"Quick, be careful when harvesting!"
Leo immediately instructed, his tone filled with excitement.
"Just take the stems and leaves, and leave the roots."
Everyone hurriedly and cautiously set to work, pinching off the mature earth dragon grass. They carefully packed the stems and leaves into soft cloth bags, leaving the roots in the ground to continue growing.
Moonlight, with its agile figure, dashed up the treetop like a white bolt of lightning.
There, a long-tailed blue-striped sparrow had caught its attention.
However, as soon as it managed to pluck out a few feathers, its movements suddenly froze. Its ears pricked up alertly, and its sharp gaze shot towards the distant sky.
"Mew... Meow-ow!"
A low, urgent warning howl abruptly shattered the tranquility of the forest.
Leo and Ade, who were engrossed in harvesting the earth dragon grass, stiffened in their movements. They abruptly raised their heads and looked in the direction Moonlight was staring.
Just then, against the afterglow of the setting sun in the western sky, several small black dots rapidly grew larger, hurtling towards them at high speed.
"What are those?" one of the knights asked, his voice filled with doubt and unease.
As the distance shortened, the outlines of those black dots gradually became clearer.
Their figures were elegant and agile, with pure white wings spreading out in the air.
"It's... flying horses!"
Flying horses—the herd of flying horses mentioned in the earlier intelligence. Leo had sent out knights to search far and wide in the Misty Forest many times but had come up empty-handed. And now, they appeared at this very moment?
Almost instantly, Leo thought of the alluring fragrance emanating from the earth dragon grass.
It seemed they had also been attracted by the scent of the earth dragon grass.
"This is a rare opportunity. Let's seize this chance to capture these flying horses."
He lowered his voice, but his excitement was hard to conceal.
"Moonlight, hold still for now. Listen to my commands."
On the treetop, Moonlight flicked its tail and let out a low growl from its throat, as if in response.
Its pair of pale golden eyes were fixed tightly on the approaching herd of flying horses, filled with curiosity and eagerness to give it a try.
The herd of flying horses consisted of six individuals, all snow-white without a single speck of impurity.
They flapped their broad wings, gliding gracefully like spirits in the sky.
Obviously, they were also lured by the unique aroma of this patch of earth dragon grass. After circling a few times and confirming there was no danger, they began to slowly descend in altitude.
"My lord, we..."
Ade leaned closer, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes burning with enthusiasm.
The value of flying horses was beyond doubt. Whether as mounts or strategic resources, they far surpassed ordinary warhorses.
If they could capture a few, it would be a tremendous boost to Blackstone Manor's strength.
"Don't rush."
Leo made a gesture for them to calm down and wait patiently. His gaze turned to Moonlight, which was perched on the treetop with its lithe and nimble posture.
"Moonlight, do me a favor. Use your... um, little trick, to hide us from their sight. Don't let them discover us."
He tried to express it in a way Moonlight could understand.
Moonlight tilted its furry head to the side.
It looked down at the knights holding their breath on the ground and then up at the flying horses that were about to land. With a gentle flick of its furry paw,
a strange scene unfolded.
Centered around the bush where Leo and the others were hiding, the surrounding light seemed to distort slightly, like ripples in water.
The colors and outlines of their bodies blended even more perfectly with the surrounding trees and weeds, as if they were draped in a camouflage woven from shadows and foliage.
Unless one looked very closely, it would be hard to spot the dozen or so people hidden there.
"This..."
Ade and the other knights all stared with wide eyes, their faces filled with disbelief.
They could see each other clearly, but they felt as if they had become a part of the environment, their presence greatly diminished.
"Get the lassos ready," Leo suppressed the excitement in his heart and calmly issued orders. "When they land, let their guard down completely and start munching on the earth dragon grass, wait for my signal and attack together!"
"Yes!"
The knights responded in low voices.
The air seemed to freeze.
Everyone held their breath, their hearts pounding loudly in their chests, both nervous and anticipatory.
Only the occasional chirping of insects in the forest and the rustling of the flying horses' wings could be heard.
Finally, the leading flying horse, the most magnificent of the bunch, landed first.
It shook its ears alertly, looked around, its long eyelashes fluttering, and its clear eyes were like the purest lakes.
After confirming it was safe, it gracefully lowered its head and began to savor the alluring earth dragon grass.
Immediately after, the other flying horses also landed one after another, gathering around the patch of earth dragon grass and letting out contented whinnies.
They were completely immersed in the temptation of the delicious food, utterly unaware of the imminent danger so close by.
Now was the moment!
A sharp gleam flashed in Leo's eyes, and he猛地一挥手 (I'll translate this as "he waved his hand vigorously" for the lack of a direct English equivalent but keeping the sense of sudden action)!
"Attack!"
His command was like a huge stone thrown into a calm lake!
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
More than a dozen ropes shot out like venomous snakes emerging from their holes, accurately aiming at the snow-white figures bowing their heads to munch on the earth dragon grass.
"Hee-haw!"
The herd of flying horses instantly erupted into chaos!
They whinnied in terror, trying to take off into the air.
However, the well-prepared knights were even faster!
The lassos accurately looped around the necks of the six flying horses.
The knights immediately pulled back with all their might. At the same time, several of them grouped together and rushed forward, trying to subdue the startled flying horses.
For a while, the dwarf forest was in an uproar!
The flying horses had enormous strength. Even though they were lassoed, they struggled, leaped, and kicked desperately.
Although the knights were well-trained, they still had to exert tremendous effort.
Some knights were dragged around unsteadily, and some narrowly avoided being kicked by the hooves.
Ade was agile and quick. He successfully lassoed the most magnificent flying horse and was now desperately holding onto the rope, engaging in a tug-of-war with the beast. The muscles on his arms were bulging, and his veins stood out like cords.
In the chaos, a smaller but the most agile flying horse, in the instant the lasso was thrown, leaped backward suddenly, dodging the fatal restraint.
It let out a piercing whinny, flapped its wings vigorously, creating a gust of wind, and took off into the air, about to escape upwards!
"Oh no! Stop it!" a knight exclaimed in alarm, watching as the flying horse was about to soar over the treetops.
Just at this critical moment, a white shadow shot down like an arrow leaving a bowstring from the nearby tree canopy!
It was Moonlight!
Its tiny body carved an elegant arc through the air, landing precisely on the head of the ascending flying horse—no, more accurately, on top of its head!
The flying horse obviously didn't expect a "hitchhiker" to suddenly appear on its head. It was startled and jerked its head up sharply.
Then, an astonishing scene unfolded before everyone's eyes.
Moonlight sat steadily on the flying horse's head, stretched out its two furry front paws, and—
"Bonk! Bonk!"
Two clear yet muffled thuds rang out. The force wasn't great, but it seemed to carry some kind of strange oscillating effect.
It was like... a tap on the head?
The flying horse, which had been struggling to fly upwards, froze abruptly after these two taps. Its upward momentum came to an abrupt halt.
It shook its head vigorously, and its eyes clearly became dazed. Its flight path also became erratic, as if it were drunk.
"Meow-ow~"
Moonlight seemed quite satisfied with its "achievement" and flicked its big tail proudly. It even stamped its paws a couple of times on the flying horse's head, as if declaring ownership.
"...Well done!"
Leo was stunned for a moment and then shouted with a mix of amusement and admiration.
He hadn't expected Moonlight to have such a "physical persuasion" tactic.
"Quick! While we have the chance!"
Ade reacted swiftly and immediately directed two knights.
The two knights, as if awakening from a dream, quickly threw out their spare lassos.
The flying horse, which had lost its balance and speed, was now like a wobbly target and was easily lassoed.