Chapter 544

Chapter 544

Fa Meng and Xiao Lan didn’t seem to enjoy the feeling of being shielded by the Windbreaking Horse's ability. Whenever Lorant was on Jiaojiao, the two little ones would always cling to Fa Meng's codex book seat, trailing behind Lorant.

Higher-grade beast pets naturally exerted dominance over lower-grade ones. If the two of them sat on Jiaojiao, the horse would probably stumble while running...

Occasionally, Xiao Lan would perch on Lorant’s shoulder, but this time, since they were within Blue Star's grounds, both beast pets had let their guard down somewhat. They were quite confident in their own abilities, which led to this situation.

After recording his observations, Lorant paused slightly. "We need to run the test again. Little one, do you still have the energy to use that ability once more?"

The Nightmare, having been scolded earlier, was much more obedient now. It had transformed into a pure black blanket draped over Lorant’s lap, doing its best impression of an ordinary blanket.

Hearing this, the little one lifted a corner of the blanket and nodded up and down in response.

"Then let’s try again," Lorant said, immediately standing up and summoning a Windbreaking Horse outside the pavilion.

The previous horse had already fled far into the distance, disappearing from sight. However, many other Windbreaking Horses had curiously gathered around due to the commotion, eager to investigate.

Come to think of it, after spending so much time around Candy Rabbits, Lorant felt that these Windbreaking Horses had picked up some of their curiosity-seeking habits. Nowadays, at the first sign of commotion in Blue Star, the Windbreaking Horses and a few other flying beast pets would arrive even faster than the Candy Rabbits...

Lorant casually raised his hand and beckoned one of the Windbreaking Horses over.

The Nightmare took advantage of the opportunity, and with the experience from earlier, the possession happened in an instant this time.

Soon, a brand-new pure black Nightmare Horse stood before Lorant. He mounted it, and this time, Fa Meng and Xiao Lan immediately clung tightly to him.

Xiao Lan settled onto his familiar spot on Lorant’s shoulder, his long hair draping over Lorant’s back to secure himself firmly. Fa Meng, on the other hand, nuzzled right into Lorant’s embrace, letting him hold her like a pillow.

The two little ones clung to Lorant tightly, unwilling to let go, clinging like their lives depended on it.

"Stay within Blue Star's territory, understand? This area we’re in right now is fine. If you can’t move within here, make sure you reappear somewhere no one will notice, got it?" Lorant patiently explained to the Nightmare. "No matter what, if there’s even a chance someone might see, you absolutely cannot come out there!"

With newly born beast pets, you needed extra patience.

Though the Nightmare’s mind was currently like a blank slate, for a highly intelligent Grade A Beast Pet, as long as Lorant explained the stakes and requirements clearly, the little one quickly understood the boundaries and figured out what was acceptable and what wasn’t in its own way.

So as long as the instructions were clear, there was little chance of another out-of-control incident.

After hearing Lorant’s words, the little one obediently nodded.

The next moment, Lorant's vision was swallowed by that now-familiar darkness once more, though this time, the darkness lasted a bit longer than before.

When the darkness finally lifted, Lorant found himself in a room he actually vaguely recognized.

A table artfully combining black rock and glass stood quietly in the center of the room, its surface reflecting warm, dim light. Against the wall, a plush velvet sofa—clearly well-maintained—was adorned with a casually draped blanket made from Fluffy Slime fur.

The curtains nearby were half-drawn, blocking half the window's view, but it was still easy to make out the carefully tended grasslands beyond the window. From Lorant’s angle, he could faintly see a few Windbreaking Horses galloping and playing in the distance.

This was clearly one of the upper-level suites at the Blue Star Hotel, located at the very edge of Blue Star.

Each of these high-floor standalone suites in Blue Star was incredibly spacious. Even the single rooms came equipped with a living area and a small kitchen, making them the most luxurious accommodations in all of Blue Star—and arguably the entire continent.

They certainly lived up to their equally premium pricing.

As part of the hotel’s uniform layout, though the furnishings in each room varied slightly for personalization, the specially crafted table with the Blue Star emblem engraved on its inner layer and the custom-made liquor cabinet were details Lorant—who had been deeply involved in the hotel’s interior design—could recognize at a glance.

The actual location was a single suite on the upper floors of the Blue Star Hotel.

