The Commander looked at her helplessly, "That won't happen. You can take the opportunity to get some exercise on the way."
Su Cheng touched her forehead. "When you said exercise, I thought you meant making me free-climb trees and fight bandits along the way—"
Kai raised an eyebrow slightly, "Would you prefer that?"
"Whether I'd prefer it or not," Su Cheng said deadpan, "it seems my imagination was just too limited."
He couldn't help but chuckle. "You're a wind mage. You can solve all those things with magic, but on the back of a magical beast, you're bound to expend some physical energy."
Su Cheng's eyes flickered.
"Of course," he smiled and patted her head, "if you want to use magic to steady yourself, you can do that too. Alright, get on."
Su Cheng had been pondering this very issue. Hearing his words, she couldn't help but look up at the magical beast beside them again.
The dragonhawk stood on the ground without any intention of changing its posture. Its back was high off the ground, far beyond a height she could jump up to herself.
Su Cheng: "......"
Furthermore, there was nowhere to get a foothold.
Unless she grabbed onto those feathers and climbed up, but wouldn't that make the beast uncomfortable?
The next second, a large hand suddenly grasped her waist.
The man behind her leaned in close, effortlessly lifting the girl with a single hand and tossing her up, landing her right onto the dragonhawk's saddle.
Su Cheng wobbled and hastily grabbed the reins to steady herself, quickly tying the other end around her waist.
Down below, Kai exchanged a few words with the staff, then looked up at her. "Be careful."
With that, he tossed up a large backpack containing the raw meat prepared for the beast.
Su Cheng was nearly knocked off by the impact.
She barely managed to catch the massive bag, struggling to sling it onto her back. "How many days' worth of food is this?"
"For the first two days!" Sasha leaped nimbly onto his beast's saddle and raised his voice, "By the third day, we'll reach Iron Cage Town. They have special paddocks there."
Su Cheng turned her head to the other side. Camus had already mounted at some point. His hood was blown back by the wind, revealing deep golden curls that resembled rolling waves of wheat.
The blood mage seemed to sense her gaze and turned his head to look at her, a hint of inquiry in his dark blue eyes.
Su Cheng observed them carefully and realized they hadn't even tied the ropes around themselves; they were just holding them casually.
Su Cheng: "..."
"Why do you look like you're heading to the execution grounds?" Sasha laughed when he saw her. "Darling, you have battle aura now. If you were to take an assessment, you'd be a first-tier warrior."
Su Cheng gave him a deadpan stare. "Many of my cousins are first-tier warriors and have been squires for years, and they've never ridden a magical beast like this either."
Hearing this, the vampire continued to laugh. "Hahahaha, that's their loss—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the lead dragonhawk let out a long screech. The other three immediately echoed the call. Their flapping wings whipped up a massive current of air, sending the dust on the rooftop churning like a stormy sea.
Su Cheng hurriedly gripped the saddle horn tightly.
Immediately after, her dangling legs were suddenly suspended in midair.
The dragonhawk beneath her kicked hard against the ground, its wings fully spread as its body shot diagonally into the sky like a cannonball.
Her head snapped back, and she used every ounce of her strength to clench the saddle horn. Even with the reins wrapped around her arms and waist, she still felt as if both her wrists were about to snap.
Every beat of the dragonhawk's wings caused the seat to shake violently.
It felt as if her brain was being scrambled.
Su Cheng had absolutely no time or mood to appreciate the aerial scenery, or take the opportunity to look down at the gradually shrinking city in the distance.
Her fingers soon began to ache, so she could only try to squeeze her legs tight. However, the feathers were hard and slippery, making it feel as if her muscles had nowhere to exert force.
Before long, her thighs started to tremble slightly, and her arms grew terribly sore.
Furthermore, with every bump, the heavy backpack slammed into her lower back like a hammer, and she could hear her spine letting out muffled sounds of protest.
She couldn't even say anything; after all, opening her mouth even slightly would fill her stomach with wind, only making her feel worse.
They sped through a sea of leaden clouds. The other three dragon-eagles followed the lead one, so she didn't need to distract herself with steering.
Su Cheng also didn't quite understand how the commander actually communicated with the dragon-eagle using this frayed rope.
The forests and lakes below turned into blurred patches of color, and a few tiny dark silhouettes streaked across the distant sky.
Perhaps it was a passing flock of birds, or a group of patrolling flying knights, or mercenaries hurrying on their way just like them, but she was in no mood to figure it out.
The fierce wind scraped against her cheeks and her sore, numb limbs like ice blades.
Su Cheng tried to lean back a little, but the saddle's backrest was extremely low, barely supporting her lower back and leaving most of her back suspended in the air.
Moreover, the dragon-eagle's flight wasn't exactly smooth. They would also use the wind to change speed, making their pace erratic.
