The Knight of Light plants the sun in the eternal night.

The Shadow Beast attacked, getting closer and closer. With the help of the faint light of his battle aura, Leo was able to see the Shadow Beast's appearance clearly.

It was a snarling monkey.

But the shadowy power on its body was so thick it seemed to be enveloped in a black mist, and its fur danced like tentacles through the mist.

It was truly ferocious and terrifying.

He gripped the dark-glowing longsword in his hand, and with the infusion of his battle qi, the longsword gleamed as he slashed directly at the attacking shadowy monkey.

However, before Leo could retaliate...

Three spears thrust in from three directions, piercing directly into the Shadow Monkey's body. It was Pluto, Harrison, and Rhodes. The three of them switched from longswords to spears, forming a barrier to protect Leo.

The spear pierced the body, causing the shadow monkey to pause in its movements.

At the same time, the black mist that enveloped its body seemed to seep into it, transforming its body into black mist as well.

"It's ghosting!"

Leo's pupils contracted, and he dared not be negligent in the slightest. He immediately poured all the holy light and fighting spirit in his body into the longsword in his hand.

Then it plunged itself fiercely into the Shadow Monkey's body.

Perhaps due to exceeding the threshold of the holy light it had been subjected to, the shadow monkey, which had already turned into a shadow, completely dissipated the mist and regained its flesh and blood body, with three spears and a longsword still stuck in its body.

"hiss!"

The shadowy monkey screamed in agony.

Then, a crimson light flashed in his eyes, and his hands quickly stretched out to grab Leo's neck.

"Watch out, sir!" Pluto shouted.

Oden and the others didn't have time to rush over.

In a critical moment, though it wasn't really a critical moment, Leo was fully armored and wasn't afraid of the Shadow Monkey's face-grabbing attack.

He discarded his sword and drew a dark dagger from his waist.

The dagger flashed past, precisely blocking the outstretched hands of the Shadow Monkey. Holy Light Battle Aura absorbed the impact and, through the secret technique - Heart of Steel, transformed it into multiple layers, forming a faint light screen in front of Leo's chest.

After the attack.

The three great knights exerted their strength together, piercing the Shadow Monkey with their spears and skewering it like a barbecue.

"Attack! Attack together!" Rod shouted.

Leo had already withdrawn, and Oden and the other knights had switched to long spears. Facing a stationary target, they didn't need to aim at all; they simply poured their maximum holy light energy into the spears and thrust them into the Shadow Monkey's body.

Nearly ten long spears.

They turned the not-so-big Shadow Monkey into a hornet's nest.

The Shadow Monkey, which could conjure black mist to attack and extend its limbs to fight, died on the spot.

"Camille!" Rod waved cheerfully. "Bring the swallowtail flag over here."

"oh."

Taking the Swallowtail Banner, Rhodes said directly to Leo, "The Shadow Beast is a very valuable prey. Young Master Leo, please smear the Swallowtail Banner with the Shadow Beast's blood to complete the knight squad's flag-raising ceremony!"

"Alright!" Leo readily agreed, smearing a bit of the Shadow Monkey's blood onto the Swallowtail Banner with his dagger.

It has no special effect.

It's just that the flag is stained with blood.

But for a small knight squad, this was a baptism of blood and fire.

Leo recalled the founding ceremonies of other knight squads from his memory. After the flag-raising ceremony, they immediately raised the swallowtail banner high and shouted, "Today, the Swamp Manor Knight Squad is established! I, Leo the Glowing Fungus, stand with you all in glory!"

"I, Rhodes, share in your glory!"

"I, Pluto, share in your glory!"

"I, Harrison..."

Finally, even Camille herself couldn't help but shout, "I, Camille, share in your glory and honor!"

After completing the ceremony, a vow was made.

Leo could clearly sense that the knights' spirits were higher than before, as if they had all found a sense of belonging.

"I'm back." Rhodes smiled.