The Nightmare Horse appeared in the same posture, lying prone on the ground.

Even though the Blue Star Hotel's rooms were specially designed to accommodate both Beast Pets and their Masters, they still weren’t spacious enough for the massive Windbreaking Horse.

The largest Beast Pet allowed inside the Blue Star Hotel is the Glassy Ice Flame Dog.

Beast Pets larger than the Glassy Ice Flame Dog, such as the Windbreaking Horse and the Furious Ragdoll Bear in combat form, have separate resting areas within the Blue Star Hotel.

The staff at the Blue Star Hotel would never allow such large Beast Pets into the hotel, as it would place more strain on the seemingly sturdy room structures than they could handle—severe cases might even lead to collapse.

Therefore, when the hotel rooms were initially set up, to prevent hardheaded Beast Masters from sneaking their oversized companions in despite warnings, the dimensions of the rooms were deliberately restricted, making it impossible for such large pets to enter.

Realizing where he was, Lorant immediately began checking the results of this teleportation.

Xiao Lan and Fa Meng were right where they should be—one on his shoulder and the other nestled in his arms like two large plush toys—unlike last time, when they’d been left behind.

This time, their arrival together was a whole new experience, making them wildly curious.

Fa Meng first glanced at the door connecting the living room to the bedroom, and with a sweep of its gaze, a shimmering barrier sealed the doorway in an instant.

Though Lorant didn’t physically go there, he could guess that there was likely a guest sleeping inside; otherwise, the Nightmare’s dream manipulation abilities wouldn’t have extended into that space.

Its power is dream invasion—if every living being in the world were awake, the Nightmare would be powerless.

Of course, in reality, the Nightmare can’t enter the dream world indefinitely. The range it can affect in the real world depends on the speed of the host it’s possessing. With its own fragile body, it would probably take some effort just to leave the vicinity of the Blue Star Hotel.

Lorant wasn’t about to invade anyone’s privacy and simply tiptoed to the window, overlooking the Blue Star Hotel’s backyard visible from this vantage point.

"It really can do this," Lorant murmured, pressing a hand against the glass. "Incredible! Absolutely incredible! No, we need more experiments."

His eyes gleaming, he picked up Fa Meng and gave it an enthusiastic kiss.

The Nightmare, still possessing the Windbreaking Horse, nearly freaked out, causing the Windbreaking Horse’s form to momentarily lose shape—like a giant, writhing ink blot, it splayed out chaotically.

It was clearly its own achievement!

Lorant quickly stepped forward to soothe the flustered shadow-creature. "Alright, alright, I know it was you. The Nightmare is the best!"

Only then did the Nightmare obediently settle back onto the Windbreaking Horse, reforming into a low-key black Nightmare Horse.

This time, Lorant temporarily refrained from having Fa Meng use its abilities.

Fa Meng’s instant teleportation works within the range of its own domain. Even if the domain is temporarily expanded to a larger area, it can manipulate everything within it—a unique ability of the Codex.

But Lorant wanted to test the Nightmare’s abilities further.

Once again, he climbed onto the back of the Windbreaking Horse, with Fa Meng and Xiao Lan dutifully returning to their positions.

The Nightmare plunged everything into darkness once more, but when Lorant opened his eyes, he found himself not back at the pavilion he intended to return to, but in another unfamiliar guest room.

Judging by the layout, it couldn’t have been far from the previous one.

The trio—one human and two pets—exchanged baffled looks as they looked down at the pure black Nightmare Horse beneath them. Fa Meng’s literal question mark even popped up right under Lorant’s chin.

After exchanging a glance with the Nightmare Horse, which was struggling to turn its head, Lorant immediately realized he must have misunderstood something.

Fa Meng’s question mark morphed with a *pop* into an exclamation mark.

He also playfully pinched Lorant's cheek.

"Sorry, sorry little guy," he said, patting the somewhat resigned head of the Windbreaking Horse. Drawing Fa Meng close, Lorant whispered: "Take us back first, Fa Meng."

He had just realized that the Nightmare's movement ability relied on the Dream World—a special domain. In other words, if someone nearby was asleep and dreaming, the Nightmare could use that as a portal to reach that location. But if there was nothing around, like in the pavilion earlier, the Nightmare couldn't return.

Well, walking back was an option, just a bit troublesome.