Because she didn't know when the next bump would come, she didn't dare to relax completely.
After holding on like this for a short while, she felt her whole body start to ache. Even her head was spinning; she only wanted to lie on the ground.
Recalling her teammate's words, she tried to channel the pitiful amount of battle aura within her body.
However, while she had been incredibly focused during last night's cultivation, there were too many distractions now. She only felt that flame-like current flare up for a second before extinguishing.
She tried many times without making any progress.
But...
She felt that her fingers didn't seem to hurt as much, and her wrists and legs had stopped trembling.
Su Cheng was a bit surprised and couldn't help but squeeze her previously sore and swollen joints. As a result, when the dragon-eagle made a turn, she was almost thrown off, only managing to grab the saddle horn in a hurry.
The four dragon-eagles flew in a triangular formation. The one Kai rode was leading at the very front, while the other three were almost side by side.
Su Cheng took a breath and tried to channel her battle aura again. Although she couldn't gather it in one place, she barely managed to make it flow through her body.
Although she still felt very tired, the pain in her muscles and bones had significantly decreased.
She even had time to observe how the others were doing.
A certain vampire on her left was lying on the back of his dragon-eagle, facing the sky with his hands behind his head. He even had his long legs crossed, seemingly staring blankly at the sky.
A certain blood mage on her right was reading a book, writing something down as he read. Seemingly dissatisfied with a few lines, he simply tore the draft paper and waved his hand, scattering burning ashes into the air.
Su Cheng: ...?
She then looked at the commander up ahead.
Kai and the lead dragon-eagle were quite far from them, so she could only vaguely see a tall, straight back, barely able to tell that he wasn't lying down.
At dusk, they landed in a quiet, secluded little valley. The reed beds by the lake were lush and green. The four dragon-eagles flapped their wings and touched down, preparing to drink water.
Su Cheng collapsed on the magical beast's back.
Camus jumped down from the dragon-eagle, glanced at her from a distance, and, holding a book as thick as a brick and a stack of draft paper, walked silently into the shade of a tree to do his calculations.
Sasha strolled over to her side. "Don't you want to come down?"
Su Cheng remained lying down. Although it was uncomfortable having her waist and hips propped up by the saddle, her back was so sore that she didn't want to move at all.
"No, I'm fine like this," she said softly. "Besides, I wrapped the rope around so many times and tied it in a dead knot. It probably can't be untied—"
Before she could finish her sentence, a figure flashed in front of her.
The silver-haired young man leapt straight up and knelt on one knee beside her.
"Is that so? Let me take a look."
Sasha grabbed the knot at her waist, took one look, and burst into mocking laughter. "Hahahahaha, you were way too scared!"
Su Cheng glared at him and tried to sit up, but she was truly exhausted. After a moment's thought, she decided to stay lying down. "Didn't they say dragon-eagles don't like carrying two people?"
"That's when they're flying," Sasha said as he untied the rope. "And if we're just talking about weight, three or four of you wouldn't be as heavy as the commander—"
As he spoke, he tilted his head, his gaze sweeping over the person lying there.
"His sword alone is much heavier than you. So the dragon-eagle might just dislike the feeling of carrying two people, but it doesn't care that much about the weight itself, you know?"
The vampire said with a smiling face.
His light-colored leather armor reflected the sunlight. With his broad shoulders and narrow waist, his lean and fit physique could completely envelop her with just a slight lean forward.
"...But you still gained something, little genius."
His cold, nimble hands quickly pulled out the reins, then he scooped the exhausted girl up into his arms and leaped down from the dragon-eagle's back.
The guy moved so fast that Su Cheng had already landed before she even had a chance to protest.
"It's a pity none of the esteemed lords from the Holy Church are here," Sasha drawled. "Otherwise, a single holy spell would spare you all this pain."
Su Cheng didn't have the energy to trade sarcastic remarks with him. She just gave him a tired look. "Got it, it's more convenient to train as a cleric. Are you hoping I become a follower of the God of Light too?"
Sasha: "..."
The vampire silently dropped her onto the ground.
He looked like he was venting his frustration, but his movements were incredibly light. She didn't know how he managed his strength, but Su Cheng didn't feel the impact at all; she merely let herself settle into the soft grass in the shade of the tree.
The four dragon-eagles drank side by side at the edge of the lake, occasionally pecking at each other with their sharp beaks. Seeing this, the wild beasts on the opposite shore scattered in terror.
Flocks of birds had long since been startled into the air from the forest across the water.
—Ordinary animals always reacted this way when they saw magical beasts of this size.
Lying on the grass, Su Cheng silently swatted away a bug that had crawled onto her face. She was too lazy to even look at what it was, only feeling that it seemed to have a lot of legs.
A moment later, a large shadow was cast from above.
