Chapter 104 - 103 Bolt Stag

With Frank as a guide, Marcus and Lilia followed behind as he led them out of the storefront and into the areas where they kept magical beasts.

Walking down a dirt road Marcus could see numerous enclosures that were a lot like a zoo that housed any number of beasts.

Of course, most of the beasts he saw were either common grade magical beasts or just regular beasts, but none the less they did have a wide range of selections.

As they continued on their way Marcus saw a couple dozen horses that were being taken out to get some exercise and Frank noticing Marcus' gaze said, "We rear some of the best horses in the kingdom here so if you do not find a suitable magical beast, I am sure we can outfit you with some decent horses. We even have some that have been trained up to level twelve and are combat ready if you are willing to pay a little extra."

Hearing this Marcus thought that if he could not find a strong magical beast, a combat trained horse would be the next best thing.

After about a ten-minute walk Frank had brought Marcus and Lilia to the area where they kept their uncommon and higher-grade magical beasts.

Frank wanted to show Marcus their best goods right off the bat in hopes of making a big sale and getting on Marcus' good side.

Looking around Marcus saw only about three dozen beasts that were at the uncommon grade and finally realized how hard it must be to get strong magical beasts under control.

Almost immediately one of the beasts caught Marcus' attention not because he thought it would be ideal but because he recognized it.

It had been quite some time but sitting in a small enclose was a beast he had aptly named a fire cat.

Except this one was not like the juvenile he had killed and was quite a bit larger being a full-grown adult.

'Hm, it is level fourteen, and it might just be big enough to pull a small cart or carriage. I suppose I should ask the expert since it might be a good beast to have.'

Marcus stopped in front of the fire cat's enclosure and then said to Frank.

"What about this one do you think it would be usable to pull a small vehicle."

Frank looked at the fire cat and quickly said, "No, while that flame jaguar is a good size, they are not good moving at a consistent pace for long periods of time while moving a vehicle. They make good mounts because of their ability to move through any terrain but moving a cart is not their forte."

Nodding his head in understanding Marcus continued to look through the selection of magical beasts hoping to find a suitable beast of burden, but for the most part the uncommon grade beasts were more geared towards being mounts such as hippogriffs and other sleek magical beasts.

The only uncommon grade magical beast they had seen that would have made a decent beast of burden was the well named reek boar and Marcus had no intention of getting it.

'I guess I will have to settle for a common grade magical beast, if I just wanted a mount, they have plenty of good options, but neither Lilia nor I have any experience riding a beast so I was hoping to get a carriage that would be more comfortable and easier to drive.'

However, before Marcus gave up, he noticed a enclosure a bit away from the others that had a slight glow to it and that Frank had not gone anywhere near.

As Marcus began walking towards that area Frank noticed the direction he was heading in and ran up to stop him.

"Miss Irene I would not recommend getting any closer to that enclosure, the beast in there is quite temperamental and has actually injured a number of customers. How about we move towards the common grade beasts and you can pick out one among them."

Marcus now intrigued by what could be in the mystery enclosure continued forward not heading Frank's warning.

Frank in a desperate move tried to grab Marcus, but was surprised to find himself being dragged along as Marcus was many levels higher and much stronger.

Soon the creature that was in the enclosure came into view and Marcus could see a large stag with blue and white fur and impressive horns that resembles lightning bolts.

At this point Frank let go of Marcus and said, "Please miss Irene that bolt stag is quite dangerous if you get any closer it will get territorial and open fire."

Unfortunately for Frank, this bolt stag had piqued Marcus' interest and he was not going to let it go without having a good look first.

Marcus gave the stag a quick appraisal finding that it was quite strong at level twenty-four making him want this beast even more.

As Marcus got closer in order to get a better look, the sag who was peacefully resting opened its eyes and looked hatefully at Marcus.

Its horns then lit up crackling with electricity before multiple bolts of lightning shot towards Marcus.

Luckily its encloser had been reinforced to block its electrical discharges but three bolts of electricity still managed to break through and fly right towards Marcus.

But to the stag's and franks surprise Marcus deftly dodged the blots and continued advancing.

The stag seeing that its first attack had missed stood up showing of its entire ten-foot-tall height and faced down Marcus.

This proud creature was quite furious for having been captured by humans and locked in a cage and would rather die than serve a weakling.

The stag started ramming at the bars of its enclosure while shooting off more bolts of electricity at Marcus.

However, Marcus simply cast his iron sphere spell and used the floating chunk of iron to block any of the bolts coming for him.

This of course made the bolt stag even more indignant, and its horns began to glow even brighter, and Marcus could actually taste the ozone in the air from the amount of electricity gathering around the stag's horns.

A huge bolt of lightning shot forward and hit the protections around the enclosure, and while the bolts power was easily reduced by seventy percent the power behind the attack was still massive and even an average level thirty would take some damage from the attack.

But right before the bolt hit Marcus and even bigger mass of electricity shot out of his hand as he cast his tier four lightning magic spell and electricity in the form of a huge bird overpowered the stags bolt and flew forward.

The stag stared at the incoming bolt in shock since it never in its wildest dreams could imagine its own lightning being overpowered by another's.

As the stag braced for impact expecting to be seriously injured by the overwhelming force, the massive bird of electricity arced upwards and flew harmlessly into the sky.

Frank looked at this scene dumfounded, a number of strong knights and adventures had at first tried to buy this bolt stag since it was quite powerful, but its violent temperament had sent all of them packing.

Of course, plenty of them could have killed the bolt stag but getting it to submit was another story.

The bolt stag stared back at Marcus a slight tinge of respect in its eyes now, no longer seeing him as an annoyance but a real challenger.

Noticing its gaze Marcus understood the stags intention and turned towards Frank and said, "Open the gate I am going in."

Frank looked at Marcus like he was crazy, while the display of power he had shown was impressive, without the wards on the enclosure dampening its powers the stag's attack would have been around equal to Marcus' tier four spell.

"Are you crazy that thing will kill me if I approach and you if you enter."

Hearing Franks reply Marcus's expression turned stern as he said, "Open the gate or I will open it myself. The bolt stag will not attack you so long as you do not provoke it, I can see in its eyes it has accepted me as a challenger."

Frank stared back and forth at Marcus and the stag wondering which one was scarier before he finally relented and slowly approached the gate.

He thought that at any moment the stag would hurl lightning at him but to his surprise it let him approach and unlock the gate.

Of course, their was a magical tether on the stag preventing it from leaving the enclosure even if the gate was open so it was unable to make a run for it.

Nevertheless, even if it could have run away it would not have since its pride would never allow it to back down from a worthy challenger.

As Frank ran away back to safety Marcus approached the enclosure and entered inside.

He and the stag then stared each other down before the stags body exploded with electricity and it bounded towards Marcus.

However, unlike last time when Marcus was just trying to impress the stag this time, he wanted to completely overwhelm it.

He raised his hand upward and then threw it down and said, "Kneel."

When the stag herd those words it internally scoffed since it never planned to kneel to anyone.

However, after those words left Marcus' mouth the stag felt and overwhelming pressure on its soul and it immediately came to a stop.

It tried with all of its might to keep standing but after a couple of seconds its legs buckled, and it fell to the ground.

The stag as one last act of defiance tried to keep its head aloft, but soon it could no longer handle the power of Marcus' phantom pressure and its head smashed into the ground making it seem as if the stag was bowing to Marcus.