Starting with the sentries on the frontier

Chapter 129 Griffin

"You don't need to do anything, just come with me."

Liam answered.

So the two of them set off from the city, but Liam did not take him directly to the seaside. Instead, they went to the stables outside the city first.

"Should we ride over there?"

Zag was somewhat embarrassed.

He wasn't very good at riding horses—he had learned it at the church school in Golden Helmet Fortress, but that was the original owner's memory, and it was a long time ago, so it was hard to truly immerse himself in it, let alone have any muscle memory.

Liam shook his head: "No, riding a horse is too slow, and we'll probably have to travel at night to get back, which isn't convenient."

"That----"

"Riding a griffin."

As he spoke, Liam greeted the stable manager, "Good afternoon, sir. I need to request two of the association's griffins."

"No problem, Mr. Liam. Please sign here—how long will the call take?"

Use on the same day.

"Okay, okay, sorry, this is just a routine inquiry."

Zag stood to the side in shock, speechless.

He knew about griffins; they were quite common magical creatures, said to be the retinue of Mars, one of the nine holy spirits and the god of war. They were among the few magical creatures that could "coexist peacefully" with the Norse, and were also the most popular magical mounts.

Every knight dreams of owning his own griffin, but this is almost impossible because griffins are expensive; a single adult griffin can buy ten houses in Eastgate Harbor!

The association has two of them at its offices!?

Liam explained in a timely manner: "There are three in total. They are all elderly griffins that were retired from the Royal Guard and distributed to various associations for use and retirement. The association in East Port is located near the commercial street in the East District. There wasn't enough space to keep them, so they were sent to the stables for care."

Zag suddenly realized why; the old griffins were of no use in the Golden Palace and the Royal Guard, and were simply kept idle—to be honest, the Norse weren't that kind.

Therefore, directly transferring them to the various associations' offices is indeed the optimal solution. This not only solves the problem of the associations' offices not having suitable mounts for travel, but also avoids placing too heavy a financial burden on the associations. It only covers the food and drink of the elderly griffins, which doesn't cost much money, and can even indirectly provide for the griffins' retirement.

Of course, Zag guessed that perhaps the Golden Palace also had corresponding funding, otherwise, given the economic situation of the local association's office, it would still be a bit difficult to support three griffins.

But regardless, even though it was an old griffin, this was the first time Zag had ever seen a griffin.

They look slightly different from those in the legends. Their heads resemble owls more than eagles, but their beaks are very sharp and do indeed look exactly like an eagle's. Their bodies are the standard lion shape, and instead of feathers, they have long, light golden manes on their necks. Their paws are also lion-like, like large, golden cat paws.

Zag stammered, "Well, that's not cheap either—and I can't ride a griffin!"

"Actually, the association encourages its investigators to use them more often. Although there is a pasture behind the stables here, it is still too small for griffins. So when they have free time, the investigators at the station will take them out for a walk. As for riding griffins—don't worry at all. These old griffins have ridden countless people. They will take good care of you."

Being cared for by a griffin?

Isn't that a bit too shameful?

Before Zag could think further, he saw two griffins fly over from a distance at the call of a stable boy, and then carefully land steadily closer to Liam.

"They're quite docile. This one's called Golden Mane, and that one's called Iron Claw. Golden Mane is over 160 years old, and Iron Claw is a bit smaller, but he's still over 140." The young man who called the griffins down was full of admiration for them.

Seeing his passion for griffins, he noticed that Zag didn't know much about them, so he offered to explain, "Generally, griffins reach their prime between 10 and 100 years old. Griffins over 120 are considered elderly. If these two were human, they'd probably be toothless old ladies! But they're still strong!"

It was completely dark, but it was actually not even seven o'clock yet.

The golden and silver moons hung in the sky, obscured by thick clouds. The occasional glimmers of light, a blend of gold and silver, illuminated the golden mane and iron claws of the griffin, which were unusually dull compared to those of a mature griffin, giving them an almost divine glow. This scene left Zag speechless.

He didn't even know how to describe the feeling at this moment, as if he had finally entered this magnificent fantasy world, instead of having a playful mentality like before.

Liam pulled out a few fruits from somewhere, handed two to Zag, and then used the rest to feed Ironclaw, stroking the mane on Ironclaw's neck to help Ironclaw get used to him.

Seeing this, Zhage followed suit and carefully pinched the fruit to feed Jinzong.

As magical creatures, griffins possess exceptionally high intelligence, sometimes reaching the level of a teenager. Legend has it that some exceptionally intelligent griffins can even rival adult humans.

At least the griffin in front of them, named Golden Mane, was quite intelligent. It clearly sensed that Zag was somewhat afraid of it. To be honest, it was hard not to be afraid when facing a magical creature with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion, which was larger than a lion and had wings, for the first time. This thing was classified as a level 3 carnivorous magical creature, and it could definitely take down a kid in one bite!

In short, as if sensing Zag's mood, Golden Mane very considerately tilted its head to make sure it only used the tip of its beak to pick up the fruit and eat it, instead of bringing its whole head up.

After finishing the fruit, Golden Mane turned around and lay down next to Zag, glancing back at him.

This is a signal for Zag to mount.

On the other side, Liam had already established a relationship with Iron Claw. He was riding on Iron Claw's back, ready to pounce, and even leaned down to whisper something in Iron Claw's ear.

Zag then tentatively straddled the saddle on Golden Mane's back, trapping himself inside.

The helper, ever observant, came over and helped secure Zag's thighs to the saddle using the straps. Griffins are intelligent and can understand human languages, including Northern languages. Unlike horses, they don't require the rider to use their legs to grip the belly; simply issuing commands is sufficient. Since riding griffins involves flying in the sky, rider safety is paramount. The saddle is specially designed to ensure the rider's thighs are firmly secured, preventing them from easily becoming "flying men."

Once everything was fully prepared, Zag nodded somewhat shyly to Liam, and a belated sense of excitement finally surfaced, making his breathing a little heavier.

That's a griffin!

Even in this magical otherworld, very few people have ever ridden a griffin!

[Dawn Magic Encyclopedia] Griffin: A carnivorous magical creature with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion, possessing wings and diverse plumage colors. An adult griffin is considered equivalent to a level 3 magical creature. While slower on land than a pegasus, its flight speed and combat abilities surpass those of a pegasus.

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