinked, he suddenly realised the deeper meaning in why Zhen Jin had said this.
Zhen Jin continued: “It can’t be that you haven’t realized this secret yet, Mr. Cang Xu?”
Cang Xu’s heart trembled, Zhen Jin’s constant pressure gave him the illusion that he was facing a ruthless swordsman’s unrelenting attacks.
The old scholar’s face flashed with hesitation, his gaze wavering as he replied: “I am dimwitted and did not realise this secret.”
Zhen Jin stared at Cang Xu for a while and seeing that the other party made no further responses, his heart was filled with disappointment.
Zhen Jin made a faint ‘hmm’, slowly turned around, and stepped towards the fence gate.
Cang Xu followed close behind.
Just as Zhen Jin was about to open the gate, Cang Xu behind him suddenly said: “Lord Zhen Jin, your candidness and vision is something men can’t help but admire in their hearts. You possess the acute foresight of a person of high status. Even though you are in dire straits, you still tried to organize a cavalry. The impact of cavalry is indeed big, for it can attack and defend very well. Having outstanding cavalry on hand will usually allow one to grasp the initiative. However, according to my humble self’s perspective, these goats are not your optimal choice, you still have a better option.”
“Oh?” Zhen Jin put one hand on the gate and slowly turned to face Cang Xu. “Then let me hear your wise opinion Mr. Cang Xu.”
“My lord, although these goats are high level lifeforms, they are not products of nature, there might be hidden dangers within them.”
“Moreover, they can’t coordinate their magic power. Even if they became a cavalry, their upper limit would be quite low.”
“In addition, my lord, in the future you will be the Lord of White Sands city and the surrounding terrain is mostly flat, deep into the Wilderness Continent in that direction, there is a vast forest. There is no mountainous terrain, which is unsuitable to display the power of the goat cavalry.”
Cang Xu spoke frankly and with assurance.
Zhen Jin was expressionless, but his heart approved of what Cang Xu said.
Zhen Jin also understood these shortcomings.
However, the problem was, apart from the goats, what else could he use to organize a cavalry?
Right now Zhen Jin was very impoverished, although he was a grand templar knight, even his subordinates had all only recently come under his command.
And once they left this island, whether or not they would continue to follow Zhen Jin was something that could be debated.
Cang Xu suddenly asked: “My lord, how much do you know about the explosive hoof blazing horses?”
“It sounds quite familiar.” Zhen Jin frowned as he thought, then suddenly said: “Duke Heng Le?”
Duke Heng Le was famous for being a playboy when he was young. His parents died early on in his life and his relatives greatly doted on him. He lived an indulgent life and lacked strength. However, when the eastern nobles rose in armed rebellion, his relatives lost their lives in an ambush.
Thus, Heng Le was promoted to a clan leader. Before he could react, the nobles’ armies launched a great attack.
Heng Le didn’t have the time to grieve, under the support of clan’s knights he served as the commander in chief to hold back the allied armies.
2
As the two armies fought, Heng Le’s clan’s knights dauntlessly attacked their enemies to protect their homeland, however, they were powerless in the end, they quickly got suppressed and fell into a predicament.
Seeing that the general situation seemed to be on the verge of collapse, in order to survive, the cowardly Heng Le decided to secretly flee.
However, as he was in a panic, he didn’t clearly recognise the horse and got on an explosive hoof blazing horse by mistake.
The explosive hoof blazing horse had a violent temperament and was even crazy. If it was provoked, it would fight to the death, with little regards towards its own life.
When Heng Le was whipping the horse to flee, he accidently hit its buttocks.
The explosive hoof blazing horse immediately became indignant and in spite of Heng Le’s shouts and efforts to rein it in, it charged into the desperate battlefield where the armies were struggling against each other.
The morale of the clan troops was originally gloomy, but when suddenly, they saw Heng Le’s “one man charge”. They were immediately influenced by his spirit, one by one they began to roar, their morale rose and launched a fierce counterattack disregarding their lives.
The allied enemy forces were caught off guard, their frontline was broken through, leading to their defeat.
Heng Le won a crucial battle by accident
3
and saved his clan’s territory. This story about him was revealed by him in his drunken stupor, as a result it propagated throughout the world and became widely known.
Cang Xu nodded: “Exactly, in those days Heng Le rode this kind of horse. This humble one knows a method that can be used to nurture explosive blazing horse cavalry.”
Upon hearing what was said, Zhen Jin could not help but reveal his shock: “Are you sure?”
Explosive hoof blazing horses had a wild temperament, and were very liable to anger. A slight provocation would make them crazy enough to fight to the death.
In addition, the bodies of explosive hoof blazing horses were very strong, they were very tall, and their heads were generally a meter higher than the majority of warhorses. Their hoofs were also thicker and harder than most warhorses, as if they were made of steel.
Its explosive strength was very powerful, when it ran, it only needed a few breaths to reach its maximum speed.
And they weren’t just applicable for short distances, they had considerable endurance to run long distances.
Zhen Jin was a templar knight, although his memory was badly damaged, he still had general knowledge. He deeply understood how important a knight’s mount was and how tremendously it improved their combat ability.
The explosive hoof blazing horse’s height could allow knights to tower over the battlefield. On the battlefield, a slight advantage could be the difference between life and death. Wasn't the explosive hoof blazing horse’s height more than a slight advantage?
