Chapter 40 - 39 Investigation
Chapter 40: Chapter 39 Investigation
Early the next morning, Lis and four others enjoyed breakfast at Baron Tony’s castle, where they savored fruit pudding Lis had prepared in advance, before setting out on today’s task.
For some reason, Lis noticed that the taste of hot dishes stored in the storage ring would turn a bit odd when taken out to eat, but cold dishes like pudding and ice cream seemed unaffected.
“Ah, let’s set off!” Ya’er, leading the group, exclaimed cheerfully.
“Right, let’s give it our all,” Lis nodded and agreed, and the others didn’t react much; they were already accustomed to Ya’er’s spirited demeanor.
The group arrived at the spot where they had encountered the Moon Spirit Leopard yesterday. Ailina gently leaped onto the giant rock where the leopard had stood the night before and began to look around.
The other four also embraced the spirit of participation and started to look for any traces left by the Moon Spirit Leopard.
...
After Ailina completed her investigation, everyone gathered around.
“There are several claw marks on the rock, and some of the trails are not so fresh. That Moon Spirit Leopard must frequently move around here,”
Ailina said, then pointed towards the east side of the rock,
“He left in that direction yesterday. Fortunately, some scent is still lingering; I should be able to follow it.”
As the scout of the team and an Elf Hunter, Ailina indeed possessed unique tracking methods that enabled her to pinpoint targets in the wilderness.
Lis remembered that Elf Hunters could use the “Animal Communication” spell to obtain desired information from surrounding small creatures like birds and rabbits.
Even after advancing to Legendary level, they could obtain the “Inquire Nature” spell from the Prophetic line, capable of extracting wanted information from any animate or inanimate being, including forests or stones—its effectiveness was quite incredible.
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The others hadn’t discovered any useful information, only confirming that the nearby vineyard had indeed suffered damage from a magic beast.
The group followed Ailina towards the east, and Lis cast the “Light Body Skill” spell on everyone, making their movement more efficient and swift.
After following the tracks towards the eastern border of Baron Tony’s Domain for quite a while, Ailina suddenly halted.
“What’s wrong?” asked Arsen from behind.
“It’s a bit odd?” Ailina appeared puzzled, “The Moon Spirit Leopard suddenly changed direction here, almost turning back towards the south of the domain.”
After discussing briefly and having no other leads, they decided to keep following to see if they would discover anything new.
But surprisingly, the traces of the Moon Spirit Leopard took another significant turn in the southern part of Baron Tony’s Domain, heading toward the west of the domain.
How fortunate to have an Elf Hunter along—a scout’s abilities far surpassed those of a human elevated to the Hunter profession. Otherwise, they themselves might not have been able to find this magic beast and would have wasted time in vain.
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Since the traces left by the Moon Spirit Leopard were sporadic and intermittent, Ailina had to expend significant effort, even using the “Animal Communication” spell several times to gather information from nearby small animals. It wasn’t until midday that they finally reached a small stone hill on the western side of Baron Tony’s Domain following the tracks.
This hill, filled with rocks, was one of the few in Baron Tony’s Domain, not even a hundred meters high, bare with few trees and shrubs and had many jagged rock crevices that made good hiding spots.
Since the area was unsuitable for grape cultivation, had no special minerals, and was nearly ten kilometers away from the nearest town, very few of the domain’s residents ever passed by here.
“Sister Ailina, is it here?” Ya’er asked.
“It should be, the scent of the Moon Spirit Leopard is very strong here; this must be where it hides during the day.”
Ailina pointed to a small stream running by the hillside, where a fresh paw print was visible on the moist ground beside the water.
“It must have drunk water here, no doubt about it.”
“Good,” Arsen said, then began organizing the task at hand.
“Ailina, you and I will lead at the front; the task of scouting is up to you. Be vigilant for any traces of the Moon Spirit Leopard, and don’t let this creature ambush us from the shadows,”
“Understood.”
“Ya’er, you and Lis walk in the middle of the group. Take care to protect Lis and provide support to others when necessary.”
“Got it!”
“Lis, before we set off, cast beneficial magic and protection magic on everyone. Keep an eye on maintaining the spell effects, and most importantly, take good care of yourself!”
“Understood.”
“Lunbos, you’re at the very back of the group. Remember to be alert and watch your back,” said.
“I know.”
“Lastly, everyone must beware—the Moon Spirit Leopard is extremely skilled at launching surprise attacks from the shadows. We must all be careful.”
Arsen emphasized this last point and readied himself to head toward the mountain.
Everyone took out their weapons and held them ready; Ailina stored her longbow and switched to a short sword, as the bow was not very useful in this type of exploration.
Lis also took out his jade wand and began casting beneficial magic on the group.
“Spirit Armor Technique!”
“Secondary Deflection Field!”
“Resist Energy Damage!”
“Bear’s Tenacity, Cat’s Grace, Bull’s Power, Fox’s Cunning, Owl’s Wisdom!”
“Precise Strike!”
He applied various beneficial and protective spells to the group members. Lis breathed a sigh of relief; although a mage’s spells were not as potent as a priest’s divine arts in terms of enhancement and protection, they were significantly valuable to the Yaya Adventure Group, which formerly had neither a mage nor a priest.
“Not bad, Lis—I can definitely feel an increase in my strength,” someone remarked.
Lis hadn’t cast every beneficial spell on everyone, for if he had, his mana would have been completely drained before any battle had even occurred.
To Lunbos, he had cast Spirit Armor Technique, Secondary Deflection Field, Bear’s Tenacity, and Bull’s Power.
For Ailina and Arsen, he had cast Spirit Armor Technique, Precise Strike, Bull’s Power, and Cat’s Grace.
As for Ya’er and himself, naturally, he had applied every possible spell. Lis was well aware of the art of preparation.
Arsen tested the effects of the spells Lis had cast, finding them quite satisfactory. Clenching his longsword, he addressed the group:
“Let’s move out.”
The group formed a tight unit and moved slowly up the small hill, vigilantly observing their surroundings, especially the shadows where the Moon Spirit Leopard was most likely to hide.
As they carefully explored every corner of the small hill, not overlooking any potential hiding spots, Lis, who had enhanced himself with advanced magic and Prediction Magic from the three-cycles, suddenly sensed something and looked toward the area indicated by his heightened senses.
Not far from the group, within the shadow of a rock, a pair of bright yellow eyes was intently watching them.
There it was—the Moon Spirit Leopard!