From this perspective, while the Nightmare’s movement ability was remarkable, it wasn’t entirely beyond all rules. Ultimately, this mode of movement still had its own anchoring mechanism—it just so happened that it anchored itself to the entire Dream World, far more flexible than a standard teleportation array.

After returning to the pavilion, Lorant had the still energetic enough little Nightmare conduct several more tests. These included seeing if either Fa Meng or Xiao Lan could be transported together while separated from him.

The results showed that as long as they remained within the protective range of the Windbreaking Horse, even if detached from Lorant or the horse itself, they could still be teleported together. However, if they left the Windbreaking Horse’s vicinity, like during the first attempt, they couldn't be moved.

Additionally, Lorant called over a Glassy Ice Flame Dog and had the Nightmare attempt to merge with it.

The possession went smoothly too. The Glassy Ice Flame Dog’s intelligence was sufficient for the Nightmare to communicate with it, and soon the Nightmare successfully possessed the dog.

Once possessed, the Glassy Ice Flame Dog took on an entirely black appearance, with even the flames surrounding its body turning dark.

It looked cool and intimidating—even a young Glassy Ice Flame Dog had an impressive presence.

Lorant spent a long time petting and fussing over the little creature, utterly delighted.

However, while this Nightmare-possessed Glassy Ice Flame Dog looked impressive, it lacked the ability to transport Lorant. This confirmed his theory that the long-distance movement provided by the Nightmare wasn’t an independent ability but rather a new skill formed by combining the strengths of both the Nightmare and the Windbreaking Horse.

With only one Nightmare available, the question of which beast it should bond with to develop better synergy became a question worth studying.

And one that only he could undertake.

This made Lorant secretly delighted.

The Nightmare had brought Lorant so many surprises that he became completely engrossed, experimenting in the pavilion even after Lancelot had hurried back from the territory.

Knowing Lorant was conducting secret experiments, the old butler, Joe, made preparations beforehand, strictly prohibiting other employees from approaching the pavilion.

Even he himself only delivered a light supper from a distance, handing it to a Glassy Ice Flame Dog to carry over in its mouth.

A good butler knew never to pry into his master’s secrets unless explicitly invited. Even accidental glimpses had to be completely forgotten.

The lessons from butler school had served Joe well now that he was truly in the role.

As a butler, he couldn’t interfere with his master’s work, but he was also responsible for ensuring their well-being.

Seeing Lancelot arrive, Joe couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

"Cavendish Earl, you’ve finally come," he greeted quietly. "The shopkeeper has been sitting there since this morning, barely moving. He’s only taken a couple of bites of food."

The meal box returned with only two custard buns missing—Joe suspected even those had been snatched by the two sweet-toothed beasts always lurking around Lorant.

He didn’t elaborate further. Seeing Lancelot’s growing scowl, Joe knew he’d succeeded.

A good butler knew how to advise his master within reasonable bounds without overstepping.

Leaving the right task to the right person was always the best choice.

Watching Lancelot stride purposefully toward Lorant, ready to drag him back to rest, Joe folded his hands, smiling like a contented Shadowstrike Cat basking in the sun. He felt he was gradually embodying the poise of a veteran butler.

...

The next day, Lorant temporarily paused the nightmare experiments, letting the little one—who’d been worn out the day before and now couldn’t even get up—rest properly while he and Lancelot went out.

It wasn’t that he wanted to pause the experiments, but Lorant had something even more important to attend to.

He had made an agreement with Shenuska to take him to visit a pre-selected, well-planned territory today, to see if Shenuska was ready to relocate the Merpeople there now.

Lorant had never forgotten about the relocation of the Merpeople’s territory.

However, dealing with such a complete race—no matter how diminished they were—still meant an astonishing number of people, and their habitat needs were quite specific. Finding a suitable spot quickly and then excavating and developing it wasn’t easy.

In the end, Lorant couldn’t find a natural location suitable for the Merpeople to live in, so after discussing with Shenuska, he decided to artificially reshape a secluded area within the Blue Star territory into a water habitat suitable for the Merpeople.

This place was located between the Blue Star mountain pass and the Blue Star territory, but you’d never stumble upon it following any of the planned city routes.

If one followed the broad main road of Blue Star, there was no way to reach it. It was deep within the Black Forest, near a wider section of the Holy Shield River.

Naturally, Blue Star had also cleared this area during their expansion.

