Iya Continent: Card God

"Roar!" "Clang!"

The white-headed leopard, swift as the wind, is exceptionally powerful in the dark mountains. Its movements are agile and difficult to catch, its claws as sharp as iron, capable of shattering mountain rocks.

Red-haired Locke faced a difficult battle; the dim mountain light made it hard for him to attack accurately, so he could only defend with his axe and keep his distance.

"What's that idiot Baldr doing? Has he come out yet?"

The cave was pitch black, making it impossible to see where one was going in or out. Not to mention, the other party possessed stealth abilities. However, this only made Locke more at ease; if he couldn't even fool himself, he certainly couldn't fool this magical beast, the Twin-Spotted Leopard.

Locke, who was in charge of the information, never expected that a living shadow would exist silently in the darkness at the cave entrance.

The third member of the club, the shadow, can leave its master's body and possess the same physical strength as its master. This means that Linta's shadow could directly intercept Bald, who was stealing the cub.

However, Linta had no such intention. After all, if he intercepted the beast thief, it would immediately attract the attention of the adult leopard beasts and red-haired Locke present. He only needed to confirm the situation.

"call out!"

"Huh?" Lin Ta, who was peeking at the cave entrance from the shadows, tensed up.

My shadow, blending into the darkness, sensed something amiss. Just now, it seemed someone had rushed out of the darkness, and now…

"There!"

Swift wind! Whoosh!

Reacting swiftly, Linta, moving like the wind, chased after the figure escaping from the cave.

Abirgay glanced at the departing Linta, then quickly returned his gaze to the battle below. He didn't need to worry about Linta's pursuit; he only needed to focus on his own mission. Linta had invited him to team up to hunt young beasts, so he should do something and share his findings later to have a clear conscience.

"call……"

Abirge took a deep breath and stared at the pile of rocks above the battlefield. It was a collection of broken rocks that did not belong to the entire mountain.

……

"call out!"

"Hehehe..." Under the darkness of night, Baldr, holding the cub, let out a joyful laugh.

His face was still covered in cold sweat from tension and excitement.

Looking back on the whole process, it was incredibly dangerous.

First, one must enter the cave without the mother cub noticing. Once inside, one must hunt the cub discreetly and without making a fuss. Any misstep could lead to entirely different outcomes.

But I succeeded!

"Little brat! Now you know how powerful I am!" Bald glanced down at the cub he was holding, quite pleased with himself.

How to avoid making a scene and getting arrested? Besides relying on stealthy silence, one can also rely on the potion master's hypnotic potion.

It was a great success. The hypnotic potion was used, and the cub, after inhaling the scent of the drug, quickly fell into a deep sleep. Then, I could easily take the cub away.

Of course, this potion only works on the cub; it has no effect on its mother, the larger creature. There are, of course, potions that do work, but those are expensive and difficult to obtain.

“Now, I should…” Bald’s expression changed as he looked at the cub in his hand, which contained at least 30 silver coins.

Although he had put in a lot of effort, based on his understanding of Locke, he knew he wouldn't get much silver in the end. He was, after all, a key figure in this whole affair; was it fair to be treated this way?

But if I take this cub away alone, that guy will definitely not let me go! Can I escape his pursuit? Besides, this cub is not easy to deal with. Auction house bidding takes time, and selling it to underground casinos? Those guys might double-cross me. Selling it to nobles, those hypocrites aren't any better...

"Forget it, don't you even know your place? Do you even deserve it?" Baldr said to himself with self-deprecation.

"Hey, why are you scolding yourself?"

The sudden voice startled Baldr, who stopped in his tracks and looked around the darkness with apprehension.

"Who?!"

Linta did not come out; he remained hidden in the darkness.

Baldr's eyes darted around frantically as he pondered his next decision.

Unable to ascertain the opponent's strength, and with this cub in tow, it was truly inconvenient for me to attack. Escape, keep running! The darkness is my specialty; he might not be able to catch me.

As Baldr lifted his heel, intending to flee again, a punch suddenly came from the darkness.

"boom!"

A powerful punch landed on Bald's face, sending him flying and several teeth flying out, stained with blood.

"what……!"

The sounds of wailing and screaming echoed and spread, and the person rolled on the ground.

However, he did not let go of the cub he was holding at his waist.

Baldr looked at the enemy who had attacked with fear. Under the sparse starlight, he could only see a completely dark figure standing in front of him.

what is this? !!

The shadow, Linta's shadow, a shadow possessing the same strength as his own body. Through training in wielding an iron hammer, the power of his fists far surpasses that of these untrained bronze-level warriors.

Linta, who was secretly observing, still showed no intention of coming out. There was no need; his shadow was enough to deal with this kind of person. Moreover, having his shadow take his place could avoid many unexpected incidents.

You can use your own voice to say things like, "Young beast, hand it over."

"I...I gave..." Bald said in a trembling voice, filled with fear. Faced with the completely incomprehensible shadowy monster before him, his defenses crumbled completely. He didn't care what the red-haired Locke would do to him afterward; for now, survival was the priority.

At this moment, the white-headed, two-spotted leopard cub that was being held suddenly opened its sleepy eyes.

……

"Roar!" "Clang!!"

The battle between Red-Haired Locke and the mother cub continues.

The high-ranking bronze-level companions provided cover and launched sneak attacks from the side, keeping the mother occupied.

Suddenly, the mother leopard seemed to realize something, and it let out a howl, "Awooo!"

The strange sound seemed to have come from inside the cave.

There was no response from the cave.

At that moment, "Roar—!"

The white-headed leopard mother went berserk, unleashing her magic. Her powerful and fierce body surged into the cave like a storm.

Locke was completely caught off guard and was slightly surprised.

"This beastly monster is so ferocious..."

Red-haired Locke naturally understood why the other party was acting this way; they must have discovered the cub had disappeared. He was only happy about this, as it meant that that brat Bald had succeeded.

"Stop it! Don't let it chase us! That brat Bald shouldn't have gone far!" Locke commanded his high-ranking bronze companion.

"Yes!" the other party responded.

"Ow!"

An angry roar echoed from the cave as a ferocious white-headed leopard charged out, searching for the missing child.

Red-haired Locke tossed out a magical oil lamp; its ordinary-grade light illuminated an area of ​​several meters within the cave. With sufficient visibility, he immediately positioned himself in front of the white-headed, two-spotted leopard mother.

"Don't go, hehe!"

The double-edged axe swung precisely and fiercely, stopping the enraged mother.

The two sides reached a stalemate again.

Just then, from the direction Baldr had fled, came a heart-wrenching scream, "Ugh...!"

"Huh? What?" Locke was slightly surprised and looked in that direction, where he could faintly see the glow of fire.

What happened over there?