Chapter 42 - 41 Another Discovery
Chapter 42: Chapter 41 Another Discovery
Seeing that the Moon Spirit Leopard had lost all ability to resist, Arsen shook his head and said to Ailina,
“Do you need my help?”
“No need!”
Ailina bit her lip and rejected Arsen’s kind offer. At this moment, she seemed to have lost the resolute determination she had as a Hunter during the battle and only her frail elfin side remained.
The Moon Spirit Leopard was already lying on the ground, so weakened by excessive blood loss that it barely had any energy to move, allowing Ailina to slowly approach it.
Ailina squatted down beside the Moon Spirit Leopard, her slender hand gently stroking its head, tenderly as if she was treating her own dear kin, with the green light in her hand slowly seeping into the leopard’s body.
...
“Rest in peace, all your suffering will now be far from you, may you find forgiveness and peace in the Goddess’s Divine Country.”
It seemed the Moon Spirit Leopard could feel Ailina’s kindness and sorrow; it stopped its final struggles, its bright amber eyes quietly gazing at Ailina, and Lis even felt a profound sadness emanating from its eyes.
What’s happening? Why am I feeling this way?
Lis couldn’t help but wonder; after all, this was a Magic Beast that had hurt people, right?
Just when everyone thought this Magic Beast hunt was finally over, the Moon Spirit Leopard suddenly mustered its last ounce of strength to raise its head and let out a roar towards the small hill behind the group.
Just when Lis and the others thought the Moon Spirit Leopard was making a final stand, its massive body fell heavily to the ground, and the last spark of spirit in its eyes dissipated at that moment.
Arsen breathed a sigh of relief, put down his raised weapon, and stepped forward to pat Ailina on the shoulder as a gesture of comfort.
Ya’er also squatted beside Ailina, whispering words of comfort. For an Elf Hunter, killing one of their sacred beasts and best companions from their tribe was indeed too cruel.
Lis was somewhat curious; he felt no sorrow for the death of the Moon Spirit Leopard, so he simply walked over to squat in front of the deceased Magic Beast, taking a closer look at its sleek black form.
Something was amiss!
After a brief glance, Lis noticed that there seemed to be something around the leopard’s neck.
Lis also squatted next to the Moon Spirit Leopard, reached out his hand to feel, and discovered an ice-cold, hard object hanging on the leopard’s neck.
Parting the black fur, a black chain collar came into sight before Lis, with the lower link part already broken, suggesting it must have been a special collar.
It appears the lineage of this Moon Spirit Leopard is not simple; it’s likely not a roaming Magic Beast, but one that had been captured, domesticated, and then escaped. No wonder it appeared thousands of kilometers away from the Navia Forest, deep within the territory of the Feis Kingdom.
Lis did not alert Ailina but instead waved Arsen over.
Upon seeing Lis’s cautious demeanor, Arsen came over and was surprised as well; he too saw the black collar around the leopard’s neck.
He also realized that there was a problem with the origin of this Moon Spirit Leopard.
The two of them then began to check the Moon Spirit Leopard’s body without showing any alarm.
The pungent smell of blood wafted up, but Lis ignored the gaping wound on the leopard’s abdomen, inspecting the other parts of the body carefully.
Indeed, many scars were found all over the Moon Spirit Leopard’s back, numerous, and they seemed to have been recently healed.
Alas, it looked like the Moon Spirit Leopard might have just escaped from captivity, it’s a mystery why it came to Baron Tony’s territory.
No wonder it attacked Humans; it seems it was not just out of the need for food but rather more out of revenge against Humans.
Lis shook his head, there always seemed to be some people, whether blinded by greed or malice, who would do such unthinkable deeds.
Forget capturing and imprisoning Moon Spirit Leopards; those ruthless traders wouldn’t even spare their own kin, or how else could such a massive slave market thrive?
Of course, human nature is complicated, and Lis isn’t some Holy Mother, naturally, he wouldn’t let this single incident unsettle him.
Even so, the plight of this Moon Spirit Leopard made Lis suspicious. To go to great lengths to bring a precious and powerful Magic Beast like the Moon Spirit Leopard into the heart of the Feis Kingdom, Lis felt as if he could already smell the scent of conspiracy.
“Divine Revelation” presented a game storyline of immense depth. Kingdom scheming, demon plotting, and divine resolutions—all these things were still lurking beneath the surface, quietly waiting for a catalyst to emerge.
Even Lis, who had experienced it all, couldn’t foresee all the future events that had transpired.
This was a real world where countless secret conspiracies abounded, with everyone scheming for their own benefit.
However, Lis didn’t want to get overly involved in these matters, and he didn’t do anything beyond his capabilities. This was how Lis conducted himself.
But considering what had happened, perhaps Ailina would become even more radical?
Lis left the task of explaining their troublesome discovery to Ailina to Arsen and lifted his head to gaze at the hill where the Moon Spirit Leopard had been hiding just a moment ago.
Something felt off. The behavior of the Moon Spirit Leopard was odd, as if it held some special significance.
Lis clapped his hands, dismissing his concerns. Why think so much when he could simply go and check?
“I’m going to take a look around on the hill to see if there’s anything to discover,” he said to the others.
The rest of the group didn’t take it to heart. The Moon Spirit Leopard had already been vanquished; there shouldn’t be any danger.
But the cautious Arsen still asked Lunbos to accompany Lis.
Without further ado, Ya’er helped Ailina clean up the site while Lis and Lunbos made their way toward the hill.
When the two reached the large rock where the Moon Spirit Leopard had been spotted, they searched around but found nothing particularly unusual.
No, that wasn’t right!
Lis cast a “Flying Technique” on himself and hovered in the air, carefully observing every concealed corner.
The Moon Spirit Leopard’s den wasn’t here.
That didn’t make sense. If the Moon Spirit Leopard had been here for a long time, how could it not have prepared a resting place for itself?
Thinking it over, Lis decided to try a new spell with a mindset of seeing if it would work.
“Life Detection Skill!”
It was Second Circle Magic that could detect the position and strength of living beings within the spell’s range. The only downside was that it couldn’t detect creatures stronger than the caster, which was why Lis hadn’t used it before.
With an invisible ripple spreading outwards, Lis soon finished scanning the entire hill.
Lis closed his eyes, and the information returned by the Detection Spell formed an image in his mind.
Tiny points of white light twinkled on the simulated hill in Lis’s brain. These were weak and dim lights, belonging to creatures like birds and rodents, which possessed no extraordinary power.
Soon, Lis noticed a faint blue light at the back of the hill, which must belong to a being with extraordinary power, yet it felt feeble.
This had to be the place!
Lis descended from the air and signaled to Lunbos. The two headed toward the location Lis had discovered.
At last, Lis found a small cave hidden amidst a low thicket of bushes on the far side of the hill—strictly speaking, it was a crevice formed by overlapping rock walls.
The irregularly shaped entrance was camouflaged in the shadow of the bushes, and without knowing the exact location, it would have been difficult to find.
Lis held his breath and crouched as he entered, his eyes adjusting to the darkness within, he saw the creature he had detected, and was somewhat surprised.
Could it be… like this?