He was already in his early fifties, yet he was still able to witness the formation of a knight squad and even participate in it personally.

This feeling is intoxicating.

The group set off back to Sunflower Castle. Leo took the prey and placed it on his horse to examine it closely. From its appearance, the Shadow Monkey didn't seem to have anything special about it; it was just a slightly more ferocious-looking monkey.

Even after it died, an inescapable black mist remained lingering around its body.

Leo can touch this black mist directly. It has no corrosive effect on the skin, but it is highly corrosive to Holy Light Aura and Holy Light Elements.

No.

To be precise, it's ablation.

The fighting spirit and the black mist dissolved into each other, or rather, the power of holy light and the power of shadow were annihilated together.

"Lord Rhodes, won't this black mist dissipate?"

"It will dissipate, young master Leo. Just wait quietly, and the black mist formed from these shadows will condense into a shadow stone."

"Understood," Leo nodded.

The monsters have crystal cores inside their bodies, and the shadow beasts have shadow stones inside their bodies; both are the essence of the power condensed from the shadow monsters.

Back at Swamp Manor, amidst the shouts of the serfs, Harden brandished his spear, impaling a Shadow Monkey, and boasted, "Under the leadership of our mighty Lord Leo, the Swamp Manor Knights have successfully slain a Tier 2 Shadow Beast!"

"Praise be to Young Master Rio!"

"Bravo Knights!"

"Holy light shines upon the swamp manor!" The serfs cheered joyfully, creating a scene of harmony between the military and the people.

The children, who had gone to bed early, also crawled out of their tents and joined the cheering crowd.

After a while of cheering, Leo felt the commotion had subsided and nodded to Franken. Franken immediately shouted, "Alright, the celebration is over. Go back to sleep! Anyone who's late for work tomorrow will get a whipping!"

At this moment, the black mist on the Shadow Monkey's body had disappeared.

"My lord, the shadow stone has been condensed."

"Take it out."

"Yes." Oden took up the knife and quickly pulled out a transparent stone the size of an adult's fist from the mangled corpse.

Similar to Warcraft crystal cores.

However, the average size of a baby's fist is only that of a monster core, and it contains small black dots of shadow power essence.

The shadow stone was not only larger, but it also no longer contained the small black dots; instead, it contained a small wisp of flowing black mist.

Leo held the cleaned Shadow Stone in his hand and could see the black mist rolling as he turned the Shadow Stone. It was an impenetrable black, like a bottomless, icy spring, which made people's hearts tremble.

"This Shadow Stone can last for three months, and the food for the Shadow Warhorse is secured," Franken said with a smile.

Shadowstones have the same effect as Warcraft Crystal Cores.

It can fertilize the soil and promote the growth of healthy plants.

However, compared to that, cultivating the attributes of Light-type plants is a waste of their potential. This is because Shadow Stones can be directly fed to animals, increasing their resistance to Holy Light and Shadow, thus enabling them to walk in the dark.

The Light and Shadow Warhorse is raised by feeding it with Light Plant food mixed with a little Shadow Stone powder over a long period of time.

"We need more hunts, my lord. I plan to lead Auden and the others on long-term hunting expeditions for magical beasts and shadow beasts," Pluto said. "The crystal fields are expanding, and the thirty fine warhorses sent by the Baron also need to be trained. The demand for crystal cores and shadow stones is huge."

Leo nodded: "We'll have to wait until the fortress is built. So, Lord Harrison, you and the rest of you will join the hunting party."

"Yes, sir!" Harrison replied.

As pioneer knights, they were tasked with hunting magical beasts, so they did not resist Leo's arrangements.

Camille exclaimed, "My lord, I... I'll go too!"

"You should focus on your studies right now," Leo refused.

But the old knight Rhodes suddenly said, "My lord, let Camille go. I have been observing her for a long time. The little girl has a strong knightly talent. The wilderness is the best place for a knight to train. Staying in the manor is not conducive to her growth."