Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 16: Opportunity to Tame the Demi-Griffin
The size of the team that followed Su Li from Bauhinia Castle was already very impressive. Walking on the mountain road were not only the elite knights Schwartz and Frederick, but also the official knights William and Sophie, the apprentice knights Hilde and Leif, and six armed attendants.

These servants belonged to the Schwarz family and the Frederick family. Whether in peacetime or wartime, the servants would obey the orders of their lords and complete the rough, dirty and stupid tasks that their lords wanted to avoid.

However, once on the battlefield, they would unleash every inch of martial arts they had learned, wielding their two-handed heavy swords to cut down any villains before them in the name of the gods, the knights, or their lords. For squires, every battle was an opportunity to advance or serve their lords, or even their only chance to join the knight class—however slim the possibility.

These were the loyal servants of the Knights, and the staunch infantry line of defense on the battlefield. Aside from the Knights' elite foot knights, they were essentially the Empire's most powerful infantry unit. Every established territory, in addition to its numerous knights, needed a corps of these infantry to maintain its front. They were numerous, sizable, inexpensive, and versatile, capable of performing all the dirty work.

Their positioning meant that they were not the focus of the queue. The proud knights attracted everyone's attention.

Especially Schwartz, who was wearing the vibranium rune armor. He was majestic and powerful, the armor flashed with a cold light in the sun, and the sound of horse hooves echoed like thunder, making the knights William and Sophie in the queue couldn't help but turn their eyes to him again and again, envying the vibranium rune armor.

Knight Frederick was a man of great appearance, and his son William was even more handsome than him. He had lion-like brown hair, wore a full set of plate armor, and a kite helmet. He was obviously an elite among the knights.

His sister, Sophie, was a complete beauty. Having reached adulthood, her figure had fully developed, with graceful and charming curves, a curvaceous figure, and an unparalleled sensual allure. Her long, burgundy hair, in particular, flowed like waves over her shoulders, each swaying in the wind, vividly showcasing her confidence, fiery passion, and heroic demeanor as a female knight.

In theory, this man and woman should surpass Su Li in maturity, appearance, experience, and strength. However, Frederick watched his two children, like children, unconcealedly admiring and yearning for the vibranium armor, and then saw Su Li's calm elegance and self-confidence. He simply couldn't compare these two worthless children with Young Master Su Li! Young Master Su Li had only just reached adulthood, but he displayed a maturity and composure that easily overshadowed the older William and Sophie.

Frederick couldn't help but sigh, then retracted his gaze and asked Su Li: "Master Su Li, where are we going now?"

Su Li turned around with a smile and asked everyone, "Do you have money? I've been lucky lately, so I'll take you to win some money. The Zijing Town competition is about to start tomorrow, so we should go place our bets before the deadline."

Upon hearing Su Li's words, Hildreth and Leif were the most excited. They were completely convinced of Su Li, especially Hildreth, who was still clutching the gold coin she had won earlier. She hadn't had the chance to exchange such a large fortune for change in the castle, so she hadn't returned it to Leif.

She immediately whispered in Lei Fu's ear, "Let's follow Master Su Li to place bets. When we get the winnings, I'll give you 1 gold coin."

Leif's heartbeat quickened as she nodded quickly, letting out an excited "hmm." She couldn't believe how quickly her wealth had skyrocketed. She had only lent Hildurd 10 silver coins yesterday, and in the blink of an eye, she'd received 1 gold coin back.

Schwartz had grown accustomed to Su Li's wild imagination. But Frederick, still new to Su Li, frowned upon hearing this: "Master Su Li, shouldn't we hurry and prepare for the expansion of the Border Prince's Territory? The tournament in Bauhinia Town limits participants to apprentice knights, so only the victor receives the honor of the [Knight of Dawn]. This kind of battle is fundamentally immature and full of uncertainties. Perhaps a nervous mistake on their part could change the entire outcome. Betting on this is a complete gamble."

Su Li smiled and said, "That makes sense. Let's have a small bet for fun. Each person can stake a maximum of 10 gold coins. But Knight Frederick, you must know that raising resources is also the most important responsibility of a pioneer lord. Without sufficient wealth, how can I raise a larger army?"

Seeing Su Li's calm and confident demeanor, Frederick stopped talking. Raising funds was indeed the top priority right now. He also had to admit that Young Master Su Li clearly had a unique confidence in this regard.

After convincing Knight Frederick, Su Li started talking about another matter with great interest: "Knight Frederick, do you know anything about griffins? Are they interested in lions?"

"That should be possible. People can be interested in mermaids. There are many legends that say griffins are products of alchemy, but I don't quite agree. I think they may be like centaurs, creatures created by the extraordinary power of nature." After saying this, Frederick asked curiously, "Why is Master Su Li suddenly interested in this? Do you want to breed a half-griffin in the family stable?"

Su Li raised his eyebrows and asked, "Is the family's half-griffin bred?"

"Of course not!" Frederick said. "Most of the terrifying creatures ridden by Imperial knights were raised from infancy, but this rarely happens with demi-griffins. Humans have not mastered the training of these noble beasts with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion. They only exist in the dense and dangerous forests."

"The final test for knights of some renowned orders is to capture a demi-griffon alive and bring it into submission. Unsurprisingly, most fail and are torn to pieces by these beasts. This has made demi-griffon knights extremely rare in the Empire. When a demi-griffon attacks, it pounces on its enemies before they can raise their weapons to retaliate; its razor-sharp claws can easily eviscerate them, and its powerful beak can peck through armor and limbs."

Su Li asked curiously, "Besides this, is there no other way to tame a half-griffin?"

"The High Elves possess a natural talent for taming animals and a way of coexisting with natural creatures. They can treat elven horses, griffins, hippogriffs, white lions, Pegasus, dragons, phoenixes, giant eagles, war eagles, and forest spirits as equals. In contrast, the Empire's taming methods are relatively brutal, so they are unable to coexist with adult griffons. If you are the first person a young griffon sees when it opens its eyes for the first time, you can tame one, but such opportunities are obviously very rare. As far as I know, there are no griffins on the horizon in the family."

Su Li raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said, "Then if I say to Knight Frederick, you have a chance to get a half-griffin, do you want to try it?"

(End of this chapter)