Chapter 54 : The Assessment Approaches
Chapter 54: The Assessment Approaches! Level 3 Thunder Lizard!
However, the issue of practicing swordsmanship did not last long.
That very afternoon, while Leo was reading, he suddenly made an unexpected discovery.
Among the things he had previously taken advantage of from Granny Gu, there was a medicinal herb called Active Dragon Seeds.
This herb was recorded in Leo’s 《General Knowledge of Alchemy》.
It was the seed of a plant called Active Dragon Grass. When animals or Beastkin smelled it, they would become extremely excited, with heightened aggression.
It could be considered a type of stimulant-like veterinary medicinal ingredient.
Something like this existed too.
After thinking for a moment, Leo took some Active Dragon Seeds and went to the dungeon to experiment.
Unexpectedly, the Blood Goblin, which had already completely lost its aggression toward Leo, began letting out furious roars again.
“It actually works.” Leo took down the practice longsword from his back.
He began attempting to practice the third move of the Tide Cross Sword—Power of Stacked Waves.
Taking advantage of the goblin’s peak ferocity, Leo directly launched his attack.
Clang!
The first strike was directly blocked by the goblin.
Clang! Clang!
Two consecutive strikes.
Under the effect of Power of Stacked Waves, Leo’s second strike was clearly stronger than the first, forcibly withstanding the goblin’s strength.
However, the goblin still revealed its ferocious nature.
“Then let’s add another strike.”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
This time, Leo’s third strike directly forced the goblin back.
Three strikes were not his limit.
Due to the effect of the 【Tempering】 Trait,
Leo’s stamina could support more uses of Power of Stacked Waves.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Whoosh!
Leo attempted to try a fourth consecutive slash, but the goblin could not withstand the third strike and was already knocked back.
The fourth strike cut through empty air.
It seemed that three strikes were the goblin’s limit.
Having grasped the rhythm of his sword practice,
Leo seized the moment while the goblin was still in its excited state from the Active Dragon Seeds, striking while the iron was hot.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of claws colliding with the iron sword echoed continuously within the cage, full of rhythm.
Every time, it was three consecutive slashes.
And under the effect of the Active Dragon Seeds, the goblin was like a tireless punching bag, continuously charging toward Leo.
Leo’s 【Tide Cross Sword】 experience finally began to increase.
Breathing Technique, swordsmanship, 《General Knowledge of Alchemy》.
With the training plan arranged, the rest was simply repetition.
……
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Leo lived a monk-like training life.
Yet he enjoyed it.
More than ten days ago, Blackstone City had already announced the year-end assessment.
So during this half month, almost all Quasi-Knights and Knight’s Squires were busy training.
Sharpening one’s weapon before battle never hurt.
But Leo had always maintained his own training rhythm.
Now, he did not even return to his dormitory—he simply moved between the dungeon and Eve Sova’s training room, with occasional trips to the Back Courtyard stables.
These three locations were only a little over a hundred meters apart and were all in the central area of the castle.
After the last Beast Calamity, Leo noticed that two additional patrol squads had been added within the castle.
During this period, there had been no reports of Beastkin appearing in the city.
Tomorrow would be the day of the assessment, but today Leo temporarily adjusted his training rhythm.
That Blood Goblin had completely lost its value—the creature even seemed to have developed resistance to the Active Dragon Seeds.
So today, he wanted to challenge the big one locked inside.
A Level 3 Beastkin—Thunder Lizard.
Leo had inquired about it. Generally speaking, Beastkin ranks were divided based on strength.
Level 1 Beastkin were about as strong as slightly stronger ordinary humans.
Level 2 Beastkin were generally comparable to Quasi-Knights, like that Blood Goblin from before.
As for Level 3 Beastkin, they were typically opponents only Formal Knights could handle.
After his previous battle with Eve Sova, who possessed Knight-level strength, although his speed could not keep up with her, with the stacking of additional attributes, they were roughly on the same tier.
And in this half month, Leo’s Strength and Agility Attributes had both increased by another 0.2.
At this moment, Leo looked into the darkness within the cage—a massive shadow crouched in the corner like a small hill.
According to Lady Manta’s requirements, this cell had to be cleaned of excrement once every half month.
So today, he had to enter this large cage.
From his observations during this period, Leo had already roughly grasped the creature’s habits.
This Thunder Lizard was even more dangerous than ordinary Beastkin, and its temperament was extremely violent.
Every time Leo fed it, he could only do so from outside the cage, tossing food from a distance.
But today, Leo opened the heavy iron gate.
He slowly walked into the cell. Under the dim oil lamp, the massive lump of flesh lying quietly in the corner seemed to be rising and falling slightly.
Even while lying on the ground, its height exceeded five meters, looking like a large truck.
Upon closer inspection—
A thick tail, a triangular head covered in bone spikes, and dry, heavy scales.
Most striking of all were its sapphire-blue eyes, like glazed crystal.
Even lying still, it exuded an extremely dangerous aura.
The reason Leo dared to stand before this giant now was because he had already fed it a large dose of sedative potion in advance.
This had been specially approved by Lady Manta for his cleaning duties.
At this moment, the Thunder Lizard lazily blinked its eyes, sizing up the Human before it, a hint of laziness in its gaze.
It knew this person—he was the servant who delivered its food every day.
Normally, if this servant dared to get this close, it would definitely teach him a lesson.
But today, for some reason, it did not feel like bothering with him.
Moreover, judging by the time, today should be the day for cleaning its waste.
It drooped its eyelids and ignored this dung-cleaning servant.
Then it heard a rustling sound around it—the sound of a rake scraping against the ground.
That meant the other party had already begun working.
Although it did not care about hygiene, it enjoyed the feeling of being served by Humans.
Leo cleaned up the lizard’s excrement on the ground, piling it into a small mound at the entrance of the cell.
It had to be said—this meat-eating Beastkin’s excrement smelled far worse than horse manure.
If Leo did not have experience as a stablehand, he might have already vomited.
Next, Leo took a bucket of water and splashed it over the giant lizard.
These reptilian Beastkin were extremely unhygienic—their bodies were also covered in filth.
They had to be cleaned regularly. Lady Manta preferred cleanliness.
The Thunder Lizard felt its body being washed clean, and then it sensed rhythmic tapping coming from its body.
With its eyes closed, it fully enjoyed the moment.
It was quite satisfied with this servant. Not only were the meals always punctual, but the cleaning was also efficient.
It even proactively gave it a massage.
But suddenly, it felt a wave of soreness spreading across its body.
“Looks rough and thick-skinned—its defense should be quite strong. Get up, get up, time to move around a bit.”
Leo had just poked it a few times with the iron sword, yet there was no reaction at all.
This showed that Lady Manta’s sedative potion was indeed effective.
At this moment, Leo controlled his strength and began to push his limits further.
Bang!
The heavy practice iron sword smashed down onto the Thunder Lizard’s bald head.