In the afternoon, Leylo led his knights out to "pay a visit" to that ill-tempered mother on the banks of the Blackwater River.
The post-meridian sun was somewhat lazy, yet a faint tension permeated the air around Blackstone Town. The rat-catching operation organized by Old Buck was proceeding methodically; excavated pits and simple traps were visible everywhere around the town's perimeter. The air was tinged with the scent of damp earth and a specially prepared rodent-repelling herb.
To any Lord, every high-tier magical beast was a precious treasure and a powerful asset. The Iron-Armored Rhino was a Rank 3 beast, its combat prowess comparable to a Rank 3 Earth Knight. While Pegasi were desirable, their movements were erratic and capturing them was exceedingly difficult; Leylo had simply assigned two knights to patrol the forest edge on shifts, essentially waiting for luck to strike.
The Iron-Armored Rhino, despite its violent temperament, possessed formidable defensive power and impact force. If raised from a young age, it would undoubtedly become a mobile fortress on the battlefield.
Half an hour later, the group traveled light and left Blackstone Town, heading south. The Blackwater River was not particularly wide, winding its way to create a lush and fertile riparian zone south of the Blackstone Mountains. As they moved along the south bank, the terrain rose gradually, and the vegetation grew denser—mostly low shrubs and drought-resistant grass, with a few gnarled Black Iron Trees clinging stubbornly to life.
A faint, musky scent hung in the air—the distinctive musk of a large magical beast's territory. Ed, being highly experienced, led the way, occasionally stopping to examine tracks on the ground and scout the surroundings.
"My Lord, look here." Ed crouched, pointing to a series of massive hoofprints. The prints were sunk deep into the soil with crisp edges, clearly left not long ago.
"It's an Iron-Armored Rhino." Bolin leaned in for a look, his expression grave. "Judging by the freshness of these tracks, it should be nearby."
Leylo nodded, signaling them to proceed while pushing his own perception to its limit. After breaking through to become an official Knight, his five senses and mental strength had sharpened significantly. Not even the rustle of grass or subtle elemental fluctuations could escape his detection.
After advancing several hundred meters more through a thicket of dense shrubs, the view suddenly opened up. It was a relatively flat river valley area, with massive boulders scattered near the water's edge. In the center of the valley, a gargantuan creature lay resting.
Its size was like a moving hill, its entire body encased in a thick, rugged shell that resembled black metal, reflecting a dull, somber light under the sun. Its head was enormous, topped with a thick, singular horn that shimmered with a cold glint. Its four limbs were stout and powerful, appearing like four massive stone pillars supporting its heavy frame.
This was indeed the Rank 3 magical beast—the Iron-Armored Rhino!
At this moment, the colossus seemed to be napping. Its heavy breathing sounded like a bellows, each exhale carrying a wave of heat that caused the nearby grass to sway. Tucked beneath its belly were two smaller versions of itself—calves likewise covered in black shells, huddling against their mother. Their armor was still immature, possessing a grayish-black tint, and their horns were merely embryonic nubs, giving them a somewhat clumsy yet adorable appearance.
Leylo's gaze shifted between the mother rhino and her two calves, his heart rate quickening. After observing for a while, he noticed that although the mother appeared to be dozing, her ears twitched periodically; she was clearly maintaining a high state of vigilance. The slightest disturbance would likely alert her.
Just then, an opportunistic Rank 2 Magic Hyena poked its head out from a nearby thicket, drooling as it eyed the playing calves. It had barely emerged, and before it could even grasp the situation, the resting Iron-Armored Rhino snapped its eyes open!
They were a pair of blood-red eyes, brimming with tyranny and madness!
"Moo—!"
An earth-shattering roar exploded, making the entire valley seem to tremble. The rhino's massive frame transitioned from a lying position to standing almost instantaneously, without any delay. It locked onto the wretched hyena, its four hooves pawing the ground and carving deep pits into the hardened earth.
The next second, it moved!
Like an out-of-control heavy battering ram, it launched a charge toward the hyena with unrivaled momentum! Its speed was staggering—completely disproportionate to its massive size! Its heavy body thundered across the ground, sending tremors through the earth. From start to impact, it was practically the blink of an eye!
The Rank 2 Magic Hyena had no time to react before being struck head-on by the charging rhino!
Splat! With a dull thud, the hyena was crushed like a fragile ragdoll, reduced instantly to a mangled mess of flesh and bone before it could even let out a whimper. The rhino's momentum carried it dozens of meters further, shattering several waist-high boulders along its path before it finally came to a halt. It shook the blood and gore from its head and let out another deterrent roar, as if proclaiming its sovereignty.
Hiding behind the rocks, Leylo and his men watched with pounding hearts, cold sweat drenching their backs.
"Good heavens..." Ed swallowed hard, his face pale. "That speed... it rivals a warhorse at full gallop—no, it's faster! And that impact force..."
Bolin was equally horrified. "If someone took a direct hit from that, they'd be turned into a puddle of meat even in full heavy plate armor." Both Great Knights were battle-hardened veterans, yet facing such a raw display of Rank 3 power left them feeling a sense of helplessness. They knew well that with their speed, they could never dodge that charge.
Leylo's eyes, however, grew brighter and brighter. Fast! Staggeringly fast! But that speed seemed to be strictly linear.
His mind raced. The Iron-Armored Rhino's charge was peerless in power and speed, but when it crushed the hyena and the boulders, it had hardly changed direction. A charge relying on such immense weight and brute force was bound to be inflexible in turning. Furthermore, it seemed easily provoked—especially when its calves were involved.
"Its speed is indeed fast, but it is not unmanageable," Leylo said in a low voice.
Ed and Bolin looked at him in surprise. To them, that scene was a display of utter despair; how could the Lord say it was manageable?
"My Lord, what do you mean?" Ed asked, unable to fathom how one could block or evade such a strike in a single exchange.
"We don't need to block it, nor do we need to dodge it," Leylo replied. "We are going to make it run away on its own."