Chapter 171: The Mysterious Armored Knight

"The zombie stopped right here, and then engaged in a fierce battle with some kind of creature!" Perine picked up a feather from the ground. "The footprints disappear here, and there are a lot of bloodstains and feathers on the ground. I'm afraid the zombie was snatched away by some flying creature!"

"A flying creature?" Ji Zhengjin instantly felt depressed. "How are we supposed to continue tracking it then?"

"The difficulty is very high!" Perine said. "Unless we can find the nest of the flying creature nearby. But it's also possible that this creature flew a long way here to hunt for prey, or perhaps it was just passing by."

"This is not good!" Ji Zhengjin hurriedly jumped onto the giant dragon's head and extended his hand to Perine. "Get up here! Let's take a look from the sky!"

"Alright!" Perine reached out, grabbed Ji Zhengjin's hand, and leaped up onto the dragon.

The dragon flapped its wings and quickly rose above the forest, overlooking the entire area.

Down below, Zhuoma was riding a manticore, pursuing at full speed.

The Monster Forest was simply too huge!

Even after circling around in the air several times, they couldn't find any nests, caves, or places where anything could inhabit nearby.

"It seems this creature really flew in from a very distant place to hunt. This makes things difficult!" Perine said. "Even I cannot continue tracking without finding its nest!"

"What should we do then?" Christina asked worriedly.

"I don't think it matters, does it?" Tina blinked. "Since it was taken to a very distant place, it won't threaten our city!"

"But it will evolve into a Nightmare Emissary and come back to take revenge on Gene!" Perine said. "After all, he is Alex!"

"Doesn't that take a year or two, though?" Tina asked. "What is there to worry about? Besides, he wasn't a match for Gene when he was alive, let alone now that he's dead!"

"Well said!" Ji Zhengjin had been somewhat worried initially, but hearing Tina say this made him smile instantly. In a year or two, he figured he would have developed quite well himself! By the time his level and equipment were up, would he still be afraid of Alex? If the guy dared to come back, he would blast him into渣渣 (dust/scraps) directly with a mecha warrior!

"What should we do now, then?" Perine asked.

Ji Zhengjin glanced at the sun, which was about to set in the sky. "It's getting dark. Even with the giant dragon, it's best not to wander outside at night. Let's fall back first!"

"Okay! Let's go home!" Tina nodded and said, "I should also make dinner."

"Lord Gene!" Zhuoma finally caught up, riding the manticore.

"Zhuoma, retreat!" Ji Zhengjin looked down at him from above. "See you in the city!"

The giant dragon immediately flapped its wings and glided forward swiftly.

Zhuoma immediately turned the manticore around and chased after the giant dragon at top speed.

Returning to the city, they let the giant dragon rest in the mining area. Zhuoma followed closely behind, leading the panting and wheezing manticore.

"You've worked hard enough today. Have the manticore rest at the guard tower outside the city, and then go get a good night's sleep yourself!" Ji Zhengjin instructed. "Tomorrow, we will continue hunting monsters outside the city!"

"Yes!!" Zhuoma was indeed somewhat tired, so he turned to leave.

"Awor~!" Right at that moment, the kobold sentinels outside the city suddenly let out a sharp alarm.

Ji Zhengjin hurriedly rushed toward the city gate, and Zhuoma quickly abandoned the thought of resting and followed right behind.

Arriving at the outer city wall, Ji Zhengjin anxiously looked into the distance.

On the horizon under the setting sun, a group of dejected kobolds were slowly moving toward them, looking thoroughly battered and exhausted. Behind the kobolds were Baddy and the town guards he led, all maintaining a posture of having their hands behind their backs, their faces filled with embarrassment.

"What is going on?" Seeing this scene, Ji Zhengjin was puzzled.

Soon, he noticed that at the very rear of the procession was a knight entirely encased in iron armor, holding a heavy steel lance, riding a battlehorse clad in steel armor, silently driving the kobolds and town guards forward.

Judging by Baddy's appearance, it looked like he had gotten into a fight with someone and had been thoroughly defeated!

Wait, wasn't Baddy's strength already quite formidable? How could he possibly be defeated?

Ji Zhengjin found it somewhat hard to believe.

The procession quickly arrived beneath the city walls. Baddy looked up and saw Ji Zhengjin on the ramparts, immediately showing a look of shame. "Lord Gene!"

