Iya Continent: Card God

Night had fallen, and the sky above the Sailboat Cliff was obscured by clouds, with only a few sparse stars peeking through the sky.

A cold wind swept through the mountains, rustling the leaves. Owls cried out in the mountains. Did the goddess of night, Aria, bless the hunters of tonight?

Outside the white-headed leopard's den, red-haired Locke, who had orchestrated this perfect hunt, was filled with surging emotions.

Tonight, no matter what, I must succeed. Anyone who hinders or affects me will surely perish on this cliffside.

"Come with me."

Locke gave the order to his partner behind him.

This was a high-ranking Bronze-level mage who had been accepting commissions from the Adventurers' Guild in Sandel City for a year. He had traveled from a neighboring country and had run out of money. If he wanted to continue his journey to other kingdoms, he would need a considerable amount of money. To earn money, he had no choice but to stay in Sandel County for the time being. If he could capture the cub of the White-headed Twin-spotted Leopard this time, the share of the reward, plus his previous earnings, would be enough for him to leave the Kingdom of Mordley and travel to other countries.

“That white-headed double-spotted leopard is also a silver-level being. It will be very difficult for me to deal with it alone. You must stay in the corner and keep ambushing it to relieve the pressure on me, understand?” Locke said solemnly.

The high-ranking bronze-level companion nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, I'm not some novice adventurer anymore."

"Good." Locke said with satisfaction, then leaped up and arrived at the cave entrance a few meters away.

This distance was what he considered a relatively safe distance; he couldn't get any closer. If he got any closer to the cave entrance, he feared he wouldn't be able to handle the white-headed, two-spotted leopard rushing out.

"Ow!"

Suddenly, a fierce roar came from the cave, like thunder in a downpour.

Locke gripped his double-edged axe tightly, his expression solemn, his hair standing on end, and he assumed an absolute stance to face the enemy.

coming!

"Roar--!"

A swift figure rushed out, and even before it arrived, a storm of killing intent swept over them.

Locke stared wide-eyed, but in the sparse starlight of the night, the other person's figure was barely visible, appearing and disappearing indistinctly. Sensing danger, he leaped away.

"boom!"

The spot where he had just been standing immediately erupted with a shockwave, and the killing intent and wind spread outwards.

Locke glared, "Damn it..."

I desperately wanted to confront these two white-headed leopards head-on, but the reality didn't allow it. To fight them directly, I needed to light up the surrounding area. I had prepared some kind of lighting magic, but I couldn't use it. Not yet.

It must be kept dark so that Nabald can sneak into the cave.

Now we can only hope that guy will get things done quickly.

At this moment, Baldr was completely tense, forcing himself to remain calm. He knew his mission and responsibility: to take advantage of this opportunity to sneak into the cave and silently capture the white-headed, two-spotted leopard.

Moreover, he had to complete it. If he didn't, that red-haired Locke wouldn't let him off the hook afterward.

"God, please bless me."

Baldr prayed softly and then displayed his skills.

A magical technique that utilizes darkness to conceal its power.

This is a thieving skill, but only those with a certain talent can learn it. It is said to have been created by a halfling. It was initially developed to steal the treasures of the demonic dragons beneath the abyss. Later, it spread throughout the continent of Iya, and many people learned it.

Baldr is outwardly an adventurer, but his past identity was that of a thief. Red-haired Locke knew this perfectly well.

"call out!"

"Darkness conceals us; we stealthily enter the cave."

At the same time, a swift figure arrived at a nearby high place after hearing the sounds of fighting and roaring.

This person is naturally Lin Ta.

Linta looked down at the dim light below, lost in thought.

The white-headed double-spotted leopard has been spotted. At this moment, the magical double-spotted leopard is engaged in battle with the red-haired Locke, while a teammate provides cover from the sidelines.

"It's this guy..."

Linta was somewhat surprised that the one who orchestrated this feint was none other than Locke, whom the guild had met back then.

Where are the cubs?

Linta was clear-headed and quickly searched for the cubs.

They didn't see any cubs, but they did see a pitch-black cave.

"Inside?"

Linta pondered for a moment. Given the situation, the cub should still be in the cave. It was simple: if it weren't, the mother leopard would have gone berserk, not just simply acted ferociously. In other words, the red-haired Locke definitely had a companion who was planning to take advantage of the situation to enter the cave and capture the cub.

"Linta..."

At this moment, Abirgai, in his Spirit Wind Dharma Body form, caught up, and the chase had depleted a considerable amount of his magical power.

“Listen to me, here’s the situation…” Linta told Abiergai about the current situation.

Abilgai nodded repeatedly, indicating that he understood, but what he didn't understand was, "Now, what should we do? Should we sneak into the cave too?"

Linta said, “We don’t need to sneak in. Someone has already sneaked into the cave. If I sneak in, it will definitely cause a big commotion. At that time, the adult two-spotted leopards will go berserk and rush back into the cave. Then, I’ll be in big trouble inside the cave.”

Abirgay: "Then, wait?"

“Yes, wait. Wait for the guy who went into the cave to bring the cub out. He’ll definitely leave first. We’ll follow him and snatch the cub,” Linta said.

“I’m not going,” Abirgay suddenly said.

"Huh?" Linta paused for a moment and looked at the female mage.

Abiergai glared angrily at the red-haired Locke. It was this guy who had protected Bald back then, and he felt the same burning anger towards him.

"You go after them, I can't keep up with you now. I'll stay here and distract them."

"This...?" Lin Ta's eyes darkened slightly, as if he had something on his mind.

She was indeed not a good match for him, as he was going to chase after the person who had captured the cub. He couldn't wait for her. But if she stayed behind to interfere, that would be too dangerous. She was only a mid-Bronze rank, and besides a high-Bronze rank, there were two Silver rank individuals present.

Abirgay said confidently, "You underestimate me. I'm a magician! I don't need to fight in close combat. Besides, it's dark now, and I can cast my spell from afar. How would they know who's making the move?"

"When those two leopards learned that the child had been captured, their first thought was definitely to chase after the child, not to kill me."

After thinking about it carefully, Lin Ta realized that what the other person said made sense.

“Alright, be careful. If anything happens, just run. As long as you run, they won’t pay attention to you; you’re not their target,” Linta agreed.

“Yes!” Abirgay nodded in response.

Then he asked, "It's so dark down there. What if the guy who sneaked into the cave comes out and we can't see him?"

Linta had already prepared for this.

Card Power, Three of Clubs, Shadow!

Unbeknownst to Abirgay, the shadow beneath Linta's feet merged into the darkness and approached my cave.

With the physical training over these months, his shadow has also become stronger, and is no longer what it used to be.

However, its inherent flaws remain unaddressed. A shadow has no eyes; where Linta cannot see, the shadow cannot see either.

But that was enough. Linta stared at the dark cave exit, where his shadow stood quietly. He could immediately sense anyone entering, leaving, or coming out.