Rod felt the cold wind whistling past his ears as he pressed against the horseâs flanks.
The horseâs hooves clattered over the snow, making a crisp "clap clap" sound, stirring up a flurry of tiny snowflakes that danced in the wind.
Rod couldnât determine exactly how fast Night Fury was going, but as Night Fury galloped, Rod felt that it was like riding a motorcycle in his previous life.
This feeling was something other warhorses couldnât provide.
Of course, Rod didnât let Night Fury run wild.
A few hundred meters later, he gently pulled the reins to slow down Night Furyâs pace. After making a lap around the small town, they returned to the town.
Night Furyâs nostrils exhaled steady white breaths, his tail lightly swaying, showing no signs of fatigue.
No one from the merchant caravan left; they all waited quietly in place.
Engle and Lawrence were huddled together chatting and gesturing, as if negotiating prices on the caravanâs goods.
When Rod returned, all eyes turned to him simultaneously.
Engle stood at the front of the crowd, looking at Rod on Night Furyâs back, his eyes filled with envy and admiration.
Rod dismounted and gently patted Night Furyâs neck twice,
"Truly a good horse."
Night Fury snorted, lowered his head, and gently nudged Rodâs arm.
Rod turned to look at Engle,
"In the future, send any warhorses like this to me, especially those that canât be tamed."
Engle nodded heavily,
"Yes, my esteemed Lord Baron."
Now he completely trusted Rod without any further doubts.
Rod waved casually and said, "Alright, everyone go rest. Youâve traveled a long way and must be tired."
"The coachman stays behind to explain Night Furyâs habits clearly."
"Yes, my esteemed Lord Baron!"
Engle bowed in salute and led the caravan into the tavern.
Rod led Night Fury by the reins toward the estate.
Vivian walked alongside Rod, her gaze on Night Fury.
She spoke quietly, "Lord Baron, Night Fury looks really dashing. Arenât you going to get me one too?"
"Eh?"
Rod looked at Vivian and smilingly asked, "Even Durant doesnât have one, and youâre asking already?"
"Lord Baron, Iâm supposed to be your personal guard."
Vivian reached out to touch Night Fury, but was startled by a snort from him and retracted her arm.
"When traveling, my warhorse canât keep up with your speed and wouldnât be able to guard you closely!"
"No worries, Iâll have Night Fury wait for you."
Rod looked at Vivian, "In an emergency, I can have you ride with me on Night Fury."
Warhorses from the Mosar Highlands are rare and hard to buy.
But with this stallion and Rodâs traits of crazy reproduction and breeding lord, even without Mosar Highland mares, he could still breed purebred warhorses.
Thinking about his plans, Rod couldnât help but stroke Night Furyâs mane again,
"Your good days are about to start."
...
...
Rod had just reached the estateâs gate with Night Fury in tow.
Night Fury suddenly stopped, his purple eyes warily watching a wooden house ahead to the side.
"Whatâs wrong..."
Before Rod could finish speaking, two shadows dashed out from the side of the estate!
A sharp screech immediately sounded: it was the two-legged dragons Frost and Thunder.
They spread their wings, necks raised, eyes locked onto Night Fury.
Night Furyâs ears pricked up sharply, his hooves scraping the ground, his purple eyes fixed on the two dragons, seeming unfazed in response.
The atmosphere was instantly tense, the estate falling into complete silence.
The guards couldnât help but be drawn to the standoff, and Lawrence nervously stepped back a few paces.
Vivian watched with interest, arms crossed, ready to enjoy the show.
Frost and Thunder flapped their wings, gradually moving closer to Night Fury, while Night Furyâs legs were also poised and ready.
"Enough!"
Rod released the reins, stepping forward between Night Fury and the dragons, his gaze sweeping over Frost and Thunder,
"Behave yourselves, no infighting allowed!"
Rodâs tone carried an inherent authority, "Youâre all my pets, get along well in the future!"
He turned to Frost and Thunder, "You two, go back to sleep!"
Still holding their necks high in resistance, Rod stepped forward and gave one dragon head a pat,
"Your diets are different, what are you fighting about?"
Rod lifted his hand and drew a line for Frost, "What, are you planning to eat hay and bran too?"
Frost and Thunder exchanged a glance, emitting a soft hum from their throats.
But they nonetheless folded their wings and slowly turned back to the wooden house.
Though, as they turned, they still shot Night Fury a glare.
Night Fury, not to be outdone, snorted defiantly.
Rod couldnât help but admire Night Fury, this Mosar Highland warhorse certainly had no fear.
To be honest, Frost and Thunder wouldnât flinch even when faced with magical beasts; no ordinary beast could stand against them.
Yet here, Night Fury stood his ground, daring to confront these two youngsters, showing his stubbornness.
However, a warhorse needs this kind of fearless character.
Only with such spirit can they gallop across battlefields of sword light and fire.
Rod was quite satisfied, and turned to Lawrence behind him, his voice calm, "Notify Ward to come over, tell him weâve got work to do."
Ward was a horse trainer Rod had enlisted from the Blade Brotherhood, now in charge of managing Rodâs horse ranch.
"Yes, sir!"
Lawrence immediately answered, promptly relaying Rodâs orders.
...
...
By evening.
The underground brick factory had already started operations, with thick smoke billowing from the chimneys.
Each day approximately four thousand bricks could be producedâprimarily limited by the underground drying room.
Rod had already instructed Labette to continue expanding the drying room.
At the same time, Rod called Xue Rui to his side, starting to plan the next phase of the city wall construction.