From the riverbed of the Holy Shield River, one could follow the gap between two mountains inward, hiking through roughly ten kilometers of winding valleys before arriving at a small basin surrounded by hills.

The place was remote, with a treacherous path. Clearing the Black Forest here took serious effort.

An underground stream connected to the Holy Shield River had formed a shallow lake here, inhabited by a pack of pesky lake demons.

These Level 5 swarm-type magical beasts weren’t particularly difficult to deal with individually, but like all swarm-type creatures, once their numbers grew, they became a real headache.

Lake demons, for instance, could awaken a special racial ability called "Mist Barrier." Thick white fog would completely envelop the entire valley, slowing down any intruders and making it impossible to discern direction.

This setback delayed Silem’s progress for almost a month, demanding huge manpower and resources to eradicate these creatures, which were incredibly hard to catch once they retreated into the water.

But once the area was completely cleared, Lorant was thrilled to find that it was even more suitable for the Merpeople than the location he had originally planned for them.

It was secluded, had a natural water system, and just needed some extra tweaks to accommodate the Merpeople’s daily lives.

Moreover, the scenery was beautiful, not far off from the Merpeople’s old home.

All of this made Lorant immediately halt the ongoing excavation project meant to prepare an artificial habitat for the Merpeople, switching focus to this valley instead. By now, the valley was nearly ready. If Shenuska found it acceptable today, the Merpeople could begin relocating a portion of their population here within days.

For convenience, Lorant had already installed a small teleportation circle in the valley.

After all, developing a place like this by hand required far more than just one or two people—a Blue Star magical engineering team had been working there for months.

To facilitate the workers’ lives and ensure the transportation of supplies, a teleportation circle was indispensable. While Fa Meng was currently the only one in Blue Star capable of mass teleportation, she couldn’t handle the valley’s needs full-time.

Instead of overloading Fa Meng, Lorant preferred to rely on existing magical artifacts to create a solution that anyone could use—one that offered a broader range of problem-solving methods, no matter how expensive the teleportation circle might be.

When he teleported into the valley, Lorant found that the shrewd Shenuska had beaten him there.

The Merpeople leader’s expression was calm, but he was clearly impatient.

In truth, over the long years, he had nearly given up hope of ever leading his people out of their current territory.

But this had always been his dream—the dream of the entire Merpeople race. So when Lorant stepped forward and told him it was possible, Shenuska realized he couldn’t deceive himself—he wanted this more than anything.

The surrounding Blue Star employees were constantly moving back and forth, with several having made multiple trips in a short time. These were all people seeing the legendary Merpeople up close for the first time.

Although they had been warned by their managers beforehand to mind their behavior, their eyes still kept darting toward the Merpeople.

They weren’t unaware of what they were working on—Lorant had never intended to hide it. On their very first day, the foremen had informed the workers about the Merpeople.

But hearing about it and actually seeing the Merpeople were two entirely different things. Many now felt a surreal feeling, like something out of a dream.

Shenuska, however, remained composed. He knew his appearance in the outside world would inevitably draw countless stares.

As long as no passing commoners screamed and fainted at the sight of him, he counted it as a victory.

The Merpeople had been gone from the world for so long that many believed they existed only in legends.

As the leader of the Merpeople, Shenuska naturally wanted to change that. Seeing the curious and astonished—but not hostile—gazes directed at him, he felt his choice had been the right one.

When Lorant emerged from the teleportation array, Shenuska immediately floated over from midair.

"Seeing you brings me great joy, my friend!" he boomed cheerfully, spreading his arms wide and pulling Lorant into a bear hug.

The towering Merperson’s massive frame was way bigger than an ordinary human's. As he bent down to hug Lorant, his body nearly completely blocked him from view.

Nearby, Lancelot’s expression darkened. These Merpeople, even on land, couldn't be bothered to put on decent clothes—a bad habit that absolutely needed correcting!

They would eventually interact with humans—this won't fly!

No! Absolutely not! This had to be fixed!

The knight fumed inwardly.

Shenuska straightened up and felt the burning intensity of that glare. He was no stranger to Lancelot either and enthusiastically moved to embrace the knight as well.

Lancelot swiftly extended his hand first.

Shenuska hesitated for just a second before shaking it.

"Long time no see, Lancelot!" The Merpeople leader cheered, completely missing the knight's mood.