Lord of Rot

At night, a slender figure sprinted into the dense forest.

It seemed to have a destination in mind.

It pressed onward.

After running for an unknown distance, the night had grown deep.

BOOM! ’Is that the wind?’

A fierce gale crashed down from above. It was a massive beast with the head of an eagle, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. Its front claws were like an eagle’s talons, its hind paws were like a lion’s, and it had a lion’s tail.

The great beast descended from the sky, pinning the slender figure. It lowered its head, gave a light peck, and plucked the figure’s head right off.

At the same moment, Leech opened his eyes.

’It’s a male!’

He had been controlling the undead servant, making it rush in the direction the farmers had investigated. In the final moments of its existence, he had successfully identified the Griffin’s sex.

But he also felt a deep sense of dread toward the massive creature.

If the Griffin really came to Porcupine Territory, they would be completely defenseless.

「The next morning,」

All the slaves were ordered to stop their work during the day and gather hay. They piled it into massive heaps just outside Porcupine Territory, near the dense forest.

Leech sat in a chair, gazing at the distant forest.

"My lord," Gelan approached. "The three pack horses have been driven into the forest."

No one knew what the Baron planned to do, yet no one dared to question him. They only had to obey.

Leech nodded and closed his eyes.

In the dense forest, the three undead servants that had been positioned beforehand climbed to their feet. They skillfully mounted the pack horses, took the reins, and steered them toward the Griffin’s location.

Closer and closer they came.

When they were nearing the spot where the undead servant had died the previous night, Leech had his minions tie the pack horses’ reins to trees.

Two of the undead servants hid while the remaining one tore out the throat of a pack horse with a single swipe of its claws.

The horse struggled, letting out a mournful cry, and the other two old pack horses whinnied in alarm.

The scent of blood spread through the air.

Suddenly, the other two pack horses fell silent. They trembled, their legs giving out as they collapsed to the ground.

The only sound in the air was the intermittent wails of the horse with the torn throat.

BOOM!

A fierce gale crashed down from above, blowing the undead servant’s slender body over onto the ground.

The Griffin descended from the sky. This time, Leech could finally see its appearance clearly.

Its feathers and fur were the color of sunlight. The rear half of its body was like a lion’s, while its eagle-like head and forelimbs were covered in feathers of brilliant gold. The feathers on its chest were vermilion, and its eagle-like beak and feet were a vivid gold, with jet-black talons.

With a CRUNCH, the Griffin crushed the corpse with one of its claws. It seemed to despise the creature, which reeked of death.

Thankfully, it didn’t spot the two other corpses hiding nearby, allowing Leech to continue watching the live feed from two different camera angles.

The Griffin pounced. It ate like an eagle, pecking open the dead pack horse’s head, tearing off a strip of flesh, then tilting its head back and opening its beak to let the meat slide down its throat.

An elegant, yet bloody, way of eating.

It ate quickly and was rational enough not to eat the suspicious herbs tied to the pack horse.

’It’s too late,’ the Baron, eyes still closed, smiled from afar.

The herbs were just the finishing touch. Long before the operation began, the pack horses had been slathered with a paste made from the "Grass of Life," and more herbs wrapped in pig stomach had been stuffed inside them, all to ensure the Griffin would ingest it.

The Griffin had no aversion to innards. It devoured the first pack horse completely, then moved on to the second.

It pinned the pack horse, which was tiny in comparison to its own body. Its sharp, eagle-like talons easily ripped through the horse’s hide and flesh. With a single peck, the horse’s head exploded.

It continued to eat in the same manner, but Leech noticed that the Griffin’s state was becoming increasingly strange. It was growing agitated.

But its feeding motions didn’t stop at all.

Peck by peck, in a way that combined the bloody carnage of a lion’s feast with an eagle’s grace, the second old pack horse was soon half-eaten, with only a leg remaining.

The Griffin was full.

But something was very wrong with it. It actually walked over to the third old pack horse and attempted to mount it. The old horse was too terrified to move, simply remaining where it stood.

