Anfey lied on the grassy ground and stared at the sky. The weather was turning warm and grass was turning green again. Small flowers dotted the ground. Spring was in the air.
A few dark specks appeared in the sky. Anfey narrowed his eyes when he detected the griffins. There were less than a dozen griffins, each mounted by a rider. The lance of a griffin knight was longer than a regular knight's, and each had a short crossbow.
Shansa Empire was known for producing the most powerful crossbows. This was because equipping the griffin knights with crossbows made the knights much more effective. After Shansa Empire realized how well crossbows worked in battle, the entire division was reformed and several different variations of griffin knights emerged, including the mage griffin knights.
Mage griffin knights were much more effective than normal griffin knights, however, because of the complicated process of taming a griffin, there were very few mage griffin knights. If Shansa Empire found a way to increase the number of their mage griffin knights and combine it with their Dark Moon Magic Legion, Shansa Empire could very well take over the entire world, and no one could do anything about it.
Griffin knights were not as good as normal knights at defending themselves. Even though the griffins themselves were very strong and could stand against most magical attacks, the knights needed to wear as little armor as possible so they wouldn't tire out the griffins during long flights.
Griffins had very sharp eyesight and spotted Anfey from far away. The griffins lowered themselves and circled over Anfey.
One of the griffin knights finished all the alcohol in his small flask and threw the empty flask at Anfey. The flask was silver and worth a fortune. The knights around him laughed.
The griffin knights were high in the air, and the chances of the flask reaching Anfey were very slim. However, this griffin knight seemed to have particularly good aim. Anfey had to roll out of the way at the last minute to avoid being hit by the flask. The griffin knights watched with amusement.
Anfey dusted himself off and straightened his body, then he turned and fired an arrow into the air, though the arrow did not reach the griffins. Clearly, he was angered by the griffin knight's action.
Seeing this, the griffin knight grew very angry because he did not intend to harm anyone, yet Anfey still tried to fire an arrow at him. He was the heir to a noble house and could not tolerate any actions against him.
He gripped the reins of his griffin and dove towards the ground. A few other griffin knights shouted and followed him. Sensing his rider's emotions, the griffin bared its sharp claws and screeched.
Anfey stood very still and watched calmly as the griffins flew towards him.
The shadow grew larger and larger until the griffin landed a few paces away from Anfey. The knight pulled on the reins and stopped the griffin's motion. "What in hell was that?" the griffin knight called out.
Anfey glanced at the sky and frowned. He knew that there were thirteen griffins, but only five landed in front of him. Clearly, the other seven had no interest in what was happening on the ground.
"That was against the law!" the rider said loudly. He jumped off of the griffin and marched over to Anfey. The other four knights stayed on their griffins and did not move to join him.
This particular knight was still young and inexperienced. An older knight would have never actually landed and talked to Anfey.
"Which nation's law?" Anfey asked. He wanted to stall so the other seven griffin knights would join the five, but clearly that wasn't possible.
"You know exactly which one," the griffin knight hissed. "I challenge you!" he said, drawing his sword. He could tell that Anfey was wearing a mage's robe and did not take him seriously. Archers and mages were no match for a knight in close range combat.
"A duel?" Anfey asked. "With just you or all of you?"
"My lord, hurry," one of the knights called. "We don't have much time to delay."
The knight nodded and turned to Anfey, lunging at him with his sword.
Anfey reached out and grabbed the sword, wrenching it out of the knight's hand. The knight was surprised by the mage's strength and froze. Anfey took advantage of the man's surprise and smacked the man in the face with the hilt of the sword. Then he grabbed the sword and slammed it into his neck.
The knight stumbled back a few steps then crumbled to the ground. Anfey turned to the remaining four knights and waved his hand. He was very calm, as if he had not just murdered someone.
The four remaining knights watched with a mixture of shock, horror, and surprise. They were still well-trained soldiers, however, and reacted very quickly. They first released a signal for aid, then grouped into pairs and flew towards Anfey.
Anfey waved his hand and summoned two firebirds. The firebirds crashed into the griffins, turning the first two griffins into balls of flame. Griffins were immune to most magical attacks, but they were not strong enough to stand against a close range attack.
The other two griffin knights hesitated when they saw their companions being attacked, and Anfey quickly used that to his advantage. He jumped towards the griffin to his left and kicked it in the stomach, sending it flying in the opposite direction, taking its rider with it. The remaining griffin knight wanted to fly away, but before he could get too far, Anfey caught up to him and brought the stolen sword down on him and his griffin.