The explosive hoof blazing horse’s hoof was also a powerful weapon. An excellent cavalryman could order their war horse to stand tall and kick the enemy with its front hooves. When an explosive hoof blazing horse kicks, it can pierce through common iron shields!
Not to mention the tough muscles all over its body can produce a frightening impact force in a charge.
Because of its outstanding qualities, many nobles and commanders had tried to form explosive blazing horse cavalry.
However, the performance of such a cavalry had always been terrible on the battlefield.
It was because the cavalrymen couldn't control the explosive hoof blazing horses. Especially when the explosive hoof blazing horses were provoked, regardless of the cavalryman’s efforts to restrain it, they would always charge towards the enemy in front of them with no regards for their life.
Explosive blazing horse cavalry were also very easy to outmaneuver.
A slight bit of provocation could make the cavalry units rush into the firing range of magicians.
Under a magic bombardment, the explosive hoof blazing horses would actively throw away their lives along with their riders’ without fear.
If met with a cunning enemy general with good tactical knowledge, these kinds of cavalry could even be maneuvered into attacking their own side, turning into chess pieces in the hands of the enemy.
Explosive hoof blazing horses had many advantages, but they also had a huge flaw which eventually led to the concept of explosive blazing horse cavalry becoming a laughingstock.
But now, Cang Xu suggested that Zhen Jin form a unit of explosive blazing horse cavalry.
Zhen Jin stared sharply at Cang Xu, although they had only interacted for a short period of time, he didn’t believe that Cang Xu was a person without common sense.
Sure enough, the next moment Cang Xu added: “This humble one has a method that can allow cavalrymen to exercise basic control over explosive hoof blazing horses.”
“The reason why explosive hoof blazing horses cannot be organized to form cavalry is because their temperament is extremely violent. But by using my method, it can make up for this flaw.”
“This battle qi art is still being developed, it is not complete, and has much room for improvement.
“If your lordship does not dislike it, I am willing to offer it to your hands.”
Zhen Jin narrowed his eyes and nodded: “Mr Cang Xu, your contribution will be recorded in my heart.”
The relationship between cavalrymen and their mounts was not a simple riding relationship.
Cavalrymen and their mounts would not only interact with each other, train together, and foster a mutual understanding; they would also instill their battle qi into their mounts.
Battle qi would circulate within the mount's body, allowing the mount to move faster, have a stronger defense, recover faster, have greater strength, etc.
As the cavalry charges, stimulating the battle qi would link the cavalryman and their mount even closer, thus forming a single entity.
According to Cang Xu, he had grasped a recently created battle qi art. By using this battle qi technique, cavalrymen could effectively control their explosive hoof blazing horse and not allow the latter to go crazy with madness.
The value of this battle qi art is certainly very high.
Cang Xu continued: “Lord Zhen Jin, although these goats have a dense life aura, they are still monsters. They cannot coordinate their magic power nor can they stabilize it. This also implies that cavalrymen cannot instill their battle qi into the goat’s body. Even if a cavalry unit was formed, they would not have any potential while also being a great hidden danger.”
“In fact, it would be wiser to use the potions to eliminate their internal chaotic magic power and immediately butcher them after, thus obtaining a great amount of food and solving our current predicament.”
Even if the goat meat was to be processed, there would still be a risk that it might retain residual magic power.
However, under the current situation, could the exploration team have high standards?
Author’s Note
Ps: Recommending a good looking book——《The Legendary Mechanic》/《超神机械师》.
A new and original mechanical setting with a light and happy atmosphere.
Han Xiao, the star sea level power leveling level of "Xinghai", was thrown into the crossing army by the mysterious power from the east (zuo) Fang (zhe), carrying the player panel to become an NPC, and before returning to the "Xinghai" public beta, he resolutely chose the most difficult machine system.
Battleships line up across the stars and seas, star mechas are as good as dragons, phantom energy cannons destroy the world, and an endless army of machinery waits quietly in the portable warehouse
One man is a legion!
(this author’s note is about a novel called “The Legendary Mechanic” which actually happens to have a translation, I myself have read the novel a while ago and it was pretty good, so you can check it out. This whole author’s note has stuff to do with that novel which I don't understand and is left as a decor so don't pay much attention to it. As I have read the novel so I’ll, give a brief summary, MC who was a top player of this game transmigrates into the game a few years before its launched as a NPC into the game, and he's stuck as a NPC without being able to exit, different from other similar novels i’ve read, in this one, the game still stays as a game and later on, players from reality actually login to the game and MC does interact with them while pretending to be an NPC) - Deus
Dardex Notes
Imagine being unable to control rampaging units. This post was made by the lizardman gang. Also does anyone remember that the author described the goats as hitting stronger than your average heavy cavalry charge? I wonder what that implies about your average rider when a random bronze level goat hits harder than an entire charge. Of course said goats might have specced into pure strength as their magic stat is faced with a fat zero. In addition, that would imply that Zhen Jin could just tank and kill off an entire contingent of average cavalry through his strength.
Deus’ Notes
There's often this “life aura” thing popping up, which is basically a thing in this novel about how much magic power and stuff a living being has, the stronger the “life aura” the stronger its cultivation and vice versa.
Translation Notes