"It’s starting!" Leech’s eyes snapped open. "Send in the Fiery-Mane Mare!"

"My lord, are you really going to...?"

Gelan asked worriedly.

Although he didn’t understand what Leech was trying to do today, he could guess it was dangerous. Leech had previously ordered him to search for tracks of a large beast, and right after they were found, he’d sent the three old pack horses into the forest.

The Fiery-Mane Mare was a fine warhorse from the Eastern Gorges, the kind that could only be purchased in Jinri.

Leech nodded. "Send it in."

"Yes, my lord."

He closed his eyes again. While the Griffin was on top of the last old pack horse, one of the undead servants stealthily got up, ran back, and successfully intercepted the Fiery-Mane Mare.

The Fiery-Mane Mare was not about to be led by the reins by some scrawny creature. It snorted and galloped about wildly.

Leech had to exert a great deal of effort to guide it, but he finally brought the Fiery-Mane Mare near the Griffin.

The Griffin listlessly climbed off the pack horse beneath it, which had been scared to death and now lay limp on the ground.

Soon, the Griffin, its eyes bloodshot, spotted the Fiery-Mane Mare.

It spread its wings and charged toward the mare. As a warhorse, the Fiery-Mane Mare trembled in fear from the Griffin’s presence, but it wasn’t frightened to death like the pack horses. It let out a mournful cry and stood frozen in place.

Until the Griffin mounted it.

Through the eyes of his undead servant, Leech watched the entire equine spectacle.

The Griffin finished its shuddering but didn’t stop. The encounter lasted for a very long time.

Finally, after the mare’s legs gave out and she collapsed, the Griffin’s legs were weak as well. It walked unsteadily, wings drooping, back to the half-eaten pack horse corpse and began to eat quietly. When that wasn’t enough, it also ate the pack horse that had been scared to death to replenish its strength.

A while later, the Fiery-Mane Mare, which recovered its strength first, bolted in the direction of Porcupine Territory.

The sated Griffin got to its feet, shrieked, and spread its wings in pursuit.

The effects of the herb had worn off. The Griffin had already forgotten its "old flame." Hunting horses was in its nature.

"Light the fires!" Leech shouted without opening his eyes.

Gelan immediately passed on the order.

The hay was set ablaze, enveloping Porcupine Territory in smoke like a beacon fire. The thick smoke made people cough incessantly.

A short while later, the Fiery-Mane Mare galloped back.

"My lord, your horse has returned!" Gelan said, pleasantly surprised.

Leech nodded. "Take her back to the stables. Have the Grooms tend to her well."

"Yes, my lord!" Gelan nodded.

Leech kept his eyes closed. His sprinting undead servant pursued the Griffin. By now, the sea breeze had blown the thick smoke into the dense forest.

’It’s working!’

The acrid smoke from the burning hay was highly irritating to the Griffin. It shrieked twice, then spread its wings and flew off into the distance.

’Success!’

Leech didn’t let his guard down. He instructed, "Keep it burning. Don’t stop until this afternoon!"

The Griffin did not reappear all the way until the afternoon.

The fires finally died out.

Leech first had his undead servant venture deeper into the forest to inspect the three pack horse carcasses. One was pecked into a bloody mess, and the other two had little flesh left on their bones.

’Is this... Griffin blood?’

While searching the scene, he was surprised to find a large pool of blood right next to the "battlefield" where the Griffin and the Fiery-Mane Mare had been. The Griffin might have already been injured.

’It probably ate too much of the herb, causing its blood flow to accelerate.’

’I hope it’s not dead. But if it is, it had better die right in front of me,’ Leech thought to himself.

Griffin blood could grow Griffin Grass. He didn’t know where the theory came from, but Leech needed that herb, whether it was to cultivate a second Corpse Ghost or to consume himself.

’Next time, I should have someone get a few books about Griffin Grass from the Taven Scholars.’

Griffin Grass would now grow in this area. He just had to protect it and prevent it from being eaten by small animals, lest a muscle-bound rabbit or a jacked mouse appear.