The armored man approached silently, his cape hanging in midair. He stood beside her and looked down, his golden eyes appearing deep and profound against the backlight.
"I can't complete the cycle," Su Cheng said as she lay there. "I tried many times, but I couldn't succeed. It just dissipates shortly after being ignited."
"You've already done very well," Kai crouched down, reaching out his large hand clad in a leather glove to gently squeeze her wrist. "Mm, you're not hurt."
Su Cheng blinked. "If it weren't for battle aura, I would have either fallen to my death or at least severely sprained or strained something. But I thought... I thought it would be a bit better, like instantly clearing my fatigue or something."
"Your talent is quite good, so that day probably isn't far off."
He withdrew his hand. His gaze lingered on the girl's thighs for a moment, but he didn't reach out to touch the potentially injured adductor muscles.
"...Is there anywhere else that feels uncomfortable?"
"Every single part of my body?"
"Good," the black-haired man raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of a smile brimming in his eyes. "Then you're fine."
Su Cheng cast him a resentful glare.
She didn't get to rest for very long. The dragonhawks also wanted to set off as soon as possible so they could return to their habitat early.
The meat in her backpack couldn't all be fed out—her dragonhawk only ate one piece and refused to eat anymore. Kai reminded her that she could feed it again tonight.
"If they let out continuous, short cries, it means they are urging you to feed them. You can keep an ear out for that."
He steadily tossed her back onto the saddle again, standing below and looking up at her.
"The weather will change tonight. It might be an opportunity. Of course, you might have to suffer a bit, but if you can push through it, the progress could equal two or three months of your regular training. But if you're worried, I can take you for a stretch."
"Really? Two or three months?"
Su Cheng's eyes instantly lit up, and the pain in her body seemed to fade a little. "I don't mind suffering. I know battle aura training is never comfortable; broken and shattered bones are common. But what kind of progress can I make?"
"...I'm not exactly sure how far you can go. Just try your best not to fall off."
"?"
Setting off again marked the beginning of another long, grueling ordeal.
Su Cheng barely hung on until nightfall. The dragonhawks flew over a canyon. Fierce winds tore at the thick clouds, and the sudden roar of thunder echoed through the sky.
In an instant, a torrential downpour fell like steel needles, and layers of water veiled the dark mountain forest.
The magical beasts' wings cleaved through the churning thunderclouds, weaving through the howling gales. The turbulence grew increasingly violent.
Su Cheng felt like she was going to die.
Her fingers gripped the saddle's pommel in a death clinch. Her palms and the spaces between her fingers were covered in blood blisters, which had turned a pale, sickly white from being soaked in the rain.
As the beast continuously twisted and thrashed, the pain in her arms grew excruciating. Her biceps felt as if they were being clamped by iron tongs and pulled in opposite directions; every breath brought agonizing pain.
She felt as though her tendons had been torn apart. Her arms gradually lost their strength, and her hands could no longer hold on.
The dragonhawk suddenly raised its head and flapped its wings joyfully, catching an updraft.
Fist-sized hailstones surged in with the freezing wind, smashing heavily against her nearly dislocated shoulder. She let out a wail, and her left hand lost its grip.
Her body immediately slipped to the right. Relying solely on her right hand gripping the pommel and the rope wrapped around her right arm and waist, she ended up dangling off the side of the saddle.
Her right arm hurt so much it felt like her flesh and bones were being ripped apart.
However—
If she fell any further, she would plunge into the rolling, lightning-filled clouds and be smashed to pieces.
...Should she let go?
As a wind mage, as long as she cast a powerful wind-summoning spell right before hitting the ground, the air currents should be able to toss her back up.
Then she wouldn't just fall to her death.
It was just that she had never experienced anything like this before, and the exact distance was difficult to gauge. Furthermore, she was in terrible shape right now, which would inevitably compromise the effectiveness of her magic.
But the pain was truly agonizing.
The single hand she was hanging by would soon fail to support her entire body weight. Coupled with the excruciating pain, she even began to feel that death might be a welcome release.
No.
She had fought so hard just to stay alive. Even if she really had to die, it should be a much more meaningful death than this. What the hell was this?!
Summoning every last ounce of her willpower, Su Cheng visualized the flow of battle aura in her mind, entering a strangely profound state of focus.
Forehead. Right wrist. Left foot.
Forming an irregular triangle due to her posture, the intermittent currents of battle aura barely connected before suddenly surging into her agonizingly painful right arm.
A wave of warmth seemed to wrap around her shattered muscles and bones.
An inexplicable strength rushed down her arm, reaching all the way to her fingertips.
With a sudden, explosive exertion of force, Su Cheng hauled herself completely up using only that single hand.
She spun and vaulted through the air, the hem of her coat flinging off a spray of water droplets as she landed squarely back onto the saddle.
