"Pull!"
The knights gave a forceful yank. The Pegasus, already dizzy and disoriented, could no longer maintain its balance. With a mournful cry and a frantic flutter of wings, it crashed clumsily toward the ground.
"Careful!" several nearby knights shouted, rushing forward to buffer the fall. Though the beast took a hard tumble, they managed to ensure it wasn't seriously injured.
Moonlight, meanwhile, leaped lightly from the horse's head just before impact, landing gracefully on the grass. It shook its fur and, with an elegant feline strut, walked to Leylo's side. Tilting its head up, it nudged his trouser leg with a look that clearly said, Hurry up and praise me.
"Good job, Moonlight! You're the hero of the day!" Leylo leaned down and vigorously rubbed Moonlight's furry head, his joy beyond words. Looking at the Pegasus—now firmly restrained by the knights and whinnying in unease but unable to escape—Leylo and Ed exchanged a look, seeing mirrored excitement and satisfaction. This harvest was immense!
"My Lord, a total of six Pegasi captured!" a knight reported after a quick count, his face flushing with excitement.
"Good! Very good!" Leylo nodded, his gaze sweeping over the magnificent creatures. "Check them for injuries; use the best herbs. Be gentle, don't startle them further." He glanced at the Pegasus Moonlight had "bonked" twice; it seemed to be regaining consciousness, lying on the ground with dazed eyes, looking like it was questioning the meaning of life.
The knights responded with a thunderous roar of affirmation. Capturing a Pegasus was a feat one could brag about for a lifetime! Ed directed the men to handle the scene with care. They needed to use special blindfolds to calm the beasts' nerves before leading them back to Blackstone Town with reinforced ropes.
"Ed, is the Earth Dragon Grass all gathered?" Leylo asked.
"Yes, My Lord, everything is safely stowed," Ed replied, a grin he couldn't suppress plastered on his face. "The gains today are simply too great!"
Once the blindfolds were secured, the Pegasi indeed quieted down. Though still agitated, they stopped their frantic struggling.
"My Lord, these beasts... they have fiery tempers. I fear they won't be easy to tame," an experienced old knight noted worriedly.
Leylo looked at the powerful, graceful lines of the creatures, his eyes thoughtful. "Pegasi are proud, but not untamable. Since they were drawn by the Earth Dragon Grass, it means they have needs. Once we're back, we'll take it slow. There's always a way."
"Alright, the hour is late. We must head back immediately."
The party set out on their return journey. They had arrived light and unburdened but were returning with six "heavy weights." Even blindfolded, the Pegasi's wild nature wasn't suppressed; they frequently pawed the ground and tossed their heads, letting out anxious whinnies. The knights were on high alert, two to a rope, constantly wary of a sudden outburst.
Moonlight seemed to have lost interest in the giants. Perhaps those two "bonks" had drained its energy, for it now lay lazily across Leylo's shoulders, eyes half-lidded, tail occasionally brushing the back of Leylo's neck. Only when a particular Pegasus became exceptionally unruly, sending the knights into a scramble, would it lift an eyelid to cast a warning—or perhaps mocking—glance, letting out a low rumble from its throat.
Leylo's heart, however, was lighter than ever. He was already dreaming of forming his own aerial cavalry unit.
The bumps of the road and the occasional commotion didn't slow the group down. Before the sun fully dipped below the horizon, the familiar silhouette of Blackstone Town appeared.
"The Lord is back!" a sharp-eyed sentry shouted from the town entrance. "What is that? Huge horses... with wings?!"
"Heavens! It's Pegasus!"
The news spread like it had wings of its own. When Leylo's party led the six divine beasts—whose majesty was apparent even through the blindfolds—into the town, they were met with an unprecedented uproar. Because of the apprentice recruitment, Blackstone was already bustling. Now, everyone was drawn to the spectacle. Townspeople lined the streets, craning their necks and staring wide-eyed at the legendary creatures.
"By the gods! The Lord actually caught Pegasi!" "Six of them! Six!"
The shouts of wonder and discussion merged into a massive wave of sound. The recruitment scene was completely ignited; even those in line to register broke rank to watch. The guards had to struggle to clear a path through the crowd. The knights beamed with pride, chests out, enjoying the worshipful gazes. Moonlight seemed to relish the attention too, standing up on Leylo's shoulder like a conquering general.
"Ed, take the Pegasi to the stables. Assign two knights to guard them. Treat them with the finest fodder and water," Leylo ordered.
As the crowd watched the Pegasi disappear toward the back of the town, another travel-worn squad arrived from a different direction—it was Bolin, returning from his mission upstream. Seeing the Pegasi, he was momentarily stunned.
"My Lord!" Bolin stepped forward, his face tired but his eyes bright. "Mission accomplished!"
"Good work, Bolin. It looks like you had quite a haul?"
Bolin grinned. "Yes, My Lord! We found the wreckage of a large merchant ship grounded on a riverbank upstream. It looks like a giant water monster flipped it. The hull is ruined, but we searched the hold and found plenty of good things!" He paused, his voice trembling slightly with excitement. "In a secret compartment, we found these!"
He signaled his soldiers to bring forward several heavy chests. "A total of two thousand two hundred gold dragons!"
"And that's not all!" Bolin continued. "We found over a hundred bags of grain, hundreds of bolts of linen, and several barrels of fine wine! There's also iron ore and timber. Old Buck and I have already arranged for men to transport the rest; everything should be here by tomorrow."
Leylo nodded with deep satisfaction. Money, food, cloth, ore, timber—this "unexpected fortune" greatly relieved the resource pressure on Blackstone. Especially those two thousand-plus gold dragons; they were a godsend.