"What happened?" Ji Zhengjin glanced at the armored knight and then back at Baddy.

"Report to Lord Gene!" Baddy said with a bitter smile. "We found the kobolds fighting this mysterious knight, so we wanted to go up and help. But we never expected him to be overwhelmingly powerful, defeating nearly two hundred of our town guards along with the siege of over five hundred kobolds! Now we are all his prisoners..."

"What the heck!" Ji Zhengjin reached out to support his forehead, feeling extremely humiliated.

Before he could speak, Zhuoma had already leaped down from the city wall, raised his giant axe, and charged directly at the armored knight. "Hahaha! You look strong? Fight me to the death!"

Ji Zhengjin was even more speechless, but seeing that the manticore had also charged out, he figured that although two hundred plus town guards and the kobolds couldn't win, those guys were just cannon fodder anyway! Zhuoma was at least the top expert in his city right now, and his equipment was also very good. Plus, with a Tier 1 magical beast providing support, it should be fine, right?

However, just to be safe, he turned his head and wanted to tell someone to go to the mining area and bring the fake dragon over.

Just in time, the werewolf Vorf appeared, and Ji Zhengjin hurriedly assigned him the task.

"Hiyah!" Zhuoma rushed in front of the armored knight, too lazy to even exchange pleasantries, jumped high into the air, raised his heavy giant axe, roared, and brought it down with all his might.

"Magic Shield!" The armored knight let out a muffled sound and raised his left hand.

"Boom!!" The giant axe was blocked in mid-air as a blue six-pointed star array materialized out of thin air, stopping his attack.

This took Zhuoma by surprise. Could the armored knight before him be a mage?

"Dragon Tooth Stab!!" After blocking the attack with the magic shield and taking advantage of Zhuoma losing his balance in mid-air, the armored knight swiftly urged his horse forward, thrusting his heavy lance with fierce momentum.

Not a mage!! This was a powerful knight attack technique! Zhuoma was greatly shocked. Was the armored knight in front of him actually a magic-and-martial dual-cultivation monster?

However, he was no pushover either. He quickly regained his balance in mid-air, spun his body 360 degrees rapidly, and swung his giant axe fiercely. "Earth-Shattering Axe!!"

"Boom——!!" The two skills collided, and the terrifying air pressure forced both of them to retreat four or five steps.

"Whoosh!!" The manticore joined the battle, its tail projecting a blue beam of astonishing power.

"Magic Shift!" The armored knight hurriedly raised his left hand, and a phantom resembling a prismatic mirror appeared in his palm.

"Whoosh!" The manticore's blue light attack struck the mirror and actually curved, missing its target entirely!

"Earth-Shattering Axe!!" Seizing the opening, Zhuoma quickly rushed in front of the armored knight and slashed down viciously with his axe.

"Clang!" The armored knight raised his lance to parry, but the powerful force pressed his mount so hard that it lost its footing, throwing him right down to the ground.

"Hahaha! Die!" Pressing his advantage, Zhuoma took a step forward and lunged right in front of the armored knight.

"Clang!!" The armored knight once again raised his lance to block Zhuoma's attack while raising his left hand. "Flame Spray!"

"Whoosh whoosh——!!" Scorching flames surged forward, forcing Zhuoma to retreat repeatedly.

The manticore lunged fiercely from the side, preparing to launch a surprise attack while the armored knight was distracted.

"Whoosh——!" Unexpectedly, as if the armored knight had eyes on the side of his head, he instantly moved his hand sideways, and the flames forced the manticore back as well.

"This guy is so fierce!" Ji Zhengjin watched with his eyes nearly popping out of his head. Seeing that the fake dragon had already flown over, he let out a whistle.

"AWOOR~!" The thunderous roar of the fake dragon caused the armored knight's movements to pause.

Ji Zhengjin leaped hard off the city wall, and the fake dragon immediately flew over to catch him, flying straight toward the armored knight to join the fray!

"Wait!" At that moment, the armored knight suddenly spoke up. "I am merely a passing knight, seeking a place to rest for the night! I have no intention of fighting; please stop this act of hostility! Furthermore, mighty Dragon Knight, please forgive my rashness!"

"Yo! Giving up so easily now that you see my dragon?" Ji Zhengjin had wanted to test just how badass this armored knight really was, but the guy surrendered in seconds. That was such a letdown!